#Deliver-E van

[ladysparrow01]

"Her spirits still continued very high, but there was a flutter in them which prevented their giving much pleasure to her sister, and this agitation increased as the evening drew on. She could scarcely eat any dinner, and when they afterwards returned to the drawing-room, seemed anxiously listening to the sound of every carriage."

Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility.

[smuthospital]

🎃⭐️Texas Chainsaw Massacre x reader⭐️🎃

Art by: Minilev

Premise: You go hiking with a friend and this bitch has the audacity to leave you alone. You end up hitchhiking with some hippies, but their van gets a flat! Oh no! Good thing there's a farmhouse nearby. Maybe they can help

Note: I had this in the drafts for awhile. I decided to whip it out for halloween. Enjoy. Say one thing bad thats not constructive criticism and its a block. Tired of these fucking kids smh. Also, imagine everyone with a soulthern accent

-Dr. Smut

Minors DNI

Warning: Non-Con, side charicter death, mentions of gore, kidnapping, fem reader

"So uh..thanks for picking me up." You say with a nervous smile. You refrain from coughing as the strong smell of marijuana floods your nose. Right now, you're in a classic 70s Volkswagen van, hitchhiking through Texas. Your friend convinced you to go backpacking with her, but a quarterway through, she ditched you to continue the trip with her new boyfriend. Some junky she met at a gas station. You can't exactly turn tail and go home because she took the car, and stranded you in the middle of nowhere so, you had no choice, but to catch a ride with some hippies.

"No prob, sweet cheeks. Anything for a pretty lil' lady like yourself." The driver looks back at you for a moment and winks. You think he may like you. You cringe slightly. "Eddy has a crush on you! Ain't that right, Ed?" A girl next to you wearing a tie-dye crop top pokes Edds back a couple of times. "Well, who wouldn't?" He chuckles. You play with your fingers nervously. You've been driving along a dusty, desolate path through some empty part of Texas for a while now. You've always been perturbed by the idea of Texas. Americans and with their guns and hot temper and all. It seems you may have watched too many scary movies. You haven't seen a soul for miles, let alone a house, just tall grass and more tall grass.

The car suddenly jolts and you're all jostled around. The girl sitting next to you clings to you as the driver slams the brakes. You gasp for air, your heart pounding a mile a minute. "Huh!? W-what the!?" Edd shouts before hopping out to investigate. You cautiously slip out the back and join him. Edd lifts a spiked wire. It's still stuck in the now flat tire. "Some asshole must'a dropped it here while delivering somethin'," he says as he drops it back on the ground. It popped the back tires. You pull out your phone. No service. Of course.

"Do you have any spares?" You ask, hoping to get out of this creepy place. "Unfortunately these are the spares, sweet cheeks." He sighs. "Weren't you supposed to buy more, Ed?" Ann shouts from the window. "This is no time to argue! We have to get help!… Look, There's a farmhouse right there. Let's hope someone's home." He says, walking towards it.

You hesitantly follow them to the creepy house. "I'm gonna check the farm, you two knock on the door." Edd doesn't give anyone time to respond before he walks off. You walk up to the front door and Ann knocks. You feel like you're being watched. You shift from foot to foot nervously. A few minutes pass and no word. Not even a sound. "What the? Where's Edd? If no one was home, he should be back by now!" Ann looks around. You begin feeling incredibly anxious. "Let's go find that idiot," she says and walks off quickly, you follow behind her. You can't leave her to do it by herself so you agree. You walk over to the farm and see…the gate open.

"H..hello?" You call. "E-Edd?"…No response. The two of you cautiously walk into the house. It smells like wood and iron. You see a red smudge on the wall…weird. This is getting scary. "Ann…I think we sh-" You're cut off by a blood-curdling scream from Ann. You quickly go over to the open doorway she's looking at to see a horrific sight. Edd has been cut to pieces. You hold back bile in your throat and grab Ann. "Let's go!" You shout. She snaps out of her trance and follows you to the entryway, only for the two of you to halt in your tracks.

Standing there is a giant, his hulking frame filling the doorway. He's the scariest thing you've ever seen in your life. A mask covers half his face, and in his arms is a chainsaw. You make eye contact with the beast and scream. Ann yanks you deeper into the house, hoping to find an exit. The man follows you, hot on your trail. You see a back door and try to open it, but it's locked. Cassie then barely avoids losing her arm as she dodges the giant.

He hasn't tried to attack you yet. You grab a chair and smash it through a window. You pick up a plant and throw it at the man, who cornered Ann. He's completely unphased, but pauses and looks at you as if to warn you. You toss his warning to the wind and jump on his back. "Ann, go!" You scream. Ann runs towards the window but stops when another man shorter than the man you're currently on top of, smashes a hammer onto her head.

You hear a crack and she falls to the floor, limp. "Ann!" You cry. Your body was then slammed to the floor by the hulking, chainsaw-wielding psychopath. You whimper and crawl backwards. You hit a wall and he lifts his chainsaw towards you. You're thankful It's turned off. You close your eyes and wait for death. You feel the blade lightly touch your collarbone…and then gently move down between your breasts and to the junction between your spread legs…he rubs your thigh with the chainsaw lightly, as if thinking. You look up at him in confusion. He tosses the saw to the side and grabs your face in his large hand. He tilts your head from side to side, examining you.

"Think she's pretty, Tommy?" The man who just attacked Ann asked.

'Tommy', the giant holding your face grunts and nods. You're horrified. Does this monster think you're pretty? "Yeah, I agree, Tommy. Good thing you didn't turn her into dinner… though, I don't think you were gonna. You had your eye on her since their car landed in our road trap." He laughed. Trap!? This was all a setup!? Did he say dinner!? Your head is spinning.

Tommy looped his bur waist arm around your waist and hoisted you up, placing you on his shoulder like you weighed a small sack of potatoes. "H-hey! What are you doing? Put me down!" You shout, pounding your hands on his back, but it doesn't even look like he knows you're hitting him. You hear footsteps and look up to see an old woman looking over at you. “P-please help me” you whimper. She smiles down at you sweetly.

"Well, I do say, you sure found yourself a sweet little thing. Ain't that right, Thomas.” The hulking figure above you grunts in agreement. You cry as you realize she has no intention of helping you in the least. “She has a pretty voice too…Take care of my Tommy, girl!” She warns, glaring down at you. “Tommy. Get'er to pop out a few farmhands, will you?" All blood drains from your face. They…want you to…what? Tommy carries you down into a dark, creepy basement. You almost puke. You see dead bodies hanging from hooks and dismembered limbs and bones strewn about….is that Edd? You're carried down a hallway and into a room. The room is empty besides a dirty mattress in a corner. He throws you on the mattress and begins to undress you immediately.

You scream and try to stop him, but he's just too strong. "P-Please stop!" You cry. Tears flow down your cheeks and you hiccup. Tommy leans down and wipes away your tears, not calming you in the slightest. He strips you down to your bra and panties and takes a good look at you, drinking up your body. You can see the lust in his eyes. He grunts in excitement and removes his bloody apron. You curl your body up and hide yourself from him. He softly strokes your cheek and hugs you like you're a teddy bear. He's oddly gentle, but you feel he's losing patience. He taps your shoulder a few times, silently urging you to show yourself to him. when you don't, his taps become a little harder. He grunts in annoyance. He presses himself into you, trying to get closer. You feel his hard cock through his pants and try to shuffle back.

He grunts in frustration, yanking your arm and knees apart, forcing your body to reveal. You need to do something!…" Please,… don't hurt me, Tommy" He only stares into your eyes. You can see emotions swirl in his eyes before he lets go of you and stomps out of the room. Looks like he's giving you time to cooperate. You bring your hands to your face and sob. You look up. You have to get out of here! You hope to god you can do this. You get up and tip-toe towards the door as quietly as you can. You slowly open it and slide it open just enough for you to fit through, which proves to be quite difficult as it's very heavy. You don't know how the monster did it before.

You continue to quietly make your way down the dark hallway, missing the dark shadow to your side. You try not to look around too much at the carnage before making your way up the stairs. You find the window you previously broke now boarded up. You take a deep breath, preparing to make a run for the front door. You haven't heard anyone yet so you think you're still in the clear. You make it to the front door and just as you're about to try and open it, your body is slammed against the wall, your breath knocked out of you. You cough and groan. You feel dizzy. You look up to see Tommy staring down at you with a look of anger. Was he waiting for you to try to escape?

You grit your teeth before lifting your knee to knee him in the crotch, but he anticipates it and grabs your leg, lifting it. He makes space for himself between your legs and lets his large hands roam your bare midriff and up to your breasts where he proceeds to rip off your bra, revealing your chest to him. You whimper in pain and try to hide yourself, earning yourself a shove into the wall, banging your head slightly.

The corners of your eyes go dark for a few moments. Your head stops spinning when he leans down and slides his tongue up your cheek. His other hand reaches down and roughly grabs at your clothed cunt. He makes sounds of excitement once again. Saying you're terrified would be an understatement. You feel his fingers cup and wiggle around down there, not knowing what to do, but liking the feeling of doing it.

You again try to shove him off as best you can. He grunts in annoyance and moves the hand previously on your chest up to your throat. Your whimpers and please turn into choked gasps and gurgles as he squeezes. He gets even closer and you can feel something hard rub against your lower stomach. "Get her, Tommy, get her!" You hear from behind him. He grunts in response and tears off your underwear. He brings it to his nose and inhales. His eyes roll back a bit as if smelling the most heavenly scent imaginable.

You now realize he's probably never held a woman before and he's completely deprived of any sort of warm human touch. "Common, Tommy, gimme that! You get to have her, the least I should get is her undies!" His brother pleads. Tommy contemplates holding the small bit of cloth in front of him before tossing it back, which his brother catches and desperately presses to his face, moaning into the fabric like it's an oxygen mask.

Tommy grabs your hair and begins dragging you back down to the basement. You scream in pain and grab onto his hand for any relief as you're forced to the ground. "No! Please! Ahh Stop!" You cry out. He drags your naked body down the blood-crusted steps and makes his way back to the room you dread. He tosses you onto the mattress once again. By the time you manage to get up on your knees, you hear a clinking sound and turn to see him undoing his belt.

You crawl into the corner as he gets on his knees before you, his shadow casting over you. He unbuttons his shirt and lets it fall off. You now know that trying to inflict pain on him is futile. Muscles that scream he could crush you like a soda can. Not only is he as big as a fridge, but he also looks like an off-season pro wrestler. You can see a very prominent bulge struggling to free itself. The size of the tent itself is intimidating.

His eyes lock on yours as he slowly unzips his belt and frees his aching cock. You look away and feel his weight settle on the bed closer to you. You can feel his heavy breathing on the side of your face. He grabs your legs and yanks you beneath him, positioning himself at your entrance. You feel his bulbous tip rub up and down your folds. "Please…" Your eyes widen and you trail off as your eyes lower to what's prodding at your cunt. You want to look away, but morbid curiosity wins. It's almost unbelievable. His cock like himself, is too big. It's long, very thick and veiny. It looks like a beer can. You can just tell he's smiling under his mask.

He slowly pushes the tip in. You try to scoot back, but he grips your hips with his massive hands and pushes forward, but fails entry, seeming too big. He grunts in frustration. He tries again, this time managing to push the tip in. You scream. It hurts so bad. "No, y-you're too big!" you gasp, squirming in place. He holds your hips tighter and continues pushing forward, impaling you on his cock, all the way to the base.

Your mind blanks. You're unable to think cohesively. You're in so much pain. He lets out a groan of pleasure and doesn't wait for you to adjust to his size and just starts moving. It feels like your organs are moving around to accommodate his massive size. You look down to see a large bulge in your lower stomach. You whimper and groan as he thrusts. "W-why?" You croak. He looks up at you before lifting your knees, pressing them to your chest and leaning on you. Your eyes roll into the back of your head as you feel him push deeper into your womb, the tip of his cock threatening to push through your cervix. He nuzzles his face into the side of your neck, cooing softly to you affectionately while playing with your hair as if to say 'I love you'.

You cry beneath him, moans being forced from your lips as his hips plow into yours. Tommy grabs your breast, rolling the nipple between his fingers. You can hear him making happy sounds of some sort between grunts. He suddenly picks you up and gets off the bed with you in his arms, skewering you on his cock. He raises you up and down like a human fleshlight. You uncontrollably moan into his shoulder. His hands grope your ass as he starts to force you up and down faster. It feels good. You can't help but feel shame.

He grunts loudly and forces himself as deep as he can. You whine as you feel a rush of hot cum flow into you. Rope after rope, he fills you up. You feel so hot inside. Your stomach bloats from the sheer volume he fucked into you. He pants and looks at you, rubbing your cheek with his. He slowly lifts you off his cock, cum pouring from your abused cunt before setting you down on the mattress. He covers you with a thick warm blanket and brushes your hair from your face, stroking it with his thumb lovingly. If you knew this was gonna be a one-way trip, you would've brought some pillows.

[black-fist-order]

A little black history for ya'...!

In late 2011, Prince Rogers Nelson walked into Capitol Guitars, a modest music store in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dressed in dark shades and an overcoat, he browsed quietly, barely speaking. The staff recognized him instantly but chose to respect his silence. He pointed at a few guitars, asked about the tonal difference between maple and mahogany, and then paused when the owner mentioned a recent conversation with a local teacher. The teacher had said that students at Anwatin Middle School in Minneapolis were losing access to their music program due to severe budget cuts.

Prince nodded slightly and left without purchasing anything.

Three days later, a delivery truck arrived at Capitol Guitars. Prince had returned but not to shop. Instead, he gave the owner a handwritten list and a simple instruction: “Everything on this list, pack it and deliver it to Anwatin.” The list included guitars, drum sets, violins, keyboards, amps, microphones, and recording equipment. When the owner asked if the instruments should be marked with a donor name or message, Prince replied, “No names. No credit. Just send love.”

The delivery created confusion at the school. Teachers and administrators at Anwatin Middle School had no advance notice, and the delivery slip listed only a phone number that led to a private voicemail. Music teacher Kenneth Simms opened the shipment, stunned by the quality and quantity of the instruments. He assumed it was a mistake. It took several days of asking around and comparing handwriting on the note that came with the shipment before a staff member connected it to Prince, who had visited the store days earlier.

When a friend later asked him about it, Prince said, “That’s between me and the kids. Not for headlines.” He declined to make any public statement or appear at the school. According to Minneapolis-based journalist Jon Bream from "Star Tribune", even the school district wasn’t formally notified. They only learned about the donor’s identity after teachers pieced the story together.

Those close to Prince knew his silent generosity wasn’t a one-time impulse. During his early years growing up on the north side of Minneapolis, he often spoke about the importance of music education. His mother, Mattie Shaw, was a jazz singer and heavily involved in the local music scene. Prince once said in a 1999 interview with "Ebony", “If I hadn’t had access to a piano when I was seven, I don’t know who I would’ve become. Music wasn’t a hobby, it was a lifeline.”

Former bandmate Sheila E. recalled in her 2014 memoir "The Beat of My Own Drum" how Prince frequently funded youth centers and music camps without telling anyone. “He believed in giving kids a chance to create,” she wrote. “He didn’t want applause. He wanted them to play.”

At Anwatin, the new instruments transformed the energy of the school. Simms recalled how students began coming to class early just to practice. A hallway that once echoed with silence after the final bell now hummed with guitar riffs, drumbeats, and laughter. “We didn’t just get instruments,” Simms told "MinnPost" in 2012, “we got hope.”

Store owner Alan Geller, who kept the receipt from Prince’s bulk order tucked in his office drawer, shared later that the musician didn’t even ask for a discount. “He said, ‘Charge full price. They deserve the best.’”

For Prince, who had often used his wealth to quietly support causes tied to youth empowerment, the act wasn’t about visibility. His friend Van Jones later commented during an interview with "CNN", “He believed that if you help a kid find their rhythm, they might avoid chaos. He never needed a stage for that.”

The donation never became a national headline. There were no photo ops or ceremonies. But in a city where music had once saved a young boy from the streets, it was returned, quietly, to the next generation. Prince gave them music when theirs had been taken away and never asked for anything in return...

[russellsppttemplates]

I thought you didn't want to tell anyone (Charles Leclerc)

It appears that the Leclerc family is growing

Note: english is not my first language. I got this request from @myheartgoesvroom a good while ago and I finally had the time to write it!

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

my masterlist

Tw: mentions pregnancy symptoms, feeling sick, being bothered by warm temperatures/heat

Tag list: @myloverjk-blog

"Are we all ready to go?", Charles checked with everyone inside the jet, seeing the nods and Charlotte, Lorenzo's girlfriend shrug her shoulders, "I slept funny last night, it's just tiredness", she said, closing her eyes and resting her head against the seat, "I'm going to sleep for a little bit".

Charles told the pilot they were ready, sitting next to you in the three seater, his mother sitting next to you on the other end, "I hope you are all going to take this time to rest", Pascale looked at all of you, "if I see any of you checking work e-mails, I'll swat your phones myself", she chuckled, seeing Arthur shake his head and Charles grab your hand in his, "if I see you in your phone, I'm locking it", you threatened, "you need to rest, amour, this season has been pushing you too much", you mumbled, kissing his cheek as Carla started talking about something she had seen on the news.

When you arrived at the airport, it didn't take long until you were in the van that was taking you to the hotel you were staying in, "well, these are some winding roads", Carla said, opening the window to get a little bit of fresh air, "we're nearly there, miss", the driver smiled apologetically, "but it is true, these roads are not the the weak".

"I'm usually fine, but motion sickness is bothering me a lot today", she muttered, taking big and deep breaths as she looked out the window, "it's that one there right? Looks really good!".

The check in was done seamlessly and everyone was given a card key before you headed to the villa, the staff members that helped you with the luggage also explaining a few of the amenities and how the services worked for you since you were staying in a villa and not in the hotel building.

"We have to go see about the rental cars, and the boat, too", Charles put his hands on either of his brothers' shoulder, "which one of you guys want to come with me?".

