#what if [redacted] fails and we have to start over

[pawsandreflect]

rly hope this thing goes well and this other thing works out idk how much more i can handle this year lmao

[tinycoffeeroom]

café de paris | max verstappen

face claim: none ᡣ𐭩

request: here !

a/n: all french / dutch is google translated blame them if it's wrong! race order is completely random here !

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

📍café de paris, monaco

liked by bffstagram, friend1 and 294 others

y/nstagram me 🤝 café de paris

bffstagram bro those croissants look Fire ↳ y/nstagram my main source of sustenance in these hard monaco streets!

friend1 i have yet to see evidence of you shaking ass on a yacht miss y/n!! ↳ bffstagram so real... we're meant to be living vicariously through you!!! ↳ y/nstagram student finance doesn't stretch to yacht ass shaking, i can barely afford my daily caffeine fix 😭

friend2 oui oui hon baguette how is france? ↳ y/nstagram never let a monagesque hear you say that,,, bro i can't fight ↳ friend2 🫡 ... how is monaco?* ↳ y/nstagram 🫡 it's good!! def happy i chose here over france, even if my wallet doesn't agree 😭 ↳ friend2 we feeling fluent yet? ↳ y/nstagram oh god no, the other day this poor old lady tried explaining how to find the art museum to me and i just stared at her like 😶

friend3 spotted any f1 hotties yet? i hear they all camp out in monaco 👀 ↳ y/nstagram considering i have never watched a Single f1 race i couldn't tell you HAHAH i'm sure they're around here somewhere though ↳ friend3 dude i told you to brush up on f1 😭 how am i supposed to come visit you and have a meet cute with mr lando norris if you don't do your RESEARCH ↳ y/nstagram damn i see how it is,,, using me to get to your vroom vroom men,,,

3 weeks later

📍café de paris, monaco

👤 alexandrasaintmleux liked by bffstagram, alexandrasaintmleux and 270 others

y/nstagram finally found someone else to join my café de paris obsession 🥐

bffstagram next bff sweetie run while you can... ↳ y/nstagram stop scaring the pretty bitches off damn 😔 ↳ alexandrasaintmleux bffstagram she won't let me leave 😭 ↳ y/nstagram i deserve better friends ↳ bffstagram you couldn't live without us xx ♥️ y/nstagram

alexandrasaintmleux la prochaine fois, nous irons au casino ! (next time, we go to the casino!) ↳ y/nstagram finance étudiante a dit non (student finance said no) ↳ alexandrasaintmleux 😔 s'il tu plait... pour moi? 🥺 (please... for me?) ↳ y/nstagram pray for my wallet guys...

friend3 wdym you just casually befriended The Alexandra Saint Mleux??? ↳ y/nstagram i thought her skirt was pretty and had no idea she was like famous 😭 then we just kept running into each other !! ↳ friend3 i need to fly out to monaco damn you can't even see her in the pic but ik she looked So pretty... ↳ alexandrasaintmleux i like your friends y/n :p ↳ y/nstagram just wait til you see them drunk,,,

📍 jimmy'z, monaco

👤 alexandrasaintmleux, landonorris liked by alexandrasaintmleux, landonorris and 2,962 others

y/nstagram started the night in a night club and ended on a yacht,,, just monaco things (apparently) 🛥️

friend3 y/n if you don't answer my texts RIGHT NOW !!!! ↳ y/nstagram 😉 any reason ml? ↳ friend3 i'm gonna swim to monaco and bite chunks out of your ankles what the FUCK ??? when were you gonna tell me you were just casually hanging with [REDACTED] ↳ landonorris i'm guessing i'm redacted? 😎 ↳ friend3 i need to go lie down ↳ y/nstagram landonorris dude 😭 ↳ landonorris was it something i said? 😉

alexandrasaintmleux meilleure amie 💗 (best friend) ↳ y/nstagram merci de m'avoir invitée ! je t'aime ! (thank you for inviting me! love you!)

maxverstappen1 was lovely meeting you last night schat x ↳ y/nstagram you too max! don't forget to send me those pics of the kids! x ↳ bffstagram kids? ↳ y/nstagram his cats! jimmy and sassy! 🐱❤️🐱 ↳ bffstagram your knack for finding cat people never fails to impress me ♥️ y/nstagram

danielricciardo dude my liver actually hurts... ↳ y/nstagram hey you're the one who suggested a drinking contest ↳ danielricciardo yeah because i normally WIN you freak ↳ y/nstagram i'm a broke uni student, my drink of choice is normally vodka so cheap it's legally paint stripper

georgerussell63 carmen's phone died but she said to remind you about brunch today ↳ y/nstagram on it!! alex is gonna come round and bring me 😊

👤 maxverstappen1 liked by maxverstappen1, bffstagram and 2,938 others

y/nstagram met some VIC's (very important cats) today! 🐱 also f's in chat for my café de paris 😔

bffstagram f ↳ danielricciardo f ↳ georgerussell63 f ↳ landonorris f ↳ carmenmmundt f ↳ alexandrasaintmleux f ↳ maxverstappen1 f

friend3 babies!! the second pic oh i could cry ↳ y/nstagram she slept there for like 3 hours 😭 managed to actually sit through a whole gp though so a wins a win! ↳ friend3 y/n watching f1?? who is she?? ↳ y/nstagram their dad forced me 💔 ↳ maxverstappen1 um who cheered so loud when i won that she woke poor sassy up?? ↳ y/nstagram 🤐

charles_leclerc i didn't know café de paris do takeout? ↳ maxverstappen1 they do if you're me :) ↳ y/nstagram the only reason i'm considering keeping him around 😉 ↳ alexandrasaintmleux charles_leclerc and why have you never used your influence to get ME takeout café de paris "prince of monaco" ↳ charles_leclerc look what you've done... y/nstagram ♥️ y/nstagram

fan they're definitely max's cats but who is she? ↳ fan she knows alexandra so maybe they're in the same friendship group??

3 months later

liked by maxverstappen1, bffstagram and 308 others

y/nstagram working hard or hardly working 🌸

alexandrasaintmleux quand avez-vous passé votre examen ? (when's your exam?) ↳ y/nstagram lundi prochain,,, mon ami du café me manque 😔 (next monday,,, missing my cafe friend) ↳ alexandrasaintmleux nous fêterons cela quand tu auras terminé 💗 (we'll celebrate when you're finished)

bffstagram the red bulls... i wait 3 years white man does it in one week ♥️ maxverstappen1 ↳ y/nstagram hey! made him wait at least 2 months :p

friend3 the f1 book.. one of us one of us!! ↳ y/nstagram apparently i can't keep saying "the one with the red cow on it" when talking about his car,,, ↳ maxverstappen1 its a bull... literally a red bull... ↳ y/nstagram blah blah blah it's red and goes moo ↳ maxverstappen1 everyday i wake up to such disrespect ↳ charles_leclerc i'm just glad someone's keeping your ego in check ♥️ y/nstagram

friend1 when are you coming back to england :( ↳ y/nstagram i'm hoping to come visit next month! ↳ maxverstappen1 about that...

📍 jeddah, saudi arabia

👤 redbullracing, mine liked by redbullracing, y/nstagram and 1,928,385 others

maxverstappen1 First P1 of the season at the first race! Always grateful to stand on that top podium, especially today 🙂

see 14,936 other comments

fan sorry WHO is that in the third pic????

fan bro soft launching on a race win post...

y/nstagram trots op jou ❤️ proud of you ♥️ maxverstappen1 ↳ fan 🤨

fan did you guys see the way his girl jumped the fence to get to him after he won? relationship goals fr

schecoperez another red bull 1-2! 💪 ↳ maxverstappen1 you gave me a run for my money at the end there old man! ↳ schecoperez less of the old thank you

redbullracing rue when was this ↳ fan admin finding out about max's relationship at the same time as us is so on brand ↳ redbullracing and here i thought we were besties 😔 ↳ maxverstappen1 😉

danielricciardo you look hot in the second photo and it's not just the heat 😍 ↳ fan maxiel lives on ❤️

fan he tagged her as mine BROOOOOO who's got this man so down bad??

👤 maxverstappen1 liked by maxverstappen1, bffstagram and 194 others

🔒 y/nstagram account locked DOWN but it's so worth it for you ❤️

maxverstappen i'm sorry liefje i should have thought about this before inviting you... ↳ y/nstagram i don't regret going maxie,,, and i certainly don't regret hugging you after the race,, i knew what i was getting into, it's just a lot ❤️ ↳ maxverstappen1 ik ben gek op jou ❤️ (i'm crazy about you) ↳ y/nstagram mijn charmante prins ❤️ (my prince charming)

alexandrasaintmleux you do what's best for you ma cocotte 💗 honestly going private at the start of mine and charles' relationship was one of the best things for us ↳ y/nstagram the woe of being a wag 😔

daniel.jpg dude can you accept my follow request ↳ maxverstappen1 you followed her from your jpg acc but not your main? ↳ daniel.jpg never said i was smart ↳ charles_leclerc ^ ↳ georgerussell63 ^ ↳ landonorris ^ ↳ alexandrasaintmleux ^ ↳ carmenmmundt ^ ↳ maxverstappen1 ^ ↳ y/nstagram ^ ↳ oscarpiastri ^ ↳ daniel.jpg oscarpiastri HOW DID YOU GET HERE?? you haven't even MET y/n yet ↳ y/nstagram that's my son watch your tone. ↳ daniel.jpg i am very sorry miss y/n l/n PLEASE let me in ↳ y/nstagram oscarpiastri shall i? ↳ oscarpiastri lemme think on it ↳ daniel.jpg i hate it here

📍 suzuka, japan

👤 maxverstappen1 liked by maxverstappen1, y/nstagram and 1,394,582 others

redbullracing a quick look into max's garage! already over halfway through the season and your current world champion is on track for his 4th year running 💪

see 59,203 other comments

maxverstappen1 you know how we do 👊

fan i see a y/n at the back!! ↳ fan who is y/n? ↳ fan his gf! she was first spotted in jeddah and she's been to quite a few of his races this year! ↳ fan do you have her ig? ↳ fan y/nstagram but it's private!

fan 4 time world champ incoming! ♥️ redbullracing

user lewis is gonna reclaim his title! ↳ fan ok gramps lets get you back to the home

fan best team in the world

user oh the gold digger is back ↳ redbullracing blocked, deleted and reported ↳ fan red bull stand on business ↳ redbullracing no one messes with OUR redbull girl! 👊

👤 maxverstappen1 liked by maxverstappen1, charles_leclerc and 274 others

🔒 y/nstagram did you know red bull gives you wings? 👼

maxverstappen1 must have taken you forever to think of that caption ↳ y/nstagram what can i say you're dating a comedic genius

friend1 damn ma lend me one of those jackets xx ↳ y/nstagram omg pls take one he won't stop giving them to me,,, ↳ friend1 i'll take the white cap too if you're offering 👀 ↳ y/nstagram 🫡

bffstagram the third pic... y/n STAND UP ↳ y/nstagram he has the prettiest eyes 😍 my man my man my maaaaan ↳ bffstagram we've lost her boys...

alexandrasaintmleux i see the ferrari jacket 👀 ↳ y/nstagram max nearly threw me out of the room fr ↳ maxverstappen1 you deserved it ↳ maxverstappen1 also i'm burning it when you're not looking ↳ y/nstagram charlie gave it to me :((((( ↳ charles_leclerc yeah max you wouldn't burn sweet charlie's jacket would you? ↳ maxverstappen1 i'd burn you IN the jacket if you don't stop ↳ charles_leclerc 🫦 damn i love when you talk dirty to me ↳ y/nstagram ,,, alexandrasaintmleux should we leave them to it? ↳ alexandrasaintmleux after what you showed me on tumblr... yeah maybe we should

daniel.jpg loving the drip ↳ maxverstappen1 has she still not accepted your main follow request? ↳ daniel.jpg no... i know it's oscars fault somehow ↳ oscarpiastri why am i catching strays? ↳ y/nstagram i watched baku 2018 ,, you're lucky i don't block your jpg account ↳ daniel.jpg THAT WAS SO LONG AGO LET ME INNNNNNN

📍 zandvoort, the netherlands

👤 maxverstappen1 liked by y/nstagram, maxverstappen1 and 1,998,928 others

redbullracing and maxverstappen1 getting P1 and being crowned a 4 time world champion at the final race of the season AND your home race? max verstappen we tip our hats to you 💙

see 98,284 comments

fan him lifting the trophy and mouthing "this is for you" to y/n i am so lonely oh my god

y/nstagram mijn kampioen ❤️ (my champion) ♥️ redbullracing, maxverstappen1

fan max verstappen world domination!! lets go champ!!!

fan y'know maybe the dutch national anthem isn't too bad...

