#God the ashfords are such a mess of a family

[the-pink-baphomet1861]

Some Alexia Ashford headcanons? I read you had the ask box open and I am always interested in the headcanons and opinions of hardcore Ashford fans.

Thanks for the ask! I have a lot of thoughts about her, lots and lots of thoughts. I an microwaving her in my brain.

Both she and Alfred were born on December 13, 1971

Despite being able to hide it better, she is just as much of a sadist as her brother and relishes the terror she can cause, it’s even something of a bonding activity between them

The extent of Alexander’s genetic manipulation is actually rather limited. He believed that because they were created from Veronica, they would inherit her supposedly superior skills and intelligence as well, with only Alexia displaying the characteristics he was looking for.

She cannot cook to save her life. She usually relies on servants to do it for her, and considers it beneath her. Even if she did, the results would probably be less than edible.

Alexia never really had any friends or peers growing up. She progressed so quickly through her education that she never had the time to form any relationships and the work environment at umbrella was competitive at best and outright hostile at worst, especially considering her age. The only people who have been with her throughout her life are her brother and her father. 

Despite this, Alexia can be rather sociable, or at least put up a front. She knows exactly what to say and how to say it in order to get what she wants from others, but if it doesn’t work, then she has no problem switching to viciously insulting them in an attempt to force them to do what she wants.

Her relationship with her father was distant, he taught her and her brother sometimes, gave them his expectations, but he otherwise just observed from afar, only congratulating her on her studies and otherwise hardly talking to them otherwise, with the exception of expensive gifts for her, which mostly consisted of dolls and research equipment. Alexia doesn’t care much for the dolls, and usually just gives them to Alfred, who adores them, but she is glad for the research equipment, as it helps with her studies most of the time.

With the only other constants in her life being her distant father and exhausting studies, her devoted brother, Alfred, is something that brings her great joy. He always plays with her when she has a break and supports her whenever she needs it. Alexia cares very deeply about her twin, probably the only person that truly genuinely cares for unconditionally, but it’s still not an equal relationship. At best, she sees him as a fun pet that does what she says when she says it and at worst as a cherished toy, an object that she can play around with. Even though it’s unconditional, it’s still an unequal and toxic relationship where Alexia is the sole focus and Alfred is a devoted yes man for everything she thinks, does, or says.

She did most of her university learning remotely from the Antarctic base, sending in essays through letters and discussing with teachers through phone calls. This was done partially to keep her safe from the possible dangers of university life, but also so Alexander could keep a close eye on what she was researching.

Her obsession with ants started when one of the classes she was attending had an ant farm that was used for research, which she grew fascinated with. Once Alexia left the school, she requested an ant farm of her own in the Antarctic base, which she took care of herself and intensely studied, growing more and more fascinated the more she observed and learned, even writing her thesis on them. Alfred took care of it when she was away for school, but once she went into stasis and Alfred was placed on Rockfort, it slowly wasted away.

Once she graduated from university, Alexander wasted no time in putting her in charge of the Antarctic facility. She wasn’t a very good boss on account of her being incredibly forceful and strict and also being a literal child, but she did get results, and that was what mattered to umbrella and Alexander.

The discovery of their origins is what started her belief that she was destined to become queen of all life. She had always been self absorbed, but learning that she had been made in a lab is what caused it to spiral into a complete god complex.

Alexander might have been her first human subject, but she had already begun testing on lab mice as well as the ant colony and enormous plant that she commands after emerging from her pod. Most of the lab mice died, either from toxic compounds building up in their bodies or spontaneous combustion, but one did survive the mutations, and became the basis for her experiments on Alexander. The mouse eventually gained super intelligence and became DIJ.

Prior to her hibernation, she had to cut her hair and nails to an extremely low length to prevent them from growing to long as she slept, especially considering the extreme amount of chitin her body would be producing.

The T-veronica virus was what allowed her to survive the cryogenic process, which would normally be lethal, by producing heat that prevented her cells from freezing completely while it integrated into her genome.

She froze herself on her birthday, and would have been annoyed with Alfred’s tardiness had he not been dying at her feet.

She placed Alfred in the pod with the intent to revive him with the T-veronica virus, as he had yet to fully die. (I’ve even done a few drawings of my concept for what a T veronica infected Alfred would look like.)

The reason Alexia even bothers with capturing Steve and Claire is both because of revenge and because she believes she’s already won at this point and that nothing can stop her.

The enormous anthill beside her pod had multiple functions. The first was to store the growing veronica plant so she could control it in the future, and so that the veronica infected ants would slowly develop beside her. Once their development was complete, they would be capable of producing the same virus they were infected with, allowing her to infect the world.

The complete symbiosis with the T-veronica virus, especially due to the fact that it happened during what would normally have been puberty, has caused her to mutate to the point that she can no longer be considered human. In fact, her human guise is little more than a thin outer layer that can easily be burned away with little difficulty, and her internal anatomy is only human in the barest sense possible 

She experimented on Steve in order to test her own strain of virus and its controlling effects on another human and as revenge for his part in Alfred’s death, and intended on doing the same to Chris as further punishment for Claire. 

Her transition into her first form involves both the burning of the outer layer and the rapid growth of plantlike vines across her body, these vines are connected to her circulatory system and allow her to spew both flammable blood and toxins. In about a week, these growths will recede and the outer layer will begin to regrow, until in about a month, she will be able to pose as a human.

Alexia’s second and third form are much trickier, the second form is the result of both the destabilization of the virus and her own rage. Most of her lower body has swollen into a massive plantlike mass with three openings that spawn small malformed creatures, suggesting that most of the mass is likely her mutated womb. Her upper body can only be recognized as formerly human by her face and general shape, becoming something that more resembles a monstrous ant queen or dragonfly covered in plantlike growths. As this form sustains damage, it slowly begins to degrade both from the gunfire and the immense amount of energy it takes to spawn her creatures. Eventually, Alexia separates from her lower half and begins flying about, with a long tail connected to her abdomen that was most likely part of her spine. Her regenerative powers were far to active for just gunfire to take down, so the linear launcher was required to use enough energy to finally destroy her. She might have been able to revert back to her humanoid form, but that would be unlikely.

She has never once spoken to William Birkin and doesn’t even know he exists.

[vacuian-demon]

If They Had A Kid... (Meme)

Salem / Lance

If They Had A Kid... (Meme)

Send me a pairing and I’ll fill this out with what their kid would be like!

@salemdominance

Name: Amber Ashford

Gender: Female

General appearance:  A dark skinned woman with white hair and red eyes, unlike her father she's tall coming out at an 6'4 in height, toned and with faunus tail. Sporting some freckles on each cheeks-her hair reaching lengths to her ankles.

Personality: A headstrong woman, born from a highborn family of Salem and Lance has given her a very confident outlook on life, she's sure of her skills and abilities due to having a home she could train, practice and learn.

She's a traveler, unlike her parents she used the relic of creation to go out to other worlds and help out when she can and again due to her mother and father, she's practiced with knives and swords and very durable, which she gets from her mother; she's a meddler and enjoys seeing other "villains" from different worlds and helping twart them, even going out of her way to see others to just mess with them. Again when an immortal is your mother and a powerhouse your father, you get skilled quickly. And she enjoys just having fun.

Semblance: Summoning- Evra; Salem's genetics did something to her summon and made it stronger by making it a wyrm or drake similar to Salem's form, her outfit. The dragon in question is similar in form to a Chinese dragon and a long snake like creature. It's a great source of backup and she flies on her similar to her father and Falcor.

Special Talents: intel gathering, cooking, and escape artist- also skilled at manipulating the relic of creation- it's implied they blueprinted it to change the rules so they come up with the blueprints and the god doesn't have to do the work.

Who they like better: Lance, Salem is very busy running a world

Who they take after more: Salem, she loves playing the game and messing with her foe and is confident in her abilities but also blunt when things upset her.

Personal headcanon: She often writes Lance about her exploits on other worlds, which he shares with his family, Frankly she's not for the dark doom and gloom of her home and she enjoys helping and abiding and in exchange; learning about each world. she's currently experimenting with relics and powers from other worlds and the creation relic to make her own world.

Face Claim: 

[midori-laboratories]

Ashes In The Fall - Chapter 26: What We Left Behind III

Book 2 of the Calendula Chronicles

Resident evil, Wesker X OC

Story Summary: Marigold Ashford escaped the mansion, only to face new incarceration with a familiar jailor. She may yet have to make a deal with the devil, if she can unearth what this Faustian bargain would cost her.

There is always something left to lose.

Chapter summary:

Things fall apart, and the center will not hold for long within the Ashford family holdings. Meanwhile, Marigold discovers that she defines anniversaries differently than Wesker. (some nfsw).

Grayson Harman is an original character belonging to Q_Alias. You can learn more about him in The Antarctica Incident, by Q_Alias, part of the Umbrella Files, where Marigold makes an appearance (starting in 5-1). Grayson will feature much more heavily in the next installment of Calendula Chronicles, and in a small collaborative novella set in 1981 (recently released as a Paper Tigers installment!).

October 5, 1998

Poppy hung up the phone in their cottage, turning over the sheaf of paper that had been tucked inside the front cover of the black notebook. If the Teig O’Kane protocol were ever activated, a short list of people was to be called- people whom Marigold had paid special attention to, and instructed to abandon their posts. To take what resources they had amassed and disappear. It would mean that Lord Spencer had finally lost control of the situation, or no longer could be tolerated to hold the reins. That list had been buried within the twisted little priory garden on the edge of the property; it had been a job and a half to get the little cache out from under the heavy flagstone, but the boys had seen to the heavy lifting.

Some had been straightforward to reach. George Bailey had been more than ready to listen, having languished in place for the last twenty years. Putting him in touch with the right people had been a simple matter of following the directives laid out in the book.

Others had disappeared into the ether over the years following Marigold’s disappearance, sensing the blood in the water. One of the oldest names on the list had an active number that led to an answering machine. Yet not an hour later, she’d received a response from a man with a slightly baffled Londoner accent, blurred into something with a sharper Americanized tone.

Marigold’s notes- her record of everyone she had collected into her network - were scrupulously detailed, and vast in their breadth. She’d accelerated the work after 1976. Poppy wondered how many in the Antarctica facility would have been subject to the same spell had the ‘retirement’ plan gone through, and decided it wasn’t worth considering. She would have done enough, anything to protect her clan. If that girl had been of a mind to have her own ambition rather than to prop up that of everyone around her, she might have been a real terror. She would have also had much less time to simply live her life though, for what it was.

A little box of mementos had been buried with it. Things that Marigold had treasured from people in her life. Gifts from the children - a dragonfly pin, a toy soldier, and a guitar pick. Her father’s cuff links. A book of fairytales Alexander had gotten her for her birthday as children. Little tokens, that would have meant almost nothing to anyone else. Poppy had looked on these with tired eyes, then set them aside. From the desperation of the message, it was unlikely she’d be in a position to reclaim these things soon.

God, what a mess it had all become. Scott Harman had stopped answering her calls over the last few weeks. Another log on the burning pile of kindling that had lain dry for far too long. She’d had some hope about direction coming from that quarter, but aside from Alfred providing an account for the restoration of the old house (that was going to be a job and a half, but the local contractors were happy enough), there had been mostly silence. Some hope of a return, but the silence had stretched out beyond that with nary a word.

Marigold had tucked several doses of the medication Alexander had developed for those approaching the garden before she had disappeared into the dark. There’d been more stashed on the property for emergencies, kept under strict control by Poppy and Luther, but the garden stash had been a much higher dosage. Considering how Poppy had nearly been engulfed in that wall of roses that seemed to breathe in anticipation at her arrival, she probably needed it. The boys had worked as hard and as fast as they could. She’d still need to stay away from the garden entirely for a while now.

They all would. She could only hope that the family themselves would do as much for themselves.

If Marigold ever returned again, they’d have to have a word about getting the garden under control - and if fire would be a strong enough measure anymore.

----------

November 2, 1998

Alfred Ashford, 7th Earl of his name, sat in the little rose garden set aside in one corner of the botanical lab of the Antarctica facility.

He’d started coming here soon after Alexia had ‘died’. This place was his, in a way that no one could take away from him. The roses had been Marigold’s, his beloved aunt Callie’s.

The loss had hit them all hard. After Alexia had put herself under, he would spend hours down in the stasis lab, trying to reassure himself that no, he wasn’t really alone; she would come back when the time was right.

Fifteen years was a long time to cling to that faint hope.

He’d started coming down to this level to check up on the little garden. It had been out of nostalgia, and curiosity. It was obvious they weren’t normal, but it was equally obvious that they were far healthier than the sickly things that had been transplanted into Alexander’s lab seventeen years ago.

And…he’d felt better. For a little while. The little rosebuds had swayed as if in a light breeze, carrying a sweet spring scent that made the space feel like a pocket of frozen time, tucked deep under the Antarctic ice.

Had any of the others been around, they might have reminded him that the flowers held an insidious toxicity to them. Certainly, there was a reason his aunt had brought them to his father for cultivation- she’d told Alfred herself that they were supposed to help make it safer for her to come live there, with all of them, when she was set to retire from public life.

The family had also worked to enforce a safe distance from these blooms, just as she had worked to create a safe distance around herself. Aunt Callie and his own father had been working on developing a compound to counter their very effects, right up until her end.

Alfred might have listened. But as the weight of the years, the secrets, the loneliness, took root, he might not have cared. His duty was to survive, hold the family’s assets and protect his sister’s secrets. Coming down here to manage the strain was working to get him through the season.

Then the month.

Then the week.

Then the call had come, one day in late July, the one where the same woman had called the mansion phone line and shocked them all with the news that she was alive, had escaped, and was on the run. His Aunt Callie, who had actually looked at him like he mattered as a child, had alone understood the isolating pressure, and the supreme privilege, of being the ‘normal’ one amongst a crowd of towering geniuses. How to carve out a space in that crowd with grace.

