#I want to know exactly what family members Tyler will be interacting with

[raven-delamuerte]

Nothing will humble you more than creating a coherent family tree for the Addams clan.

I have gone through every single piece of Addams media this past month to make my own version, and let me tell ya, I am no longer alive, I merely exist

From the comics in 1938 to Wednesday 2022, just pages and pages of information about the Addams and the Frump.

At least I'm done tho, even if I look like this:

Good news for the fanfic writers, since the Addamses are "nomads by nature" you can pretty much add whatever background you want to your cousin/uncle/aunt oc.

Also I'm not entirely sure, but I think the 90's movies had a man playing a family member, who was repeatedly referred to as "she" so 👀

[heartmix]

Unwritten Rule - Joe Burrow

Pairing: Joe Burrow x Taylor!reader

Word Count: 3k+

Warning: coach's little sister trope, talks of hazing

A/N: originally a nick bosa fic but he's a trump supporter so no thanks. also got tired of editing this after so long.

Masterlist / NFL Masterlist

It was an unwritten rule not to date any of the coaches' family members. Especially the head coach's little sister. That was the first rule that the veterans in the locker room told him on the first day of camp. Joe was quite confused about why that was the first unwritten rule that his teammates would tell him. Did she work for the organization? How often would she be around? All of these questions and more ran through the quarterback's mind. 

His questions were answered when the second week of camp came around. He saw you there with the coach and sporting a camera in your hands. You're the one that makes everyone look good in the public eye.

"Remember the rule, Burrow." Tyler Boyd said, snapping the rookie out of his trance as they headed to the practice field.

To everyone else, it seemed like he was avoiding you by not interacting with the media which was a good look to his teammates, but he wasn't exactly doing that. He tried to stand out more not only for the coaches, but to be caught on camera by you so hopefully, he would get more attention and a small chance you'd approach him so he didn't have to. No one batted an eye to what he was doing, figuring he was that rookie who wanted to show off like most do. 

His plan seemed to work because he got talked about more thanks to the coaches and your footage which tends to be covered a lot in the media. What shocked him about his plan was that you came up to talk to him, he couldn't believe it worked out.

"Hey, LSU, wait up!" She called out to him as he went for a bathroom break inside the facility where no one was except for a janitor in the halls.

"Oh um hey." He said not really knowing how he should talk to the girl, he didn't want to say the wrong thing and scare her off.

"I just wanted to say that you are one of the best rookies this team has had in a while. Frankly, they really need your talent." She said, making the football player smile and blush at her praises.

"Oh, thanks."

"I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Y/n Taylor," She said holding out her hand to shake which he gladly did.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Joe." He said introducing himself.

"Likewise. I also wanted to ask you if you want your training camp content. I usually send you the folder and every week I add to it. Some players like to keep their training camp content, most of the time it's the rookies since it's their first year." She said motioning to her camera.

"Yeah, sure that'll be great."

"Okay, do you have a way I can contact you? A phone number or email? I usually have your guy's email on my record already, but they haven't given it to me yet. I know they are a bit preoccupied with the hype you bring to the season." At this Joe couldn't stop the blushing that was making its way onto his cheeks. He hoped she took it from the heat of the summer training.

"I like messaging better. I have PTSD from emails from college." Joe said, making her chuckle. He could get used to hearing that sound.

"Tell me about it. Although I don't think I escaped the emails with this job." She said before taking his number down on her phone before bidding farewell and walking back to the field. 

It wasn't that long for the photographer to text him about the content like she promised. In fact, the first time she contacted him was the night that she obtained his number much to the rookie's surprise. Joe figured he made the best decision to give the girl his number. He didn't expect them to talk as often as they did. It started off with a simple question about how he wanted his training camp content to be compiled then in lead up to giving him pointers on his work, she was a Taylor after all. 

It got to the point where he didn't realize them hanging out in person was a normal thing. No way did they hang out at the facility where the Bengals organization could see, heaven forbid he broke the rule. If they did talk it seemed professional and limited like she did with other players.

"I wish I could give you tequila for your nerves." She said, handing him an orange juice before sitting on his couch. It was another one of their weekly hangouts. Today was the day before the first game of the season and nerves were high.

"Tequila does the opposite." He chuckled taking a sip from his drink.

"So what, good old-fashioned beer does it? Oh, or are you a classic man with neat bourbon?" He shrugged not knowing the answer. Sure he drank both seeing as his college days were just months ago.

"I guess just beer does it."

"Well just think of it this way, if you're nervous it means you care. With it being normal for something as big as this, don't let it consume you."

"Well, I wouldn't be so nervous if I didn't have all the media looking at me." He said with a smirk side-eyeing her playfully watching the smile spread onto his face.

"Oh, so it's me making you look good through a lens is why you're getting the media coverage and not because you are a first-round draft pick? Okay, then Burrow." You shook your head while he chuckled. After all this time he will never get used to her compliments. 

More nights like that tend to happen as days go by. Even on some practice days when one didn't feel like driving that day, they would catch a ride with each other. It was a miracle no one suspected a thing. The younger Taylor knew about the unwritten rule which she thought it was stupid of her brother to start it. Even though they weren't dating it could come across like they were so she "followed" the rule for Joe. She knew how badly the rookies could get hazed from the older ones, she didn't want that for him.

A few weeks went by, a few weeks with them "sneaking around". Everything they were doing was borderline relationship territory. That got the quarterback to think why weren't they dating. They have been following the rule like they were and he for sure liked her so why don't they give it a shot?

"You want to go to a very public place well into the season with me?" She raised an eyebrow at the man who picked her up from her place as they began driving around. Although Cincinnati wasn't Hollywood, there would still be people out during the night and more importantly, Joe would be the center of attention if he was spotted.

 "Oh come on, I want to have like a nice night out with you, we don't got work and you can even sleep over at mines' after." He pleaded making the girl smile.

"Sounds like a date Burrow." 

"You wouldn't mind?" He questioned making her chuckle at his seemingly nervous tone opposite to his confidence just a second ago. This seemed to be the trend of him getting surprised when his plan would work.

"Only if you asked properly."

He quickly pulled into a nearby supermarket making her raise an eyebrow at the random location. Before she could unbuckle he told her to wait and he'll be right back, only growing her suspicions. After about 5 minutes he came in the car with red roses making her laugh at the gesture. He knew that he had her swoon already.

"What do you say about going out with me on a date?" He asked handing her the flowers.

"Oh, you know how to get my heart beating don't you." She grabbed the flowers smelling it before admiring them.

"So is that a yes?" He asked with a smile even though he knew the answer, he wanted it to come out of her mouth so he could hear it and savor the moment.

"Yes, going out on a date is exactly what I have been hoping for." 

With it being night time the paparazzi weren't really scattered, they were in places like the clubs or any news about a place they heard about a celebrity being. So there was a low chance of being caught by them. Although they weren't in the clear because of the possibility of fans, there didn't seem to be much out and in a talking mood that night. They settled on a Korean BBQ place that wasn't as busy then going to the movies afterward. Before they knew it the night date came and went with the night ending up back at his place stuffed and tired. 

"You are not too bad with planning a date," she said pulling him onto the couch with her as she snuggled into his side while he wrapped his arm around the back of the couch. 

"I'm glad you like our official date." He said smiling down at the girl. 

"We should make this a regular thing." the girl said absentmindedly. This was one of the most chill dates she's ever had. 

"Dating?" He asked with a raised eyebrow totally confused as to what you were referring to. 

"You actually want to date me? Like you want to deal with me?" She asked now fully looking up at him with shock in her eyes. It was one thing to go out on dates and it was another to be dating. 

"Baby, you are amazing who wouldn't want to be with you? I'd be lucky if I got to call you mine."

"Then why don't you."

"Do you want to be mine, baby?" He asked with a half-smirk half-smile already knowing the answer but still being giddy that it was actually happening. Everything involving her surprised Joe.

"Hmmh I'd love to rookie."

After that moment the rookie could not have been more excited. It was very evident in everything he did. He smiled more, he was more cheery with his teammates, and most of all he played better. Many of his teammates found it strange while the coaches let it go, if he was playing better and he seemed happier it was good for them. It did make it hard for them not to interact too long with each other at practices or games, but no one found out which was good. Well, it was good until they did get spotted.

"Aye Burrow come over here for a second." He heard the voice of Boyd say in a tone he did not like. He was hesitant but went over there as asked.

"What's up?" 

"Why did you have to break the rule?"

"Which rule?" He questioned even though he had a feeling of what they were talking about.

"Oh come on don't play stupid. We saw you kiss her after doing a handshake before you guys parted ways when you went to 'check' something." The vet said making him mentally sigh.

The rookie stood there speechless. What was he supposed to say? What could he say? He was not ready and didn't prepare for a conversation in case they got caught. He was naive to think they weren't going to get caught. Honestly, he did not want to walk on eggshells with his wording so he decided to stay quiet seeing that it was the best option or the only option.

"We told you not to break it. It's a bad idea to be with her." Sam said shaking his head at the rookie while everyone made a sound of agreement.

"Wait why? You didn't tell me all of that." He now said getting defensive over her. Why would they say this type of shit? What was so bad about her? The fact that her brother is the head coach is not the worst thing in the world.

"You thinking banging the coach's sister is a good idea? You must be out of your damn mind. That shit doesn't look good."

"Yeah, whatever." He said to the small group that seemed to really care about this topic before walking away to get ready for the game.

While heading out in not the best mood that didn't stop him from playing like he normally did. What took him out of that mood was seeing her with her camera on the sidelines. They never spoke a single sentence while on the sideline of a game, although today she sensed something was different. She went around taking pictures of the team till she reached him.

"Hey, you gonna drop that frown?" She said as she took his picture of him from the side.

"I will now that you are here." He said honestly as any bad thoughts left his mind once he heard your voice.

"I just want to tell you that you are amazing. Make some plays for my lens huh," she said holding up her camera and making him chuckle.

"Yeah sure, I'll do it for your camera." He said while you playfully shook your head walking away. 

That was all he needed to put on an amazing performance like he has been doing week after week. Did he care that he broke the rule? Not really, I mean why would he? He has been the happiest he has ever been and he's also been playing the best he's ever played. If she is making him a better person and a better player he would choose her any day.

"Can I tell you something?" He said as they walked hand in hand on the way up to his apartment. 

"Anything." 

"You are my good luck charm, do you know that?" The football player said looking down at her, giving her hand a squeeze saying he meant it. 

"I did not know that, but now that I think about it you have been playing better." She said mimicking his smile and squeezed his hand back. 

"And I'm happier." He added bending down for a kiss before the doors to the elevator opened. 

"Well so am I." She smiled back after the kiss. 

"Another thing is that some of the guys found out." He quickly let out once they entered the door to his apartment. 

"Really? Is that why you were upset today? They giving you shit?" she asked concerned for him, not that he can't take it, as she stated it was a stupid rule. 

"Yeah, and they said I shouldn't be with you and shit. But I really don't care about what they think. Once I saw you everything left my mind and at that moment I realized that no one is going to make me change the way I feel about you." He said making the younger girl stare at him in awe.

"Holy shit I love you." She blurted out making them both laugh.

"Oh come on, I said some sappy ass shit for once and you ruin it." He joked which she chuckled at. 

"To be fair I thought I said it only in my mind."

"Well, I love you too." He said leaning in for a kiss which she gladly gave him. 

After that, it seemed like they could care less if they got caught, of course, the older Taylor didn't know yet which is why they were still a bit wary of their surroundings when they were at work. The team wasn't totally on board with the relationship after hearing the unwritten rule for years, but it wasn't their relationship to get into, that and the fact that the lady with the camera knew what they said which was scary whenever they were near her. 

The week before the playoffs. The team's spot was already secured which is why the nerves were really low this game, a chill game if you will. It was an alright day to be holding that camera. She knew that they weren't going to get as amazing plays, so she stuck to pictures only for the game. Although she promised to film some of the plays where Joe was on the field, boy was she glad she did. After an amazing save from almost being sacked, he saw an opening and ran it in for a 35-yard touchdown. After doing a quick show-off celebration moment he saw that his girl was recording and decided to run in her direction and picked her up spinning around forgetting that thousands if not millions were watching, one of those was his coach.

"Woah big guy, a touchdown!" She said after he put her down but still held her by the hips.

"My good luck charm, thank you." He said smiling down at her before taking off his helmet.

"Babe I didn't do anything."

"You seem to be doing a whole lot." The voice of the one and only Zac Taylor said making the two scared. 

"Kyle.." She went on in a warning tone but got cut off by him.

"So are you the reason my rookie has been playing better?" He questioned which confused both of them.

"Yeah, I guess so." She answered hesitantly looking at Joe with a raised eyebrow. Any moment she was waiting for them to get chewed out. 

"Are you the reason for her being happier?" Coach now turned to his player asking him. 

"I believe so," he answered scared of what was to come next.

"I'm glad we all benefit. Don't make that celebration an every-game thing, maybe a once-a-month thing." He said ruffing the younger Taylor's hair and smiling at them before walking away.

"Holy shit you had to tell him like that huh." She smacked his chest, well his padding.

Shyly and with a blush he said, "Sorry it was in the moment."

"I didn't say I didn't like it. Tomorrow's date night, you can pick wherever you want. Now go back over there otherwise we'll get in trouble." She said pointing to the bench where the rest of the offensive line was sitting. Half of them with shocked faces the coach didn't do anything and the other half with smirks, proud of their boy.

"Can I get a kiss?" He said with a smirk making her roll her eyes.

"Quick one." She responded as he leaned down for a small peck before he started to walk away.

"Hey, rookie. Picture?" She called out waving her camera making him laugh. She got the camera up in time for his laugh and a wink that he threw her way. She was definitely his good luck charm.

[foryourdiary]

[ TOM HOLLAND, HE/HIM, CISMALE ]  —  [ TYLER PRUITT ]  is a child of  [ TYCHE ]  with the power of  [ JINX and LUCK ABSORPTION ] .  they were born in  [ 1997 ]  and have been in nemean lion since  [ 2017 ] .  with the change, they  [ ARE TRAINING IN ]  the  [ STANDARD ]  role which makes sense since they’re usually  [ CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO STUPID BETS and OVERALL BEING THE WORST ] .  if you’d like to meet them try the  [ MOON ]  building .  —   [ JINX ]: the power to make other people unlucky. (cannot be used on oneself, the longer the effects, the more exhausted the user becomes) [LUCK ABSORPTION]:   the power to absorb luck energy from one’s surroundings. (requires great concentration and effort, can only absorb whatever limited potential luck is in the objects/people/surrounds in their vicinity)

tw: car accident, death

though tyler’s father, an already incredibly successful lawyer, knew exactly what his son tyler would be after knowingly having an affair with tyche, the goddess of luck, that didn’t mean he was all that excited about having a child to begin with.

his father enjoyed being a single man, using his wealth to attract women, usually women significantly younger than him, in their 20s to his late 40s.

when tyler was born, the luck that emanated from his son excited mark pruitt, and suddenly being a father didn’t seem so bad.

it was an inconsistent thing, until tyler grew old enough to start controlling the absorption of luck around him, to bring it into himself, and share some of that with his father: a missing piece of evidence in a case would suddenly turn up, the opposing side’s star witness would slip up on a lie on the stand, things like that.

but just like his father, tyler was also selfish, and started using these powers for his own good fortune as he entered his preteen and teen years.

making other people unlucky allowed him to win every baseball game, taking in the luck around him helped him be the guy all the cute girls noticed first, and it meant that when his father finally settled down, he at least chose someone tyler could tolerate.

tyler was 16 when his father married his 24 year old “girlfriend” who happily confided with tyler that she was here to pay for medical school, just like tyler enjoyed the fruits of his father’s labor (or lack thereof) with his expensive cars and big house to throw parties in every weekend.

the two became allies, a woman tolerating a loveless marriage for the sake of getting through medical school to pay for her father’s medical debt, and a boy who, as he got older and older, resented that he was used as a pawn by a man who didn’t love him. 

tyler was in his second year of college when his family was attacked by a monster, and in a moment of fearing for his own life, his father did nothing to try and protect his wife or his son, instead protecting himself when he got in the car and drove away. It looked like the end of tyler and his stepmother who was more like a big sister when he was protected by fighters from nemean lion.

they hadn’t been fast enough to protect tyler’s father though, who in his haste to escape, ran a red light and was killed instantly in a head on collision. it was almost laughable, if it hadn’t hurt to know that tyler’s father died worried about only himself, with no love spared for his son.

and he lost his stepmother, who actually did step in the line of fire for him, just moments before he was rescued, just seconds short of saving her life.

so he headed off to nemean lion with more inheritance than he could ever spend, and no concept of what it was to care about anyone, or be cared about in return.

personality:

persuasive

venturesome

unfoolable

arrogant

judgmental

inconsiderate

headcanons:

tyler learned absolutely nothing about being a better person from watching his father die, if anything it’s just made him more “what’s the point” about life and doing whatever he wants

he’s obscenely wealthy, his dad had a lot of wealth from using tyler to manipulate investments

slut alert

he’s not cruel so much as he just doesn’t care much about how his actions affect people and he definitely will not call you back in the morning

potential connections:

disclaimer: i am not interested in plotting with or interacting with members who are under the age of eighteen. sorry <3 anyone wishing to do anything romantic with tyler should be over the age of twenty. just a personal boundary of mine, thank you for understanding.

sighs deeply…. hookups

a bestie

a roommate pls

someone tyler hits on all the time who constantly rejects him but lowkey flirts back… you know exactly what i’m talking about

this is super random but i was thinking tyler’s stepmom could have had a younger sister who blames tyler and his family for what happened to her (they wouldn’t be entirely wrong???) so like if anyone ever brings in a new char and wants to hash out that connection lmk

i’m open to most things, let’s hash some stuff out!

