#I don't have the clearance for that nope

[gcldfanged]

[Continued from HERE.]

@tredispade:

A moment of weakness after a mission gone wrong... "How can you be so sure?" His question was a soft whisper, trembling with his emotions. He sat on the floor, arms resting on his knees as he bowed his head. He was still dressed in his uniform. Covered in dried and crusted blood. It was on his face, in his hair, but he honestly didn't care. He was so tired. "No matter how hard I try to keep from spilling blood, it's like the very universe designs to force me to it. Every mission I go on. It's always that. Me just... killing everything." Sure, they were the enemy of Shinra. It was his job to defend the company that provided for him and raised him. But as time dragged on and the body count grew higher... He wasn't so sure he could do it anymore. He was at his limit. He questioned if there would ever be an end to this. He lifted his head up, eyes glassy and unfocused as he looked off into the middle distance. He spoke low and evenly. His words empty of emotion. "I never told anyone, ever. But... what frightens me is the numbness. I don't feel sad for it. Or any sort of loss. It's like something is eating away at the humanity in me. I'm afraid that one day... there really will be nothing left. That I will finally and truly be that monster that they want me to be." He was still raw from the lass of his closest friends--- Angeal and Genesis. He hated to dump his issues on anyone, but... all he really had left was Jae now. Who would listen to him.

Neither of them were exactly 'morally upstanding' when one examined what they did. It didn't even have to be scrutinized all that closely- They killed, they oppressed. In the Turk's case, he lied- Seduced and abandoned people as though their mere existence was to be that of a tool for his use. He tortured people and he enjoyed it. Not the act of causing pain, so much as breaking an individual down to their base components and building them back up with his own hands. There was something... ritualistically purifying about it.

"The fact that you're having this moment of fear is what makes me dead certain. If you really didn't feel anything, then it would just be another day and another mission that needs carrying out. Nothing more and nothing less. You wouldn't be suffering through a moment of existential dread."

Yoon fires up a cigarette and takes a slow, deep drag- Allowing the tobacco rustica's effect to course through his body, driving away a developing withdrawal migraine and silencing his burgeoning appetite.

"I think that the worst thing about the first kill is how easy it is to do it. We've both been preparing or whole lives to live with that knowledge. Unenhanced humans are fragile to begin with," he replies almost dispassionately.

Life and death was a strategy game more than a 'dance', as some would describe it. There was an intimacy to taking someone's life, true- but what had he felt, if anything? When the .50 cal's stock pressed into the join between shoulder and ribcage, it was little more than muscle memory, a practiced movement. Laying on his belly in the humid overgrowth, his breathing falling into sync with his target's own- Studying the rise and fall of their chest, visualizing how it would feel to be walking beside them as they silently went about their daily routine that he'd studied like a textbook.

The earthen aroma of fresh coffee haunted his lips when his tongue had swept over them, felt the cloying heat of the steam rising from the ceramic mug. Breathing in unison, in and out, then holding himself and his lungs still for that perfect moment.

The bullet ripped through the tree line and left a trail of dirt and dust screaming in the wake of it's sheer velocity, flying thousands of meters between them until it struck home- Where a man once stood perusing the local newspaper, now there was merely a red mist. The impact was powerful, epic in the way that only the divine fist of a righteous God might be.

Whatever pieces were left of the body didn't even need collecting on his end, there was no closure, no proper burial. No words spoken to lay the soul to rest.

Had he felt anything at all in those tender moments between living and dying? When he was holding someone's trachea in between the crushing grip of his steely fingers, pressing up even closer than they already were chest-to-chest, bare flesh damp against his own in all of it's searing, clarified honesty. Watching their eyes go from hazy with lust and desire to something small and panicked, like a hare in the gaze of a descending goshawk with talons outstretched. Ready for the moment of truth, advancing swift and terrible and only for them.

How many times had he managed to reach the height of his own arousal while snuffing out the light from someone's eyes and watching their consciousness evaporate from their body like fog rising from a lake.

This was the difference, the stark and visible line drawn in the sand between them.

They both were killers, that much couldn't be contested at all. They were both damn good at what they did, but Sephiroth didn't seem to experience some perverse sense of... pride, from the things he did.

"If you're were a monster, I doubt you would've turned down the mission to eliminate Commander Rhapsodos. Or the mission to Banora."

It almost felt wrong to mention them like this, he didn't know either of the Firsts on a personal level- Merely as data. What was redacted from their files but only up to the level of his clearance- Not all was revealed to him so easily.

"You want an explanation, right? That's on their shoulders to handle, not mine."

He extends a hand, offering the lit cigarette, the smoldering ember steadily eating it's way through the paper towards the filter as it's spent remains turned to grey ash.

"It's not my answer to give or words that need to be spoken from my mouth, but I can help you find them. Whatever's next is up to you. Even when you're boxed in, there are choices you can make that you will either regret or spend the rest of your life trying to."

[b33zlebubz]

RECKLESS ABANDON--------

CHAPTER FOUR - breaking and entering makes great therapy

TASK FORCE 141 X READER (PLATONIC)

PREV CHAPTER || MASTERLIST || AO3 LINK || NEXT CHAPTER

TAGS: gender neutral reader, angst, fluff, slow burn found family, PTSD, trauma bonding, reader is a foster kid in high school, family drama, blood, violence, guns

"After your life falls apart at the seams very early on, you work hard to keep the small amount of peace you still have. Foster care is rough, work is draining, school is a drag...but you eventually find yourself in a good place. All of that quickly goes to waste, however, when your family's unfinished business finally finds its way back to you."

You’re not bothered again until Thursday night. 

There’s a light knock on your door that stirs you out of your restless sleep and you blink, disoriented.  At first you think it might be morning, and that Price has come to collect you to bring you to wherever he deems safer for you to stay.  His voice, however, never comes.  Instead, there’s a second knock—this one with a little more urgency than the last.  The window to your right is still dark, and a glance at the clock on the wall next to you tells you it's nearly two A.M.

“Fuck, I’m coming,” You mutter, nearly tripping when the thin sheets tangle around your ankles.  You straighten yourself, adjusting the sweater on your shoulders and pulling the sweatpants back over your legs. Only then do you turn on the light and open the door.

You expect to see Price staring at you in your doorway—or maybe Laswell, with a clipboard under her arm and an impatient look on her face.  You expect to find out you forgot when you were told to wake up or that you overslept and missed the quota to leave.  Instead, Gaz’s eyes meet yours from under a baseball cap and he chucks an empty backpack at your chest.

“Get your shoes on,” he says, whispering.  “We’re getting your stuff.”

You blink, disoriented.  “It’s—”

“Two in the morning, yeah, I know,” he says, checking his watch before turning on his heel and continuing down the dimly-lit hallway.  He waves his hand, gesturing to follow.  "Follow me.”

Disoriented, you quickly slip your feet into untied shoes, shut your door, and slip the backpack on your shoulders—stumbling after Gaz as he strides down the hallway.  The back of your shoe digs painfully into your ankle and you pull on it clumsily as you walk.

“Is Price with you?”  You ask.  Gaz walks past the elevator, instead opting for the stairs as he pushes the door open for you.

“Nope.”

A knot tightens in your stomach as you follow him, “I don’t think I’m allowed to—”

“Trust me, it’s alright.  I got clearance,”  is all he says, whispering still.  "Just keep your voice down."

You curse, but follow him down the steps anyway—tugging the backpack closer over your shoulders.

"If you got clearance why is it so important I stay quiet?"

"Just…"  he pauses on the landing with a sigh as he turns to meet your gaze, holding a dark hand up.  "Trust me, yeah?"

Your brow lowers in thinly-veiled annoyance.  Partially because you’ve been woken up, and partially because you're getting tired of being shoved around without explanation.

"Last time I followed a stranger like this I got a gun pressed to my side,"  you shift on your feet.  "So, no.  I don't think I will."

He sighs, giving up.

"Okay, well,"  he offers his hand to shake.  "I'm Gaz."

You stare at him for a second, as if waiting for him to admit that he might be messing with you.  Still, he doesn't let up, waiting expectantly for you to shake his hand.   A quick sweep of his figure tells you he's unarmed—at least, as far as you can tell.  He’s not in uniform.  Instead, he’s in dark clothes with a hood pulled up over his hat, a bag shrugged over his shoulders and a phone in the pocket of his hoodie.  He's younger than Price—late twenties, maybe—and he holds your gaze with a calm resolve.

With great reluctance, you shake his hand.

“There.  Now we know each other,” he says.  He swipes some sort of I.D. card through a card reader to his left and the door opens with a click.  “Now follow me.”

You sigh, but you don't resist.