Who had never returned from her final visit to Raccoon City one miserable day in 1981.

None of them - his father, Alexia- had really believed that she had been kept alive, not at first. Alfred had clung to the faint hope. The reactions of those sycophants from the Arklay lab, back at the New York event in ‘89, had been telling enough to shift the balance of that belief. Silence, after all, spoke volumes.

Alfred had kept waiting. Kept going back to that little refuge, usually after checking in on Alexia’s stasis chamber. At some point, he’d set up a little space for himself by the garden to sit quietly with the few memories he had, back from when there had been real hope for the future.

There had been a flat anxiety in her voice, that day when Aunt Callie - Marigold, to everyone else, Alexia had dispensed with pet names by the time she’d finished school - had emerged from her tomb and called him in July. She’d slipped out in the confusion of the Arklay lab destruction, and had been on the run. As much as it hurt to admit, getting involved would have confirmed to the wrong people that she had survived. Maybe Grayson might have…but no. Grayson was ill-equipped to handle the situation and was likely being monitored himself.

There had been a brief moment of shared conspiracy, so much like the old days that he’d barely had the presence of mind to hint that they’d - he and Alexia- had come up with a plan.

And then she’d been gone again. Months of silence. He’d gone down to the garden nearly every day to reassure himself that he hadn’t hallucinated the entire exchange. To make sure that Alexia was still there. If old Scott Harman hadn’t been the one to answer the telephone, he might have felt he’d finally, fully, lost his mind that day.

Alfred began to lose his appetite in the crush of anxiety that followed. Small chunks of time began to disappear on him. The old butler, Scott Harman, began to avoid him after those blank spots.

Then Raccoon City began to slide into the abyss, and the roses seemed to wake. There was no other word for their sudden burst of vitality.

Since then, the blank spots were getting more frequent. He was having more trouble than usual in reining in his temper, something he had never excelled at in the first place. He kept returning to the garden, which almost seemed to know him now whenever he approached. This place made him feel safe, calm, even as the tremors in his hands began to set in.

Tomorrow, he would fly out to Rockfort to get ahead of a storm and process new inmates. He still had a job to do. Right now…he reached out and plucked one of the roses to wear on his lapel on the flight tomorrow. The thorns had grown much sharper over the previous months, but he barely noticed the scratches anymore.

Later, as he rode the elevator back up, he hardly even noticed how quickly the scratch began to fade.

----------

Grayson Harman ended the day in the ‘bar’ of the Antarctic facility, numbing himself with shitty whiskey. He should have known that he was always going to end up here, at the bottom of the world, again. He’d run once, built a semblance of a life in Raccoon City. That life was a smoking ruin now - the second time in which he had lost just about everything that had mattered. Taking on his father’s old role was the only real place left for him, given the circumstances.

Very late, a few days ago, he’d come across found a diagram on the heels of one of Alfred’s little ‘episodes’. He touched his breast pocket now, assuring himself it was still there. Something about it was related to Alexia’s research - and Alfred was still going down there regularly, in spite of the ‘lockdown’ of the lab levels. He’d grown up with the twins, and normally would have stayed out of their secrets. He’d learned firsthand that some things were just not worth sating his curiosity over.

This went beyond curiosity now. Alfred was more broken than he’d expected when he’d returned earlier that month. Alexia was still dead, but…things were no longer adding up, even with his tolerance for the family’s weirdness.

Once Alfred headed over to Rockfort, he would find Don - Pete had a keycard to get down that far, but Pete wouldn’t be needing it anymore. Pete was beyond caring about that sort of thing.

It was past time to get to the bottom of the mystery.

----------

November 25, 1998

Two months.

Two months of isolation, avoidance, and testing.

Wesker would leave periodically on assignment. HCF was getting ready for something, and he was helming the project. Something was in the works. He’d ceased using the…connection…whenever Marigold could sense his presence.

Whatever it was, he was keeping it quiet from Marigold. The demands for her to fill in the blanks on her development as some sort of project (or as a weapon), had slowed to a near halt. The medication she had been on for most of the preceding time would have scrambled the results, anyhow. The data they were collecting now was untainted.

When Wesker did visit…it wasn’t to talk.

She’d taken the reports of her condition, the summaries of her data - redacted as they were - into a conference room a week earlier, for a change of scenery. Wesker had come across her a few hours in, sitting in there, quietly learning more about what her condition looked like from the outside.

Finding him standing over her there had confused her for a moment. At least, until she recalled the last time they had been in a room like this together.

Seventeen years ago, nearly to the day. She had tensed at the memory, eyes going wide.

He’d smiled. The moment had chilled her as much as it had burned.

Wesker had locked the door behind him, taking a length of nylon rope from his coat pocket. Neither of them had said a word.

Moments later, bent over the table and held in place by a hand fisted in her hair, Marigold’s perception grew hazy as that feral need overtook her once more while he pushed into her.

A scant few weeks ago she would have balked under the weight of the association. Somehow it had become harder to summon her indignation as that fog came down over her senses once again. The rush of euphoria under the frenzy at feeling his mouth on her neck had snared her in a way she couldn’t bring herself to mitigate.

The next day, he had departed again, leaving Marigold exhausted, thoroughly marked, and spent in her room. For the past week, no one in the building would meet her eyes.

She walked the trails. Ran for hours. Occasionally she tries to visit the gym downstairs, but the place would clear out quickly whenever she appeared, so that was quickly forsaken.

When she was tired enough, she would go to her room and read.

Spencer’s old journals made for educational, if deeply infuriating, reading. They started in 1958, and ran through to the end of the final volume in 1972. Spencer was cryptic even within his own journals.

There were deeply troubling allusions to a great Project throughout the 1960s, focused around an independent psychiatrist that went only by W.

Exultations and recollections of his time with Miranda. The birth of a clinical sadism that the people around him had only begun to guess at.

An account from September of 1968. Spencer had clearly started to come to the correct conclusion about her condition but had then dismissed it as a flight of fancy. Even if it were the case, he had reasoned, his partner in the venture was an honest man amongst friends, and a cloistered one outside of that circle. The truth would come out sooner than later. Marigold’s blood boiled when she came across the passage where he had casually mentioned a choice piece of equipment being sent to the Ashford’s new lab space, ready to fail at just the wrong moment.

And towards the end of the final volume: a confirmation that once the Ashford patriarch was dead, Spencer had been more than happy to sacrifice her to Miranda’s gaping maw, but also trusted her enough not to retaliate if things went well. The manner in which Marigold returned had surprised Spencer - her anger, silence, and sudden acquiescence. He had thereafter operated under the assumption that Miranda had infected her with the Mold as a reminder to him.

Poisonous, as well as venomous, the old woman whispered in her memory. Even now, after the horrors of the city, Miranda occupied a special tier of horror in Marigold’s mind and clung to the knowledge that consuming her would have been a deeply unpalatable experience for the monstrous woman. Even now, knowing how the woman was tied to her family (bitch had discarded the best thing she had ever created. Good riddance).

Knowing that, given time, the other woman’s choices didn’t seem nearly as mad anymore.

She knew that her ability to hide her condition from Spencer, on her own accord, had shocked him, bruised his ego something terrible. Actually sifting through the underlying twisted detritic madness of it was another matter. Spencer had always been concerned about legacies, yet the idea of the next generation having their own free will had terrified him.

At least, it had when she had been concerned. Going quietly would have bought her a shortened lifetime of torture, experimentation, and agony - and would have also tripped every deadman’s switch she had in range, with the suppressing medication freshly flushed out of her system. Marcus’ breakdown had proven that. Attempting to fight her way out - giving a demonstration - had been reckless, but had frightened Arklay enough to save herself some pain. To buy time.

Not an indefinite amount, though, if what Wesker had told her about the Tyrant program was true.

Spencer had been put into a position to either extract her secrets or protect his legacy. How would he take the news that she had escaped the crater of Raccoon City?

The thought of legacies sat uneasily in her mind. It took a moment to place the reason why.

Then, she closed the journal with a soft snap, and looked at the messenger bag tucked just under the corner of her bed with a growing sense of dread.

[meetthetank]

Queen’s Knight Chapter 1: The Long and Terrible Dream

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Category: F/M Fandom: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse) Relationships: Steve Burnside/Claire Redfield, Steve Burnside & Alexia Ashford (kinda) Characters: Steve Burnside, Alexia Ashford (Kinda), Claire Redfield Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Suspense, Horror, original BOWs, Blood and Gore, I promise theres gonna be burnfield content just bare with me, Medical Trauma, Found Family Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30651233/chapters/75622757

Summary:  He had slept for years, trapped in the bowels of an isolated island facility and half dead. When he finally rises from his slumber, Steve Burnside is greeted with hideous beasts, phantom pains, and the specters of those that had shaped his old life. There are only two choices in this wild, hellish place; kill, or be killed.

BIG CONTENT WARNING FOR FIRST CHAPTER!!

If you are sensitive to physical trauma involving needles please please please skip over this. It is A Lot.

It all feels like a dream. A long, terrible dream from which Steve Burnside cannot escape. Suspended in the space between life and death, confined to an impossibly small void yet floating in an endless expanse. Most of the time he is barely lucid, blessedly ignorant of what was going on around him, but the times he is aware are pure agony.

Long, probing tendrils bore under his skin, tear open his veins and pry apart his insides piece by piece. Blood is drained and returned, bones shattered and set again, organs he had no name for are ripped from his body to be examined and placed back inside him, never in quite the right way. They break him down in all but his mind which fumbles weakly for sanity, for meaning in this pain, before rearranging him and stapling him back together. Then the fires raging through his nerves are quenched by the seas of cold, unfeeling nothingness. He sinks back into the dream once more, waiting for it all to begin again.

And then, one day, the dream ends.

It begins when Steve becomes acutely aware of his own pulse. Rapid and frantic, as if it was trying to burst through his ribs. Fire pools in his chest as his lungs strain for oxygen. Dreadful, agonizing awareness spreads throughout his body. Muscles scream, veins sing with alertness and panic, and his once endless world of black constricts against this thrashing body. He opens his eyes to murky, stinging fluids. He can’t see, hear, smell, or feel anything around him, but he is horrifically aware that everything burned.

Everything hurts.

Hurts….

Hurts.

Oh god it hurts!!

Steve thrashes against his ever tightening prison, against the wires and tubes that snake inside of him. He claws and kicks with all of his might as something wraps around his neck and tightens. Piercing, searing noise though muffled screams through his body. He beats his fists against whatever he can reach in vain hope that someone takes pity on him. Whether his hypothetical savior releases him or grants him merciful true death, it does not matter to Steve. His fingernails rake against a smooth, unyielding surface so hard that they begin to peel from the bed. He fights this impossible battle with all of his might; his mind is empty except for the primal desire to survive.

And as if Steve’s prison takes pity on him, it yields.

His body is ejected from the warm void onto a hard, smooth surface, and the elation of freedom is quickly replaced by a biting cold. Steve’s muscles shudder and shake from the effort of supporting him and fighting against the things that pull him back towards his prison from the inside. A cool, slick, viscous substance coats his body and the floor, sapping what little body heat he has. It’s even thicker in his lungs and throat, which he heaves into the mask that hugs his face with its iron grip. He tries to yank it off but the action pulls something inside of him as well, dragging whatever it is along the delicate flesh of his throat. That just makes him gag and heave more.

Quaking fingers drag across the slick skin of his neck, tangling with his hair and tugging at his scalp, to find what holds the mask in place. He finds three, two elastic bands and one Velcro strap tangled in his matted hair. He yanks at them with the frantic energy of a muzzled animal, pulling at his scalp. The Velcro comes undone easily, but the elastic sticks to him. Clumps of wet, orange hair come away with the bands and strap. Something else comes away, something that pulls at the inside of his throat. Gagging, he pulls the mask away, along with a long, thin tube that is coated with a clear slime from his mouth and nose. A milky substance lingers inside the apparatus before sliding out of the tubes and pooling on the floor.

Steve takes his first breath of fresh, stagnant air; unhindered by the mask. It burns his throat and lungs, he coughs and spits up another puddle of sludge, but it is euphoric all the same.

He collapses to the floor; tiled, cold, and slick with whatever substance coated him. Steve’s body shudders with the exhaustion of simply holding him up and taking off the mask, and the frigid air around him. Somehow, the cold is almost nostalgic.

Slowly his surroundings come into focus piece by piece. There are flashes of color across the room, the hum of lights and equipment, and a repeated tone that grates against Steve’s ears. Specific parts of his body ache down to the bone; right arm, navel, and right thigh. Judging by the way those spots flare up if he moves, something is stuck inside him. He cranes his neck to the side, dragging his face along the floor to look at his arm first. Sure enough a mess of tubing is stuck to the inside of his elbow, held there by yellowed medical tape. Something bulges from his elbow, the epicenter of the tape and tubing. His throat goes dry as he looks past that down to his leg. A similar story, though this time whatever is underneath the bandages is on the side of his thigh. More medical tape wraps around his midsection too, and he shudders to think what might be under that.

Propping himself up on his left hand and shifting his weight, Steve rolls over onto his back. He hisses through his teeth and his body screams with the effort of just flipping over. With steady, pained breaths he reorients himself. Slowly the world stops spinning and the white spots in his vision begin to fade. He takes a shuddering breath then lifts his left arm up in the air. His thin, bony fingers shake with the effort of holding his arm up but it’s enough for him to get a better look at what’s stuck inside him.

The medical tape lifts up on the end, revealing the crisp white bandage beneath, spared of exposure to whatever liquid Steve was kept in. Parts of the end fray off into little threads coated with old adhesive. He rests his arm on his bare chest and picks at the threads with his “good” hand. The strands come away easily and the adhesive crumbles to soft, wet dust when he rolls it between his wrinkled fingers. Steve tugs on the tape, testing how stuck it actually is, and to his surprise it takes a bit of effort to pull sections off. There’s two layers hidden behind the aged section on top, both tougher to take away than the last. When the final layer pulls at his skin he stops to examine the paleness beneath the medical tape, and the angry, purple bruising that sits near the crook of his elbow.