"I'll join you, and we can stop by the supermarket to get some snacks, yes?", Pascale suggested, grabbing her bag as the boys grabbed their wallets, "do you need us to go?", Charlotte asked, "no need, chérie, they can go and get the cars and we'll do the shopping. Go rest for a little bit, yes?", Lorenzo said to his girlfriend, kissing her forehead and leaving the three of you to unpack.

"The rooms are all pretty identical. The suite is bigger and has a bigger balcony, but they all have a bathroom", Carla pointed out as she opened the door to exemplify, "it has a bigger bed, but Charles will sleep glued to me, it's not like a bigger bed would make much of a difference", you blushed, "so if any of you guys want it, go for it. Or we can leave it for Pascale", you suggested, seeing the other two girls nod and go to each of the smaller rooms, leaving the one closest to the suite to you and Charles.

The room was decorated in a minimalist way, tones of white, beige and light brown complimented by the sunlight coming from the window to the balcony. While the girls unpacked, the boys and Pascale got back and discussed the plans for dinner.

"I can get them to deliver the food to the door, no problem", Charles said as Charlotte admitted that she was hoping for an early night, her headache still bothering her, "we just have to set the table and they'll bring anything we want", he showed them the menu, "I'm not picky", you said, "but if they have that local dish, you know the one with the chicken we had last year in that restaurant? I'll have that", you said to your boyfriend, getting up and heading to the kitchen with his mother, hoping you'd be able to find all the cutlery, cups and plates that you needed.

When the food arrived, everyone helped set it up in the table, "I'm just going to wash my hand quickly and I'll be right back", Charles mumbled, kissing your cheek as he held out his hand that seemed to have some sauce on it.

.

The first full day began with a walk along the beach since you wanted to get to know the area and Charles didn't mind joining you, walking hand in hand along the wooden decking, "it's really warm today", you pointed out, fixing your cap and adjusting your sunglasses, "yes, last year wasn't so warm, right?", he said, "it's a good thing we always have the time and the opportunity to come here year after year, specially as a family.

"They won't say it out loud, but I know maman, Lorenzo and Arthur, and girls, too, they consider you family already. The guys specially, I think they've always considered you part of our family and Pascale Leclerc herself has never failed to mention how much you and I were made for eachother since I was old enough to understand what that meant", he kissed your knuckles.

"I'm very grateful for that, I'm very grateful for you", you whispered, almost like you were telling him a secret even though you made conscious effort to let him know how much you loved him and cherished him everyday, not wanting him to ever entertain the idea that you didn't feel those things towards him.

The walk was going well until the heat started getting to you, "can we go walk along the water, please?", you caught Charles' attention, "I think it's getting a bit too warm for me, I'm nearly tripping over my steps", you giggled as Charles pulled you to the warm sand, "do you want me to carry you? Get some water? Look, there's a bar", he pointed, walking with you to the beach bar and getting a bottle of water, "here, amour", he handed you the bottle.

"I think it's the heat", you blushed, "and I admit I could be more diligent about my water intake", you admitted, holding Charles' hand in yours and pulling him towards the water, the freshness from the water in your feet helping you cool down.

Walking back to join the rest of the group, you noticed Charlotte in the water with Lorenzo and Pascale while Carla and Arthur stayed in the sun loungers, "I see Charlotte is feeling better, that's good", you smiled, arranging your towell and laying down on it, "can you reapply my sun block, please?", you asked Charles since he was still up.

"Sure", he grabbed the spray bottle, rubbing the product on your skin, "and are you feeling better?", he asked, "I think my mother always has a hand fan with her, I can go a look for it in her bag", he offered.

"Are you feeling okay?", Carla checked, emphasising you, "I'm fine, just bothered by the heat, I was not made for these temperatures", you chuckled.

"Oh, I just remembered that really hot summer in Monaco where you had to stay inside because the heat outside made your face go tomato red in less than a minute!", Arthur teased you, "Hey!! I was about eleven, I was going through puberty and, like I said, I wasn't made for these temperatures", you added, "Carla, if you want to to hit your boyfriend for that one, you have my blessing".

By the time the rest of the group came back, lunch time was approaching and you made your way to the villa, deciding to make something for lunch since you had the fully equipped kitchen. The boys were on the grill and Pascale was seasoning the fish, "you have to make sure it's properly cooked", Lorenzo explained to his younger brothers, assertive that no raw fish would end up on the table, "do you guys need help? Y/N is just finishing the salad, Carla went upstairs and Charlotte also went up to wash the salt off of her skin".

"She's okay, right?", Arthur asked, the worry in his voice noticeable, "I think so, yes, she said something about cream for her shoulders, I think", Pascale quirked her brow, "her skin was slightly red when we walked back here", Charles pointed out, still not convincing his youngest brother as he walked upstairs to check on his girlfriend.

"I don't want that towell, I want this one", Carla stated, swapping the identical towells on top of the sun loungers after everyhting was tidied and you decided to spend the afternoon by the pool, "sure have that one", Arthur smiled charmingly, "do you want anything else?", he asked her, "I can go and get if for you", he said as he saw her negative nod, moving to the lounger next to her, "I'd like a beer, actually", Lorenzo called for him, "then you can get up and go get it yourself, brother".

.

After you arrived back from dinner, Charlotte went upstairs so she could rest, Lorenzo excusing them and wishing everyone a good night before they went up, leaving you, Charles, Arthur, Carla and Pascale in the outside area, sitting in the sofas as you talked about the plans for the next day, "are we still up for the boat?", Charles checked.

"Do you feel better?", Arthur asked his girlfriend, rubbing her shoulder, "yes, I told you it was just the road. I'm not used to winding roads like that, not all of us can be fine at all that speed and turns and bumps", she nudged her boyfriend, "are you sure? We can just sit it out", Arthur insisted, "I'm fine, Arthur, let me go on the boat with my favourites. You'll also be there, but that's a pain I have to deal with", she teased him.

By the time Pascale asked for your intake on something, you were already asleep, holding one of the pillows, "Oh, bless her", she smiled, catching Charles attention to your figure, "I should take her to bed", he stated, getting up and storing his phone on his pocket.

"How do I...", he mumbled to himself, trying to find the best way to move you to the bedroom without waking up, "you can just wake her up, Charles, like usual", Pascale noticed her son's dilemma, "she needs her rest, she's... she needs all the help she can get from now on", he said, sliding his arm around your back and the other under your knees, successfully holding you safely against him, "Good night everyone, see you tomorrow", Charles said lastly, heading to your bedroom.

When he laid you down on the bed, you stirred a little bit, opening your eyes, "hey, beautiful, I did my best not to wake you up", he cooed, softly touching your cheek, "you can go back to sleep, amour, here", he nodded, taking his t-shirt and shorts off before laying down next to you, pushing you to lay on his chest, "have a good sleep, my loves", he kissed the top of your head.

.

"Are you sure you're okay?", Arthur asked Carla again for what felt like the tenth time in the thirty minutes they had been on the boat, "if anything feels wrong, you tell me and we will go back to the port?", he nudged, "yes, amour, I will tell you", she told him, looking at you and silently questioning if you too thought this was a bit much, her quirked brow showing her own confusion, "he's just being caring, I guess? It would be worse if he didn't care about you", you reasoned, grabbing your bag and finding a spot to lay on.

"I have your water, amour, to make sure you actually drink more that the average for a little kid", Charles said, walking to meet you in the deck with two big bottles of water, "I have ice cold and room temperature, depending on how you're feeling", she smiled, sitting next to you and placing a tote bag down, "I also have snacks if you get peckish", he said, "we just had breakfast, Charles".

"I know, but of you get peckish, it's okay, it's normal, so you have your snacks here if you want them", he added, laying on his stomach as his arm wrapped your body near your waist, his hand rubbing small circles and shapes on your tummy.

.

"Lorenzo just called me to check if I was okay. Am I being inconsiderate if I think this is too much?", Charlotte confided with you, "don't look at me, Charles suggested I sit this paddle game out 'and take the opportunity to rest, amour', like that's not what I have been doing", you reasoned, seeing Carla walk in with a pharmacy paper bag, "Arthur asked someone from the reception to bring me this, and then he texted me saying that 'they're safe' for me. Isn't medicine safe anyway?", she took a box from the bag, "those are anti-sickness pills", Pascale recognised after reading the box.

"We all believe something is wrong with them, don't we?", Charlotte was the first to point it out, verbally you soon after found out, as Pascale shook her head as he laughed, "something has been wrong with them since this holiday started. I know I raised attentive boys, but neither of them have let either of you out of their sight, I mean, yesterday I heard Charles tell Y/N that he was going to use the bathroom and he would leave the door semi open so she could call him if she needed anything", Pascale offered, seeing you roll your eyes, "that was true, I was hoping no one heard it", you blushed, "no worries, the walls are not that thick, chérie, and Charles didn't exactly whisper either", she rubbed your shoulders.

"So they're treating us like we are made of porcelain and no one knows what is up with them?", Carla asked, "a couple of nights ago, Lorenzo told me he would wait until I was ready to tell him", Charlotte shrugged, "I just let it slide because I didn't know what he was talking about and, honestly, I was closer to dreamland than I was to here, so I didn't pay it too much attention".

"What would you tell him, though? And it seems like they haven't talked about whatever is going on between them either. Was it something they saw?", you reasoned.

"We have to try and think like they're thinking so we can figure out", Carla said, "a hard task at hand considering how they think", Pascale retorted.

"They've been very caring with us, more than usual, and it's each one of them with each one of us, and not with you", you pointed to Pascale, "do they think we're ill? We're not mad at them, right?", you looked over, "so, it's, like a health thing, something that requires changes in the long run and- Oh no", you pitched in, sure that if you were a cartoon, the light bulb would be lit up on top of your head.

"I think my card is not working properly, I'm going to the front desk to see if they can sort it out or give me a new one", you informed Charlotte and Carla as you closed the door before you. When you went to the front door to grab the towells one of the staff left there, you weren't quick enough and let the door close, and when you tried to ring your card in, it didn't work.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience", the man at the front desk apoligised, "it's okay, these things happen. Thank you again, have a good day", you smiled at him, grabbing your new card and walking back to the villa.

The house had three big bedrooms, the suite, a big living area connecting the kitchen to the living room and the outside was even bigger. You had direct access to the patio where you had a big table and barbecue area, as well as a pool and a big garden with a small gate at the end that led to the beach. Overall, it was the perfect place for you to spend your holiday and you had been looking forward to spending time with family.

You were taking in the view and enjoying how the warm air surrounded you when you stumbled on someone, "I'm so sorry, are you okay?", you asked, looking at the whole situation and seeing a few games on the floor and a small box you recognised from the pharmacy.

"I'm good", a shaky voice said, "I'm sorry I ran into you, I have to admit I was distracted", a young woman around your age apoligised back to you, "I work with kids all day, why would I be so nervous to be pregnant?", she blurted.

Sensing her nerves, you thought you could help her, "do you need help with that? I'm pretty good in a crisis so I can be a sound mind of you want to", you attempted.

"Would you, actually? I really need to vent it all out", she cringed, "I'm staying right here, let me just tell the girls", you opened the door, "Carla! Charlotte!", you called, seeing them join you in the hall, "this is Ana", you introduced, "these are Carla and Charlotte, we are all dating brothers, different ones, I mean", you chuckled, "and Ana here could use our support because she has to take a pregnancy test", you smiled.

"It's very nice to meet you, you can use this bathroom, here", Charlotte said warmly as she opened the door of the bathroom by the stairs.

After reading the instructions, you left Ana to do her thing before she opened the door again, "so,", she smiled nervously, "is this your first time here?". "Yes, we've never been here. Last year we stayed somewhere else. So far, so good", Carla responded, "pardon my question, but are counting on a certain result?".

"My boyfriend and I have been together for a long time, and we've not been not trying, I guess?", she chuckled, "it's just nerve wracking you know? I work with kids, that's why I have all of those games, I work at the kid's club", she explained. The phone with the timer beeped, catching her attention and making you rub her back soothingly as she got it and read the results, "you're pregnant, Ana", you smiled.

"She must've put it in the trash and they saw it, let me check", you said as you walked to the bathroom, "there it is! She put it in the trash and they all saw it", you reasoned.

"Well, that surely explains a lot of it. I have seen Charles, particularly, dote on your like your a porcelain doll, but even these last few days were unusual for him", Pascale chuckled, "the way he helped you up the stairs? That's when it clicked for me that something was really different".

"Well, the things is that there's nothing different", you stated, "and Lorenzo and Arthur too, then!", you rubbed your temples, giggle alongside with the rest of the women in the room, "Pascale, with all due respect because you've raised these men impeccably, sometimes they're not the sharpest", Carla touched her shoulder, "should I be offended because I followed their train of thought?", you wondered.

When the boys arrived back from their paddle game, you and the rest of the group stayed in the living room as they headed up for showers, claiming you'd prefer to stay in for the night since you weren't feeling well, earning all of the three boys' approvals without further questions.

Charles was the first to come down, hair still wet as he walked to you, kissing your forehead, "do you need anything, amour?", he asked and acknowledged your negative answer, sitting next to you and cuddling you to his chest, "have you been feeling good today?", he brushed your hair and pulled it behind your ear. On your end, you were trying your best to keep a straight face, "yes, I'm fine, got all the rest I needed", you smiled, kissing his cheek and allowing him to place his hands under your top you were wearing and touch your tummy.

A little while later, Lorenzo walked dowstairs too, stopping by the kitchen to grab a bottle of water for him and another for Charlotte, checking if she was feeling better while Arthur also joined you in the living room.

"I'm just ordering dinner", Charles said as he typed on his phone screen, "they say they can put everything with eggs on the side and separately, and there are no raw ingredients, everything is washed and I-", he was interrupted by Carla's loud laugh.

"I'm sorry, I can't do it, not when I know where all of this is coming from", she continued as Charlottle broke down, too.

"What do you mean?", Charles said as the confusion on his face became clear, "Charles, amour, look at me", you called, "do you think there is something wrong with me? That my health status has changed?", you questioned honestly.

Charles fumbled with his words, "I mean, amour, I- do you want me to say it out loud or whisper in your ear? I didn't know of you wanted to tell anyone because you haven't told me either, and that's okay! But do I say it now?", he yelped, "you're pregnant, Y/N", he stated.

Arthur and Lorenzo got up as if on cue, both belting out "Y/N's pregnant, too?", before looking at their girlfriends and seeing their giggles, "you think the three of us are pregnant?". The brother's looked between them, "I saw the test in the trash bin, and Carla had just been in the bathroom, so I assumed we were having a baby", Arthur reasoned, "Charlotte hasn't been feeling well, it's her test", Lorenzo offered, "are we talking about the same test on that bathroom or has that bathroom been the 'pee on the stick and find out you're pregnant' Station?", Charles argued back.

Chuckling you got up and cupped Charles face with your hands, "it happened once and it's Ana's test", you smiled, "the girl from the kid's club. She was scared to take it and we gave her some support, that's all", you smiled, "no one's pregnant here", you finally said.

The boys made a collective "oh" noise until Arthur spoke, "you were not feeling well and I just thought that it was yours", he said to Carla, accepting her hug, "same goes to you, you kept saying the food tasted funny and I connected the dots, that apparently weren't so clear", Lorenzo said to Carla.

Charles had shifted on his feet a couple of times before he turned to you, "I thought you didn't want to tell anyone, that's why I didn't say anything. If you did not feel comfortable in telling it, it was because you wanted privacy and I respected that. I thought you'd eventually announce it when you were ready so I didn't push for it either, I just wanted to be there", he admitted. You kissed his jaw soflty, "well, there's no baby in here, the test does not belong to any of us".

"It's a good thing to know, though. Whenever the time comes, I'm having enough grandchildren to spoil to my heart's content", Pascale clapped, getting up and heading to the outside area, "Oh, look at that sunset, it's beautiful!".

"So, no baby...", Charles trailed off, holding your hands in his, "I have to admit that, in a way, I'm relieved, because that would change up our lives a lot, especially with three babies in the family", he chuckled, "but when things are more settled, in a few years surely, we can start our family if you want to", he smiled charmingly, "of course, whenever the time comes. I love you, Charles, I love you so much", you smiled, "but, please, whenever that happens, don't coddle me like I'm a porcelain doll", you attempted, "Oh, that will have a to be another negotiation I'm afraid, amour".

[pianokantzart]

Seeing @keakruiser making AUs in a bullet point storytelling format inspired me to take a crack at my own AU that I've been thinking about for a bit. What would happen if, in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, after Mario and Luigi are separated, Mario was the one who ended up in the clutches of Luigi’s eventual arch nemesis, while Luigi teamed up with some of his own close allies to go rescue him? Essentially The Super Mario Bros Movie, but with the brothers' roles reversed. So, without further ado...

The Super Mario Bros. Redux (Pt. 1)

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 ________

The beginning is much the same as it was in the original Super Mario Bros. Movie until they are separated in the warp pipe, with two exceptions: 1. When their van breaks down, Luigi's first instinct is to take the tool kit and try to fix the motor (mechanic Luigi, my beloved). But before he can get a good look, Mario insists that there's not enough time, and heads to the job on foot. Luigi closes the hood of the van and follows him. 2. After Mario leaves the dinner table, the focus goes to Luigi's conversation with his dad rather than Mario holed up in his room.

"What did I say?" "''You're bringing your brother down with you'?" Luigi asks, finally able to get a word in now that his uncles have shut up. "Why would you say that?" "Luigi, be honest. How much did that commercial cost? How many new clients has it gotten you? Huh?" "It's only been a day! And Mario'll figure something out. He always does." Luigi insists, taking his brother's plate of pasta and picking it free of mushrooms. "I just want to help him out along the way."

Pio sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "You can't hide in your brother's shadow your entire life, Luigi. One of these days you're gonna have to man up and start making your own decisions." Luigi doesn't answer, he simply finishes removing the mushrooms from Mario's plate, and gets up from the table to deliver the food to his despondent brother.