The rain that has been falling over Texas the past few days has finally stopped.  In the early hours of the morning, even the crickets have ceased their incessant chirping.  Only the sound of your shoes and the running engine of a car disturb the quiet.  It’s chilly; and the crisp spring air causes your skin to prickle under your sweater as you follow Gaz towards a running car at the end of the lot.  It’s too dark to see much else.

When you get to the truck, he opens the back seat for you and you climb in.  Immediately, the familiar voice of the man in the driver’s seat makes you freeze.

“Bloody fuckin’ Jesus.”

“You!”  Your eyes widen whenever Soap’s eyes meet yours, “you nearly killed me!”

“I was saving your life, twat!”

“By what?  Pointing a gun at my face?”

“Yeah, no, fuck all this—”  Soap goes to step out of the driver’s seat when Gaz grabs his sleeve, preventing him from fully stepping out of the truck.

“Hey,” he says, lowly, as he slides into the passenger's seat.  “We had a deal.”

Soap laughs bitterly and pulls his arm away, “your deal did not include driving Price’s rabid fuckin’ nepo case around.”

“Rabid?!" You echo, appalled.

“Okay, both of you, relax,” Gaz says.  “Before Price has our heads, yeah?” Your heart drops a little in your chest as your accusing gaze immediately switches to Gaz.

“Wait,”  you realize.  “You said you had clearance.”

“If we get this done quietly—we won't need clearance,”  Gaz explains to you.  Meanwhile, Soap grumbles something you don’t understand before switching gears on the truck and pulling out of the lot.  “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission, anyway.”

You scoff.  “That’s great and all, but I still have no idea what the hell is happening."

“We’re driving you home,"  Gaz meets your gaze through the rear view mirror,  "you'll get twenty minutes to grab what you need.  Sentimental stuff, clothes, medication…that sorta thing.  Nothing that can be used to track your location.”

Your expression softens just a little as he talks and Soap drives.  It's considerate.  Really considerate, actually.  Price had barely let you ask about everything you’ve left at your house before reminding you that you couldn’t go back.  To have your own stuff, your own clothes, a pair of shoes without blood on them…

You sit back in your seat and cross your arms, dropping the argument and looking out the window as Soap drives in stubborn silence.  You watch the rest of the base pass in a blur and duck down whenever they drive through the gate—leaving no more concrete buildings for you to look at.  Instead, trees and fields line the pitch-black landscape, and a band you vaguely recognize plays on the radio.

Gaz and Soap talk.  Mostly about trivial military jargon with names you hardly recognize and places you don't know.  You learn a little as they talk, though, like how they are both sargeants.  You also finally get the name of the group that Price leads: Task Force 141.

You make yourself comfortable in the back seat, bringing your legs up to your chest.  When their conversation lulls to an end and the car is quiet, you decide to continue on your quest for answers.

"Where are we going?"  You ask, "tomorrow…I mean."

Gaz answers through a heavy yawn, "you ever leave the country, kid?"

"Not that I know of."  If you ever did, it was with your father before he disappeared.  "And I'm not a kid."

"Well…congratulations.  You've got a free flight to Russia tomorrow."

Your brow furrows.  You should have expected that they would take you somewhere far.  But considering everything you’ve skimmed past on the American news as of late—it was the last place you expected for Price to deem safe.

"Russia?"  You repeat, making sure you heard him correctly.  "Why Russia?"

"'Cap wants you far away, out of danger, and we need intel from guys who worked with your dad," Gaz answers.  "The longer you stay in this country the more likely it is Graves finds you again.”

You sigh and lean your head against the window, grateful that at least one person cares about how much you've been left in the dark—even if his words made your throat tight and your head spin.

"Graves," you repeat, furrowing your brow at the name.  Something you've heard before; shouted in the chaos of the firefight that led you here and whispered under Price’s breath whenever he would talk with Laswell.  "Who's he?"

Gaz huffs something of a laugh, a smirk on his face as he elbows the other Sargeant.  "Soap's best friend."

"Commander of the Shadow Company,"  Soap speaks for the first time in ten minutes, his voice dripping with deep-rooted contempt.  "Traitorous little shits, the lot of 'em."

The memory of cold metal digging into your side and the drawl of a thick Texan accent blare in your mind.

"They were the soldiers dressed in black,"  you speculate, and Gaz nods—confirming your suspicion.

“They’re not a group you want to mess with,” Gaz says, his brow lowering as if he’s recalling a bad memory.  “The only person they answer to is Graves, and the only thing Graves answers to is money.”

“So someone’s paying him to find me,”  you say, puzzle pieces sliding together.  “For the missile code I don’t have.”

“Exactly.  But don’t worry.  We’ve got your back from here on out.  Whatever you need, you come to us—as Price said.”

Your gaze softens a little before your eyes flicker to Soap, who only grunts in begrudging agreement.  You feel the tension in your shoulders slacken a little, the hammering of your heart sooth, and you nod.  

“Right,”  you say, nodding.  “So what you're saying is I can kick Soap out of the window seat tomorrow?"

"I'd sooner let you shoot me in the fuckin' head."

"Too bad the target was missed the first time," Gaz mutters, which earns him an immediate smack to the shoulder from the other Sargeant.  You don't know what he means, but you're pretty sure the small scar that juts into the side of Soap's hairline has something to do with it.  

Eventually, the truck rolls to a stop down the block from your house.  

"Twenty minutes,"  Gaz reminds you as you step out of the truck, tossing you some kind of an earpiece.  "Stay in touch.  If you run into any trouble, we're not far behind."

"Right," you say, with a nod, tucking the earpiece around your ear.  "Will do."

It's weird seeing your house again.

It's not a flashy thing; tucked into the corner of some middle-class neighborhood.  Before, it had been one of the more inviting houses you've stayed in—but now it looked foreboding in the dark, white paint crisscrossed with yellow tape.  Tactfully, you avoid the front entrance, instead opting for the fire escape of the apartment building next to it—dented and bent from all your prior endeavors of sneaking out over the course of the past six months.  For a moment, you miss it: your friends, stolen beer, school, your shitty job at the gas station…but you don't let yourself dread on it.

You grab the rusty metal and hoist yourself up and onto it.  It creaks as you climb the unsteady steps to your window and, for once, you're grateful it doesn't shut the whole way.

"Kid, don't you have a back door or a—"

Gaz's voice in your earpiece causes you to yelp with surprise, and you slip.  Your body tumbles with the painful clang of metal as your hands quickly reach, and you catch your windowsill in your fingers.  You bite your lip as pain blossoms through your upper back, making stars ignite in your vision for a few moments.

"Fuck," you breathe, before pulling yourself up so that your arms are situated in the rusted box planter.  Feet dangling, you kick at the wall as you claw up the window before somersaulting inside with a grunt.

Your heart in your throat, you hold your breath as you listen for any sign of someone else in the house—waiting for someone to notice.  When nothing comes, you slowly get to your feet and stretch out your sore back.

"Don't question my methods,"  you grunt, holding a finger to the earpiece like the people do in movies.  To your surprise, it works.

"So, you slipped on purpose, then?"

Your room looks just as it had when you left.  You're not sure why you expected otherwise. 

"I never slip,"  you retort sarcastically.  "That was tactical parkour."

"Duly noted," he chuckles.  "Sixteen minutes left."

Quickly, you rip the backpack off your shoulders and start shoving things into it.  Headphones, clothes, all the cash in your nightstand, medication, toiletries…your mind reels with what else you might need as you dart around the space.  You find a pair of boots and slip those on in favor of your blood-stained shoes, which you keep on you to discard back at the base.  It's when you're in the middle of ripping your blanket off your bed when your foot hits something cardboard. A shoebox.

You let out a breath and sink to your knees, pulling the beaten, scribbled-on box out from where it lays partially underneath your bed.  Your thumb smoothes over the masking tape that sticks to the top of the box and your own childhood chicken-scratch handwriting stares back at you.

DAD

You purse your lips. 

You open the box to be met with a heaping pile of letters and cards.  Some in other languages, some not.  At the bottom, there's a wide variety of small objects from his travels, most of which are a combination of yen, afghani, euros and other coins. There's also a rusted, metal lighter and a pen. 

Most of the pictures you had were lost in all the moving about; leaving you with only one wrinkled, dingy polaroid of a younger version of him in his fatigues.  He wasn't smiling.

Hands slow, you reach for the first card on the pile.  The last card you ever received from him.  The date is written clear at the top, underlined and circled and smudged with age.  Below it is a cheesy quote from the card, and below that is his scrawl, happy birthday!

You didn't remember much of your father.  You recalled his face, sort-of.  The echo of his laugh and the sight of his smile whenever he'd come to visit twice a year—once in the summer and then again in winter.  Though you're not sure if those were real memories, dreams…or just the image you thought up of him in your head. You don't remember who he was, any of his hobbies or traits…and a dull grief strikes you, then.  