Steve grits his teeth to prepare for the worst, but when he yanks at the bandage it pulls away just as easy as the rest. A layer of dead skin sloughs off of his arm with the old tape, revealing exactly what he has been dreading. A syringe, or something like it, juts out of a vein that bulges beneath his skin. All around the wound is a deep purple bruise that fades into sickly yellows and greens. He takes the plastic tube in his fingers and pulls, slowly. It slides out of his burst vein easily. Mercifully the needle is only an inch or so long, and the moment it’s free of his skin a bead of blood oozes out and trails down his pale arm. Steve presses his fingers to the wound to mitigate the bleeding. The skin and muscle is sore, but compared to everything else wrong with him, it’s manageable. Within seconds, the bleeding stops and he can focus on the next problem.

With great effort Steve forces himself to sit upright. The blood rushes from his head and the agony of exhaustion brings him to the verge of collapse. He props himself up on one arm while he acclimates to sitting, taking shaking breaths to even out his heartbeat. When he can open his eyes without feeling dizzy, he pushes his hair out of his face and begins pulling the bandages off his thigh. It’s much the same as before, the tape comes away with little effort along with a thick layer of leg hair and dead skin. Another syringe like device sticks out of him, this one much larger than the last. When Steve grabs hold of it and gives it a test pull, his leg alights with agony. He lets out a barely muffled cry as whatever is inside him scrapes against his femur, as if it’s been stuck directly into the bone. His fingers curl around the syringe in a shaking fist, teeth grit in panicked desperation and hand throbbing with each thundering heartbeat.

Steve shuts his eyes and tears the needle out of his thigh.

Agony floods his body like electricity and escapes his mouth in a monstrous howl that echoes across the room. Hot tears stream down his face as he grips his leg, his fingernails digging into the meat of his thigh as if he could simply claw out his nerves to stop the pain. His femur and the muscles around it send fire through his veins with each beat of his heart. Managing to open one eye, he dares to look at the thing he just ripped from his body in horror. It shares the same shape as the needle he pulled out of his arm, but three times the size. The needle alone stretches horrifically past the length of his hand; it glints in the dim lighting as Steve lets it clatter to the floor, right next to the growing pool of blood that flows from his thigh. He shoves the discarded, filthy medical tape against the wound to try and stop the blood flow as much as he can. Thankfully within moments his leg stops pouring blood, and Steve can turn to what is taped to his stomach.

There isn’t much holding the tubes to his navel, only a few scraps of tattered tape; nowhere near the multiple layers he had to pull away moments prior. However this time, merely touching the apparatus is painful. Steve winces and hisses as he pulls the tape away from the thing in his stomach. Whatever this is seems to be sewn into him, or maybe glued since he can’t see any stitches or staples. It simply melds into his skin just above his navel, a larger tube and clamp system rests outside of his body and dangles from another series of tangled wires and tubing, the latter filled with a red fluid. Steve chokes back sobs as he takes hold of the device with both hands, trembling and horrified as he feels his insides shift with it. He doubles over after one pull, something shifts in his gut and sends jolts through his body, but he continues. Agonizingly slow, only managing a half an inch at a time, he drags this… thing….out of his stomach. A length of tubing as wide as his thumb filled with milky red fluids emerges from his gut, impossibly long and slick with blood. It coils on the floor beside him in the puddle of blood, like a vile serpent.

Adrenaline, pain, and desperation forces him through this grim task. Steve’s world fades nearly to black, and for a moment he almost succumbs to the blissful darkness once again, but he persists. A primal desire to survive keeps him awake, while something deeper in the back of his mind keeps him focused. A memory, a woman in red, says something muddled by the fog and pain in his brain, but it ignites a drive within him he wasn’t aware of. One hand over the other, he pulls the last bit of tubing out of his stomach. The final portion catches on the edge of his skin, indicating something larger is at the end of the tube. A pained growl rumbles in his chest as he braces himself for the worst. He musters his strength and with a bellowing roar Steve rips the apparatus out his stomach.

Blood pours from the wound on his stomach and from the strange mesh bag that dangles obscenely from the end of the tubing. Steve launches the thing, whatever it is, across the room. It falls to the floor with a wet splat, sending more blood and fluids spilling onto the tiles. His manic strength begins to slip from his mind and body as he collapses to the floor in a pool of his own blood.

In the cold, dim room, devoid of all life but himself, Steve curls into his starved, broken body and cries.

[spn-meanttobe]

Summaries Part One [1-50]

Claiming Info -- FAQs/Rules The first Claims post will be a separate post going up on Saturday, November 7th at 12 pm EST. The second Claims post will be a separate post going up on Sunday, November 8th at 12 pm EST.

