#Even after we got the police involved the person/people did NOT stop.

[topguncortez]

Blow to the Head - J. Halstead

whumptober masterlist || previous day

prompts: slurred words

synopsis: you had always dreamed of being a police officer, but one bad accident left you with a lifetime of pain. Luckily for you, Jay is the perfect person to be by your side.

warnings: car accident, swearing, mentions of child crimes, mentions of sex trafficking crimes, mentions of passing out, mentions of vomiting, slurring words, intense pain

word count: 1.9k

You knew from a young age that you wanted to be a police officer. Your father was, and there was something about watching him protect and save the people of the city that had you wanting to follow in his footsteps. He always reminded you that it was a daily sacrifice, that some days were easier than others. Some days, he got to do the easy things like write traffic tickets and do school yard crossing. Other days, he was arresting people for warrants or having to tell a total stranger that their loved one was killed. You were prepared to make those sacrifices, prepared for those tough days that came with the job that you so badly wanted. 

And you did get that job. You got to have your perfect job for three years. One of those years was spent in a patrol squad, before you and your partner, Jay Halstead, caught the eye of Hank Voight, the captain of the intelligence unit. You knew of Hank’s reputation from your father, and knew that he didn’t extend the invite to join the unit very often. You took the spot without thinking, easily falling into the groove of the unit. It was tough work, and sometimes the bad days outweighed the good by a long shot. But those good days. . . those good days were your favorite. 

It was one bad day that took your entire life from you in an instant. 

It was going to be a routine bust, you and Jay waiting in your jeep on the side of an abandoned warehouse, waiting for Hank’s call to move in. It had been months of creeping in on a local gang leader who had been involved in a sex trafficking ring involving children. To you, the cases involving kids hit harder. They were the most innocent group, and the easiest to be attacked. You had a chip on your shoulder the whole time while working the case, chomping at the bit to get this guy. 

“Come on, Hank,” You muttered, looking out your car window, “Come on, come on, come on.” 

“Patience,” Jay hissed, as annoyed as you are, “This guy is skittish. We move too early and we lose everything.” 

“Or we lose more kids,” You shook your head, going to reach for the walkie when gunshots fired off. 

“I lost him! Out the back!” Hank’s voice crackled over the radio, “Blue car! I got kids here!” . 

“Shit! I’m going in, chase after him!” Jay said, jumping out of the car, and running into the building. You quickly put the car in drive, going straight to the back of the building, easily spotting a blue car. You pressed down firmly on the gas, sending your jeep flying through the city of Chicago. You almost had him, closing in closer and closer, maneuvering the car so you could side swipe him. That was, until a black SUV came out of nowhere, plowing into the driver’s side. You felt your head slam against the airbag as it deployed in your face, your body jerking as the car came to a stop. 

The accident hadn’t totally crippled you. You had to have surgery to repair a broken pelvis, several painstaking months of physical therapy, and to pass the physical fitness test before you could go back to the team. Although your broken bones had been fixed, your doctor diagnosed you with arthritis, making almost every day a living hell. When you got the all clear to come back to the team, you did, for about a month, but the whole time you felt like such a burden. 

“I can’t do this, Jay,” You cried in the locker room, him kneeling in front of you, “I can’t run as fast as I used to, or jump things, or fuck, it even hurts to sit in a car on long surveillance. I can’t do this anymore.” 

“It’s okay,” Jay said, rubbing your knee, “I’m going to take care of you. We’re going to be okay.” 

Jay kept his promise to take care of you, moving you into his house almost as soon as possible. The two of you hadn’t really defined your relationship at that point, but you knew he was yours and you were his. Hank still had you somewhat a part of the intelligence unit, working more inside the house than out. It was easier for you, the days when your pain was really bad, you got to stay home and work from home. 

You knew that you were going to wake up in pain the next day. It was supposed to be an easy gym set, just some light leg work followed by a thirty minute walk on the treadmill. Usually, it wasn't an issue, you would wake up feeling that good type of muscle soreness. But the shift from warm late summer weather to the cooler fall weather had your bones feeling brittle.

You could hardly get out of bed, your knees and hips aching, your spine feeling like cement had been poured down it. It took you nearly ten minutes to pull yourself to your feet, and it felt like pins and needles. Tears filled your eyes as you shuffled your way to the bathroom to do your morning routine. You bit back a cry as you lowered yourself down to the toilet. 

Ever since your diagnosis, Jay has done all he physically could do to help you. He read nearly every article he could get his hands on, wrote down all the recipes he could find, googled all the best treatment options there were. On the days the pain was really bad, Jay would help you inject cortisone into your joints, hoping to help relax them and lessen the pain. He hated watching you like this. He hated that your careers, which had started together, had gone in such totally different ways. 

You let out a shaky breath as you tried to reach for the ginger tea on the shelf. You had already planned to take some Tylenol, and curl up with your heating pad. You texted your physical therapist and sadly she couldn't get you in for acupuncture. 

Your whole body felt weak as you picked up the tea kettle and poured the hot water into your mug. You very slowly walked to the couch, holding your mug tightly in your hands, worried that your hands could give out at any moment and send scalding water to the ground. You gently eased yourself down on the couch, letting out a groan as your body sunk into the soft cushions.

You weren't sure when you fell asleep, but you woke up to Jay's worried face in front of you, gently running his hand over your cheek. "Jay?" Your head was pounding as you looked up at him, the lamb behind his head making it look like a halo around him, "What are you-"

“You haven’t been answering your phone,” He said, “Hailey said that you canceled your lunch plans and then quit answering. I got worried.”

You nodded, “I just. . . hurt.” 

Jay’s eyes filled with hurt at your slurred voice, knowing that the pain is damn near unbearable if you canceled your plans with Hailey, “Show me where it hurts.” You closed your eyes as the tears started to fall down your face, “You should’ve called me.” 

“The case is important,” You sniffled, not wanting to look up at him. 

“You are important,” Jay said, bending down to place a soft kiss on the crown of your head, “How about a bath and a massage?” You nodded, "Alright. I'm gonna help you sit up." You nodded again as Jake put his strong arms under your back and arms, moving your body from a laying down position to a sitting one. You let out a cry and Jake pressed his lips to your forehead, "I know, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." 

“It’s okay,” You sniffled, taking in a short breath. Just that small movement sent a wave of pain and had stars dancing in your vision. It wouldn’t be the first time that you have lost consciousness from Jay trying to help you. The pain gets to be too much that your body just shuts down. You gripped Jay’s shirt tightly in your hands, willing the all too familiar feeling of bile rising in your throat to go away. 

“Do we need to go to Med?” Jay whispered. You hated having to go to Med when the pain got bad. You did everything in your power to stay away from taking heavy pain pills and going to the doctor for treatment. 

You let out a slow breath, “No. Just move slowly. Please,” Your voice cracked. 

Jay nodded his head, letting you sit up for just another moment, before sliding his arms under your legs and around your back. Another cry left your lips as Jay lifted you up and began walking to your bedroom. He hated causing you more pain, but knew that this was going to be the best place for you to get some reprieve. 

"I'll go draw your bath and change," Jay said, setting you down on the vanity chair. He moved around the room quickly, drawing your bath and adding some drops of essential oils in, as you tried to strip from your clothing. You tried to lift your shirt over your head, but even that caused you to cry out in pain. 

Jay stopped what he was doing and ran to you, "Hey, let me help you."

"I can do this," You shook your head and Jay nodded. He had learned one thing over the years that you still wanted to do as many things as you could despite the pain. When you were fully naked, Jay helped you to your feet as you walked towards the bathroom. You could smell the lavender and rosemary oils. You gripped Jay's hands tightly as you stepped into the bathtub and he helped you gently lower yourself into the hot water.

Jay sat on the other side of the bathtub on the ground, and watched you. You let out a sigh as you settled into the water, feeling the ache in your joints go from a nine to at least a five. Everything still hurt but it was a bit more manageable.

“I’m still going to call Will and have him come see you tomorrow,” Jay said, grabbing a washcloth, soaking it in the bath and then gently rubbing it across your back and down your shoulders. “You can tell him to fuck off when he gets here, but he’s coming over.” 

A small chuckle left your mouth, “Okay.” You knew there was no arguing with him on that one. You were surprised that Jay hasn’t already invited Will over to come take a look at you. 

"Do you want to ice down after this?" Jay asked, gently moving his hand in the water.

"No. Just put the lotion in the fridge," You said and Jay nodded, "You already did, didn't you?"

He smiled, "Yeah, I did," He sat up on his knees and leaned in to kiss your forehead, "I rewarmed your tea and got you some more Tylenol. Your physical therapist said she can get you in tomorrow morning. I already got tomorrow cleared so I can take you."

"Jay-"

"In sickness and in health," Jay said, and caressed your cheek, "I made a promise. And I mean it." You nodded and Jay placed yet another kiss on your forehead, making you smile.

[myezblog]

Ep 4

Pretty solid episode... most of the theories have been validated.

What we got right -

All experiences that Great is having of saving people and essentially everything , it is all in his head... nothing happening for real

4 minutes because heart stopping and brain stopping - dead to really really dead is 4 minutes (we are 11.02 right now.. Great is alive until 11:04)

After death experience - were right about beliefs... wherein one patient saw angels performing on her.. whereas the 4 min. thing is more about regrets and what ifs... ( interestingly, we did not hear Lukwa tell us which part of her life she revisited during her 4 min. journey)

Thing is linked to saving Tyme... This is Great grappling desparately and with all the what ifs to save Tyme... his most important moment, person, life phase...

Tonkla's motive and brother, Tonkla using Win

Timelines -

Scene before intro is the real normal actual timeline (i had this theory since ep 2 and there is another person who had the same theory...don't recall user id) ... So, in the present, ep 1 - Great is in the hospital and Tyme is dying ; ep 2 - Tonkla did murder and take revenge ; ep 3 and 4 - Police is investigating the murders

All of great's experiences - whichever scene he is in is playing in his mind... timeflow is not normal pace

Don't think there are more timelines. Even Korn-Win-Tonkla thing that we are being shown is in the past/ actual past (we can see this because Great is living the past... so he has the full picture at this time)

Where the timeline falters-

3. So, lady was also in her arrest while/when Great went into arrest- ep 1... SO, when she came to visit Dan with her 4 min. experience, she had come out of her cardiac arrest moment and interacted with Dan quite a few times by then...