After Mario and Luigi attempt to save Brooklyn, after they end up in the warp zone, and after they are ripped from each-other's grasp, Mario is dragged into an unsettling looking pipe surrounded by purple smoke and overgrown with gnarled branches.

Luigi flies onward, emerging from a pipe inside what looks to be another sewer, not too different from the one back in New York. No sooner does he regain his senses does he find himself dragged away by a powerful blast of suction. Flying backwards through the air, he stops suddenly as his back clogs the nozzle of a strange vacuum-like contraption being carried by a little old man.

"Oops! Sorry, Sonny! I thought for certain you were gonna be a ghost!" the old man apologizes, releasing Luigi from the vacuum's suction with a flip of a switch. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small device that loosely resembles a hand-held vidoegame console, reexamining the numbers flashing on the screen. "When my readings showed that pipe 983 had suddenly reactivated, I thought for sure King Boo was trying to use it to send his band of ghosts to Sarasaland!"

Before Luigi could ask one of the thousands of questions on his mind, the old man introduces himself: Professor Elvin Gadd (E. Gadd for short.)

Luigi introduces himself in return, then asks about his brother. He tells the professor about their situation in detail, describing the warp pipe that Mario had disappeared into.

E. Gadd tsks sadly and shakes his head. He explains that particular pipe leads to "Evershade Valley," and though the valley used to be perfectly habitable, ever since King Boo shattered The Dark Moon nobody who has set foot in that land has ever returned.

"Wait, what do you mean? Who's King Boo?" Luigi asks "Well! You truly are out of the loop!" E-Gadd chuckles, "Then again... I remember how little I knew when I first arrived in this world." He continues to talk while leading Luigi through the underground, casually clearing a path for them with the powerful blowing and sucking functions of the vacuum. "King Boo is nothing less than the lord of ghosts! He is the master of illusions, the reigning tyrant of the undead, the loather of all living flesh, and– at the moment– the sole ruler of Evershade Valley."

This description unsettles Luigi. He retorts that if that's the case, he has to get to Evershade Valley as soon as possible. As frightened as he is, he's never been so frightened that he couldn't help his brother out of a tough spot, and he knows Mario would do the same for him in a heartbeat.

"Well! In that case I suggest you stick with me for a bit. And keep those tools with you." The old scientist gestures toward the tool bag Luigi had dropped on the ground in the mayhem, "I may have a few uses for them."

Just as Luigi comes to the question of where they are currently, Professor E. Gadd opens a sewer cover and leads him out into the middle of a big bustling coastal city in Sarasaland. Think the Daisy Circuit from Mario Kart, but way larger and more crowded (and missing the romantic statue of course.)

Luigi struggles to keep up with the elderly scientist, who weaves his way effortlessly through throngs of turtle men, snake monsters, insect soldiers, giant sentient heads made out of stone, and a vast array of other strange and fascinating pedestrians.

"Stop your dilly-dallying, youngster!" E. Gadd eventually calls, getting fed up with Luigi's slow, bewildered pace, "I've got a meeting in The Birabuto Kingdom, and my train– our train– leaves in fifteen minutes!" "Birabuto Kingdom?" Luigi asks, allowing himself to be shoved along, "What's that? What about Evershade Valley?" "So impatient! Do you think I'd send you into such a place unprepared??? No no, first I'm going to perfect my equipment, then I'll help you find your brother."

E. Gadd purchases their tickets and they board the crowded 64 Express. Once seated, Luigi's eyes are immediately drawn toward the window. He stares out, deep in anxious thought as the train chugs along, traveling from the coastal city into a desert landscape.

Then, we switch over to Mario. Standing up and dusting himself off, he looks around to find himself in the gloomiest place he'd ever seen... for the little he is able to see. There is a thick purple mist hanging in the air, and the path before him is shrouded in the branches of a forest long dead.

Loudly calling out his brother's name on the off-chance he was somewhere nearby, Mario follows a light in the distance until he stumbles across a lone boo. More confused than frightened, and feeling a little sorry for the white specter shyly covering its face, Mario bends down for a moment to examine it, assuring "hey, don't worry! I won't hurt you, I'm just a little lost is all."

Suddenly, he is ambushed by a colorful trio of ghosts: a greenie, a slammer, and a hider. He tries to fight back, but every time he attempts to shove them off or swing his fists he phases right through them.

His attackers knock him around a bit until Mario succeeds in slipping away. Now in a panic, he continues rushing toward the distant light, far faster and more recklessly than before.

Eventually, he gets close enough to discover the glow was coming from the lit windows of an old mansion. He enters and – for the little good it will do – shuts the door behind him.

He wanders the halls for a long time, roaming from room to empty room, all the while haunted by the shadow of something following him. Something big.

At last, he reaches a towering portrait room. Unlike the rest of the mansion it is teeming with life, full of frightened faces pressed against picture frames, begging for help.

Mario is frozen in a moment of fear and confusion, but quickly snaps out of it. He rushes to the nearest portrait– an image of a strange little mushroom man– to ask what is wrong and what he can do.

Before the toad can give a coherent answer, the eerie presence that Mario had felt when he first entered the mansion casts a looming shadow over him.

He turns around and raises his fists in helpless hopes of defending himself. The candles of the surrounding sconces go out all at once, and in the pitch black darkness a cacophony of cackles fills the air....

[inquisitornocturn]

◇ Inter Stellas Inveniam Te ◇

◇◇◇ Chapter III - Dum Modo In Domum Suam

⚜ 𝖕𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: Xavier Calcazar/Volenta Calcazar (OC)/Heinrix van Calox

⚜ 𝖙𝖆𝖌𝖘: Overall story rating - E. Overall tags - romance, disaster polycule, more tba. This chapter - lovingly rough smut, PiV, creampie, fluff.

⚜ 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞 𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: Even the most powerful have their weaknesses. Volenta has more than a few of her own. One such weakness being her husband. Another - her love for toying with others. Her station permits it, but it doesn't come without consequences, because Lady Inquisitor soon finds herself entangled with another man. And she doesn't know just what events will unfold when the man she's married to gets assigned to look over the Koronus Expanse.

In the 41st millennium, there's only war. Be it on surfaces of planets, on the decks of spaceships or… in personal lives. And those battles are not easily won.

⚜ 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: The encounter with Heinrix and the drunken high in emotions gets easily forgotten when Volenta heads home, to the one she loves. Even news delivered by a man in her retinue does not sour her mood. Their reunion is passionate and sweet, because no matter how much time they are forced to spend apart, it doesn't dull their feelings for one another. Not even one bit.

⚜ 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 6,661 | AO3 | Chapter navigation

⚜ 𝖆/𝖓: When I say Xavier has big dick energy it's not a metaphor

Getting out her car, Volenta gets a strange feeling for just a second and knows immediately what is coming. The moment her vehicle door shuts and automatically moves itself to the parking area, there’s a gust of wind and it’s there only because she was allowed to sense it.

“Volenta…” A voice by her ear and she rises an eyebrow, waiting for the man to appear before her.

He played these tricks with her before, when she was looking to recruit someone from Officio Assassinorum. He didn’t take her seriously, toying around, not letting her see him, waiting for the revulsion that overtakes almost everyone when a Blank like him is around. Yet Volenta didn’t show revulsion or disgust and that made him interested.

“Good evening, Seth. Aren’t you supposed to be on Illustris, tracking Inquisitor Lilly Zantz?” There’s no displeasure in Volenta’s voice, she knows how not to betray her emotions and if Seth is here, she is absolutely sure he has a good reason for it.

Another gentle gust, like it’s stroking her loose white hair, and as if appearing from the Immaterium itself, Seth steps from behind her shoulder. He doesn’t look much different than usual. Black synskin bodyglove tightly stretched over his lean, muscular body. A sniper’s rifle, his favorite, strapped to the back by a leather braided cord. And his helmet, shaped like a skull with variety of mechanisms upon it, is tightly held under Seth’s arm.

When Volenta looks at the familiar face, she sees the paleness of his skin, like Seth has never seen the sun, but that’s farthest thing from truth. His long, black hair is loose like hers, glossy and smooth, with thick strands so heavy they barely move when an actual gust of wind reaches them both. But that smile, sharp and merciless, doesn’t reach Seth’s dark brown eyes. In them Volenta sees a degree of affection. Or rather - appreciation. She’s one of the few who can ignore the aura that Omega-Minus omit just by sheer existence. Her training negates the effects and thus allows the two a more cordial relationship than most would be able to achieve with someone like him.

“Well?” She urges the man and he scoffs, bowing deeply before her.

“Apologies, Lady Inquisitor Prime. I’m here bearing the news.”

Seth never appears without a summon or a reason and the fact that Volenta has not received any news through her usual channels makes her jaw clench slightly. Either it’s something really good, or something really, really bad. And most often than not - it’s the latter.

The smile is gone from Seth’s face when he stands upright again and steps closer to Volenta, letting her smell the soaps and blood on his person. She doesn’t mind, letting him lean to her ear. “Lords of Terra want to set up a direct holo-projection communication with you. Tomorrow morning.”

“Tsk.” Volenta pauses, then without moving asks in a same whisper that Seth delivered the news. “Any indication what they want?”

“No. But, Volenta, there have been murmurings about the Koronus Expanse lately. If you will allow me to speculate, they might order you, or order you to order someone else, to go and deal with it.”

Looking into the distance over Seth’s shoulder, where the gate of her palace disappears into the evening fog, she exhales slowly. “What about Raphael.”

“He’s not involved.”

“And Kleopatra?”

“Not involved.”

“Direct communication with whom?”

“Luther got an Astropathic message while on Illustris and sent me here to inform you.”

Volenta doesn’t know how to take this. Usually Lords of Terra contact her directly but the fact that they went through the psyker in her retinue, especially when that psyker has been sent with Seth on a mission, means they want to delay her knowledge. Why is that?

“Go back to Illustris, I’ll establish communication tomorrow, Nesex will assist.” She watches Seth step back once sensitive information is done exchanging and he nods. But there’s a serious look on the assassin’s face.

“What about Decimeline?” He asks, knowing full well that the palatine of Adepta Sororitas has been missing for two Terran months now.

“I don’t think it’s about Dec. They wouldn’t bother making an early call just to tell me something about her. No, it’s something else.” Volenta thinks for a moment longer, then nods to Seth. “Follow my orders.” Yet when he lifts his helmet to place it back upon his head, Volenta rises her hand, pausing the man. “Tell Luther to keep himself open for a direct communication from me. He knows what I’m talking about.”

“Very well, Lady Inquisitor Prime.” With a respectful and low bow, Seth finally affixes the helmet where it should be, but then pauses. “Volenta, whatever it is, know that the Emperor’s light guides you.” Seth’s voice comes out jagged through the vox not unlike those used by Adeptus Mechanicus and she curtly nods in response, then offers a placating smile. He learned long ago that even when things look the worst, Volenta’s undying love for the Emperor will see her through. It has many times in the past, some of them near miraculous.

“I know. Go.” She commands in a harsher tone and it’s like the assassin disappears without a trace. His teleporter as quiet as death itself.

Without a pause, Volenta turns on her heel and approaches the steps to the main door. Two guards are standing there, stiff like poles stuck in rockrete, and they salute when she approaches. The massive double door slowly opens up and stepping inside the Inquisitor looks around her own home. It’s lavish, gilded, and much like her office – representing her love for the Emperor and her loyalty to the Most Holy Ordos. It’s a home she built with Xavier, even if neither of them get to use it as often as they would like.

A serf approaches in quick steps when Volenta enters, her long crimson robe delicately embroidered with aquilas, and she bows deeply before her mistress. “Welcome back, My Lady.”

“Is Xavier home?” She asks and pulls off her gloves, handing them to the maid who takes this simple item like it’s a holy relic, her palms upturned in reverence.

“Yes, My Lady. Arrived an hour ago.”

“Anything else?” Volenta asks when another maid appears from a side door and quietly unfastens her cloak, then removes the pauldrons with stealthy efficiency.

“Magos Prime Hermeticon Psykana Etus 80/3 B9C Nes4-1B Ex has just left a message that he wishes to meet you in the office first thing tomorrow.”

So he knows. No wonder. Volenta already assumed that Seth would attempt to make her life easier and contact Nesex on her behalf. “Very well. If there’s nothing else-“

“My Lady, there has been an issue with two servitors in your employ. They malfunctioned earlier today.” The serf bows low again. Volenta doesn’t fly into undeserved wraths, but still the young woman is terrified to give her bad news.

“Any damage?” Without looking at the servant, Volenta simply unbuckles her belt and hands it to the quiet one who takes the heavy item without a fuss, even though she is laboring with the weight of items attached to it.

“Nothing that can’t be easily replaced, My Lady. Two barrels of wine, one crate of canned goods-“

“Merava.” Volenta stops the verbal report and when the woman rises her face to her mistress, she sees a calm expression and a piercing gaze, nailing her down where she stands on the black marble floor. “I took you to serve me and this household under a very convincing recommendation. I would have assumed that you would know not to bother me with trivial things such as units of damaged goods. Unless it’s actually worth my attention, I recommend you don’t bring up things like this to my attention from this point onwards. I have entrusted entire fleet of servants to you, I require that you solve everything you can solve without needing my intervention. Monthly reports are enough to let me know any possible extra expenses. Is that understood?”

“Yes, My Lady.” Merava drops her head in a low bow, still holding Volenta’s gloves like they have been blessed by the Emperor himself.

Without looking at Merava again, Volenta passes her while unbuttoning her longcoat. Maybe it was a mistake to force Isobella to retire. The woman was old but knew how to do her job and Inquisitor took Merava under her recommendation. Before coming here, she served Grandmaster Raphael who released the servant to work for Volenta with ease, not bothering to care who is bringing his morning recaf as long as it’s not cold or spilled along the way. But the woman appears to be scared to perform her duties and that’s one of the trivial things that Volenta herself does not see the reason to bother with.

Still, Isobella was sure that Merava can serve well, just like she did, and so Volenta is willing to be patient. From what she can understand, Raphael wanted everything reported to him and his right-hand man, or lover, depending on how one looks at their relationship. So Merava can be excused for being overzealous when it comes to informing masters of the house about every minutiae detail. Hopefully she will stop doing that now, taking on responsibility as an appointed head of household servants.

Climbing the grand stair, Volenta hooks a finger over the collar of her undershirt and tugs at it, then pulls the zipper lower. Her heart is pounding in her chest the closer she’s getting to the study where she expects her husband to be. She forgets troubles of the Imperium, forgets Heinrix and Seth, and most likely a very unpleasant call she’s bound to have tomorrow morning. All that matters right now is to be in the arms of the one for whom her heart aches so much that it feels like it’s being squeezed in an unforgiving fist.

Her footsteps increase, adamantine heels sounding loud on marble tiles where they are not covered by luxurious carpets and she takes a turn, another one, then climbs stairs again. She’s passing paintings of saints and depictions of the Emperor, passing vases filled with dark flowers and cabinets full of books or displays of every kind of light weaponry that exists, both human and of xenos make.

Finally, after what feels like eternity despite it being no more than fifteen minutes, Volenta stops before an ornate wooden door and sweeps back a palm over her hair, trying to tame any possible strands that might be out of place. She exhales and briefly chews on her bottom lip then opens the door, entering and inspecting her surroundings with same vigilance as if she’s on a battlefield.

The room looks the same as always. Vaulted ceilings, candles and shelves upon shelves crammed with tomes and scrolls. A massive desk in a middle of the room, placed upon a large Inquisitorial symbol under the armorcrys, all assembled from skulls of heretics. Besides the soft candlelight, the hololith lights up briefly, displaying the entirety of the galaxy with Holy Terra at its center. Then it flickers out again for a briefest of moments as it updates with an ongoing stream of information of planets lost, claimed or destroyed. When Volenta glances to the area where the drinks are stacked, she sees it mostly untouched, besides a glass of an amber liquid resting upon the smaller table, accompanied by a bottle of a seventy year old amesac.

Briefly exhaling through her nose, Volenta frowns. More in disappointment than disapproval that she misjudged where Xavier could be. Yet when she’s about to turn the door behind her shuts close and cold, metal fingers wrap around her exposed throat. With a soft gasp, the Inquisitor stiffens and rises her chin before, by her neck, Volenta is pushed backwards, against a body that is taller and stronger than hers.

“Xavier…” She breathes out and the grip on her neck tightens, then another arm snakes around and finds the zipper of Volenta’s shirt, pulling it down and liberating her chest in one easy tug. Cold rosette falls between her breaths, feeling familiar and comforting.

“Yes, my dear?” He croons right against her ear, a warm palm pressing against her stomach and slipping higher, cupping a heavy breast that spills over Xavier’s fingers even if contained by a bra. He fondles it gently, brushing a thumb over where the nipple hides and feels it perk up with eager need.

“I missed you.” Volenta exhales again and closes her eyes briefly, not moving a finger to interrupt her husband’s touches. In turn the grip on her throat tightens, threatening to cut off oxygen, but she only smiles and feels Xavier plant a chaste kiss to her cheek.

“I missed you too.” He whispers and gives her breast a squeeze that borders on painful, with satisfaction hearing his wife inhale sharply despite the struggle to breathe. “It’s been far too long, don’t you think.”

It’s not a question, they both know it’s the truth. Yet when Volenta tries to turn her face, tries to look at Xavier and those features that only become more dear as decades pass, he instead marches her forward, making the woman stumble slightly at the hurried pressure against her back. And despite her initial surprise, she obeys and does not fight. She knows what’s next. They both do.