[crimsonbluemoon]

4 , 2 and 8 for the prompts and H2OVanoss :)

Okay this took way too long. >.

AU: MafiaTrope: Enemies to loversPrompt: “wait, wait. say that again. please.”

Pairing: H2O Vanoss

Warning: Slight gore/violence cause its mafia and shit. 

“Where the hell did they get this many guys?” Vanoss swore when he ducked behind another box, hearing wood bursting from the bullets that shot through the warehouse. His eyes scanned the area, checking on the status of his gang. Basically’s arm was bleeding through the bandage that Moo had wrapped around it, proving the wound was far worse than his right-hand man wanted to admit. 

“Bigger question; why aren’t they shooting at you?” Wildcat’s swear was louder than the fight, jumping up to pepper the other crew with bullets. Despite his aggressive attack, Vanoss knew the grim truth; they’d been ambushed. It was meant to be a simple deal, and Vanoss hadn’t thought the smaller gang was a threat. That’d been why he left most of his men back at the hideout; they were mid-investigating a mysterious gang that had recently showed up on the west side of the city. 

But apparently, from the grins of the west side gang now surrounding the warehouse, the smaller gang had chosen a side. And it wasn’t Vanoss’s. 

“I can’t get a signal out to the guys; they must have a jammer with them.” Marcel’s voice was strained, almost on the side of hopeless. 

“Shit!” This time it was pain that snapped in Wildcat’s shout, and red pooled from his side from the bullet’s contact. 

“What’s the plan, Vanoss?” Moo’s voice shook, and Vanoss gritted his teeth at his own stupidity. He didn’t have a plan. They weren’t going to get out of this alive at this rate. The set up was too simple, why hadn’t he picked up on the classic bait-and-switch-

“Need some help?” Vanoss jerked his head at the voice above him, eyes wide when seeing the crazy smile shining from the rafters. 

“Delirious?” A gun was twirled in the air before a whistle shot through the air, and the visual of men dropping from the rafters was breath-taking. The show caught the other gang off guard, leaving them helpless to the spray of bullets rained down on them. Cartoonz laughed while he dropped down with ease Vanoss knew wasn’t faked, aiming his shots into the lackey’s foreheads. Anyone who aimed their guns at Cartoonz dropped like flies in seconds. A shift on a higher beam and a flash of a grey blindfold proving their sniper, Ohmwrecker, was not letting Cartoonz get hurt. Overwhelming the troops from behind, Squirrel and Gorilla were trading witty barbs while they took on the grunts on the ground. Blood splashed over their clothes from the deadly assault. 

“Hey there, Owl-man.” And in the middle of the chaotic fray was their leader. Delirious was known for his crazy antics, and his ruthlessness was almost as crucial to his personality as his unpredictability. Delirious and his motley crew were on nobody’s side but their own, and the crazed clown could decide to attack any crew he felt deserved it over breakfast. Vanoss had been on the wrong side of Delirious’s switchblade a few times in earlier years, especially when Vanoss’s crew had first started in the east bay. Delirious always had tricks up his sleeve, tampering with guns or ruinings trades between rival gangs just to get under Vanoss’s skin. They’d even fought once, both of their gangs simply watching their leaders beat the shit out of each other. Vanoss still remembered the unusual rush of heat in his stomach at the bloody smile Delirious had worn after the scuffle. The feeling had lingered long after the sprained wrist and bruised ribs. 

Vanoss didn’t really know what Delirious thought of him. The anger and hatred from before was long gone. They didn’t fight every time they met anymore. In fact, Vanoss realized Delirious and his crew had started hanging around his own more, and the duo tended to warn the other when they planned to make a move of power or started a turf war with another gang. Once, Cartoonz had saved Terroriser from getting jumped, and Panda returned the favor after Squirrel stumbled into the wrong neighborhood without his piece. Neither tried to encroach on the other’s territory anymore, despite it sharing many lines in the city. When Delirious snuck into Vanoss’s office at night ‘out of boredom’ at his hangout, Evan didn’t worry about his life as much as he once did. Sure, he still didn’t know Delirious or any of his gang’s actual names. Evan also didn’t share his own, keeping a barrier between them. Still, he never felt the twitching need to grab the gun he had strapped on his thigh, no matter how close the two sat in the darkness of the night.

“What are you doing here?” Vanoss asked, Delirious scanning behind Vanoss before he aimed his gun at the fray of men trying to run away.

“Got a tip.” Three easy shots took out two of the men, while the final shot was shifted to blow out the final grunt’s knee. Looking gleeful at the explosion of blood, Delirious shucked the gun over his shoulder, the strap keeping it close to his back. Then his blue eyes bore back down at Vanoss, his laugh growing at Vanoss’s scowl. “Said a bird might have been set up.” 

“We were doing fine without-”

“Ohm, get out of your damn nest and bring the first aid kit. This kid’s hurt.” Cartoonz’s voice cut off Vanoss’s protest, the older gang member helping Brock move Marcel to a flat surface. 

“This one, too.” Gorilla had his hand over Tyler’s side, keeping pressure and an even keel voice. “But I think the brats are both gonna live.” 

“We’re not brats,” Basically grumbled, his hiss loud after Cartoonz smacked the side of his head.  “Ow, hey! What the hell?” 

“I think you were in diapers when I shot my first gun.” Vanoss watched Cartoonz and Basically started to bicker as Ohm rushed over with his kit, Brock’s face panicked while trying to stop the fight. He only let his attention linger for a moment before turning back to Delirious, who had already moved to the man he’d left bleeding out in the entrance of the warehouse. Surprised at how silent the other leader had been in his movements, Evan moved after him, wondering why he’d left the last man alive. 

“-so if you like that particular part of your body attached, you’ll tell me why they’re after Vanoss.” He caught the tail end of the playful threat from Delirious, the knife weaving in and out of his fingers in obvious meaning. 

“No-not trying to kill him!” Fear that Delirious had earned was filling the wounded grunt’s words. “Kill his people!”

“Who wants my guys dead? What do they gain from that? And why would they want to kill my people, but not me?” Vanoss asked, picking up on the avoidance of the man’s eyes. 

“Their plan…” The hesitation of the sentence made Delirious growl, kicking into the ribs of the man once with his steel boots.

“Spill your shit or your dick is mine!” Evan wanted to point out how stupid the comment sounded (was he trying to threaten or seduce?), but another hit finally parted the other’s lips.

“He wants Vanoss as his!” Gasping, it took a few shaky breaths for the man to continue. “Thinks if he…isolates him, kills his gang…he’ll own Vanoss, take him in. From some guy named Jonathan. ‘Own the Owl-man’ or something like that.” 

The twitch of Delirious’s shoulders and the long silence sent a chill down Vanoss’s spine.     

“Wait, wait. Say that again.” There was a murderous edge in Delirious’s eyes when he stepped onto the bleeding knee of the other man. His smile took a twisted darker edge hearing the man’s whimpers, then added pressure. “Please.”

“Delirious.” Vanoss didn’t know why the focus on his life made the other’s normally light-hearted nature fizzle out so fast, or why it squeezed around his heart. “He’s gonna go unconscious-”

“If you pass out, I’ll chop you up and feed you to your family. I’ll make sure they know every piece, every bite, is you. Tell me exactly what he said.” Gone was the goofy threats and half-fumbled words; here was the man that made even the strongest of gangsters quiver. People thought that Cartoonz really ran the gang, and that Delirious was simply too distracted or unsure to keep the strong men under his control. Vanoss once thought that, too; Cartoonz tended to snap at Delirious and give far more sass in the few interactions Vanoss had seen than he thought a right hand man should. 

But in these moments, the ones where only people Delirious trusted or weren’t long for this earth got to see, Delirious was death incarnate.   

“Said…said ‘I want Jonathan know I’m here. I wan to own his Owl-man’. He didn’t say who Jonathan was or-or what he had to do with Vanoss, but-that’s all, I swear.” Delirious watched the grunt squirm on the floor without emotion, his eyes unfocused with a haunted look that made Vanoss swallow. A heartbeat later, Delirious had his gun in his hand, no hesitation in his face when blowing the other’s brains out. One shot became two, and Evan stared helplessly as several more were launched into the twitching corpses’s mutilated face. Delirious’s gun ran out from how many times he shot, and even still he tried to shoot.  

“Delirious.” Softly, Vanoss moved forward, hand hesitant to curl over the hand that kept pulling the trigger. “You can stop. He’s dead.”  

“He’s not.” Somehow, Vanoss knew they weren’t talking about the same he. Once vacant, the blue of Delirious’s eyes blazed with overwhelming anger, eyes slowly turning to Evan. Rage was there, but deeper, Vanoss could see something possessive break the hostility. “But he will be.”

Unsure how to process the statement, Vanoss didn’t speak, watching Delirious shrug off his hold and stalked back into the warehouse. Slowly, Vanoss turned his eyes back down to the body bleeding out by his feet. He wasn’t sure who was after him, or why, but it seemed Delirious did. And he’d taken it personally, though Vanoss didn’t know why. 

But he planned to find out.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #341

“anger, misery, you’ll suffer unto me”