But great is still on the hospital bed... and yet Dan talks about Great as another patient who can see 4 min. in the future..

My guess is, Lukwa is also someone who existed in past... and great heard of her case...hence she is part of the story in his brain...

He hasn't met lukwa yet in the 4 min. room... he will... and i guess that's when timelines will start sorting themselves out..

Tonkla -

Tonkla killed his dad or was involved hence his fingerprints exist in the database. Cat was likely killed by dad. That's why Mio was so against title because title abuses girls too and is an aggressive person

Definitely using Win for the case

Did love Korn, does love Korn... but will be interesting to see how he reacts when he knows that along with Title, Great was also there when title bludgeoned his brother to death

Korn said he would tell the world that tonkla is his boyfriend...but now korn has a fiancee and uh! messed up

(lol.. at Win not wearing his pants back during the whole time korn was there)

Great -

The place they have run to... which Great has taken them to and not tyme... again reaffirms that this is not real.. all is happening in his head...

So, he is with tyme.. in a nice romantic serene place where no one can find them and which Great doesn't know himself

Ost lyrics

I could give it all to be with you even if it is merely an illusion from the heaven

Every sin and sorrow i shouldered was from my heart's command

It means i could do anything and everything if you were to leave me

I will not say it again but please keep this in mind, You can never leave me

I know fairly well that caring for a venomous snake would make my life suffer everyday

And if one day, anyone betrays me, I can assure you in one word:

Avenge, i will destroy and cleanse it all till your very last day

There will not be a single minute where your wish can be fulfilled

If you ever let go of my hand, i promise you that when we meet next time You will have to come crawling back to me

Even when i know you are venomous, i still endure it

Whatever reason it may be but i am not giving you up to anyone else

You can never leave me

I know fairly well that feeding a venomous snake would make me live in paranoia everyday

And even if you turn to bite my feeding hands and betray me, i can assure you that i will "Avenge"... destroying and cleansing it all till your very last day

I will use your tears to cleanse it all..

In summary

Tonkla and Great have to overlap somewhere with respect to Tyme for the two stories to make sense. Likely Tonkla is on revenge targetting both Title and Great (he could go after tyme given Tyme is precious to Great) Or Korn-Tyme conflict linking itself to Tonkla (aka what if Korn could freely love Tonkla and never pushed into business)

Great's arc... it is like the Godfather... Great is the nice guy, detached from all shady and business stuff... but going by OST... he has to emerge as someone who is way better than Korn at handling this business and upping against every other player

The past that we see in Great's mind is also twisted... e.g. we don't know if Tyme genuinely liked Great or was using him till the very end... but Great must have turned grey (taking over business, handling korn.. etc etc.. to protect tyme)

Going back to the statement that has been made twice now about one's beliefs and religion playing a part on the deathbed.... I THINK.. it is the sheer strong will of great to save Tyme that Tyme might be saved by the end of this ordeal.. Great may or maynot be alive

[linkyu]

tell me about your defense contract pleage

Oh boy!

To be fair, it's nothing grandiose, like, it wasn't about "a new missile blueprint" or whatever, but, just thinking about what it could have become? yeesh.

So, let's go.

For context, this is taking place in the early 2010s, where I was working as a dev and manager for a company that mostly did space stuff, but they had some defence and security contracts too.

One day we got a new contract though, which was... a weird one. It was state-auctioned, meaning that this was basically a homeland contract, but the main sponsor was Philip Morris. Yeah. The American cigarette company.

Why? Because the contract was essentially a crackdown on "illegal cigarette sales", but it was sold as a more general "war on drugs" contract.

For those unaware (because chances are, like me, you are a non-smoker), cigarette contraband is very much a thing. At the time, ~15% of cigarettes were sold illegally here (read: they were smuggled in and sold on the street).

And Phillip Morris wanted to stop that. After all, they're only a small company worth uhhh... oh JFC. Just a paltry 150 billion dollars. They need those extra dollars, you understand?

Anyway. So they sponsored a contract to the state, promising that "the technology used for this can be used to stop drug deals too". Also that "the state would benefit from the cigarettes part as well because smaller black market means more official sales means a higher tax revenue" (that has actually been proven true during the 2020 quarantine).

Anyway, here was the plan:

Phase 1 was to train a neural network and plug it in directly to the city's video-surveillance system, in order to detect illegal transactions as soon as they occur. Big brother who?

Phase 2 was to then track the people involved in said transaction throughout the city, based on their appearance and gait. You ever seen the Plainsight sheep counting video? Imagine something like this but with people. That data would then be relayed to police officers in the area.

So yeah, an automated CCTV-based tracking system. Because that's not setting a scary precedent.

So what do you do when you're in that position? Let me tell you. If you're thrust unknowingly, or against your will, into a project like this,

Note. The following is not a legal advice. In fact it's not even good advice. Do not attempt any of this unless you know you can't get caught, or that even if you are caught, the consequences are acceptable. Above all else, always have a backup plan if and when it backfires. Also don't do anything that can get you sued. Be reasonable.

Let me introduce you to the world of Corporate Sabotage! It's a funny form of striking, very effective in office environments.

Here's what I did:

First of all was the training data. We had extensive footage, but it needed to be marked manually for the training. Basically, just cropping the clips around the "transaction" and drawing some boxes on top of the "criminals". I was in charge of several batches of those. It helped that I was fast at it since I had video editing experience already. Well, let's just say that a good deal of those markings were... not very accurate.

Also, did you know that some video encodings are very slow to process by OpenCV, to the point of sometimes crashing? I'm sure the software is better at it nowadays though. So I did that to another portion of the data.

Unfortunately the training model itself was handled by a different company, so I couldn't do more about this.

Or could I?

I was the main person communicating with them, after all.

Enter: Miscommunication Master

In short (because this is already way too long), I became the most rigid person in the project. Like insisting on sharing the training data only on our own secure shared drive, which they didn't have access to yet. Or tracking down every single bug in the program and making weekly reports on those, which bogged down progress. Or asking for things to be done but without pointing at anyone in particular, so that no one actually did the thing. You know, classic manager incompetence. Except I couldn't be faulted, because after all, I was just "really serious about the security aspect of this project. And you don't want the state to learn that we've mishandled the data security of the project, do you, Jeff?"

A thousand little jabs like this, to slow down and delay the project.

At the end of it, after a full year on this project, we had.... a neural network full of false positives and a semi-working visualizer.

They said the project needed to be wrapped up in the next three months.

I said "damn, good luck with that! By the way my contract is up next month and I'm not renewing."

Last I heard, that city still doesn't have anything installed on their CCTV.

tl;dr: I used corporate sabotage to prevent automated surveillance to be implemented in a city--

hey hold on

wait

what

HEY ACTUALLY I DID SOME EXTRA RESEARCH TO SEE IF PHILLIP MORRIS TRIED THIS SHIT WITH ANOTHER COMPANY SINCE THEN AND WHAT THE FUCK

HUH??????

well what the fuck was all that even about then if they already own most of the black market???

[schildpadkneus]

Since there is a lot of misinformation when it comes to the "incident" that got Joost Klein disqualified I figured I'd put a post out with information from actual news outlets and not speculations from social media users.

If you are too lazy to read everything, here's a summary of everything I've been able to find:

After his performance in the semi finale, Joost was filmed despite agreements he wouldn't be.

The camera woman did not listen when he asked her to stop several times.

Joost got angry and made the camera woman in question feel so threatened the police was called on Joost.

Despite what fans think, it was confirmed by Dutch commentator Cornald Maas that the Israeli act and their delegation were not involved. I understand the frustration with their participation and I ranted about their disgusting behaviour at Eurovision here, but they were not involved with this incident.

He did not hit or even touch the woman involved.

Nor did she make any remarks about his parents.

STOP SPREADING MISINFORMATION.

Continue to read for more details.

Edited only for later addition (as indicated) and slightly changed the wording because I was rambling in the initial post.

According to Avrotros (the Dutch broadcaster of Eurovision), Joost had made a threatening motion towards the woman.

According to the Swedish Aftonbladet, multiple witnesses say he behaved very aggressively and damaged/broke(?) the camera.

The rest of this will be speculating. Hopefully as unbiased as possible.

Based on other interviews and discussions about the incident in Dutch media, it sounds like Joost was probably just very overwhelmed. It is reasonable to think the artists are under a lot of pressure to perform well, and it's fair to conclude the controversy of Israel's participation has only added to artists' frustration and the pressure. Add the whole aspect of this being Joost's childhood dream and the passing of his parents and the fact he had already complained about the many many rules of eurovision and you get this explosion of emotions and frustrations. Apparently he also gets very emotional during the outro, and I imagine such a performance does come with loads of adrenaline.

Considering that nice little cocktail of stress, frustrations, emotions and adrenaline, it is likely he just snapped. He was already on the edge, and then the employee filmed him when he didn't want to be filmed and didn't back off when he asked her to, so he did something stupid and irrational.

That is a human response, I don't think he's a bad person for that, I just think he did something stupid in the heat of the moment. If it was something really bad he would've been arrested and locked up, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. That does not mean he should go unpunished, however.

Whatever he did, he made this photographer/camera woman (sources alternate between which one it was) feel so threatened the police got involved. I trust this judgement.

Don't get me wrong, I do think she should have stopped filming when she was asked, but we don't know the full story here. She could have misunderstood the situation, maybe she was unaware of the agreement she should not have been filming him, maybe it was just a stupid mistake.

Regardless of what truly happened, I hope we can all agree both were in the wrong but both have also been punished enough now.

The employee in question should not have been filming in the first place and stopped when asked.

Joost should not have done whatever it was he did.

For the love of god, please stop meddling in situations we know virtually nothing about and definitely stop taking sides. It is never ok to wish horrible things upon anyone.

We don't know what happened and chances are we will never fully know. We don't even know any of these people, we don't know what they are like, we only have little bits and pieces.

I also really want to know but it's not that difficult to just shut up and not say anything in favour of or against anyone until we have more details. You can condemn people for their actions but not when we don't even know what those actions were.

They both should have been punished and they both were.

A bunch of you should have been punished for the vile things I've seen you spout about Joost or this poor woman.

Basic fucking decency and common sense is not that difficult.