Just before Volenta’s thighs run into the edge of the desk, Xavier’s augmetic hand swiftly slips from the front of her throat to the back of it and she gets slammed chest first onto the tabletop. The impact makes her huff but she still doesn’t struggle. She smiles instead and moves her arms when Xavier first unceremoniously peels away her coat, throwing it behind himself, then does the same with her shirt. Edges of the rosette are cutting sharply into her chest and both breasts between which it got lodged when she got pinned down, but Volenta barely notices the pain. Instead, she patiently waits for Xavier to cut off her bra, knowing her husband’s impatience with her delicates and only smiles when the blunt but cold edge of an Inquisitorial dagger presses against her back. The tension around her upper body snaps and releases. Two more cuts for the bra straps and the dagger clatters onto the desk next by her head, shining gold glittering in the myriad of lit candles.

There’s a hiss behind Volenta and she bites her bottom lip before Xavier’s fingers press below his bionic ones, still gripping the back of her neck. Warm digits trace down her spine sending a shudder down her body and then between the shoulder blades, outlining the Inquisition tattoo that Volenta has had there since her early days as an acolyte. It covers her entire back, from neck down to lumbar, inked in black and with the skull in great detail at the center. But Xavier doesn’t only touch the tattoo. His fingers move around it, gently sweeping over the scars surrounding the symbol. Scars that he himself has inflicted upon her.

It happened when she was still his acolyte, when she made reckless mistakes and needed to be reminded of her devotion. Through the years, the need to punish her diminished greatly as Volenta perfected herself under his guidance and those of others. It’s been over a decade since he had to absolve his wife of her sins and Xavier doesn’t miss it. It broke him to do it as much as it did her and yet it was a ritual for them both. Sometimes most memorable lessons are those that one learns through pain delivered by a loving hand.

She still is Xavier’s biggest achievement and his most agonizing struggle. Duty versus love, Imperium versus a man. He’s proud, but that didn’t come without a cost. Volenta’s body bears marks of her mistakes, a canvas that are his to paint in crimson. Not with a brush, but with an edge of a blade.

It takes Xavier a moment to remember that this is not one of such moments and he leans down, pressing his lips to Volenta’s naked shoulder. “Beautiful, as always.” Breathing hotly against his wife’s skin, Xavier moves his hand from the tattoo and around her, finding the belt of her pants and handling the buckle with practiced ease. “Have you been behaving?”

Volenta chuckles with amusement, although it is a subdued sound due to her being pressed so harshly upon the table. The hololith flickers in and out, casting a greenish blue hue upon them both at even intervals. “Am I just a feral cat to you?”

“I haven’t forgotten your behavior when you were exactly that.” Xavier smiles and she can feel it against her shoulder, then lower, when he kisses her shoulder blade.

“That was almost sixty years ago.” Volenta protests with a smile but her eyelids grow heavy with desire when her husband swiftly undoes her pants and with a grip over the waistband pulls them down her hips, not sparing even the underwear.

“And memory of those days is as strong as if it has happened just a year ago.” There’s a hint of a smile in Xavier’s on voice and reaching around his wife he gently traces his fingertips against her already soaking sex. She has always been so easy for him and that’s one of many things that he loves dearly about her.

With a tiny gasp Volenta moves her hips as much as she can in her position, grinding against Xavier’s fingers in an unspoken plea that he knows well. And because of his own throbbing need pressing almost painfully against the front of his pants, Xavier doesn’t give Volenta what she needs. He needs her, now and urgently, he’s not willing to waste seconds playing with her.

Only when Xavier removes his hand from between Volenta’s legs is when she finally has enough sense of mind to respond, patiently listening to the sounds of a belt buckle being managed and a zipper drawn down. “I inspected Heinrix, by the way. He’s in the clear.”

“Of that I had no doubt.” Xavier responds absentmindedly. Duty is the farthest thing from his mind right now, especially when he pulls out his cock, the tip already slick with precum. Damn her, he thinks to himself with a loving ache in his heart, she always makes him feel like a teen back in schola, overeager and impatient.

“Did you send him my way to be tortured then?” Volenta tries to turn her head to look at Xavier but it’s impossible, and at her movement the metallic grip on her neck tightens.

“Did you torture him, my dear?”

“Not in a conventional way, no.” She smiles and with a satisfied gasp feels Xavier’s cock rest heavy between her buttocks, but only until he shifts his pants a little lower and out of the way.

“As long as he has all the limbs, I do not care what you do with him.” It sounds like a sentence rather than a playful response and Volenta knows that he couldn’t care less for Heinrix or anyone else.

Except for her. She knows that some think them foolish for indulging themselves like this, with feelings and relations, with marriage. Most agents forsake such things, they usually do not end well for anyone. But she’s willing to risk it all, and Xavier is too, because what they have is so much more precious, because of how fragile it is.

For a second Volenta wonders if she should tell her husband that Heinrix kissed her. And that she responded. That she was willing to do more than just kiss him, too. But that thought gets wiped away from the forefront of her thoughts when Xavier moves, gripping the thick base of his cock in preparation to stake his claim in her once again. “Xavier…”

“One thing I want you to do, Volenta.” He begins speaking and aims the tip right at her entrance, rubbing it there and slicking himself with her arousal.

“Yes?” She breathes heavy, already choking on her desire and then feels her hip being gripped tightly, holding her in place.

“Always perform your duty. No matter what.” And with those words, Xavier thrusts right to the hilt into her, making Volenta cry out both with pleasure and discomfort at his size that even after all these years catches her unprepared. Especially when the two of them spend significant time apart. “Emperor’s Blood…” He sighs with relief when her wet heat envelopes him and Xavier begins thrusting, not wasting even a second more to experience the friction that he has been dreaming about for days.

“Yes, Inquisitor.” Volenta gasps in response and that earns her a soft chuckle from Xavier, at which she smiles too. “I see you really missed me.” She says with a tense voice between her moans at his every pump that fills her near painfully. It’s a sweet kind of pain, the one that she craves for consistently.

“Did you doubt me, my dear?” Leaning over her, Xavier kisses her back in between the thrusts and watches Volenta’s fingers trying to grip upon the smooth surface of the table as he pounds into her. The scent, her scent, makes the Inquisitor finally feel at home.

“No, it’s just-“ She gets cut off by another deep thrust and whines in response so sweetly that it only urges Xavier to fuck into her harder, faster. Screw it, he finds himself thinking, they can take it slow later. But right now he just wants and needs Volenta like a breath of air.

“Later.” Curtly ordering his wife to stop talking, Xavier digs his fingers into her flesh, bruising Volenta’s hip and the back of her neck. He knows this and he doesn’t care. Watching himself thrust into the woman that is more important to him than the Emperor or the Inquisition is all that matters. He knows she would call it blasphemy if he told her, so he won’t. Maybe ever. But he knows this as firmly as he knows tenets of the Inquisition, with truth that is unshakable.

There are only sounds of skin against skin and Volenta’s moans that drown out Xavier’s groans in the room for a few moments, but he senses her tightening around his length. “Xavier, I-“ Another deep thrust cuts his wife off but she doesn’t need to say anything else, he knows. She’s close.

Straightening his back just to see himself better as his cock, slick and dripping with Volenta’s arousal, keeps plundering the body of a woman he loves, Xavier huffs a heavy breath. “I know.” He’s close too and he can feel it, accelerated by mere knowledge that Volenta is going to come for him so fast. His ocular device says it has been barely eight minutes, ticking to nine when Xavier pays the briefest of attention to the clock in the micro display.

She says something again, calls to him, but not even Volenta is sure what she’s saying anymore. Calling Xavier’s name or praying to the Emperor, both can be true or neither. All she knows is how she feels, her body trembling with tension and upcoming pleasure, her thighs shaking every time she’s filled so deeply it makes her head spin. With nails scraping upon the ancient wooden desk, Volenta closes her eyes and lets herself go, giving into the sensations that overwhelm her immediately.

Crying out and moaning with choked breaths, Volenta unravels as Xavier gives her his all for the last few thrusts. Her feet slip on the floor, losing the ground beneath them, and with one last deep shove, the Inquisitor bends over his wife’s prone body. Pressing his forehead against her back, he moans with the pleasure of releasing himself deeply inside of her, claiming Volenta as his in the only way that truly matters.

Xavier’s hips jerk couple times as he empties himself to the last drop and Volenta finally relaxes, her body’s grip upon her husband finally relenting. He was only a handful of seconds late, but that doesn’t matter. Nothing matters, he’s finally home, finally with her.

Panting heavily, Xavier remains as he is for a long moment and so does Volenta, trying to catch her breath. She feels his weight upon her and the fullness inside, at which she smiles a tired, lazy smile. Her hair is sticking to her damp face and her insides ache from the pounding she just has received, but it’s a wonderful kind of feeling. Familiar, welcome and endearing.

“I love you.” Hearing a whisper against her back Volenta smiles, after long months apart finally feeling content again.

“I love you too. Now, can you get off? My rosette will slice me open soon if you don’t.”

“My apologies.” Xavier at last snaps back to the present and with a heavy huff, he pushes himself off his wife and carefully pulls out.

When Volenta rises her upper body by her hands, she glances over the shoulder at Xavier, feeling his fingers spread her folds and observe the mess he has made out of her. With a smile, she lets him look because the moment she rises the rosette dislodges itself from between her breasts, dangling lazily from around her neck.

“Proud of your handiwork?” Teasing, Volenta smiles and Xavier’s eye snaps to her. Then his features soften and the man smiles back, letting out a breath.

“Shouldn’t I be?” With his left hand, Xavier again grips Volenta’s throat and pulls her backwards, turning her body and face just enough to kiss her before she speaks again.

With a chuckle she doesn’t kiss back but pretends to keep talking despite his passionate kiss, and with a playfully annoyed grumble Xavier shoves his tongue in her mouth, finally shutting Volenta up. Two ways work when she’s like this: a deep kiss or a cock in her throat. This time he chose the kiss.

For a long moment they kiss and during it Volenta turns in his arms, pressing herself against Xavier’s firm and broad frame, running her hands under his shirt and feeling scars, muscle and body hair. “You’ve been away for too long.” Whispering against his lips, Volenta slides one hand down and cups his genitals, still damp with sweat and her own slickness, and Xavier in turn holds her by the waist, pulling back slightly.

“Do you think I had a choice? The damned Koronus Expanse has been pain in the backseat of a Golden Throne itself.” He sighs and closes his eyes for a brief moment. “Something has to be done. There are ten other inquisitors there that I left operating, but I have a feeling we need an appropriate conclave to begin tackling the backwater that the sector is. Heresy and chaos abound. Maybe it would be better to just blast it all away and be done with it. Surely-“

“Xavier.” Volenta interrupts and smiles, making him look at her again. “I’m dripping and it’s your fault. You can grumble about the Koronus Expanse in the bathroom.” Rising her hand and caressing the side of his face, she easily makes Xavier calm down and he sighs, leaning into her touch.

“If there’s peace in this universe, then you’re mine.” He says softly, takes Volenta’s hand from his face and kisses her palm. “But fine, we can wash up.”

With a gentle smile, Volenta pulls back. After collecting her clothes and the cut bra, they both exit the study. While chatting about the current events on Terra, they walk to the bedroom and discard the clothes onto the nearest armchair. Xavier then leads his wife to the bathroom while retelling her how his journey through the Warp went. Afterwards, as they both wash off under the shower, he also tells Volenta of the Koronus Expanse. About the Explorator fleet that seems to be deadlocked in an argument over tech-heresy, the pirates and the drukhari plundering Imperial worlds as if they belong to the xenos, and of course the tendrils of a Chaos cult, maybe even more than one, beginning to show signs of corruption throughout the system.

“And what are the rogue traders doing?” Volenta asks. After that brief cleansing shower, they decided to take a bath together. A serf brought them a plate of finger foods and a whole bottle of best amesac from the cellars, placing all atop a movable tray nearby then disappearing.

“Not much as far as I’m aware. There’s three.” Xavier explains and leans against the edge of a tub once it has filled and they get in it, pulling Volenta against him, chest to chest. No more cutting rosettes are present, both his and hers hanging over a small statue of a God-Emperor at the small shrine nearby.

“Three? Not many for a sector like this, no?” She asks and gets comfortable between his legs, brushing wet strands of hair behind his ears. Xavier grips a handful of Volenta’s rear, both to prevent her from slipping away and just because he can.

“Would be enough if they were doing their duty to the Golden Throne.” Xavier sighs and watches Volenta reach to the glasses already filled with rich amesac and take one, then bring it to his lips. The liquor is rich and smooth as it goes down, then explodes in fire in his stomach. “Incendia Bastaal-Chorda seems to be the only one still following the Emperor’s tenets.” Inquisitor continues while Volenta pulls the glass to her and shares the drink, swallowing it slowly. He then reaches to the plate and takes a handful of sweet and sour fruit, home planet of which he can’t even be sure of, but it appears round, deep purple and smooth. “Calligos Winterscale is suspected of murdering previous Winterscale but there’s more than that. Through the several years I’ve had my comings and goings to the Koronus Expanse, I have paid attention to Calligos but recently he appears to swiftly lose interest in his planets and holdings. It’s either worrying or suspicious, depending on what the answer might be for this kind of behavior.

“Winterscale? Isn’t it the dynasty that discovered Koronus in the first place?” Volenta asks and allows Xavier feed her one fruit, then another and begins chewing.

“The story goes as you say, but as always there are rumors that speak different.”

“Mm. And the third one?” Swallowing the fruit, Volenta takes another sip from the glass while watching Xavier partake in the delicacy himself and waits for his response.

“Theodora von Valancius. A fierce woman, but misguided. I suspect she’s hiding something. I have implanted my spies upon her ship and retinue, but none of them have reported back to me in over two weeks.” Guiding Volenta’s hand to himself, Xavier drinks from the glass. The water in the tub is warm, steaming around them and worries of the Koronus Expanse seem to be so far away now, not even counting the actual distance from Terra.

“Shrewd, if she managed to sniff out your agents.” Putting the glass back onto the tray, Volenta plucks another fruit from Xavier’s palm and chews on it for a moment. She wants to tell him about the call she’s having tomorrow but reconsiders. Maybe it’s related.

“There’s another thing.” Xavier says and pauses, looking into those pale grey eyes of his wife. Eyes that make others uneasy when they turn to them.

“Oh? Pray tell.” Getting even more comfortable, Volenta drapes both arms over Xavier’s shoulders and smiles, letting him brush away a strand of hair from her cheek, the rest floating around them like snowy streaks in the water.

“Theodora is looking for heirs. It’s not that alarming, many Rogue Traders like to prepare their heirs in advance as they age and Von Valancius has no heirs of her own, for whatever reason that may be.”

“Looking for heirs? A dwindling dynasty then?” Stealing a brief kiss, Volenta begins toying with Xavier’s wet hair as she lays upon his chest.

“Maybe dwindling in blood, but not riches. Theodora has worked hard to keep Von Valancius as influential as the other two rogue trader houses. However, I have read reports that she has not been extremely successful in finding the heirs. Two so far. A sanctioned psyker by the name of Edelthrad and another one, already in her employ, by the name of Kunrad.”

“Well, here we go, guess she does have heirs.”

“I looked into her bloodline myself. Naturally, I prefer to keep an eye on such affluent people, just in case.” Xavier slows, not sure how to proceed. How does he tell Volenta something like this? And what if, what if she wants to-

“And? Any more discoveries?” Feeling her back beginning to ache from her current position, Volenta moves and straddles Xavier’s lap, making waves slosh over the sides of the tub. When she’s done positioning her body, the Inquisitor strokes her naked thighs under the water and gazes up at her.

“Look at me.” He softly commands and she lowers her eyes onto his, fingers gripping his slick shoulders, hair stuck to her exposed skin, pebbled with bath water. “You are one of her heirs.”

Volenta just stares and him and suddenly breaks into a smile. “Really?”

“Do you judge my methods to be faulty when acquiring information?” Xavier gives her a slightly tense smile and Volenta chuckles.

“No, absolutely not. I’m just a little surprised.”

“I was at first as well but then it didn’t strike me as surprising. A child lost onto a Hive world with no recollection of her parents who crashed onto said planet. No relatives trying to find their family. Until you ended up in Astra Millitarum. And then in the Inquisition.” As he speaks, Xavier’s left hand moves to her back and strokes it in gentle sweeps.

“Still, how did you find out about it?” Cocking her head to the side, Volenta looks almost innocently curious if he didn’t know any better. That cutting, calculating look in her eyes speaks of wisdom far beyond her years and she’s not even that young anymore.

“The spies I sent managed to sneak a sample of Von Valancius DNA to me and I did my own investigation. Considering I have access to data that Theodora doesn’t, it was easy to trace that lineage to you.”

“I see.”

Silence falls as Volenta considers what she has been told just now. In the quiet of the bathroom, she traces her fingertips over the augmetic plate on Xavier’s head, ghosting over the tubes that sneak around his skull and sink into his spine. She remembers how he got this one. She remembers all of them, except for the eye. That he lost before he traversed the filthy tunnels of the regiment she has been attached to as a young woman.

This plate, however, he received some fifty years ago. They were fighting Nurgle’s forces on a planet that doesn’t exist anymore. Side by side, they were the only ones left and a handful of other acolytes that Xavier brought with him to ‘observe a simple cleansing mission’. Things went wrong. Horrendously wrong. Local PDF was wiped out by the time they arrived, civilians scattered in the streets, all in pieces. And those who weren’t killed were infected, going through rapt mutation even when they looked upon poor souls that didn’t deserve the Emperor’s light anymore. It was a site of carnage and disease. The forces with which Xavier arrived quickly engaged in battle, but he brought too few. A mistake anyone could’ve made and it cost lives of many loyal soldiers.

The dropship that Xavier took to the planet has been immediately overrun and so Volenta had to help him organize the terrified acolytes, or what was left of them, and try to find any shuttle that would take them back to the main ship. It was a trek through land so corrupted that the very air stung their lungs.

And then one shot rang out.