You didn't know him—hardly ever thought of him, in all the chaos.  

And while you were sneaking out, skipping school, and cursing him for dying and leaving you with nothing but an emptiness that could never be filled…he was spending all of his final moments writing about you.  

You take out all the cards and shove them into the backpack.  Upon realizing the lighter still worked, you took it as well.  Then, you zipped up the rucksack and climbed back out the window.

If Soap and Gaz noticed tears on your face whenever you stepped back into the truck, they never commented on it.

@brokenpieces-72 @warenai @karurururu @pertinentpostmortem @kaoyamamegami @hayleybarnesx @nostalgialeech @scuftryo @0alk0msan

[ssahotchnerr]

hiii katie!! 🤭💞

you said domestic aaron requests so i thought i’d send you something that’s been on my mind all day! so when you see aaron you don’t really take him for a guy who would sing along to taylor swift songs, or watch romcoms or like idk know stuff about astrology…but then during conversations he drops facts related to these kinds of things and the team is like “how does he know that” LMFAOO but it’s all because his girl (you 🥰) educates him on the daily 🥰🥹🥺

- fay <3

rom coms

fay !!! AHH if y'all have seen how to lose a guy in 10 days i hope you enjoy this 🤭 cw; bau!reader, established relationship, playful fluffy banter <3

on the rare occasion a case finished early, and the jet wasn't scheduled to leave until the next morning, you'd all be stupid not to take advantage of a night out within a different, new city. somehow, this time, all of you had ended up at a basketball game, per derek's suggestion. and while it wasn't your usual scenery for team outings, the change of atmosphere was nice.

and the current setting gave you the opportunity to poke fun at aaron, which you would never deny, either.

as the clock neared the end of the game, you turned away from your conversation with jj.

"hey." you nudged aaron, getting his attention. he leaned down slightly closer, allowing you to speak more directly into his ear so he could hear you clearly. the crowd was loud, and you were also on the side of him consisting of his bad ear. "wanna get me a soda?"

there was a mischievous look on your face, while aaron's fell into his signature expression. however, there was a playful glint present in his eyes. he straightened up his posture before speaking. "very funny."

you feigned disappointment. "so... no?"

"nope."

"aaron pleaseeee." you jokingly whined, your hand clasping around his forearm and tugging on it gently.

"is this your way of telling me you want us to break up?" aaron arched an eyebrow, his lips pursed upwards as he attempted to hold back a smile.

you snorted out a laugh, rolling your eyes. "yeah, you got me there."

"well sweetheart, i think we're well past the ten day mark. so unfortunately for you, this tactic isn't going to work."

you opened your mouth to respond, but jj's voice came out instead.

"what did he just say?"

the team's undivided attention was present on the pair of you, nothing but quizzical, or slightly horrified (morgan), expressions on their faces. even spencer had ceased explaining all the mathematical aspects of basketball to dave.

"if you're asking, i think you heard me."

"yeah no i heard what you said, i just can't believe you're the one that said it." jj stated, bewilderment still present.

"contrary to popular belief, i don't live under a rock." aaron answered nonchalantly, loud enough for the whole team to hear. his hand also found your hip, giving it a squeeze.

he doesn't live under a rock, thanks to you.

"never knew you were into rom coms, aaron." dave pitched in. aaron simply shrugged his shoulders.

"next you're going to tell me the two of you have a love fern in your apartment." emily cackled which resulted in more laughter amongst everyone, but that dissolved as the conversation quickly came to an end; everyone's attention refocusing on the conclusion of the game.

and while you had full clearance to tease aaron, they knew better than to push their limits.

"hey, did you really want one?" after a moment, aaron's voice closely entered your ear this time, a softness to it. "because i will-"

"no, i don't." you interrupted him with a small laugh, pressing your lips to his cheek and looking up at him with all the love in the world. "you'll catch the end of the game, don't you worry."

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for not sealing a box correctly?

So, I started working for a shady company recently. I didn't really want to work here, but they paid us really well for some reason? Anyways. My employers told me that they have a manual and encyclopedia for the job, but it's like, 1k pages long. For both. I really couldn't be bothered to read it, so I skipped it.

Part of the job is collecting energy, and the energy is made from these big boxes/containers in the facility. I don't know what's in these boxes, but the veteran employees have STRONGLY advised not to look into them unless you have clearance LVL 3 or more. So, I've never really bothered with them.

So, earlier today I was tasked with transporting one of these boxes to the Control Unit. On the box it said something along the lines of "... Bird", and I didn't think it'd be a problem because that's what our manager ordered. I also saw that it was partially unsealed, but I thought the guys who were picking it up would be chill with it and seal it for me since I don't have my tools on me.

However, when I handed off the box to the veterans, they were like "wait a minute, we already have two of these guys" and they started panicking for some reason. I was like "well dang, can't you just return the package?" and they looked at me really funny.

They told me to go tell the manager, and I thought it was weird but I went. I told the manager that there were already two of these packages, and he was like "oh it'll be fine as long as they're sealed so they can't break out" and I was like "excuse me? what?" and then I realized that I really should've read the manual.

First of all, the "boxes" I was talking about earlier are actually containment units that contain monsters(?). Second, these monsters are very prone to killing people. Third, these three aforementioned bird-monsters are prone to escaping at the same time, and guess who didn't seal one of their boxes correctly?

So, we've got three dangerous monsters running around the facility at the same time. That wouldn't be so bad if these three monsters didn't merge into one giant monster that, to EVERYONE'S knowledge, cannot be injured or contained at all. Fuck.

Everyone is freaking out and some people are trying to run, but our manager put the whole place on lock down so we can't leave. We're all gonna die here. I'm in a room with some other poor guys and we've barricaded the doors, but I don't think that's gonna help us.

I guess my question isn't "oh shit am I a bad person for not knowing things that the veterans and manager did", it's more like "could I have prevented this with my limited knowledge and actually sealed the box before any of this happened?"

I don't think I'm gonna live long enough to see the results, but I will leave you with some takeaways before I die:

Go with your gut and nope outta there if the job seems sketchy.

Ask questions about the job and read employee reviews (If applicable.)

Read the NDA / contract thoroughly before you start working.

Read the employee handbook / manual before you start working.

Seal your boxes and containment units correctly, and always double-check them too.

For the love of God, don't work fo

[ineffablenlghtingales]

Okay, so 2x05 starts with Shax (ridiculous in that suit of armor...lol I don't really like her) leads a pitiful number of demons to assault the bookshop. Meanwhile, Azi is busy organizing the Whickber Street Traders and Shopkeepers Association Month Meeting with Crowley's help. Shax sets off gathering her "army of demons" and only gets a hold of 70, but tries to rouse them to action. Ends up discorporating Eric several times because of all the questions he asks.

Then we see the little moments of Aziraphale convincing other street traders to attend the meeting (read: the ball). They're not exactly chomping at the ebit, but Azi eventually obtains their agreement. I loved that bit when Crowley's like "You're really going to do this? Can I watch?!" Then the demon's just there off on the side, watching Azi through all of this. Also, if I remember correctly (been a few days since I saw the episode), I think there's a bit where Crowley dons a fez and proceeds to play with a crystal ball he finds in the magic shop.

Nina at first doesn't want to come, but afterward she agrees.

Then that fantastic bit! "Smited? Smote?" "Smitten." "You're being silly." I LOVED that.

Also, let's not forget the part where Crowley confronts Gabriel. Haha that bit about pulling his memories from a matchbox and how unimpressed our demon was. Crowley's like ???

Aziraphale ends up throwing a ball instead of the official meeting, and Crowley, determined to make Nina go inside (bc he senses that something's up) whether she likes it or not, growls at her because he's just so Done™ and the startled woman scurries inside. Another example of the demon not being the 'epitome of evil' he's supposed to be. Aaaand another moment where Crowley calls Aziraphale his friend.

The ineffable husbands dance, well Azi pulls a reluctant Crowley out to dance, and Crowley tries to tell him that there's dangerous things afoot. (Also I'd like to question the pronunciation of charade. Is it "sha-raid" or "sha-rahd"? I've always used the first one, but he uses the second one. Idk)

Shax crashes (well, from the outside) the party and the sign the demons throw in literally demands they send out "the angle". Nice spelling job, infernal beings. Turns out that because of the miracle Crowley and Aziraphale did, Shax doesn't recognize Gabriel when he steps out. (Why on earth he has that ridiculous down comforter turned coat on, I have no idea). Then Crowley's a wonderful impromptu genius when he challenges whether they have proper clearance to even stage the attack. He makes up these stipulations that leave all the other demons questioning the legality of the attack and whether or not they'll get in trouble. Satisfied with that, Crowley tells Azi he'll be back (that wonderful moment I spoke of before, after making the connection with Neil's sonnet...I will forever hold that moment to carry that meaning...)