Later addition: (I've calmed down a bit)

I posted this about an hour ago but I want to add I do support Joost and feel bad for him but if it is true he punched and broke a camera it disqualification was not an unreasonable punishment. The awful rumours were just an unnecessary kick in the stomach.

If it turns out he did not damage the camera I will happily eat my words.

It is a pity he did not perform in the grand finale considering the huge potential it had but we can't excuse that behaviour. I hope he learns from this situation enough to prevent himself from getting in more trouble.

This does not mean I support the ebu btw <3 fuck the ebu

[v1nsmoke]

𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐘 // 𝐂𝐎𝐏!𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐒 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

oneshot - cop!shanks x fem!reader

tw: age gap (both are adults though), mention of guns, smoking

summary: when your cop dad brings you to his promotion party at the police station, you don't expect to meet a red-haired coworker of your dad

fandom: one piece

a/n: remember that zoro oneshot i wrote back in 2023 october with a tiny cop shanks cameo at the end? and how i mentioned that i might make it a full length oneshot? yeah, this is it! I never wrote romance oh lawd and this feels new…

tags: stargirldelight 

wc: 1.2k

notes: modern au, first person pov. 

Dads with daughters - if they don’t despise them - usually threaten boyfriends or suitors with something along the lines of “if you cross my daughter or make her cry, i’ll break your jaw,” and mine was no exception. Unlike most of those dads, he actually could. His ultimate, go-to threat was that if any boy hurts me, he will take them to jail. He did once. That guy was involved in some illegal marihuana deals and owned a gun without any permission, so he went to jail for actual reasons. 

With my single dad being a cop, I used to spend my free time at the police station where he worked whenever he couldn’t find anybody to babysit me. Luckily, his co-workers didn’t mind, and often took care of me while I was there. The last time I visited that station was when I was around fifteen, after that I was allowed to stay at home alone for days. Up until that, I had to be supervised at the station. It wasn’t as boring as it may sound at first, there is lots of exploring to do and many gadgets to ruin. I didn’t do the latter. Maybe once, as an accident, but it got fixed up real quick. My dad’s colleagues taught me how to shoot a gun, which my dad disapproved of. I was seven years old back then, of course he did.

It’s been almost a decade since that happened, and now, I’ve been invited to a get-together to celebrate my father’s promotion at the station. It was well-deserved, he’s done many great deeds and had been working hard, harder than anyone. I was tasked with the food. I thought that the best would be to make pizzas and something sweet for dessert, maybe some of those mini pretzels for a snack, but there was no way I’d make the latter. There are shops for that.

“How’s the progress?” My dad asks, sneaking up on me.

“Almost done,” I answer, adding the finishing touches.

“Hm, they look good,” he says, taking one of the freshly prepared cupcakes.

“You’ll get them at the station, until that, no more!”

I load the two boxes into the car, dad sitting in the driver’s seat picking the music while he waits.

“I could use a hand here,” I call out.

“Grow a third one,” he replies calmly.

I hop into the car. Dad revs up the engine, and the vehicle finally gets moving.

“Lots of things have changed since you were last there,” he starts the conversation. 

“Like what?”

“I got some new coworkers, you’ll like them. We also renovated some rooms.”

“You mentioned the renovations before. I remember that you ruined most of your jeans because of it, we had to throw out like ten pairs because they all had paint on them and I couldn’t wash it out.”

“The good old times,” he sighs. “It’s been real lonely since you moved away. Feel free to move back if you feel like it.”

He parks the car in the tiny parking lot of the police station. He sits in the car, immersed in the song playing on the radio.

At the ripe age of twenty, I moved to my own tiny house. Up until that point, I didn’t even stop to think that he might feel alone. I made a mental note that I’ll make sure to visit him more often now.

“You’re not going in?” I ask.

“Do I need to? There’s gonna be lots of people,” he whines.

“I thought you were my dad, not my son.”

“Go, get the food out from the trunk, in the meantime, I’ll mentally prepare myself,” he instructs.

With a sigh, I get out of the car, and lift the trunk open.

“You need help with that?” an unknown voice asks.

I turn around to find a man leaning against the wall, a cigarette between his fingers. Light smoke swirled around him as he stepped forward.

“I think I can handle it,” I nervously answer.

“Here, let me,” he says, taking one of the boxes from my hand with a gentle move.

My dad gets out of the car.

“Shanks, good to see you!” He greets the man next to me. “I see you already found my daughter.”

“This fine lady is your daughter? You better watch out, then,” he smiles at him mischievously.

“Don’t you dare, Red Hair!” Dad replies.

“At least he helped me with the boxes,” I intervene.

“Your pa didn’t?” 

“He told me to grow a third arm.”

The red haired man chuckles, looking over to my dad.

“Not too nice of you, Hank,” he says, walking off with the box.

Inside gathered a swarm of people. Some people I knew, some I didn’t. Dad did say he got some new coworkers, and I assumed this red-haired man was one of them. Most of them wore their regular uniforms, some, who were off-duty that day, had casual clothes on.

I place the box on one of the tables, the red-haired man following suit. I take the food out of the said boxes, placing them onto separate trays and plates.

“Where can one get this food from? Looks delicious,” he speaks, picking up a slice of pizza. Luckily it was still fresh enough.

“From me,” I answer.

“Thank you, it’s nice to hear someone appreciating it,” I reply.

“You made all this? Impressive, I might just move to your house only for the food,” he says before taking a bite of the dish. “No, not might. Definitely.”

I chuckle at his statement.

“Your dad doesn't? He should, it’s amazing,” he says, his mouth still stuffed.

“Even if he does, he doesn’t say it out loud.”

“Are you a chef or something? Or is this just a hobby of yours?”

“More like a hobby. I work in an office, I hate it. I want to see the world or do some action, y’know.”

“Of course I do. I wanted action too, that’s why I’m an officer. They still give me paperwork, but when there really is some action, it’s worth it. We can teach you some things if you want.”

“You really would?” I enthusiastically inquire.

“Why not? I’ll do it in exchange for more food of yours. Deal?”

“Deal,” we shake hands.

“So first, I really want to teach you how to shoot a gun. You did that before?” He asks, walking back and forth in front of me.

“A few times, many years back.”

“You remember how to do it?”

I hold the handgun firmly, bringing it upwards. I lock my eyes on the target, an old soda can that he likely got from the trash, and I pull the trigger. The bullet was close, but flew by the can. I lower my hand in defeat.

“Mostly.”

“Here,” he says, handing me a handgun, “aim at that can right there.”

“Give it another try,” he encourages.

I lift my arms back up, aiming again. This time, the bullet made a dent into the can.

“That’s it! Off to a good start,” he speaks, patting my shoulders. “Maybe your posture is the only problem I had, though really minor.”

He comes closer, behind me. He gently places his hand on my arm and adjusts my shoulders. 

“There you go,” he whispers next to my ear. 

“Officer,” my dad interrupts.

“Yes sir?” The red-haired man turns to him. “Keep the posture,” he instructs me.

“Is that my daughter?”

“Yes sir.”

“Please don’t call me sir. Makes me feel old,” my dad grunts, walking closer. He comes to a halt next to me, observing me. Please don’t take the gun away, please don’t take the gun away…

“Keep up the good work. Teach her good, officer,” says my dad, walking back to where he came from.

red-haired shanks belongs to eiichiro oda.

© v1nsmokes 2024. Do not modify, translate or rewrite.

[xotication]

☆,

biker! ken hcs! (& car! guy ken cuz why not??)

biker ken

he rides a ninja 400.

before meeting you, he was for sure reckless. but after the two of you got involved with each other, he promised himself he’d be a lil more careful for you

everyone knows riding a motorcycle is dangerous as fuck, so he never wanted to have you worried

sometimes there’s night where he may go a lil too fast & ends up getting chased by police..

he texts you & tells you to have the garage open so he can just come in & have you close it immediately.. trust, you end up reprimanding him

he always takes you on rides when the sun is setting. idc, he tells you it reminds him of you

does wheelies just to scare you

one day you ask him to teach you how to ride & he says “last i checked, you’re already good at that”

you were left confused until it hit you.. “that is NOT what i meant!”

whenever he gets hit on, he mentions you with so much quickness

if a girl does happen to ask for his number, he gives them yours 😭😭😭 they don’t even know until they text you

if he ever gets injured, the first person he goes to is you, even if he feels that you can’t help. you’re his sense of comfort

like boy could lose a whole leg nd he’d prob call you first to let you know LMAO

his friends hate you bc they say you made him “soft” but you disagree completely!!!

you fear for your life half the time you're his backpack

he speeds through the smallest little cracks between vehicles on the freeway

he uses anything as a ramp & you hate it

when he's making sharp turns he touches the fucken ground with his hand "look how close we are!"

whenever you're in your car & he's on his bike, he always gaps you nd you think it's so mean. yet, he laughs every time

sometimes when he picks you up, he makes sure to make the most noise ever. that's mainly how you can tell he's arrived

i feel like his wardrobe is all black. the only color he has are the clothes you buy for him bc you tease him for being too emo

you also buy him a pikachu skin for his helmet as a joke, but he ends up loving it

he plays deftones on his rides, that or cigs after sex idc.. maybe even sign crushes motorist.. i feel like he's always in his feelings LMAO

whenever you guys are stopped next to a bus or a big semi truck, he always touches it

records pop vids & sends them to you..

car guy ken!

i honestly don't know what kind of car ken would drive..

it's between a supra mk4, nissan 350/370z, or maybe a 2013 bmw 3 :>

i mainly see him in a supra ngl

but whatever car ken drives, he puts WORK into.

you love being around whenever he's working on his cars tho, he'll be all dirty with oils nd shit but its so rawr

ken gets excited over new car parts too

one time you bought him a carbon fiber front bumper and he damn near cried over it

he put starry lights on the roof of the inside of his car to give you something pretty to look at

he lets you keep your little essentials in his glove department or his arm rest

you leave a scrunchie around his gear shift & glosses in his cup holder, plus lil makeup wipes in the lil side compartment on the door

i fear ken has road rage.. he hates slow drivers and flips people off so fucken often

not only that but this man never goes the speed limit???

his car is all blacked out.. so flying down dark highways with his headlights off is his fav thing to do

he hates when you opt out for driving your car.. especially when there's other cars being loud nd making noise. he feels left out, like a puppy taken from its owner

"baby, i wanna make noise too.." with the biggest pout you've ever seen.

one day he suggests that you guys save up for miatas so that your cars can make cute faces at each other & date. it was the sweetest idea ever

car guy ken handles all your car troubles. he's like your personal mechanic

he does donuts in empty parking lots

he did a burn out in your exes drive way & you didn't find out until said ex texted you fucken PISSED

"ken what the fuck??" "what.." "you know what!" "nuh uh."

takes you to car meets so he can teach you more about different cars & the mods you can add to them

can tell a car from the sound the engine is making..

lets you drive his car once & it was the scariest thing he'd ever done

"SLOW DOWN PLEASE"

"i'm going 70!??!"