One simple shot that nobody saw coming, caught Xavier in the head, taking with it hair, skin and part of the skull, exposing the brain beneath. Volenta took leadership then. Barking orders that she never had to give before, threatening a terrified psyker that she will pluck his eyes out with bare fingers if he doesn’t do anything. A biomancer, the man that was twice older than her and just fresh out of Scholastica Psykana, begged for mercy while she rained verbal abuse upon him. Volenta doesn’t even remember his name anymore, another one lost to the histories of galaxy, but he saved Xavier that day. And ever since then Volenta insisted that he has a biomancer by his side, to which he agreed.

“My love.” Xavier’s voice, present in here and now, cuts through the memories and Volenta blinks couple times, then looks at him.

“I’m not going to serve some sort of rogue trader, Xavier. Heir or not, this is way beneath me and I am already serving the Imperium in a way only I can serve it. So Theodora can go ahead and shove it up her-“

Xavier laughs. He can’t help it. The tirade that was beginning to get angrier with each word is quite endearing and he cups his wife’s face with both his palms. “I didn’t say that you have to claim your lineage.”

“Good, because I won’t.”

“Volenta, I would never threaten to take away what you worked so hard for. You need to understand this.” He says this patiently, every word slow, and Xavier watches Volenta’s expression soften. Then she deflates but still pouts at him.

“I’ll call in some favors and find someone to take my place. Just in case Theodora sniffs out there’s someone else. I couldn’t care less to be a rogue trader, I have my hands full as is.” She mumbles and Xavier chuckles, bringing her face close and kissing her. In some ways she hasn’t changed at all. Even after decades of seeing horrors that the Imperium has to fight against, even after countless losses and failures, some of them etched in her skin by his own hand.

“You’re a handful yourself sometimes, my dear.” Xavier murmurs against her lips and feels Volenta smile widely at that. She takes his right arm by the wrist and leads it to her breast which he gladly encases in his augmetic fingers.

“A handful like that?” She teases and he laughs again.

“Something like that.”

And then he kisses her again, desire stirring in Xavier’s loins in that familiar fashion that Volenta provokes with such ease it could be studied for its effectiveness. But for a moment there, just for a moment, Xavier finds doubt in his heart. And worry.

What if she did want to become a rogue trader. That would’ve put Volenta in closer proximity to him since Lords of Terra have been sending the Inquisitor to the Koronus Expanse quite often as of past few years. But that would’ve been the only benefit. She is where she belongs, he knows. Ever since he made her join Ordo Hereticus and saw her rapidly climb the promotion ladder, he knew that Volenta is where she has to be. And maybe their time together is not constant, it’s worth it. So, so worth it.

“Love me.” Volenta gasps into Xavier’s lips and takes his other hand, intertwining their fingers together when she starts grinding herself against his cock that has grown hard even if his mind was briefly elsewhere.

And he does love her, with both body and soul. Xavier shows it to her again and holds Volenta tight against himself as she rides him, bringing moans both out of his own throat and hers.

It’s so good to be back home.

[linearao3]

Publish or Perish

1/6; E

Jesper says it must be blackmail. Maybe murder. There’s no other way Kaz Brekker could already be holding a full professorship at the University of Ketterdam, no matter how many books he’s written. Inej, trapped by an adjunct’s contract which is the only thing standing between her and deportation, is willing to risk the obvious dangers of his company in exchange for the advantages, professional and otherwise. But when the department’s budget comes up suspiciously short, Inej’s job is on the line, and Kaz isn’t ready to let her go without a fight.

Chapter 1: Hendricks, Wylan. “Woven in the Ear: Unexplored Structures of Early Kerch Poetry,” delivered to 12th Annual Conference on Early Kerch Literature, Belendt University, Winter 25, 2023

“No,” Wylan says. His voice is thin and high. “I mean, maybe. Maybe he’s taking money for his department. But if he’s targeting Lit, I think he’s being told to do it. The Regents told him to.”

Kaz leans forward. “The Regents told him?”

“Jan Van Eck told him to.”

“And why would he do that?”

[lexiwritessss]

W I T H C A R E

Part 2-Leilani’s moving day,with the guys help

Leilani had just closed on her new home in Cincinnati,Andrei a close friend she knew from Hawaii offering to come by and help get her furniture set up. It built up from there and she couldn't even remember how, but it started with Andrei and soon enough 3 other guys from the team were coming to help.

"Yo JB,what you doing tonight man?"Ja'marr asked,a playful smirk on his face.

"Nothing big."Joe shrugged. "What's up?"

"You should come with us to Lani's. We're heading over to her new house to help with her furniture."Ja'marr shrugged,discreetly noticing how Joe perked up at the mention of their team nurse.

"Who's us?"He stood up straighter,a pang of jealousy when Ja'marr listed off a few of his team mates.

"She's even offered to make us dinner."Ja'marr noticed Joe pondering it over,a silent nod from the quarterback confirming to him that his friend was in deep.

"I'm down."Joe agreed.

————

The doorbell ringing despite the front door being wide open almost made her laugh,Ja'marr and Joes tall figures standing on her porch.

"Hi guys!"Her bright smile made Joe's heart race,the quarterback watching in silence as Ja'marr hugged her briefly before stepping inside. "I didn't know you were coming,Joe."

"I hope that's okay."He stepped forward,also hugging her despite his standard behavior of not interacting so familiarly with people outside of his circle.

"Yeah."She breathed softly,melting at his warm touch enveloped with the same cologne from last time. "Come on in,the guys here are almost done with all of the boxes."

Joe ventured into her house,looking around at the stacks of boxes with her pretty handwriting. Leilani didn't notice the quarterbacks eyes on her,his eyes taking in her relaxed clothes. The blue and yellow punahou football t shirt suited her tanned skin,his eyes skimming over her fitted Jean shorts and white slip on vans.

"Alright that's the last of it,are you sure you don't need any help setting this stuff up?"The delivery guy asked,holding the clip board as he sent a smile your way. "I don't mind helping,free of charge."He winked.

Joes lips turned into a frown,not missing the flirty tone with his words.

"Knock knock,help has arrived."Andrei pulled her storm door open,Tee and Trey following behind him.

"I'm good,the guys here are gonna help."You gestured towards the five large men occupying your entryway.

"No way,you're Joe Burrow."Joe offered a tight lipped smile and awkward wave,the men posing for pictures before the moving guys who delivered her boxes finally made their way to the door. 

"Just sign here."He held the clip board for her as she signed the receipt,Joe watching him stare at her. "And this is my number,if you need any help."

"I appreciate it. Thank you."Her shy smile towards the stranger sent a pang of what felt like jealousy through Joe. He watched silently as she placed the paper down and didn't even give it a second thought,beginning to rattle off where she wanted things and soon the guys bickered about where they should start.

"Alright boys,enough."She playfully rolled your eyes. "Clearly we start with the dining room table,if my table isn't built where are we going to eat?"

"That's a good point."Ja'marr nodded in agreement,laughing at her pleased face and high fiving her raised hand.

"Alright,Joe and Ja'marr build me a table. Andrei,you and Tee get my bed set up and if I end up on the floor I know who I'm blaming."She glared at Andrei and he stuck his tongue out in response.

"How much you planning on using this bed?"Andrei laughed,the guys joining in to keep teasing.

"What do I do coach?"Trey grinned,nodding when she instructed him to finish placing the boxes in their respective rooms.

"What's for dinner? I want-."

"I know."She huffed. "I have everything to make Loco moco and the haupia bars are in the fridge."She smiled at her oldest friends excitement.

"Yes!"Andrei cheered. "A taste of home."the man rubbed his hands together.

"Yeah yeah,get to work."She shoved her old friend towards the rooms,turning to the kitchen.

"I don't think I've ever had Hawaiian food."Ja'marr followed Leilani to the kitchen,he and Joe beginning to open the box with the kitchen table.

"You'll like it. Plus loco moco is not really anything exotic,and it's good for you guys. Pure protein."She gathered the items to get started,explaining the staple dish to the guys as she went.

Joe snuck glances at her every once in a while,catching her shirt ride up when she reached to put things away in the cabinets. His lips twitched into a small smile,watching her make a list of things she needed. Joe thought Ja'marr didn't catch him sneaking glances at her but he did ,not missing his friends twitch of a smile when she made sure none of the guys had any diet restrictions.

Soon Andrei had set up her speakers and music was blasting, the guys all laughing as they began dancing and challenging each other. Trey and Tee had set the couches in the way she wanted,both men soon moving to place the barstools at the island while Andrei helped hang some of the decor and photos she had.

"Awwww look at little Lani!"Andrei laughed,holding the photo of her at her first hula girl competition.

"Stop! Put that down!"She yelled,reaching for the frame as Andrei held it out of her reach. Soon the photo was passed around while she whined and pouted.

"Alright enough."Joe laughed,handing Leilani the frame with a soft smile. "What's next on your list?"He laughed when she placed the frame down on the hall table with the orchid.

"Lani."Andrei frowned,poking his friend in the side when she refused to answer. "Cmon don't be mad! You were so cute!"

"Shut up."She rolled her eyes. "And set the table."

The guys sat around the table,the only sounds heard were the scrape of forks and sounds of approval of her meal.

"How are things with Logan?"Leilani asked Andrei,the man smiling at the mention of his new girlfriend.

"Pretty good! You should meet her,she'd like you."Andrei nodded,going on about how well things were in his relationship.

"How long have you guys known each other?"Ja'marr asked.

"Since we were kids. Besties for the restie. "Andrei grinned,his arm thrown around her shoulder. "How about you Lani? Did you finally dump that dude?"

Joe perked up,trying to get more information about your relationship status without being caught.

She rolled her eyes,recalling just how much Andrei was not a fan of her ex. "Yes. A while back."

"Finally!"

"Shut up."

"So no boyfriend,huh?"Ja'marr smirked over his water glass,giving Joe a mean side eye to which he ignored as he focused on his dinner.

"No."She sighed,wishing this conversation would end. "No boyfriend here."

"Ooh I could-."

"No."Leilani cut Andrei off immediately. "No set ups."

"But-."

"Iosivas."She narrowed your eyes. "I said no. Next topic."

"How's school?"Andrei asked after a quiet pause.

"It's good,I'm hoping to hear back about my clinical practice hours."

"What are you studying?"Trey asked.

"I'm getting my DNP,it's a Doctor of Nursing Practice."

"So you're gonna be a doctor. That's awesome."

"Sort of. It's not completely like an MD. But I can choose a specialty."

"What specialty are you interested in?"Joe asked,genuinely curious. His teammates just looked at each other,making note of Joe's piqued interest in Leilani.

"Sports medicine,or Anesthesiology."She shrugged. "I also thought about mental health or women's health."

"Sports medicine. And you can be our team doctor."Tee grinned,stating it like an obvious choice.

Leilani laughed,appreciating the guys genuine interest and kindness. The guys offered to wash the dishes to which she promptly refused and thanked them for their help in getting her house mostly set up. They planned the next dinner,for when she finally chose her paint colors and they could come over and paint.

"Colombian food next time!"Andrei suggested,already listing off staple dishes he'd grown accustomed to at her house growing up.

"Thank you guys."She hugged each man before they walked out of her front door, Joe's arms lingering around the petite woman a little longer.

"Sooooo."Andrei and the other guys turned to Joe as they walked to their cars.

Joe looked confused as his teammates just stared at him,feeling like he was in an interview. He hated interviews.

"What?"Joe asked plainly.

"You've got a crushhhhh on the nurse."Tee laughed,proud of his realization.

"Shut up."Joe huffed,ignoring his teammates plans of how to get the two of you together.

"Dude! You saw he even hugged her? That's so un-Joe."

Joe got in his car ignoring his teammates teasing and mocking,driving past them as they blew kisses at the quarterback.

Just when he thought he'd be able to keep his crush on Leilani a secret,the guys began blowing up the group chat teasing him about it and plotting how to set them up.

[iww-gnv]

(NEWARK, Calif.) — Striking Amazon delivery drivers and dispatchers from Palmdale, Calif., extended their picket line to a Bay Area warehouse (OAK5/OAK7) today, to demand the e-commerce giant stop its unfair labor practices. The growing strike will continue until Amazon reinstates the unlawfully terminated Palmdale employees, recognizes the Teamsters, respects the contract negotiated by the workers, and bargains with the Teamsters Union to address low pay and dangerous working conditions. “It is getting hotter and hotter, but Amazon makes us deliver packages in vans without working A/C and limits how much water we can take,” said Cecilia Porter, a Palmdale Amazon driver who traveled to Newark. “We are on strike to stop Amazon’s unfair labor practices and hold the company accountable for the safety and livelihood of its workers.” Amazon drivers and dispatchers began their unfair labor practice strike at an Amazon delivery station in Palmdale, Calif., on June 24. They have picketed 10 Amazon warehouses around the country during their month-long strike, including facilities in California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Georgia.

[idontknowreallywhy]

Estera - Ch 23 - Jump

Ok, I lied. I accidentally finished another chapter.

Have been looking forward to this one for a while 😁

What went before

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

He spotted the gap in the hedge and pulled into the small car park, stopping the car a little way away from a huddle of harnessed and helmeted people gathered at the back of a van. He’d assumed from the limited message he’d received Estera was attending some kind of social event, but this looked a lot more like an Activity of some kind… given the proximity of the sheer cliffs this part of the coastline was famous for, perhaps abseiling?

Quite chunky harnesses for abseiling though.

He couldn’t quite spot her among the group and hoped he hadn’t come to the wrong place. Pulling at the sweater to make sure it was definitely hiding the waistcoat, he left his warm but completely inappropriate tailored wool coat in the car and walked as casually as he could towards the van. One helmeted head snapped around as he crunched across the gravel and he felt a rush of relief which partly but not entirely overcame his uncharacteristic self-consciousness. She gave a tiny wave and mouthed “two minutes” before turning back to focus on the person giving instructions. Scott paused where he was and watched as the briefing seemed to finish and the group sprang into action to unload a series of tightly wrapped silk bundles from the van.

His jaw dropped. He knew what those were. Estera turned back and caught his eye and he pointed to the edge of the clifftop and raised his eyebrows disbelievingly. She nodded and grinned slightly maniacally. Then beckoned him over.

He drew alongside and murmured “I thought you weren’t a fan of heights?”

“Just airplanes” she whispered back. “This way you get the rush without needing to get into one. Just, err, don’t mention it to the school kids.”

He chuckled. “Not going to lie, I’m quite envious.”

“Don’t you do this kind of thing all the time? Given your day job?”

“Not for fun. It’s hard to enjoy the moment when someone’s trapped or injured or something and they are waiting for you.”

She looked thoughtful. “Give me a minute.”

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

“We have a rig spare though don’t we? Robin hasn’t turned up.”

“That doesn’t mean we can just let a randomer jump, Tez, you know that. He’s not done the training.”

“He’s done this kind of thing a lot, though, for his job.” She looked round to see Scott happily chatting to a couple of people and suddenly realised that maybe he wouldn’t appreciate losing his anonymity right now. So she fudged it. “He’s in… outdoor pursuits” she invented rapidly “really extreme stuff. In, uh, Australia.”

“Unless he can show me a qualification… the insurance company would string me up if something happened.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do?”

She knew the disappointment was showing on her face and the wheedling was beneath her. She wouldn’t usually push, but… she glanced back over at Scott… she had a sense that he might need this as much as she did today. Mentally slapping herself for being outrageous but ploughing ahead anyway she pulled out her best puppy dog expression and watched Gary crumble.

“He’ll have to go tandem. I’ll take him. And he needs to do the E-learning first.”

“I’m sure that would be fine!”

The stocky instructor approached Scott who stood to attention, being about 8 inches taller than Gary she could see his reaction over the shorter man’s head. Estera could guess the order of conversation from his open-book facial expressions - the grin and sparkling eyes would be in response to “you can jump”, the slight frown probably meant the news that he’d have to go tandem had been delivered and the hastily suppressed cringe was very likely indicative of worse news re the e-learning requirement. Scott nodded seriously, said something she couldn’t hear and accepted the offered tablet, immediately starting to read.

“Tez!”

She jogged over.

“When he’s finished that you brief him on the geography. And get him kitted up.” Gary looked pointedly at Scott’s very-much-not-BASE-Jump-Association-approved trousers and sighed pointedly. “At least his shoes are alright.”

Scott was sat on the footplate of the van, studiously focussed on the iPad but she was sure he blushed slightly. Gary marched off to oversee the setting up of the jump point.

“In fairness I have done far crazier things in similar pants.”

She tried and failed to suppress a snort of laughter. “I’m sorry… I’m sure if you told him who you were he’d let you do what you liked.”

Scott smirked. “I did consider it. But… he’s not actually wrong. I don’t know any of your equipment, we do a LOT of training with ours. I don’t know the jump site and it isn’t as if I can scan it to get the data to an HUD. It would be pretty awkward if I misjudged and ended up a greasy smudge on the Devonshire coastline… given the day job.” He jerked his head in the direction Gary had disappeared in “Apparently the paperwork would ruin his week.”

Estera spluttered and he grinned up at her. “Just promise me you won’t tell a soul? I’ll never hear the end of it if Gordon or Alan find out. Anyway TEZ…” she screwed up her face at the awful nickname and he winked “aren’t you supposed to be briefing me?”

She pointed at the iPad and tapped her foot. He shrugged.

“I can take in both. Go ahead.” The last two words had a certain… commanding quality to them. Which she guessed made sense. Given the day job.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

“John. I believe there might be a Situation with Scott.”

John nearly inhaled his crème d’oursin and was halfway to his feet before his brain engaged. It was entirely possible he was catching the smotherhen from Scott. Penny had of course remained composed and asked EOS to elaborate.

“Certainly, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. I have been monitoring the life signs at the coastal location his rental vehicle reached. There are 16 life signs and I believe one represents Scott Tracy and another is highly likely to be Estera Hermaszewska.”

“Is he injured?

“It appears not, John.”

John placed his cutlery down delicately. “EOS… why? I haven’t asked you to monitor him. In fact I believe Scott specifically asked you not to do so.”

“Scott asked me not to monitor his vitals and location via his personal comm unit. He did not make any reference, positive or negative, to remote monitoring of his vehicle and its environs.” The AI’s voice had a petulant edge to it.