👤 maxverstappen1 liked by bffstagram, maxverstappen1 and 290,948 others

y/nstagram i moved to monaco for a degree in french and fell for a dutchman,,,

max, it has been a privilege to know you, to share your happiness and to love and be loved by you. watching you do what you do best fills me with so much joy and i can't wait to see you dominate the track for many more years. here's to you. ik hou van je, mijn kampioen ❤️ (i love you, my champion)

(also hi fans of max, i am very scared about being perceived by so many of you, please be nice ❤️)

maxverstappen1 mijn hart en ziel, ik weet niet hoe ik het in het Engels moet uitdrukken maar bedankt dat je in mijn leven bent gekomen, je maakt alles een beetje mooier. ik hou van je ❤️ (my heart and soul, i don't know how to express it in english but thank you for coming into my life, you make everything a little brighter. i love you) ↳ y/nstagram maxie 🥹 can't wait to celebrate you tonight ❤️

fan hi y/n!!! glad you felt comfortable enough to come off private! we're a nice bunch i promise! (at least most of us are) ♥️ y/nstagram ↳ fan also if anyone is mean to you i will do something that puts me on the national news 🫶

fan we've only seen glimpses of her on tv, max you bagged a baddie DAMN ♥️ maxverstappen1

fan mama y papa ↳ landonorris real ↳ oscarpiastri real

danielricciardo I'M IN !!! ↳ danielricciardo WAIT YOU WENT OFF PRIV??? y/n thats so mean wtf :(

alexandrasaintmleux mon couple préféré 💗 (my favourite couple) ↳ y/nstagram c'est grâce à toi alex, je t'aime 💕 (it's all thanks to you alex, love you)

👤 y/nstagram liked by y/nstagram, landonorris and 1,386,297 others

maxverstappen1 an appreciation post for mijn liefje. being able to put up with me dragging her halfway across the world nearly every month so i can drive fast cars whilst studying for her degree. graduated top of her class (with an elective in dutch 😉). here's to you and to us. (oh and happy 11 months, i may love you a little bit) ❤️

see 10,827 other comments

y/nstagram my boy ❤️ could't have done it without your support ↳ maxverstappen1 i know, i am an Amazing boyfriend 😉 ♥️ y/nstagram

landonorris congrats y/n! knew there had to be a big brain in that ol' noggin of yours ↳ y/nstagram thanks lan! maybe i can actually teach you some french now 🤓

fan taking a long walk off a very short bridge

redbullracing congratulations to the brains of the couple! hoped you liked the gifts 💙 ↳ y/nstagram a dutch for dummies book, you think you're so funny don't you 😐

fan the flowers 😭😭😭

fan doesn't post about his championship but posts about his girl... need me a man like that

[evilminji]

You know all those Cults in Gotham?

Bet at least ONE of them could spring for both a Legit Magic User and a Cloning pod.

Because The Wayne's? Hearts of Gold. Long standing pains in the asses. Probably the only thing standing between this gods forsaken wasteland of a city and Their Dark Lord. For GENERATIONS no less!

It's sooooo obnoxious!

So they want to Curse Um dead. Just a good ol fashioned bloodline curse. Destroy um from within, etc. BUT! To do THAT? You kinda need a blood relative to sacrifice!

And Bruce is... well... rather infamously An Orphan With No Biological Kids (at that point).

So? What do you do? Make one, obviously. You send in some of your own on a Holy Mission. Honeypot that playboy! Get us a kid to sacrifice! Our God will reward you etc! But... FFS! What? Are brunettes not your TYPE or something?! Pretty lady! Throwing herself at you!!

TAKE THE BAIT!

But he DOESN'T. Because he's both really used to that behavior, as The Wayne Heir and a False Playboy, AND because? He's fuckin Batman. He can see through your schemes.

Okay.

Okay!

Plan B!

Get us some DNA. We'll CLONE the sucker. That should be doable, right?

........OH COME ON! How?!

Batman: [REDACTED] / Cultists: 0

Fuck it! This is impossible! How are we supposed too... *eyes drift over to the Wayne Family Private Graveyard* .......Idea? Ideeeeaaaa~! Someone get us a shovel!

So they, cultist bastards that they are? Fuckin rob a grave for some DNA.

OBVIOUSLY though, it can't be one of the more RECENT graves! He probably VISITS those! Watches them! No we gotta be SNEAKY! Get one a bit further back! Mwahahahaha! We're so brilliant! Our God is gonna give us SUCH a Good Grade in follower!

A thing that is both REAL and possible to achieve!

So, while a Weirdly FURIOUS Batman? Is just... VIOLENTLY breaking ALL of their bones? Cultist 17 is furiously digging like his life depends on it. Either somebody snitched or Batman was hunting them down! Either way?

Gotta! Get! That! DNA!!! *digs faster*

Ah HA! Got it!

Fucking SCATTER! Run you fools, RUN!!! *everyone bolts*

And AT LAST! They have it! Wayne DNA! Now? Pop that sucker into the machine and make us a baby! Too sacrifice! *relieved noises* Man, that was hard work you guys. But we DID it!

Except??

Theoretical Babies? And "Real, slowly forming in front of me and becoming a human child" type babies? VERY DIFFERENT psychologically. It's ONE thing to sacrifice a HYPOTHETICAL baby... but when you're the guy running and monitoring the Cloning machine? Watching it slowly form and come together into... into a CHILD?

You start asking questions of yourself. Of God.

Of what, EXACTLY, you are willing to do.

What lines you find yourself unwilling to cross.

And yeah, your life was SHIT before the cult. Yeah, you were alone. Adrift. Without purpose. Angry at the world for all of its ugliness and failings. But... sitting, alone, in a dark room? Nothing but the steady hum of machines and the cool light of that pod? You are left with nothing but time... and your thoughts.

And the baby.

The one... the one YOU made.

Almost... he's almost like a son, in a way. Your son. Floating there, innocent and unknowing. Destined to be born, only to die painfully, for a cause he could not even begin to understand. Because he's too young. Too small. Just... just a baby.

The baby YOU made.

Doubt seeps in like mist. Creeping into the cracks forming in your faith. Surely there's another way, right? Why not save up for a better magician? Or... or hire a hitman? Why involve a child? Surely... surely your God would not WANT this, right? Or if He did! Surely, he would want the boy to be able to CHOOSE, right? A noble sacrifice, for the cause?

The pressure builds. Batman is tearing the city APART looking for your fellow Believers. Leadership is pressuring you to get "It" ready all ready.

He's not an "it".

They are dismissing your questions. Threatening and posturing, as you grapple with your faith. Where? Where is the COMMUNITY that you joined? The camaraderie? Every day, Believers are being torn down. The faith has lost so many!

How can this be WORTH it?

Your faith is slowly, cruelly, strangled in your chest. A death, by ten thousand silences, and ten thousand more cruelties.

Your son is ready.

You do not tell them.

The Clone of Bruce Wayne's great-grandfather is small, but healthy, in your arms. A tiny warm body, with a strong beating little heart. You call the police. Leave your phone, call running, on the desk. No one thinks to stop you, as you calmly walk out the back door.

Why would they doubt?

You are Faithful.

You drive. Pray to a God you have lost faith in, beg forgiveness for what you do now. Your beat up old junker of a car makes decent time, as you leave Gotham. Your son, asleep in a carefully made nest of blankets, on the seat next to you. You drive. You keep driving.

Past towns.

Past cities.

Out of the state.

Stopping only to feed your son and fuel your car. You... you can not bring yourself to care about what will happen to you now. You know they will find you. Know this is the end. But something ancient burns in your chest. A caring you never thought was REAL.

You are afraid.

But you will not let them harm your son.

Finally, a town. Far from Gotham. Quite and cheerful. It calls to you.

Here. It... it has to be here.

You find the hospital. Tears choking you. There is a place to drop of children. You've seen them before. How strange, that now you stand before it and HURT. Your arms not listening to your command. You... you have to do this. You HAVE too.

He is just a baby.

He is your son.

You have to keep him safe. And... and that can not be with you.

You gently put your baby boy into the drop off. Press the buzzer. And then? You make yourself walk away.

Get back in your car, and drive. The gun in your glove box will insure they can never pry from you, what you have done. Where he is. He is safe now. He has to be. You... you did your job. As his father. You made sure he was safe.

You can barely see the road, through your tears.

You take your secrets to the grave.

And Danny? He grows up. Is adopted young and never knows different. Both a Fenton and a Wayne. Knowing only one of these, to be his. But... that Wayne? Was a damn fine man. A pillar of his community and a champion of the people.

Got tossed more then a few blessings, in his life.

They weren't the STRONGEST. But they added up. And more importantly? Were hardly the refined magics of the more powerful. They were cast onto "Him". By blood and bone, more often then not. Which was all well and good!

When there was only ONE of "Him".

Cloning technology did not exsist. So why would you word carefully against it? Danny becomes a VERY lucky boy. Survives many things he should not. In fact, the kindness and hard work of his original? Gifted back in magically powered well wishes? By this, he survives something NO ONE could possibly expect him too.

It saves his life.

His template would be quite pleased, knowing that. That his life of good deeds, saved the life of the child he never got a chance to meet. That it protected his children, from even beyond death.

And in Gotham? At long, long last. The program Bruce made in his helplessness and despair, to search EVERY child until the child made of his bloodline was found? Spits out a match.

A Watchtower engineer.

Daniel J. Fenton.

@hdgnj @hypewinter @lolottes @babbling-babull @nerdpoe @mutable-manifestation

[cbrownjc]

Thoughts and Speculation after 2x07 (Spoilers):

A lot of people have said that this moment from the Season 2 trailers might actually be caused by a fight between Louis and Armand in the penthouse:

gif credit: @hermit-frog

And I have to say, after watching episode 2x07? I think they might be right.

Because if you know the book, you know that it is at the very end of it, like literally the last few pages, where it's revealed that Louis knew the whole time about Armand's role in what happened to Claudia. And they break up.

And so I think the same thing is coming next week on the show. Only in the show's regard, Louis knew of Armand's role, as we saw here -- but then was made to forget the actual full context of just how involved Armand was.

Because, as I pointed out on Twitter, this image from the trial --

-- is quite something. You have both the writer and director for the Théâtre des Vampires not on stage for this whole thing. Very much underlying the fact that this is a theatrical play that is being put on. As we saw, there was even a real, actual SCRIPT for this whole thing!

Like, how much more could the show have been pointing to what was really going on here? Trust a writing staff of playwrights to be meta about all of this. 🙃

Because the ending of this trial was written and locked in long ago. And who is the one that usually says when a play or film is locked in and finished?

The Director. (And yes I know producers and studios do too, but Armand is very much all of that wrt his role for their little theater as well).

BTW, Santiago and the coven did NOT expect Armand to do that to the audience. Saving Louis was very much off-script. And if Armand really had no power here, the coven could have just taken Louis off stage and killed him another way. The only reason they didn't was because Armand was very much not powerless in all of this.

Like, I love Armand's character, I really do -- now. But that is something that only came about after I read the books from Queen of the Damned forward. For the first two books, I very much did not like him. And, particularly when it comes to the Paris part of this story, that is where we are with his character right now. I know why he's doing what he's doing, I understand it. But I can't defend it.

Louis probably figured things out before San Francisco in 1973. He probably knew Armand's full role in what went down, same as in the book, after it all happened. But it was his suicide attempt that had Armand redact that knowledge from Louis' mind. The clues for that being the case are all there after episode 2x05.

Because, at the end of the day, even knowing Armand's full role in Claudia's death, Louis still mostly blamed himself for it all.

As we see, things are slowly starting to come back to Louis, but he's not fully there yet. And I think this whole memory thing is a more literal interpretation of the veil that descended over Louis' mind after Paris in the books.

A veil that only began to lift once Armand revealed to Louis that Lestat was alive. As we've seen, Louis knew Lestat was alive back in 1973. I'm not sure if he does so now. But maybe this isn't about knowing if Lestat is alive or not. Maybe it's just Louis thinking he needed to be punished because of his own role in failing Claudia -- and staying away from Lestat was part of that self-punishment. Because that view is a feeling I got when watching episode 2x05 and Louis not wanting to speak to Lestat. His refusal to speak wasn't out of anger IMO, but more fear and even sorrow.

The show is very much sticking to the beats of the book with all of this, and not revealing things about what happened that were revealed in later books. So I don't think Louis fully knows what was going on with Lestat during that trial. I wouldn't be surprised if we learn he still doesn't, since he never learned it in the first book.

But as I said here, it was clear as day that Lestat wasn't himself during that trial. Physically and especially mentally. I didn't even guess that the show would be that obvious about it, but they were. All very much hinting about what was really going on with his appearance here.

And Louis himself might, just might figure that out for himself. Especially if Dreamstat might appear to be back in his mind again. Because Dreamstat is very much Louis' subconscious. And I think Louis' subconscious knows something important is missing wrt all of this.

It was nice that, at least in the end, someone chose Claudia. Madeleine could have escaped this but chose to die with Claudia instead when she didn't have to. Her little middle finger to the crowd gave me a smile.

They did not do the full reveal of Claudia's diaries and what was in them on stage, which I seriously thought they would. They gave a hint about it, but more so in episode 2x05 than in here. Which means that, in a later season, we're still looking at that reveal from Merrick happening it seems. But then again . . . there were some things I suspect got left out on purpose because the actual (attempted) murder of Lestat was very much glossed over for us, the audience, during that trial sequence. We are very much set to revisit that whole thing during The Vampire Lestat adaptation in Season 3, of course. But I think even more will be revealed about that there then I originally thought.