Crowley gets everyone out and does a thing to make sure they don't remember this. Then he spots Muriel observing the whole scene and comes up with a plan. I also loved this bit! (very much paraphrased bec nope, couldn't find the clip of it)

Crowley: You're an officer of the law, aren't you? Muriel: ... Um it's a little hard to explain, well, yes, I am. Crowley: So you can arrest someone if a crime's been committed? Muriel: Er, well, I'm not actually a-- Crowley *holding his hands out*: Go on, officer, arrest me. I'll...come quietly. Muriel: ???? Crowley: 😤 Muriel: *confused noises also how to explain I'm not really a constable inspector* Crowley: Listen, I know. You're an angel, I'm a demon. I need you to "arrest" me because there's a crime against Heaven.

[dragonflight203]

Continuing my ME1 replay post Therum:

-How often did Garrus actually see his father? Garrus is from Palaven. Castis was C-Sec. Was Castis mostly away from home? Did Garrus spend a lot of time on the Citadel?

-Pallin and Castis, both turians, dislikes spectres because they lack accountability. Saren, a turian, is a rogue spectre that we, the first human spectre, are hunting.

Interesting that it's all turians talking about if spectres are good or not. Humanity just wants into the club. I don't recall Asari, Salarians, etc. discussing the merits of spectres at all.

I feel like this is a thread dropped in later games. ME2 and ME3 sideline spectres considerably; it's just window dressing to what those games are interested in. But ME1 wants to dig into spectres and discuss their place or lack thereof in the galaxy. And you can influence it via the paragon/renegade system.

-Ashley distrusts Liara because she can't imagine not Liara not speaking to her mom. Ashley, to whom family is everything and sticks it out in an organization that doesn't want her (the Alliance) because that's what her family does and she will redeem her family name. Fits.

-And immediately makes a dig about Asari sexuality. This is my ongoing issue with Ashley.

When I had her as a primary companion in my last run she repeatedly made digs at other woman. Normally Liara. Or maybe only Liara, it's been a while. Every time I'll be warming up, then another spiteful comment... Ashley, I want to like you. I normally do. But please be better.

I don't recall this occurring in ME3, so I'll put it down as a pitfall of ME1 writing. It has issues with the love interests in general.

-She only makes the dig at Asari sexuality if you say you don't think Liara's lying. If you're neutral or agree to watch Liara that's skipped entirely. It really is spite. And odd, because I'm playing Femshep. Ashley, please do better.

-Ashley's wariness of trusting Wrex and Garrus isn't unwarranted. This is a top secret ship, and Wrex is a merc. Garrus is more borderline as he's a turian and turians helped design the ship, but he probably doesn't have the proper clearance in the hierarchy either.

I can't fault her for raising concerns to Shepard. Raising possible concerns to your commander and leaving the final decision in their hands is the proper thing to do. Even if you yourself think the status quo is acceptable, you should point out it's a possible issue to verify that they've considered it.

-Ashley does everything possible to avoid mentioned her family background to Shepard. Does Ashley know anyone Shepard would? Nope, definitely not!

-Why was Saren recruiting mercs in Wrex's story? What was the purpose of capturing that Volus ship? I don't think that's ever cleared up.

[mariana-oconnor]

The Naval Treaty pt 2

Here we are, back again. Last time we learnt about Watson's previous life as a school bully and I took an instant and entirely unsupported-by-the-text dislike to a man named Joseph Harrison because he was described as being nice.

This is also a problem I sometimes have in real life, btw. I am suspicious of people who seem too outwardly open and friendly. My brain assumes that they are hiding something. Maybe my soul is broken.

I'm still convinced he's a secret puppy-murdering villain, though.

"I was a happy and successful man, Mr. Holmes, and on the eve of being married, when a sudden and dreadful misfortune wrecked all my prospects in life."

Look, look, look. If there's one thing these stories have told me it's that in Sherlock Holmes world the time just before you're married is the most dangerous time in your life. Evil parents, lost loves, evil exes and all sorts of foul fiends crawl out of the woodwork of your past and try to drag you down. Engaged people should have constant bodyguards in this world.

"They should not leave my bureau were it not that it is absolutely necessary to have them copied."

I'm feeling like I'm about to have a bit of a rant about opsec and how to protect confidential documents. Percy, if you take this treaty offsite, we're gonna be having words.

“Excuse me an instant,” said Holmes. “Were you alone during this conversation?”

Exactly what I was thinking. Did you take proper precautions before talking about the secret documents that you were going to be moving from their secure location? Was anyone listening at a keyhole?

“My uncle's voice is always remarkably low. I hardly spoke at all.”

His uncle whispers constantly. Is that because he feels like true authority never shouts? Or does he have some sort of a condition? Does he just smoke so much that now he constantly has a rasp?

"One of them in my room, Charles Gorot, had some arrears of work to make up, so I left him there and went out to dine."

You mean he's working on these top secret documents and locking them up in a shared office space. But the other people sharing his office do not have the clearance to work with them? And he just... left the building? With someone else right there?

Nope. Nuhuh. If they're as important and secret as indicated, could he not have a private office for the duration. You said he's working on these after hours, so you could totally lock him in a separate room with a guard on the door (it's a fire hazard, but it's the Victorian Era, so I don't think they cared). Are there no free rooms available in this building at all? Have you never had this situation come up before?

Also, those desk drawer locks are not very secure.

“When I came to examine the treaty I saw at once that it was of such importance that my uncle had been guilty of no exaggeration in what he had said. Without going into details, I may say that it defined the position of Great Britain towards the Triple Alliance, and fore-shadowed the policy which this country would pursue in the event of the French fleet gaining a complete ascendancy over that of Italy in the Mediterranean."

Percy. That's too much detail. No. You don't talk about it. You don't talk about it. Oh my god. You are bad at this. If it's so secret that no one in your office was supposed to know about it's existence in that office, then it's way too secret for you to just go about telling these two guys who just rolled up - one of whom used to beat you with wicket stumps - anything about its contents.

Percy... please...

(image from Wikipedia)

“It was a long document, written in the French language, and containing twenty-six separate articles. I copied as quickly as I could, but at nine o'clock I had only done nine articles, and it seemed hopeless for me to attempt to catch my train."

There is a theme in these stories of people being set tasks to copy out documents that are too long for the copying time allotted. Did ACD have a job as a copyist at some point. This feels like some shade coming from personal experience to me.

A quick glance at his biography doesn't give me any indication of that, but does reference his school being run on 'medieval principles' and I can well imagine that one of the things they were forced to do was copying. But that is only my imagination.

Also, I can empathise so much with Percy here. The 'oh god, I'm going to miss my train and be stuck here if I don't finish this work soon' feeling is real and valid and very upsetting.

"I was feeling drowsy and stupid, partly from my dinner and also from the effects of a long day's work. A cup of coffee would clear my brain."

Accent on the stupid, I fear. Are you about to leave this top secret document on your desk while you go looking for your caffeine fix. Say it ain't so.

"I rang the bell, therefore, to summon him."

I stand corrected. And wow - personal delivery service of hot beverages at the office. How times have changed!

Although, since I now work from home I do get biscuits delivered to my desk every day, so I can't really complain.

“To my surprise, it was a woman who answered the summons, a large, coarse-faced, elderly woman, in an apron. She explained that she was the commissionaire's wife, who did the charing, and I gave her the order for the coffee."

OK, problem number 1 - your own colleagues weren't high enough clearance to be in the room when you're copying this, but the commissionaire is?

Problem number 2 - you don't recognise this lady. She says she's the commissionaire's wife, but do you know that. And even if you do know that, does she have clearance for this document?

ALSO - 'large' and 'coarse-faced' given the time period, this could well be indicative that this is a man disguised as a woman.

“I wrote two more articles and then, feeling more drowsy than ever, I rose and walked up and down the room to stretch my legs. My coffee had not yet come, and I wondered what was the cause of the delay could be."

Oh Percy.

Oh Percy you didn't.

You went and left it sitting on the goddamn desk didn't you?

Clean. Desk. Policy. NEVER LEAVE ANY DOCUMENTS ON YOUR DESK WHEN YOU ARE NOT AT IT. This is basic security protocol if you work with sensitive material, Percy. It's not difficult. This isn't something you do every day so you don't even have the excuse of just forgetting this one time. This is a specific document that you have clearly been told is not to be removed from its locked drawer except in exceptional circumstances. And you're wandering around the halls and leaving it just lying there. After having spoken to a woman you don't know with it right in front of her.

Oooh, we get a map. I love maps.

I thought for a minute the map was going to prove that there was only one corridor between his room and the commissionaire's office, meaning that if anyone went past, he'd see them, making him leaving the document on the desk almost acceptable. But no. There's a second corridor off. The man is a muppet.