Would you risk your life to save a total stranger? I don't think so. Have you ever trashed your ex’s car after an argument? No, and I never would. Grow up. Have you ever done something because of peer pressure you are ashamed of? I don't believe so, no. Have you ever been embarrassed to introduce your parents to anyone? No. Would you leave a note on a car claiming responsibility if you damaged it? Yeah; guilt would eat me alive otherwise. Have you ever used someone's handicapped parking pass to get a parking spot? Fucking ew, no. Have you ever held back a well-deserved compliment because you were jealous? No. Do you guilt people into giving you what you want? Ugh, no. Would most people consider you better than average looking? Ha, no. For yourself, would you rather have a perfect body or high IQ? Give me the perfect body, living in my horrible one has affected my mental health badly enough. I'm fine with having a moderate IQ. I just want to feel happy in my own skin. Have you ever embarrassed some intentionally in public? Wow, no. Have you ever used a false ID? Also no. Are you embarrassed to tell people your job? I'm embarrassed to tell people I don't HAVE a job. Do you remember the first conversation you had with the person you have feelings for? I don't. I'm sure it was RP-related and not friendly, but I don't remember the exact convo. Have you ever got a D or F on your report card? I want to say no; I think the lowest I ever got was a C. If you had twins, would you give them rhyming names? Ugh, no. I'm sorry if you're into it, but I'm just not. I would want to ensure they knew their uniqueness and individuality was seen. Is there anyone that you wish was IN your life who used to be? There's a large number of those kinds of people. What brings out the worst in you? Probably when I'm building up towards a PTSD meltdown. I get VERY short and snappy and am convinced everyone hates and wants to leave me. My mouth also has NO fucking leash, and I know I can say very mean things that I'll regret later. What do you prefer, Skittles or Starbursts? Skittles. Mike & Ikes or Jolly Ranchers? Jolly Ranchers for sure. What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? Waffles (with syrup). Don't knock it 'til you try it, I'm telling you. What are some wild animals commonly found where you live? Besides birds obviously, there's squirrels, deer, opossums, raccoons... Have you ever had a lucid dream? I think I've had just one. What's your biggest problem at the moment? Probably my anxiety having stunted my growth in so many areas. Have you ever turned down a job offer? I don't think so, no. What's the longest hospital stay you've had? For what? I think my longest was almost two months for suicidal thoughts. Two months might sound long, but it was like... my third or so psych hospital stay for that same reason. What's something really basic that you're terrible at? Even the most simple math. I don't even know the majority of my elementary multiplication tables. Have you ever hugged someone for over a minute? Yeah. Would you ever get a tattoo on your collar bone? I have one there already, but I plan on getting it covered because it was an impulse tattoo that I feel no connection towards. Have you ever searched for your house on Google Earth? My old house, yeah. Are you a beach, country, or city person? Country. Living in the suburbs has definitely reminded me of that... Are you faster at text messaging or typing on the computer? Typing, by a long shot. I make typos texting too much. Have you ever kissed anybody who had a mustache? Yeah. Who is the last person that you said "I love you" to, besides family members? Sara. When was your first real relationship? Sophomore year of high school to early college. Have you ever cried over an ex? I've cried the entire mass of water on Earth over an ex lmao. Have you ever kissed someone of the same sex? Yes. Is there something really bad that you’ve done, that only YOU know about? No. Have you ever copied someone else’s homework? I think I have once or twice, but obviously with consent. What’s a hobby you would like to try out? If my legs worked like actual legs and I didn't sweat like an absolute pig, I would like to try out herping, but without actually interacting with the animal like picking it up and scaring the daylights out of it. I'd just be happy enough looking for reptiles, amphibians, and inverts to photograph instead. Does that still even count as herping? What was the last event you attended? My youngest niece's birthday party. How about the last event you organized? I've never organized an event. What’s something you get excited about doing and want to do it right away? Whenever I take nature pictures, I'm immediately keen to get them into Lightroom and do the postproduction. Is there anything you feel you’re better at than anybody else? Definitely not. What’s the biggest insect you’ve ever seen? If you exclude places like the zoo, that would probably be a rhinoceros beetle or something. Oh no, actually some kind of local moth I don't know the name of. They're beautiful big white boiz. How about the biggest spider? I might be mis-remembering, but I believe at a reptile convention I went to with Sara, one of the vendors had a goliath bird eater tarantula in one of the cups. I do know it was some tarantula species for sure, though. Who was the first person to break your heart? My dad. Obviously not romantically, but him just splitting on the family with no proper communication absolutely broke my heart for years. First person to give you flowers or candy on Valentine’s day? I'm sure that would be my parents. If you exclude them 'cuz that's kinda obvious, I believe it was Aaron, my first boyfriend. I'm pretty sure we were together on Valentine's Day, because I remember getting him a giant Hershey's Kiss. First band you obsessed about? I wasn't truly obsessed with any band 'til Ozzy in middle school. Can you do a backflip? No; I've never tried and never will. I was and still am too afraid of breaking my neck. Like I have a MASSIVE fear of paralysis, particularly from the neck down; that fear is actually the biggest one that keeps me from driving, fun fact. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Of the two, definitely a pessimist, but I at least think I align most with being a realist. What’s the biggest lie you’ve told someone? I'm unsure. Have you ever been hit on by someone of the same sex? Yeah. How many doors are in the room you’re in? Just one. Have you ever been engaged and broke it off? No. Has anyone ever drawn a picture of you? Tyler once drew a picture of him and me. It was cute. That guy still dove in WAY too fast. Have you ever dated a redhead? I haven't, but I love redheads. Natural red hair is just gorgeous. What are your thoughts on facial hair on guys? Historically, I seem to generally like some, but it really depends on the guy's general appearance. I can like none at all or a full beard and mustache, it doesn't really matter to me. Did you go anywhere today? No; my mom is in Florida with her brothers totally cleaning out Grammy's house, so she's not here to take me anywhere. Do you have any nieces or nephews? Oh yikes, I have a lot. I honestly can't count because I've lost track of how many boys and girls Katie has. You have a choice to shoot your father or die, what would you do? Jesus. I'd rather die; some things just aren't worth living after, and I'd have no desire to keep going if I killed my father. Did you ever cry at the end of King Kong? I've never watched it, actually, but I. LOVED. The video game. I haven't played it in years and only faintly remember how it ends, but I don't remember crying. Are you in any amount of pain at the moment? Quite a lot, actually. It's kinda a TMI subject so I won't delve into it, just know I'm hurting like a bitch. What was the last sugary thing you ate? I snacked on some chocolate chips earlier today... which I really shouldn't have done, but I think I had reasonable restraint and didn't totally binge. When was the last time you did something extremely stupid? Who knows, that's not a rare occurrence, it feels like. Have you been to any parties lately? Only my niece's bday party in February. Thankfully it was kept pretty small, given Covid; not that anyone in that family besides my sister gives a flying fuck about precautions, though... Can you touch your pinky to your thumb around your wrist? Ugh, no. Close, but not enough. I still have thin wrists and hands, but yeah, yay for being overweight. If you were to start a charity, what would you call it? I'd hve to put more thought than I'm willing for one survey question. I'd have to decide what KIND of charity I want to start first, which I'm unsure of. Probably something related to animal wellfare and conservation or something similar to the Trevor Project. Maybe LBGTQ+ youth disowned by their families... I dunno. There's so much good I wish I could do. Are you comfortable with your body? Holy fuck no. It's only gotten worse since I started gaining weight again and almost entirely erased all weight loss progress I'd made. What is your recent inside joke? Most recently made? Idk, man. I don't make those often. Would you rather be a human, vampire, or a werewolf? Er, I'm good with being a human. If I was a vampire or werewolf, I wouldn't exactly be very welcomed, I'm sure, and both have seemingly painful traits to cope with. Are you good at giving directions? It is absolutely impossible for me. I have NO sense of direction, like, at all. I don't know highway names, local exits, etc. etc. etc. etc. Why did you last curse? Pain when readjusting myself due to aforementioned issue I'm having. What is your purpose in life? I hope it involves animals and spreading words of peace and an appreciation for art. What is one of your weak points? I'm very, very, very dependent on others. I'm really working on trying to correct that. I can barely do shit on my own as is. Who was the last person you heard snoring? My cat, haha. Would you rather shower by yourself or with another person? 100% by myself. Another person would just get in the way and make me VERY self-conscious of my body, even if it was my romantic partner. Just please leave me alone to hate myself for 10 minutes. :^) What was your last addiction? You could say my current one is John Wolfe, a really funny let's player I've gotten into. Been bingeing some of my favorite games he has playlists of for a few weeks now. You are in a tank full of spiders, what do you do? Well one, I'd like to know what kind they are. Venomous? Harmless? You gotta give me the details. If I don't have any, then I'm admittedly freaking the fuck out, even though I know I should stay very calm when trying to get out. Fear would win, though. If killing yourself meant saving the world, would you? Saving the world from what? But odds are, yeah. I don't cherish my pretty damn mediocre life more than I do the lives of what, 8 billion people? Have you ever stayed up all night just to talk to someone? Yeah. When was the last time you eavesdropped someone? I kinda do that sometimes when Mom's on the phone and I can hear her from my room, and if they're on speaker. Particularly if the subject is me. When was the last time you went to a club? I've never been to one. How have you been sleeping? Poorly. Are you adopted? No, I'm not. Do you like scrapbooking? Not really, no. Do you collect anything valuable? "Valuable to me." <<<< This. Nothing of great monetary worth, though. Have you ever been beaten up? No, thankfully. Do you know anyone with an eating disorder? I don't think so, in my personal life. What was the last thing you killed? An ant. Have you ever used someone for money? I never could, no. When was the last time you went to the zoo? Sigh, it's been many many years. I'm so ready to get my goddamn legs back in shape so I can go again, this time with a REAL camera, too. Last time I went was when I still only had a Kodak EasyShare; I have a professional Canon camera now with much more education on photography too, so I would be in absolute heaven with at least twenty memory cards in need, haha. Maybe next fall... Is there a teacher you hate more than anything? I actually never had a teacher I hated in my entire school career. It really, really is as simple as just being a respectful student. In most cases, I should emphasize, because I do understand some educators just suck. Now I had some teachers I wasn't very fond of, but most certainly none that I hated. Do you own colored eyeliner? No. Do you have manners? I honestly think I'm very mannerly. When was the last time that you had a pet that died? We last had to put my dog Teddy down; he had cancer and was literally withering away. I knew in my very core that even if we didn't bring him to the vet to euthanize him, he would've died naturally in a very short period of time; I doubt he would've survived another night. Now I'd like to move on. What is your favorite medication that you take, and why? The combination of Vraylar and Lamictal is the reason I'm alive. It keeps my bipolarity and depression under control. Do you decorate Mason jars? No, but those are some of my favorite crafts visually. They're very pretty and cute. Can you see the mountains from where you live? Oh hunny, I wish. Did you ever play pranks on April Fool’s Day? As a kid, yeah. I don't anymore. I'm not really even a fan of April Fool's Day as an adult because of how cruel some jokes assholes play are. Which instrument would you play if you could learn to play one? Maybe violin. Do you part your hair on the left side, right side, or in the middle? The left. What are some names you like that start with the first letter of your name? Uhhhh Bianca, Braelynn (look I know it's so stereotypically Southern but it's pretty)... and idk from there, those are the two that come to mind first.

[chickensarentcheap]

I Found- Chapter 16

I wasn’t going to post this tonight, but there’s a lot of Ovi in it for @c-a-v-a-l-r-y

Also tagging: @alievans007 and @hemmyworthy

No warnings

Ovi is out the front door and sprinting for the car before Tyler even manages to get both feet on the ground.    Stumbling backwards when the kid catches him off guard: both of those skinny arms wrapping around his upper torso and embracing him tightly.

“Easy there, mate,” he gives a soft chuckle, both embarrassed and startled by the kid's outward show of affection.  “Easy.”

He imagines that there's a huge sense of relief now that he's there to help; Ovi trusts him and knows that he'll stop at nothing to keep him safe.  He had proven his worth in that department when he'd found a way to get the kid to safety despite knowing the job was well and truly fucked.  But there's probably also the sheer joy of just being able to see him in person. His own two eyes able to see for themselves that Tyler was indeed healthy.  That he's truly alive and well and right there under his fingertips. Not bloodied and battered back on that bridge telling him to run for the helicopter.  How he'd watched with relief when  Tyler rallied back and d towards them, only to be shot in the neck. And the last 'in person' memory the kid had of him was seeing him collapsed on the sidewalk, Esme holding him while he lying.  Ovi had been rushed to safety before finding out that Tyler had somehow miraculously survived and was in the hospital, struggling to hold on.  That he'd be transferred to a facility in Australia when...and if...he was ever stable enough.

Tyler is effectively the only true father figure that the kid has. The one that Ovi calls when he gets better than expected grades or a the highest marks in the class on a test. The one he talks to about girls and his struggles to actually get the balls to interact with them. Who he chats about sports with. Who he confides in when it comes to his hopes and his dreams and wishes for his future.  He's terrified of becoming his father. Of being forced to take over the 'family business'.  He isn't that kind of person: ruthless, sinister, evil. He is a good kid with a good heart and a bright future. And Tyler had taken it upon himself to make sure things stayed that way.  In the past, Saju had attempted to fill that role but had failed miserably. Yes, he'd been protective and strong and had been willing to lay his life on the line for the kid, but he'd never been fatherly. He'd become nothing more than hired help.  Never nurturing or encouraging. Never understanding that sometimes a kid just needed to be a kid.

Tyler returns the hug; one hand on the back of Ovi's head, holding it against his shoulder. He can feel the kid's body shuddering against him and the tears through his shirt. And he's taken back to that moment at Gaspar's. When Ovi had clung to him on the stairs, horrified by what he had done. Watching the life drain out of the man that he'd just shot to save Tyler's life and, essentially, his own. He'd been emotionally and physically spent from the day he'd been through. And all he'd wanted to do was go home.

“Christ, mate...”  he holds Ovi at arm's length, tousling that unruly dark hair and gently slapping him on the cheek.  “...look how bloody big you've gotten. Like you've shot up a whole foot.”

“All grown up,” Esme agrees, and the kid embraces her tightly, a smile on her face as she take his face in her hands. “...you're making me feel really, really old right now,” she says, as her own tears sparkle in her eyes.

There's a genuine affection she feels for that kid. Perhaps her motherly instincts kicking in. But Tyler had even seen it back then, when she'd met up with them at that warehouse. The way she would get him talking about random things to take his mind off of their situation, how she'd smile at him and reach out and take his hand when he was struggling, how she'd reassure him that everything was going to be okay. Even if deep down, she wasn't sure if she believed it herself.

“I'm so so glad you guys are here. I'm so happy to see you,” he manages. That lower lip quivering before he breaks down again.  And she takes him into her arms once more, cradling and comforting the way any mother would a child in pain.

Tyler knows that the kid hasn't felt that in a long time: a mother's love, concern, and affection. She well and truly does care for that kid. And seeing the depth of that love and care even makes him emotional and he clears his throat noisily and reaches into the backseat of the car.

“Oh my goodness!” Ovi's entire demeanour immediately changes when he sees the baby carrier now in Tyler's hand .  That boyish sparkle in his eyes returning as they widen, a smile spreading across across his face. “Look at her! Look how cute she is!” and he's now beside Tyler,  bravely reaching for the baby.  Gentle and curious hands exploring; touching tiny feet and, stroking impossibly small fingers, running a finger tip over a silky smooth cheek. “Look how tiny you are,” he breathes.  “How can anyone be this tiny?” he wonders aloud, and then smiles at Tyler. “She's even cuter in person. She's so small! How does anything so small come from someone as big as you?!”

“Got her mom's genes I guess, mate.”

“She looks just like you though! It's kind of creepy actually. Not creepy in a bad way. But creepy in like, a wow kind of way.  It's so weird. She's like your little twin. She's got your eyes and your nose and your mouth and even yours ear It's freaky.”

“You trying to say my kid's ugly,  kid?” Tyler chides, and Ovi's eyes widen as he take his question seriously.

“No! No! She's cute! So very cute. Not that I'm saying you're cute or anything like that because that would be really weird.”

“I don't know whether to be relieved or flattered that you're not attracted to me.”

“He's just yanking your chain,” Esme  assures Ovi  “And he hears it everywhere we go. From everyone we meet. How she looks just like him. I'm the one that that had the all day sickness and got fat and gross, but by all means, have the child look exactly like the person who put in five minutes of minimal effort at the very beginning.”

“Five minutes,” Tyler scoffs.  “And minimal effort? What the...”

“I'm just saying,” she teases, and stands on her tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek. “Here...” she curls her fingers around the handle of the baby carrier. “...she's probably hungry and needs a change. You boys catch up.”

“We'll be in in a bit.” he says, pecking her cheek, softly and playfully tapping his palm against her ass as she goes, Jason and the other members of the team following close behind.  Frowning, eyes narrowing, when that kid from Louisiana has the goddamn nerve to place a hand on the small of Esme's back as he escorts her inside.

To the average eye, it would be nothing more than a gentlemanly gesture. To Tyler it's a threat.

“You two make me so happy,” Ovi gushes. Oblivious to the tension. “I'm glad that you stayed together. She kind of scared me, you know, when I first met her. When she came to the warehouse to help us. I didn't understand how someone that looks like her could be so brave.  I wondered how she couldn't  be scared to to come to our aid.  With all that was happening and the people after us, she still showed up. She could have just left.  And she didn't. That's real bad ass.”

“She's the real bad ass of the family, mate. And that's what she does. That's her thing.  She sacrifices herself for the people she loves.”

“Well I'm glad she does. I'm glad she wasn't too scared to help us. I'm glad she showed up that day.”

“So am I.  But don't let her fool you. She was scared.  We all were.”

“Even you?”

Tyler nods.  “Even me.”

“Well I'm just glad that that two of you are together.  She probably keeps you in line and out of trouble.”

“Trust me kid, I'm more scared of her than she is of me. Want to really see her go off? Wait until I leave the toilet seat up or dirty socks on the floor. That's when she really loses it.”

Ovi laughs at that, then suddenly grows quiet again.  His face sullen, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans.  “I'm just really glad you're here.”

There tears come again.  Scalding. Bitter. A lost and lonely little boy stuck in an almost grown man's body.

It's Tyler who makes the first move this time. Wrapping both arms around the boy. Pulling him close. Like a father.

“I'm here, mate,” he assures her.  “I'm here.”

***

The Mahajan's army of hired help has gone out of their way to make everyone feel welcome.  Each assigned their own bedroom within that sprawling mansion; fresh, rich lines on the beds, small gifts and notes of appreciation left on pillows., a  seemingly endless buffet of food and drink. The maids hover over them throughout dinner. Filling plates despite protestations of someone being full,  making sure that drinks were topped off,  that anything they wanted was immediately supplied. It was surreal to Tyler. Living like that. He'd always been used to an unassuming and simple life.  Spending those bachelor days between his first and second marriage in his rundown shack.  Content with living off the land. Being alone. His dog and chicken his only sources of companionship.

Bathroom chicken, Esme had called it. And still referred to it as such when the subject was brought up. And he can still see the both quizzical and amused look that had come over her face when she'd seen his rather unconventional roommate. The day that she'd been suddenly dropped into his life when Nik had brought her along to discuss the Dhaka job.  She'd pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, a smirk tugging at her lips, and it was the first time she ever spoke or turned those dark eyes on him.

“There's a chicken in your bathroom.”

A few days later, she'd brought up it in  a conversation and coined the nickname Bathroom Chicken.

It stuck.

He sometimes misses that old life.  That rundown but familiar little shack.  The peace and quiet that came with being out in the middle of nowhere.  But he wouldn't trade his new existence.  The comfort and security that comes with having someone to love and love you back.   With having someone other than himself to take care of.  Being a husband and a father again hadn't been in his plans back then, but now they were very much the two most important roles in his life.

“I want to hold her,” Ovi says, addressing the older Indian woman that lingers in the corner, her body swaying side by side as she hums to the baby in her arms.  Mahajan Senior had hired someone to help with the child care; promising that she was kind and caring and had decades of experience caring for youngsters. Esme had been skeptical at first when a strange woman with broken English immediately approached her and gestured for her to hand over the baby.  It was hard to trust a stranger with your own well being, never mind with the care of your child. Especially your first.  “It's my turn. I haven't got to hold her yet. I want to hold her.  I'm Uncle Ovi, after all.”

Tyler grins at that. Uncle Ovi. The kid already considering himself a part of their little family.

The woman moves forward, speaking in Hindi as she instructs him on to properly hold an infant. He's awkward at first; nervous,  surprised at how light she actually is, maybe even worried that he might hurt her. But then that little body snuggles into his chest and he smiles, settling back in his chair.

“I think she likes me,” he's over the moon about it. He's never been around babies before. He's an only child and doesn't have friends with younger siblings of kids of their own. And  his face is  as bright and glowing as a kid on Christmas morning that just discovered his biggest wish under the tree.  “She's not scared of me.  She's really light. And really soft. I like the way she smells.”

“She won't smell so good in about an hour,” Tyler says. “Trust me. You'll be surprised how rank something that looks like her can actually be.”