And finally, Claudia. They said in the Inside The Episode they wanted her to go out with as much strength and defiance as she could and yeah, she did. But in the end, I still think she was angry, sad, and hurt by it all, which she had every right to be. Because at the end of the day, she never should have been made and was made for all the wrong reasons. But being turned so young made her a fierce and pure vampire though and though because she never had enough time to have lived a human life to have those types of morals and outlooks fully imprinted on her. That was always one of Claudia's core traits wrt her being turned so young, and she still had it here. And yes girl, you will haunt things after this -- particularly your parents.

In fact, it probably very much was your voice Louis heard calling him back in 2x05, wasn't it?

So, for a penultimate episode, this was very, very good. And things are very much going to explode next week. I knew Louis going Carrie/Firestarter on the coven would happen in 2x08. That moment always screamed "season finale" to me. Santiago picking up Claudia's yellow dress is also significant, as I think we'll see Louis' POV of that moment with Lestat about it.

And the break up between Louis and Armand might just be much more violent than it was in the book as well.

[theloganator101]

The Great BNHA Review: Potential

So I'm actually gonna be splitting this into four parts and then one more wrapping up how I feel about the ending and the overall series. The topics I'm going to talk about are the following.

The potential the characters had and how Hori squandered them.

The world they live in and how things are done in society, only for nothing to really change in the end and for things to not make sense.

The morals and messages it tries to convey.

And then (REDACTED).

Anyways, let's get going with Potential.

With a cast of characters as interesting looking as they were and the glimpses of personality we saw, like Jiro thinking she has to choose between being a hero or a musician, or Shoji and mutant discrimination. You would think that with how interesting the class looks, that they would get some role in the story or their own respective arcs to expand on their characters.

Except that's not what happened.

The main focus most of the time either falls on Izuku, Bakugou, Shoto, and sometimes Ochako. So that's four out of twenty students that gets the spotlight while everyone else is regulated to minor characters who are only brought in to fights.

Which is honestly kind of disappointing because many of them look to have stories waiting to be told and can be good characters! Because I wanna learn more about Sero, I wanna learn more about Hagakure, I wanna learn more about Shoji. But now that the manga's over, that's not gonna be possible.

This is especially terrible since in the final war arc half of the fight is just fucking flashbacks to expand on some of the characters fighting when it should've been something covered earlier in the manga instead of hyping Bakugou up. It all just feels too little too late and makes things cluttered and unorganized.

And then we have the villains.

They were kind of cool when they got introduced and had a lot of potential to challenge the heroes. To really make them open their eyes to how flawed their society is and why it needs to change. They could each have an upbringing that brought them to where they are now and why they wanna join to make a difference. They could be some compelling and intriguing antagonists for the heroes to face.

... Except we don't get any of that.

What really hurts the villains in this series is how Hori tends to flip flop between making them sympathetic and their heroic counterparts wanting to save them, and making them so cartoonishly evil that the villains from the POWERPUFF GIRLS comes off as more compelling compared to them!

And it's like... pick one or the other Hori! Either they're victims of society or they're just irredeemable! And what sucks the most about this is that they HAD something going on! They could've rise from losing AFO and promise to make a change for the better! The My Villain Academia part shows how this was possible!

But instead they ended not in a bang... but a whimper. they all pretty much died in the end or confirmed to the very society that hurt them so what was the point of trying to redeeming them?

Then finally... we have the main character himself. Izuku Midoriya.

Oh how Hori utterly failed you...

You started off so promising in the first two episodes, You could've been a quirkless hero to make the message of anyone can be a hero really have an impact. You could've rose from your pain and suffering and show everyone what you can really do.

But sadly that's not what happened. You were given a quirk that hurts you, nobody really helps you with it, you're forced to work with your bully and never grow out of the mindset that he's awesome, every adult you associate with has failed you in some way, you're forced to distance yourself from your friends so Hori can have his Cash Cow Triplets, you're never really challenged in any unique way other than "just punch your problems away", and ultimate... you just became a watered down version of what you started off as with no introspection whatsoever.

I have never seen a character so stagnate in their arc and development in such a series before, only beaten recently by Vaggie in terms of just never growing or learning anything else.

Izuku really deserves to be in a story with an author that can utilize his potential to the fullest and give him the love and attention he deserves, because this series and Hori just wasn't it.

As for the Pro Heroes, they really were nothing in the end. All they can summed up as them just saying.

"Our society is bad, it's up to the next generation to make things better in the future. We need these teenagers to fight in wars because only they stand a chance compared to us bumbling adults!"

That's all that I get from them.

Stay tuned for next post where we'll look into society and how it's flawed, and what the characters do to change (not really) any of it.

[anonymousdisco]

How’d I get Isikiad into Yandere Obey Me Chapter Five: Hello Big Brother Part One

(Y/N) POV:

I crammed for the upcoming exams I had since it would be useful to get a better score. While I worked on this I had glitch fill me in on the most recent information about my relations to my older brothers.

”It seems like you are closest to your older brother Beel, but I only use closest as a subjective term. You barely interact with him. It’s a sort of ships passing in the night situation. He sees you coming into the house at odd hours of the night when he’s trying to raid the fridge. You don’t speak but at least he doesn’t tell Lucifer. He mostly ignores you at those moments.” Glitch explained to me. I groaned in my head laying my head on the desk for a moment in exasperation.

”I’ll have to come up with a reasonable explanation for being out in the middle of the night now. What would be best? Any ideas?” I asked glitch in my head.

”I don’t know. Maybe something to do with your bullies, or at least something that will make Lucifer’s protectiveness for his little sibling activate for you.” Glitch mulled over in response.

”Maybe something that will trigger both. I got the perfect idea. Thanks for the help.” I gather up my things and leave the school quietly heading for the HOL. “For now it’s important Barbatos keeps seeing me in a hard working light.” I continue to talk to glitch in my head. “For that to occur I have to make the HOL spotless as possible.”

I go to the HOL taking a couple shortcuts through alleys along my way. When I was only a couple streets away a new mission appeared on glitches screen.

**Ding** Glitches screen turned yellow as it made a noise while the mission information was pulled up.

Attention User: New Mission

Mission Level: High Priority 

Timing: 24 hours

Mission: Cry on Mammons shoulder when he gets home

Punishment if failed: Redacted

Reward: A Surprise 

”Glitch why does this mission look different from before?” I ask as I panicked internally. “And why is the punishment redacted?!”

”The system is constantly updating so appearances are changed accordingly. Major updates require I be turned off for a set period of time just to warn you. Also in order to preserve your mental health I blocked the pu ishment knowledge on this one since it was a bit… gruesome to see.”

”Even worse than the last?” I asked out of curiosity.

Glitches screen dimmed as if it was turning pale. “Waaay worse.”

”Noted.” I noticed I had stopped walking and was only standing there so I hurried home. “How on Earth am I going to be able to do this?! I haven’t even seen Mammon yet. And doesn’t he go to the Casino or clubs after school? Especially on days like today when we don’t have student council after school is over. When is he even going to get home?!”

I couldn’t help being panicked even as I tried to keep it from being noticed so Barbatos wouldn’t get suspicious of me. “I could alert you when he comes into a certain radius of the system.” Glitch offered helpfully and I almost breathed a sigh of relief.

I use the hidden key to get inside the house and stress clean everything letting my emotions show slightly since I might as well take advantage of them. Plus it would be a good set up for my newest mission.

When everyone started to get home I carefully went to my room and got out of my cleaning clothes and into my new outfit that I dug from inside my closet to get. It was a (color) wool sweater, with a (color) scarf,  jeans, combat boots, amd earmuffs. Glitch had informed me while I was cleaning earlier that Barbatos had left and stopped watching me hours ago so thankfully I had time to craft my appearance for this mission. I carefully redid my ponytails to continue to have a youthful slightly innocent look. And rubbed my eyes a lot to make them look red. Then I put on some mascara I knew wasn’t waterproof and stuck some hand warmers into my pockets. I grabbed my satchel and put it over my shoulder. I tucked a couple books in it for studying and then I made sure everything was ready on my bed. Feeling inspiration I took of my shoes and stuff and crept through the halls to the laughter I heard in the living room. I peaked my head in and saw everyone laughing. I made myself look hesitant and then left quietly acting like I hoped no one noticed my presence. Once back in my room I put everything I needed to leave again on and exited my room quietly through my window climbing down the vines I saw there letting some scratch my palms on the way down. I made sure my eyes were pricked with tears as I left through the back gate entering the woods.

Finding a nice tree I layer down in it laughing. It was almost too easy so far. Hopefully one of them saw me earlier since it could come in handy. This would be the perfect excuse for my late nights. I closed my eyes for a bit to have a nap after instructing Glitch to let me know when mammon was almost home. I winced a bit before shutting my eyes since climbing down the vines with a sprained ankle had really done a number on my leg. It hurt like crazy now but what else was I supposed to do? I couldn’t fail the stakes were too high. I wanted what I was promised, for my life to finally end.

Barbatos:

~Affection: 28.5%

“Something is off and I don’t know why. Her walking is almost a bit strange. I’m most likely imagining things. It’s a shame I have to leave so soon to take care of the young master. But at least I’ll get a front row seating to his meeting with Lucifer tonight. Lucifer has some explaining to do.”

~Relation- Fond Observer, ???

~Danger Level- Green

Danger Level Scale Information:

*0-29% = Green

*30-64% = Yellow Yandere traits begin to creep into thought 

[aventurine-official]

When Aventurine comes back to the Reverie late at night, he receives a present. There's a bouquet of blue hydrangeas, lilies and forget-me-nots in front of the door to his room. He receives a text from an unknown source. There's no way to track the sender, even with the IPC's technology. The message says:

You didn't notice, but I've been watching you for months. Only now I'm bit by bit starting to see under the surface. Your act is slowly breaking. There are cracks on your fake mask. How long can you keep it up? The truth is becoming visible to me, soon it'll be everyone around you. Be careful, gambler. You're begining to lose your game.

Ever since your arrival on Penacony, how many times have you been vulnerable in front of somebody else. Beautiful toys don't cry, have you forgotten what you've been taught so painstakingly? At the end of the day, you're not only an aventurine stone, are you?

You can't know my identity yet, but when your luck runs out and you finally lose, I'll find you. I'll be the last defense you have and the strongest one too. I hope the day is never going to come, but we both know it's close. How much longer can you last, beautiful peacock? You're not on your own. I'll be your guard.

If my findings are wrong, forget about this message.

- 👑

(NOT an anon signoff pls, don't add it)

*The blonde picks up the bouquet with sparkling eyes, smelling the fresh flowers. They're so, so pretty-- he wishes for a moment that it's Veritas who left them for him, but snaps himself out of his fantasy quite quickly. It's impossible the scholar could ever be so attentive, to somebody like him nonetheless.*

*As he contemplates how in the cosmos anybody could have known the names of his favourite flowers, his phone goes off. How strange-- he isn't expecting a follow-up from Topaz until tomorrow morning. Perhaps she's early?*

*Aventurine sighs, picking up his cellphone and unlocking it swiftly. A single notification lies in wait-- and the user cannot be indentified. The message is quite long... The gambler starts to doubt it was intended for his eyes, but the longer he reads, the more unsettled he becomes.*

*Someone is watching him? Someone who refuses to introduce themselves until his last moment? Mysterious, and a tad morbid-- he's sure he would have noticed somebody around...*

*Who is this person to judge his vulnerability? If they've noticed such things, they must have indeed been watching him closely... And yet he can't recall any of his acquaintances having this sort of tone.*

*'Beautiful toys don't cry'--The words are like a slap to the face, and the following question taunts him. Of course he hasn't forgotten-- the ink-black mark seared into the marred skin of his neck can't let him escape those awful memories even for a moment.*

*Several emotions stir inside the Avgin, and he's not sure whether to be fearful or outraged. He quickly redacts a response, his fingers trembling as he sends the message.*

Aventurine: Who are you and what do you want with me?

⚠️Your message has failed to send.

Aventurine: Is this someone's idea of a sick joke?

⚠️Your message has failed to send.

Aventurine: How do you know so much about me..?

⚠️The person you are attempting to contact is unavailable.

Aventurine: If you aren't lying...

Aventurine: I want your help

*The blonde inhales, thinking his next words over.*

Aventurine: I need it

Aventurine: If you really aren't messing with me, meet me in Dream's Edge at sundown tomorrow

⚠️Your message has failed to send.

*The gambler swipes away from the messages, the hot tears streaming down his cheeks going almost unnoticed as he opens his contact list and calls Ratio before he can think better of it.*

*He presses his back against the wall, sinking down to rest against the floor with a shaky breath as he listens desperately to the dial tone.*

Pick up, doc. Come on.

[lollystocks]

The Strange Case of Amity Park

So, the facts are these:

On April 12th, 2004, Annabelle Louise Robb goes missing during morning recess at Saleham Elementary, Illinois.

“No one realized until we were taking registration after recess, and she wasn't, just wasn't there. We were all calling for her, all over the playground- the panic, the panic actually didn't set in for a while.”

It's her tenth birthday.

Seven weeks later, another young child disappears from their bedroom, just a half-mile away from Saleham Elementary. Their name is not a matter of public record.

“We all of us in the town immediately knew something was up, that this wasn't no coincidence, cos things had been happenin’ for a while, things that made no goddamn sense. We'd been paying attention see, and this whole thing didn't start with the Robb girl, though outta-towners’d been calling us crazy.”