Please have this image of an infinitely better Percy to tide you over:

"Then I put out my hand and was about to shake the man, who was still sleeping soundly, when a bell over his head rang loudly, and he woke with a start."

First instinct is that he was drugged.

But the commissionaire seems to know about the coffee... which he wouldnt' if the woman hadn't told him about it. So was she his wife? Was I off track with that? Or is she telling different lies to both parties?

“‘If you was here, sir, then who rang the bell?’ he asked.

GHOSTS!

I mean, no, but once again we have a horror movie sort of line.

“A cold hand seemed to close round my heart. Some one, then, was in that room where my precious treaty lay upon the table. I ran frantically up the stair and along the passage. There was no one in the corridors, Mr. Holmes. There was no one in the room. All was exactly as I left it, save only that the papers which had been committed to my care had been taken from the desk on which they lay. The copy was there, and the original was gone.”

I know I say this a lot but: Oh no! Who could ever have foreseen that this would happen? What a totally unpreventable occurrence! Clearly nothing could have been done to stop this. Fate is so cruel.

So nice of them to leave the unfinished copy, though.

“I recognized in an instant that the thief must have come up the stairs from the side door. Of course I must have met him if he had come the other way.”

Wow, look at that braincell chugging along. If only you had thought of this before.

"It was quarter to ten.” “That is of enormous importance,” said Holmes, making a note upon his shirt-cuff.

Obviously.

I feel like this might be because of train times. We had that comment before about Percy being afraid he'd miss his train, and now the time is important. Train timetables are where my brain automatically went to. Quick! To the Bradshaw's!

“‘Ah, that is only my wife,’ cried the commissionaire; ‘has no one else passed?’"

So either the wife is involved, or his wife is currently being impersonated. Which is a difficult task to pull off to the person's spouse, so I'm inclined to believe that his wife is just tall and coarse-faced and in league with Joseph Harrison (Stop looking at me like that! He'll be involved somehow. 'How could he possibly have known about Percy copying the treaty?' you ask. I don't know, there are two more parts of this story left. That guy's bad news. I feel it.)

“But I was not satisfied, and the attempts which he made to draw me away increased my suspicions. “‘Which way did the woman go?’ I cried. “‘I don't know, sir. I noticed her pass, but I had no special reason for watching her. She seemed to be in a hurry.’"

Like she was smuggling stolen documents???

Also, Percy is engaging his brain here. It might not be the right solution, but at least he isn't just blindly trusting that the commissionaire's wife is fine. She saw the document, he hasn't seen her since, she left after the document was stolen.

“‘You're only wasting your time, sir, and every minute now is of importance,’ cried the commissionaire; ‘take my word for it that my old woman has nothing to do with it, and come down to the other end of the street."

OK, commissionaire's also sus. We do not trust him. Maybe he isn't married at all. Maybe he's just been paid off by Joseph Harrison who is posing as his wife with a paisley scarf.

Still doesn't solve the question of how Harrison would know about the document. Unless the commissionaire was paid to tip him off about anything weird going on so he could capitalise on it. Possible.

It also doesn't explain the bell.

Why the bell? Why summon them back to the room when you're about to make your escape? I can't think of a reason for that to be a good idea. Although we only have the commissionaire's word it was the bell in Percy's office. Could have been any bell. But even then, why did they need him to find the documents gone right then and there?

Always possible someone was standing behind the door when they came in and in his panic Percy just didn't think to look around at that point. Classic locked room mystery trick, although this time there wasn't even a locked room.

“‘16 Ivy Lane, Brixton,’ he answered. ‘But don't let yourself be drawn away upon a false scent, Mr. Phelps. Come to the other end of the street and let us see if we can hear of anything.’"

This is a reasonable line for the commissionaire to take if the lady is his wife, but at the same time, there's something about the way in which it is phrased that still fills me with suspicion. 'don't let yourself be drawn away upon a false scent' is so very odd a way to say it. You'd expect more protesting his wife's innocence. The values of her character that mean she would never. This reads like someone who is very intent that Percy should indeed be drawn away upon a false scent, just the one he's dangling in front of him.

“Nothing was to be lost by following his advice."

Nooooo. Percy. You should have kept going. Believe in yourself. Sure, up to this point you've been pretty rubbish at this whole spy thing, but these were good instincts.

“How is it, then, that the woman who came into the room about nine left no traces with her muddy boots?” “I am glad you raised the point. It occurred to me at the time. The charwomen are in the habit of taking off their boots at the commissionaire's office, and putting on list slippers.”

This did not occur to me, but cool little bit of evidence, and nice to see Percy using his brain again. The man clearly used wisdom as a dump stat, but his intelligence is pretty high.

“We examined the room also. There is no possibility of a secret door, and the windows are quite thirty feet from the ground. Both of them were fastened on the inside. The carpet prevents any possibility of a trap-door, and the ceiling is of the ordinary whitewashed kind. I will pledge my life that whoever stole my papers could only have come through the door.”

Our options are these: it was the wife, or it was a third person who hid behind the door when you came into the room and then escaped while you were busy chasing after the thief you assumed had already left. The ringing of the bell makes no sense in either of these cases because it would be easier to just walk out without attracting attention back to where you are. it's not like they needed you to unlock the door. Why did the bell ring? Was it an accident?

“They use none. There is a stove. The bell-rope hangs from the wire just to the right of my desk. Whoever rang it must have come right up to the desk to do it. But why should any criminal wish to ring the bell? It is a most insoluble mystery.”

Precisely! I'm sure it's not insoluble, but as the case stands currently, I cannot make it make sense unless it was a mistake. But pulling a bell by accident is a strange sort of accident to have.

A young woman opened the door, who proved to be Mrs. Tangey's eldest daughter. Her mother had not come back yet, and we were shown into the front room to wait. “About ten minutes later a knock came at the door, and here we made the one serious mistake for which I blame myself. Instead of opening the door ourselves, we allowed the girl to do so. We heard her say, ‘Mother, there are two men in the house waiting to see you,’"

That's your serious mistake?

I mean, yeah, it's bad, but I think that is just the most recent in a series.

OK, so either the commissionaire has a wife OR the young woman is also caught up in this affair. It's becoming more convoluted to believe the commissionaire is involved, but if he isn't involved then are we to assume that old woman number 1 was indeed his wife and old woman 2 was an imposter. Or are they both his wife and he just doesn't know she's involved. He is sus, but his involvement makes everything more complicated and to occam's razor the thing, one thief is more likely than a conspiracy.

“Then for the first time the horror of my situation came in its full force. Hitherto I had been acting, and action had numbed thought. I had been so confident of regaining the treaty at once that I had not dared to think of what would be the consequence if I failed to do so."

Percy isn't very good at thinking ahead, apparently.

"It was horrible. Watson there would tell you that I was a nervous, sensitive boy at school."

Maybe that was because people beat you with sticks.

"What though I was the victim of an extraordinary accident? No allowance is made for accidents where diplomatic interests are at stake."

Uh, my dude. This wasn't an accident. This was negligence. You should totally be fired for this. Sorry.

"Here I have lain, Mr. Holmes, for over nine weeks, unconscious, and raving with brain-fever.[...]Slowly my reason has cleared, but it is only during the last three days that my memory has quite returned."

90% that the motive was not political because after 9 weeks there's no way a political threat hasn't already taken the papers and used them. No way of resolving that. But these stories often end with 'well, we can't get the bad guy', so maybe not. But I can't see them doing that in a case of national security because they tend to be fairly patriotic. It has to be somewhere close for there to be any chance of recovering the treaty.

"If you fail me, then my honor as well as my position are forever forfeited.”

You should already have lost your position. The only reason for you keeping it right now is nepotism. You were given a top secret document. You, through negligence, allowed it to be stolen. That's not even a vaguely unreasonable dismissal.

“There is one of the very utmost importance, however. Did you tell any one that you had this special task to perform?”

This is the one sticking point for my Joseph Harrison blame party. How would he have known? Unless he didn't know how important the document was, but then what's even the point?

"The authorities are excellent at amassing facts, though they do not always use them to advantage. What a lovely thing a rose is!”

Holy non sequitur, Batman!

“There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in religion,” said he, leaning with his back against the shutters. “It can be built up as an exact science by the reasoner. Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers our desires, our food, are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers.”

O...kay... Objection: relevance?

“You suspect some one?” “I suspect myself.” “What!” “Of coming to conclusions too rapidly.”

Not helpful, Holmes.

“Then go to London and test your conclusions.” “Your advice is very excellent, Miss Harrison,” said Holmes, rising. “I think, Watson, we cannot do better. Do not allow yourself to indulge in false hopes, Mr. Phelps. The affair is a very tangled one.”