“He's only upset because he has competition for the stinkiest ass in the ass,” Esme chides, and digs a playful elbow into her husband's side, and then places her hand on his stomach and rests her head against his shoulder.

The help begins clamouring around them. Never speaking as they clear away dishes and cutlery, spiriting them away to the kitchen with promises of coffee and dessert.  For several minutes no one speaks,  relaxing in the comfortable silence. Their bellies full and their bodies weary from the long day of travel.  The only sounds in the room the ticking of a clock on the wall and the soft cooing noises that the baby makes, smiling up at Ovi, her fist tightly closed around one of his fingers.

“Have you heard anything new?”  Jason speaks up,  addressing the kid, and Tyler sees how Ovi's body immediately tenses and his eyes darken. And he's tempted to just reach across the table and slap the ever loving shit out  of the other man. He sure as hell didn't know how to read situations well.  How to adjust your approach based on someone's mental state and current level of calm.

Tyler speaks up  “We've got lots of time to talk about that. We just got here.  No need to rush into it.”

“We're not here on a social call,” the younger man retorts. “We're here on business. For a job. And...”

“We're here because Ovi asked to come here,” Tyler interjects, and he feels his wife's hand tighten on the front of his t-shirt, her body shifting uncomfortably beside him.  That head no longer on his shoulder as she sits up straight in  her chair. “This isn't a job that is only going to take a couple of days or even a couple of weeks. So relax, mate. We just got here.”

“Why don't you relax.”

 The reply isn't a suggestion, it's an  order.  And his jaw clenches and his eyes narrow, and he would have gotten up right there and then and just beaten the shit out of the kid, but his wife has laid a hand on his knee and is squeezing as hard as she can.

“I want to hear about the girl,” Esme changes the flow of the conversation, bringing down the level of tension. “Tyler says there's a girl at school you like, Ovi.”

His eyes widen, and Tyler can almost see a blush creeping into his cheeks.  

“You told her that?” Ovi is mortified “I can't believe you told her that.”

“In his defence, I sort of dragged it out of him,” Esme says.  “I remember you telling me about a girl. When we were in the warehouse and I was asking you about school and friends. You mentioned that there was a girl you liked. Is it the same one?”

He nods in confirmation.

“So what's the hold up?  From what you told me, she seemed pretty interested back then. And if she's still hanging in there after all this time...”

“I don't know if she likes me,” he laments. “Sometimes I think she does and then sometimes I think she doesn't.  I catch her staring at me a lot. Smiling.  Sometimes she acts like she wants to come up to talk to me and then changes her mind.”

“That's how it all starts mate,” Tyler grins. “Run away while you still can.  They're trouble. The whole lot of them.”

Esme frowns, then retaliates: grabbing a hold of that bit of extra fat that sits at the top of the hips and pinching as hard as she can.

“See what I mean?” he addresses Ovi. “It starts out good. They smile at you. They bat their eyelashes at you. Laugh at your jokes no matter how stupid they are. And they hook you. With how cute they are and how good they smell. And by the time you realize what a heap of shit you're in, you can't get away. You don't want to get away.”

“I have ways of killing you in your sleep,” Esme informs him. “I could do away with you and not one person in this room would squeal on me.”

Across the room, Jason makes a snide comment about how it might be the best thing to ever happen.

“Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you mate,” Tyler smirks. “Something tells me you wouldn't mind being the one that actually gets to do it.”

“What's her name?” Esme is anxious to get the conversation back on track. “The girl.”

“Priya,” Ovi says, and his smile broadens. “And she's so pretty. Even prettier than her name. “

“So what are you waiting for?” she inquires. “It sounds like she's into you.  And why wouldn't she be? You're handsome, smart, funny, talented. Any girl would be lucky to have you.”

“She makes me nervous,” he confesses.  “So very nervous.”

“That's when you know it's a good thing. When you feel that way. Do you get butterflies when you think about her? Or when she smiles at you?”

His eyes narrow, confused. “Butterflies?”

“Does your stomach do funny things. Flip flop around and stuff like that. Do you get that when she smiles at you or when you think  about her?”

A long, slow grin.  “Yeah...” he shyly admits. “...I do.”

“Those butterflies are the best,” Esme declares. “I still get them all the time.”

Tyler can't help but smile at that. Especially when she takes his hand and squeezes.

“You should ask her out. She sounds like she's into you.  What's the issue?”

“I'm too shy,” he moans.  “I get too nervous around her.  I'm afraid I'll say something stupid and embarrass myself.”

“We all do that, mate,” Tyler says. “All us guys when it comes to a beautiful woman. I still say stupid shit and make a fool out of myself.”

“He does,” Esme nods. “All the time. You only know one side of Tyler. You don't know the sides that I do.  You don't know what a total cornball he can be.  He even has a romantic side.”

“Easy now,” Tyler chuckles.  “Let's keep some things need to know. I have a reputation to uphold.”

“He has a total soft side,” Esme continues.  “He acts like he's hard ass all the time, but he's not. He could give you pointers. I bet he could get you brave enough to ask Priya out. Just don't let him teach you any of his pick up lines. They border on sexual harassment. You'd probably get  punched in the throat for using them.  But he can teach you to be more confident. He''s more a man of action. And you know what they say. About actions speaking louder than words.”

The talk gradually turns to sports. World events.  Entertainment. As the minutes tick by, the room begins to empty. The security team excusing them for their hourly rounds. Each has a different area to patrol; spots to man through the night and into the morning.

Tyler is tired; jet lag is sinking in, all the trouble spots in his battered body aching at the same time.  Yet he can't shut his mind off.  He can't quiet the whispers that tell him that there's a threat closer than a lot of them actually realize.  And he is now only half listening to the conversation going on around him.  Eyes riveted on the mug clasped in his hand, thumb repeatedly brushing against the porcelain.

Esme yawns beside him, then gives his hand a squeeze and stands up.   “I'm wiped. I'm going to have a really hot bath and  go to bed. You boys keep talking. You have a lot of catching up to do.”

Her hands comes to rest on Tyler's shoulders, fingers kneading at the tight and aching muscles. Then he tips his head back to look at her and she drop a kiss on his lips. “I'll be up soon,” he tells her.

“Take your time,” she combs her fingers through his hair, presses her lips to his forehead, then moves to take the baby from Ovi.

“Do I really have to give her up?” he moans.  “I don't want to give her up just yet.”

“There's lots of time to hold her.” she assures him, and takes Amelia from his arms.  “We're not going anywhere. It's late. Little Miss needs her beauty sleep.”

Ovi bids her a goodnight.  Tyler just smiles, watching her until she disappears from the room.

“You're lucky,” Ovi says. “You got a second chance at a life. You've got someone that loves you. You made a baby. I hope you realize how lucky you are.”

“Sometimes I don't, mate,” he admits. “There's lots of times where I need to be reminded.”

He realizes that has to change.

****

He'd fallen asleep in the arm chair in the living room.  As they night grew longer and there seemed to be slowing down in the conversation, he and Ovi had moved to another room while the cleaning staff got to their tasks.   Despite the worry and the stress surrounding him, Ovi was full of exuberance; confident that this nightmare would soon to be over now that the one person he truly trusted had come to his aid. So instead of focusing on the threats and the fear, the kid excitedly told tales of school; the teachers he liked or disliked, gossip about those who were  considered the popular kids, hopes he had for upcoming tests and  ideas for projects.  Tyler had remained silent the entire time; letting the words just flow from the kid's mouth.  Pleased that Ovi was already feeling more secure. Which no immediate fears of the future and the trouble that was brewing around him.  And while he had no set in stone plans for his future, one thing was certain: he did not want to remain in India. He'd already been researching schools. United States, Canada, Australia, and he was fully planning on getting as far away from home as possible.

Eventually he had nodded off, curled up in a fetal position on the couch.   Tyler had gotten up long enough to turn the lights off,  returning to that arm chair; planning on sticking around long enough just to make sure the kid wouldn't suddenly wake up and  panic if he didn't find Tyler close by.  Only he had falling asleep himself; jet lagged and weary, a sitting position helping to alleviate the pain in his back and shoulder.

Not his eyes snap open; woken the sound of Ovi muttering in his sleep and the soft footfalls in the hallway, leading towards them.  His brain quickly orientating himself with his surroundings;  the Mahajan's elaborate furniture,  the feel of the wool carpet under his bare feet, the moonlight streaming through the wall to wall windows that look out into the expansive backward.  He can see the solar lights that mark a perimeter around the in ground pool, and the two guards stationed in the rear ward doing their patrols.  No sign of trouble. Just a quiet, unassuming night,  a soft breeze floating on the air. And as the footsteps draw closer, he eyes his handgun on the side table next to the chair. Weighing the situation; there was no sign of trouble or panic outside. The guards were alive and well. The alarm settings were armed.  The chances of it being an intruder were highly unlikely, and he doubted word of his arrival had even been spread about Dhaka yet.

“Tyler?” Esme's soft voice from the hallway.

“In here,” he says, and moments later she's padding into the room with the baby in her arms.  “Everything okay?”

“She woke up for a feed and now she's decided she doesn't want to go back to sleep,” her voice is tired, and she releases a loud, long yawn that hides in her elbow.  “You guys alright?”

“Yeah, the kid just talked my ear off and we both ended up falling asleep. Give her to me,” he holds his arms out and she gently places the baby into them. He  settles his infant against him; her stomach against his torso and her head on his shoulder, one of his hands on her back.  

“I woke up and you hadn't come to bed yet,” Esme says.  “I was worried that something might have happened. Or that you...”

“I already said I wouldn't take off,” he sternly reminds her, then gives her a smile and reaches for her hand, pulling her towards him.

She settles beside him; effectively fitting that five foot three between him  and the arm  of the chair, both legs slung over his thighs. Placing a hand on the back of her head, he gently draws her down into him, her face nestling into the spot between his neck and his shoulder. And she gives another loud yawn and rubs her cheek against him.  

“What time is it?” he asks, and she reaches onto the side table to check his phone. “Three fifteen.”

“Am?” he has no idea why he even asks. It's damn obvious. Just a brain trying to run on very little sleep, he supposes. Mixed in with the slight fogginess that comes with the withdrawal he experiences if he doesn't stick to a med schedule

She ignores the faux pas, and placing the phone back on the table, curls an around around his neck and presses a kiss to his cheek.  

For a while neither of them speak.  Their eyes closed, listening to the sounds of the crickets chirping outside and the baby's soft breathing as she finally dozes off.  

“It's sad,” Esme suddenly says, and his eyes snap open again.  The tip of her nose pressed against the side of his neck, breath warm and sweet against his skin.

“What is?”

“That people can have so much yet really have nothing at all.”

“How you mean?”

“Look at this place. Look how incredible it is. It's big and it's beautiful and comes with everything you could possibly want. A massive back yard, a pool, it's own theatre room and gym,,  a sauna.  From the outside looking in it's pretty amazing and it would be easy to be envious of whoever lives like this. Yet when you walk inside, you feel...nothing.  It feels empty. As if no one lives here at all.”

He nods as he considers her words. “Well really, it's just the kid here. The staff is here, but they're not here, here.”

“I just find it so tragic. That people can have so much and have nothing all at the same time.  Here's the kid who has been abandoned by his father and has strangers taking care of him. There's no one here that actually cares about him. There's no one he can talk to about school or get homework help from, no one he can go to with a broken heart. He's surrounded by people, yet he is completely alone. And that breaks my heart.”

“It is,” he agrees, and running a hand over her hair, presses a kiss to her forehead.

“As nice as this place is, as beautiful as it is, I would still pick that little shack of yours over it any day of the week.”

“Yeah?” he grins. “Even with the chicken?”

She grins against him.

“Even with the chicken.”

****

“We can't leave him here, Tyler,” she says sometime later, just as he was beginning to find sleep once again. “When this is all over.  We just can't.  This place is just going to drag him down.  It's going to eat away from him and it's going to it's going to break him down and he's going to start looking for what he's not getting at home. And you know as well as I do that things like that never end well. When you feel abandoned and you'll settle for any kind of love and compassion you can find.”

“He's a smart kid.  He has a good head on his shoulders.”

“This will never be fully over for him if he stays here. You said it yourself: one  Asif dies, another ten step up to take his place. If he stays here, he will never be truly safe. Just like we can never go back home. And that's why we can't leave him here.  We just can't.”

“So what do we do with him? We can't just throw him on a plane with us and take him away from here. He still has a father. Technically.”

“A father who doesn't care about him,” she points out.  “If you cared about your kid, you wouldn't put them in such a shitty mess to begin with. How does a father do that? Choose a life like that over protecting and nurturing their own child?”

“Same kind of father who kills people for a living, I suppose.”

“Don't even compare the two. You kill people in the pursuit of helping other people. Ovi's dad kills people because he's an evil bastard.  There's a huge difference.”

“Still not something I want my daughter finding out about me when she grows up.”   It's a sobering thought.  What the tiny baby nestled against his chest will be like when she is Ovi's age.   He's not entirely sure that he would want her to know the ugly truth of his past.

“You should go and talk to him,” she suggests.

“Who?”

“Ovi's dad.”

“Why the hell would I go and talk to him? Why would he even want to see me?”

“You're the man who saved his son. Why wouldn't he want to see you?”

“Maybe I could ask him where the fuck the rest of my money is.”

“It wasn't about the money and you know it. At least not at the end.”

She was right.  Somewhere along the line, the Dhaka job had went from mercenary work to mercy work.  The money hadn't mattered in the grand scheme of things.  All that had mattered was getting that kid home.  As if making sure Ovi was safe and sound was Tyler's way of achieving absolution for the mistakes of his past.

“What would I say to him?”

“You could start with, 'hey,I'm the guy that got shot in the throat and nearly bled to death while bringing your son back to you, you grateful fuck'.”

Tyler grins. “Tell me how you really feel.”

“Tell him that his son deserves better. That his son deserves to have a future. That he deserves a family. People that will love him. Support him. Nurture him. Someone that will help him become a good man that helps people instead of hurting them. I mean, he must have at least some shred of humanity left, right? Some inkling of compassion you can exploit.  I can't imagine him being that evil where he doesn't have at least ounce of love for his own child.”

“People like him aren't human, love. They aren't like you and I.  They feel nothing.”

“But it's at least worth a try, right? You could go there and see if he'd be willing to see you.  It doesn't hurt to go there and see what happens. “

“And say what? I'm here to take your kid? I don't know where yet, but he's coming along any way.  And are you really being serious about this? You want the kid to come and stay with us?”

“He trusts us. He loves us. Especially you. He would follow you to the ends of the earth.”

“We have our own family. We have a baby. We want more babies. Do we really want to add a teenager into all of that?”

“Not just any teenager, Tyler . This isn't just some teenager. This is Ovi. And he deserves to know what it feels like to be wanted. To be loved.”

Sighing heavily, he closes his eyes and leans his head against the back of the chair. His arm around her, thumb stroking her shoulder.

“He needs you, Tyler. And I think in some way,  you need him too.”

“Maybe,” he says.  “But it doesn't mean I'm what's good for him.”

“You're already an amazing father to your own kid. What would stop you from being an amazing father to him?” she rests her chin on his shoulder and looks at him,  her fingertips grazing along the shorn hair at the nape of his neck.  “Promise me you'll at least think about it  That you won't just leave the kid here when this is all over. Don't abandon him like his father did. Promise me you won't do that.”

Sliding his hand up to her shoulder, he kisses her. Short and soft and sweet.

“I promise.”

[blurry-fics]

First Kiss

Pairing: highschool!Tyler Joseph x Reader

Warnings: Some awkward teenagers, but that’s about it!

Word Count: 1076

Request: A Quotev user asked me to do a first kiss scenario fic, so here it is!

Author’s Note: Sooo I decided to make this based on Promises, like what would have happened if they had admitted their feelings to one another in high school rather than, well, you can read it and find out! :) (Also this picture of Tyler? Adorable.)

You laughed as your dog went sprinting back across the yard, chasing after the tennis ball you had thrown just moments before. He launched through the air, expertly catching the ball in his mouth and landing in the grass.

“Come here, Fergus!” you called.