“Actually the curfews and all that, the paranoia, that started after little J- ahem, after the second kid. The cops needed three for a pattern, but not us.”

...

Over the next three years, a further twelve children vanish from the small town of Amity Park, Illinois, all under mysterious circumstances. No suspicious figures spotted, no signs of a struggle or forced entry, and no connection between the victims - other than that none was over seventeen.

“It was misery. Pure misery. We couldn't do anything to, to protect them. They were taken from locked rooms, from crowds, anywhere. Anyone's eyes left for a second’n they'd be gone. I barely slept those years. The whole town got sick from stress.”

Listeners might label this a classic case of serial murder or kidnapping, and officially, that's what it is - an unsolved case, of an unidentified subject taking kids.

But the official account fails to tell you the complete story.

“Amity Sheriff's Office does not provide comment on cold cases, now for the last time, please simply consult the official contemporary paperwork housed in the county library. Good day.”

“You have reached the answerphone of Amity Park Public Library. Please leave your message after the tone. You have reached the a̷͓͝n̷̪̣̾́s̸̗̎w̷̧͇̍ẹ̵̄͆͜r̶̨̬̊͝ṕ̴̢̝̓ẖ̵͛o̵͍͂͠n̸̫̍̓ĕ̵̫ of Amity Park Pu̴̮͚͝b̴̙͚̋lic Library. Please leave.”

…

Here's another fact - of the fourteen taken children, nine were found, all alive. Some within days, some over a year later. Or, as locals put it, Returned. Capital ‘R’. 

None of these children could, or would, talk about what had happened to them or where they'd been. Most didn't remember.

“I ain't giving you their names because they're sealed. You want a story, talk about the dead kids, their names are a matter of record.”

“Don't look for the Returned. Stay away from Them, trust me, and stay outta town too while you're at it. Now are ya gonna pay fer that or no?”

There are other facts, too, that aren't published with the lists of unfound children and redacted names.

Power outages. Outbreaks of violence. Unprecedented levels of crop disease; print and online media rolling to a total halt; a water contamination scandal. A vast and unspecific incident at local employer Axiom Labs, which left thirty dead, and families without answers.

“Sorry hon, the Axiom Thirty weren't, aren't buried here. We didn't really do burials during that time, as a town. You'd understand if you knew.”

…

On the night of August 24th, 2007, the last child vanishes from Amity Park. Daniel James Fenton, age seventeen, says goodnight to his family, and isn't in bed the next morning.

He remains missing to this day, and is presumed dead.

What exactly happened to this sleepy Midwestern town in the mid-noughts? Why has such a dramatic, tragic case been so withheld from the American consciousness? And what can we learn from the way the town responded to this trauma: its unnerving slip into superstition, ritual, and secrecy?

“What, you never seen blood blossoms before? I don't care if you got an allergy, you either sniff the flowers or you stay outside. And besides, ain't you [redacted]’s cousin? Did he not explain all this already? Look, jus’- wait, are you recording me?”

…

Welcome, to The Strange Case of Amity Park.

[zhoras-bitch]

Choices Spread Kindness Day 1

A bit late, but I really want to use the opportunity of @choicesfandomappreciation event to say a few words to the cool people in this fandom. Real life stuff and my own awkwardness sometimes gets in the way, but I just want everyone I've interacted on here to know that you are what make this fandom such a fun and enjoyable place. There are so many of you I could never list everyone, but that doesn't mean I won't try!

To start off, heyyy drought era mutuals and non-mutuals! The fandom was so barren when I joined, it felt like there were maybe 5 people here. But these were the 5 people who made me want to stay even through the books like [redacted] so that's how cool you are @yourqueenb @zoeywades-spouse @griffinsboyfriend @masked-alien-lesbian @choices-binglebonkus @becca-davenqueer!

Next, @gaiuskamilah love your long fandom rants, greatly appreciate your gothic romance propaganda and villain apologia. You never fail to bring up something interesting about the stories and characters you talk about, and your love for the books you talk about is contagious.

@livelaughlovecassie you are a loud supporter of women’s rights and women’s wrongs and I respect that! You’re also a sweetheart and a joy to interact with. I feel like we have similar taste in tropes and character we like, you know? You get me. 

@choicesfrog you’re a ray of sunshine. I look forward to when you come back from your hiatus so I can see your playthroughs and your OCs on my dash again. 

@princepotatosack your posts are some of the funniest in this entire fandom, I swear! I love your librarian rants, and I’m a big fan of your MCs profiles, which inspired me to make mine too.

@what-do-you-mean-theyre-evil I love our interactions, you just get me, you know? Fantastic vibes altogether.

@aallotarenunelma ayeee lovestruck days mutual! Little ace solidarity moment, I love how you explore acexuality through your characters and stories. Always so cool to see you on my dash, and our conversations always leave me smiling. 

@starlight-starfury you are so sweet and insightful! I always enjoy our interactions. Still waiting you to be 100% right on all of your Blades 2 theories.

@peonyblossom thanks for the trans Aerin hc, it lives rent free in my head, and for being an altogether joy to interact with.

@sazanes you're so supportive of every single creator in the fandom! Thank you for always making everyone here feel warm and welcome.

@itlovesinthewoods I love seeing your walkthroughs and your reactions on my dash, they make me experience the books I’ve already read all over again. You are so precious and a sweetheart to interact with! 

More people who I’ve had very sweet interactions with, I just want you to know that I think you're cool. Sending you the warmest virtual hugs @aces-and-angels @lawrencebarkley @lancelotsimp @trystanxthorne @secret-fungi @watatsumi-island

[lets-try-some-writing]

The Grim Dark Archives: Statement #003 Holoforms

[Statement taken from [Redacted] on the 11th of October 2004, one year and two months after the Autobots have made their presence known and begun corresponding with human personnel. [Redacted] has been complacent but has refrained from revealing anything that we could use against the Autobots. They have shown willingness to give us ways to ward off Cybertronians, but they refuse to give us any data that we could use to potentially cause actual harm.

No amount of bribery or convincing has changed [Redacted]'s stance. Even using our own vulnerability as a talking point failed. High command has not issued an order to force [Redacted] to give up such information, but with what we are learning, I worry that order may come sooner rather than later.

Recently a report was received from Agent Fowler that caused a great deal of concern among high command. The Autobots were seen using what they call 'holoforms' to interact with humans. They do this by using an avatar that looks like it could be a human without closer inspection. It was not explained how they gained these avatars, but recently five individuals were reported missing across the continent. This alone is not unusual, but what is causing concern is the fact that the Autobots avatars match the missing individuals down to every detail except voice and mannerism.

In light of this, [Redacted] was called upon to give a statement in regard to the situation and what it means.

Statement begins.]

══════════════════

Holoforms? I suppose it would make sense for my kin to begin using them now that they have largely adapted to your planet and overall culture. My kind have always been fond of trying to blend in as much as possible on whatever worlds and with races they interact with. Its not even required half the time, but they do it instinctually. I suppose it is because blending in decreases chances of being killed, or it might even be a side effect of the T-cog. Whatever the case, it shows that they are settling in and preparing to act more boldly.

I will begin with a bit of history before I explain everything else.

To start, the idea of a holoform was not devised until the golden age when the empire struck out across the stars. Before that age we were content on our homeworld and had no need for holoforms to communicate. However as we spread and our empire grew, we found that even our adaptation couldn't make up for the impression our frames gave. Thus we searched for a way to make speaking with other races easier when our adaptation failed to suffice.

Much like T-cogs, our holoforms are not something we are forged with. No, the ability to create a holoform comes from an upgrade given to diplomatic units, or at least it was before the war. Now the upgrade is so common as to be given to every unit able to receive it. As for what the upgrade does? It allows up to process data on organic and inorganic material through a special series of... functions that we use to understand what we are processing on a base level. I do not believe it would be wise to elaborate further-

... I do not believe explaining the details would do you any good. It's not pretty by any means-

Fine... if you must know... just be warned that its a rather touchy thing for you organic types. The last group who learned very nearly waged war over the subject. I suppose it doesn't matter much now, you couldn't fight back against my kin even if you wanted to. At full strength, they could destroy your planet's entire structure without even devoting their full processing power to the action.

Right... we have unique nano-technology embedded alongside our processors that allows us to create a replication of what we are knowledgeable on. That means when we create holoforms we go out of our way to understand every single detail of what he are trying to replicate... inside and out. We need to pick what we are replicating apart in every conceivable sense to truly understand. We need to connect to them and see how they work, what makes them tick and function.

Those missing humans? I can tell you almost exactly what happened. It is near certain that they were specifically picked out from amongst your population for their traits and for their ability to vanish and largely be unnoticed. Looking at these files, I see a missing adult male, ex military with no family, grizzled expression and a firm build who disappeared in the woods up in Alaska. That one was likely taken by the Prime. I can already guarantee he is dead. The Prime most likely picked him out and hunted him down. At that point the male was most probably taken to whatever facility the Autobots are using and meticulously tested and taken apart until the Prime had a detailed understanding of how the male functioned.

I cannot even begin to guess what they did exactly. I have never taken a holoform, so I am unacquainted with the process. That said, it would not surprise me to learn that they dug through the male's mind until they had a detailed understanding of its functioning. It also would not be out of the ordinary for them to have slowly cut the male open to examine his biological functioning. The medic quite likely drew the process out too considering the way medics function. They are odd mecha... odd and dangerous. Whatever the case, the male is dead, along with whoever else was taken. They live on as images and facsimiles of my kin who will bear their likeness until they prove no longer useful or more data is made available.

Oh yes I can near promise you that the humans taken by the Autobots suffered and endured torment no being with pain receptors should ever face. However I would remind you that your world is covered in all sorts of your kind who can and do vanish without a trace. A few of your less useful humans perished so that the Autobots will not need to tear into your more valuable ones, at least until their medic decides to run more tests.

I would personally suggest keeping your noses out of it. The Autobots have what they want now, and if you keep clear of their machinations, you should be fine. Their acquisition of holoforms will not harm you any time soon. Now if there were a few dozen bots taking on holoforms, then I would tell you to begin gearing up for war. When that happens it generally means the empire is preparing for an invasion, but as it is, the Autobots are too weak and scattered to care about your planet in any significant manner.

Keep your head down and don't say a word. That is my advice if you want to keep of the medic's operating table.

══════════════════

[Statement ends.

[Redacted]'s words... they tell us a great deal. The Autobots are a threat, that much we know. They have weapons we didn't even know of and still there is so much to be addressed. What did [Redacted] mean when they spoke of the medic? Just what the hell happened to those missing people?

...What did [Redacted] mean by invasion?

We need to ask more questions, we need to understand everything we can about these aliens if we hope to survive. Not even [Redacted] is truly safe, they are not kind, though they portray themselves as if they were. They are different than the Autobots, that much is certain, but they are not like us. I doubt they even know that with how much they try to claim to understand about us.

Agent Witwicky signing off.

Recording ends.]

[solunstell]

Notes I've taken from the first three bsd novels... brainrot included

Entrance Exam:

Dazai is a terrible driver

Kunikida is scared of ghosts

Kunikida actually makes lots of references to Christianity. From the direct quote "Let there be light" when using a flashlight to "There is no difference between myself and them. Are we not all born on the same planet, only to ultimately return to the eternal heavens together in death? O divine creator, answer me." (I say Christianity because I know for a fact that the first quote is directly in the bible)

Karen Dazai

Dark Era:

Dazai is repeatedly noted as appearing younger than he is or compared to a child by Oda

This novel really helped me understand Dazai's relationship with suicide better. The way I read it, it seems like it's not about dying but almost dying to him, similiar to the dopamine rush of skydiving or mountain climbing. This lines up with the fact that he always makes dumb mistakes that fail the attempt, something that would be out of character if it were accidental mistakes.

I love Oda's narration. A bit dry and blunt. Very fitting for his story.

Untold Origins:

Naomi's suggestions for the entrance exam all being [redacted]. Also her characterization in this novel was great. Really helped me understand how the author intended her be written in a way that wasn't as transparent in the manga or anime.

Dazai says "methinks"

Kid Ranpo's voice is compared to a chicken

He also seems to have terribly hand-cut hair

Fukuzawa plays by the rules of the secretary's maze of papers, Ranpo does NOT

Oh my god Oda my boyyyyy

I noted that he is vengeful even in his assassin days

Also kinda funny how Oda's youngest appearance in the series and one of his oldest appearances in the series are both in scenes with Ranpo. I wonder if Ranpo knew...

The fact that Oda talks down about V killing for justice is very ironic.

Also, V being after a skill-less world is very similiar to the whole Fyodor Dostoyevsky thing

Natsume owed a debt to Ranpo's father

Throughout the novel, Fukuzawa notes how bad he would be at being a leader or in power. Ironic.

He also didn't know he was a skill user until after starting the agency haha. An interesting world building question is how many people have abilities that they just never know?

Ranpo autism moments:

Not eating the mochi

Getting confused over if he was using the word granted right ("You can’t take connections like this for granted… Wait. Taken for ‘granite’? ‘Granted’? Uh…”)

Immediately calling Fukuzawa's business card and saying “Please help me, Mr. Bodyguard, sir. I don’t have a job, and I’ve got no place to stay tonight. I’m going to die.”