Oof, Miss Harrison is very direct. I like that. I hope she isn't involved, but I can't currently see a motive for her. 'Stop talking about roses and go do your job.' Heh.

“He was cold, but not harsh. I dare say my severe illness prevented him from being that. He repeated that the matter was of the utmost importance, and added that no steps would be taken about my future—by which he means, of course, my dismissal—until my health was restored and I had an opportunity of repairing my misfortune.”

I guess firing someone with brain fever does come across as a bit rude. Maybe I'm just mean.

I hope to conclude the tale in my next email.

But it says 2 of 4, Watson?

I'm still sure that Joseph Harrison has something to do with it. Sure, there's literally 0 evidence of that. He hasn't even been mentioned in this section that I've seen. He has no way of knowing about the document, no evidence that he was there. No evidence of motive (except that his sister is getting married and that makes people commit crimes sometimes apparently). But I don't like him, so I will persist.

We've got a mysterious bell, a fleeing woman who may or may not have been the commissionaire's wife and a document that no one should have known Percy had.

The only people who knew about the document were Percy, his uncle and the woman who came to take his coffee order, as far as we know.

So either one of them told someone, the crime was merely opportunity based and not specific to that document, or one of them committed the crime.

We're going to discount Percy because why would he call in Holmes if he did it himself and he's been pretty clear and explicit in his insistence that he did not tell anyone.

His uncle could have told someone. No doubt other people were aware that a copy needed to be made and could have made extrapolations, but that seems too distanced from the narrative at this point. His uncle could have stolen the treaty himself, but it seems unlikely he'd be involved in treason based on what we've seen of him. We have no motive for his treason.

Would the commissionaire's wife be able to read French legalese? Maybe? Was the woman even the commissionaire's wife. Or perhaps the wife herself is uninvolved. She came, took the coffee... but then how would her imposter know about the document?

Whoever the woman who took the coffee order was, they're the only person who had a chance to see the document. But why would anyone think to impersonate the commissionaire's wife if they didn't already know about the treaty? I keep going round in circles.

And the bell is still weird. Accident or lure? But why lure? How accident? Hmmmm...

[tobiasdrake]

We need to find Dr. Huesca urgently.

Turn right from the entrance and then it's the first left.

All the way down to near the end of the hall.

Last door on the left before the final turn to enter the inner labs.

All the way through the inner lab until we're right on the other side of the wall from where we began.

Take a right and head out the door to the west wing, just twenty feet or so from our starting position.

Turn right and go all the way to the end of the hall again.

Weird. It's a harmless design, but it could stand to be cuter if it's meant to entertain kids.

More to the point, Dr. Huesca's being targeted by a hitman who is on the premises. You even got snippy with me about it because I was looking around instead of hustling. But you're leading me in a time-delaying zig-zag pattern along the longest possible route to reach our destination. And now indulging my curiosity about robot toys.

That's weird, Makoto. Your self-contradicting lack of urgency here is astounding.

This seems super important. We should make a note of it. I have a hunch that one or more of these robots are going to be involved in the latest mystery.

Finally, take a right at the end of the hall to reach the same place we would have been if we'd taken a left rather than entered the inner lab.

We're going to find him dead in there, aren't we? Huesca's our victim this time around?

OH! Nope. He's alive. That's....

I want to say good, but he's an arms manufacturer plotting a coup so "good" and "bad" are relative in this scenario.

Oh, of course. How's life, Huesca? I'm here to blow the lid on everything you're doing here. Think you could let me in so I can gather intel?

Also, there's a hitman after you but honestly it's no skin off my back if they get you. Makes life easier for both me and Makoto. Plus they might be one of my pals so it's better I recuse myself from protecting your life.

You're going to die if you don't open up. .........fuckboy.

No, he's right. Just because he's in the penis section of the lab map, that doesn't mean I had to maximize my word count like that. I'd hang up on me too.

Gonna make a note of that too. That's interesting. Don't know if it means anything but the fact that he's had no person-to-person contact in months is intriguing to my ears.

Yuma. The man is in a high-tech security vault. Inside a heavily guarded restricted area. Accessible only by a high-clearance pass. Deep in the bowels of the earth. Beneath the Citadel of Corpo-Fascism HQ. Packed with billion armed guards.

I would dearly love to know what you could possibly be thinking of that's safer than where he is right now.

I'm sure he's going to turn up dead any second now, but not because this location is trivial to break into.

Fuckboy knows what's up. Get with the program, Yuma.

He said he hates your mask and only likes talking to people with lips. Which is a weird opinion to have, but it could be that simple. He might have a J. Jonah Jameson thing going on.

Really hyping up how impossible it is to reach Huesca. I look forward to solving the mystery of how it was cracked.

[fumikomiyasaki]

i can’t love the way you do - Masaki and Julian

It's Based To note That Even for his Gardevoir like Species Masaki's Emotional Restrictions are Greater just due to his Psychic powers being stronger so it was Stressed Masaki be in control . And like most of his family being Sadistic to varying degrees.

I can't

Masaki was just busy with his schedule sitting in the courtyard of the Evolnation dormitory... as a sigh left his lips seeing Julian come closer and approach him... of course he was there to bother him again... after that last time he kissed him and left him standing there he was not looking forward to their next meeting.

"Say why does a lovely pretty face like you avoid me despite your impulsive decision to kiss me? I thought finally I have a chance to get through to you... I don't mind the cold shoulder, you know I like it but I don't like having no clearance."

"Tch... could you just forget about that?"

"Nope... I can't, you are too interesting to the point I am madly in love with you."

"I can’t love the way you do, you should give it up."

Julian scoffed at his answer sitting next to him.

"Even if... you know I like how mean you are to me... that is enough to replace to the feelings of love."

Masaki gave him a smack in his arm. "You are disgusting really."

"Maybe~ But I can see hopes for us... even if the only emotion I get from you is a cold stare... even if you kick me into the sun... I gladly take anything you are giving me."

"You really are such a headache."

The demon got up his seat and leaned before Masakis face... stealing a kiss from him.

"Now we are even... I leave you to think about it but just know... my love for you probably won't fade... no matter how mean you are to me."

And with his smirk Masaki groaned in annoyance... did he have to be that stubborn.

[purplesurveys]

1726

Do you plan your meals in any way? Given how little I eat, the concept just sounds so foreign to me. I have one meal daily and just go with whatever's available at home – I don't decide on what I eat until I'm already in front of the fridge or pantry.

Have you ever been front row at a concert? Which one(s), and how was the experience? Just once, when I saw Paramore in 2018. It was incredibly fun, and because of that experience I know I'd still be willing to do it again with an artist I really admire.

Initially it felt daunting because I went alone, but once you're there you realize how nobody really gives a fuck about that kind of stuff – you're all there to have fun. That said I let loose as soon as the band showed up and I ended up having a wonderful time.

What's the strongest earthquake you've ever experienced? I'm just not sure about 'strongest.' I've felt more earthquakes than I can count, but they've all been more or less the same magnitude. There have been earthquakes that last quite a while though and it's those that have made me more nervous than usual.

Do you know your best friend's middle name? Both of theirs, yes.

If you have a passport, where do you store it for safekeeping? I have a mini drawer that stores all the Very Important Life Documents I Should Never Lose, so like my passport, birth certificate, NBI clearance and all that stuff.

What's your favourite kind of juice and when did you last drink some? I'm not a fan of juice.

Were you in the scouts when you were young? I wasn't.

How long are your fingernails right now? They're growing out-ish but they don't look too gross yet. I'd trim them before it gets to that point.

Do you like the Scream movies? I was obsessed with the first as a teenager, but I never held the same attachment with the sequels.

What sort of music have you been listening to lately? K-pop, what a surprise...

Are there any bills you need to pay? Not bills but I do have to pay the balance for K-pop merch I recently got by the 25th.

Have you ever been told you look like a celebrity? Yeah I've gotten Olivia Rodrigo and Frankie Pangilinan who themselves are lookalikes. I've also heard Anna Akana more times than I can count.

How many people could sleep in your home? (Not counting floor space, beds and couches only) Around 10, I'd say.

Are you a fast reader? Yes. I may have dropped reading years ago but I've never lost how quick I can be at reading.

Do you own a leather jacket? No, absolutely no use for it in this country.

Is there a university campus in your city or town? It's not technically in *this* city, but then again the Philippines is relatively super small that Metro Manila, where most of the big universities are, is just a stone's throw away. The university I attended is only 30 minutes away on a good day and I drove to and from home everyday.

Who last called you on the phone? Did you pick up? If so, how long did you talk? Somebody related to work, and no I did not pick up. Besides the fact that I had been driving, I don't appreciate people calling because 99.9% of the time it'd work out the same way if they just texted.

What grocery store/supermarket do you shop at most frequently? S&R.