The dog came running back over and dropped the ball at your bare feet. You scooped it up and held it out to Tyler.

“You want to throw it?”

He wrinkled his nose at the sight of the slobber-covered ball in your hand, “I’ll pass.”

“If you insist.”

You chucked the ball across the yard again before staring down at your damp hand. With a devilish grin, you reached over and rubbed your hand on Tyler’s shoulder. He immediately ducked away as he realized what you were doing.

“Hey!” he laughed. “That’s gross.”

“It’s just dog slobber.”

“If it’s ‘just dog slobber’, then you can wipe it on your own shirt.”

You shook your head, although it was hard to ignore the pit of nervousness in your stomach. It had only been about a week since you and Tyler had started dating, and you were still trying to figure out exactly how to navigate a relationship. Tyler seemed to have everything figured out, but you managed to embarrass yourself doing something as simple as holding hands.

“Sorry, Ty,” you mumbled.

“It’s alright,” he grinned, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you into his side. “I’ll get you back.”

“Hey!” You lightly elbowed him in the ribs, making him duck away from you yet again.

“You asked for it.”

“Did not!”

“Then why did you rub dog slobber on me?”

You picked up the tennis ball that Fergus had brought back to you and tossed it again, “Because it was funny.”

Tyler rested an arm behind you again, “You have an interesting definition of funny.”

You smiled and drummed your fingers against your legs. Ever since you and Tyler started dating, you had been wondering when you two would kiss. You had never kissed anyone before - family members didn’t count - and you hadn’t been able to stop worrying about what it would be like. Part of you just wanted to get it over with so you would stop being so stressed out about it.

Fergus ran over and dropped the ball at your feet, but didn’t wait for you to throw it again. He simply walked over to the grass and plopped down in it, panting heavily. You laughed and kicked the slobbery ball away from your feet.

“Now what?” Tyler asked.

“I guess we just sit,” you laughed.

“I’m ok with that.”

You lightly tapped your feet against the pavement, enjoying the sunshine. Spring was finally coming to an end and the summer weather was beginning to set in.

“Hey, Y/N?”

You turned to Tyler, “Yeah?”

“I’m, uh, really happy we’re dating.”

“Really?” you said, not even trying to hide the dorky grin on your face. This made Tyler smile too.

“Yeah. I know I’m not always the best at showing it, but I’m glad we are.”

In a moment of bravery, you reached out and grabbed Tyler’s hand, “I’m glad we’re dating too.”

“You know,” he said quietly as he lightly poked at your leg. “We’ve been dating for a little over a week now.”

“Yeah?”

Your heart was pounding so hard that you thought it might go straight through your sternum.

“Um,” Tyler scratched the back of his head with his free hand. “I was kind of wondering if it would be ok for me to kiss you?”

“Kiss me? You want to do that?”

Tyler laughed, “Of course I want to do that.”

“Oh, um, yeah,” you nodded. “You can kiss me.”

“Ok,” Tyler grinned.

He closed his eyes and started to lean forward, but you put a hand to his chest, stopping him halfway.

“Wait,” you said. Tyler opened his eyes and looked at you. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Neither do I,” he giggled.

“What do I do?”

“Just close your eyes and kinda tilt your head to the side.”

You did as Tyler said, “Like that?”

“Yeah, and then - well - I’m going to kiss you, ok?”

“Ok.”

You drew in a shaky breath as you waited for him to close the space between you. He reached up and rested a hand on the side of your face, making you jump a little. His breath was hot on your chin as he laughed a little.

“Just relax, ok?”

“I’m trying,” you giggled.

Tyler answered you by pressing his lips to yours. They were softer than you had expected, especially considering Tyler’s opposition to chapstick. You weren’t entirely sure what to do in return, so you reached out and lightly rested a hand on his knee.

The two of you were interrupted by someone opening the door to the backyard. You practically pushed Tyler away from you as you turned to see who it was.

“Oh, sorry!” your mom said, immediately covering her mouth with her hand. “I was just coming to see if you two wanted anything for lunch!”

“We’re fine, Mom,” you said quickly, avoiding any and all eye contact.

“Alright, let me know if that changes!” she said before closing the door again.

You turned back to Tyler, whose face had turned bright red from the interaction. Both of you immediately started laughing, unable to contain the sheer embarrassment.

“Well that’s burned into my mind forever,” you laughed.

“I think it might be burned into your mom’s memory too.”

You buried your face in your hands, “Oh geez, that was awful.”

“It could have been worse.”

You turned to look at him, “Could it?”

“Definitely.”

You sighed and pressed your forehead to Tyler’s shoulder. He wrapped an arm around you and lightly rubbed your back.

“Hey, at least we got the awkward first kiss over with,” he said.

“You have a point.”

You turned to look up at Tyler, who was staring out over the yard. The sun was highlighting his features, making him look even more beautiful than usual.

“You know, I wouldn’t be opposed to another kiss,” you mumbled.

Tyler turned to look at you, laughing quietly, “No?”

“Nope.”

Tyler’s hand moved to under your chin as you sat up a little straighter. This time, you were the one to lean into him. He smiled as you kissed him.

Turns out there was nothing to worry about, after all.

[letterboxd]

Ready.

“We get that the general thesis of the movie is wildly ridiculous, but the characters don’t think it’s ridiculous.”

Letterboxd talks to the trio behind the gnarly new survival horror Ready or Not about balancing the extreme with the grounded, how far to take on-screen gore when you’re trying to have fun, and the joy of old-fashioned board game aesthetics.

Radio Silence is a filmmaking collective comprised of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who direct, and Chad Villella, who produces. They were behind 2014 horror breakout Devil’s Due and contributed segments to the indie horror anthologies V/H/S (2012) and Southbound (2016).

If they were flying a bit under the radar before, they most certainly won’t be after everyone sees their new film Ready or Not, a delightfully demented black comedy/horror anchored by a rip-snorting, sure-to-be-star-making performance from rising Aussie actor Samara Weaving (The Babysitter and the upcoming Bill & Ted Face the Music). She plays Grace, the new bride of Alex (Mark O’Brien), scion of the rich and eccentric Le Domas family, headed by Tony (Henry Czerny) and Becky (Andie MacDowell).

Following the couple’s wedding at the sprawling, secret passage-filled Le Domas mansion, Grace is asked to indulge a family tradition tied to the fact that their fortune derives from a board game company funded by a peculiar deal made by the first Le Domas to arrive in America.

The “game” ends up a much more sinister affair than Grace anticipated, and she is soon fighting for her life against the extended Le Domas brood, which includes an alcoholic brother played by a possibly never-better Adam Brody.

Ready or Not has a great premise, and the execution to match, with fans on Letterboxd enjoying the horror-humor mix. “Think You’re Next sautéed with a dash of Clue, topped with an early Sam Raimi-esque humorous gore red sauce,” writes Andy Levy. “An utterly preposterous concept that works in execution on the way to the most hilariously bonkers finale of the summer,” says Mark.

Letterboxd recently spoke to the Radio Silence trio about their new film.

How did you guys get involved in this film—did it come to you as screenplay? Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (co-director): We got sent the screenplay five or six years ago, by Tripp Vinson and James Vanderbilt, the producers. They went another direction, which is a kind way of saying they hired somebody else for like a year or so, then it came back around and we chased it really hard.

I just remember the first time we sat with Tripp and Jamie and Guy [Busick] and Ryan [Christopher Murphy], the writers, it felt like a group of people who should’ve been working together for a long time. We all had the same sensibilities, we were all aiming at the same target, we all wanted to make the same movie. And it’s one of the few scripts we’ve ever read and were like “Oh man, I wish we wrote this”. This was the voice that we wanna be speaking in. So it really just spoke to us and it was a great process. They were still doing drafts for us up until production.

From left: Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Chad Villella and DOP Brett Jutkiewicz.

Was there anything specific that you felt helped elevate it beyond other survival horrors? Tyler Gillett (co-director): I think the thing that really grabbed us from the start that felt like it was so specific to the identity of Ready or Not, was this really crazy ensemble of characters and how well drawn each of them [is]. It’s so common in the genre space to just play everyone really arch and not give the characters a really specific point of view and to not ground the film and the crazy fantasy elements of it in real emotional drama and a real emotional point-of-view, and this script was just full of that for us. We loved that. The villains are so clearly the villains and our heroine is so clearly that character, but there is something fun and relatable and interesting about the interactions between all of them that isn’t just: “Oh hey, I have a gun or I have a bow and arrow and I’m gonna chase you and I’m gonna try to kill you”. There’s a lot more going on under the surface.

Obviously the superficial thrill of it is it’s a woman on the run, but at its heart, it’s a movie that’s about family and it’s about faith and it’s about trying to figure out who you are as an outsider entering this crazy realm. We could draw on that every single day on the shoot and it certainly helped us attach this great cast. There was so much about the depth of those characters that we just felt: wow, this is an undeniably great genre movie, but it’s also an undeniably great family drama, it’s an undeniably great satire.

That’s at the heart of it for us. Whether you’re spending time with the family or you’re on the run with Grace, it feels believable even though it’s heightened and insane. We get that the general thesis of the movie is wildly ridiculous, but the characters don’t think it’s ridiculous.

What do you think this film gains from having a female protagonist? Chad Villella (executive producer): I think the entire movie revolves around Grace. We were extremely fortunate to have Samara Weaving, somebody who can carry the weight of the film the entire way through. From our very first meeting with Samara, she brought this punk-rock vibe to the role. It was always something we talked about but weren’t quite sure how we were going to execute. And Samara just brought it with her performance, and by just bringing that rebellious nature after the family turns on her. She wasn’t gonna just sit around and be a victim, she was gonna fight back, and she was gonna fight the whole way through it. She said she didn’t wanna be screaming the entire way through this movie. She was gonna have moments where she could just dig in and let the family have it, and I think she did that in spades.

There’s an interesting use of violence in this film. Do you have a philosophy around how far to take that sort of thing? MB-O: The short answer is we just follow our tastes, you know? The movie is in line with our personal tastes, and we enjoy a good kill and a good shock, but we don’t like revelling in the gore really, it’s never really been our thing. But we like the effect of it on both sides. One of the things that we think is most effective and we’ve always enjoyed, is focusing more on the reaction than the actual violence.

It’s always scarier or funnier to see people reacting to something, than it is to be watching the actual thing. That really helped us because we were able to then kind of stay within the guardrails we’d set up for ourselves, because from the script stage and pre-production, let alone production, we were always aware that if we go too far in one direction it’s going to derail everything around it. You can’t exactly laugh after you’ve seen something that makes you literally wanna throw up. So we had to find that [line], and to be honest we found some of that in the edit, too. We had a lot of stuff on both sides of that, the gore and the violence, and also on the humor, where we were like, “Okay, we have to make sure that it stays grounded, as ridiculous and over the top as it is”.

Ready or Not makes great use of the aesthetics of arcane magic and board games—was it fun to revel in that space? TG: We all are huge fans of that stuff. Not only did we all grow up playing board games with our families, we loved that analogue gaming language that exists in this movie. It feels really old and it feels like it’s really steeped in tradition. That was really important to us, to make us feel like these games, the games that the family has created and built their empire on, that it’s a continuation of a deal with this benefactor that’s existed for many generations. So the choice to make all of those games analogue, it felt really tactile and it felt really interesting. We could put board games up in the house as part of the production design. Even the choosing box [from which Grace selects her fate, glimpsed in the header image for this article] itself has this very board-game quality to it.

When we were pitching on the movie, some of the very first images that we created from a directorial point of view were about the juxtaposition between these moments of terror, against this board-game backdrop. We actually created this Monopoly board that essentially represented all the members of the family in the property squares that we are all familiar with and the weapons and all of that. That was a really defining moment for us, just in terms of figuring out the tone; it all came from the thrill of a board game and then the very real stakes of what this night means for Grace and for her survival.

So the games were always this guiding light, and a reminder to keep things fun. As much as the movie is certainly about specific themes and as much as it’s certainly about the terror and nightmare that this woman goes through on what’s supposed to be the best day of her life, we just always wanted to make sure that it was an entertaining ride first and foremost. The gaming backdrop did us a lot of favors in achieving that.

‘Ready Or Not’ is in US cinemas now. Comments have been edited for clarity and length.

[andipxndy-writes]

I Don’t Care - Sam & Kat

[[I wrote a new thing! So basically Ed Sheeran’s new album is amazing and I have a fave song on the album, which 100% reminded me of how Sam feels about Kat. Obviously, Sam isn’t mine (they belong to @a-simple-rper), but I love them a lot and these cuties deserve a fic together because Rick and Laura get too much attention.

So yeah, basically I’ve been listening to this song a lot, and even though Sam can’t sing to save their life, I will always love how this song represents how they feel for Kat.

Edited to completion! Enjoy!]]

---

I Don’t Care

Sam hated dressing up.

No, not dressing up as in Halloween costumes. They meant dressing up as in a suit and a tie. Dressing in a “monkey suit”, as Jake called it, was extremely uncomfortable, from the tight pants to the stiff collar and the tie that felt like it was cutting off their circulation. They would never voluntarily wear something like this. Not if they had a choice.

Except for, you know, the annual Martins family dinner party.

It wasn’t a thing they usually went to. In fact, Kat and Laura rarely went to it themselves, preferring to stay away from their uptight and toxic aunts and probably keep that toxicity away from their own kids. Which Sam completely understood – they would never forgive that cousin Lara for regularly calling them a piece of shit in front of other family members (not literally, because she always had a posh way of saying it), and they were honestly so glad that she was now very intimidated by the twins and their total ability to beat her up with no remorse.

Standing to the side of the room, their eyes scanned over the various people milling about the room at the party. It wasn’t hard to spot Rick and Laura in the crowd (he was a whole foot taller than everyone else in the room), the pair of them speaking to a couple of Laura’s male cousins. They remembered Kat mentioning something about them being involved in catering, or something to do with food, and obviously Rick and Laura were an amazing power couple who ran their own bar with food business together, so of course they’d want to have a conversation with them. Probably about business stuff.

Jake and Allie were also in a conversation with some of Kat’s relatives, and it was easy to see that they'd fit right in. With them both being British (poster accent and all), and Allie even knowing how to interact with people of upper social classes (clearly something that Sam lacked), it was easier for them to just integrate and get accepted. Heck, they looked like they fit right in with Jake looking almost like a natural in his suit and Allie looking elegant in her dress.

And Kat, well, she was looking as beautiful as ever, laughing with what looked to be some aunts and uncles. Sam had felt so awkward in that conversation, not really knowing what they were on about, that they’d excused themselves to go to the toilet and just hadn’t returned. And they doubted that anyone noticed they were missing anyway.

They just really didn’t want to be there. They’d rather be at home with the twins, taking care of and playing with them whilst Kat dealt with her family. They didn't really like them, and the sentiment was returned, honestly. If Sam was the punk that knocked up Katherine and possibly hindered her career in research, then they were the stuck up asshats that couldn’t realise when there was genuine love in their relationship.

Standing at the side of the room, sipping on a glass of champagne (how freaking arrogant) as they watched everyone, they seriously considered telling Kat that they were going to head off. As much as they loved her... they felt so out of place in this room that it hurt.

They didn’t notice that she’d left her conversation until they realised their drink had been taken from their hand, and Kat was stood there, knocking it back before placing the empty glass on a nearby table. They stared at her, confused.

“What are you—?”

“You look dead bored,” she responded bluntly, turning to them with a smile on her face. “Plus, this party is a little more on the dull side. My mom’s sisters are all pretty stuck up in a way, but they’re not all too bad, and neither are my uncles. Plus, my cousins aren’t all like Lara.”

“Really?” They were doubtful of that, and Kat could clearly see it on their face. She sighed in response, deciding to just take their hands and squeeze them a little.

“Mom wanted to speak with you,” Kat said softly, changing the topic of conversation. “Apparently she’s been wanting to speak with you all night, but you keep disappearing...”

They gave a guilty smile at that. “Really? Thought I’d stick out like a sore thumb...”

“Oh come on, Sammy, don’t be like that...”