Fukuzawa can hear him doing this over the phone and across the cafe

Actually the phone call is a bit desperate.. this entire meeting has been a bit desperate on Ranpo's part. It feels like he is trying to reach out to Fukuzawa and practically begging for help. The most interesting thing about the phone call is that it is the most honest Ranpo is about his emotions and motives in the entire meeting, and yet, he has his back to Fukuzawa the entire call. And when he gets what he wants - when he is accepted - he turns around with a big grin.

Psychoanalyzing Egawa and being confused as to why she gets mad

You have to be exact in what you ask with him or he WILL NOT know what you're really asking

My babyyy adults get mad when he speaks the truth cuz he's smart and blunt

"What's a skill user" sweetie it's the middle of a play

Ranpo NO TALKING in the middle of THE PLAY

RANPO NO

RANPO

RANPOOOOO

He's very physically expressive

He is often portrayed as more cool and collected by fanon, but this scene of the play, although it takes place when he is younger, really shows the depths of his emotions. He is confused. He is agitated. He is angry and scared. He doesn't know how to deal with his emotions and he doesn't know how to ask for help. And he has a breakdown at a really really dumb annoyance because it tips him over the edge. Probably one of my favorite scenes for his characterization.

And Fukuzawa doesn't invalidate his feelings.

His parents raised him so well. I would live an au where they didn't die and were able to bring him up the way they planned to. I think that would be fascinating to see how Ranpo would turn out.

Ranpo doesn't look down on others cuz his mother taught him not to.

Fukuzawa dad moments:

Says he'll feed this kid he doesn't know later if he keeps talking

Tempted to tell everyone in the restaurant that the kid just followed him there

“Hear that? Those are the wails of the mochi you left behind”

Tempted to say he's only thirty two when Ranpo calls him old

Ranpo basically adopted him as his dad

"Three times, Fukuzawa told Ranpo to quiet down as he whined for candy. Twice, Ranpo wore down Fukuzawa’s patience until he caved. Three times, Ranpo asked Fukuzawa why planes could fly. Four times, Fukuzawa convinced Ranpo to keep walking when he complained his legs were tired. Four times, Fukuzawa carried Ranpo on his back."

Keeps imagining ways to leave Ranpo

When Fukuzawa lashes out, Ranpo is legitimately stunned, even shaking for a while afterwards

Using a chi attack to make Ranpo think the glasses did something lmao

Fukuzawa chewing out Ranpo for the whole plan

[an-organism]

so on ali’s motivation for [redacted under cut]

going to dragonstone - she’s trying to end the war as bloodlessly as possible for her immediate family while she has any leverage left whatsoever. there is some triaging going on, as she’s reached the point where she doesn’t think there’s anything she can do for aemond - that’s a realization that started to creep in with luke's death, continued through rook’s rest and his ascendance to the regency, and was capped off by what she saw of his treatment of helaena in e8. from her perspective he’s clearly negligent with the lives of his siblings, if not an outright deliberate threat to them, which makes it easier for her to justify writing him off as a lost cause and prioritize the others.

over the course of s2 we’ve seen her exhaust any remaining influence she previously had over aemond, larys, criston, and the rest of the small council, so once the walls start to close in she makes a last-ditch effort with rhaenyra, who’s the one and only person with any real power on either side of the war that she might have an outside shot at dealing with (indicated in part by the surprise church date a few weeks ago). she thinks, probably correctly, that she can at least convince her to spare helaena and jaehaera, but gives a solid effort at pleading for aegon’s life as well, exaggerating his injuries, her own sway over him, and his willingness to bend the knee to downplay him as a threat.

yeah it’s probably too little too late at this point, and obviously we see that rhaenyra won’t commit to sparing aegon (after which alicent straight-up leaves without agreeing to anything else, worth noting), but what does alicent have to lose here? it’s not going to get better if she waits any longer. if rhaenyra wins on her own terms, she’ll at minimum kill aegon, and who’s to say whether she stops at him; otoh if the war drags out, that leaves aemond in power as an escalatingly loose kinslaying cannon who’s doing an even better job at endangering his siblings than rhaenyra is. this way, either rhaenyra agrees to negotiate with her and she gets something out of that, she disagrees but alicent is able to plant the idea in her head and get a better idea of what she wants, or rhaenyra kills her on the spot and none of this is her problem anymore.

for whatever reason people are set on interpreting all this as either alicent being sooo down horrendous over stupid sexy nyra she forgets what side she's on, and/or condal et al just wanting to humiliate her out of spite or something? as opposed to a genuine attempt at exercising some control over the situation she’s in that necessarily involves telling rhaenyra what she wants to hear, which fails because 1) too much has happened already and 2) rhaenyra is in a very different place than she was at their meeting in the sept, what with her new cult and hot lover and subservient cuck husband and all. but what are her other options? nobody else is listening to her.

[aita-alternia]

aita for Eating a bee and blaming it on my coworker? 

i [12 indigo] am an apicultural engineedler for [a Large company name redacted]. we Provide a live software service so realtime support and updates are very Important. recently, a concentrated Effort has been made to port our old and Exceedingly convoluted network onto a new beehouse mainframework to comply with silicomb 2.0 standards and drag our Very tangled Very old codebase into the present decasweep. it has been a lot of effort over almost a full sweep, but the new mainframe is beautiful and well worth the time and will make it much easier to debug and re-bug the network going forward. 

due to our service being live, our small team of developunishers were required to supervise the migration of our bees between mainframe overday, which we turned into a little Shindig since if all went well there wouldn't be much to do once Everything was underway. one of my coworkers [14 violet] who I will call aparna for this story brought faygo for us to celebrate with [she is Not a practicing juggalo but she still talks about growing up in the church All The Time. it is frankly Quite grating. we do not need to hear again about how you chose your paint aparna you do not actually paint anymore i fail to see how it is presently Relevant. and she Always seems to talk about it louder when she notices im listening]

anyway it was getting close to migration time and Most of my coworkers were there. we opened bottles of soda and began to prep the signal drones. [not like Her Imperious Condescension's drones, these are apicultural beenary signallers that serve signposts for the queen for the interframe migration. basically Her Smaller Majesty the Hive Queen Who Makes Our Code Work needs to know where to go to get to the new mainframe but we can't move her there directly since she's too vicious to be handled directly. instead we move the drones who we can manually override and she follows them into the new beehome.] this step of the process is Usually pretty smooth. the Most difficult part is usually when the queen moves and the Entire hive follows her; the multithreading can be somewhat difficult to manage and if the beestreams begin to cross over too much, they can jam the entrances to the new beehome, causing the formation to collapse and potentially bringing down the network. that's why we have to supervise the migration closely. 

however. a Mistake was made. and it was made early. 

at some point during setup one of the signal drones was knocked loose of its designated position. i do not know how this happened [but it's probably aparna's fault. she is always making these kinds of very Small mistakes. never anything Severe but little things. annoying things. many of them.] this is usually easy to correct except that it went unnoticed and, drawn by some instinct of insects Everywhere, found its way into my soda. 

which i then drank.

i could tell the bee was in there right away, but my instinctive self defense reaction was to swallow and crush whatever was buzzing in my mouth with my Powerful esophageal muscles. so that is what I did. the signal drone died Swiftly in my throat. i was safe from the Threat of its sting - and we were down an essential component for the migration

i Panicked. i turned my head and frantically coughed up the signal drone, passing it off as the soda going down the wrong pipe. this dislodged the signal drone into my hand. i knew that if i were caught it would Not go well for me. if i got in Trouble at this job my lusus might start trying to push me toward the cavalreapers again. i could not let that happen. 

then i noticed that someone's soda was open on the table next to me. 

i invite you to guess what i did next. i also invite you to guess whose drink it happened to be.

it took some time for the absence of the signal drone to be noticed, but eventually aparna took a drink of her faygo and spat it out along with the body of the drone. it was Very clear what had happened and she took the blame for the subsequent Disaster of having to emergency patch the signal formation, as well as the debugging required to fix the resulting path collisions during the Full migration. 

aparna will be fine. our boss likes her Very much overall and is Extremely unlikely to get rid of her [i would likely have come forward by now if i had done this to Any other coworker, but aparna is in no danger and Also she deserves it for being careless and Also it was probably her who knocked the drone out of formation to begin with], whereas i would Very likely have been fired had they known it was actually my fault. however i am concerned that aparna may be on to me. she has been glaring at me even More than usual for the past few days. i have glared back as i will Not be Cowed by a juggalo - and a lapsed one at that. she'll have to do better than an annoyance if she wants anything out of me.

so. am i the Asshole?

[lahotelbellamuerte]

𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐎𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐧 - floor four. men in suits could be a kink...right?

series masterlist ! current: men in suits could be a kink...right? ! next: no body, no crime

pairing; slight five x phoenix, lilah x diego (allude) warnings; suggestive language, five hating phoenix, not proofread! word count; 6.0k notes; none for this one

NOW WE ALL KNOW THE STORY OF EIGHT HARGREEVES. She was born as the favorite, and Reginald trained her to be the best. She becomes tired of the present and decides to go into the future with her boyfriend. Five Hargreeves. The two were oh so in love, thinking they were the smartest, strongest, and best. Well, obviously they were very wrong and got stuck in the apocalypse with no way back home. The start of the very disaster of a century. 

Right back to the blonde, who has a kid, who dies because he was born with abilities he couldn't control. Just like someone we know—spoiler alert—it's Eight. For someone given so much attention, you would think she would, right? Anyways joins the Commission, and there the grand plan grows. 

Since she wasn't the one with the ability to save the universe, she went out to find the person who could. It was dear old little —REDACTED—oh, right, you can't know her name yet. Phoenix is a different version of Eight. Old lady Eight only told the small girl of what was to come, but not the complete plan. 

Now onto Phoenix, the prodigy with her abilities. Unfortunately blind, but that didn't stop her from expanding her capabilities. Practically being able to see with her strength at listening smelling and tasting, vision was no longer necessary for her.  At the age of thirteen, the young girl figured out how to jump time. Being stuck in time was fun for the girl, able to steal without a trace. And being placed on the Commission's radar became even more exciting. A fun game of cat and mouse. 

Obviously, they were never able to catch her. She was good at what she did. Even escaping the grasp of one of their most skilled agent. Five Hargreeves, who had only failed the mission titled "Phoenix's flames." 

Eventually, the girl returned back to her home timeline, hoping to live it out to old age, after ruining her age by jumping through time. A 30-year-old stuck in the body of an eighteen-year-old. But nothing ever goes to plan for the girl, as a few months later after returning a family from a different timeline is calling for her help. 

"Chrisy, you did a great job at explaining it," Phoenix called as she sat on the counter of the bar. 

"I'm so confused," Diego muttered grabbing his head from a headache. 

Five sipped on his coffee, "Shocker," he replied. 

"Well, someone killed our mothers, so we shouldn't exist. But clearly, we do exist and the universe can't handle it, which is a problem," Viktor said after hearing all that Five had to say. 

"Big problem," Phoenix and Five chorused, who turned to give each other a glare. 

The purple-haired girl then scoffed and looked off to see a kid goofing off, "Stanley! Now is not the time to be doing karate, okay?" he yelled at the young boy. 

Stanley looked back holding a pool stick and glared, "Mom said I need to practice," he replied. 

Diego paused slightly, "Yeah, well, she's not wrong. You're very bad," he added twirling a small knife in hand. 

"Well, I saved your pathetic ass," Stanley added with a whine. 

She turned to Diego and gave him a thumbs up, "Cute kid." 

Diego only gave her a mocking smile. Not being able to conclude that isn't the girl they grew up with. Now it was a purple-haired girl with blunt bangs, and tattoos. And not to mention blind. 

"Okay, hold on. Five, so we caused a paradox. What does that mean," she asked leaning against a pillar. 

The boy looked over at his sister, "It's hard to say, it's all been theoretical until now, but things have started to disappear." 

Viktor gave a confused glance, "What things?" 

Phoenix hopped off the counter, "Right now? Cows, and according to boy genius, lobsters," she paused and sighed, "But I've got a feeling it's just the start." 

Allison scoffed, "A feeling?" she asked walking then closer to the two who always seem to cause problems, "You know, you can't drag us through hell because you have an itch only an apocalypse can scratch. And then expect us to deal with the fallout," she continued only to stop right before the girl with dyed hair, "You're not the boss. 

The girl tilted her head at the voice, "Listen, Shirley Temple, I'm not the one who put you into this. You are in my timeline. So I'd pipe down if I were you,  I haven't known you long enough to feel remorse if I hurt you right now," she finished a pulse of energy coming off from her, enough to push her slightly. 

Before Allision could respond, Five pulled the girl behind him, "Look she has nothing to do with this, but I'm telling you something terrible is coming." 

"Then let's attack the sparrows, grab the briefcase and go home," she instead now leaning to glare at him and the blind girl. 

Five sighed, "This is our home Allision, accept it," he replied not noticing his grip still around Phoenix's wrist behind him. He only let go when Stanley knocked down a whole bunch of furniture. 

Diego sighed, "That's it I'm telling your mom," he yelled. 

"Ohh..." Stanely mocked as if he was afraid. 