“Reference spirit of the law versus the letter of the law”

A few seconds passed.

“Oh.”

“You still haven’t explained why you are monitoring.”

“I am interested in the development of human friendships and believe Scott Tracy and Estera Hermaszewska would make an informative study. I am simultaneously monitoring three weather fronts, a wild fire in Peru, a developing coup in a Eurasian separatist state and I have learned 14% of the rules of cricket.”

“Still going on the cricket, EOS? It’s been a week?”

“I am determined to master it, John. It is the only sport where my understanding remains incomplete.”

John nodded and glanced at Penny who had been holding her napkin to her lips for rather longer than necessary to wipe the non-existent food residue from her face.

“Dare I ask what the Situation that concerns Scott is, EOS?”

“Yes, John.”

A pause. He clarified:

“What is the Situation, EOS?”

“All 16 life signs appear to have fallen over 100 vertical metres from the clifftop to the beach, John. All 16 remain viable and highly mobile which is anomalous in the circumstances.”

John frowned and ran a quick search on popular outdoor pursuits at the location. Then nodded. And sighed deeply.

“EOS, you need to stop monitoring Scott. He won’t thank you.”

“But John, what about…?”

“The only cause for concern here is that my eldest brother has found a friend as ridiculous as he is.”

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Scott leapt back in surprise and cursed loudly as the frigid water did its best to give him immediate frostbite.

Their harnesses and other equipment had been abandoned along with their shoes just above the tideline. The thrill-seeking group were dealing with the adrenaline comedown by rolling their pants… trousers above the knees in order to sample the waters of the English Channel in late April. Which was clearly a lot closer to the Arctic Circle than his knowledge of geography had previously suggested.

He mock-glared at Estera who was unflinchingly shin deep in the gentle surf and doubled over laughing at him.

“Can’t we just jump off the cliff again?”

“I thought you lived by the sea?”

“Not this kind of sea!” Oops that was edging closer to a whine than he was proud of. Come on Tracy, man up.

He edged cautiously back to where the waves lapped over the pebbles and gritted his teeth to suppress the shudder as the nerves in his toes gave up and died on the spot.

“Last night I went for a swim and it was 72 degrees…” he quickly converted “about 22 Celsius.”

“Aaah this would be about 10.”

That figured.

“You should come back at Christmas, it’s tradition to swim in it on Boxing Day, sometimes we break the ice to do so.”

“Yep, I’m increasingly convinced the British are insane.”

She kicked icy water at him. He shrieked in an incredibly macho way and responded in the only way a self-respecting Commander, CEO and Responsible Big Brother could:

Competitively.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Thank you one thousand times to @call-me-casual who captured this scene so beautifully…

[425599167]

The decisions in Fallout: New Vegas contain a lot of nuance, but I'm always able to find a resolution I can be happy with, except when it comes to the Brotherhood of Steel. They have me at a bit of an impasse. This is one situation where my default solution of "sneak attack critical headshots" won't help. The Brotherhood's individual members are among the least hateable of the factions, but they are collectively horrible and I don't know how to avoid fighting them.

Veronica is my favorite companion and the Brotherhood becomes a constant threat to her, she is rightfully terrified they are monitoring her to preserve their secrecy, but she wouldn't want me to destroy them. Also, I'm against mass murder as a general rule. That rule is negotiable if the entire faction is trying to kill me, (e.g. Legion, Fiends, Ghost People) which the Brotherhood isn't... yet. Only a few of them tried to kill me. They destroyed a Followers of the Apocalypse outpost, of which I am a respected member. Since I go the Wild Card route with an army of robots, plus all the advanced tech I brought from the DLC locations, the Brotherhood is going to attack New Vegas at some point. House and Yes Man both predict this, and they're proven correct in endings where the Brotherhood basically become high-tech raiders. Yes Man says they'll want to blow him up, and I will not let that happen, Yes Man is my favorite right below Veronica.

I repaired Helios One and deactivated its weapon system (after fighting through robotic defenses left behind by the Brotherhood, thanks for that), gave ED-E's data to the Followers instead of the Brotherhood, and took control of Hoover Dam. If you don't have Veronica in tow, your first interaction with the Brotherhood will be them strapping a bomb collar to your neck, and for all their talk about how crazy Elijah was, that's his standard approach. The Brotherhood aren't as relentlessly cruel as the Legion, but every interaction builds them up as dangerous to everyone, and an inevitable threat to a Wild Card Courier specifically. Their main protection is that I don't want to make my bestie sad. Not only do I like Veronica, I share her goals and her success is an indicator of the Mojave's future. If Veronica is sad, that means I am failing.

Even if I don't involve myself, the Brotherhood will only grow more desperate and dangerous. I didn't complete the mission to replace McNamara with Hardin because that would be stupid of me, but if the situation continued, Hardin would probably attempt a coup anyway, then more Brotherhood members will die from infighting. Then Hardin would pick fights with local factions, probably beginning with the Van Graffs. It won't accomplish anything since the Van Graffs in Freeside are only one outpost and their company doesn't just salvage energy weapons, they understand the technology and can manufacture their own. Now the Brotherhood has yet another enemy, one that can match their weapons. Sure would be unfortunate if someone sold the Van Graffs a prototype pulse gun Veronica feared could destroy the Brotherhood. Actually, that's probably a bad idea unless I can make the securitrons EMP-proof.

Eventually, the bunker's air filtration systems will break down on their own. Parts can be found in the vaults, the Brotherhood can handle Vault 11, but Vaults 3 & 22 would definitely cost them a few people. I could also get the parts, then never return them to the Brotherhood, making it even harder for them to locate replacements. Eventually the bunker would become uninhabitable and they'd evacuate. That's better than killing them all, but not by very much. Yeah, I won't kill them, I'll just make their home unlivable, force them to leave, then repair the bunker later and claim it for myself. I don't feel like the good guy.

My knack for underhanded strategies really shined when I retrieved the holotapes of dead paladins to demoralize McNamara, then took the mission to deliver the scouts' reports, killed the scouts (one died in a crossfire with Legion assassins), then never continued the quest so the lockdown remains. I feel kinda bad about that, but who's gonna tell McNamara? Obviously not those scouts.

One option I thought about was using pulse weaponry to wreck so much of their power armor and energy weapons that they can no longer maintain their armed forces. That might be wishful thinking, and I don't have any plan for what to do afterwards. I don't want their destruction or surrender, I want them to leave New Vegas alone. A written apology to Veronica, signed by every member of the Mojave chapter, would also be appreciated. I'd fix their air filters in exchange for that.

In theory, I could try and befriend the Brotherhood, but the whole point of Veronica's quest is they will not course-correct under any circumstances short of imminent destruction by the regional superpowers. Even the truce with the NCR is conditional on returning salvaged power armor. It doesn't matter how nice I am or what I do to help, they will not let me share advanced tech with the wasteland, and that's been my ultimate goal through all this. I'm not giving up on that to appease these guys.

This is one of the plot threads where post-ending theories can get interesting and gutwrenching, because the best option is "hope their society collapses on its own before I'm forced to kill or be killed".

[marta-bee]

News of the Day 4/22/25: CECOT

Paywall be gone.

This is the mega-prison in El Salvador where Trump & Co. are sending the Venezuelans we're claiming are Tren de Aragua gang members. We're not actually vetting that here or in El Salvador, and given how sketchy some of the evidence turns out to be when released, that's truly unnerving. Doubly so when you consider how Trump & Co. are insisting they can't get people back even if they get it wrong, and paying for all this on our dime. All that's more than enough.

I hadn't stopped to consider what life in the jail was actually like, though. I found the details a little disturbing, so I'll leave you all to click through if you want to read more. But I went into this thinking labelling CECOT as a kind of gulag was overselling it; based on the little I've read it's not.

More details about the alleged TdA inmates, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and immigration-related shenanigans generally, behind the cut.

Read Conservative Judge’s Full Opinion Rebuking Trump Administration Over Abrego Garcia Case (X) Seriously, if you read one other link about these cases, let it be this one. It feels historic.

About those Venezuelans Trump claims are Tren de Aragua, and Trump's Plan to Send them to CECOT

AP PHOTOS: A look at the huge prison in El Salvador linked to US deportations

El Salvador’s Strongman Forges Closer Ties With Trump (X)

Experts: $6 million payment to Salvadoran prison likely violates US human rights law (x)

There May Just Be Consequences Yet for Trump’s Summit of the Tinhorns at the White House. It seems as if Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg was not amused at Trump mocking the federal judiciary’s deportation orders.

El Salvador’s Bukele Plans to Double the Size of Giant Prison Holding U.S. Deportees (X)

US and El Salvador Guilty of 'Grave' Crimes of Enforced Disappearance, Arbitrary Detention: Human Rights Watch (X)

About 90% of Migrants Deported to El Salvador Had No US Criminal Record (X)

AP PHOTOS: A look at the huge prison in El Salvador linked to US deportations

Experts: $6 million payment to Salvadoran prison likely violates US human rights law (x)

There May Just Be Consequences Yet for Trump’s Summit of the Tinhorns at the White House. It seems as if Chief U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg was not amused at Trump mocking the federal judiciary’s deportation orders.

El Salvador’s Bukele Plans to Double the Size of Giant Prison Holding U.S. Deportees (X)

US and El Salvador Guilty of 'Grave' Crimes of Enforced Disappearance, Arbitrary Detention: Human Rights Watch (X)

About 90% of Migrants Deported to El Salvador Had No US Criminal Record (X)

... and Kilmar Abrego Garcia specifically

Who is Kilmar Ábrego García, the man wrongly deported to El Salvador?

Maryland Sen. Van Hollen says he was denied entry to the El Salvador prison holding Abrego Garcia

What we know about Kilmar Abrego Garcia and MS-13 allegations

Kilmar Ábrego García’s wife rejects Trump officials’ depictions of him as ‘violent’

Does It Matter If [Garcia]'s a Criminal? (X)

Sen. Chris Van Hollen says Abrego Garcia described being ‘traumatized’ at CECOT, has been moved to different detention center (X)

Trump’s deportation of Maryland man divides conservatives  (X)

How a defunct gang registry helped deliver Kilmar Abrego García to a Salvadoran prison (X)

House Democrats travel to El Salvador to meet Abrego García (X)

Maryland dad Abrego Garcia moved out of brutal El Salvador jail but remains behind bars, says senator who met with him (X)

Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia—and showed what can be accomplished when Dems act beyond the bare minimum. (X)

More Democratic lawmakers are visiting El Salvador on Abrego Garcia’s behalf

Constitutional Crises and Other Illegalities

U.S. intelligence contradicts Trump’s justification for mass deportations (X)

Trump Says Alleged Gang Members Don't Need Hearings Because the Government Is Infallible. The Supreme Court unanimously rejected that claim, upholding the right to due process in deportation cases. (X)

ACLU asks Supreme Court to block ‘imminent’ new Alien Enemies Act deportation (X)

Supreme Court orders Trump administration not to deport Venezuelans under Alien Enemies Act for now (X)

The Supreme Court’s Late-Night Rebuke to Trump Is Extraordinary in More Ways Than One (X)

The Trump Administration’s Gamesmanship Is the Reason for This Weekend’s Frenetic Litigation (X)

An Urgent Supreme Court Order Protecting Migrants Was Built for Speed (X)

After remarkable Supreme Court rebuke, Trump administration slams ‘meritless litigation’ (X)

Alito’s Emergency Deportation Dissent Misrepresents the Most Crucial Fact in the Case (X)

Venezuelan migrants were set for deportation without judicial review, lawyers tell US Supreme Court (X)

Who Is J. Harvie Wilkinson, the Judge Behind a Scathing Rebuke of the White House? (X)

... and specifically about sending "home-growns" (that's us American citizens) to CECOT

‘Home growns are next’: Trump tells El Salvador president to build more jails for U.S. citizens

Trump is already skirting due process. Now he’s musing about deporting citizens

Can Trump Really Deport US Citizens to El Salvador? (X)

White House floats deporting U.S. citizens. Justice Sotomayor just warned about that. (X)

ProPublica: Some Americans Have Already Been Caught in Trump’s Immigration Dragnet. More Will Be. (X)

We Are US Citizens. My Children Are Still Terrified of Being Deported. (X)

The Larger View

A day in the life of one migrant seeking to stay in the U.S.

Trump and the Courts Have Abandoned Deportees (X)

The U.S. rounded up my parents during World War II. Trump is reviving that cruelty (X)

National Review: What the Abrego Garcia Dispute Is Really About (X)

By defying the Justices’ ruling on a man mistakenly sent to El Salvador, the Administration has shown that it is not owed the deference typically shown to the executive branch. (X)

Judges warn Trump risks public perception of lawlessness in his fight wi`th courts. (X)

Two Good Reasons Democrats Should Fight for Kilmar Abrego Garcia (X)

The Trump administration is substantially scaling back the State Department's annual reports on international human rights to remove longstanding critiques of abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corruption and restrictions on participation in the political process

A legal scholar argues that the judiciary’s “passive-aggressive approach” to the Trump Administration is doomed to fail. (X)

What Happens When Presidents Defy Court Orders? “The Executive will lose much from a public perception of its lawlessness and all of its attendant contagions.” (X)

Other Immigration-related Shenanigans

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Trump Plan to End Birthright Citizenship. The Trump administration had asked the justices to lift a nationwide pause on the policy as lower court challenges continue. (X)

U.S.-born American citizen under ICE hold in Florida after driving from Georgia. Juan Carlos Gomez-Lopez is being held even though a county judge found his birth certificate “authentic” and said there wasn’t reason to consider him an “illegal alien.” (X)

More immigrants opt to self-deport rather than risk being marched out like criminals (X)

Trump & Co. are sharing immigrants' IRS data with DHS. An interview with a tax lawyer on the illegality of the IRS sharing peoples' tax data:

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #36

36. FINLAND Windows95Man - "No Rules!" 19th place

Decade ranking: 143/153 [Above Nadir, below Let3]

Okay so, I promised in Saturday's post that I would try to be positive, but I may already have to rescind on that promise lol. (the "lol" is for punctuation because I definitely did not laugh.) "No rules!" stinks and has very few redeeming qualities. 🙂 Natalia was right, she WAS robbed by a Nudist Demon!

For real, does anyone over the age of twenty-five enjoy this dumpster fire? If so, fukk meee. LOVE YOURSELVES.

As I noted in my UMK review back in Feb:

I have difficulty buying into this hyperactive ball of bad taste. “Fuck The System” always feels like the go-to message of individuals that fail to fit into social structures that aren’t fully of their own shaping. For an entry that’s all “live as you like, there’s no rules!” in its messaging, these two look like they conform to just about every styling and behavioural rule associated with Zoomer culture: A total disregard for general aesthetics over a dumbed-down drone of a beat because everything is ironic and nothing is to be taken seriously.  It is a depressing take on life. Yeah sure, a bit of camp levity is welcome in this loathesome world, but any happy song that weaponizes irony like this one trends towards encouraging irresponsibility, cynicism and nihilism. Some things DO matter in life, you know? You need to afford your bills and groceries, charge your social batteries, cultivate your friendships, or else you’ll wind up living alone in a van, down by the river. But if the latter life appeals to you, then this is the entry for you, I guess. For me though; this contest is already has one Joost Klein. Let’s not add a second one from Finland.

Funny how I nailed that even before knowing the full extent of it. I ofc vastly underestimated how bad the live would be, and as soon as I'd seen it my scepsis immediately supernova'd into intense HATRED. If ONLY "Paskana" hadn't been weak as piss. Yes, the cringe in "No Rules!" is deliberate, obviously, I have a sense of humour. Having a sense of humour is why I hate it? How much "deliberated cringe" can one tolerate before concluding "nope, this is r o t t e n." Does it start with

THE BAD GUNTER IMPRESSION?

or

THE DONALD DUCKING?

or

CALLING HIMSELF" A QUEEN"?

or

screaming "SEE ME SLAYYYY" :proceeds to not slay: ?

It definitely ends in whatever this shot is supposed to be.

Humour is subjective sure enough, and Windowsninetycringeman's jokes fall flatter than a pancake á moi. Why is everything denim? Why is this THIRTY-NINE YEAR OLD MAN still engaging in toilet humour and internet speak? Grow the f up? The art lies in the execution and Finland showed neither. I do NOT like Europapa much, but having Finland and not Netherlands in the final vibes wrong on so many levels. Europapa at least had a clear plan and delivered its nonsense in contained, piecemeal doses? It was COMPETENT in what it attempted to be (A Televote Winner), not a lazy amalgation of simple-minded drunk jokes strung together over a Planet of The Bass megamix as some sort of a Hail Mary. Joost and Teemu represent the Expectations/Reality divide of Zoomer Nonsense and it was darksided that only the latter got to compete for points. But on top of that, Teemu was generally just full of shit? Hooray, an Old Millennial engaging in Zoomer Cringe who lets an actual zoomer do all the vocal heavy lifting, without giving him a single featuring credit. Yay! It's a painfully accurate depiction of what being a zoomer is like, but not an intentional one.

Also remember when Teemu said he would "try to discreetly approach the other contestants to find ways to show support for Palestine" (remember that this contest was supposed to be 'not political'?) Hm yes discreet. So discreet he declared his intentions to interviewers so that everyone would know it was HIS idea. "Discreet", human please. And the result of all that talk was...

(lol I'm SO making it sound like I care about what political standpoints any of these acts took, and I don't. But I do call out a fraud when I spot one.)

Yeah well thanks for trying, but I'd rather you hadn't. A statement you can apply to my feelings of the entry overall. Okay, we've reached full circle, time to move on to our designated palate cleanser because THIS page is a safe zone for people of good taste.

The universe where YLE overrules the results and sends THEM to ESC is the one where we head to Helsinki twice in a row.