1. A Cowboy's Touch Abigail Jones intends to spend just one summer in middle-of-nowhere Montana with her Aunt Lucy. Time away from her job is just what Abigail needs to reassess her life. The slow pace has her breathing deeply for the first time in years. And the majestic scenery encourages her to get reacquainted with herself... and God. What she didn't count on was the handsome widowed cowboy who owns the ranch where her aunt lives. When the rancher loses his daughter's nanny, Abigail decides to lend a hand for the summer. Wade Ryan can't help being attracted to Abigail. But he's given up everything to protect his daughter, and he's not about to risk it all on a pretty face. 2. A Different Kind of Man Emalea LeBlanc is a different kind of woman. Nicknamed "Doc" by the locals, she's a psychologist, a member of the volunteer search and rescue team and an avid motorcycle enthusiast. But she's haunted by memories of an abusive father and relationships with men who haven't been much better. What she needs is a different kind of man. Someone she can trust. Someone who won't hurt her. Jackson Cooper is the new investigator in Cypress Landing, and Emalea believes she knows his type – big, strong, overbearing. Dangerous. But Jackson has a tragic past of his own. And he's not exactly the kind of man he appears to be…. 3. A Forever Kind of Cowboy She wasn't the kind of woman who would spend the night with a stranger, yet runaway bride Lori Ashford shared one night and so much more with sexy Cord McVane. The innocent beauty had only come to Cord's isolated cabin seeking shelter, but when her rugged protector showed her a passion like no other, she was lost. For Lori had long dreamed of sharing her heart with a strong, honorable man – a man like Cord. And now that she was carrying his child, she hoped this brooding loner could forget his painful past and be her forever man. 4. A Little Christmas Romance There's no such thing as second chances, and Brooke would know. This Christmas will be spent alone and uncelebrated, same as the last. It doesn't matter that she's a disgruntled mall elf, standing next to a chimney-scented Santa with the most annoying co-worker ever. It doesn't make Christmas more magical. It's just another day to endure, and the holiday can't pass fast enough. That is, until her old flame, Chris, spots her. After taking a picture with Brooke in her elf costume, things take an unexpected turn. Maybe getting through the night won't be so difficult after all. 5. A Voice in the Dark No one knew what Noah Graydon looked like, but they'd all heard the rumors. How he'd been broken, even scarred, on his last case. How he never showed his face…until the day he took an overwhelming interest in one very special agent. Angel Carter would have been a serial killer's next victim if not for Noah. The rescue gave her a glimpse into his world of shadows – yet she dared to want more. To really know if the passion between them was real. They would have to come face-to-face if the killer was to be caught – and Noah could only conceal his body from Angel for so long... 6. Abby and the Bachelor Cop Bride-to-be Abigail Callahan has her life mapped out. Good career, wealthy fiancé – it's perfect... too perfect. Then sexy bad-boy-turned-cop Raff Finn reenters Abby's life, landing her with an adorable homeless dog called Kleppy and a whole lot of trouble... Raff's teenage recklessness once broke them apart, but he's not about to let his childhood sweetheart marry the wrong guy. With help from Kleppy and some Banksia Bay magic, Raff plans to reawaken the Abby he's always loved. 7. After Dark When a shocking scandal exposes southern secrets... As the blazing heat of summer gives way to sultry September, a shroud of suspicion settles over Noble's Crossing, a sleepy Alabama town. Nothing is as it seems--and never will be again. Lane Noble Graham stands accused of murdering her ex-husband. And the one man who can help, Johnny Mack Cahill, vowed never to return to the town that scorned him--or the woman whose love he knew he didn't deserve. ...No one is safe from cold-blooded murder. From the rusted-out trailers on the wrong side of the river to the stately pillared mansions along Magnolia Avenue, everybody has something to hide--but one secret could make Lane and Johnny Mack the next targets of a twisted killer, who's struck once and is bent on striking again... 8. Alena The wild heart of a warrior beat in the breast of Alena, daughter to a queen and mother to a king. A Celtic princess, she resolved never to bend to Roman rule. But how could she foresee that the iron fist of Rome would stoke her soul with the velvet glove of passion. Marcus Valerius, Prefect of the Seventh Legion, had proven himself many times over in combat. Now newly come to Britannia, he would ensure the peace – despite the wiles of a tall, tawny-haired barbarian goddess with witchcraft in her lips! 9. Bayou Whispers Plagued by nightmares and fractured memories, Laura Larame returns to her childhood home in the Louisiana bayou, where her mother vanished and she almost drowned. She searches for answers with the handsome Creole who saved her once before. A man who holds the dark magic that isn't finished with her yet. Since childhood, Drew Michel has seen death and the spirits who walk the halls of his family’s ancestral home, and they are warning him—Laura will die. Deep in the swamp, an ancient ritualistic clan is planning to claim her life. Can he defeat the evil that demands her blood and save the woman he has grown to love, or will the bayou claim them both in a demon’s ultimate sacrifice? 10. Big Girls Don't Cry Thanks to a devastating revelation about her husband, Reenie Holbrook's once-perfect marriage is over. For eleven years she had the life she wanted--and now it's gone. Reenie decides that the first step in recovering from her ordeal is to find work; after all, she has three young children to support. She's thrilled when she lands a job at Dundee High teaching history--until Isaac Russell, the man who triggered the unraveling of her marriage, accepts a temporary position teaching science. Then she's tempted to quit. Reenie doesn't care if the whole town admires Isaac... and she won't admit that, secretly, she admires him, too. She doesn't want to see him or his sister in "her" town. But a friendship with the most unlikely woman leads to a relationship with the most unlikely man.. 11. Boss Man The permanent temporary... Blake Kemp was a man who knew his own mind and was as stubborn as the day is long in Jacobsville, Texas. As the town's leading lawyer, he had a reputation to uphold, and he didn't want the tender ministrations of his assistant to get in his way -- even if he desperately needed her, since those big boots of his did have a tendency to step on toes... So, of course, the boss man blew up at pretty, gentle Violet, for having the nerve to, of all things, step on his toes, causing her to leave him in a cloud of Texas dust. But being a smart as well as hardheaded man, Blake could soon see that without his guiding light, his life would be in darkness. Only one thing to do -- hire her back and make sure that business didn't mess with matters of the heart...on or off the job! 12. Bound to the Sicilian's Bed Rocco's outrageous proposition: His estranged wife will spend one final weekend in his bed! When Rocco's runaway wife asks for a divorce, the Sicilian billionaire seizes his chance! They've never discussed their painful past, but this is the perfect opportunity to get Nicole out of his system for good. He offers her a deal: if Nicole wants to move on with her life, she will be his one last time! 13. Brothers Without Borders For Avery Grey, life wasn't easy. He was smaller than most guys and nerdy, a real prize winner. And, as if this wasn't enough, he was gay and in love with the one person he knew it was wrong to desire. Rather than deal with the heartbreak, he chose to dedicate himself to medical school. Hunter Grey, the tough guy athlete tried to focus on everything other than the one person who caused the ache inside his heart. For years, he had managed to keep his secret locked up inside him. Although some of his teammates didn't know he was gay, this was the least of his worries. His biggest secret haunted him and had him waking up in the middle of the night soaked to the bone in sweat. The guilt and disgust within him tore him apart each day. When secrets are exposed, how will an unconventional love between brothers change the lives of these two men? Can their bond and love for each other survive and flourish, or will it ultimately rip them apart? 14. Claimed by a Vampire Beautiful and independent, writer Yvonne Dupuis is used to taking care of herself. But when she moves into her new apartment and senses a demon watching her every move, stalking her at every turn, she has no choice but to put her life in the hands of a dangerously sexy vampire. From the first whiff of Yvonne's intoxicating scent, Investigator Creed Preston knows his client has something to fear. Under Creed's protection, she will be drawn irresistibly in by his secrets and experience the sheer force of immortal desire. And not a moment too soon. For the evil hunting her isn't acting alone – and he won't stop until he claims her for his very own…. 15. Closer Encounters To Drew "The Riever" McDowell, this seemed like a fairly straightforward assignment: track down Tracy Brandt and find out her connection to a top secret mission. But when Drew finds her, he realizes Tracy has a mission of her own – solving the sixty-year-old murder of Trixie Halston, a mysterious, mesmerizing singer of the 1940s. In fact, Tracy's obsession with Trixie goes beyond interest – at times she actually seems to become Trixie. She goes from demure but contemporary woman to the brazen big band singer on a dime. And the scary thing is – Drew is falling hard. For both of them… 16. Club Arcana: Operation Janus Beneath librarian Angus McAslan's respectable demeanor thrums the heart of an adventurer. He dreams of traversing the globe, exploring ancient ruins, and discovering amazing scientific breakthroughs. And unbeknownst to even his dear devoted mother, he's just put the finishing touches on his own epic novel about a swashbuckler on Venus-- complete with illustrations! But after inadvertently reciting a summoning spell, Angus finds himself thrust into an adventure beyond even his own wildest imaginings. Suddenly, demon-possessed pupils try to kill him. Half-human creatures stalk him. His mother reveals herself as a witch, and his wizard uncle proclaims it high time Angus joins the family business. Complicating matters: the exquisitely handsome young man--bearing an uncanny resemblance to the aforementioned Venusian swashbuckler--sent by his uncle to collect Angus, and the suave, aristocratic warlock who materializes with dire warnings of a resurrected Elder God called Janus. 17. Dark Descent For each, there could be only one. They came from the darkest places: secluded monasteries, the Carpathian mountains, galaxies under siege. They were men with the blackest pasts--warriors, vampire monks, leaders of armies--but whose passions burned like dying stars. They had one purpose: to find those women who fulfilled them, completed them, and made them rage with a fire both holy and profane. They sought soul mates whose touch consumed them with desire, yet whose kisses refreshed like the coolest rain. And each man knew that for him there was only one true love--and in finding her, he would find salvation. 18. Dark Temptation Had special-effects genius Jason McLain really murdered his wife, as the tabloids claimed? Valerie Wiggins approached his spooky old house, hoping to convince him to help make their Halloween charity event truly frightening. But when he opened the door, her heart raced not with fright but sizzling arousal. Jason feared caring for Val would put her in danger, but could helping him face his demons silence her own? 19. Deadly Gamble Mojo's got an uncanny knack for winning at slots, but her home sweet home is Bad-Ass Bert's Biker Saloon. She'd love to go undercover with an irresistibly hot cop, but he's got baggage as big as his biceps. Mojo survived a mysterious childhood tragedy, but she's never quite figured out who she really is or how to get on with her life. Now the wisecracking Mojo is seeing ghosts – the ectoplasmic kind – and turning up baffling clues to her real identity. And she'll need all her savvy and strange new talent to keep someone from burying her – and the truth – for keeps. 20. Decadent Club Casablanca – an exclusive gentlemen's club where exotic hostesses cater to the every need of high-stakes gamblers, politicians and big-business execs. No rules apply. And no unescorted women are allowed. Ever. But Ally Danner has to get in – to rescue her sister from the club's obsessive owner, Jason Aragon. And undercover FBI agent Sam Sinclair is just the man to help her. In return she'll use her inside knowledge to get Sam the evidence he needs to put Jason away. Only, once they get caught up in the club's hedonistic allure, the only favors they end up trading are sensual…. 21. Deception Cove In the world of Harmony, Rainshadow Island is home to a mysterious preserve, secrets that have been kept for centuries, and a treasure worth killing for... As a light-talent, Alice North has the rare ability to make things disappear, including herself--a gift that comes in handy during her magic act with her dust bunny Houdini. Business mogul Drake Sebastian is day-blind, since his sight was nearly destroyed in a lab accident. But he's the one man who can see Alice when she disappears--and he needs her. On Rainshadow Island, two dangerous Old World crystals are missing, igniting a paranormal storm. Drake thinks Alice is the key to finding them, and proposes they head there, but only after a Marriage of Convenience. Alice's honeymoon on Rainshadow is guaranteed to be memorable, as the island--and the passion between her and Drake--is about to explode... 22. Defender Dragon Lucas is a prince and a dragon shifter who left his country to become a bodyguard at Protection, Inc., an all-shifter private security company. Then his past caught up with him, forcing him home for an arranged marriage to a princess who isn't his mate. Neither of them wants the match, but they can't escape it… unless one of them finds their true mate first. Journey Jacobson is a free-spirited backpacker traveling the world. When she runs out of money, it looks like her adventuring days have come to an end. Then she attends a lavish ball to celebrate the upcoming engagement of Prince Lucas. Sparks fly between Lucas and Journey until she flees at midnight, leaving behind nothing but a shoe. Lucas sets out to find his mate, but that's just the beginning of his quest. Can he protect her from the mysterious assassins trying to kill her? And can restless Journey and lonely Lucas take the biggest risk of their adventurous lives, and open their wounded hearts to love? 23. Delicious Cal Buchanan needs a top-flight chef to take over his failing Seattle restaurant, The Waterfront. He can afford to hire the best in town – the only problem is that the best happens to be his ex-wife, Penny Jackson. Penny really needs this opportunity, but she doesn't need the distraction of working with her ex. She's sworn off romance – she's even having a baby on her own. But before she knows it, the heat is on…and the attraction between her and Cal moves from a low simmer to a full boil! The rest should be easy as pie, but a secret from Cal's past could spoil everything. Maybe it's true that too many cooks spoil the broth – or maybe two is enough to make it irresistible. 24. Double Jeopardy Ellie Landau couldn't pass up the invitation to a murder mystery weekend. It was even harder to pass up fellow player Jed Thorpe. Only Jed was the "killer," and Ellie wound up fighting for her life. Back in the real world, Ellie was the management consultant for Cludds Haberdashers, a simple enough job until she realized that something was terribly wrong there - and that Jed was intimately involved. Then someone tried to kill her for real. Ellie was in double jeopardy. Was she falling in love with the one man who could save her life - or end it? 25. Dream Man Detective Dane Hollister of the Orlando police department has never met anyone quite like Marlie Keen. While he has doubts about her supposed clairvoyant powers, she sees crimes as they're being committed, there is no doubt about how much he desires her. To Marlie, Dane is all heat and hard muscle, and he makes her body come alive as it never has before. But not even she can foresee that their passion will lead them on a dangerous journey into the twisted mind of a madman who will threaten their happiness and their lives. 26. Exposed Beautiful, sophisticated, and engaged to the son of a Senator, Evie Masterson has the perfect life. Except for one thing: it's all based on a lie. Five years ago, she created a new identity for herself and cut all ties to her criminal past. But she can't run forever, because something she witnessed years ago comes back to haunt her. And the only person there to help is the man she thought she left behind forever-the one man she's never been able to forget. Devastatingly gorgeous and just as ruthless, Riley Everett is the criminal for hire who once stole Evie's heart. Years have gone by, but he's never been able to forget her either. Now her life is in jeopardy, and even after all this time, he'd still do anything to protect her, even if that means breaking into her mansion and stealing her away. As they hide from the world, their long-lost passion reignites. But despite their undeniable chemistry, Evie can't give up the perfect life she's been working toward... and Riley has no part in it. 27. Fancy Pants They're caviar and beer. Kerosene on fire. They're going to fall in love. She was the most beautiful British bauble in Europe's jet-set playgrounds. Now she's broke, furious, and limping down a backwoods road in an ugly pink Southern Belle gown... He was tall, lean and All-American gorgeous. He liked his brews cold and women loved to keep him warm. Why in hell is he stopping his car for this woebegone, surly Scarlett? 28. Find Me Investigative reporter Sarah Newton debunks supernatural myths, and forces the truth to light whether people want to hear it or not. Now, with a popular teenager found tortured and murdered – and another girl missing – Sarah's out to prove it's not the work of an ancient curse, but a cold-blooded killer. She'll expose one Maine village's darkest secrets …while keeping the truth about her own past hidden from view. As Youngstown's newest councilman, Kale Conner's unofficial job is to minimize the bad publicity from Sarah's stories and, if possible, to keep her in line. But with time running out, and his own family at stake, Kale's finding his neighbors' terrible deeds might be too deadly to sweep under the rug…and he and Sarah are headed toward a heated endgame with only one shocking way out... 29. Groomed for Murder Brooke Palmer's exclusive doggie spa, Pawlish, is sued when a client's pampered champion gets a bad poodle cut. The client's lawyer is drop-dead gorgeous Drew Hudson, but Brooke won't be wooed by a corporate shark in a sharp suit. This frivolous lawsuit is Drew's chance to advance to partner, but things get complicated when he finds that the side he's rooting for isn't the side he's fighting for. 30. Her Favorite Rival A new meaning for office politics: Audrey Mathews has worked hard to get here. Now she's up for a promotion and nothing will stand in her way – including Zach Black. He's hot, smart and the competition. When they're assigned to the same project, she's shocked at how much she actually likes about him…and how much she misjudged him. Before long Audrey is seriously falling for Zach – and indulging in an affair that's against company policy. And the stakes rise when it's clear only one of them can get ahead. So where do they draw the line between competition and love? Especially when she doesn't want to lose either the promotion or the guy…. 31. Hero Special Forces soldier, Haze Welch, is military born and raised. Serving the country is what the Welch men do, and all Haze has ever wanted. But during an 18-month tour overseas, his world shatters in an instant. Haze gets injured and is not able to return to active duty. Unable to face the thought of spending the rest of his life behind a desk, he accepts a job offer as a personal bodyguard in Los Angeles for the flighty heiress Leighton Machus. After all, one spoiled little girl would be a piece of cake compared to everything else I've been through, right? Little does Haze Welch know, he's about to get a rude awakening. 32. Hissy Fit The night before her wedding, in the middle of an oh-so-smart rehearsal dinner, interior decorator Keeley Murdock chances upon her fiancé and maid of honor in flaming flagrante delicto. Keeley throws the hissy fit to end all hissy fits and storms out. The next day, though, she has to deal not only personally with a broken engagement but also with her business being shut out by folks in a town financially obligated to her ex. Rescue comes in the form of the new owner of the local bra plant. This guy is a hunk but he's also a teensy bit weird, since he hires Keeley to redo the broken-down antebellum mansion he's bought for the woman of his dreams. The trouble is, he's never met said woman. So Keeley dives in and finds that true love can come even to those who throw humdinger hissy fits. 33. Hold Your Breath Lou's new to the Rockies, intent on escaping her oh-so-controlling ex, and she's determined to make it on her own terms...no matter how tempting new ice dive captain Callum Cook may be. But when a routine training exercise unearths a body, Lou and Callum find themselves thrust into a game of cat and mouse with a killer who'll stop at nothing to silence Lou—and prove that not even her faithful Search and Rescue brotherhood can keep her safe forever. Lou is a hurricane. A walking disaster. Perfect chaos in every way. And with her, Callum's never felt more alive...even if keeping her safe may just kill him. 34. Home to Seaview Key Falling for a handsome stranger on the very morning they meet is hardly what recently divorced Abby Miller planned for her return to Seaview Key. Hoping to mend an old friendship and to give back to the community she loves, Abby's definitely not looking for love. For ex-soldier Seth Landry, Seaview Key seems like the perfect place to heal a broken heart…eventually. And when he rescues a beautiful woman on the beach, his nightmares about the past are eclipsed by daydreams about the future. Neither Abby nor Seth are looking for forever, but powerful love has its own timetable. And taking a chance on the future will test their courage in ways neither of them could possibly have anticipated. 35. How the Cowboy Was Won Ember Alzate is a fantastic matchmaker with one big problem: she can't find the perfect mate for herself! Alzate family legend says that when she kisses "the One" she'll hear a mysterious humming in her head. Well, Ember's kissed a lot of guys and she's never heard a thing. Now, instead of searching for herself, she vows to find her best friend, Ranger Lockhart, a bride. It's clear this smart, sexy man just needs to meet the right gal. Ranger's returned home to Cupid with marriage on his mind, but he's not interested in the parade of women Ember pushes under his nose. His thoughts keep returning to his best friend -- with her combustible combination of curves and sass. No one compares to Ember, but what's it going to take to convince her she's the woman for him? 36. How to Date an Alien High school senior Alex Bianchi's estranged father gets her an internship at Circe Operations Center to pad her college applications. But Circe isn't your typical military base. It's an alien-run operation center and not all of the aliens are friendly, especially the one that tries to kill Alex on her first day. When Ace, a dark-eyed Caltian, enters and saves the day, she can't help but be drawn to him. Can these star-crossed lovers survive when they're on the brink of intergalactic war? 37. How to Kill Your Boss When Tatum's daydreams of murder become a reality, all fingers point to her. In Tatum Wood's opinion, murdering her boss on a daily basis within the safety of her thoughts is better than therapy. Until he takes a swan dive off a building and all evidence points to her. Thank goodness she has Franklin Reed. Her mysterious, overprotective and drop-dead gorgeous coworker is all too eager to play hero. With two attacks in her building and her stalker with a penchant for roses, Franklin's injection into her life couldn't have come at a better time. As Tatum and Franklin scramble to discover who's behind the murder, secrets are unearthed that question his motives…as well as his identity. 38. How to Marry a Marquis She’s trying to follow the rules… When Elizabeth Hotchkiss stumbles upon a copy of How to Marry a Marquis in her employer’s library, she’s convinced someone is playing a cruel joke. With three younger siblings to support, she knows she has to marry for money, but who might have guessed how desperate she’s become? A guidebook to seduction might be just the thing she needs—and what harm could there be in taking a little peek? …But he’s making his own. James Sidwell, the Marquis of Riverdale, has been summoned to rescue his aunt from a blackmailer, a task that requires him to pose as the new estate manager, and his primary suspect is his aunt’s companion, Elizabeth. Intrigued by the alluring young woman with the curious little rulebook, he gallantly offers to help her find a husband… by practicing her wiles on him. But when practice becomes all too perfect, James decides that there is only one rule worth following—that Elizabeth marry her marquis. 39. Howling in the Darkness Danger! Undercover agent Jonah Ries couldn't explain to the stunning woman who'd mistaken him for her blind date exactly how he knew someone was trying to harm her. But evil stalked Moriah's Landing, and Katherine Ridgemont was its target. When she learned of Jonah's deep secret, Kat might not give him the time of day. Only that wouldn't stop Jonah from watching over the vulnerable beauty after dark. As the anniversary of Kat's mother's mysterious death approached, the instinct to protect became a fire in Jonah's blood. A fire matched by his determination to save the woman he loved from the unknown forces that haunted the night... 40. In the Groove She wouldn't know a NASCAR star if he hit her with his car... and he just did. Sarah was a kindergarten teacher until a sleazy ex-boyfriend got her fired. Now the only job she can find is driving the motor coach for racing star Lance Cooper. She doesn't know a thing about NASCAR – and she's off to a rocky start when she doesn't recognize her ultra-famous boss. Lance can't help but notice Sarah's sweet smile – and how seriously unimpressed she is with his fame. Her reaction piques his interest – and he's convinced she's a good-luck charm. But Sarah has no interest in Lance's jet-setting life; she'd rather deal with spitballs than one super-sexy race car driver. Too bad whenever he comes near her she turns hot as race fuel. Soon things begin to heat up on the track, and Sarah begins to wonder if she might be able to teach one famous race car driver a few lessons about love 41. Into the Night Sheltered in the shadows of the Smoky Mountains is the suspect who's summoned FBI agent Macey Night's fears to the surface. Every day that the "Profiler," a vigilante serial killer, escapes justice is another day she's reminded of what it is to be a ruthless predator's prey. Capturing him is a craving deeper than anything she's felt in a long time. But Agent Bowen Murphy, equal parts sexy and volatile, seems hell-bent on changing that. Working together—needing, living and breathing each other—they're entwined to distraction. Bowen's used to operating on impulse: act, don't feel. Now Macey and the controlled terror behind her beautiful eyes have him rethinking everything, including his rule to never get close to a colleague. He's willing to fight for a future with Macey, but the consequences of love could be deadly. 42. Killjoy Her razor-sharp mind and ability to decipher evidence have made Avery Delaney an expert crime analyst for the FBI. Now she will have to use every one of her skills on a case that hits painfully close to home. Avery's beloved aunt Carolyn was on her way to a posh spa in the Colorado mountains. But she never arrived. Now, with scant clues and fewer resources, Avery must track down Carolyn -- and outmaneuver a brilliant killer named Monk who is part of an elaborate plot of madness and lethal vengeance. 43. Lawless Five years ago, Judd Dunn, a hard-edged Texas Ranger, put Christabel Gaines's father behind bars – where he belonged. But Judd's involvement in Crissy's life was far from over. With their jointly owned ranch on the verge of bankruptcy, Judd wed her in name only, vowing to save their land, and vowing to ignore the sexual tension between them. Now, just when Judd decides to release Crissy from their sham of a marriage, he is blindsided by a bloodthirsty foe who is setting the stage for unspeakable evil by preying upon Judd's greatest weakness – his wife. No longer a starry-eyed schoolgirl, Crissy's a smart, fearless woman with unfulfilled desires. And she will do anything in the name of love – including taking a bullet for her husband. With their very lives at stake, Crissy and Judd must confront their darkest demons, their new rivals and their deepest desires – and face up to a mutual destiny they cannot outrun. 44. Lone Star Santa Kristen Zaleski is home for the holidays... indefinitely. Her acting career hasn't taken off -- in fact, it hasn't gone anywhere. So now she's spending her days helping out at her dad's P.I. office. Until Mitch Donner comes by and lights up her life. Sort of... Mitch is back at his parents' place, too. As a successful accountant who'd been set up to take the fall in a money-laundering scheme, Mitch isn't quite sure what to do. So he takes a job installing Christmas lights... and gets an early present when he runs into Kristen. Especially when she offers her newly acquired P.I. skills to help him get his life back. Working together, they plot an elaborate sting operation, one that will take a miracle to pull off. Then again, anything is possible at Christmas -- especially if it involves mistletoe! 45. Long, Hot Texas Summer A sassy redhead with an axe to grind… After catching her husband kissing another woman in the barn, Loretta Sullivan Bailey left Lonesome Canyon Ranch and swore she'd never come back. But when her daughter threatens to drop out of college to become a rancher's wife, Loretta refuses to let her baby make the same mistake she did. She returns to the ranch, determined to get her daughter back in school by the summer's end…and resolute on ignoring her feelings for her ex-husband. A bullheaded but oh so sexy cowboy… A cowboy from his hat to his boots, ruggedly handsome rancher Jackson Bailey is none too pleased that his feisty -- and gorgeous -- ex-wife has suddenly shown up seventeen years after their divorce. But despite all their fighting and fussing, the two stubborn former lovers soon discover that old flames burn the hottest. Can they finally put aside their differences and find happiness together…forever? 46. Looking for Laura Sally Driver is a widow trying to move on with her life when she finds a stack of perfume-scented love letters from her late husband, Paul, had received from a mysterious woman named Laura. Todd Sloane was Paul's best friend and he feels betrayed that his friend would keep such a secret from him. Together Sally and Todd go looking for Laura, but with luck on their side, they may just find something more meaningful along the way... 47. Making Him Sweat Round 1: In this corner is admittedly romantic Jenna Wilinski, who's inherited a rather seedy boxing gym from her estranged father. With it, she can realize her dream of launching an upscale matchmaking business…provided she can take on the very intimidating – and wickedly hot – boxer who stands in her way! Round 2: In the far corner is former pro boxer Mercer Rowley. He's the only one who can protect his "home" – even if it is a little run-down – from his determined and feisty little opponent. But man, once the gloves come off, his hands just want to touch her everywhere… Round 3: This matchup is too close to call. But no matter which contender comes out on top, the other is sure to enjoy every minute of it…. 48. Marry Me at Christmas To bridal boutique owner Madeline Krug, organizing a Christmas wedding sounds like a joy - until she finds out she'll be working closely with the gorgeous brother of the bride, movie star Jonny Blaze. How will a small-town girl like her keep from falling for the world's sexiest guy? Especially with mistletoe lurking around every corner! Jonny came to Fool's Gold looking for normal, not for love. Happily-ever-after only happens in the movies. Still, nothing about this quirky town is quite what he expected, and "ordinary" Madeline is the most extraordinary woman he's ever met. Refreshingly honest, disarmingly sweet. Achingly beautiful. Planning the perfect wedding leads to candlelit dinners and strolls through snow-covered streets. And Madeline finds Jonny in real life even more captivating than her celebrity crush. But will the action star be brave enough to risk his heart and step into the role of a lifetime? 49. Mischief Imogen Waterstone needed a man, and not just any man: one with an implacable will and nerves of iron. That's why she invited Matthias Marshall, the Earl of Colchester, to her home. For who better than the legendary explorer to help her lure a ruthless enemy to ruin. Yet when Imogen urges Matthias to masquerade as her spellbound suitor -- and let it be known that she possesses a priceless treasure map -- she never anticipates his electrifying response -- or her own. Suddenly, the unconventional lady is in the thrall of true passion... and vulnerable to a malevolent threat that emerges from the labyrinth of London society. 50. My Front Page Scandal Brooke Winfield is the devoted and dependable daughter of one of Boston's oldest families. So what is she doing on the back of a motorcycle in the middle of the night with sexy bad-boy ballplayer David Carrera? Elated by that recklessness, Brooke decides she's ready to take a Martini dare--and what a dare! Her performance at a posh strip club lands her back in David's arms for another unforgettable night... and in the tabloids the next morning.