"this is my baby, i don't want you to crash..."

whenever a car passes him, he takes it as a challenge & gaps them.

[jinisnuggets]

Manjiro Sano Headcannons

⚠️ Disclaimer⚠️

This does not only contain cute headcannons. This also contains spicy contants. If you're not interested in that then stop reading once the 2nd warning pops up. This is also my own mind so I can't assure it's gonna add up but it's almost like another future that may exist or may not. So maybe some spoilers of the Tokyo Revengers manga will be here. If your not interested then stop reading by the 1st warning.

Clingy, very clingy

He often acts like a small child who you must take car of, more like a child you're babysitting.

You have to take care of him along with Draken.

Besides this he is still a very loving boyfriend

He always needs a kiss on the lips everytime he sees you because otherwise he will think you don't love him anymore.

He often goes to you place to bring food

✨ You guys eat lunch together ✨

You do often get annoyed of him because of how immature he is, but you still love him.

Tokyo Manji Y/N

He feels pressured to protect you a lot and you often have to remind him that you're not weak and one of the strongest in the gang.

You enjoy seeing your enemies underestimate Mikey because of how small he is, you love it because then you have sometime to tease him about afterwards.

Student Y/N

You often try to stay away from all the gang activity, but sometimes when you're on a date with him, he runs into people from another gang who know him and end up fighting him.

You always need to take care of his injuries and confront him about having another fight because he normally comes over after fighting to bring some food and eat.

Scenarios

Formation of a group (Childhood friend

Y/N)

You had been friends with Mikey for a very long time, practically almost since birth, you parents were close which caused you both to know each other for a while. You remember Mikey's enthusiastic face when talking about making the gang for the first time.

Y/N: A gang?

Mikey: Yes!

Y/N: Mikey, this is a stupid idea. Gangs are malicious! This will not work out, what if we get caught? Do you want people to fear you?

Mikey: Y/N, you've got it all wrong, I don't want people to fear us. What if we're different from all the other gangs? Instead of stealing and doing all the normal delinquent things, what if we fight to stop the other gangs?

Y/N: Is that even considered a gang?

Mikey: We basically will have everything you need to be considered a gang, power, fear, respect.

Y/N: Fine! But if we start being chased by police because of getting involved with illegal activity, turn yourself in.

Mikey: Okay, okay, I will.

Mikey eventually told the rest of the group of friends you guys had and they all agreed. Since then, the Tokyo Manji gang was created.

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

Meeting Mikey for the first time (Highschool friends Y/N)

You knew Mikey. Not because you've met him or talked to him. But because of the amount of gossip there was about him.

1: "Have you heard of Mikey, he's the malicious leader of the Tokyo Manji gang?"

2: "Mikey recently got in a fight with a super bad gang, and he won. He must be a terrible person."

3: "Mikey is a super strong fighter, I bet he's worse then the other delinquents."

You heard of Mikey, but the only good thing you ever heard of him was how handsome he was. Nothing more.

From what you heard you didn't want to meet Mikey, what if you got yourself beat up? In plus you didn't want anything to do with delinquents, although it did partly bother you how kind Mitsuya was part of the same gang Mikey was. But besides it you didn't want anything to do with gangsters.

You were walking with you friend to your next class you were busy finding something on your phone and talking you didn't notice who was in front of you.

: Hey watch where your going!

You look up to see a tall man, blonde hair, tattoos. Oh no.

Y/N: I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I wa-

: Hey, It doesn't matter, don't worry about it.

You felt a hand touch your shoulder, you look over half expecting your friend but instead you saw someone else, much shorter then the other guy, long blonde hair and looked like a ordinary student, but no.

This was Mikey you were looking at, you knew from all the whispers you were hearing from the surrounding crowd of people. The other guy was Draken.

Mikey: Come'on Draken, there's no need to be mean, she was clearly distracted, you're normally nicer.

Draken bowed and apologized.

Draken: I know you were distracted, I apologize.

You were still in clear shock from who was in front of you, even after repeating you didn't want to interact with any delinquents.

Mikey: Hey, I hope you know your friend left a while ago you should catch up.

Y/N: Oh! Thank you...

Mikey let out a small soft smile and continued walking, as you ran to catch up you couldn't get him off your mind.

How could a delinquent be so kind?

Nicknames:

For you:

Dear

Bun

Cupcake

For him:

Tiny

Idiot

Can't think of many lol 😂

Marriage Headcannons:

⚠️Some spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.

Obviously as Mikey reaches adulthood he becomes a pretty depressed person, but you're one of the few good things he has.

He really enjoys holding hands with you because of the warmth your hands have.

It's up to you but I think he would want at least one kid.

You often have to go to sleep while hugging him, if you don't he will have a lot of things on his mind throughout the night.

Doing the deed:

🔞 This is for readers at or above the age of 18. This is not meant for minors. Swear words are also included. Read at your own risk.

He was definitely the one who got turned on first.

He probably had a wet dream and decided to fuck you right then and there.

I can honestly see him as a huge sadomasochistic so have fun.

He doesn't really care if you're in the mood or not, if he wants to do things to you, he's gonna do things to you.

He's a aggressive type of dom.

He will end up hurting you, scratching you, or being a bit to harsh, at the moment he won't care but he won't stop apologizing afterwards.

"You look so pretty wearing nothing while being under me... you arouse me so much.."

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

sits up in bed. so lana and ema definitely thought they were responsible for edgeworth "choosing death", right?

(the rest of this post was supposed to go in the tags, because it's not very well organised or written, but it got too long so. here are the slightly edited tags for your reading pleasure (or otherwise)):

i was going to make this solely about ema because she's the obvious one with her open adoration of edgeworth, but the thing about rfta is that it goes to great lengths to emphasise the connection between lana and edgeworth as well.

the sl-9 incident showed that lana grows attached to people deeply, hence angel starr's comment on how, when neil marshall died, 'she (lana) felt like her own brother had died.' with edgeworth, i think it was similar but worse. because he's not just a coworker or subordinate who's dear to her. he saved her life. and it cost him his own.

at the beginning of the case, edgeworth says he was mistaken for thinking that lana was always looking out for him post sl-9 (a statement interesting on its own because that's when everyone else says she grew distant), and, later on, he brings ema fingerprinting powder because lana asked him to. then, of course, there's the 'lady luck' comment he makes.

similarly, on lana's side, you obviously have the end of the trial when she says he did well, but there's also that additional moment post-trial where she's the only one to notice — in a group comprising her, ema, phoenix and gumshoe — that he's 'hiding', listening to their conversation. point is, there's enough to suggest that she might have been the nearest thing edgeworth had to a mia; his 'chief prosecutor' to phoenix's plain 'chief'. they're as close as two people can be in a relationship where one of them is constantly lying and the other is von karma's star pupil.

rfta is pretty straightforwardly depicted as the case which solidified edgeworth's resolve to do what he did; i don't think i have to prove that. rumours about him have reached new heights, his car and knife were involved in goodman's murder, he makes an unprecedented mistake in court by failing to connect the evidence room and carpark incidents, thus forcing the chief of police to enter the trial to do so himself, and he's publicly revealed to have relied on falsified evidence to secure a conviction in the sl-9 case, all of which only happened because of lana. jake marshall even claims that from the beginning — that if you trace edgeworth's rumours back to their source, you end up meeting one person: lana skye.

and it gets worse because at the end of rfta, she thinks he's fine!! she literally says, 'i was afraid the pressure would break you, but you rose above it,' and reminds him he's nothing like gant because he's not alone. she leaves the case thinking he will be okay. and then, what, like a week passes, and she finds out that he wasn't, and that he's gone, and it's her fault. even after she was freed from gant's control, even after she had finally stopped lying, she couldn't prevent herself from claiming another life. so much for 'lady luck', i suppose.

and the game reiterates this multiple times. gumshoe states at the start that edgeworth's ties to those higher up in the department have made him the subject of constant rumours, and phoenix says (in front of ema) that he shouldn't be held responsible for the forged evidence because that was all lana's doing, which then leads to edgeworth commenting (again in front of ema) that he feels as though 'something inside him has died.' it all goes back to lana. we can argue and say that it was technically gant's doing that caused all of this, but lana still took actions that led to it. even her complicated friendship with edgeworth isn't spared; it's that closeness between them that exacerbated those rumours. how could she not feel responsible in some way?

and with ema, it's rather obvious, isn't it? if she hadn't gone poking her nose into things, none of this would have happened or come to light. and, of course, she'd never choose anyone over her sister, not for anything in the world — it's simply not a question, but that's the problem, isn't it? it's not a question. it's not some hypothetical moral dilemma. it just is. she may not have killed neil marshall, but she still has one king of prosecutor's blood on her hands. and now she has to live with that. she just. has. to live with it. no matter if he chose otherwise.

moving on from that a little, i think it's actually wild how much of ema's journey to becoming a forensics investigator is paved with bad memories. neil marshall's death and her subsequent inability to testify are what drives her to begin pursuing it, her first proper investigation results in her idol's "death" and when she finally graduates, the person who saved her sister has been disbarred, and she can't even help because she isn't allowed to. all that pain and constant pursuit of her goals, and she's still the same ema skye, still that girl shrouded in darkness, always one step behind the truth, one step a little too late. no wonder she was angry in aa:aj. i would be furious.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for stalking my “father?”

I [11M] began stalking my “father” [??M] a few weeks ago after he began exhibiting strange new behavioral traits not congruent with his personality. He has been practicing his own handwriting, and he's been acting… different towards my mother. She seems to think he's finally coming around and showing her his love, but I don't think that's it. He seems like an entirely different person, quite literally, and I need to know why.

I started following him before and after school near where he works. I've been trying to record him outside, as the cameras I've placed inside the house have yet to reveal more information. I hadn't caught anything incriminating until last night, when he… when he…

He killed two people.