He pursed his lips and looked away. “Where’s she sat?” they asked, avoiding the look on Kat's face. They did not need her “don’t pity yourself” looks right then. Maybe a talk with mom would do them some good.

“At that table, over there.” Kat pointed over to a table where Sam could clearly see her mom sat. With her husband. Having a conversation.

They suddenly didn’t feel like going over. Not with Kat’s dad there too.

“Should I wait a little longer...?”

“Nah, she’s fine. Just go.” At the look they gave her, she sighed. “Dad won’t bite your head off. Go and sit next to mom and speak with her.”

Sam still looked very reluctant to do so, but walked over there anyway, appearing very nervous as they sat down next to Jane. “Hey, mom...”

Jane paused her conversation and turned from where she was talking with her husband to smile brightly at Sam. “Oh, Sam! Wonderful! When did you get there?”

Before they could answer, Phil stood, not sending Sam a single glance as he straightened his suit and brushed it down. “I’m off to get another drink and mingle,” he said stiffly, before walking off.

Jane pursed her lips as she watched her husband, sighing through her nose.

“He really doesn’t like me, huh?” Sam asked, the smile on their face a little on the sad side. It didn’t matter that they and Kat were now thinking of getting married and being completely committed to each other, or that they were the father to his grandchildren, or even that they were trying hard to juggle being a dad with longer bar shifts so that they could put more into the college fund. Phil Banks just didn’t like Sam a single bit.

Jane glanced at Sam, ready to defend her husband and say that he really did like Sam, but seeing the look on their face made her hold her tongue. And her lack of an answer just made them look down at the table, deflated, before they began to push themselves away from the table.

“I think I might just tell Kat I’m picking up the kids and heading home...”

“Before we’ve had our conversation?”

Sam paused in their movements to look over at Jane, seeing something like a teasing look in her eyes. A teasing look that meant she’d caught them out and they were going to do as she told them to. That same teasing look they’d received from Kat many a time, and they'd spotted Rick being on the receiving end himself a few times from Laura right before he quit slacking and took his turn in caring for the kids.

So, sighing, they sat back down, turning to face Jane, leaning on the table. Looking mildly miffed, they waited for her to speak.

“So, how’s work been recently?”

They pursed their lips at that. Small talk? “It's been good. I’ve been behind the bar a bit more, what with the triplets getting older. Rick has more daddy duties.”

Jane gave a chuckle at that. “Oh, that I don’t doubt. Laura wouldn’t let him slack a single bit. Always making sure people do their share of the work.” Her smile widened as she moved on to her next topic, looking a bit more excited. “And my first grandbabies? How are little Annabelle and Tyler?”

“Growing fast.” Sam finally cracked a smile, thinking of their babies – well, they were more like pre-schoolers now, but they would always be their babies. “Anna is reading anything and everything now – we actually found her trying to read a draft of one of Kat’s papers in her study the other day. And Tyler is growing so tall so quickly.” They let out a chuckle. “He can’t still for a second.”

Jane laughed at that. “That definitely reminds me of George.” Ah yes, the family fireman. The first to study a non-academic subject. Though it paved the way for the younger cousins, definitely.

Sam glanced over at the older brother of the twins, who appeared to be having a very animated conversation with some cousins and making them laugh. Yeah... that was very Tyler. They could see that.

Before they could say anything else, though, Jane spoke again, her smile softening.

“It’s okay to not fit in here, Sam.”

They turned to her suddenly, a frown on their face. “...What?”

“It’s okay to not fit in. Everyone talks about everyone, and you don’t really get much privacy with three nosy sisters and their well-off husbands.”

“Is that meant to be comforting?” they asked sarcastically, not looking amused at all. “That just means everyone knows about me.” And how terrible I am for Kat.

“And they’re comparing Kat to me.” She leaned closer to Sam, lowering her voice. “Right down to the choice in partner.”

Sam paused, blinking. Well, they hadn’t expected that one. “...Huh?”

Jane gave an almost conspiratory smirk at that. “Oh yes. Phil was exactly like you when we got married – not really focused on education, but passionate about his own things that my family didn’t get. Elizabeth was the worst at the time, always gossiping and bad mouthing about him, but then he went into business and he just shot up in his career, and they couldn’t say or do anything. Not when I had a husband who built his own success, and three absolutely beautiful children.” She placed a hand on their arm. “Stop caring and take your own path. Kat is so happy with you. My sisters don’t care about that, but my goodness is she happy. And I’ve got five incredible grandchildren, as well as two more children – more than any of my sisters have.” She then lowered her voice to a whisper. “You’re my favourite, though. Don’t tell Rick I said that.”

Sam grinned at that, finally feeling a bit more relaxed. Like Kat, Jane always had a way of making them feel at home around her, even if it felt more like her simply being a mom to them too. Even with her heightened intellect, she had a way of being down to earth and bubbly.

Just like their Kat.

Just as they were opening their mouth to thank Jane – God, was she a great mom or what? – they felt another hand on their arm, this one pulling them out of their seat. They looked up at see Kat grinning down at them, her eyes bright and excited.

“Come dance!”

“Dance?” Their eyes widened. “Here?”

“It’ll be fun!”

“But—” Glancing over at a smiling Jane, her words came to mind again.

It’s okay to not fit in. Stop caring and take your own path.

Groaning – more to play up the whole reluctance act than anything – they let her pull them up and away from Jane. Shooting the woman a glance as they were pulled away, they smiled widely as she waved at them.

Stopping in the middle of the room, surrounded by numerous cousins, aunts and uncles who were just watching them with interest, Kat turned to them and placed her hands on their shoulders, leaving them to place their hands on her hips as they swayed slowly to the music.

“So, what did mom want to talk to you about?” Kat asked curiously as they moved. Sam’s eyes drifted upwards in faux thought.

“Mmm... not telling.”

“What? Oh, come on...”

They grinned down at her. “Nope. Not tellin'.”

“Sammy...”

They chuckled, leaning down to kiss her softly. “Hey, how about we spice up this party a little?” they murmured to her, a cheeky glint in their eyes. Which made Kat narrow her own.

“How...?” she asked hesitantly.

“Well, the music for one could put even Tyler to sleep. So let’s fix that. Then we could break out the good stuff at the back of the bar.”

“Oh my God, Sam, this isn’t a bar party.”

“You’re right. A bar party would be better.”

“You know, people are gonna stare...”

Sam just grinned widely at her, before spinning her and dipping her with a flourish, making her laugh. They leaned down close to her, brushing their lips against hers.

“I don’t care.”

[the-desolated-quill]

Arachnids In The UK - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Spiders. It had to be fucking spiders, didn’t it?

Normally I watch each episode multiple times before writing a review in order to pick up on every nuance and detail. With Arachnids In The UK however, I just about managed two viewings and that was a Herculean effort I can tell you because... you know... fucking spiders. So apologies if this review isn’t as detailed as previous ones. Frankly you should be grateful you’re even getting a review of this at all because... you know... FUCKING SPIDERS!

So then. Let’s talk about the fucking spiders. The fear factor of this episode will depend on how you feel about spiders in general. If you’re one of those weirdos who keep tarantulas as pets (seriously, what’s wrong with a dog or a gerbil or something? Can’t you just be normal?), then you probably found this quite quaint. If however you’re like me, a confirmed arachnophobic and colossal wuss, Arachnids In The UK most likely terrified the fucking life out of you.

But wait. It gets worse. I would have been shitting myself if the spiders were regular sized, but that’s not enough for Chris Chibnall. Oh no. These spiders are ever so slightly bigger than that. How big, I hear you ask? Think Aragog from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Yeah. That big.

At this point I’d like to extend a massive fuck you to Doctor Who’s special effects department for really putting in an almost criminal amount of time and effort into making these giant, eight legged demons from hell look as photo realistic as possible. Each individual, computer generated hair rendered with absolute care and attention to detail, making the spiders that much more skin crawling to look at. I mean it wasn’t as if I was planning to sleep that night anyway.

I also have to begrudgingly commend Sallie Aprahamian for her direction. The lighting, camera angles and use of sound really help create a creepy atmosphere and build tension effectively. Because spiders, even massive spiders, aren’t the type of monsters to jump out and attack you directly. No, the little fuckers like to sneak up on you and catch you unawares, and that’s what this episode really takes advantage of.

So what reason did Chris Chibnall come up with for giant fucking spiders to exist? Genetic experiments and toxic waste. Stupid? Yes, but so is the idea of a wooden blue box travelling through time and space, so let’s not get too critical. Just pretend that scientist works for Norman Osborn from the Marvel Comics and go with it.

Let’s move away from the spiders (quickly please) and talk about the characters because they’re, once again, the strongest part of the show. The Doctor is still just as delightful as ever with Jodie Whittaker switching from comedy to drama effortlessly. I especially liked at the beginning of the episode where she’s noticeably sad to be saying goodbye to her new friends only for her face to light up again when Yasmin invites her for tea. After Steven Moffat’s ‘the Doctor lies’ bullshit and Twelve acting all brooding and stoic, it’s refreshing to see a Doctor who displays their emotions openly. I also liked the way she interacted with the spiders. While everyone else is understandably shitting themselves, the Doctor is the only one who tries to give the spiders any kind of dignity, even going so far as to comfort the giant mummy spider at the end as it dies. She doesn’t view them as disgusting or frightening. They’re living creatures like her and deserve the same kindness she would give to a human.

Of course the main purpose of Arachnids In The UK is to get the companions to sign up for more adventures and I really like how this is done for the most part. Ryan is very quickly becoming my favourite companion and Tosin Cole is clearly having a lot of fun in the role. My favourite scene in the whole episode was him using grime music to lure spiders into the panic room. That got such a big laugh out of me. He’s just a really likeable character and I love how he’s growing and developing. He’s come a long way since The Woman Who Fell To Earth. He’s become a lot more confident and I think it’s because he feels he can achieve great things with the Doctor. He likes that he feels valued by her and that’s nice to see. And he clearly still has a lot more room to grow as shown by his scenes with Graham, which are easily the highlight of the episode. His negligent father wants Ryan to move back in with him, calling himself his ‘proper family,’ which irks Ryan. Over the course of these four episodes, Ryan and Graham have grown so much closer as Ryan slowly starts to let Graham in. I love their camaraderie and the understated love between them and I can’t wait for the episode where Ryan finally calls Graham ‘grandad’.

Graham too is brilliant. We see him return to his home and start properly coming to terms with a life without Grace and I love how it’s portrayed. New Who has an unfortunate tendency to really overegg the pudding when it wants to elicit an emotional reaction from the audience (see the Tenth Doctor’s farewell tour or the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctor’s ghastly final monologues). Chris Chibnall so far really seems to understand that less is more and the same is true here. There’s no obnoxiously loud sad music or sappy monologues. In fact the imaginary conversations Graham has with Grace are actually quite mundane, talking about when to put the bins out and things like that. What makes these scenes so powerful is Bradley Walsh. His performance, his facial expressions, everything he does sells the pain and heartbreak Graham is going through. It’s truly an acting masterclass that puts the previous showrunners attempts to tug at the heartstrings to shame.

I’m very curious to see what happens to Graham going forward. Him wanting to travel with the Doctor in order to cope with his grief and avoid knocking around an empty house is quite a compelling reason to become a companion. Haven’t really seen that done before. And... is it just me, but is this coming across as a bit... death wish-y? What with this and his cancer recovery as well, I’m deeply worried something bad is going to happen to him come the end of the series. I really hope not. I would be devastated.

Finally there’s Yasmin and... yeah, I’ve mentioned before how I’m not exactly warming to her. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate her. Mandip Gill is doing a great job with the material she’s being given and Yasmin is a nice enough person, but as I’ve said in previous reviews, she comes off as a bit superfluous. Even the introduction of her family doesn’t really do much to establish her as a key member of Team TARDIS. In fact she’s coming across as an amalgamation of Rose Tyler and Martha Jones. Rose because of her desire to find something more in her life and Martha because she wants to get away from her boring and annoying one dimensional family. She doesn’t really stand out as her own character and I put it down mostly to the ensemble cast. It’s the classic case of ‘two is company, but three is a crowd.’ It’s the same reason why Susan and Adric got sidelined in the classic series (as well as the fact that Adric was an irritating little shit that deserved to be smacked upside the head) and she just pales in comparison to Ryan and Graham, whose characters and storylines are much stronger and more interesting. I really hope she gets a chance to shine soon because so far I honestly couldn’t care less about her, and considering she’s the first ever Muslim companion, that’s really disappointing.

Since we’ve shifted to criticism, lets talk about the supporting cast. Yasmin’s family, as I said, are quite boring. They’re just your typical family with the typical overbearing mum (maybe it’s time for New Who to consider stopping all the family stuff now). The scientist... exists, doing nothing other than to introduce the spiders as a plot device and occasionally give exposition on spider ecosystems. Finally there’s the hotel guy, played by Chris Noth who tries to wring every last drop of comedy out of the part and is actually quite amusing on occasion, but sadly doesn’t have an actual character as such other than being a painfully on the nose parody of Donald Trump. Not only is this futile in and of itself because some could argue that Trump is so extreme that he’s practically impossible to satirise, but also nothing ever really comes of it. He’s a prick at the beginning, he’s a prick at the end, and there’s no real payoff or satisfying closure. Not only does he not learn his lesson, I actually found myself agreeing with him a few times. Like what’s the difference between shooting the spiders and locking them in a panic room so they can eventually starve to death? And what was the Doctor planning to do once she herded the giant mummy spider out of the ballroom? Set it up in a nice cozy bedsit? And if it’s suffocating to death anyway because its lungs have grown too big and can’t absorb enough oxygen, wouldn’t shooting it be the kindest thing to do at that point?

While I’m on the subject of guns, how the fuck is his bodyguard able to get away with carrying a gun in Sheffield? You’re not in America now, sunshine. And how come Yasmin, the police officer, doesn’t do anything about it or the fact that her mother was wrongfully dismissed? (at gunpoint. I need to keep pointing that out. Her mum was fired from her job at gunpoint in Sheffield). Come on Chibnall!

Arachnids In The UK has flaws to be sure, but its excellent execution of the main plot and threat as well as its genuinely touching and heartwarming moments between the main characters that help it stand out. The weakest episode so far, but still very enjoyable.

[blurry-fics]

Call It Off

Pairing: Tyler Joseph x Reader

Warnings: Angst

Word Count: 2910

Request: ohhh, just thought of another one.. how about one where reader sees Tyler is getting married in the newspaper and maybe she tries stop it.. he realizes he loves her after seeing her but it takes him a few days to come to the full realization? -@svintsandghosts

Author’s Note: The fic ended up being a little different to the request (I asked the requester if that was ok!), but I still love it! Also, I hope all of you haven’t minded all the really long posts lately. What can I say? I like lots of little details!

“I can’t do this anymore,” you sighed as you rubbed at your temple. Tears were still streaming down your face, clouding your vision. “I really tried, Tyler. I love you, but I just can’t do this.”

“Y/N, please, we can work something out.”

He reached forward, but his fingertips had barely grazed your arm before you pulled away from his touch.

“Please,” you muttered. Your voice was hardly more than a whisper. “Don’t.”

Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked down at the gold-lined envelope. There was no return address on the front and it was a rare occurrence that someone sent you a letter. You stuck a thumb under the flap and hastily ripped it open, not caring if the envelope was destroyed in the process.

A small piece of cardstock was inside the envelope, lined in the same gold foil as the envelope. There was a bad feeling in your stomach as you flipped over the card and began to read the writing on it.

“No,” you gasped. “That can’t be right.”

You reached for your phone and immediately dialed your best friend’s number. Tears were already beginning to pool in your eyes and you weren’t so sure that you would actually be able to get words out if your friend picked up.

“What do you want?” he answered.

“Tyler’s getting married,” you blurted.

“Come again?”

“Tyler,” you drew in a shaky breath.

“What about him?”

“He’s getting married.”

“To who?”

“I don’t know. Some girl, I don’t recognize the name.”

“When is it?”

“Um,” you wiped away a fallen tear so that you could read the invitation a little better. “Next Saturday.”