Recognition went through Five's eyes, "Wait where's Lila?" he asked the boy. 

"Shower, I told her she could stay with us," he replied. 

Five then grabbed his coffee and let Phoenix's hand go, "Let's go Bird," he whispered. 

Diego turned, "Wait where are you two going?" 

The girl turned to face him her dimple showing as she smiled. Lifting her hand to stick her finger against her tongue and suck on it. She laughed when Diego recoiled and shivered at the sight. Watching her catching up with the other teen. 

"What did you do?" Five asked with a sigh, he was too old for this. 

The girl giggled and throw an arm over his shoulder, "Just grown-up things," she replied and removed her arm and followed him through the hotel. 

"You disgust me I hope you know that?" He said finishing the rest of his coffee and throwing the mug elsewhere.  

"Well you can't hate me, I'm the only one capable of helping you and your little family," she replied running her hands to untangle her hair. 

Then the two made it to the showers, Five pushed the door open, "What the hell are you doing here?" Fived asked. 

Phoenix looked over at the woman in the tub and laughed, "Wait your joking?" she laughed, "Lila?"

 The blonde looked over at the new face and recognized her, "Well if it isn't little firebird," she sounded, "What are you here with the Perv for?" 

Five rolled his eyes, "Don't flatter yourself, Lila. I like my women a little less likely to kill me in my sleep." 

"Ugh I'd kill for a bath, but Lila darling, you could talk to him about what none sense," she replied and started the water on the other bath, throwing in soap bubbles. 

Behind her, she didn't even realize Lila throwing a knife at the boy she had come in with, but he disappeared a few feet in front of her. Not caring she lifted her shirt and bra above her head, not missing the lingering eyes of the teen in the corner. 

"Are you seriously getting naked right now?" he yelled doing his best to avoid his eyes at the girl, but that was a mistake as her body distracted him. Lila appeared behind him and slammed his head on the mirror next to him. 

Stepping into the warm water she sighed, "Yes, I'm filthy, plus you can handle whatever this is," she called out and watched as Lila stuck out her leg and kicked him right in the stomach. 

"Whoo! Go, Lila!" Phoenix called shaking the water to create more bubbles around her. 

Five fell to the floor when Lila kicked him in the face, but he grabbed a towel near the tub, wrapped it around his elbow, cracked it, and began choking her. 

"Whoo go Five!" she yelled again now having popcorn in her hand as she watched the very fun fight. 

The blonde began gasping for air as he held her tightly, and she blinked and grabbed the knife she had thrown originally. Came back to him and attempted to stab him in any way possible. But he was able to get a hit and he slammed his palm against her chin. Grabbing a tray to protect himself from being stabbed. Straining he pushed back and was able to throw it away altogether. 

As they continued their hand-to-hand, Phoenix couldn't keep her eyes off them. God did she miss good fights after she came back to her timeline. After throwing soap and kicking her in the face she tapped out. 

"Alright enough," she said picking up a towel, "Why are you here with the worst shithead ever?" Lila asked Phoenix who was enjoying her soapy bath. 

She shrugged, "He found me," she replied as she scrubbed her neck and arms. 

Five rolled his eyes, "As much as I love your little reunion, we have bigger concerns," he said. 

Lila rolled her eyes, "Yeah? Like what?"

"Remember the grandfather paradox?" Phoenix called out from the tub. 

Lila finished tying up her towel and looked at the two, "Well, I read the training manuals that you read," and paused to look at the purple-haired girl, "And you stole, why?" 

"Because it's happening," he replied seriously. 

Lila clicked her tongue and looked over at Phoenix, "Is he being stupid?"

The blind girl shook her head, "Nope, little number is not." 

"Hand over your briefcase. I need to go to Herb and find out how he let things get so cocked up," he replied seriously not being able to believe the two women in the room knew each other. 

"Hand me my knickers over there will you?" she asked and pointed to the bath the girl was currently near. 

As he threw her the clothes, he realized there were two cases, "Lila why is it that you have two briefcases?" 

She rose her brows quickly, "One is yours, nicked it from the Sparrows. Go on give it a go."

Five put one of the briefcases down as he turned the other and tried to travel. Feeling panicked he picked up the other and attempted the same. Just to get the same result of the machine powering down. 

"This can't be happening," he whispered, "The odds of one of them failing is in the millions. But two of them..." 

"Astronomical, yeah," she replied with an indifferent tone, already gone through the whole disappointment, "So, what does that mean exactly? End of the world?"

He shook his head, "Much worse apparently," he paused and looked over at the girl behind him, "bath time is over Bird, we all have to work together." 

"Shit," Lila and Phoenix chorused in agreement that they didn't like Five. 

Phoenix sighed and stood from the bath and stepped out, "Hand me a towel, hmm?" she asked Five who was the nearest, and looked up to avoid the naked body of the girl. 

Lila couldn't help but smirk as he reached walked over to one and walked backward with his arm holding it. God this man truly was made to love every and all forms of Eight. 

"Thanks," she replied securing it around her chest. 

The three made their way towards the exit, Lila coming out first. 

"Lila?" Diego called out when he saw her exit the bathroom.

"Hm?" she asked seeing Stanley and Diego. 

He walked closer to her, "You need to take this kid with you," he tried to say then watched as Five stepped out with briefcases, "The hell were you doing in there?" 

"Bathing," Lila replied not caring. 

Diego rose a brow, "Together?"

"Diego, that was your name right?" A new voice appeared making his eyes grow even bigger as he noticed her towel as well, "we don't have time for this, we have got some important shit to do," she replied as she pressed herself to Five's back peaking over his shoulder. The three started to walk away. 

Number Four was confused once again, "Both of them?" he whispered to himself, "Woah wait what's more important than family?" 

"End of the world," Five and Phoenix chorused. 

Walking to the elevator, "Do you not have any more clothes?" Five asked her as he hated the fact that only a towel covered her. 

"Why does it make you uncomfortable?" she asked stepping into the elevator that opened. 

Five shifted, "Yes actually." 

"Why? You've seen your wife naked, haven't you? What is the difference between my tits and hers?" The purple-haired girl asked not caring about others seeing her naked, "Well actually mine are pierced but the same difference." 

Five turned to look at her with a deadpan, "I was married to hers, not yours," he paused, "I respect that you are a different person than the woman I married." 

Phoenix shrugged but didn't reply and waited for Lila to join in the elevator, "Harsh, babe, harsh," the girl whistled, then leaned in, "You still love him." 

"Shut it Bird," Lila said with a roll of her eyes, ignoring the laughs of the girl in the elevator. 

She crossed her arms and shrugged, "Oh! I should get us clothes now for the end of the world! I'll get to you!" before any of the two could tell her to wait she was gone with a crack. 

Five sighed, "I forgot she could do that," he said softly with a roll of his eyes. 

Five Pheonix couldn't help but get him a three-piece suit. She had the liberty to choose what to get him. The small black vest that hugged his waist was her favorite piece. Just roll up the white sleeves and he was set. Plus the black slacks and shoes she chose were great. Not to mention she had a thing for suits, but we won't go into that. 

"You look hot in the suit, not going to lie, old man," she muttered as she watched him button his vest, well his silhouette looked attractive. 

The teen boy rolled his eyes and ignored the purple-haired girl. 

Lila had a more laid-back type of situation. Getting her back into her favorite boots, a pair of grey skinny jeans, and her green jacket layered above. 

Now, let's hear Phoenix out...she's in the land of the free and couldn't help but channel the inner cowboy in her. She wore a burgundy long-sleeve rolled up to her elbows and a cute tight little brown leather vest, straight black jeans that went over her now brown cowboy boots. Oh, do leave out the brown belt, with a thick silver buckle with a phoenix design on it. 

As the three settled into a small tight closet, five couldn't help but roll his eyes at her outfit, "You couldn't have chosen something more normal?" 

The purple-haired girl scoffed, "Oh old man, I'm in the land of the free, I need to dress the part." 

Lila laughed, "Oh did I miss you little Firebird," she said rubbing her hand over her fringe, "See this is who I expected your wife to be." 

Five paused his actions to look at her then Phoenix, "What? Stupid?" he replied with a smirk looking at her.

"Har har, eat shit old man," the girl replied with a lift of her middle finger towards his direction, instead continuing to help the grouchy old man. 

Then Lila held a battery charger, handing him the last of the clamps. as he was the only one that could do it. At least that's what Phoenix made them think. 

"Ready to hot-wire this briefcase?" Lila asked and looked over at the nervous five. 

The purple hair girl dug into one of her pockets, and brought out a bag of popcorn, "Light him up Pitts," she whistled. 

Turning the dial sparks flew all around the room as he tried putting his powers through, but to no avail. He rather squirmed in pain as he did so. 

"Ah, shit!" Five wailed in pain as the shocks continued to go right through him.

All the while the two women in the room laughed at the sight. Finally, the cocky man feels pain. 

Slamming against the wall he couldn't handle the pain, "Lila!" he continued groaning until he let it go, grabbed a towel, and tried to put out the fire. 

"Truly wonderful, can't believe Old Lady Eight was married to this," Pheonix muttered feeling the heat in the room as she munched on popcorn, "Yeah, had a feeling that wouldn't work pops." 

Five glared over at the two amused women, "Well, I'm glad my pain amuses you." 

Lila snapped and nodded, "You have no idea, It's like my therapy."

"I just personally don't care," the teen girl added lifting herself to sit next to Lila. 

Closing the door behind him he glanced at the two, "Well, now we are down to one-half dead briefcase, and my jumps are only accurate up to a couple of minutes. So, essentially, we're screwed," he told them pacing up and down the hall. 

"Maybe, maybe not," Lila said taking the popcorn from her dear friend and eating one with a smile. 

The purple-haired girl shook her head, "Naur, the last time you gave me a smile like that I ended up in some dragon wasteland!" she hissed. 

Lila shook her head, "No I mean Five is pathetic as you know," she offered as the two looked over to glance at the boy, "But you have powers like no other, with your help all three of us could get there." 

Five scoffed, "Are you telling me all this time she could jus—" 

Phoenix lifted her finger to his lips to shush him, "—now, now, love, the adults are talking," she paused then turned to face Lila again, "You barely trust him as it is—"

"—He killed my birth parents," she interjected with a raise of her brow. 

The teen nodded, "She's right," he informed the new girl. 

"And your entire family stood by while the greasy Swede put a cap on the woman who raised me," she added staring sadly. 

Five then lifted a hand, "The Handler was going to kill you, Lila. In fact, she did kill you and my wife, the person who somewhat cared about you. Then I rolled back time and let the meatball do his work," he began explaining to the blonde, "And if you're leading Diego on as payback for what happened in Texas. Trust me I have the very right to do that too, but he may actually love you and was just pissed you kept him on a leash." 

Phoenix leaned into him, "What did Diego do?" she whispered. 

Five sighed, "He slept with my wife, don't worry I beat the shit out of him already," he replied as Lila thought about what he had said, "Come on Bird, you might be a use for me," he said and grabbed her wrist once again. 

Tears brimmed her eyes as she was told the long-time coming truth, "What do you know? You got your wife killed," he retaliated hoping to hurt him just as much as she was hurting. 

As Five was dragging the blind girl he paused and turned quickly toward Lila. His brows furrowed in anger, "Do not talk about Eight that way, you don't think I blame myself enough without you telling me that? I loved her more than you will ever know," he hissed stepping close to the blonde. He was fuming at the thought they couldn't fix the timeline, but bringing up Eight was a sting he never thought would be possible. 

Pheonix frowned from beneath her glasses, her hand subconsciously moving to his wrist, not realizing the teen stopped in his tracks. 

"This is insane. There is no way we're gonna get past this to make it to the Commission," she said shaking her head, knowing the two would only bring back more painful memories each time. 

The purple-haired girl then moved forward and pushed the two apart, "Alright I get that you two will never get to trust. But how about think of it as honest lovely hatred," she finished with a sigh looking at both of them, pointing towards the room they were just in. 

The two former Commission assassins paused and nodded, "Great now let's hold hands and sing kumbaya," she finished and walked forward to open the door, not forgetting to grab their hands and pull them in. 

"Y'know I still don't get how you can see if you can't see," Lila then asked as the three shuffled back into the room. 

Phoenix snorted, "I like to call it seismic sense," she started, "Every breath, sound, and step I take let out these sounds or vibrations, that lets me 'see' perse," she finished and let their hands go and began plugging stuff into the wall. 

"Okay now the both of you relax, especially you Firebird, we don't need to end up at the beginning of time," she told glancing over at the purple-haired girl who just shrugged. 

Five sighed in disgust, "I can't. Your breath is terrible," he huffed. 

Phoenix gasped and smacked his arm, "Five that's rude!" 

Lila laughed at the two, "First of all garlic is for winners," she paused and looked back at the machine, "Enough foreplay!"

Five shook his head, "This is stupid," he sighed then gripped Phoenix's hand as her other held Lila's. 

"Alright, you two are about to feel what true powers look like," the blind girl laughed. 

The Ex-Commission employees began powering up as Phoenix's hands began glowing. What tripped Five out was the color, unlike his wife's, hers was a dull red snaking around his and Lila's arm. He thought she was kidding when she said they would feel it. But the minute the case began crackling he felt a heavy weight on his arm. The power that surged through him felt dark and heavy, nothing like Eight's. 