THE RANKING

[confluence-and-drift]

Oh, after e-mailing my vet, I just noticed an e-mail from royal mail telling me that my goldenglow plushie has arrived in the UK and is currently on a truck making it's way up towards the Glasgow distribution centre/ sitting in the centre to be loaded onto a van and delivered to me tomorrow some point before 3pm. Should be cool ^^. I mean, I do feel a bit dumb in that I made a big expenditure and then suddenly I need money for something a lot more important (the vet), but ofc, that's the very definition of hindsight. I had no idea I'd need the cash and only bought the plushie becuase I could afford it, it's not like I was being an idiot. But you know how it is, there's always a voice asking you if you're truly being responsible by indulging in your hobbies etc. In any case, it'll be joining my Dusk plushie on her shelf, looking for ward to it ^^.

[holestodegrade]

The parcel will be delivered by men in grey suits who will arrive in a grey van labelled "DP Farm Services LLC". The men (and of course it will be men) will drop off a large cardboard box. Packing list: - (A): 1 locking collar with matching close-fitting eyeless hood - (A*): Inside, please find a pair of inductively charged ear buds. Once securely in place, these will temporarily fuse to the ears. - (B): 1 neck corset, locks securely to A - (C): 1 rigid dental gag, with fixtures for A and B - (D): 1 posture harness (compare to a corset in the style of B, with rigid attachment points for A -(D*): note the modular removing panels, which allow portions to be exposed or covered as needed. - (E): 1 reinforced leather/composite arm sheath, to be attached to the rear of D - (F): 2 ball mittons, which lock and affix to E. - (G): 2 stochastic/intermittent reinforcement nipple entertainments with optional suction, vibration, shock, and rapid heading attachments. - (H): 1 hypodermic (please confirm your account is associated with the indicated credit card nearing default before injection) This assortment does not include the optional long term air/gas, hydration/intoxication, or other long term care and transport features. The default audio loop has been queued within the earbuds to enhance the subject's calm. The subject will carefully read the instructions, and confirm the contents are complete prior to putting them on. If there are any problems, you will be contacted shortly. Please apply the earbuds to continue with audio instructions. (Caution: language skills may temporarily become unavailable. You are strongly encouraged to follow along with the herd on this one.) Please note: Other farmers in your area may wish to contact you to subcontract services. As long as they have the DP logo, you are hereby instructed to give every attention to possibly-legitimate instructions they may have.

Pulling open the packet I read everything twice, three times before trying to decide what to do. I'd paid the non refundable fee, but if I chose not to go through with it I could just throw away what had been delivered.

The mask was latex cow print, holes for my nostrils and septum ring to poke through as well as an open area for my mouth. The straps on the side could link with the gag and the posture collar provided. The bell on the collar clanked loudly as I held it, fingers going over the large fastening on the back.

The posture harness had the same cowprint on every panel, clearly able to expose whatever part of my body was required at that moment. The rest of me would be left naked, stripped and waiting for someone to arrive and put me back into the box and deliver me to my new location.

With a deep breath I put the posture collar on, feeling the click of the fastening and the bell hit the top of my chest. I followed it with my posture harness, feeling how I could no longer move my torso separately but had to all together. My udders pushed forward, a groan leaving my lips as I attached the nipple adornments.

It didn't take long for me to hold the mask in my hands and take one final deep breath before slipping it on and feeling the earbuds fuse against me. Before I could let myself get distracted by the low noises I forced the gag into my mouth, immediately feeling it fill with drool as humiliation pulsed through me and made my cunt throb.

The final step was picking up the needle and plunging it into my thigh while depressing the plunger. I pulled it out and laid down while the drugs inside began to work, finally letting the voices in my ears take over.

Moooooooooooooooo

[inquisitornocturn]

◇ Inter Stellas Inveniam Te ◇

◇◇◇ Chapter I - In Nomine Dominae Inquisitoris

⚜ 𝖕𝖆𝖎𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: Xavier Calcazar/Volenta Calcazar (OC)/Heinrix van Calox

⚜ 𝖙𝖆𝖌𝖘: Overall story rating - E. Overall tags - romance, disaster polycule, more tba. This chapter - some fondling and erections.

⚜ 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞 𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: Even the most powerful have their weaknesses. Volenta has more than a few of her own. One such weakness being her husband. Another - her love for toying with others. Her station permits it, but it doesn't come without consequences, because Lady Inquisitor soon finds herself entangled with another man. And she doesn't know just what events will unfold when the man she's married to gets assigned to look over the Koronus Expanse.

In the 41st millennium, there's only war. Be it on surfaces of planets, on the decks of spaceships or… in personal lives. And those battles are not easily won.

⚜ 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞: Volenta has been busy while her husband is away, but upon his return to Terra, Xavier calls her asking for a favor. He needs her to question and inspect his own right-hand man, Heinrix van Calox. But Interrogator doesn't know just what exactly awaits him when he's summoned to the Lady Inquisitor's office. He will learn soon enough.

⚜ 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: 6,236 | AO3 | Chapter navigation

⚜ 𝖆/𝖓: Aaaaalright, where do I even begin. Let me put it under the cut.

For those familiar with the name and who haven't seen me speak about this - this is the second reiteration of my OC, Lady Inquisitor Volenta. What changed? Well, I have decided to scrap the story I was writing and restart it. Why? Because the first story was my attempt to adapt this character to a Rogue Trader playthrough. And thus I attempted to make her a Rogue Trader. However, that's not how Volenta was "conceived" nor was it the truest version of her story. I wanted to get there, but the path appeared tedious and, truthfully, dishonest to her. And so I'm writing her story anew, from an angle I always envisioned.

Some of you might have noticed I made some new adjustments. I am no longer going to be using second POV for this, and the events that were in the first version of the story simply never happened, except from the flashbacks, that I might include in this story as well, eventually. For the time being - if you read the first fic, please forget everything you knew about Volenta. It wasn't her. Or rather it was her, just not the most honest and true to heart version of her. This, however, is it. Enjoy♡

Oh, and for those curious - the title translates to Among the Stars, I Will Find You♡

I'm sure most of the men in the galaxy are familiar with the sinking feeling that accompanies the words "Do you think you could do me a little favour, darling?", but when the woman asking the question is an inquisitor it's even less wise than usual to say "No". – Sandy Mitchell “Duty Calls”

“You can do this favor for me, can’t you?” Xavier’s voice comes through the receiver and Volenta sighs, leaning back in her chair. Her leg is draped over the other, wrist on the armrest, fingers relaxed. Black cloak with silver trimmings is hanging on the wall nearby, Inquisition’s symbol facing the room. But she’s not looking at it, she’s looking outside the window and down onto the life below.

“I can, but I’m not too sure if it’s my jurisdiction, Xavier.”

“Everything is your jurisdiction if you want to make it so.”

“It’s not that simple.” She turns to her desk and looks down at the folder that a servo-skull delivered to her office before the vox call came. Printed pict of a man she knows decently, but not too well. Heinrix van Calox.

“Volenta, I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t think it was of utmost importance that you personally look into this.” Xavier says calmly and she hears some sort of clicking on his end. She knows that because he left to another sector some weeks ago he is only now returning to Terra.

“Are you sure it’s worth this much attention? People will talk that I’ve called him to my office. It might do more harm than good. Why your own people in Ordo Xenos can’t check him?” Tapping her fingers on the papers, Volenta looks at the face in the pict.

“Because they are not Ordo Hereticus and they are certainly not you.”

“You must really hate him.” Volenta smiles slightly, amused by the fact that Xavier got so concerned about his own interrogator to a point he wants her to question and inspect him.

“On the contrary. In fact, I am just making sure that my retinue is not compromised.” A sigh, a pause, then Xavier continues in a more tender voice and more quietly as well. “My dear, you can do this favor for me, I know you can.”

Volenta smiles despite herself and leans back in her chair again. “Of course I can, but should I? Are you not abusing your private ties for personal gain?”

Xavier chuckles and she can imagine him giving her a look full of humorous spark. “Absolutely not. Ensuring that an agent of the Golden Throne has not been corrupted by Ruinous powers benefits all of the Imperium, not just me.”

And she knows he’s right. But Volenta is right as well. No other inquisitor can just call her like this and ask that she personally looks into someone with no other proof of heresy besides that an agent has been on a risky mission. Xavier is pulling the strings to protect himself and her heart warms at the thought.

“When he is coming back?” She looks down at the printout and taps her finger over Heinrix’s face in the pict.

“He should be arriving at Headquarters in about half an hour.”

“Did you tell him to meet me?”

“No. He only reported to me about his mission few hours ago and I instructed him to go to his own office and await my return there.” A pause, some sort of interruption and Volenta has to move the receiver away from her. A crackle as loud as a clap of hands rings out and she winces, but then presses the machine back to her ear. “You can summon him upon the return.”

“Right.” She sighs again and flips through the report pages on just what kind of mission Heinrix has been sent.

“I have to go. We’re about to enter Terra’s segment and I need to be on the bridge.”

“Xavier?”

“Yes, my dear?”

“I miss you.”

A pause, a heartbeat and a breath. Painful silence near tears at her throat like a rabid dog. She has never been an emotional woman, Inquisition didn’t train her to be one, but Xavier is her weakness, just as she is his. “I miss you too. See you tonight?”

Smiling again, Volenta closes her eyes for a moment. “Yes.”

The connection cuts and she looks outside of the window into the skies above, wondering where his spacecraft is right now. Is it above? She didn’t ask where he is going to make planetfall. Not with the flagship, it will most likely get moved to a nearby station for maintenance and necessary repairs. But her husband could either come here, to the Inquisition’s Headquarters, or just head home. Home, to where they spend time together when the Imperium is not calling for them to serve dutifully. And it often does, making moments of serenity even more precious.

Volenta herself has been on Terra for a while now. Besides an odd mission here and there, she mainly attends meetings and dictates operations that draw her special attention. As someone who hunts down heresy within the Ordos itself – she’s tasked with a duty that alienates her from her own people, but also gives her a barely comprehensible amount of power. She is the authority that everyone fears. She is the Inquisitor of Inquisitors. And she does not take her duty lightly.

She also knows that to every agent, being summoned to her office, or if she finds someone herself, that usually means one ending, and one ending only. Her marriage to another inquisitor doesn’t make things easier for her either. Many despise her and Volenta has lost the count of times when someone tried to ruin her marriage and hurt her this way. Out of hatred, out of retaliation but mostly out of fear. Everyone fears her. Everyone, except for Xavier.

He was the one who picked her up from the trenches of an Astra Militarum regiment when she was barely seventeen and he was the one who made her an acolyte. She owes him everything and now she’s… Well, she’s someone he is proud to call his wife and has been doing so ever since that shotgun wedding ceremony fifty-three years ago. It happened fast, just before they both marched into a battle against the Chaos forces. Xavier had a Ministorum priest in his retinue at the time and the man married them in a shadowy armory, with sounds of gunnery muffled by the steel walls. Xavier could’ve sanctified the marriage himself and Volenta, being an Interrogator in her own right at the time, could’ve done the same in a pinch, but someone else there to witness them swear undying love to the Emperor and each other felt more special.

It still feels special whenever she thinks of it, but right now Volenta knows she shouldn’t give into the sentiment or melancholy. So instead of letting her heart beat fast at the prospect of meeting Xavier who she hasn’t seen in weeks, she focuses on the file again and catches the necessary details of Van Calox’s mission. Planet name, mission he was on, the success of such a task, losses reported. Seems Heinrix has been briefly cornered by the cultists. And the more Volenta reads the report, the more she understands Xavier’s personal caution. For three days Heinrix has been missing until his colleagues managed to extract him from the heretical lair. Who knows what could’ve happened there.

Still, according to the report, interrogator has been inspected by the on-board technicians and not have been found to bear the mark of Chaos, but through last few decades their tools have become different. Not more sophisticated per se, but more prone to being overlooked even by those skilled in seeking such signs of betrayal. Very well, Volenta thinks to herself and lets the pages drop, she will inspect him herself.

Reaching to the vox communicator, she presses the button. “Summon Interrogator Heinrix van Calox of Ordo Xenos serving in Inquisitor Xavier Calcazar’s retinue.”

“Any specific time, Lady Inquisitor?” A male voice responds without delay, as if his sole purpose in life is to answer her.

“As soon as possible. It’s not urgent, but I prefer not to delay the inevitable.”

“Understood, Lady Inquisitor.”

Releasing the button she takes a cup of recaf that thankfully hasn’t gone fully cold yet and drinks from it. Half an hour is not much time, but her duties never end, so she puts Heinrix’s file to the side and begins flipping through folder filled to the brim of rumors and gossip about one Inquisitor Gisbern Ghaul, who seems to be collecting enemies faster than tyranids procreate. Glancing at the servo-skull, one of the two, hanging over her right shoulder and making sure it’s ready for her diction, Volenta takes another drink from her cup and begins: “Inquisitorial Enquiry #58963, performed by Lady Inquisitor Volenta Calcazar on 840.M41. Location – Terra, Segmentum Solar. Subject: Suspicious heretical activity by Inquisitor Gisberd Ghaul of Ordo Malleus, Neutra Conclave.”

<Pict attached of the suspect named.> Servo-skull chirps in and Volenta looks down at the file. It also has pict of a man. No way to tell when this was taken, but the inquisitor in question appears to be around sixty. He’s without doubt much older than he looks. Short cropped brown hair, brown eyes, augmetic over his chin and nose. He doesn’t look much different than any other man of the Imperium besides clearly hailing from some Hive world or another, just like herself.

“Inquisitor Ghaul is accused of-“

“Lady Inquisitor.” The vox on her desk clicks to life just as she is about to begin narrating the most credible rumors about the inquisitor, but looks at the machine instead and enables the receiver. “Interrogator Van Calox has been informed of your request to see him and is proceeding towards your office.”

“Very well. Thank you, Antonius. You know the protocol. I am not to be interrupted during the preliminary interrogation.”

“Yes, Lady Inquisitor.” A pause, as if the man on the other end of the vox is too scared to make a mistake. “More recaf?”

“No.”

“Very well, Lady Inquisitor. The Emperor protects.”

Volenta releases the button and waves at the servo-skull for it to drift away, where it lingers by the cogitator right by the other one. The second servo-skull is constantly scanning inner channels of Inquisition’s communicators for any trigger words that a tech-priest in Volenta’s personal employ has invented for her. Nobody knows of this little thing that has delivered her more proof on some traitors than eye-witness accounts through the years. Well, nobody except for the HV-871, who for the sake of laymen goes by the name of Nesex. She considered getting rid of him. One less mouth to speak of secrets it shouldn’t spill, but in the end Volenta prioritized maintenance of the servo-skull over secrecy. She didn’t make a mistake, Nesex is still in her retinue, serving obediently and with pride.

While she’s setting away the files that nobody else except for her should see, Volenta finishes her recaf. She knows that after this she will need something stronger. These past few days have been long and she barely slept because a very panicked servant girl reported three acolytes and one Trusted harassing her with tales of heresy. Volenta’s job, because it happened on the premises of the Headquarters, was to interrogate the four acolytes. None survived.

Still, the job was unpleasant and tedious, and Volenta is trying not to dream of going home. Maybe Xavier will be there, although it’s too early to say. Upon her own returns to Terra, she is usually assaulted with endless tasks and reports thus she doesn’t expect Xavier to go through anything different. Especially because Terra’s own Grandmaster has been sending more and more of his inquisitors to far sectors. Sometimes it feels like Imperium is burning.

A knock on the door and Volenta leans back in her chair, gloved fingers steepled and elbows on the armrests. “Come in.”

Without a pause, the door slides open, activated by her voice command, and behind it stands Heinrix van Calox. His expression is unreadable, icy but not apprehensive. After all, they have met many times. Volenta even goes out of her way to make the man squirm in his uniform when she’s in a more elevated mood. Although most of those meetings happen when she works with Xavier, so she rarely has any private time with him. Not that either of them need it. He respects and fears her, and on Volenta’s end if an agent of the Golden Throne escapes her notice, that’s all the better for them.

“Lady Inquisitor Calcazar, you wanted to see me?” He enters and stops far away, bowing his head.

“Come closer, Heinrix.”

A slightest of pauses, but interrogator does step forwards, reaching two carved armchairs. They are not as elaborate as Volenta’s own, but still nonetheless impressive. Everything in her office oppresses him. From gilded columns to vaulted ceilings painted with images of Emperor’s grace and Inquisitorial moments of historic pride. A wooden desk, several wooden bookshelves, neatly filled with black boxes full of casefiles. A dresser, also wooden, has a plate of drinks in crystal decanters upon it. And of course, countless skulls, aquilas and Inquisition’s own symbols tastefully adorn almost every surface. He sees the candles, the servo-skulls, her cloak hanging from the hook in the wall, and a stand where Volenta’s power sword and a plasma pistol rest, close enough for her to just reach out and take them.

Lingering by the chairs, Heinrix casts just one cursory glance around, allowing himself inspection of the room that he has never been in before. His Adam apple bobs when the man swallows with increasing nervousness.

“I did indeed request to see you.” She begins and watches him with keen interest that makes Heinrix’s palms itch. “Do you know why?” The way she speaks, slow and with every word clearly pronounced, it’s like a weight upon his shoulders.

“No, Lady Inquisitor.”

“No, you don’t.” She exhales slightly and lets her gaze openly roam over his form and stance. “Would you try and guess?”

“With all due respect, Lady Inquisitor, I would prefer if you got straight to the point.” Again he bows his head and she smiles slightly, then stands, making Heinrix immediately fixate his look on her.

“Yes, wasting time is not a habit you have, correct?”

“No, Lady Inquisitor.”

Heinrix watches her walk around the table so that she can lean against it before him. Folding arms on her chest, Volenta eyes him again. “Very well, if you want to proceed with the procedure, I won’t deny your request.”

“Excuse me, Inquisitor Volenta, what do you mean by procedure?”

Her eyes meet his and she notices the slight difference of color in them once again. She finds it endearing and that makes her smile, but just a little. “You have been named to me as a possible victim to heresy. Specifically, you are suspected of being brainwashed and marked by Chaos forces during your capture on Steflin Prim.”