I don't know how he did it. They just… exploded. But I know it was him. He followed them to their apartment, and then somehow… I ran home immediately and tried to hide the evidence I'd gathered, hoping to take it to the police, or the PSIA, or someone, but then something even stranger happened. I woke up in the morning with no memory of going to sleep.

And when I went into the kitchen, my “father” was waiting, sporting a new look and this smug expression on his face. He walked with me on my way to school, suggesting that we get along instead of antagonizing one another. But this man is not my father, and I can’t allow him to continue threatening both me and my mother.

On the way to school, there was this man on the sidewalk, and he did something to me to look inside my mind, where he saw the truth about my “father.” He saw his name, and it… he…

The man exploded too, right as he learned the truth. And then I woke up in bed. I thought it was just a dream, but when I went to the kitchen, all the same things happened. And when I walked to school, that man, even though I didn't talk to him, he still…

Somehow, the man pretending to be my father killed him. And then his friends came around the corner, and I realized if they learned the truth, they would die too. I didn't know if they had the same ability as the dead man, to look inside my mind, so I tried to stop them, but… they saw something anyway, something invisible, and they all… all of them, they just…

I woke up again in my bed. I know now that this is not a dream, but a waking nightmare. If I had let these men investigate my “father,” they might have been able to defeat him. But because I got involved, now they're all…

I was just trying to uncover the truth. I was just trying to make sense of his new personality. Is it my fault? AITA?

[carlsdarling]

How to save a cat Part II

Carl and Y/N take care of the cat together and grow closer… Everyone is 18 or over.

WARNINGS: angst, violence

"Stay behind me," Carl instructed you, raising his gun.

"Out of the question, I'll help you," you contradicted grimly and went after a female walker with the knife in your hand, stabbing her in the forehead.

It wasn't easy, but a little later you two had killed all six walkers. "Are you all right?" made Carl sure, wiping rotten blood from his hands. The stench of the undead was simply sickening.

"Yes," you muttered, already heading for the cabin, but Carl outran you and pulled you back.

"Wait, Y/N," he ordered curtly. "We don't know what's in the cabin. I want to check it first, to make sure if it’s safe." You sighed. You barely knew each other, but Carl was so overprotective. "All right," he then announced, and you entered the cabin. The cat had huddled in a corner, frightened, and was growling and hissing at you. Carefully, you approached him, murmuring soothingly at him. You reached out to him, ignoring all his snarling and fussing. The cat was obviously very young, and totally emaciated, full of fleas and ticks.

"He's not in good condition," Carl complained as you picked up the cat. "His leg seems to be broken." It hung down limply.

You cradled the little animal in your arms, giving him your warmth. "But he has a chance, doesn't he?" you asked with tears in your eyes. He felt so fragile.

"Maybe," Carl said distractedly as he rummaged around the cabin, then brought in a wooden box. "We can use this to transport the cat. Have Denise take a look at him. It's too bad Hershel isn't alive, he was a vet, but I think Denise can also splint his leg." Gently, you placed the cat in the crate, then made your way back to Alexandria. Your gloomy thoughts had faded for now, you now had a new mission; someone who needed you.

                                                 ***

Denise had bathed the cat, cleaned him up, put a splint on him, and given him an IV because he was dehydrated. It wasn't until the evening that you were able to pick him up, and Carl accompanied you. "He's a sweet boy," Denise commented, feeding the cat with some milk, boiled eggs and corned beef. "What are you going to call him?"

"He looks like a Garfield, I think," you said indecisively, stroking the reddish fur.

Carl nodded. "I think Garfield is a good name for him."

Your parents allowed you to keep Garfield - your dad had never objected to pets, he preferred that to you hanging around with people who didn't please him and who weren't worthy enough in his eyes.

But that very evening there was trouble again when you told your parents that you were going on a scavenging trip with Carl the next morning to get cat food and supplies for Garfield.

Your father looked at you sternly. "I hope you realize that the Grimes boy is no company for you," he said snidely. "Let him go with you to get the supplies for the cat, but I forbid you to befriend him."

"Why?" you enthused. "Carl's so friendly, and I like him."

"He's just the police chief's son," your father spat, cutting his bread in two halfs. He had appointed Rick as Alexandria's police chief. "He's not nearly good enough for you. He's under your class, and on top of that he's got this... disfigurement." Disgusted, he pointed to his own right eye.

You stopped eating. "That's so mean and shallow," you said, stunned. "It’s not Carl’s fault, after all, you know he got shot, and it doesn't make him a different person, he..."

You didn't see the slap coming, but it was so hard that your lip was split open and blood dripped onto the table.

"Go to your room," your father ordered. "Dinner is canceled for you. I've warned you. Don't you dare get involved with Carl Grimes." You looked to your mum, who, as usual, avoided your help-seeking gaze. There was a glass of scotch in front of her, and her glazed eyes revealed that she had once again consumed Valium. Never did your mum defend you, never did she speak her mind! All she did was to drug herself. Not once had she sided with you or poor Brooke, always accepting your father's tyranny. For that, you hated her almost as much as you hated your dad. She was such an incredible coward, and you despised her.

                                                  ***

Carl immediately noticed your swollen lip when you got into the car with him the next morning. "Who did that?" he asked, upset and gritting his teeth. You had intended to lie to him and claim that you had hit a door in the dark, but you were aware that he wouldn't believe that anyway.

"My dad," you countered cagily. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?" you immediately rebuffed.

Carl stared at you, horrified. "But it's not okay for him to treat you like that," he snapped. "He has no right to do that. My dad is chief of police, I could..." For the first time you noticed what a beautiful eye color Carl possessed, and what a handsome face, and how charmingly his dark hair contrasted with his fair skin.

"No!" you interrupted him, placing your hand on his. "Please don't, Carl. Please, stay out of this. I'll only get in more trouble," you said quietly, looking to the side.

Carl was silent for a moment. "Fine, if that's the way you want it," he grumbled disapprovingly. "But it's not okay!" You let that go uncommented, and the drive went on in silence.

You found a pet supply store and looted a large quantity of canned cat food, kibbles, and a litter box; also cat toys, a scratching tree, a cat bed, and lots of cat litter. "Thanks, Carl," you said as he started the motor and steered the car onto the road leading back to Alexandria.

"Do you want to go home already, or do we want to have some fun first?" asked Carl mischievously, winking at you, "Your dad doesn't have to know anything." He pointed to a large building to the right. It was painted in bright colors and the billboard on the street read, "Joyland - THE one and only indoor playground!" "Come on," Carl urged, "We don't have to stay long, just an hour or so. You look like you could use a little distraction." Finally nodding, he parked the car and you got out. Fortunately, there were no walkers anywhere to be seen.

Inside the building, daylight fell through the domes in the ceiling. There was a lot of playground equipment that you two were actually much too old for - a huge ball pit, several slides, and various trampolines. There was also a roller skating rink. Carl took a running start and jumped into the ball pit, laughing. "Come on in," he urged you, and finally you gave in. You frolicked in the ball pit, wrestling with each other, then you tried the slides and finally the biggest trampoline.

Eventually you were completely out of breath; sweaty, you let yourself drop in a corner of the trampoline to rest. Carl sat down next to you, drops of sweat were on his forehead, and his sweet face was all flushed. His eye sparkled with joy. "I'll go get us something to eat and drink," he announced, climbing down the ladder and running across the great hall, toward one of the abandoned vendor kiosks.

After a few minutes, he returned with masses of snacks and two cans of Coke. "I'm afraid the Coke isn't very cold," he commented. You didn't care, you were thirsty, and greedily you emptied your can. Carl tore open several bags of snacks and candy, and you stuffed yourselves with them without restraint.

"Look," you said with a giggle, holding up a bag of cheesy corn wheels. "Carlitos," the label read. "Some Carlitos for Carlito?" you asked. Carl grinned and reached for the bag. When you were satiated, you lay on the trampoline with your bellies full, looking up at the concrete ceiling and talking about all sorts of things. Carl turned his head to look at you. Crumbs from the Carlitos were stuck in the corner of his mouth, and you reached out to wipe them away and to stroke his cheek. Carl let it happen, then moved closer to you, pulled you into his arms, and you kissed for the first time. Carl's lips tasted like bell pepper chips and Coke, and they were so soft. Your injured lip hurt a little, but you hardly felt it.

"I can't let my parents know about this," you pressed around, when you were leaving the place and heading for the car. "They... they don't like you."

"Why not?" wondered Carl innocently. "They don't even know me."

"That's not the point, my dad just... doesn't think the son of a plain police chief is good company for me," you muttered angrily. „He's such a snob.“ You didn't want to tell Carl how spiteful your dad had been about his facial injury; you didn't want him to feel bad about his appearance.

"Oh," Carl said, concerned. He never expected that someone would find his father's profession inferior and therefore would reject him, Carl. "Then we'll just meet in secret, Y/N. And maybe your dad will change his mind," he said hopefully.

It's more like hell freezing over, you thought bitterly.

[raelle-writing]

The reality is that most kids would be either a Fluke or Jin. If nothing else it’s because they don’t also want to be bullied or ostracized by their friends. You can criticize the choices that Jin makes but realize that he is also a child that doesn’t yet have the maturity and wisdom of an adult. I see this group of teens and their treatment of Non as a cautionary tale. Obviously this is ultimately a horror/thriller so everything is heightened to the extreme. Therefore I don’t have an issue with the gore, mayhem and fantastical elements. But this type of bullying could and does happen in real life sometimes with devastating tragedies. So I do wish that people on social media were more careful of the terms they use and directly harassing your character is not a good look. Hurling insults behind a computer screen hurts just as much as doing it in person. (IMO) The fact that they are essentially bullying you is ironic considering what DFF is about.

There is a certain irony to watch the fandom turn into bullies in defense of the bullied character. I understand being defensive of the characters you like (I'm defensive of Jin in case you haven't noticed lol). But I understand why people don't like him. I've never justified all of his actions, but I do genuinely think people are too hard on him a lot of the time.

And I also wish all the Non defenders would have a bit of nuance about his character too because he's a victim, but that doesn't exempt him from hurting others. I'll never say he cheated because I beleive we shouldn't apply that word to a situation involving coercion and power imbalances. But Non does still get his friends arrested. And he does lie to and gaslight Phee. And those are okay things to acknowledge while still having sympathy for him as a character.