[theannaredfield]

Resident Evil; Code VERONICA review

I FINALLY beat the game, after 11 1/2 hours, 7 retries, 19 saves, and a D rank. After restarting three times. I have done it. So here’s things I want to comment on.

•This game’s dialogue isn’t messed up in a funny way. It’s just weird. Missing tone and stuff like that.

•The characters actually moving their mouths when they talk is inconsistent. Some times their mouths don’t move at ALL.

•Chris’s Rockford part and Claire’s Antarctic part are pretty short. Keep it that way because Claire’s island and Chris’ base were pretty long and they should be.

•extend the stuff on the Ashford family. I want more of it. More details and stuff, I had a lot of questions about that.

•Steve actually makes a comment on Alfred that better suits what I was saying last time “He thinks he’s two people.” Further proving that Claire’s cross dressing freak comment doesn’t fit at all. He isn’t cross dressing. Oh yeah! And Alfred never speaks in his voice after seeing himself in Alexia’s makeup until he awakens Alexia. He had a mental break.

•This game really is crazy with the backtracking. Like oh my god it’s so intriquet. (Get the Lugars to get the silver key to get the plaque to get the eyeball to get the piano roll to get the blue gem to open the one music box and then get the painting to get the gold key to get the red gem to open the other music box to take the music disk to put in the blue box to open the attic to get the last proof. That’s just an example too, I actually had to do h this.)

•I want more details on Alexia’s powers because me and my uncle were confused about that.

•the game luckily never locks you out of key items if you miss stuff.

•the tyrant fight is where we died the most and once again, this is BEFORE your free save. If you die here, it’s right back to the beginning.

•Despite it all, me and my uncle had good laughs.

•the cutscenes and models and stuff are visibly dated; but I’m not my brother. I don’t care.

•shouldn’t Alexia and Alfred look more like Veronica?

•I just wanna see all this in the RE Engine because I believe it would be beautiful.

•Steve is a joke. Alfred is a joke. Darkside made them better characters. (Alfred isn’t even a threat or anything. He only tries to attack you one time and you just have to run up the stairs. He seems incapable of fighting.) (As for Steve, he’s never doing crap right. Tempted by Claire’s thicc.)

•The game is SO DARK at times. And I get that’s suppose to promote lighter use but still.

•I just want more of the Ashford story and art of them and stuff they’re so interesting aaahhhg

•Wesker acts like a bratty child when talking to Alexia. (“I want it! Now!”)

•Also Alexia is the only female whose beaten Wesker and made him run. Talk about woman power considering he easily beat the shit outta Chris and Claire.

•the art in game is inconsistent with the twins ages. Somethings they look older than they should. (Alexia was suppose to be like 14 or so when she went into freezing. They killed their dad at like 12 or so.)

•CV still has my favorite cutscene style. I like how Chris and Claire look but looking back at it.. it doesn’t look super great.

•Still enjoy the music, none of it seems wrong.

•People complain about there being too much Wesker added with X and that they want him removed completely but this is a very important thing, especially for RE5. This game teaches Chris that Wesker is alive and he’s no longer human, but a super powered monster. It also won’t make sense in 4 when we see him again because “wait he’s alive? Isn’t that important?!”

In conclusion. CVX does need a remake but it’s still partially enjoyable. Next up is the 40 hour Resident Evil 4. We need to take a week break though cause my uncle’s fingers got hurt and I am NOT fighting a chainsaw.

[masterofmaagnetism]

Oc interview forrrrrrrrrrrr, Mint my fire boi

name ➔ Mint Prometheus Ashford

are you single ➔ absolutely not

are you happy ➔ perhaps.

are you angry ➔ all the damn time lmao

are your parents still married ➔ my parents never WERE married

NINE FACTS

birthplace ➔ Atlanta, Georgia

hair color ➔ pink

eye color ➔ brown. sometimes yellow, according to the Winchesters

birthday ➔ April 6

mood ➔ imagine the upside down smiley

gender ➔ debatable

summer or winter ➔ winter, for cuddling reasons

morning or afternoon ➔ afternoon. i HATE mornings

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

are you in love ➔ i sure am

do you believe in love at first sight ➔ nope, you gotta work for that shit

who ended your last relationship ➔ death

have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔ probably

are you afraid of commitments ➔ a little

have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ sure

have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ also probably, i’m the sexiest bitch in the bunker. other than Gadreel.

have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ plenty of times

SIX CHOICES

love or lust ➔ cliche, maybe, but love

lemonade or iced tea ➔ iced tea

cats or dogs ➔ cat 100% (it pisses Dean off)

a few best friends or many regular friends ➔ few best friends, thank you very much

wild night out or romantic night in ➔ wild night out- i HATE staying in

day or night ➔ night

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

been caught sneaking out ➔ sure. but i still got out.

fallen down/up the stairs ➔ wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy

wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ god yeah. that’s how i felt about Gadreel

wanted to disappear ➔ ....... no fucking comment.

FOUR PREFERENCES

smile or eyes ➔ eyes. windows to the soul and all that.

shorter or taller ➔ judging from my taste in men? taller

intelligence or attraction ➔ i like a mix of both

hook-up or relationship ➔ i.... i’m gonna say hook-up

FAMILY

do you and your family get along ➔ i guess. i hate my parents, but Marc and Maddox are cool.

would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ [ he’s laughing for a few seconds ] you have NO idea

have you ever ran away from home ➔ hundreds of times. dunno how the bitch always found me.

have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ when i was 17, yeah

FRIENDS

do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ nah, ain’t got time for that

do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ i’d like to

who is your best friend ➔ Sam, definitely. i’d trust the guy with my life.

who knows everything about you ➔ Maverick. he knows everything and then some.

[captain-noir]

shotgunned the expanse s4 and im delirious with fever and insomnia and might make a more coherent post but

spoilers under the cut

marco inaros!!!  phew....he looked exactly like i imagined him. beautiful, charming, lithe and seductive. i’d let him clap my cheeks no cap

F I L I P!!! i really screamed so loud. he is  B E A U T I F U L and misguided and  B E A U T I F U L and a killer and  B E A U T I F U L and daddy’s perfect little toy soldier.

like....naomi and marco made that....the most photogenic family in the solar system

that ending....what a perfect set up for nemesis games - it also leaves me perplexed re: the slight changes they made. how does the timeline fit and filip’s actions... can i have s5 now please. i need the inaros-nagata space opera family drama NOW.

this is the second time camina has one of naomi’s boyfriend locked up. i am also pleasantly surprised at the fact that both drummer and ashford knew of naomi’s past...it sheds further light on their relationship and just how much naomi trusts camina.

camina being super protective of naomi - wanting marco’s head on a spike for what he put her through. (this also means drummer is taking over Pa’s role in NG) ...which is a choice. 

the artifacts were  cool too  i guess. 

ashford rip my G. i was afraid that marco would outmaneuver him but he had him dead to rights. the only thing he didnt factor in was filip.

can you tell were my priorities lie?

i love up messed up broken families. i love it more when their love is mixed up with bitterness and hatred. 

we’re a family of monsters. father, mother and child. chills

also, its so obvious - i dont know why it didnt register when i was reading it - that naomi so clearly has a type. she falls for the pretty, idealistic charmers, which makes her earlier disdain for holden understandable. 

marco and holden are two sides of the same coin. 

or a study in contrast if you will.

oh i cant wait for dom and keon to play off of each other.

thank god they eliminated the elvi crushes on holden subplot.

im glad i didnt have to go an entire season without bobby and chrisjen and even though their respective storylines were just a set up for their NG trajectories, i appreciate that it gave us a deeper understanding of mars and earth.

that arjun recast.....i like him but i miss old arjun

look my fave is naomi and i hate what marco put her thru....having said that, and knowing my trash taste......i’d still climb him like a tree, genocide and all.

i never claimed to be anything other than me.

the ending of ep 4 when holden beat the shit out of murtry for going after naomi....very sexc of him.

amos refusing to call murtry by his name was brilliant

so was holden rescuing alex’s beanie from near death

AND PEACHES CAMEO

i love how they are setting up all the stories for next season aaaahhhh

filip. my favourite space boy murderer. yall can have crylo rin. im going to love filip nagata inaros with my ENTIRE SOUL

can we get dawes back now. i know jared is big and busy....but think of the audience jared.

 naomi meeting all of holden’s 8 parents lol and his dad’s sad attempt at belter patois. you know what, we better get a scene of them meeting in s5 after [redacted] happens.

alex and naomi being a team - l love their relationship so much

that holden and amos scene....made me cry

and next season....my crew are going to BE SEPARATED and i dont  know if i can handle it. like, all of them off on their own, missing each other something fierce, worrying about each other. S A V I N G E A C H O T H E R . come on s5.....BEST SEASON/BOOK

i cannot wait for alex and bobby to do their thing and [redacted]. imagine the spectacle with these new money eyyyy

i have so much more stuff rattling around in me head but at least i exorcised this much.