She watches Heinrix’s eyes widen and his face blanch with every word that leaves her mouth. His fingers begin to tremble before they ball into fists, like Heinrix is trying to stave away the shakes that threaten to overtake him.

“Lady Inquisitor, in all my years I served the Imperium and God-Emperor without a fault, who could even suggest such a thing?” Even Heinrix’s voice trembles, although barely noticeably. Maybe someone else wouldn’t notice, but Volenta does. She notices everything and especially the beads of sweat that begin to appear on the interrogator’s forehead.

“Your question should be not who accused you, but what you can do to clear your name of this accusation if you find it duplicitous or fallacious.”

Heinrix pales even further and immediately clenches his jaw like he’s trying to prevent something incredibly stupid from leaving his mouth. “Yes, Lady Inquisitor.” He swallows, feeling his throat become parchment dry. “Please, forgive my shock. I just didn’t expect this to be the reason of why I am here.”

Volenta smiles wider and rises an eyebrow at him. “Really? And what did you expect? That I’ve called you over for a cup of recaf to discuss the weather?” Something almost friendly is in how she speaks, but definitely taunting too. It’s if she’s telling Heinrix that he was stupid not to suspect something dire and potentially endangering his life.

A sweat drop rolls down Heinrix’s temple and he attempts to swallow again then exhales slowly, shallowly. “No, Lady Inquisitor, of course not. I just thought-“

“You didn’t think, clearly. Because if you did think, you would’ve avoided making assumptions about why I call anyone to my office.” Volenta’s smile is gone like it was never there to begin with and for a long moment Heinrix forgets to breathe. He hopes that he can survive this encounter because it doesn’t matter that his mentor is married to this woman right in front of him. One word from her lips can become a death sentence and she won’t even need to have a reason if he displeases her so.

“My deepest apologies, Lady Inquisitor.” Heinrix immediately bows his head, deeper than before, and closes his eyes for just a moment when his rosette swings below him, catching his gaze. Panic is beginning to rise in his heart and throat, choking him not unlike Emperor’s justice he inflicts upon the others. Is it his turn now? But he still has yet so much to do.

“Disarm, Interrogator Van Calox.” She speaks and Heinrix has to use every ounce of his willpower to straighten upwards, meet her eyes and begin the process of removing his weaponry.

Thankfully, he only has his sword and a pistol strapped to the belt. The heavy psyker staff Heinrix only brings when he expects a fight, and this is of course not such an encounter. And even if it were a fight, it’s not the one that he would live through to relish the victory of. Placing his items on the chair on his left, Heinrix stands straight again, jaw clenching so impossibly tight that his teeth begin to feel loose in their sockets.

“Very good.” Volenta doesn’t move, arms still crossed under the chest, emphasizing the heftiness that is clad in black. Heinrix tries not to look. Inquisitor’s own grey eyes row over his form again and Heinrix feels a chill run down his spine. He doesn’t know what to expect.

“Lady Inquisitor, if I could only explain the mission and what happened, I’m sure you would see that this is all just a huge misunderstanding, if not outright a smear campaign against my person.” How weak his voice sounds doesn’t escape Heinrix’s notice and again he tries to swallow but by now his throat is too dry.

“I’ve read your file and your report.” Volenta pointedly glances over her shoulder at a black, open folder, clearly placed in such way that even from where he stands the Interrogator can see his own pict looking at the ceiling. “I don’t think anything you can tell me will clear the suspicions cast upon you, Van Calox. The only way to prove your innocence, if I shall so desire, is to make sure that you don’t carry any heretical markings, willingly taken or otherwise.”

“Lady Inquisitor, I have been inspected upon my return to the spaceship and-“

“Strip.”

One word and yet it sounds as loud as a whip crack in the air. Heinrix just stares at Volenta, completely speechless. Can she do this? No, of course she can. A proper question would be what she cannot do and this clearly is something that Lady Inquisitor very much intends to do. There’s no humor in her eyes that he sometimes sees when she is in the presence of his mentor and there’s not even a cruel yet somehow playful smirk on her lips. Nothing, just a stony expression betraying nothing and her pale grey eyes glaring at him with such power that his knees begin to feel weak. He has no choice.

“Yes, Lady Inquisitor.”

Turning his gaze away to preserve his dignity, Heinrix begins to remove articles of clothing. First the pauldrons and the cape, then his jacket follows. He pauses only one time, to glance at Volenta before unbuttoning his shirt and when she nods, he proceeds without a fuss. Internally, however, he’s burning with shame and Volenta knows that. No matter how stoic or icy Heinrix’s demeanor is even as he undresses, she still notices a faint blush coloring his cheeks.

When Heinrix’s shirt gets draped over the chair’s backrest, atop his jacket and cloak, he takes off his boots, then socks too, placing everything neatly by the chair. Then he pauses again, giving Volenta a second questioning look and when she again patiently nods to him, he lets out a defeated sigh and unbuckles his belt, dropping his pants.

Complete silence in the room doesn’t help Heinrix feel any more comfortable and he knows that it’s on purpose. Left in only his underwear, the man stands tall and hopes to appear dignified enough despite the undignified situation.

“Your rosette, remove it as well.” With her voice illustrating her own casualness about the situation, Volenta pulls off her black gloves without even looking at Heinrix. He hesitates again, then removes the object that he perceives no less holy than the items touched personally by the Emperor.

Before putting it away, Heinrix looks at the rosette, then exhales slightly and sets it aside with respect over the rest of his clothes. Suddenly, his attention is stolen by Volenta when he hears an unpleasant snap. Trying his hardest not to show his alarm, Heinrix watches Lady Inquisitor pull a pair of black latex gloves over her slender hands and feels panic rising in his chest.

“Lady Inquisitor?”

“Lose your underwear, agent.” She says still without looking at him and this time Heinrix just stands, completely taken aback.

“What do you intend to do?”

“My duty to the Imperium and the God-Emperor. Follow my orders or I will be forced to subdue you by any means necessary and proceed with my inspection in conditions that you will find far less pleasant than these.”

Here it is, that sharp look of her eyes that makes his knees nearly buckle and this time more intensively than before. He wants to argue, to defend his pride, his damned dignity. To rise his voice and scowl at this woman that outranks him so much he might as well count himself just a mere canon fodder. He knows that refusing will spell his death. He knows that asking her for mercy will doom him. He has no choice, yet again.

For just a moment, which Volenta permits him without a word, Heinrix closes his eyes, fighting the embarrassment that is burning his face and makes his entire body sweat. One drop slides to the tip of his nose and before doing anything just yet, the Interrogator wipes it off with the back of his hand. Finally, with an exhale, he hooks his thumbs into the waistband of his underwear, scowls at the inner conflict and disgrace he’s going through, then in one swift motion he pulls the article down.

Forced not to only undress, but to put his underwear aside, Heinrix opens his eyes and keeps them on his hands while folding the piece of clothing and putting it next his rosette, on a neatly balanced pile of his belongings. He refuses to look at Volenta, unable to keep his expression blank and to pretend that this is not affecting him.

“Good. Shall we start?” Without waiting for his reply, Volenta approaches and he hears dull thuds of her adamantine heels on the carpet when she walks closer. One step, two, three and he sees her before him, although only her bottom half.

At first she just looks at him, smiling to herself upon seeing how distressed and uncomfortable Heinrix is. He doesn’t move, doesn’t even flinch when Volenta reaches out and begins inspecting his body. She starts easy, lifting his chin and looking at his neck, then shoulders, feeling out muscles beneath his skin. There have been reports of heretical tech being implanted in loyal citizens before, she’s not going to make a mistake of letting one of her own walk around with such a contraption. If there is one, of course.

When Volenta takes Heinrix's hand in her fingers, feeling out the flesh, he finally manages to forget the shame of his nudity and observes how carefully Lady Inquisitor is inspecting every inch of his body, bit by bit. He swallows, at last a little bit more at ease. “Did Xavier ask you to do this?” His voice is strained, but he doesn’t care how he sounds anymore.

“Does it matter?” She takes his other hand and despite the heavy blush still coloring Heinrix’s face, he can’t help but rise his eyes to Volenta’s face, seeing nothing but professionalism there.

“No, I guess… I guess it doesn’t.” With a sigh he rises his arms when Volenta begins working on his chest, trying to find the microchip that he knows doesn’t exist. Still, he also understands why she has to look. “I am still honored that you’re doing this yourself, Lady Inquisitor.”

“A blade grows dull if misused. Turn around.” When he does so and Volenta starts the inspection from the top again, moving her fingers over his back with precision as not to miss even the tiniest spot on his body, Heinrix closes his eyes again. “And my senses will grow dull if I’m seated behind my desk, all day, every day, with just the files to look through.”

Heinrix scoffs with amusement before he can stop himself and looks at Volenta over his shoulder, but only sees the top of her head, white hair splayed over her back, loose and silky. “So I have been chosen as a… practice piece?”

“Not at all, the suspicion of heresy is very real.” Glancing upwards at him, Volenta offers him a small smile, but dread fills Heinrix’s chest once again.

“Who… Who accused me?”

“That is classified.” As casually as if she’s doing the most mundane task known to mankind, Volenta squats with ease and makes Heinrix flinch when her fingers now knead his buttocks. Dread is immediately replaced with a new wave of embarrassment and he stands completely still, every muscle on his body taunt from tension.

“Relax. Or are you trying to hide the chip?”

“No! No… of course not. Apologies, Lady Inquisitor.” Sighing, Heinrix tries to relax his body, but the lower her fingers move, the harder it is to actually remain relaxed. Chip be damned, maybe dying is simply just easier than letting her finish. And what about his dignity…

“Part your legs.” She orders with calmness of a slumbering predator and he obeys immediately while staring blankly at the door through which he came. Maybe all of this is a dream after all. Maybe it’s not happening. Maybe the heretics tortured him so severely his mind broke and now he’s living a nightmare without knowing it.

To Heinrix’s relief, Volenta doesn’t actually touch his genitals. She could, he guesses, but she doesn’t and he breathes slightly easier at that. Relaxation becomes simpler to achieve as well. Perhaps he can go through this and come out of the ordeal unscathed, with his reputation cleared.

Movement of cloth reminds Heinrix where he is, for he has gotten momentarily distracted with his own thoughts. He hears Volenta stand and then soon hears her speak. “Turn around again.”

Suddenly reminded of his nakedness once more, Heinrix blushes fiercely and turns around, fighting himself with all the willpower he can muster so that his hands don’t move and attempt to cover the most delicate part on his body. Volenta doesn’t even look at his face and her dark eyelashes are casting delicate shadows beneath her eyes. Beautiful, he catches himself thinking and immediately looks away, to the side and up. Anything to avoid gazing at that face that seems like it’s carved out of purest marble.

Lady Inquisitor is not giving any indication that she’s seeing or even sensing his struggle. Instead she again drops lower and Heinrix inhales sharply. His fingers twitch, and if not for the ardent training as a psyker and an acolyte, he probably would’ve jumped back just now. Her face is so close to his genitals and he prays to the God-Emperor that he doesn’t get an erection. Could Heinrix get sentenced to death for getting an erection? He only knows one thing for sure – absolutely not worth the risk.

Think of something else, anything else, he chants in his mind like it’s another prayer, but Volenta’s fingers become more and more distracting. Sure, they are moving lower, but he doubts that she will skip inspecting his scrotum. No good agent would and what he knows of Lady Inquisitor – she’s the best of the best. He swallows dryly and firmly shuts his eyes, praying every prayer he can recall, even if partially. And yes, here it comes, he knew it would, he knew-

“Don’t twitch so much, Heinrix.” Volenta says and he snaps back to present, forgetting himself and looking down, first seeing rather than feeling that her palm is cupping his balls, so warm through the latex over her hand.

He just gasps, staring down and unable to look away. She doesn’t look back at him, not right away. Only when she uses her fingertips to trace over his shaft, again and again but in slightly different position each time, he makes one tentative step back. It’s not enough to remove himself from her gentle grasp, and he has to admit that she is being extremely careful there, but the attempt is made and this makes Volenta’s eyes snap at him. “Don’t move. This will go faster if you don’t.”

The way she speaks, as this is the most normal thing in the galaxy. He can scarcely believe it. Frozen in spot and with growing terror Heinrix realizes that he lost his focus and thus lost the composure. As if the time itself slows, he watches his shaft swell, lengthen, grow firmer. Pulling back is not an option.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Is all he can stutter out, shame completely overwhelming him and Volenta smiles, skin crinkling around the corners with the genuineness of it. Emperor… she’s not making this any easier.

“Calm down. You’re a man and these things happen. You’re not the first or the last. I’ve seen everything.”

And yet her face is so close. She’s inspecting his cock as closely as she inspected all of him and Heinrix almost lets himself get carried away by the fantasy. Of Volenta sticking out her tongue, tasting him, letting Heinrix experience hot wetness of her mouth. Oh Emperor…

With a pad of her thumb, even though through the glove, Volenta slides over the tip of his erection, making Heinrix flinch at the sensation. It’s not the most pleasant thing he has experienced, but not really unpleasant either. And why he can’t stop himself from looking? What is wrong with him? He swallows again. Why she’s still smiling?

With an amused expression, Volenta finally lets go of Heinrix and stands. Suddenly, her quite lighthearted smile turns into something almost dark, quite sinister and she raises an eyebrow. “Turn around and bend over.”

“W-what?!” Gasping for air, or maybe a breath of dignity, Heinrix just gawks at Volenta. Sweat is dripping down his body and his cock twitches, making Lady Inquisitor glance down for a moment. Then she suddenly laughs and it’s like crystal ringing within these walls.

“I’m kidding. You can dress again.” With a wink and clearly satisfied with her joke, Volenta pulls off her gloves and throws them into a chute that is uncovered only until a small panel in the wall slides open, then closes. Then another door slides open and she disappears out of sight, leaving Heinrix alone and staring at where she was just a moment ago.

Hearing running water, and assuming it’s a faucet where she is washing her hands, Heinrix begins to dress with trembling fingers. He doesn’t care to put on his clothes properly or in tidy, orderly manner. Instead he keeps throwing article after article onto his body, rushing like he never rushed before. He manages to finish before Volenta returns and while his cloak is askew on his shoulders and he missed a button when doing up his jacket, at last Heinrix feels like he has gotten a shred of his dignity back.

He sighs and closes his eyes, calming heavily beating heart that drums against Heinrix’s ribcage like a trapped grox. Inhale, exhale, just like this, slowly. Finally, he begins to feel like himself and opens his eyes just in time to see Volenta returning.

She approaches with confidence and grace, eyeing his far from perfectly assembled uniform and slightly smiles. “You survived and you get a clean bill. From heresy.” She pauses, then smirks a little wider. “I didn’t find any suspicious lumps either. So, maybe a clean medical bill too.”

Volenta looks way too smug and Heinrix blushes heavily again, trying to find words to respond, but instead of letting him pour platitudes about her doing her job, or anything else, Lady Inquisitor grabs his rosette by the chain in her fist and tugs on it. Immediately he bends down towards her, reacting with preservation so that the chain doesn’t snap and is now face to face with Volenta who looks completely satisfied with his embarrassment. “What do we say?” She whispers and Heinrix gulps down something heavy at the back of his throat.

God-Emperor, her eyes, so uncanny and yet it’s like drowning in a pool of moonlight. And her smile, it looks… inviting. No, he shouldn’t, but it’s almost like she’s daring him.

“T-thank you, Lady Inquisitor.” Heinrix whispers and his jaw clenches. His brain is trying to remind his body not to move, not to lean in even further, not to kiss her because… because… because…

“Wonderful!” She teases, of course she does. Volenta sees the mix of emotions on Heinrix’s face, warring with each other. Fear and respect, need and shame, desire and longing. Duty and passion. She can sense the fire beneath his composed demeanor even if she rattled it significantly just now. “I’ll make sure that interested parties are informed about what transpired and that you do not have any signs or heretical technology upon yourself.”

With that, she releases his chain and Heinrix expects himself to bounce back like a dog that is trying to escape and its lead has been cut, but no, instead he lingers like this for a moment longer, yearning despite himself. Finally, he clears his throat and his back is straight once again.

“Thank you, Lady Inquisitor.” Heinrix repeats, not sure what else to say and he knows that she sees the cracks in his demeanor. What he doesn’t know is just how wide those cracks are.

“Leave now, I have to fill in the report.”

She turns so suddenly that her longcoat swishes behind her like a ship’s sail, then she walks back to her desk, picking up the gloves that got discarded at the start of this. Yet Heinrix doesn’t move. He watches Volenta’s white, long hair draping over her back, over the symbol of Inquisition there, and for just a moment, he finds himself immersed in a vision of running his calloused fingers through that hair while his mouth is pressed to hers.

But then, suddenly and like a thunder, reality comes crashing down. He almost thanks Volenta for a third time, but manages to collect himself and bowing to her back, the Interrogator finally turns as well and walks towards the door. It immediately slides open and without a fraction of a pause, Heinrix marches out. This time, he’s cursing himself in his mind. For being weak, even if the weak part of him was his heart.

But when the door closes behind Heinrix, Volenta smiles and sighs, running a hand over her hair, pushing the strands back. She has done what Xavier wanted of her, but she didn’t need to do it so slowly. Not that Heinrix needs to learn this, of course. What’s important is that she had a little bit of fun with him, and that did brighten her day more than she expected. The way he looked at her, like a starved man. Volenta sighs, still with a smile. Fool, he believed her too, that it’s common for men to get erections. It’s not true, almost everyone has been too damned scared of her to barely not piss themselves, let alone feel aroused. But he doesn’t need to know this either.

Or maybe she will tell him if an opportunity arises. She does like teasing him. A little too much, some would say, but seeing Heinrix so flustered is quite entertaining.

Volenta hopes that she meets him again. She hopes she meets him soon.

But she doesn’t have a way to guess just how soon she will see him.