I agree with you. I think most people wouldn't even do as much as Jin tbh because while he doesn't do enough arguably, he does a lot as far as defending Non over and over and over (even up until after Non disappears he's still snapping at his friends to address Non by his name). And it's really hard to be that level of defiant to your peers constantly. It's waaaaaaay easier to be Fluke and look the other way and tell yourself that you're not involved then, even if you could stop it.

Everyone online seems to have a hero complex and think they'd do the Absolute Right Thing even when there's no clear right thing in certain situations, and then they demonize these teenagers for not doing those things. (I made a thread on Twitter talking about Jin lying to the police and police corruption in the DFF narrative and in Thailand in general, including linking to a bunch of Thai tweets that talk about that and I got people replying to me saying that they live in countries with police corruption but they still would've told the truth to the police even if they would've disappeared and I got a good laugh out of that. It's so easy to be the hero in your head in a hypothetical situation, but reality is a lot harder than that).

Yeah, I don't know why this particular fandom seems to be so caught up on "if you like a character that I view as morally bad then YOU are a bad person" especially considering the audience crossover to the KPTS fandom like. Were you mad at all of the mafia boys doing mafia things in KPTS becaussssssse that was worse than a lot of what's happening in DFF so far ahahahaha

Anyway, I'm not ever going to demand that everyone likes Jin. I don't particularly care of people like him or not as long as they're not coming after ME about it. I wish people were a little less... vitriolic about the mistakes of teenagers, though I understand why many people are so mad about it. I just can't get past the idea that these people were all kids when they made these mistakes, and it's hard to see even Por die because I have sympathy for them all. Did they fuck up? Duh. Do they deserve to die...? I have a hard time with that, but I'm trying to be mentally prepared ahahahaha

I also hope all the people out there who have decided Jin is the worst person ever and deserves to die are prepared for if that doesn't happen. Because there are a lot of threads in the narrative point pretty strongly to a future redemption for him IMO (tho of course they could go in another direction, anything is possible at this point). And I have a feeling that all those people who are calling me names on Twitter aren't going to handle it well if Jin get redeemed or like... lives in the end. I have a feeling they won't handle that well.

Anyway, thanks for the message 💕

[im-a-simp898]

The Urinal Shitter

There was a "urinal shitter" at my high school and after 2 whole months of mystery, we finally found who it was.

Let me explain, so, one day all of a sudden school starts and everything is normal until people start going to the boy's bathroom and... there's poop on the urinal and mind you, the school day had just started so whoever did this had been there before the school day even started and in most of these scenarios, the person doing the prank accidentally leaves behind some sort of evidence, some sloppy mistake, but this time there was absolutely nothing, nobody knew who it was, everyone thought it was funny but thought little of it.

Then came the next day and there was poop in the urinal again, first thing in the morning, 8:30 am, poop in the urinal, then the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next.

At this point people were started seeing a pattern and started calling this mysterious figure that was pooping on the urinal every day, "the urinal shitter", he became a legend, people were making memes, making rumors and everyone was just talking about it as day after day as poop was showing up in the urinal at the boy's bathroom, 8:30 am, first thing in the morning, there was already poop sitting there and the bathroom was constantly getting closed down to clean the poop in the urinal.

This went on every day for around 2 weeks until the urinal shitter's methods were uncovered, turns out, the urinal shitter was hopping the fence to get into school 1 hour before it opened, going to the boy's bathroom and pooping in the urinal and he was doing all this while wearing a ski mask and how did we figure this out?

Because one day the principal just happened to be at school 1 hour before it opened and he saw the urinal shitter going into the bathroom from his office and tried to chase him down after he left the bathroom but he just couldn't catch him, the urinal shitter was too fast. After this, the principal was infuriated, he wanted to bring justice to the urinal shitter, so he held a school assembly, trying to convince the urinal shitter to turn himself in and stop pooping in the urinals. Of course, this sparked even more jokes and discussion and at this point, everyone was looking at the "urinal shitter" as a sort of hero, people were starting to really like him and root for him. Then, the urinal shitter starts getting bolder, the urinal shitter starts an instagram account where he's posting pictures and videos of him doing this using a ski mask and using a filter to hide his voice, this brought even more attention to him, it was all people talked about, the school was trying to figure out who it was based on the account and even the police got involved but they still couldn't figure out who it was as he was using advanced methods to hide his identity, whoever the urinal shitter was, they were really smart.

Meanwhile the urinal shitter was going to school earlier and earlier in the morning as now the principal was starting to go to school early everyday in the hopes to catch the urinal shitter, so, the urinal shitter one day goes to school at 3 am, as usual, hops the fence, he isn't expecting anyone to be there, due to the hou,r and now he enters the bathroom from the window of the bathroom, as they started locking the door to the bathroom. However, as he was getting into the bathroom, he gets stuck on the window and all of a sudden the principal shows up. As the urinal shitter is still stuck in the window he hears the principal, he starts panicking, he falls backward from the window, breaks his back and gets caught by the principal.

Turns out, the urinal shitter was the model student with a 4.0 GPA, he was the last person anyone suspect, hell, he was a good friend of mine and never in a million years I would've thought it was him, then he obviously gets expelled and after that, no one ever heard from him again, all his social media accounts are gone, we call his number and nothing happens, no one ever saw him again, he went completely off the grid, rumors started spreading that he sued the school, that he changed schools, that he fled the country, there were even people saying he died and I guess we'll never know. but what is for sure is that he cemented himself as a school legend.

[ausetkmt]

Calls for justice filled Bay Street Sunday afternoon as dozens of people rallied on the steps of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office headquarters after a video went viral showing the arrest of 24-year-old Le'Keian Woods. 

Woods' arrest on Friday was caught on video by a bystander showing multiple officers standing and kneeling over him. At one point, an officer picks Woods up and slams him onto the grass.

Moments later, officers lifted Woods up, revealing bruises and blood across his face. Woods' family accused the officers of punching him during the incident, causing his facial injuries, although this isn't shown in the arrest video.

The family told First Coast Newsthat Woods, his uncle and his friend were pulled over for not wearing their seatbelts as they were on their way to Woods' grandmother's house.

The Sheriff's Office says the incident is under administrative review.

USA TODAY noted the incident is the latest case of alleged police brutality, where encounters with police over traffic violations have turned violent or even fatal. Recent studies have shown racial disparities in policing and experts have said Black people are disproportionately stopped or searched by law enforcement across the country.

During a rally Sunday afternoon, Woods' mother, Natassia Woods, spoke to the crowd describing how hard it's been to get an update on her son's condition. She told First Coast News her son's attorney, Harry Daniels, told her that Woods was going to and from the hospital to be treated for a concussion. 

“I’m at a point now that I just want answers for my son," Woods told the crowd. "I want justice for my son. No one should be beaten like that.”

Natassia Woods isn’t the only calling for those things — as she was surrounded by dozens of people with signs and posters.

“We were definitely outraged," said Mary Dennis, who attended the rally. "When I saw the video, I just couldn’t believe that it took that many people to take one person down.”

Woods' mother said she did get a chance to speak with her son, but it was a painful conversation.

"When he called me from the jail, he said, 'Mama, what happened to me?'" Natassia Woods said.

"He didn't even know he got beat like that. He didn't even know that stuff had happened to him. He did not know that he had got beaten that bad."

The Sheriff's Office shared the following statement withmedia on Saturday regarding the incident:

"The agency takes all allegations of inappropriate use of force by JSO officers seriously. As such, this incident is now under administrative review to determine if the involved officers violated any JSO policy. Because the matter is currently under investigation, the agency cannot comment further about the incident until the investigation is completed.”

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee, who organized the rally, called for three things in light of Woods' arrest going viral on social media.

One, for the officers responsible to be held accountable. Two, for the Sheriff's Office to get rid of the gang unit. Three, create a public safety committee made up of community members to review public safety policies.

“Why can’t the city have an institution that can hear the voices of the community in a controlled way that can affect policy in a positive way," said Michael Sampson with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.

Woods is being held on charges of armed drug trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and resisting an officer with violence.

Police shooting: Jacksonville state attorney deems officer justified in shooting of Jamee Johnson

Attorney Dexter Van Harris represented Woods in court Sunday morning. Van Harris told First Coast News the judge found no probable cause on two of the six charges he is facing, and his bail on the other four totals about $170,000.

Woods' next court date is scheduled for Oct. 24.

Woods was previously arrested and faced a second-degree murder charge in 2018 for an attempted robbery at a Tallahassee apartment complex where his roommate was fatally shot, according to The Florida Times-Union.

Traffic stops across the United States

A number of high-profile cases of police brutality have begun with traffic violations. Traffic stops are one of the most common interactions civilians have with police and while a majority end uneventfully, experts have said people of color — particularly Black people — are disproportionately stopped by police, USA TODAY reported.

These encounters can quickly escalate into violent, and sometimes fatal, incidents. Hundreds of people, including Tyre Nichols, Patrick Lyoya, Daunte Wright, Jayland Walker, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland and Walter Scott have been killed after being stopped by law enforcement for traffic violations.

Police pull over more than 50,000 people daily and more than 20 million motorists annually, according to the Stanford Open Policing Project. Officers generally stop and search Black drivers at higher rates, the study found.

Daniels said Woods' case "bears a striking similarity" to the shooting of 22-year-old Jamee Johnson in 2019. The attorney represented Johnson's family in a federal lawsuit against the city of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

"Johnson was also pulled over for an alleged seat belt violation before being fatally shot by (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office) officer Josue Garriga," Daniels said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.

Garriga was one of the officers involved in Woods' arrest, according to a newly released arrest report.

[traumatas]

Anyways time for the Olive kidnapping story of 2019.

In 2019 my husband was getting ready to move from the USA to Germany. You see, behind one of his bathroom cabinets there was just a hole in a wall that was super easy for a cat to slips through and since he was living in a trailer in a cold ass place with snow, some of the siding of the trailer had bent. So what happened is that Olive pushed the cabinet open, slipped through the hole in the wall and under the trailer and escaped into the wild world.

That was about a month before he moved here. Obviously freaked us out because we suddenly were on a time limit to find her - which in the end, we didn't. Even despite contacting everything he could contact, he couldn't find her in time.Left a very weird feeling over the whole moving across the ocean but it's not something we could have changed because the flight had postponed before.