[lisinfleur]

Mishaps - Chapter 02: Like Shadows

Author’s notes: here is one more chapter of our story! I hope you guys are enjoying!

Warnings: People who love Aethelwulf may dislike this. Other than this, 18+, mentions of kidnapping and corruption, some dirty talk and bad language.

Words: 2259

"And since then, she didn't show up?"

His voice was mixed with the sobs of a female voice coming from the crying girl sat on the other side of his table, trying to dry her tears with an already wet paper towel.

"No. She just vanished. Annie is not like that! She never missed a call of mine, but her cellphone is going straight to the mailbox. First, I thought her phone could be discharged, but not for so long. There are more than three days without a single notice, she doesn't answer her door and the neighbor said she didn't come home that day. I'm so worried! She's my friend... Please, officer..."

"We'll do everything in our power to find your friend, Mrs. Ashford," he interrupted her, warranting they would do the best, trying to give her at least a drop of comfort about the whole situation.

"July," she mumbled, sniffing against the paper towel once again "You can call me July. You make me feel like my mother when you call me Mrs. Ashford".

July was nervous. She always talked too much when she was nervous and you would know that if you were around. But the officer in front of her was being tolerant with her little annoying mannerisms.

He needed to be.

Aethelwulf needed to keep her talking if he wanted to find more information about the mention she made during the little testimony she was providing while denouncing your disappearance.

"Fine... July," he said trying to smile at her. "I understand what you feel. But... You mentioned a man... Someone who was going every day to see Mrs. Watson at the coffee shop... What was his name?"

"I don't know how to say it correctly. Visark... Vit... serk... Annie was the only one who could pronounce it correctly and somehow it made him interested. He was visiting the coffee shop every day, but he's not going there anymore. I'm sure he was going only because of her and now that she's not there, he lost the interest in the store. She was so in love with him... We thought they would be together. We even played about the nickname we gave him... We used to call him Annie's Sunshine. Now Annie is not there... Oh, god! What happened to her?" she started crying again after speaking a sea of useless information, causing Aethelwulf to sigh, trying to keep the fake smile in his face.

Damn. It would be so easier if your co-workers were men... Women and children were all the same: he hated to interview any of them for it was hard to make them keep the focus when they were witnesses or victims of anything.

You weren't different. But with you, his problem was to make you speak. You simply became mute after what you saw and it took him about a week to make you answer him your name...

Did he ever tell you how much he hated to work with the Witnesses' Protection Program?

"I need you to keep the focus, Mrs. Ashford... July, July," he corrected himself before that girl could start to talk about her age, her mother and all that stuff once again.

His fingers messed up with the computer in front of him and he turned the monitor towards July, showing her the picture of a man that she recognized at the same moment.

"Is this the man who was visiting your work, miss?"

July covered her mouth, but not for seeing anything bizarre: it was a journalistic article about the Lothbrok family. In it, a picture of Hvitserk near his brothers, with a certain focus on his face for the paragraph was talking about his way of life and his position into his father's company.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, getting a genuine smile from Aethelwulf's lips.

"Is it him?" he asked, excited.

He could feel in his guts! This time he would get it...

He was searching for so long any breach he could find into that damn family! He knew about their business, the real ones, but Aethelwulf never were able to prove Ragnar's activities so as he failed to prove your father's activities before he was killed. So as he was failing to catch Björn and his brothers now...

All he wanted was a huge prison like that to make his career and leave that dirty small department and the work with witnesses he hated so bad.

And maybe you would be his way outta that shit.

"Man... I would never believe if someone told me this story! A Ragnarsson was going to our coffee shop every day and we didn't even notice? And he was interested in Annie! Oh my gosh!" July exclaimed again and Aethelwulf had to swallow dry to keep the smile in his face.

What in the actual fuck was wrong with the women of that town?

They all looked at the sons of Ragnar as if they were gods or anything like this! Even the women from the police station! How many times he saw the female police officers drooling over magazines with one of them at the cover.

Was he the only one able to see the kind of bastards these people were?

"So, it is the man, right?" he insisted, trying to call July back to the subject.

"Yeah. It is him," she confirmed.

Aethelwulf smiled like a wolf, not being able to hide completely the victory in his smile: finally, he would catch one of them and prove to everyone he wasn't lying or crazy.

The sons of Ragnar were as dangerous as their father once were. And with the right luck, maybe he could force Hvitserk to talk.

Maybe go up on the ladder to put that arrogant, the older of them, Björn Ragnarsson, in his place: behind bars.

"How long since the last time he came?"

His entire interrogatory with July resumed to information about your relation with Hvitserk and his presence in the coffee shop. After the tenth question, July was already confused.

"But officer... Why is Vitsark so important to this situation? When she got strange, he wasn't there and after she was gone, he still came a lot of times looking for her... I don't understand..."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Ashford. You already contributed a lot with this investigation. I'll be in touch. Now just calm down and wait for our call, ok? We gonna do everything in our power to find Mrs. Watson, don't worry," Aethelwulf said, suggestively conducting July to the door of his office.

"Officer..." she tried, but Aethelwulf gave her purse in her hands and smiled.

"Have a nice day, Mrs. Ashford."

"It's July!" She said before he closed his door, coming back to his table, trying to organize his notes.

Every single information she gave was itching his instinct, telling him Hvitserk was somehow responsible for your disappearance.

He took back your case from his archive and closed himself in his office, ignoring the time for lunch and laying himself over your file.

Pages and pages about Horik - the bastard he came closer to catch...

Ragnar took the prison from his hands when he killed Horik before the arrest warrant was ready...

You were the key to his case. His little gold mine.

"Who could say you would bring one more chance, sweet Y/N," he said, looking at your picture on the folder in his hand.

There was some time since he saw you for the last time, but that file had everything about your life. From your mother's fate in Horik's hands to your address and telephone number, everything about you was a file for him. One he abandoned years ago...

He could still feel the bitter taste of being so close to the victory and have it taken from his hands the way Ragnar did, killing Horik days before he could execute the prison, taking from him the laurels of catching one of the bigger drug dealers of the country and worse: taking his place, forcing him to start the case from zero. Why?

Because nobody believed when he said it was Ragnar... He never had a single proof that Ragnar's hands were deeply sunk in your father's blood and everything became even harder when a random bastard confessed the murder of your father, turning everything into a circus to the press and giving the whole credit to another officer who supposedly found the real murderer while he was walking in circles with the rest of the department.

Bullshit!

Aethelwulf knew both of them were being well paid for that stupid theatre: the officer and the bastard. But without concrete proof of what he was saying, it was all this: words.

Years more of investigation trying to build a case against Ragnar for the bastard to be killed in the middle of a trip to England. Aethelwulf was waiting everything would lay on his wife's hands - an alcoholic woman who would surely commit enough mistakes to give him plenty of proofs against that family.

He could still remember how much he screamed in fury when Ragnar's ex-wife killed his widow, fleeing to God knows where...

God no...

Him.

That bastard.

Björn Ragnarsson.

He was sure Björn knew not only where his mother was hidden but also he was still keeping her in touch even knowing his younger brother couldn't forgive his stepmother's murder.

Those bastards hated each other, but even then, the god damn motherfuckers knew how to work as a team... Since the company was passed to their hands, not even a single mistake was committed! Not a single detail slipped from their hands to give him a breach through where he could reach one of them and break them all...

Until today.

Until you.

You who was once his better trump against Horik when your testimony against him for your mother's murder was exactly what he needed to get the arrest warrant...

You who was once his little treasure box.

Here you are again, giving Hvitserk's head in a silver plate for him.

All he had to do was pull the pieces together and...

"What are you doing, Aethelwulf?" the chief of the department came into his office, looking at all the papers over his table and the picture in his computer before sighing "Organize your stuff and go out for lunch."

"I'm not..." he tried to start, but the chief cut him before he could say anything.

"You won't start this shit again, Aethelwulf! I have a woman outside of this office who came to talk about her best friend disappearance and left this station confused about why were you asking everything about the Ragnarsson in their coffee shop! You leave this family alone, for God's sake!"

"Why?" Aethelwulf asked, looking straight at his boss' eyes "Just because they're rich, sir? I am telling you for years they have replaced Horik and taken control of their business! Years! Since Ragnar..."

"Since Ragnar, I have to hear this stupidity!" his boss cut him again "You're losing this department resources and time trying to build a case where there is nothing for you to mess with! You're obsessed, Aethelwulf! Enough! I gonna put Heahmund in this girl's case and you gonna take a break!"

"I don't need a break!" Aethelwulf insisted "And she's under my protection since she got into the program!"

"So, you can work alongside him. But your instance is under his and he will be the head! Heahmund is more stable and I know I can trust him. Enough of you trying to find something against the Lothbrok family in every single case we receive in this station! Leave them alone, did you understand me, officer?"

Aethelwulf growled, but there wasn't a choice for him.

"One day you guys will regret to let them work freely," he said, annoyed.

"It is a free country, Aethelwulf! Every man and woman in this place can work freely. And the Lothbroks will keep working freely until someone proves me they're doing anything but transporting containers and filling their asses with five times more money than us, in half of the time and with less than one-third of our work! Their business is legal, Aethelwulf, put this shit into your head. Now go lunch and take the rest of the day off. Go take some air, find someone to fuck, God damn it, boy, take these men out of your head or I'll start thinking your problem is passional. Get outta my face, boy! Now!"

Aethelwulf growled again, in the back of his throat, taking his folders, locking them into his drawer and leaving his office with a frown.

But he was convinced.

Not even his stupid boss or that asshole of his favorite, Heahmund, would prevent him to reach his objectives.

He knew Heahmund wouldn't hear him about Hvitserk's involvement. So, he would use his free time to search and find the connections and then when he could put his hands in that damn Ragnarsson, everyone would have to admit he wasn't wrong.

His steps crossed the newsstand and he saw the business magazines. At least three of them stamped with that blonde bastard...

His fingers took one of them outta the stand and he took a good look in Björn's eyes.

"Your empire will fall, bastard. Not so far from now, your empire will fall."

And you would be his key to open the door of success and close the handcuffs around those bastards’ wrists.

Once and for all.

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Jack Roth, London, United Kingdom, 8 hours ago Time to end this £300 million a year taxpayer funded ‘royal’ farce - Republic now. (Replies) New7883258 robzil45, cheshire, United Kingdom, 6 hours ago Why don’t you shut up yourself AmazingGrace77 People are entitled to their opinions,we are not all royal lovers and why should we be? New26153 Tiny CO2, Warrington, United Kingdom, 6 hours ago Most of the money goes towards upkeep of OUR buildings. Security. Entertaining guests of the UK and protecting our figure head and her family. Almost all of those costs would happen with or without the RF. New10166