"It's starting!" Phoenix called as she felt all of time course through her veins, "Oh it feels so good!" 

Five glanced down at her and noticed the cracks of glowing yellow on her skin, "How is this enjoyable for you?" he yelled as he was straining himself along with Lila. 

One second they were in the library, the second the three zapped through time and landed in a heavy snowstorm.

As Phoenix landed, she fell forward, hands landing on the soft snow. Feeling the cool air on her face as the harsh cold winds blew on it. She couldn't see, all the noises and the soft ground made everything look so grainy, "I can't see anything!" 

Five looked over at the girl to see her staring forward in panic, "Here give me your hand!" he yelled over the storm, he then watched her move her hand around in panic, "I can't see dipshit!" she hissed. 

"Right! Sorry!" he yelled and moved to grip her hand, "Thanks Lila, now we're in the Ice Age!" he yelled angrily. 

The blonde looked around and shook her head, "Shut up and turn around," she said gripping her body in hopes of keeping warm. 

The time travel turned and looked at the destroyed building, "The Commission," he whispered looking at its state. Then he moved to follow a laughing Lila towards the building. His hand tightly gripped Phoenix's hand who stumbled through the snow blindly. 

"So this is what it's like to not see!" she yelled over the storm, her hand moving to grip his forearm, "Don't think that I like you one bit," she said over the snow. 

Five huffed, "Trust me I know," he said walking quicker and pulling her along. 

The minute they stepped into the building the girl detached herself from him. Touching a wall momentarily, "Ha, this place went to shit," she huffed feeling all the ruined building. 

The three looked around at its ruined state, "I was just here, how long was I bloody gone?" Lila asked nobody really. 

Five sighed, "It seems the Grandfather Paradox, is affecting everything," he said putting the briefcase down. 

"Even places out of time it seems," Phoenix muttered, her hand touching the old railing by her. 

Lila looked over to the girl, "Is that possible?" 

Phoenix shook her head, "This is just a few of the images Eight showed me when she visited," she said moving her finger to adjust her glasses. 

Five moved to pick up the suitcase and felt a rumble, "Bird watch out!" he called as he saw the falling ceiling. 

But it never reached her, the pieces all like sand fell above her, "I'm invincible Five," she said turning to walk up the steps. 

"Yeah that's what my wife said and she's dead," he mumbled walking after her. 

The purple-haired girl scoffed, "Yeah, well I'm not Eight," she huffed. 

As the two continued to walk over the piles of rubble, Five walked into the infinite switchboard. He turned the dial to get any type of broadcast, "Do you see this?" Five asked the girl standing behind him. 

"I can't see anything dipshit," she muttered with a roll of her eyes. 

"There's been a rip in the space-time continuum. It's swallowing everything. Oh, my sweet Dot, Iris, Josh from accounting, they're all gone...." Five turned the dial to speed it up, "I've tried everything! I don't know what else to do. The timeline is collapsing. This is...the end."  His voice ended and yelled as he disappeared. 

"That's great because you and your family came here, everything I know of will end," she sighed crossing her clap. 

Lila then showed up, "I could kill for some scrambled eggs right now," she said walking in. 

Phoenix looked over at her, "Y'know I haven't eaten, we should get lunch after this," she said with a smile. 

Five rolled his eyes at the two, "Shut up both of you. This is bigger than the timeline and your hungry stomachs."

The blonde rose a brow, "What's bigger than the timeline?" 

"The entire universe my friends," she replied stuffing her hands in her pockets, "I should've got myself a jacket," she mumbled the rest. 

"Missing dogs, people...It's the opposite of the Big bang," he said looking at the two, "Instead of the universe expanding, it's now collapsing in on itself." 

Lila nodded and snapped, "Like a prolapsing rectum," she replied quickly. 

Phoenix snorted at the answer, "Oh god I missed your stupid answers, Lila," the girl replied then walked off as she got a sense of deja vu. 

The Founder...Find them. Was the voice that echoed in her head, the familiar voice that she had met all those years ago. Her feet carried mindlessly all to follow the visions and whispers in her head. Not realizing the dark red energy following her around. 

As she made her way toward the halls, she couldn't help but lift her hand to her chest. Her heart felt heavy as it pumped faster the further she went into the collapsing building. 

Five and Lila moved through the building, silently they became more worried when they couldn't hear or see the blind girl anymore. The worse part had to be the glowing cracks on the wall forming on the ground and walls. Almost as if leading them to where they needed to be. 

As Five walked through the door he gasped at the sight, "Jesus christ Bird, what is happening with you?" He asked walking towards her, pulling her arm so he could see her face. 

"I feel fine," she said, "But I think I found what you were looking for," she added looking back at the door. 

The time traveler sighed as started sweating, reaching his shoulder and beginning to scratch the feeling. The feeling felt all too familiar. 

As Lila got denied access to the room she looked back at the two behind her, "Jesus you're sweating like a dodgy shrimp," she motioned to Five squirming with the collar of his shirt, "And you are spiraling Firebird, your red is everywhere." 

Five rolled his eyes at the statement, he had an idea of what was wrong but he didn't want to believe it. Instead, he moved forward to try and scan his own eye through the device. 

"Y'know if it doesn't open, I can always blast it open," Phoenix offered. 

Lila laughed, "Firebird you can't see around you right now, but you are already causing something to collapse," she answered her arm over her shoulder. 

The large mechanical door chimed, "Access Granted," the female voice called. 

The three watching—Phoenix felt—the large door slide open to reveal a large room with marble walls, with smoke falling from its' sides. 

"Well this room is big," the purple-haired girl called out walking directly to the small table with liquor, "Nice to know dear Five is granted here." 

"That's him huh," he paused to put the book down, "The Founder," he sighed, walking to follow Lila who was watching the man in the glass. 

Phoenix followed close behind with a whole bottle, "It's odd," she simply said taking a swing of the drink. 

Five furrowed his eyebrows from the odd words coming from the blind girl. The sight of the old man confused him even more, "It can't be," he paused. 

Lila rose a brow, "What's wrong?" 

The teen paused as he continued to theorize why he was there, "It's me." 

Lila began laughing as the purple-haired girl spit out her drink. 

The purple-haired girl wiped her mouth, "You're telling me this old fossil is you? The founder of this place? Your employees sent to kill me for years?" she rambled as she joined Lila in her laugh.  

Oh, the irony. 

"No way," Lila cackled, "This whole time you've been complaining about the Commission, and you're the one who founded it. Classic!" 

"If I did, I have no memory of it," he replied still confused about what was happening. If this man founded it, wouldn't Eight be a part of it also? He refused to do anything without her by his side. So why wasn't she here?

Taking a swing of her drink Phoenix snapped her fingers, "You know what's weird," she mentioned and paused stomping her foot, "I've never forgotten anyone I've met, and this fossil is one of them," she said then looking ahead. 

Five snapped his head toward her, "You mean me? I'm the sam—" 

The girl lifted her finger to cover his mouth, "—You may be the same, but at the very same time you aren't." 

He smacked her hand away from his face, "The only reason I know it's me is because of Paradox Psychosis, but in here I can't feel it." 

There was silence for a while before a breathy low voice spoke, "We were never too bright were we?" the voice began, eyes opening to glance over at the three, "The operations bunker is paradox-proof. I constructed it as a panic room in case of a collapse in the time continuum. In this room, all permutations of yourself can exist. You must be here because of um Kugelblitz." 

At his words the girl swallowed another dunk of liquor, "Shit," she muttered. 

"What is that cheese?" Lila asked confused. 

Five flickered his eyes to Phoenix at her response then back at the old man, "It's German for 'ball of lightning,' it's an extra kinky kind of black hole." 

Lila frowned, "The kind that can suck up entire timelines," she mumbled glancing at the old man. 

"Bingo," the man muttered. 

Five sighed, "So, how do we fix it?"

That's when Phoenix remembered him, "You don't," she answered for an old man. 

In her youth not only had she been visited by Eight Hargreeves herself, warning her about what was to come. But years later, Five Hargreeves the very man came to tell her one mission. Do not help me when the day comes. Let the Kugelblitz take it all.

 Five's eye twitched at the response, "What do you mean by that?" he hissed towards her, "And you created this, so you must have a solution," he finished glaring at his older self. 

And in harmony, the two chanted, "All that will be left is oblivion," they whispered. 

The time traveler didn't like this one bit, why did Phoenix out of all people know what was happening? Was she a part of this? Could she be the answer to repair the timelines? He didn't listen when Lila asked, as his eyes were training on the purple-haired girl who looked ahead. 

Bumping into something the case opened and showed his missing arm and tattoo on his chest, "This is what you have coming," he said. 

"Listen to me, you ass. I have no idea what you told Birdy here, but I just spend the last 20 days running around saving the world from apocalypses, only to keep trying to save the world. My wife die at the hands of my adoptive father. I'm stuck in a teen body, hormones raging," he muttered angrily at the old man, "And all I wanna do is go out and buy a 1970's Corvette Stingray."

"Five I'd take it easy on the old man," Phoenix tried to say calmly, moving her hand to his shoulder. 

But his crazy eyes blared at her, "Bird this is between me and myself, it's bad enough you look like my wife, so shut up," he hissed and look back at the man, "Now, this Kugelblitz, it is not some tiny leak that we can simply fix by patching a couple of pinholes. It is a giant trash compactor that is grinding up the universe and consuming it whole," he continued to slowly hiss into the face of Older Five, "So tell me..how do you stop it!" he pushed out harshly. 

Older Five paused and looked over to Pheonix, the girl with the circular glasses covering her eyes, "Whatever you do," he began but choked for a minute, "don't save the world," he finished his eyes rolling to the back of his head. 

The purple-haired girl clicked her tongue, "Well his heartrate is gone, I'm assuming he's dead?" 

But that obviously didn't register with the teen beside her, "Five!" How do I fix this?!" he yelled hoping that the man wasn't actually dead. 

"Again, no heartbeat, I have extremely good hearing, I would know," she added with a huff. 

The teen had a confused look on his face, he didn't know what to feel at the moment. Everything about what was happening felt like a lie. This couldn't be happening, he was supposed to fix the timeline, and get his wife back. Not just for himself but for all of his family as well. 

Sighing and shaking his head at the dead man, he glanced at the woman in the room, "Can I have the room?" 

Phoenix frowned, "I don't really think it's a good idea—" 

The teen closed his eyes, "Bird, please, just listen to me this once," he asked looking in her general direction. 

The girl scoffed and waved her hand, "I'm leaving on my own accord, not because you told me to," she added grabbing Lila's hand on the way out. 

But as she stepped out her head began to throb. Letting out a sharp breath she fell to the floor the ground shaking and trembling as she did. 

Her surroundings all shifted and she saw herself younger self by the ocean.  In her old school uniform, and behind her stood a tall man in a suit. 

[autisticempathydaemon]

[M4F] Inside the Mind of Your Goofy, Nervous Next Door Neighbor

Tags: [Vanilla] [Internal Monologue] [Silly] [Pining] [Masturbation] [Speaker Orgasm] [Stream of Consciousness] [Mental Ramblefap] Mentions of [Athlete] [Shower Sex] [Creampie] [Sweatpants]

Type: NSFW

Tone: silly, casual, occasionally insecure

Setting and SFX: Inside your head, so possibly a slight echo?

WC: 1,280, ~11 - 13 minutes

Author's Notes: Yeah, Geordi of Redacted Audio fame was a big inspiration for this; how could you tell? /t

[Knocking, footsteps] I’m coming! Hold on, hold on, let me get some pants on! I’m-

[Door opening] (startled) -coming! Hey, neighbor! How are- how are you? What can I do for you today?

Oh, shit, is that mine? The new Amazon guy must have dropped it at your door instead of mine. It was so nice of you to bring it over.

[Awkward laugh] (Trying to be funny and failing) You didn’t open it and look inside, did you? I’d hate to have to swear you to secrecy or else.

[Pause]…because it could have been a, you know, sex toy or disembodied finger or…

…something awful or…

(Weak) It’s underwear.

[Laugh] Yeah, let’s say that I just woke up. That explains why I’m sticking my foot in my mouth, absolutely. What about you- just finished a morning run?

That’s so cool. I’ve always thought about getting into it, but if I had to run in circles by myself, I’m pretty sure I’d bore myself to death.

[Laugh] (Flustered) You’re so sweet to invite me out running with you, but I’d hate to be a bother and slow you down. In fact, you probably want to get to your own apartment and shower, and I’m keeping you…

[Pause for realization] (Even more flustered, rambling) -which is not to say you stink or anything! Or that you look messy! I just imagine you’d want to get clean after exercise, you know? You actually look amazing, and you probably… smell…

[Groan] (Abashed) See what I said about the foot in the mouth?

You planning to do just that only helps a little bit, but I appreciate the attempt. I should let you get to it; I’ve kept you long enough. Thank you again for bringing this over.

Yeah, maybe I’ll see you later. Have a good shower!

[Door closing, pause, thunk of head against wood, internal monologue begins] “Have a good shower”? Really? That is not a normal thing to say, man. You don’t end a conversation with your drop-dead gorgeous, hotter than the sun neighbor with “have a good fuckin shower”.