However, my husband left posters, posts on socials and had friends still kind of looking. Someone he used to work with actually reached out to him and went 'Hey I found out this guy has your cat'. Even got a picture and everything and my husband forwarded that information to his mom.

My MIL lives 3 hours away and got in contact with the person that had Olive but he only ever really answered very sporadically and he wasn't being in sturdy enough contact. However they did agree and it was a thing of like yeah you paid for food and stuff so we can give you 50 bucks for that to pay you back nbd.

They set up a date of my MIL going there and the guy would just not open the door. Or be reachable. She drove all the way there just to stand in front of a closed door. Which meant she had to drive back three hours without a cat just for the guy to ask for more and more money. Guy made up some stupid excuses about working or sleeping all the time or whatever too. Because, yeah, my MIL stopped by multiple times.

Additional note is that my husband had contacted Animal Control to keep an eye out for her too so they were informed as well. Eventually escalated so much that MIL and Animal control had to threaten the guy with involving the police after he had claimed that Olive was his cat. (which obviously she's chipped and tattooed and registered on my husband.)

In the end that was enough to actually make him give her back. Which was about one or two months after my husband initially came to Germany and we only got her back in like September when MIL could fly to Germany for a visit. It was really... Insane. Having your cat get lost, then turn out to be kidnapped to then be held hostage for ransom.

Probably one of the more insane things that happened in my life.

Kids, always make sure your pets are Chipped and Registered to you btw. JIC. Also don't trust people in Bangor, Maine with your cats apparently they might nap them.

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

Up in Smoke (Pure Angst Edition)

Fandom: DC, The Suicide Squad, Rick Flag

Summary: Rick feels terrible when he has to work late and misses dinner with you, but he is in for a deadly surprise when he gets home.

Word Count: 2318

TW: Angst, Language, Reader death, Smoke Inhalation, Heartbreak

Note: I wrote 2 different versions of this same idea. Both start the same but do take a dramatic shift after a few paragraphs so I would suggest reading both if you are interested.

This current one is extremely angsty with no happy ending.

The other one has angst, but also ends with comfort and fluff and can be found here.

Rick sighed, glancing at the clock on his dashboard as he waited for the red light to turn green. It was 11:47 pm. Shit. He had promised he would be home early tonight to take you out to dinner. Just add it to the ever growing list of ways he let you down lately. Fuck Waller for forcing him to run drills with the team all night. She must have heard him talking to Economos about his big plans for tonight. That woman was the biggest cock-block he had ever met. First with June, now with you. If she even caught the smallest hint that he had something going on in his personal life, she did everything in her power to derail it. She didn’t even give him the chance to call or text you and let you know he was going to be late. And when he finally was able to check his phone as he was leaving the prison, he had half a dozen missed calls from you. When he tried calling back, your phone had gone straight to voicemail. Fuckin’ Waller!

He finally turned down his street still muttering under his breath, but his anger quickly shifted to confusion and panic as he saw three fire trucks parked outside his apartment. Smoke was still billowing out of the top of the building, but it seemed like the firefighters had managed to get the main blaze under control.

Rick quickly pulled his truck into the first open parking spot he saw and jumped out even before the engine had shuttered to a stop. There was a large crowd of people huddled around the barriers the police had set up and Rick recognized most of them from around the building. Spying Ms. Thompson, the friendly older woman who he sometimes cat sat for, he approached her.

Her worried face softened slightly when she saw him. “Ah, Colonel! I’m so glad to see you! We were all hoping you hadn’t been left up there. But seeing as where the fire started and all, we couldn’t be too sure.”

“No, I’m fine ma’am. I actually just got off of work. Can you tell me what happened?”

Her face dropped even further as a dark shadow passed over it. “Oh… I thought you knew. I’m sorry, Colonel, I am so sorry…but the fire started in your apartment.”

Rick’s face twisted up in confusion. “My apartment? How did that happen?”

She hesitated, placing a hand softly on his arm. “Your young lady stopped by.”

Rick’s blood ran cold. “No… she wasn’t supposed to be here tonight. I told her I would meet her at her place.”

Ms. Thompson saw the panic cross his face and she just shook her head. “I don’t know what happened, Rick. I haven’t seen her but…they just carried out a body a few minutes ago. They brought it over by the ambulances.”

Rick gave a quick nod of thanks then hurried up to the cops guarding the barrier. Pulling out his military id, he flashed it at the men.

“I am Colonel Richard Flag, Special Ops. This is my building, and I was just informed my girlfriend was involved in the fire. I want to see her. Now.” Rick barked the orders gruffly.

The two officers glanced over at each other hesitantly but stepped aside. Rick pushed past them and stormed over to where all the emergency vehicles were parked. But he stumbled to a stop when he saw a gurney with a body on it. The body was mostly covered in a thin white sheet, but the right arm had slipped out from under the covering, exposing it to the world.

Rick fell to his knees as he spied the familiar tattoo just recognizable through the burns on the body’s wrist. He folded over, forehead pressed tightly into the concrete as he released a wail of agony. This wasn’t supposed to happen, not to you. He had done everything he could to keep you away from the dangers in his life, yet you still had been taken from him.

A concerned looking cop approached Rick slowly. Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, he asked, “Hey, are you okay? Is there anything I can do?”

Rick sat up slowly, tears still streaming down his face. He managed to ask in a gravely, hoarse grunt, “What the hell happened?”

“Um, do you mean with the building?”

“No…her.” He jerked his head in the direction of your body but was unable to look at it again.

The cop understood immediately. He tightened his grip on Rick’s shoulder, giving it a rueful squeeze. “Ah, I’m sorry, son. We’re still trying to figure out what happened but the best we can figure, it seems she had some candles lit in the apartment and one of them must have fallen over. The fire spread quickly, and we don’t know how much time she had before…” He stopped and sighed. “Are you sure you want the details?”

Rick nodded stiffly so the cop continued. “I’m not supposed to be telling you this, but I heard you say you were special ops and all… We found her curled up by the front door of the apartment. She had burns on her arms and legs, but they weren’t too serious. It appears she…died… from smoke inhalation. There was a heavy chest of things next to her that we think she must have tried to go back for. But it’s all just speculation.”

“She wasn’t even supposed to be here….I was supposed to meet her for dinner tonight, but I got stuck at work.” Rick muttered robotically.

“One of your neighbors talked to her this afternoon when she arrived.” The cop shifted uncomfortably, but Rick once again nodded for him to continue. “Apparently, she said she was planning on cooking dinner for her boyfriend to surprise him when he got home from work. I’m assuming that's you.”

Rick squeezed his eyes closed tightly. He thought back to the conversation he had with you last night just before you headed home… your last conversation.

“Rick, we don’t have to go out tomorrow. We can just stay in and I’ll cook.”

“No, darlin’. I haven’t taken you out in weeks. You deserve to be shown a good time.”

“You show me the best time when we’re right here. Plus, you’re always exhausted when you get home from work. You don’t have to drag yourself out to some restaurant just because you think that’s what I want.”

“I’ll be fine. And we’re going to do things right. We’ll get dressed up all nice, you can wear that red dress I love so much, and then when we get back, I can take it off you. How’s that sound?”

“A little like overkill. I can just wear the dress over here and then you can still take it off.”

“Can you please just humor me for once? I get off at 5 so I can pick you up around 7. Is that okay?”

“It’s perfect, baby. I’ll see you tomorrow at 7. I love you.”

I love you. Those had been the last words you had said to him. He could tell you still weren’t happy with the situation as you left so it really didn’t surprise him that you would have snuck over to surprise him. You would have wanted to prove to him how wrong he was thinking they needed to go out to have a good time. This was all his fault….

“I need to see her.”

The cop sighed. “Son, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“I don’t give a fuck what you think. I. Need. To. See. Her. Now.” Rick practically threw the words at the other man. The cop hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

As they approached your body, the cop motioned for the other men to leave the area. Rick deserved some privacy for what came next. Rick slowly trudged toward the gurney, each step making his feet feel heavier and heavier. And then, he was at your side.

At first, Rick didn’t have the strength to look at your face. His gaze got as high as your neck before he had to stop. The sheet that had been draped over you was pulled back and was folded at your collar bone, covering everything below that point. But Rick could see just the smallest bit of red sparkling from under the cloth and his heart seized. You were wearing the dress he had asked you to. The red one that always took his breath away.

He couldn’t put it off any longer. Rick followed the beautiful curve of your throat until his eyes settled on your face. Half of him was disappointed your eyes were closed as he was desperate to see them one more time. But the other half thanked God that they were. He didn’t think he could bear to see the blank, glazed look he knew would be staring back at him. Your face was slightly red, assumedly from the heat of the fire, and soot coated your skin, but besides that, you could just be sleeping. It was the same sight that had greeted him on countless mornings as he got up for work. But this time, you wouldn’t be rolling over, begging him to come back to bed for just a few more minutes. This time, you wouldn’t be sneaking up behind him to trail kisses down his bare back as he brushed his teeth. This time….you wouldn’t be waking up.

He could just imagine what had happened in the apartment. You crawling across the floor, desperate for air. Scratching frantically at the door when you finally managed to reach it, only to discover the doorknob was too scalding hot to turn. He knew you, and he knew that even up to your last moment, part of you would have believed that he would arrive in time to save you. That the man who swore to never let anything happen to you, who would always protect you, would swoop in and carry you to safety. And it was crazy he knew, but he could almost see his name imprinted on your lips, left when you whispered it with your last breath.

He lightly cupped your cheek, tilting your head down slightly. Then he leaned over and placed a last, long, lingering kiss to your forehead. You tasted of smoke and sweat but Rick didn’t care. He put everything he felt for you into this kiss. His love, his devotion, his sorrow, his regret, his guilt. He hoped that wherever you were now, you could feel all of it.

Finally, he had no choice but to pull away. Brushing his hand across your cheek one last time as he tried to memorize every pore on your face, Rick whispered, “Goodbye, darlin’.” And he turned his back on you.

The cop from before slowly approached Rick, a large chest in his arms. “We found this on the floor next to her. We think she was trying to carry it out and that is why she didn’t get out in time. We didn’t open it, so I have no idea what is inside. But it was in your apartment, so I see no reason you shouldn’t be able to take it now.”