sam my, Westworld, Togo, 6 hours ago This looks bad on the RF, why do you think she is concerned??? Let a charilty fund the so called RF, why not. Tax payers are tired the burden, so many other worthwhile projects could be funded for that money. New21164 Elle, Out there, Canada, 6 hours ago More made up trash by the DM. New7942 SmartTop, SnowdoniaSurf, United Kingdom, 6 hours ago What I find repulsive about Meghan Markle and Harry is that they use the Royal muscle with legal and the like to BULLY or “STRONG ARM” others. It is repulsive because they are not even using their own money. Funny Meghan Markle immediately started pushing “her weight around” but she is nothing more than a “TAKER” from the royal legal powers that be. New31291 Mythoughtsonthings, East Coast, United States, 6 hours ago Tourists never actually see much of the RF. I can’t imagine how much more money England would make if you got rid of the RF, opened up much more of Buckingham Palace and Windsor and other palaces. Keep the guard and the pomp and circumstance, but why taxpayers are funding these celebrity “royals” is beyond me. New22276 Janet, UK, United Kingdom, 6 hours ago She and Harry will regret not seeing him they had two years to meet him. The size he is with whatever health conditions he has mean he won’t live for long. Meghan will never be forgiven by the public for ignoring her dad. She was on talking terms with him before the wedding. She will go downn in history S the one than ruined the royal family. I hope they all go after the Queen. They have no standards look at Charles/Diana/Camilla wjat a mess that was a national disgrace why would or should we have that representing our nation. It’s time they all go away. New28252 BrandyCohen, New York City, United States, 5 hours ago Maybe this is the American in me, but thank god 1776 happened. How do you hard-working Brits do it? You pay money out of your own pocket for these people who live the posh life while you go without and subsidize it. The Royals seem like nice people, but so does my neighbor down the street. I’m sorry, but I don’t get the fascination. Americans shouldn’t become royalty. We abhor to class system. Always have and always will! New28204 sweetsexything, vancouver, Canada, 5 hours ago You guys are right! The Queen cannot decide Harry’s bride. However, the British can decide which Royal Family needs to be supported. Harry and Meghan (who shows up at least £2k for an event) need to fund themselves. But this is only a dream. Queen Elizabeth has been supporting non significant royal family members such as the KENTS. And it is ridiculous to hear that someone suggested, support Doria and Mr. Markle living and house expenses. I hope the British is not supporting Doria. But…. but… maybe RF is already supporting her since she is not working anymore. Ridiculous!!! Sleeping Britain. New9208 Pgtips2018, Ashford, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago Rubbish! It will be the ruin of the country if that ever happens. Our beloved Royal Family is what makes this country great! New12750 JR, San Francisco, 5 hours ago Great point, @Mythoughtonthings - whenever I’ve spent time in England it hasn’t been to “hopefully see the Royals”. Castles, museums, parks, cities, restaurants, etc will continue to exist with or without the RF, and I would definitely continue to visit. Over time, I’ve come to agree with folks who think that the Queen’s reign would be a good point at which to bring down the curtain on the RF, a fitting finale. She’s done a great job, but pondering the next monarchs doesn’t fill me with confidence that they’ll lead as well. At ALL. New16153 redder, Vienna, Austria, 5 hours ago It creats billions New10734 ShireView, Cheltenham, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago Jack Roth is going to be mortified. He is a red tick addict. How can you green tick him? New2434 bingofan, West, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago Lol @Jack - Check out Republic`s own poll taken in May. Only 16% of the British people would like to see the monarchy come to an end on the death of HM the Queen. Even Meghan and the US Markles will not be able to bring it down. Charles will be King. New8335 D63, Greenville, United States, 4 hours ago LoveThisLife, do tell more! New342 Aunt Ann, Forsyte Change Bayswater Rd, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago I¿m confused! Eberyone said Meghan was the narcissist. Now she tells us that, it Is her Dad who is the narcissist (one finger pointing at him, and three fingers pointing back at herself?!). What on earth does all those mean? New1682 UhOhGameOver888, Babylon, United States, 3 hours ago Bingofan, people support the Queen, that is who they support. She embodies the monarchy and that is who they are supporting in those polls. Charles on the other hand is without question despised widely and deeply. Go to YouGov . co . uk and look up Charles aggregated rating for public approval per many, many YouGOvv polls. It is -7. That’s right MINUS Seven! And Camilla’s is -20. MINUS Seven and MINUS 20 is ABYSMAL. Big Ears may go for broke and force through his coronation after HM passes but he won’t be on the Throne long. Either he will step down for William or the monarchy will end. The BRF will never survive a King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla. New1258 mforever, London, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago Aunt Ann - A true narcissist has a complete lack of insight and will often portray themselves as the victim when they are in fact the villa in. Mr Markle has consistently been portrayed as a shy, humble man in stories from several years back and until today. New354 mforever, London, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago Aunt Ann - A true narcissist has a complete lack of insight and the narcissistic perpetrators typically portray themselves as the victims. Mr Markle has consistently been portrayed as a shy, humble man in every story written about him describing him from years back until today. New337 SenseMaker, Seattle, United States, 3 hours ago That means Like Father, Like Daughter. And an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. When I read it, it’s such an irony that she calls her father narcissist when she’s also one. LOL New862 LightDweller, Bournemouth, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago Harry, you and your grotesque wife need to go. Neither of you are fit to represent this country. New895 Xbox-vs-playstation, Virtual world, United Kingdom, 3 hours ago So when Cornyn said the same thing DM readers hated him. Now the royal family has someone brown they dislike the royal now New416 UhOhGameOver888, Babylon, United States, 2 hours ago Brown. … What a joke! Meghan has lighter skin than many Anglo people. And SHE’s the 0reo who narrowed her nose, straightened her kin ky hair and hides it with wigs, dates only Whyte rich men, and has one sole B la ck friend (Serena W., who is really more of an acquaintance than a friend). She has never affiliated herself with any B l ack community-focused work, centrist or otherwise, despite claiming to be an “progressive activist”. She is the biggest r@ce passer ever. She only turned her “Royal” wedding into Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater because it fit her R card agenda against the Royals and the U.K. Press to do so. It was just another exploitative brick in her PR wall. New468 Kittenwhisperer, Hove, United Kingdom, 2 hours ago Jack dear heart I’ve missed you! New523 Lappidoth, UK, United Kingdom, 2 hours ago She tried entering while flipping the r card by releasing a statement on it before she got in there. Problem is, we can’t stand the sight of her, regardless to skin, although we are a bit gingerist now if that counts for anything? I put my comment in, some snowflake had it removed, feel free to consult my profile. My comment stands.

New560 Be Aware, Los Angeles, United States, 8 hours ago Of course she’s past all that - why, she’s a successful gold miner!! (Replies) New4542799 LittleMissChester, Chester, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago She’s embarrassed of him. She’s very materialistic and is very self absorbed. She doesn’t want an embarrassment like him hanging around. New25373 Nomdeplume, melbourne, 7 hours ago No fan. But I never believe a story that says 'close friends’ or 'source’. New36183 Audreyshepburn, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 7 hours ago She doesn’t need to be reminded of her trashy family background anymore. New51169 JS, Somerset, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago The sick, elderly daddy she has publicly stated she adored, who brought her up alone and spent all his money on, has been unceremoniously dumped as the self styled humanitarian has no further use for him. New19320 LittleMissChester, Chester, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago I’m not saying he is but I believe she thinks he is New1484 Whitewinger, Ktown, United States, 7 hours ago Obviously she does Audrey…they ARE her family..whether she chooses to associate with them or not..personally just from the fact she has not even seen her father since she got married speaks volumes about HER. New15195 Babe, In Belgium, 7 hours ago Team Meghan. You like her dad so much, you are welcome to him. New19028 Louisa, London, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago @ Nomdeplume - “close friend” has always been recognised in the industry if not actually from the horse’s mouth, then from someone instructed to speak on the person’s behalf. The DM has run many, many stories with a close friend or source cited, and they’re always pretty close to the truth which inevitably with this woman, shakes out sooner or later. New9209 AmazingGrace77, London, United Kingdom, 7 hours ago Do you know her or are you talking from experience…. New21045 Ingie_1999, Nowhere, United States, 7 hours ago Watch when she gets pregnant … Oh, brother! New23239 Mbb, Chicago, United States, 5 hours ago She’s worth her own millions do some research! New14927 Tuneful, Silver Spring MD, United States, 5 hours ago So HE’s the narcissist?! Talk about “pot, meet kettle.” New7103 Eve, London, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago @Mbb, they know, just the sort of people who hang on to being negative at all costs. New234 HRH 2, London, United Kingdom, 5 hours ago Mbb: then why didn’t she dress like this before Harry, eh? She didn’t even own a home or car. She spent all her money on PR to get into the circles of someone rich and famous in the UK. New7120 lokoti, norwich, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago The same applys for her marriage- she’s been down that road many times! New566 LeeG., Branson, United States, 4 hours ago So many catty remarks. Meow. New5316 FunnyToo, Atlantic, Western Sahara, 4 hours ago Spot on! Move onto the next mine after one is depleted! If anyone thinks this helps improve her image in any way :) :) :) :) :) :) New635 miaumiau66, Nowhere, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago Golldd digggg@ New674 Taurus777, Botosani, United Kingdom, 4 hours ago Once he dies she’ll be crying for ages..no matter what lies she tells herself now. New1444 UhOhGameOver888, Babylon, United States, 3 hours ago “Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder with a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.” That’s the textbook definition of narcissism. That fits Meghan Markle the user to a T, not dumped Papa Markle who sacrificed so much for her – he could have lived very well off his multiple jobs income and his lottery winnings but instead he sank it all into Meghan and lived in a modest, low-rent flat. Who has Meghan EVER sacrificed anything for? She uses and dumps people and pets and hasn’t a giving bone in her body. New11140 CelesteT, Devon, United Kingdom, 2 hours ago Gameover, you are spot on! Narcs come out on top because they will trample over anyone to get there! That is Meghan to a T not her poor old lonely father.

[the-temple-pythoness]

Emotionally Distraught // Albert Wesker x Reader (part 2)

-I really don't know what's with the sudden interest in Marcus or even in the internal affairs of Umbrella. It's all gone now, the man is as dead as Napoleon

-Umbrella still has many secrets that we need to uncover, we owe it to the victims...to know what really detonated the outbreak, it's hard to believe it was a simple 'leak', the coorporation had too much experience to let something like this go under the rug

-You're right, Umbrella was the primary Bioweaponary producer back then. Wilpharma, Tricell, all of them wanted Umbrella's technology to have the lead

-Like the cold war space race?

-Exactly

-So? what happened with Marcus? obviously it was the detonant of the Racoon City outbreak

-...Let's say it was, I want something in return tho...nothing weird, a couple of books

-Anything special?

-Of course, I'm very picky. you have paper?...El Aleph by Borges, The Shining by Stephen King and this month's Vogue magazine

-...A fashion magazine? really?

-I have my guilty pleasures, cop

-Right, now start spittin' what you know

-Where's the fire my good police officer? Like you said before I'm going nowhere...

-Maybe you won't but I will, and I'm not in the mood to play the 'good cop' part today

-ah, a ruined date perhaps...in red, that is.

-how did you-

-It's really easy to read you my 'good cop'. She's no good you know

-Wesker was a terrorist yet here you are covering his ass even dead

-At least he gave it all in the small time we had of peace, like I said he was as civilian as he could be...I remember our small dates, we would visit museums or small coffee shops

-Ok, ok. Start from the beggining, How did you end up in Umbrella and the research you did for them?

-It’s not like it was unusual, I finished college and my abilities got me a pasanty in the French HQ. I remember I was the yongest of the team, everyone else had more experience but lacked the fresh and exciting nature of newbies. I proved myself competent enough to be chief researcher in a certain proyect...

Maybe the silence that followed that statement was indicating something more sinister, or nothing at all but

-exactly what proyect?

but Leon will never know, at least by her mouth

-I was moved to Rockford Island where I met the bratty Ashford’s, their father was a man who had ethics, not like his children. One night he came to my room in a rush, almost barged in with a look in his face that I still remember, he asked me to move to the Antarctic base to keep tabs on Alexia...I couldn’t, she was far more anoying than her brother in Rockford

-So you’re telling me that you said no to your superior? I won’t believe that, it doesn’t-

-I went there, but I have a feeling that she knew who sent me so she made her presence a hundred times more insufferable. I had no choice than request to move to Racoon City

-Why Racoon City?

-I met Albert while I was in France, I remembered him talking about Alexia being in the Arklay Research Facility, and how much William hated her

-So THE Albert Wesker told you that for the shits and giggles? we have records that say that even Racoon City was a taboo topic because of Spencer’s direct sponsorship, it’s hard to believe that a man like Wesker would blab that info so easily

-Well...you did your homework officer Kennedy, but Al and I were both youngsters in position of power, he more than I, but still shared the same visions and struggled with the same things, Umbrella’s intern affairs weren’t easy and many got caught in the middle. Besides, Albert saw potential in me, a coworker and not only another faceless underling without brains

-In other words he wanted to recruit you to further his research

-Yeah, and I’m not going to lie to you, the sex was good.

If the context allowed it,  Leon would have laughed, and actually snorted at the little blunt truth. Perhaps the scenario reminded him of his foolishness with certain spy, state of mind that almost always leaves him deranged, euphoric or angry

-you were right with Racoon City, I went there because dear Alexia couldn’t touch me if I was under direct protection of Lord Spencer. Even if I had not  met  Spencer back then, the place was like a black hole where everything was fair so far the Director was not perturbed

-so...

-I found myself in Racoon City, and believe me...the things I had to endure! Sergei was the worst. He used to distrust me because I came from the Antarctic and had strong ties with Chief Researchers Wesker and Birkin, besides he was the hag’s bitch so he had a sort of immunity. Once he tried to choke me to death! Thank God Al saved me from the sadistic bastard

-Could you tell me the research you did in Arklay?

-What I didn’t do?

-The other day you said you returned to an Eropean branch when dr Birkin became a ‘psycho’

-Ah yes, I returned to France when Al moved to the Intelligence division and returned in 96′ when S.T.A.R.S. was founded. I began to work in the underground lab with William again, HOWEVER

-however....

-William was bat shit insane by then, and his wife was not helping at all. He saw me as a threat to his research since I brought a new point of view from France, I also was the only one to argue with him that his practices were self destructive at best so...

-Why the long face?

-Wil got really mad at me once when I told him that he needed to ‘chill the fuck out’ and enjoy his time with Sherry, he grabbed me by the neck and would let me go, a guard that passed by had to restrain him or else he would kill me

-Knowing you, you left the same day

-yeah, but it took me the whole night to put my shit together. It was Wil, the same dorky Wil that was head over heels for his wife, the Wil that used to comfort me when the Colonel was an ass. It was so hard...

-So I left in the morning, packed my things and went stright to Albert didn’t care that he was in the Police Department undercover, I was scared and felt betrayed and had nowhere to run to. I remember that, when I made a beeline to the receptionist everyone was looking at me

-I said that I was a family member of Al and they just let me in, perhaps they weren’t used to random people asking for a specific member of S.T.A.R.S, or maybe the lady was too underpaid to care. Whatever, Albert was really mad at me for being at the station, all of the other member saw me and had no choice but introduce me as his girlfriend. So when we were finally alone and told him everything he was still mad, but I guess relieved I wasn’t dead, he lend me his house keys and started living together formally until the events of the Mansion

-You were quite a chatter today, what happened? change of heart?

-not really, it hurts that’s all. Wil hurts, Sherry hurts, Al hurts, what could have been hurts too

-He didn’t die, he was alive so he must have warned you of the biohazard threat

-...

-I already knew of the contaminated area, but...Albert really died that night. He...the man...he just...he was gone. The Al I loved did die, the possibilities were gone, the family, the love, the friends, what we built together WAS GONE ALL GONE, and suddenly I had a man with endless possibilities but I did not, I no longer had-have- what I wanted!