How should I have ended that conversation?

I don’t know, dude, some normal way like “bye”. Like “have a great day”. Like “I bet you smell so fucking amazing. Please let me kiss you and find out whether I’m right”.

Maybe not that. Don’t tell the beautiful girl you think about how she smells. Also, don’t tell the beautiful girl that she brought you your underwear. That’s weird.

Why do I think that’s weird? Everybody wears underwear. She wears underwear. I wonder if she has the pretty, lacy kind or maybe something skimpy and red-

[Thunk] This. This is why we’re weird. This is why we still don’t know her number or her type or her name, because we keep thinking about her underwear and because we just bought super Mario boxer briefs with little 1UP mushrooms on them.

Ha, if we keep thinking about her in lingerie, we’ll have mushrooms in our pants and on them.

I’m going to do the world and her a favor and become a hermit. I am a problem and god’s punishment to women and a dipshit. This is why I’m single. This is why-

Is that the sound of the shower starting next door? Fuck, that means she’s naked on the other side of the wall- naked and sweaty and bending over to peel the leggings off her body.

I want to lick the sweat off her neck and shoulders.

That’s weird… but also really hot. Am I into that? Is it the sweat or the idea of the sweat dripping down the skin of her neck and between her breasts, down her stomach?

[Groan, optional schlicking and moaning begins] Pretty sure it’s the breasts. I wish she weren’t showering over there. I wish hers was broken so she’d have to come over in a towel and borrow mine like in that video last night. God, if you exist, could you make my life a porn set for just one day- just long enough for the girl of my dreams to borrow my shower and say we should share to save water?

I bet her voice is so much better bouncing off the shower tiles than through the shitty, thin walls.

That’s gotta be why people are so into shower sex, right? Why else would they risk the slippery floors and rapidly cooling water?

I’d rather fuck her somewhere softer, quieter- somewhere like this couch. I’d love to sit her down after a date and talk, get to know her, get to touch her.

God, I’d love the opportunity to take her out on a date, go around town with that gorgeous fucking girl on my arm. Even better, I wish I could make her dinner, have her sit across from me like she lives here instead of next door, like she belongs here.

If I took out for dinner and a drink, I could see her in that dress and heel combo she wears out on Friday night sometimes. That’s really tempting, but if I made her dinner, I could see her cozy and comfortable, and god is there anything cuter than a cozy, sleepy, beautiful woman?

If she was over here in those patterned sweatpants that sit on her hips like a halo on an angel’s head, I might just propose.

Better yet, she could be here naked- naked and under me and soft and warm and wet and letting me touch and spread her thighs, letting me pin her hands by her head so I can grind against her and slip inside-

Or I could bend her over the arm of the couch. I could spread her open, bury my face and tongue in her pussy, show her how good I could make her feel, find out if she’s a squirter.

Shit, wait, no, then we’d make a mess on the couch.

Who the fuck am I kidding- I couldn’t care less. She’d be a gorgeous fucking mess under me, and I could make a mess of her, cum on her ass and watch it drip down her skin.

God, those thighs looked so goddamn good in her workout gear today, thank god for Lululemon.

Her mouth looked even better. I’m surprised I managed to talk to her when I was just thinking about how kissable her mouth looks- and how fuckable. She’s always beautiful, but I bet she’d be even more beautiful with her lips wrapped around my cock, cheeks hollowed, spit dripping down her chin. I’m pretty sure if I saw that and looked her in the eyes, I’d cum right down her throat, and Jesus, that would be so hot.

It’d be hotter if I came inside.

(Nearing climax) I’m so right; if I got the chance, I’d have to cum in her, fuck her sweet and close, missionary-style first. That way, I could wrap her thighs around my hips, dig my nails into her waist, feel her breasts pressed against my chest, her arms around my neck, and her lips next to my ear, moaning and sighing and saying she loves me-!

[Orgasm, deep breathing in the afterglow, pause] (Chill, drained) Fuck, I am down bad. That was sappy, man.

[Cleaning up, moving, wiping, etc.] Get her number, get her name, have a normal conversation with her, and then we can start thinking about her telling us she loves us, you absolute dipshit. At this rate, she’ll never want… to…

[Pause, groan- the post-nut clarity] (Aghast) Fuck, she asked me to go running with her. Fuck, she was flirting! I’m an idiot!

[that-one-random-writer]

Chasing you Chapter 6 {Complete}

Summary: Jake retires from the military honorably. He steps into a new roll, ready to settle down in his hometown of Texas. He is placed on your shift. Your current relationship is stable until the dust settles, revealing cracks in the foundation.

Warnings: Cursing, violence, police experiences based on truth, accurate on most accounts of law enforcement, it might get gory at times. Be aware of blood, drugs, and all things law enforcement. Smut eventually. A/N may have my true experience attached if you're interested. All real names redacted.

Chapter 1. Next Chapter. Masterlist

Jake sat on the couch of the back patio, grabbing a toothpick from the pack on the table.

You sat in the chair across from him. "Why did you let me stay over?"

Jake sat back, situating his body. The air was still warm enough that his skin didn't feel too chilled in the growing darkness of the night. "I asked my mom about you when I got back home." He paused, looking at the back pasture that had his horses galloping around. "Our parents have been friends for a while. She said I could trust your family, so I figured that would extend to you."

You looked back at the horses playing. "Yeah, Nessie started his visits a few years after high school when I moved out. Mama got pretty close with Mrs. Ophelia for a while. Recently, she's been a little distant, though. Mama was worried she did something wrong."

Seresin looked down to his hands. He rubbed his palms together. "No, your mom didn't do anything. Mom has been going through a hard time. She hasn't even been talking to me or my sisters."

"Bless her heart. I am not going to ask for details. Im assuming your dads mess has something to do with it. Is she okay? Can I do anything?" You asked kindly.

"She will be. She's a tough woman. There's nothing I can think of." Seresin looked back out to the pasture.

"I'm gonna get her a gift basket together from the family." You pulled out your phone and wrote it on your to-dos. "You know ophelia talked about you a lot with my mom. I never got your name, though. Small world that we work together now."

"What all did she say?" His chest raised up with pride. Knowing ophelia, it would be all good accomplishments acknowledged.

"She said you were top of your class at the naval aviation academy, and you were awarded for your heroism against the enemy, and you had an award for Afghanistan combat." You smiled remembering how proud ophelia was telling your mom over a sweet tea front porch meet up the morning before a family dinner a few months back.

"Stop..." Seresin's signature smirk grew into his cheeks. He leaned his arm back behind his head. His toned body on full display. "Well, you know I did a few things." He failed miserably at being humble.

A laugh chimed from your lips. "Yeah, I bet you did."

The sun had gone down, and the stars peeked out with only the full moon casting dim light. Colder air blowing in.

Your phone rang. "Hey honey."

James was on the other end. "Hey, where are you? I haven't seen you all day." You cringed remember the guilt that was sitting in your chest earlier. Conversation was so easy with Seresin that it made you forget the world around you.

"Sorry, honey. I went to a friend's house to sleep, so I wouldn't bother you playing your game." You hated keeping details. It was the worst, but this called for it. The fight was not going to be here over the phone. The guilt set in further as you looked back at Jake, flipping the toothpick in his mouth so nonchalant and hot... no handsome... no, like a nice-looking friend. Your brain did flips, trying to rail itself back on track. "I'll be home soon. I love you, bye. "

James screamed at his TV again. As he clicked the end call. You squeezed your eyes shut, not wanting to face what was your reality at home. No more screaming at the TV and certainly no screaming at you. Fear seeping in realizing what you had done in your desperation to sleep.

"I'll take you back. Just let me ask, why are you with this guy? Dont give me the practicality crap." Jake heard the yelling, and seeing the reaction on your face was not pleasant.

"H-He stayed with me through cancer. He was at every treatment. He helped me live when I was really sick." You just threw it out there. You couldn't hold it in. The pain of hearing Jame's voice with his selfishness of the gaming while you slept pushed you into an emotional war. You wanted things to be good with him. They just weren't. You could see it. You knew everyone could see it. "He was such a good man. I don't know what happened. If he can stay with me through cancer, then I can stay through this rough patch. He will get better. I just have to give him time."

Seresin leaned up. He grabbed the toothpick from his mouth and flicked it into the grass. "Fair enough. I hope he figures it out soon for your sake."

The truck pulled up next to your car. "Thank you. Really, I mean it."

"You're welcome. You can stay anytime and as long you'd like. I really mean that." You opened the door with a nod of acknowledgment.

Your mind fought your body to hug him. You pressed on, walking to your car where you were safe from urges. His truck left.

You sat thinking for a moment. "He's just a good friend." You willingly convinced yourself. You stopped in the restaurant and grabbed dinner.

You got home sitting on the couch and set up dinner. "Hey honey. You go back to Kennedys house?" He knew Kennedy, and he knew that there was nothing to worry about.

"No, I was at a family friend's house. He is on shift with me and Ken now." You spoke. You never lied no matter how much shit you would get.

"He? Which family friend?" James didn't hide anger and assumptions well.

"Jake seresin, ophelia's son." You answered.

"The military guy came home?" He questioned.

"Yeah. He is Ken's new trainee." You prayed using Ken's name to vouch would lighten the blow.

"Why didn't you stay at Ken's?" He began interrogating.

"Kennedy wasn't going to be home, and his mom was there with her friend at the pool." You defended.

"Then why didn't you just stay here?" His voice began to raise.

"Because James," you matched his volume. Throwing the stupid salad on the ground. Venom spewed off him name. "You wouldn't turn the TV down, I had to roll Greg's dead body over on the pavement my knees were covered with parts of his brain, not that you fucking cared to ask, and then I come home finally get to sleep and you're screaming about headshots to the damn TV."

"I wasn't home to ask. How was I supposed to know that? Then you just come home from whoring around with this Jake guy and I'm just supposed to be cool with it because I was playing a game to relax from my hard night. I had four people call in sick. I had to run four extra positions... Not that you fucking cared to ask either." James screamed.

"I wasn't whoring around. I went there slept, ate and came home. I can't fucking believe you'd think I would do that to you."

"Is he gay?" James asked abruptly.

Your teeth clamped together. "What?" Your knuckles turned white against your sides.

"You heard me! Does he like a dick in his ass? Does he bat for Kennedy's team?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask." You held your arms out.

"Then I don't want you over there." James fumed. "When you're painting each others toe nails, talking about your door ringer celebrity men, doing whatever shit you do with ken. Then you can go, but until that happens, it's not okay."

"You're fucking ridiculous, and rude." You yelled and walked out. You grabbed your phone calling Ken. Tears spilled. "Ken, I need drinks are you busy."

Kennedy's deep voice came through the speaker. "Marilyn... I'm at home you can come over. What's wrong?"

You got in the car and drove the few miles to his house. "I fucked up."

"You didn't..." He trailed. "Did you sleep with Seresin?"

Your scoff was very dramatic. "No. I just went over there and slept. James is accusing me of it though, he basically made a fucking rule I cant go over there."

"Rules were meant to broken Mar. You know I can ask if we can go over to Seresin's I'm sure he would have us over for drinks."

"No, he's right. I don't need to go over there. He's a single man, and I am a taken woman. I need to respect him. I am pissed he put a rule down, but I understand why." You sighed.

"Suit yourself. I mean I think he's a great guy. He doesn't seem like the type to break that boundary. Not from how he was talking the last few shifts."

"Did he say anything about me with james?" You parked your car ending the call walking up to the door opening it.

"Come in..." Kennedy laughed at his sarcasm. "He said some things, but I'm not a snitch."

"Damn it, ken! Why did you let me go over there?" You held your arms up.

"No, I only suggested it because I couldn't have you over, you needed sleep, and I trusted that he wouldn't do anything. He didn't say anything intimate or misogynistically gross. Just that it was a shame you were in a relationship."

You groaned throwing a pillow at him sitting down on the couch. "Liam Kennedy!"

"Okay chill. I got it, Seresin is now on my shit list." Kennedy chuckled.

"Not funny." You threw another pillow. Throwing your hands in your face to cover the embarrassment.

"So now what, your man's all jealous of Seresin?" He sat up on the couch.

"Yeah, I guess so. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe now he will try harder." You looked over at him through your fingers.

"Don't go playing with fire, Marilyn. You know that's what got you killed with our scandal." He joked about the conspiracy of Marilyn Monroe's murder by the government after the Kennedy affair.

"I'm not going to play with fire. I'm just playing the card you so graciously handed me." You rolled your eyes.

Kennedy sighed. "He is really hot, though. Those uniform pants..." He trailed, widening his eyes at the thought of Seresin's tight ass. Literal and figurative.

"Kennedy I'm not doing this..." you trailed.

"It was fine when it was that guy on A shift." He defended.

"He didn't cause an argument at home." You tensed.

"I'm just saying the man is ripped. I can tell from his arms. The sleeves look like they are holding on by a thread." He kept prodding for information.

"Oh he is." Your mouth was faster then your brain.

"I fucking knew it, you sly bitch. What happened, tell me everything..." He bit his lip sitting back knowing he had you cornered.

A/N: No one knows about Kennedy like that except your boyfriend and family. This is for the story's sake only, nothing further involving the job.