“Next Saturday? And you just got the invitation?”

“I don’t know, Zane, alright?” you huffed. The questions were getting tiring, all you wanted him to do was shut up and listen right now. “I’m just as confused as you are.”

“Y/N, you know you can’t go to that wedding.”

“I have to. I have to see him one last time.”

“No, you don’t. You’re finally moving past the breakup after years. Are you really going to risk all of that healing just to see him one last time?”

“I have to,” you repeated before ending the call.

You picked up the invitation and ran your finger along the edge as tears once again began to cloud your vision. It was supposed to be your name on the invitation next to Tyler’s, not this random girl’s. That had been the plan: finish the tour, get married, start the next album.

Then you had let your emotions get the best of you.

You watched as another formally-dressed couple walked behind your car, completely unaware of you sitting frozen in the driver’s seat. The car had been off for close to twenty minutes now, but you had still yet to open the door. Every time you reached for the handle, you hesitated.

Just as you were about to work up the courage to try again, your phone began to ring. Zane was requesting to FaceTime you and you knew exactly what his reasoning was. He wouldn’t be happy if he saw you all dressed up for the wedding. You held a finger over the camera and answered the call.

“Hello?”

You watched as Zane’s eyebrows furrowed, “Why’s the screen black?”

“Is it?” you asked, trying to sound convincing. “Must be poor connection. Why did you call?”

“We both know why I called. And we both know why your camera has ‘poor connection’.”

With a sigh, you flipped the camera around so that Zane could see your face. He shook his head a little once he saw that you were all dressed up and in your car.

“Why are you doing this, Y/N?”

“I already told you. I have to see him one more time. It’s like… closure. Or something. I don’t know.”

“Just be smart about it, ok? I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“I’ll be smart,” you tried to give him a reassuring smile.

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

You slipped the phone into your pocket and stepped out of the car. On the other side of the parking lot, you could just make out all the wedding guests as they walked into the church. With a small shake of your hands, you took a confident step forward to go and join them.

A few people gave you weird looks as you joined the crowd, mostly extended family members that barely remembered your name or why you had been a part of Tyler’s life in the first place. You settled for giving them shy smiles and finding your way to an emptier part of the room. This wasn’t a social event for you.

You were scanning the room for any sign of Tyler when your eyes landed on another familiar face. Unfortunately, he caught your eye as well and began to make his way through the crowd towards where you were standing. Your stomach began to twist in knots as he grew closer.

“Y/N,” he smiled once he was finally at an acceptable talking distance. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Zack,” you returned his smile. “It’s been awhile.”

“What are you doing here, actually?”

“Attending the wedding.” You wondered why Zack was so confused by your presence. “I got the invitation last week.”

“Right,” he nodded. “Well, I still have some more family to talk to. I just wanted to say hi.”

“Hi,” you said, giving him a little wave.

He smiled tightly at you before turning and walking back into the crowd of people. The way he had interacted with had made your stomach uneasy, but you brushed it aside as nothing. Today was probably almost as stressful for him as it was for you.

You waited until almost everyone had found themselves a seat before you dared to even enter the room. There was no way you would risk running into his parents or another of his siblings at his wedding. Hell, even running into Josh would be enough of a problem. Thankfully, he was easy to spot--and avoid--with his brightly dyed hair.

You took a seat towards the back, far away from the family members that you had once loved almost as much as your own. The people around you were ones you didn’t recognize, most likely Tyler’s childhood friends or other family friends that he felt obligated to invite. It seemed like the type of thing he would do.

Zane had texted you a couple times before and throughout the ceremony, asking how things were going and if you were doing ok. They had gone unanswered, mostly because you were too busy wondering what things would be like if you hadn’t done the things you did. If that was you up there, standing across from him. The one that was causing him to smile and light up the room.

“Your vows,” the officiant said, turning to Tyler.

You watched as he pulled a small, crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. He shook his head a little as he began to read, still unable to keep the goofy grin off of his face. Memories of times that he had written little poems and notes for you danced around your mind and made your eyes brim with tears.

He was reaching the end of the vows, but you couldn’t stand to listen to another second of it. You stood up and walked out into the aisle, ignoring the few people who had turned to look at you as you did so. The sobs were getting harder to stifle now, and all you wanted was to get out of the building. Away from him.

The door creaked as you opened it and you could practically feel the stares boring into the back of your head, but you kept walking straight towards the front door. You just needed to hold everything back until you were in the car; then you could scream and cry and curse the world and yourself for everything that had happened to you.

“I’m telling you, there haven’t been any pictures from the wedding.”

“Come on, Zane,” you huffed. “You know I don’t like when you lie about this stuff. The damage is already done, can you just show me the pictures now?”

“I’m not lying to you, Y/N. Look for yourself.”

Zane handed you his phone, which was open to Tyler’s Instagram. Sure enough, the most recent picture was from a couple weeks ago. It was just a random selfie that he had put up with an equally random caption.

“That’s weird,” you said as you handed his phone back to him. “You’d think that after a week, they would have finally posted some photos. Did you check his girlf… wife’s account?”

“What’s her name?”

“I don’t know, but if you scroll down a little she’s tagged in his posts about her.”

Zane scrolled through his phone for a little while, but his face only grew more confused, “Where are these posts about her?”

You sat up and leaned over Zane’s shoulder. He had gone back through at least a year’s worth of posts now, and yet there hadn’t been a single post about her. Without thinking, you yanked his phone out of his hands and began to scroll through his account yourself.

“I know he definitely posted about her on Valentine’s day,” you muttered, more to yourself than Zane. “Why would he delete posts about her?”

“Did something happen at the wedding?”

“Not that I know of. I mean, I only stayed until the end of Tyler’s vows,” you shuddered at the mere thought of it, “but I don’t think they would get that far into the wedding if someone was hesitant.”

“I’m sure it’s not a huge deal,” Zane said as he took his phone back.

“Yeah. You’re right.”

Rain poured down onto your windshield as you drove home from Zane’s house. The wipers were struggling to keep up with the constant stream of water, but they were working just fast enough that you could see the road. You suddenly wished that Zane didn’t live so far from you so that you didn’t have to spend nearly half an hour driving in this awful weather.

Your phone began to ring, making your music cut out. With a sigh, you glanced down at the caller ID to see if it was someone you could ignore so that your music would start playing again. When you saw the picture on the screen, your heart nearly stopped. You immediately pulled off to the side of the road and answered your phone.

“Hello?”

“Y/N?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Man,” he let out a sigh of relief. “I thought you would have changed your number by now.”

“Too much work,” you giggled. It surprised you that you were acting so comfortable.

“Right,” he laughed. “Anyway, the reason I’m calling.”

“Yeah?”

“So, I saw you at the wedding and, well, do you mind if we talk? I can come to you, if you want.”

“Uh, yeah,” you said. “I’m on my way home from a friend’s house right now, but I should be home in about twenty minutes.”

“Ok, perfect.”

“Perfect,” you repeated.

“I’ll see you then.”

“Bye.”

The call ended and music once again began to blast in your car. You took a deep breath and pulled back out onto the road, being extra careful to avoid a large puddle that had formed a few feet in front of where you had parked.

There was already another car in your driveway as you arrived home. Your breaths became shakier as you pulled up next to it, knowing that he would be waiting in the car. You didn’t even dare to look over at him as you grabbed your things from the passenger seat and shut off the engine.

The slam of your car door was followed shortly by another one. His footsteps were noisy as he stepped through puddles towards the front door, just a few paces behind you. You fumbled a bit as you went to unlock the door.

“Are you going to acknowledge me?” he laughed.

“Once we’re inside,” you said. “It’s too dark and wet out here.”

You pushed open the front door and tried your best to dry the soles of your shoes before stepping inside. He followed suit and waited in the entryway as you set your things down and pulled off your coat.

“You don’t have to wait here,” you smiled. “You know where you’re going.”

He kicked off his shoes and hung up his jacket before disappearing past the entryway. It was easy for you to forget the reality of your situation as you shuffled towards the kitchen to get yourself something to drink.

“Do you want anything?” you asked.

“Water would be great.”

You filled up two glasses with water and carried them back to the living room. He had already made himself comfortable and put his feet on the coffee table. He smiled as you handed his glass of water to him.

“So, Tyler,” you smiled. “What did you need to talk about?”

“A lot,” he sighed before taking a long sip of water. “Maybe too much.”

You took a seat in the armchair and made yourself comfortable.

“Where do you want to start?”

“I’m not sure. So much has happened since… you know.”

“Then why don’t we start there?”

Tyler visibly swallowed, but he slowly began to nod, “Ok.”

“I hope you know that I didn’t want things to end. I loved you so much. So much. I was just frustrated and exhausted from tour and I needed an escape from all of it. I let my emotions get the best of me and I said what I did and I never quite worked up the courage to tell you I didn’t mean it.”

A smile tugged at the corner of Tyler’s lips, but it was quick to fade.

“I wish you had told me.”

You blinked back a few tears, “There’s a lot of things I wish I had done differently, but hey, I guess it all worked out. I’m working a normal job again. You’re still touring the world and you’re married now.”

“About that…” Tyler averted his eyes back to the ground. “I called the wedding off.”

“What?”

“I saw you when you left during my vows. It was only for a few seconds, but that short amount of time was enough to make my knees weak and my mouth go dry. Nobody else has ever made me feel that strongly before and, in that moment, I knew the wrong person was standing across from me.”

“Really?”

“Well, I knew for a while before then, but actually seeing you there confirmed it for me.”

Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked over at Tyler sitting on the couch. He was still avoiding eye contact with you.

“Are you… saying what I think you’re saying?”

He finally looked at you with that same hint of a smile on his face, “That I’m still hopelessly in love with you? Yeah, I think I am.”

You weren’t entirely sure how to react to his confession. Your brain was a mess of excitement and confusion and a number of other emotions that you couldn’t quite seem to place.

“I… don’t know what to say,” you muttered.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to say anything. Even if you don’t feel the same, I just wanted to let you know how I felt because the last time that I didn’t, it became one of my biggest regrets.”

“No, it’s not that. I just thought you would hate me after how I ended things.”

“Y/N,” he exhaled a little. “I could never hate you.”

Tears were consistently slipping down your cheeks now. There were so many things that you wanted to say and do, but you settled for walking over to the couch and wrapping your arms around Tyler. He lightly rubbed your back while you leaned against his shoulder and tried not to cry too hard.

“I’m so sorry. I love you, Tyler, more than anything else. I should have never let my emotions get the best of me.”

“Hey, everything came together in the end. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

Tyler helped calm you down, all the while pressing soft kisses to the top of your head. You finally stopped crying and explained to him all the emotions you were feeling. He had tears in his eyes too, but he was smiling.

“You know, I talked to Zack at the wedding. He seemed surprised that I was there,” you sniffled.

“He told me about that. Nobody knew you were coming, actually.”

“What?”

“I dropped the invitation off in your mailbox on a whim in hopes that you would come to the wedding.”

“Why?”

“Like I said, I had to see you one more time and figure out if I was making the right decision.” He brushed some hair back from your forehead. “As it turns out, I wasn’t.”

“We need to stop making decisions while running high on emotions,” you laughed. “It always ends up in some kind of a mess.”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “But it somehow always works out in the end too.”

He pulled you a little closer so that he could give you a kiss. His lips were soft and warm and familiar.

And you were happy.

[vieuxnoyesrp]

Addie. We’ve been hard-pressed for a Hayley for a while now, to stir things up in the bayou. Your portrayal really hit home for us, especially with how much attention to detail and thought you have clearly put into her app. Hayley’s headcanons did a wonderful job of hinting at the human beyond the wolf, and at the complexities of Hayley’s emotional landscape. We liked that you understood the value and potential of her relationship to Kira, and that you are brave enough to develop her roots in this roleplay even while she lacks the ready-made connections that she has on the show. Also, you steered clear of the tropes commonly associated with her character. Of equal significance was the fact that you recognized how much room Hayley has to grow before she fits the shoes of a leader, and that you balance out her virtues with consideration of the shortcomings that will challenge her development along the way. We trust we’ve placed our spitfire into very capable hands and we can’t wait to have you on the dash!

Addison, thank you very much for applying. As for Hayley…

             ⚜ ~ WELCOME TO VIEUX NOYÉS!!! ~ ⚜

Wondering what to do next? Click here and let the good times roll!

⚜ Roleplayer:

⤜ Name/alias: Addison (Addie works too) ⤜ Pronouns: Female ⤜ Age: 20

⤜ Timezone: EST ⤜ Activity: 7-8. I’d say during the week I’m able to get on a fair amount, enough to get out two or three sets of replies a day. Though, there are days I may not get all replies out as well. Weekends are a lot more open for me, so I’m able to do the most during that time. ⤜ Best form of contact: I’d say tumblr, but I’ll happily provide a skype if it’s needed for another form of contact. ⤜ Any Triggers? No. ⤜ How did you find Vieux Noyés? I came across it in the tags, but I’ve also heard about it from a few other members of the rp community and decided it was time to check it out for myself. ⤜ What drew you to the RP? I’m most interested in the way that the shows have been incorporated together. I enjoy the way they’ve been weaved and knit together to make a cohesive tale.

⤜ What is one subplot/element from the Plot page that you are particularly looking forward to seeing in this roleplay? I’m most intrigued by the witches plot line. I think it will be interesting not only for those within the species but also those along the sidelines. It will be entertaining to watch how alliances form or deteriorate as the story and players change. Who knows who will end up on top, and until that’s determined, it’s essentially placing your bets and seeing what pays off.

⚜ Desired Character: Hayley( Marshall )Labonair

⤜ Why do you want this character?

I want to play Hayley because I think her character has a lot of room to grow. In the actual show, she had connections that helped her grow and realize who she was. But here, she’s been thrown quite literally to the wolves, and she’s got no earthly clue what she’s doing. She has no one looking out for her or anyone besides Jackson that has her full trust. I want to go through all the character building that needs to be done to make her into an alpha that’s worthy of leading the pack on her own accord. I want to expand her ability to let others in because there’s no way she’ll be able to do anything without them. She needs to learn that people aren’t the enemy, and that no matter how it’s been in the past, she’s not invincible and immune to failure. I think it’ll be rewarding to help with the transition from a loner into an alpha that isn’t in power because of her namesake, but because she’s capable and able to lead the pack to a better tomorrow.

⤜ What are your future plans for this character?

I’m interested in the transition to alpha for Hayley. It’s definitely a role she hasn’t been groomed for in any way other than her lineage. I think it’ll be fun to have her sweat it out a bit. They’ll be successes and losses, I’m sure, but I want to use those to develop her as a person. I want to take her from someone who dreamt up this daydream where she found her pack to the reality. I want her to know what it’s like to love and be loved in the familial sense and to learn to not only think of herself. She needs that responsibility to mend all of the tendencies her early life has instilled in her. I also want to expand her social network. Hayley doesn’t trust many people farther than she can throw them, and I think it’d be good for her to be a little more open to people, even if they don’t become best friends. Her sarcasm and wit are defense mechanisms, and I want to play her against someone that pushes through those things to expose the more fragile side of Hayley Labonair.

⤜ Put yourself in your character’s shoes. Give us a few lines to describe a day in the life of your character… Where do they live? Where and how do they spend their time? (feel free to refer to our locations page that can be found in the navigation)

Hayley spends most of her time in the Bayou. She has a decent sized cabin to call her own, but the girl prefers to be outdoors, even if it is just on the porch. Hayley’s not the type to sleep in, and as a result, she’s normally up pretty early in the day. Hayley will more often than not go for a morning run and come home an hour or so later to shower. After that, she’ll cook up breakfast and eat it out on the porch and watch as the rest of the world comes to life. A little later on, she’ll walk around and chat with a few other wolves and see what’s going on for the day. If it’s nothing that needs her present, Hayley will venture into the Quarter to see what she can see. Whether it’s hanging out at the bar or down where the witch community congregates, the wolf likes seeing what there is to see. It’s not quite surveillance, but it helps to stay in the know—especially because news doesn’t exactly spread to the Bayou at god-speed. When she’s satisfied with that, she may seek out Tyler, Elijah, or a bottle of something strong to occupy her for the rest evening until she returns home for the night.