-a family, you wanted a white fence, a dog and the baby?

-You make it sound like something I should be ashamed of ‘coppy’, so what if I wanted that?! I had the chance so close but Spencer and company took that away from me! everything, Spencer took everything not only from me but from other people too, Sherry for example! I would have taken care of her so gladly, given her so much love

-I didn’t care about Umbrella, they can all rot in hell. I knew of Albert’s displeasure with the coorporation and at some point he would of have to leave for another rival company, and I would have followed because I don’t marry ethically corrupt companies that can turn their own employees into test subjects if they so desired with no one saying shit

-but he did that, he moved to Tricell and began working in Uroboros

-Oh don’t get me started!... He did left, so what? the man was gone, nothing more that a shell of what he used to be, but I stil......

....

-you probably think I’m stupid but...I followed, even when I knew he was a self destructive mess with a God complex, I followed, even when he manipulated Excella and allowed to rub her tits all over him...He was always a little too ambitious, something good in life that pushes you forward, but there’s a looooong distance from that to a mass murderer  new world creator

If the tears that left the glossy eyes of the woman wasn’t an indicator of her sadness and hurt, maybe the quivering voice she forced out of her mouth was. A broken soul bared to the harshness of an interrogation room, but still a destiny she digged up herself, it moved something inside the interrogator’s gut and decided to end it here, that today was no longer a good time to continue anymore. Perhaps if she wasn’t this cooperative he would have followed anyways but torture was never his thing.

But the next day, as alarms went off in the prision facility that contained the woman he started to think that he should have insisted that day. Who helped her escape was quite clear, even if the individual was still unknown the affiliation was clear, even if the exact bioterrorist group or pharmaceuticals were also unknown. But now that he thinks about it, she didn’t tell him something that he didn’t know, just an insight of the events in her point of view after all, her exact relationship with the dead man was certainly irrelevant so far they knew she had access to vital info

But It doesn’t matter anymore.

Nothing really matters anymore

[newsfundastuff]

Updated May 15 with “Good Girls” renewed for Season 4 at NBC.Amid production shutdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, broadcast networks are faced with some very unprecedented problems while making their annual decisions about which TV series will return next season, which will come to an end and which new ones they’ll be ordering for inclusion on their Fall 2020 slates.Below is every scripted show that ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and The CW have renewed or canceled so far, along with those still awaiting their fates. We’ve also included the new comedies and dramas that have been picked up, along with their descriptions.You can read our pilot guide to see what projects may soon be ordered to series here.Check back throughout the coming weeks for updates.Also Read: Here's the Fall 2020 TV Schedule for Broadcast Networks - So FarNBC Renewed Series: “The Blacklist,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago Med,” “Chicago P.D.” (entire “Chicago” franchise renewed for three more seasons each), “Good Girls,” “Law & Order: SVU” (renewed through Season 24), “New Amsterdam” (renewed for Seasons 3, 4 and 5), “Superstore,” “This Is Us” (renewed for Seasons 5 and 6)Canceled/Ending Series: “Blindspot,”  “The Good Place,” “The InBetween,” “Sunnyside” (effectively canceled and moved to digital platforms for the remainder of its first season), “Will & Grace”Series Awaiting Decisions:  “Bluff City Law” (ended after initial 10-episode run), “Council of Dads,” “Indebted,” “Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector,” “Manifest,” “Perfect Harmony,” “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”Newly Ordered Series: “The Kenan Show,” “Young Rock,” Untitled Tina Fey/Robert Carlock ComedyNEW COMEDIES:THE KENAN SHOW Writer(s): Jackie Clarke Producer(s): Lorne Michaels, Andrew Singer Director: Chris Rock Studio: Universal Television, Broadway Video Logline: Kenan Thompson strives to be a super dad to his two adorable girls while simultaneously balancing his job and a father-in-law who “helps” in the most inappropriate ways. (Single camera) Cast: Kenan Thompson, Punam Patel, Dani Lockett, Dannah Lockett, Andy GarciaAlso Read: Fox Fall Schedule: '9-1-1' Moves to Midseason, 'L.A.'s Finest' Season 1 Comes Over From SpectrumYOUNG ROCK Writer(s): Nahnatchka Khan, Jeff Chiang Producer(s): Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, Brian Gewirtz, Jennifer Carreras Studio: Universal Television, Seven Bucks Productions, Fierce Baby Productions Logline: Inspired by the formative years of Dwayne Johnson. (Single camera) Cast: Dwayne JohnsonUNTITLED TINA FEY/ROBERT CARLOCK COMEDY Writer(s): Tina Fey, Robert Carlock Producer(s): Jeff Richmond, David Miner, Eric Gurian Studio: Universal Television, 3 Arts Entertainment, Little Stranger Logline: A wealthy businessman runs for mayor of Los Angeles for all the wrong reasons. Once he wins he has to figure out what he stands for, gain the respect of his staff and connect with his teenage daughter, all while humanely controlling the coyote population. (Single camera) Cast: Ted Danson, Holly Hunter, Bobby MoynihanAlso Read: 'The Good Doctor' Renewed For Season 4 at ABCABC Renewed Series: “The Good Doctor,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Station 19”Canceled/Ending Series: “Fresh Off the Boat,” “How to Get Away With Murder,” “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Modern Family,” “Reef Break”Series Awaiting Decisions: “American Housewife,” “A Million Little Things,” “The Baker & The Beauty,” “black-ish,” “Bless This Mess,” “The Conners,” “Emergence,” “For Life,” “The Goldbergs,” “mixed-ish,” “The Rookie,” “Schooled,” “Single Parents,” “Stumptown”Series That Haven’t Premiered Yet:  “United We Fall”Newly Ordered Series: “The Big Sky”NEW DRAMAS:THE BIG SKY Writer(s): David E. Kelley Producer(s): Ross Fineman, C.J. Box Studio: A+E Studios, 20th Century Fox Television Logline: In this procedural thriller, private detective Cassie Dewell partners with ex-cop Jenny Hoyt on a search for two sisters who have been kidnapped by a truck driver on a remote highway in Montana. But when they discover that these are not the only girls who have disappeared in the area, they must race against the clock to stop the killer before another woman is taken. Cast: Katheryn Winnick, Kylie Bunbury, Ryan Phillippe, John Carroll Lynch, Dedee PfeifferFoxFox Renewed Series: “9-1-1,” “9-1-1: Lone Star,” “Bless the Harts,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Duncanville,” “Family Guy,” “The Simpsons”Canceled/Ending Series: “Almost Family,” “BH90210,” “Deputy,” “Empire”Series Awaiting Decisions: “Last Man Standing,” “Outmatched,” “Prodigal Son,” “The Resident”Series That Haven’t Premiered Yet: “Filthy Rich,” “Great North,” “neXt”Newly Ordered Series: “Call Me Kat,” “Housebroken”NEW COMEDIES:CALL ME KAT Writer(s): Darlene Hunt Producer(s): Mayim Bialik, Jim Parsons, Todd Spiewak, Angie Stephenson, Miranda Hart, Eric Norsoph, Mackenzie Gabriel-Vaught Studio: Warner Bros. Television, Fox Entertainment, That’s Wonderful Productions, Sad Clown Productions and BBC Studios Logline: Kat (Mayim Bialik) is a 39-year-old woman who struggles every day against society and her mother to prove that you can NOT have everything you want — and still be happy. Which is why she spent her life savings to open a Cat Café in Louisville, Kentucky. (Multi camera) Cast: Mayim Bialik, Swoosie Kurtz, Kyla Pratt, Cheyenne Jackson, Leslie JordanHOUSEBROKEN Writer(s): Clea DuVall, Jennifer Crittenden, Gabrielle Allan Producer(s): Sharon Horgan, Clelia Mountford, Aaron Kaplan, Dana Honor Studio: Fox Entertainment, Kapital Entertainment, Bento Box Logline: Explores human dysfunction and neurosis through a group of neighborhood animals who live in the suburbs. (Animated) Cast: Lisa Kudrow, Clea DuVall, Sharon Horgan, Nat Faxon, Will Forte, Tony Hale, Jason Mantzoukas, Sam Richardson, Bresha Webb, Greta LeeCBS Renewed Series: “All Rise,” “Blood & Treasure,” “Blue Bloods,” “Bob Hearts Abishola,” “Bull,”  “Evil,” “FBI,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” “MacGyver,” “Magnum P.I.,” “Mom,” “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS: New Orleans,” “The Neighborhood,” “SEAL Team,” “S.W.A.T.,” “Young Sheldon,” “The Unicorn”Canceled/Ending Series: “Broke,” “Carol’s Second Act,” “Criminal Minds,” “God Friended Me,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Madam Secretary,” “Man With a Plan,” “Tommy”Series Awaiting Decisions: N/ANewly Ordered Series: “B Positive,” “Clarice,” “The Equalizer”NEW COMEDIES:B POSITIVE Writer(s): Marco Pennette Producer(s): Chuck Lorre Director(s): James Burrows Studio: Warner Bros. Television, Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. Logline: The comedy is about a therapist and newly divorced dad who is faced with finding a kidney donor when he runs into a rough-around-the-edges woman from his past who volunteers her own. Together they form an unlikely bond and begin a journey that will change both of their lives. (Multi-camera) Cast: Thomas Middleditch, Annaleigh Ashford, Kether Donohue, Sara Rue, Kamryn KunodyNEW DRAMAS:CLARICE Writer(s): Alex Kurtzman, Jenny Lumet Producer(s): Heather Kadin, Aaron Baiers Studio: MGM Television, CBS Television Studios, Secret Hideout Logline: “Clarice” is a deep dive into the untold personal story of brilliant and vulnerable FBI Agent Clarice Starling as she returns to the field in 1993, six months after the events of “The Silence of the Lambs.” Cast: Rebecca Breeds, Kal Penn, Nick Sandow, Michael Cudlitz, Lucca De Oliveira, Devyn A. TylerTHE EQUALIZER Writer(s): Andrew Marlowe, Terri Miller Producer(s): Dana Owens (Queen Latifah), John Davis, John Fox , Debra Martin Chase, Richard Lindheim, Shakim Compere Director(s): Liz Friedlander Studio: Universal Television Studios, CBS Television Studios, Davis Entertainment, Martin Chase Productions, Flavor Unit Logline: A reimagining of the classic series starring Queen Latifah (“Chicago,” “Bessie”) as an enigmatic woman with a mysterious background who uses her extensive skills to help those with nowhere else to turn. Cast: Queen Latifah, Chris Noth, Lorraine Toussaint, Tory Kittles, Liza Lapira, Laya DeLeon HayesThe CW Renewed Series: “All American,” “Batwoman,” “Black Lightning,” “Burden of Truth,” “Charmed,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow,” “Dynasty,” “The Flash,” “In the Dark” (Season 2 has yet to premiere, renewed through Season 3), “Legacies,” “Nancy Drew,” “The Outpost,” “Pandora,” “Riverdale,” “Roswell, New Mexico” (Season 2 has yet to premiere, renewed through Season 3), “Supergirl”Canceled/Ending Series: “The 100,” “Arrow,” “Supernatural”Series Awaiting Decisions: “Katy Keene”Newly Ordered Series: “Kung Fu,” “Republic of Sarah,” “Superman & Lois,” “Walker”NEW DRAMAS:KUNG FU Writer(s): Christina M. Kim Producer(s): Martin Gero, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter Director: Hanelle Culpepper Studio: Quinn’s House and Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Logline: A quarter-life crisis causes a young Chinese-American woman to drop out of college and go on a life-changing journey to an isolated monastery in China. But when she returns to find her hometown overrun with crime and corruption, she uses her martial arts skills and Shaolin values to protect her community and bring criminals to justice…all while searching for the assassin who killed her Shaolin mentor and is now targeting her. Cast: Olivia Liang, Kheng Hua Tan, Shannon Dang, Jon Prasida, Eddie Liu, Gavin Stenhouse, Gwendoline Yeo, Tzi MaREPUBLIC OF SARAH Writer(s): Jeffrey Paul King Producer(s): Marc Webb, Mark Martin, Jeff Grosvenor, Leo Pearlman Director: Kat Candler Studio: CBS Television Studios Logline: Faced with the destruction of her town at the hands of a greedy mining company, rebellious high school teacher Sarah Cooper utilizes an obscure cartographical loophole to declare independence. Now Sarah must lead a young group of misfits as they attempt to start their own country from scratch. Cast: Stella Baker, Nia Holloway, Luke Mitchell, Izabella Alvarez, Hope Lauren, Ian Duff, Forrest Goodluck, Landry Bender, Megan FollowsSUPERMAN & LOIS Writer(s): Todd Helbing Producer(s): Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Geoff Johns Studio: Berlanti Productions, Warner Bros. Television Logline: Follows the world’s most famous Super Hero and comic books’ most famous journalist as they deal with all the stress, pressures and complexities that come with being working parents in today’s society. Based on the characters from DC created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Cast: Tyler Hoechlin, Elizabeth Tulloch, Jordan Elsass, Alexander Garfin, Dylan Walsh, Emmanuelle ChriquiWALKER Writer(s): Anna Fricke Producer(s): Dan Lin, Lindsay Liberatore, Jared Padalecki Studio: CBS Television Studios, Rideback. Logline: A reimagining of the long-running series “Walker, Texas Ranger.” Centers on Cordell Walker, a widower and father of two with his own moral code, who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years, only to discover there’s harder work to be done at home. He’ll attempt to reconnect with his children, navigate clashes with his family, and find unexpected common ground with his new partner (one of the first women in Texas Rangers’ history), while growing increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death. Cast: Jared Padalecki, Lindsey Morgan, Keegan Allen, Mitch Pileggi, Molly Hagan, Jeff PierreRead original story Fall TV 2020: Every Broadcast Show Canceled, Renewed and Ordered – So Far (Updating) At TheWrap

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