Rick nodded and took it from the man. He had instantly recognized it as the one he kept stored in his closet. It was normally empty so he had no idea why you would have been trying to carry it with you. But it didn’t matter. If it was important enough for you to die over, Rick wasn’t going to leave it behind.

He walked back to his truck, ignoring the words of sympathy and condolences from his neighbors as he passed. He climbed into his driver’s seat and slammed the door shut, tossing the chest on the seat next to him. He sat there in silence for a moment before his dam burst. He slammed his fists repeatedly into his steering wheel as an animalistic howl of grief tore from his lips. It wasn’t fair! You hadn’t done anything wrong! All you were trying to do was do something nice for him. If he had just called, or demanded Waller let him leave like he had considered, you would still be here. If everything had gone according to plan, by this time tonight, the two of you should have been curled around each other after a night of passion.

Instead, he was sitting here alone with just this stupid chest. What could have possibly been so important for you to not flee the apartment immediately? What in his apartment was worth your life? He pulled the chest into his lap and opened the lid. What he saw inside took his breath away.

It was everything he would have wanted to save from his place. His military medals, the flag he had been given when his father was killed in action, the photo album that contained the only picture he had of his grandparents. It was all there, perfectly protected within the sturdy case. You had known exactly which irreplaceable items he would have mourned the loss of the most. Though nothing compared to the loss of you.

The last thing he pulled out, smushed at the bottom of the box, was the stuffed monkey he won for you on your first date. The one you snuggled with every night when you stayed over. The one that still smelled like you.

Rick curled himself around the ratty toy, smashing it so deeply into his chest it felt like part of him. And sitting there in his truck in the parking lot of his apartment building, the smell of smoke and ash still filling the air, he allowed himself to fall apart.

[thenationaltreasuregazette]

To the editor,

Your response seriously made my day: 10/10!! I am very interested in your analysis of a) Ben’s exact relationship with the Navy and b) how wack his finances must be.

However! I have another question. What do you think Sadusky and co. would have done with Abigail, Riley, and Patrick after Ben flew off to Boston? My personal headcanon is that the Declaration got taken to the NYC branch of the National Archives (on Abigail’s suggestion of course) and Abigail/Riley/Patrick got put up in a hotel for the night where the FBI could keep an eye on them. but I know nothing about FBI protocol and I’m interested in your take on it. Would the FBI have put them up in a hotel for the night to keep an eye on them? Are Abigail and Riley still technically suspects in an ongoing case and would be held in custody?

As always, love your work!

Aftermath, Part 1

Hi anon!

I'm glad you’ve enjoyed this project so far.

So…I sat on this question for *checks watch* about 3500 years. I’ve always wanted to write a fic about the post-Trinity events and I thought, “Well I’ll do that, use the fic to collect my thoughts, and then answer the question.”

Lmao.

The naiveté.

The hubris.

That’s clearly not going to happen any time in the next calendar century so let’s dig in.

I think there would be a lot of aftermath to the events of National Treasure on a lot of fronts. Let’s break them down into:

Medical

Legal

Archeological

Interpersonal

Medical

We’ve already discussed the various injuries Team Treasure might have accumulate here, and here, so I won’t spend too much time on this, but I do think medical evaluations would be one of the FBI’s first priorities.

There are plenty of universes, real and fake, where I don’t think the FBI would very much care about the well-being of the people who stole the Declaration of Independence, whether they returned it or not. But National Treasure is not one of those universes. The FBI in the NT world are basically good guys, and the movie frames Sadusky especially as a good person who cares about the fate of the treasure, and even the people searching for it.

In the 2003 script there’s actually a moment where Sadusky has a chance to take a shot at Ben but can’t bring himself to do it. Which is interesting as hell and paints their dynamic pretty differently. With this removed in the final film, the FBI never poses a physical threat to Team Treasure—that’s Ian’s department. The FBI’s role is more the existential threat of getting caught before finding the treasure.

They also have reason to believe there might be at least one hostage/unwilling participant wrapped up in this mess. Again in the 2003 script, the FBI discusses multiple times whether Abigail is an accomplice in the theft or not.

REPORTER (ON SCREEN) (CONT'D) …Dr. Abigail Chase, a museum employee who has been reported as missing. Police did not say whether Dr. Chase is a suspect or a witness, only that she is the only National Archives employee not currently accounted for…

And later

INT. FBI, HOLDING CELLS - DAY Sadusky moves purposefully down a line of holding cells, stops at one. Inside, sits Abigail. SADUSKY We know you're not involved. You're free to go.

Although this angle doesn't become a plot point in the final film, the circumstances of Abigail's involvement haven't changed, so they would likely still be considering it. And since Ben has been going out of his way not to implicate her ("I did it alone. Dr. Chase was not involved.") they might not know how complicit she becomes in the hunt.

They’ve likely also had someone surveilling Patrick’s house since their initial visit, and might or might not know he’s been taken as well.

I think it’s beyond plausible to say that there’s an ambulance waiting among what I assume is a small fleet of black SUVs parked outside Trinity Church. (They’ve probably even blocked off the street until they know how things have played out.)

After Ben and Sadusky head off to the helicopter, I imagine Abigail, Riley, and Patrick are asked if they need medical attention. I can see Riley pouting and asking for a bandaid for his splinters, and receiving less sympathy from the paramedic than he’d hoped for.

Abigail initially waves them off, until Riley touches her shoulder and it’s clear that she’s in real pain. As I said here, in addition to a killer bruise, I think it’s very possible that Abigail tore the rotator cuff in her left shoulder during the stair sequence. If that’s the case, she’d probably get a sling in addition to pain killers and one of those instant ice packs. There’s not much else the EMTs can do, and it’s not an ER-urgent problem.

Patrick, being a vaguely sensible person who is fully aware that he was the least physically equipped for an adventure like this, lets the paramedics check him out, but they declare him in good health.

Legal

Once everyone is declared Basically Fine™ by the paramedics, it’s down to legal business, and there’s probably a lot of it.

Like you, I also headcanon that the FBI makes Team Treasure stick around in New York. I also know nothing about FBI protocol, and frankly I don’t even know where I’d start trying to look up what they’d do in this particular situation, so I’m just going to make it up.

I feel pretty confident about the fact that the FBI wouldn’t just let them go, because a) that’s no fun and b) that’s a very stupid way to run an intelligence agency. I like to think they were all held in New York for a couple of days of debriefing. The FBI took them to a kinda shabby hotel near the FBI’s New York field office, which is just a few blocks uptown from Trinity Church. There were agents keeping tabs on them, and for at least the first day they were told not to talk to each other. That’s not too much of a problem, because I imagine once they get to the hotel, each of them goes into their room, maybe stays awake long enough to take a shower, and promptly passes out from sheer exhaustion.

This also opens up a fun window of clothing possibilities! Do they do this entire debriefing sequence in FBI sweatpants? If you want them to! (I certainly do.)

Ben returns that night with Agent Sadusky, and the debriefing interviews start early the next morning. These aren’t interrogations per se, but Sadusky and his team intend to drill into every last detail of how this all went down. How Ben and Ian met. At what point this tipped into an “operation of questionable legality.” How Riley got involved. Exactly how they pulled off the heist so that the National Archives security system can be upgraded accordingly. At what point Abigail leaned into the whole mess. Etc, etc, etc.

This can be a whole mess of fun fic- and headcanon-wise for a couple of reasons. First of all, we’re set up to do the revolving interrogation trope. Not sure what it’s actually called, but you know, it’s that trope where the squad is all being questioned separately and we’re cutting between them as they fill in different pieces of the story and/or give wildly differing accounts of the same events. Always a good time.

And then there’s the possibility of learning more about the heist and the characters. What didn’t we see in the movie? See also, missing time.

In a real-ish world scenario, this would also be a good time to get some lawyers involved. I know Sadusky said they’re off the hook, but both the FBI and Team Treasure are probably going to want that in writing. You know with like, the terms on their deal and the extent of their implied immunity, etc. (I’m watching Suits right now, can you tell?)

Ben has to know a lawyer who specializes in treasure hunting and other found property stuff. I find it wildly implausible that he hasn’t ended up in at least one tight legal spot before due to his treasure hunting activities. Ben’s also pretty broke, so he’s definitely not running to this guy frequently, but in a real pinch I bet Ben has a number to call.

Abigail would likely have a friend or acquaintance who’s a lawyer. Between the kind of work she does, the city she lives in, and the kind of person she is, she would probably cross paths with plenty of lawyers. Maybe she’s friendly with one from the gym, or her building, or had a friend from college who went to law school. Even if this person doesn’t specialize in criminal/contract law or whatever is needed here, I bet they’d have a recommendation of who to turn to.

And Riley? He seems the least likely to want to get lawyers involved (doesn’t trust them) but he did commit a bunch of minor crimes during the course of this adventure. Yes, Ben did the actual stealing of the Declaration, but Riley broke into the subway, hacked into the archives, triggered the heat sensor, drove the getaway car, and, along with Abigail, colluded with Ian to break Ben out of custody. Once news of the treasure breaks, it would be hard to go after the guy who actually found the thing. Ben’s the face of the treasure, and comes with a story of thirty years of perseverance and absolute faith in a family dream. It would be second hardest to go after the archivist who got accidentally caught up in the whole thing and risked her safety to keep the Declaration safe. It would be easiest to go after the tech guy. He committed lots of smaller crimes and doesn’t have the public persona that Ben does or the ‘innocence’ factor that Abigail has.

So yeah, Riley might want some help. I imagine he has a whole network on online friends and allies, and one of them is bound to be or know a lawyer. He only has to put out the call on his go-to chat forum (it’s 2004) and someone will be or know a lawyer in NYC who he can talk to. That said, I still think he’d be reluctant to trust this person, but depending on how much pressure the FBI is putting on him, he might force himself to reach out. Ben and Abigail likely pressure him to do this as well.

And finally there’s the matter of the treasure and where that stands. As we discussed here, even thought the dialogue of the final scene implies that someone else owns the treasure and Ben was awarded a percentage by like, a board or a court or something, he appears to actually own the treasure outright. That actually sounds like a huge headache imo. Now instead of turning the treasure over to the FBI and letting them coordinate everything, Ben is seemingly on the hook for a lot of the logistics himself.

Which brings us to…

...the crushing realization that I am not going to finish this tonight. Let's call it a two-parter! See you next week!