Do you know how to play the card game Hearts? I don't think I've even ever heard of it.

Are you a more of a light or heavy sleeper? Very heavy.

Have you ever done freelance work? What did you do? I have not.

Name four things you can see right now. My electric fan, pillows, handbag, and TV.

Do you charge your phone every day? Well...yes. I usually do by the end of the day since it's also the time when it typically becomes close to dying.

Is your washing machine currently running? No.

How's your energy levels today? Pretty low.

Have you ever torn a muscle? Nopes.

Do you have any cereal in your house at the moment? As far as I know, no.

When was the last time you went out to eat? Where did you go and who with? Monday, I was with Celeste at S Maison and she picked a Chinese restaurant for our dinner.

Is the street you live on short, long, or somewhere in the middle? Short.

Should you be in bed right now? Not necessarily but this is also the last survey I'll be taking for the day. It's currently 11:30 PM so it's still pretty early, but I do already want to snuggle in bed and start watching IG Reels (my usual pre-sleep routine) but I don't think I'll start trying to fall asleep until 1 or 2.

[thefangirlthatwaited]

Encounter (Chapter 103) A Destiny 2 fanfic

Crow x Guardian

"Ok, I'm here, but it seems I'm not the only one." " Caiatl's forces tried to secure this facility ahead of us, but they weren't able to make it past the towers. Keep out of sight." I look out in the distance and see multiple Seraph Towers. "Let me guess. Can't turn them off?" "Nope. You're on your own with this one." "Thanks anyway, Ana. I'll let you know when I'm in." "Could you hurry?  When the Warmind is fully restored, we'll need this location to access the orbital station and its Warsat network." "You know, Clovis. You are more than welcome to help me." I point out." "And how?" "I don't know. Maybe think of something instead of babbling insistently in my ear!" I hear Ana laugh in the background as Clovis mumbles something I don't understand but after that he's quiet. Alone, and with my void I was able to get past all the Hive and Serpah Towers fairly quickly. I thank the stars each day that I have this invisibility. Cayde's greatest gift to me. I enter the bunker and in the distance can her shots. "All right. You're in the bunker. Heads up, I have no idea what internal defences are like. Stay alert." 

I felt like asking if there was anything she did know but I bit my tongue. This wasn't Ana's fault after all. She was doing the best she could with the little intel we had. "Look at the state of this facility. It's an absolute travesty." Clovis grumbles as I jump down to a further part and discover the origin of the shooting. It was Xivu Arath's Hive. "Urgh. Seems the Hive beat us." "Damn. I was hoping we were quick enough." "Pfft. These Hive. Nothing more than pest." "Again, you're more the welcome to help." "Fine. I've re-established Level 1 Security Clearance. Opening the door for you, Guardian." "Oh. Finally! He does know how to help," There was more laughing from Ana and more grumbling from Clovis. At least someone found me funny. The deeper I get into the bunker the less light there is. It was almost pitch black down here. "Hmm, Ana. Would you happen to know why the power isn't on?" I hear beeping from her end before she replies. "Hmm. Power situation down here is pretty bleak. Our enemies are harvesting Arc energy from the reactor. You'll need to restore power to the inner doors to press forward." 

Full chapter on Ao3

[originaltyphoonkryptonite]

Chapter 20: Gala Dress Shopping

Zella pov

I was just finishing getting breakfast ready for me and Cippia when my phone rang. Picking it up, I held it between my right shoulder and ear while adding the finale touches.

"Hello?"

"Hey Zell, I have good news and bad news.", Dick answers me.

"Bad news first."

"I got invited to another gala but Bruce says I have to bring my fiancée."

"I see.....So I have to use my watch?"

"Nope."

"How will I be able to go with you then?"

"The watch I asked a friend to make just came in. It won't hurt you when it nullifies your powers but it can only be used once since it is a prototype."

"OK then now my bad news."

"Huh?"

"I don't have a dress for something like that."

"No problem. We can go shopping since today is my day off and Gus already agreed to help."

"He said he would watch the store and said I had no choice didn't he?"

"Pretty much. Oh wait I have a another call."

We both hang up and Cippia and I eat.

"Behave.", I tell Cippia after we were done. He just goes to sleep under my bed.

I get dressed and had just made it to the bookstore when I saw Artemis and M'gann standing there.

"We came to help you pick out a dress.", M'gann says as she grabs my arm and drags me down the sidewalk.

"So I guess there is a change in plans.", I say.

"Yep. No boys.", Artemis says as she follows us to the store.

"Oh and Dick says it is on him. He gave us enough money to buy a lot of dresses in fact."

"Would that be because you mentioned that I don't have a fancy dress and I would need one?"

"Maybe....OK OK I did.", she bursts out laughing while M'gann giggles.

"I have no say in this do I?"

"Nope. But if you don't feel comfortable with him buying you a dress, I can pay for it instead."

"I can buy one or two thank you very much.", I say as I pout.

They both laugh at me as we reach the store. Each of them grab one of my arms and bring me inside the building. The attendant of the fancy store took one look at us and gave a fake smile before leading us to the dresses. The area she brought us to I could tell they would look awful on me but I tried them on to be nice.

They made me try on some dresses that I thought were pretty but I didn't think I could wear. They just didn't look good on me nor did they feel right when I put them on. After going through the pile that they brought, I change back into my clothes. They go to look around other parts of the store to find the perfect dress for me.

The attendant walks over to and winkles her nose. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I am looking for a simple but elegant gown."

"Follow me please.", she says as she leads me to the clearance area of the store. I smiled as I went over and start to look through the racks. I finally found a dress I liked so I went to try it on.

"Hey Zella you find something?", I hear Artemis ask from the other side of the dressing room door.

"Yeah.", I reply as I step out. I smiled as I looked at myself in the mirror.

"This is perfect.", I say as I look at them.

"It looks great.", M'gann says as she smiles back.

"Dick won't know what hit him.", Artemis says with a smirk.

"I'm not sure if I want that....", I reply with a blush painted on my cheeks.

"Too bad, if you don't buy that dress for the gala I will buy it for you."

"Alright Alright.", I say with my hands in a small surrender gesture.

"Good."

I go to change back and get dragged to the shoe section to find a good pair.

"So the gala is this Saturday right?", M'gann asks as we looked at the shoes.

"Yeah and it is only Thursday.", I reply as I put down a heel I thought was too high.

"Here.", Artemis hands me a pair with just the right height but felt comfortable on my feet. I walk a few steps in them and smile.

"They'll work."

I take them off and walk to the register with the dress. The cashier scans the dress and placed it in a box with the lid closed and was about to scan the shoes when to my surprise Dick walks into the store.

"Hey.", he says once he walks over to me.

"I thought Artemis said no boys?", I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah but since I am paying for the dress, I figured I would need to be in person to do so."

He pays for the shoes and dress before I could even say a thing. He smiles at me then noticed that Artemis and M'gann were standing behind him.

"I know, I know. But I offered to pay for the dress.", he says as he takes the dress and shoes from the counter.

"You need to stop buying me things. Thank goodness that I have a pair of earrings and a necklace to match the dress at home."

"Awe, no more shopping?", he whines but I saw that mischievous look in his eyes.

"You want to do more shopping you can go buy yourself something. I'm sure they have a dress that would just be perfect on your figure and complexion."

Artemis and M'gann burst out in laughter at my reply. Dick chuckles as he hands over the shoe box and dress box. The four of us walk out and went back towards my building. I unlock my door and place my new dress and shoes in my closet. I then notice the time and go to offer to make lunch.

"I'm good.", Artemis says.

"Thank you but I'm fine as well.", M'gann replies.

"I am already ahead of you." Dick says as he went into his apartment and brings out take-out and places it on my counter. We then have lunch together.

[mcrcosplay]

Stuff I was gonna add to the Ichigo post but didn't. Blog time woooooooo.

Next year is going to be very showa era centric for me I think. I've still got ZX and Amazon in the pipeline. OG Rider 1 and 2 are gonna get some love. I still have vul eagle but I need to redo alot on that before I wear it. Honestly I might redo the chest on To Q Ichigo too just so it looks better. Also I've been buying peps for stuff I don't want full 3D printed helmets for just yet and uhhhhhhh. I am doing my first ultra very soon apparently! I was hoping to do Jack but I didn't buy the suit for it while it was still up so uhhhh. I got one of those print suits for cheap. The Tiga ones always look good so I figured it was worth a shot for under 20$. So the original Ultra it is!!! Which is exciting, I'm always happy to give showa era heroes love after all. I'd do Seven too if there were printsuits but, nope. Just his son and I'm not cool enough to do Zero. Sourcing suits for Ultras that live up to my minds eye is hard, so naturally going the cheapest possible option is the only way I'm getting my foot in the door for that. Will I upgrade to a printed helmet once I get more space for helmets? Yeah probably. My big thing going into next year is to wear what I can from the backlog, focus more on rider cosplay, and do what I can to stick to my modular cosplay goals. Hibiki, Agito, ZX and Amazon are my big focus for right now. BUT; and I never said as much on any socials, my goal of one ranger from every 90's sentai is also going pretty well. I have the bare bone basics ready for Red Hawk, already did tiger ranger, did shishi and ryuuranger. And for Kakuranger I'm working on ninja black. But I uh, am also realistically doing Red too for that. Besides thatttttt. Mega Silver is in the pipeline. Which is to say, Stick sold me old helmets again so I have ninja black, mega silver, time green, and gosei red coming. Ontop of a kit of ninja red he bjorked I need to pay him for still. For the Kakurangers I'm doing the suits by hand, silver I'm buying a cheap pre-done zentai of now that I have the option for that. Might do the same for gosei red just because stretch fabric is a pain. Time Green I'm just doing fosshape for the chest on and calling it a day on the metalic green I already have. Filling out the rest of the 90s will be hard depending how I actually feel about the ohrangers (probably doing green). Carranger is probably gonna be blue, and I'll figure out gingaman when I get there. I passed on a gingablue helmet because I'd want the same nylon I already use for my reds, and that's more then I'm willing to put in right now. As for non tokusatsu stuff it's just. Stuff I also needed contacts for. Little bit of spidey ideas. Short jacket star lord, or just long jacket again. Probably both honestly. And I've had MK Reptile in the closet for like two years. That's gonna be my summer default if it's friggin 90 all season long again. Anything else will be determined by halfbaked desires and spirit halloween clearance. Lion Maru if I can get a good base going for it. Some indy video game stuff maybe. More obscure literal who japanese super hero stuff if I can muster it. We shall see~.

[donnabroadway]

Good man or God man

Not every man is graced to be a Godly husband, just like every woman is not graced to be a wife and mother. I remember when one of my older friends told me not everyone is meant to be married, I nearly panicked and thought of reasons why he was wrong but as is the case with many young people, as I near his age, I realize he was right. Not everyone has the anointing of being a husband or wife and it takes even more grace and anointing

I understand the temptation to speed up the waiting process. To finally give that guy you put in the friendzone years ago a chance but do it sis. There are guys who simply happen to be your friends that may be your spouse but that hasn't been revealed yet and guys who have expressed interest in you and the feelings are not mutual. Listen to those instincts ladies, just because a guy seems nice and seems to be interested in you, doesn't mean you need to give him a chance. There is always the small possibility that you put your husband in the friend zone but trust me, your spirit analyzed him and said nope for a reason, plus I have heard too many stories of women finally giving that guy a chance and he ends up dogging her out due to resentment and the fantasy is always better than the reality and just like when Amnon just had to have Tamar, incest aside because ew but ride with me, and he concocted an entire scheme, with the help of his brother Jonadab, to force his half sister to lay with him and once he raped her, he felt more contempt for her than the love her claimed to have once felt and banished her. There are some people who will seemingly work hard to pursue you and court you and once they have you, they will feel contempt towards you. Everyone has flaws, even the most seemingly perfect and complete person and too often the rose colored glasses have us blind to their true nature. Don't go through your friend zone. It is like going through the clearance rack. You saw it and you didn't want it, so let it go.

Before you ask for the yoke of marriage, you need to really consider if you want the responsibilities of marriage and family. Do you really have space in your life for kids? Do you want kids? I feel like people take sex and reproduction too lightly. Too many people have kids that they do not want and those kids end up either in an already strained foster care system, living with relatives in an informal adoption, treating their kids with resentment or contempt, or worse and there are too many stories of worse. Taking family pictures are cute, the wedding pictures will get you a lot of likes and may even go viral but do you want to rush home in the middle of the day for an emergency, as a single woman you can pop a bowl of popcorn and pour a glass of wine and watch your favorite smut TV show but when you get married, your time is no longer your own. I know people are saying that social media is making marriage look bad, it's just that marriage needs better PR and many happily married people don't want to risk their marriage for social media likes and fodder, so they keep their business to themselves but nothing is more frustrating than being in a dead marriage that no one wants to revive. Many women get online to vent about being a married single mother and I guess to get support because their family and friends are tired of hearing her complain just to stay and even worse, tell their partner what was discussed and now there is division between the friend and the partner, only for themselves and their marriage to be dragged on multiple social media platforms. Plus, if you want to stay happily married, keep people out your business. All people, not just family, strangers on the internet count as well.

Too many women marry the good guy and not the God guy. Too many men marry the check list woman, she cooks, she cleans, she's beautiful, he enjoys having sex with her, she makes money, she's kind but he doesn't really love her, he loves someone else but that person may not be suitable for marriage, so he chose the better option not really loving her. It is unfair to marry someone you don't love simply because you are ready to be married. Marriage is not easy and you need God's grace and his hand to make it work and rushing ahead of God to get married so you can meet some imaginary deadline that you have in your head, probably isn't the best course of action. I know waiting is hard but you know what else is hard, being stuck in a dead-end marriage waiting for the kids to turn 18, so you can finally leave.

[dine-on-nervine]

What Happened In the Past Year???

How many relationships were you in? There were two. Rang out the old, rang in the new.

What did you do for Valentine's day? Not much, the celebration part was the following weekend.

Did you recieve your driver's license? Renewed it.

Did you graduate high school? I'm not in Club Penguin.

Did you graduate college? I predate the World Wide Web.

Did you move out on your own? No.

Did you get arrested? No.

Did you get a speeding ticket? No, but that's not saying I didn't deserve a few.

What was the best thing you got for Christmas? A blue tin of buttons and sewing notions cookies.

Did you fall in love? I certainly fell into it.

Did you become an aunt or an uncle? Not by my neices and nephews AFAIK.

Did you have a baby? Nope.

Did you get engaged? I got disengaged!

Did you get married? Nope.

Did someone close to you die? No, however my best friend's mother passed so "close of close".

How many funerals did you go to? Zero. Because the deceased requested only family attend her funeral. I had permission from my friend, but I respected her wishes.

How many weddings? Zero.

Did you turn 18? Not even mentally.

Did you turn 21? Quite awhile ago.

Did you turn 30? Also not a recent event.

Did you have a car accident? No, but by damn the roads and weather wanted me to recently.

Were you old enough to vote this year? This question was technically answered four questions ago.

How many jobs did you have throughout the year? Just the one I've had for three years.

Did you get a new pet? Nope.

Did you get cheated on? I can't prove that happened, so I'm just going to say "no, but I did have a girlfriend that swapped her boyfriend for a daughter-in-law" which can be demonstrated.

Did you cheat on someone? I am very proud to say Nope.

Did you start at a new school? Never again.

Did you make any new friends? I guess my girlfriend I met in November counts.

Did you get a new car? Nope, but I did just buy duct tape for the one I own!

Did you drastically change your hairstyle? Nope.

Did you go out of the country? Yes, I was in Canada in October.

Did you keep your last New Year's resolution? Half of them.

What was the best movie you saw in theaters? Not sure I ever went to the theatre this last year.

What was the best book you read? I still haven't finished "Shady Characters".

What was your greatest accomplishment? Bouncing back.

What was the best cd released this year? Depeche Mode "Memento Mori".

Did you get a new tattoo? Yes! Thanks for asking! After a decade of plotting it, I finally got the 1919 Oliver Printype #9's semicolon on my left ankle about twenty times larger than life.

A new piercing? Nope.

Are you still dating the same person you dated at the start of the year? Nah, she ditched me on October 5. Life goes on without her.

The Lasts of the Past

How old were you on your last birthday? I am surprised I didn't receive a "hey dude!" from AARP.

Who was your last kiss? Tanya.

Who was the last person to tell you "I love you"? Tanya.

Who was the last person you spoke to in person? My landlady, because I wanted to get clearance for Tanya to come over for the night day after tomorrow.

Who was your last missed call? I'd have to look but I don't think I've missed any calls lately.

Who was your last phone call to? Tanya.

[coreytasticc]

Oh actually before I sleep, there was another thing:

Earlier today I had to dig out the wooden frame from the raised bed I don't have time for anymore (😭😭😭) and I'd set about loosening the mud around it so I could lever it out with another spade. A few minutes into this process, my dad comes out and starts questioning the plan; saying it's gonna need digging out from the inside, might need to disassemble it, other stuff.

And I, already tired from work, shut him down. Nope. I have a plan, I'm already working on it, let's not overcomplicate it. And then I do it. And then it works.

I get the new spade wedged in, get him to stand on it, I get the old spade wedged higher, and that gives us enough clearance to lift the whole thing out.

Listen, cunt, you raised me. Have a little faith in your own technique and thought processes, eh?