⤜ Give us three headcanons regarding your character of choice.

1. Hayley’s not done digging for information on her parents. While she’s gotten more information than she ever has, the wolf wants more. Hayley wants to know who they were, how they met, and just the little intricacies of their lives. Maybe it’s for her own closure or maybe just curiosity, but Hayley’s created so many scenarios of who they were and what paths had brought them to each other in her head. She wants to know everything she can because it’s the closest she’ll ever get to having them in her life.

2. After the curse, Hayley hasn’t turned willingly even though she has the ability. The girl used to treasure her wolf form. It was sacred-and while it stripped her of her adoptive family, it was the place she’d felt the most like herself. But that has all been tainted now that someone had condemned her to it for months. She knows she’ll have to turn again soon, but she’s not looking forward to it. She prefers to be in control, and while the curse seems to be gone, she still can’t shake the feeling that she’s more defenseless than powerful in her wolf form.

3. Hayley’s actually handy with a hammer and nails. It’s an odd talent she truly has no use for, but she’s always been good at repairs and woodwork. It keeps her hands and mind busy. When she’s stressed or angered, there’s a good chance she’ll end up doing some DIY remodeling on her cabin.

⤜ What are some plots you’d like to explore with your character?

I’m most interested in Hayley’s connection to Kira. I think it will be good for her to tap into some of the supernatural unknown as well to test the bounds of her social abilities. Hayley’s definitely not a naturally warm and social person. I want to play out how she fumbles and possibly succeeds in making a friend of the younger girl and learning more about what she is. Another plot line I’d like to write through it Hayley’s connection to Caroline and Tyler. I think the banter and sly comments revolving around the three characters will be refreshing and amusing for Hayley—a good stress reliever after a long day of being a leader. Finally, I want to see Hayley interact with some of the other wolves in the roleplay aside from Jackson like Derek Hale, Scott, and Quentin. I’d like to explore how she deals with other packs both as an alpha and as a wolf. I think it will be good for her to try to learn more about the wolf community outside of those in the Bayou and figure out if there’s a way for them all to form an alliance to bring the species back to the New Orleans supernatural table.

⤜ Para sample:

(Retained for Privacy)

⤜ Would you like to be considered for another character if not accepted as your primary choice? Not at this time!

⤜ Have you read the rules?: I have ⤜ Anything else? I honestly can’t think of anything else at the moment.

[juggiehasmyheart17-blog]

Dancing Heels Part 2

Warnings: slight smut at the end, drinking Part 2: Betty awoke to thoughts of the previous night, her eyes still closed taking in the scene stuck in her head. The warm lights, music pumping through her body, a blur of moving silhouettes, a boy and a girl arguing. She smiled at the night. Sure, she had been thrown out of the party but it had been unexpected and thrilling. Dull.That was a word to describe Betty’s life, but last night threw that word out the window. Sunlight poured into Betty and Polly’s room streaming onto Betty’s face. She groaned throwing her hands onto her face trying to block the sun out. “Rise and shine Baby!” Mrs. Cooper sung out. “You must tell me all about Kevin Keller!” Betty sighed sitting up. She had been fortunate enough to get home last night when her parents were asleep, avoiding this conversation. Now she had to face it, coming up with white lies to make her mother happy. “Kevin is a very nice guy, he’s swell.” Betty said briefly. It was true, Kevin seemed like a great guy but Betty wasn’t interested in a showmance to please her parents or really any guy her parents liked at all. Before her mother could respond the doorbell rang. Mrs. Cooper gazed out the window and gasped. “Get dressed! Get dressed! It’s Kevin!” She shouted running out the room. Betty sighed wondering if Kevin was going to show up everyday. She quickly got dressed in what some may call a tennis outfit, a light green polo shirt and a white skirt. She slipped on her sneakers and walked slowly to the living room. Her ponytail was sitting tightly on her head. “Hi Kevin,” Betty softly smiled at the boy standing in front of her. Relief washed over Kevin and he walked towards Betty, he was suffering at the hands of Mrs.Cooper for too long. “You two have fun!!” Mrs. Cooper rang out as they walked out the door. Betty shook her hand as she walked through the door Kevin was holding open for her. “Sorry about my mother.” Betty apologized once her mother was out of earshot. Kevin shrugged his shoulders, “I’m used to it, my dad uses me as bait for the families with young daughters. ‘Come to Keller family resort where your daughters have a chance at marrying my son!’” Kevin did his best to imitate his father voice, but it came out as a jolly green giant accent. Betty laughed at his impersonation as they walked, she didn’t know where she was going so she just followed Kevin. “So ‘parent-baiting’ isn’t your idea of a good time huh?” Kevin chuckled, “Yeah, you could stay that.” Betty looked up from her feet, a stunning lake standing in front of her. “Wow I never knew this was here, it’s beautiful.” Kevin smiled sitting down a rock below him, Betty following his actions, sat on a lower rock next to him. Betty directed her gaze to Kevin, “So when you’re not here or at university, what do you do for fun?” Kevin sighed not sure what to tell her, he didn’t do much else but study. “I like to sing, I’m involved in an old fashioned quartet.” Betty squealed, “With costumes and hats?” Kevin laughed and nodded his head. “It’s a little different than most quartets…” “How so?” Betty pried. Kevin took a deep breath staring at the lake not wanting to face her. “All the members are gay, as in they like men.” Betty was a bit taken back by the boy’s comment. ‘’Oh, okay.’’ In the time that they were in there was not many openly gay people and the fact that Kevin was open about it only made her like him more. He was different. He didn’t fit in a box. Kinda like her. ‘’I can see why you don’t like to spend summers here, not much possibilities to meet cute boys huh?’’ That made him laugh. “Yeah I can watch but I can't touch.” “Does your dad know?” Betty asked tugging her knees into her chest. She couldn't imagine telling her parents something like that. She can barely tell them she doesn't want to marry a guy they pick. But if she was Kevin she would have to tell them that she didn't like guys at all. She couldn't fathom how that conversation would go. Kevin scoffed. “No. He would fall over and die right there on the spot. I've tried to but choked at the last minute.” Betty nodded. “I hope one day you have the guts to tell him.” Maybe one day she’d have the guts to tell her parents what she really thought. After a moment of silence she smiled at him. “Well I’m happy to have found a friend.” Kevin smiled. “Me too.” A moment of serenity fell of the two of them as they reflected on the relief that washed over them. Kevin finally telling someone in his resort world that he was gay, and Betty realizing she wouldn’t have to break his heart, but help hold it together instead. Across the lake a figure appeared gazing out over the water, tall, dark and brooding. Betty knew exactly who it was despite being some 100 feet away. Jughead. “What do you know about Jughead?” Kevin caught the sight she was captured by as he answered her question. “He’s handsome, obviously, mysterious for sure, that leather jacket he wears is never off of him except when he’s teaching a class. I’m not sure what the meaning of it is or the emblem on the back but I can imagine it’s got some kind of emotional significance.” He paused, “Wait are you interested in him?” Kevin asked his mouth ajar and his eyes popping out of his head. Betty giggled at the sight of Kevin, “Well I mean who wouldn’t be? He’s the most attractive guy here and there’s just something about him. He’s rude and coarse but something tells me inside there’s so much more to him.” Kevin grinned at her knowing this was going to be the best summer he ever had in this hellhole. Jughead was completely ignorant to the pair sitting on the other side of the lake. His mind had run away to all the troubles he was currently overwhelmed with, he was alone and struggling. A boss that hated him, a family who was god knows where, and now there was a intriguing girl causing havoc on his life here and he knew she wasn’t going to stop. He saw the determined gleam in her eyes. He ran his hand through his beanieless hair, something he hadn’t worn in years. A tap on his shoulders interrupted his thoughts, “Penny for your thoughts?” Jughead turned around to face Ronnie. “Hey.” “Sorry to interrupt but we gotta get to our class.” Ronnie said draping her arm over his shoulders and leaning into him. Jughead sighed, “Yeah let’s go.” Ronnie’s arms dropped from his stature and followed him through the woods back to the main trail. Betty watched the interaction between Jughead and Ronnie. With the way Ronnie hung on him and seemed to always protect him and tell him what he needed to do, Betty wondered if they were together. She shook away the feeling as they walked farther away from the lake. Betty cocked her head as she caught sight of a doubleheaded green snake on Jughead’s back. Southside Serpents was written around the snake. Maybe she was right, maybe he had layers, and maybe she had to peel them back to see what was underneath. Jughead threw his heavy leather jacket on a nearby chair inside the small dance studio which sat caddy cornered to the mail hall. He ran his fingers through his rough brunette hair, a steady trickle of older people coming through the screen door. Ronnie was cheery self as she welcomed the class for the day. “Hey Arnold, looking good today handsome.” “Charles, I like those pants. Are they new?” It was pretty easy for Ronnie to use her charm on the class considering there were only a few men involved. Most of the class were women from the ages of 40-75. While the resort didn’t host many young adults, the ones that did find themselves there were locked away by their parents. “Hi there Jughead. Are you ready to show me some new moves today?” Mrs. Tyler flirtatiously asked as she snaked around Jughead’s frame, her hand caressing his rear end. Jughead jumped at her sneaky move, as the noise of the opening of the screen door caught his attention. He went to respond but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the figure entering the studio. Standing awkwardly in the entrance, the girl shuffled her feet. Jughead took his time examining her under the revealing light of day. She was enchanting, the way her blue eyes sparkled under her overwhelming emotions. Her body petite but shapely, her polo shirt tugging tightly against her chest. “Betty!” Ronnie screamed and ran to the girl hugging her. “So you’ve come to check us out under Jughead approved circumstances?” Ronnie laughed her arm slung around Betty’s shoulders. Betty’s giggle sounded throughout the room making Jughead’s stomach drop with intrigue. Her ponytail swung with her light steps towards the front of the room. Jughead let his stare linger on Betty a little longer than he intended. One of the older women cleared her throat getting Jughead’s attention. She motioned towards Betty as if telling him to make a move. Jughead knit his eyebrows together and shook his head at her. “Alright let’s get started with salsa today. Ronnie, music please” Jughead commanded back in his usual Jughead attitude. Ronnie threw him a glare as she pressed play on the retro boombox. Jughead reached for Ronnie, pulling her towards him. Ronnie sighed taking her stance with him. “Don’t show off Jug, she won’t like it.” Ronnie mentioned as she spun out from him, winking at Arnold who stood near her holding onto his wife Tammy. Jughead’s mouth sat gaped at Ronnie, he wasn’t showing off, he wasn’t affected by Betty “Baby” at all. Betty was invited onto the dance floor by one of the few older men. She copied Ronnie’s position on the older man keeping a further distance from him than Ronnie did from Jughead. The older man led her in the steps as he watched Jughead’s moments. “Ouch!” Betty exclaimed stepping back from her partner, her foot throbbing. Ronnie frowned at the situation. “Don honey, would you like to dance with me? I could use a stronger partner.” Ronnie offered to Betty’s partner. He quickly dropped Betty’s hands and stepped towards Ronnie. “Dance with her Jug.” Ronnie threw over her shoulder low enough for only Jughead to hear. Jughead sighed and nodded at her requested. “Baby is it?” He echoed to Betty, his posture uninviting. Betty tentatively walked to him. “Yes that’s me.” ‘‘Looks like you’re my partner today.” He muttered taking her hand and pulling her close to him, his right arm securing her in place. “Better keep up.” He added with a smirk. Betty knees nearly buckled beneath her, her hand grabbing Jughead’s shoulder for stability, and with that Jughead began to move. Jughead held her closer than Don, Betty’s previous partner, had. His moments were swift and tidy forcing Betty to swing along with him. She was not a dancer by nature and her ‘white-girl’ dancing was far worse than most. Yet somehow she managed to keep up with Jughead and the music that seemed to coarse their his body and into hers. Betty glanced over to Veronica as she lead Don around the room, six inches sitting between them. Perhaps Jughead preferred to dance close to his partner or maybe Ronnie wasn’t taking a chance on the old man. Betty had seen the men around here get handsy with the staff and Ronnie didn’t seem to be one to put up with that behavior. Without Betty’s full attention on Jughead, she found herself catching her balance trying not to fall to the tile floor. He had let go of her as the music stopped. “Great job guys. See you tomorrow.” Jughead spat abruptly turning off the stereo. Ronnie flirted shamelessly with older men as they left and closed the door behind them. She stomped towards Jughead, “What the hell is wrong with you today?” Jughead shook his head at Ronnie, “I’m not in the mood, Ronniekins.” He mimicked her famous nickname for Archie, the waiter. As the argument started to raise in volume, Betty rushed to grab the door handle. “Betty. Stay.” Ronnie instructed without turning her face to Betty. Betty stood frozen facing them at the door. She cleared her throat as they stared at each other. Ronnie huffed as she walked over to Betty, who was still unsure what unspoken argument they had just had. “Come, tonight to the dancers only room.” Jughead opened up his mouth to speak. Ronnie held her hand up in his direction. “Do not say a word, Jughead.” She paused lowering her hand and taking a deep breath. “We will see you at eight.” Betty nodded, gulping slightly as she glancing at the ajar door. Ronnie cracked a smile, “Yes, you may leave Betty.” Without a second thought Betty walked quickly out the door both excited and scared for the night ahead of her. Ronnie turned on her heels to face Jughead. “Alright burger loving bonehead. Your attitude is at a nine today. I have a good feeling you blew it with Betty but I won you a second chance. Don’t blow it Forsythe.” She threatened as she picked up her bags and strutted out the door. As soon as Ronnie walked out the door she stood face to face with one of the thin and tall waiters who clung to the corners watching her and Jughead dance. They clouded in the corner like a swarm of flies at a picnic. Ronnie would admit that most of them were handsome, this waiter especially with his long red locks. “Hey there, Jason. Did you find the girl you're going to woo this summer?” Ronnie asked throwing a youthful grin at him to which he flashed a smile that was worth melting over. “I did. Her name is Polly, she’s quite the looker. Nice curves, long blonde hair...” he drifted off licking his lips. Ronnie cut him off raising her hand, “too much information jayjay.” Jason smirked, “Is the infamous Ronnie jealous?” He asked stepping close to her. She batted her eyelashes with a sweet smile. “You wish!” She shouted as she pushed him away playfully before running away blowing him a kiss. Jason chuckled as he caught the kiss and put it in his pocket. Before Betty walked to the cabin she stopped at the main hall. “Mr. Keller!” She called out upon seeing him, “Have you seen Kevin?” “Right here Betty, is everything okay?” Kevin asked approaching her from a hidden hallway with a concerned look on his face. Betty smiled at him and took a hold of his hands, playing it up for Mr. Keller “I wanted to know if you wanted to go for a swim tonight after dinner?” Mr. Keller snickered at the sight knowing he had the Coopers in his hands. He sent a wave to his son with a wink and walked into the kitchen. “Okay so are we seriously swimming or?” Kevin asked not sure what parts of the act were true. Betty dropped his hands as the people around them disappeared. “I got invited to a hang out with Ronnie.” Kevin's eyes widened as he bounced on his feet happily. “So Jughead’s gonna be there right?” He asked pure excitement in his voice. Betty bit her lip with a nod as she joined in his jumping. A man walked through the kitchen door which swung on its hinges behind him. Kevin and Betty seized movement, Kevin's throat clearing. “So I'll meet you at the lake later.” He clarified with a thumbs up letting her know he would cover for her. “Yes! Yes, thank you.” Betty almost whispered as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Later that night, Betty stood in front of the barn doors which held Jughead and their dancing gang. Betty tried to make her feet move but every time she stayed in place. Betty sighed, digging her nails into her skin. “You going in?” A voice beside her asked. She jumped as her head whipped to the right side, her hand clutching her chest. “Archie! You scared me!” Archie smiled at her heightened reaction. “Sorry Betty. You going in or not?” Betty sighed nodding her head, “I'm going in.” She marched to the door and made her way inside not remembering to hold the door for Archie. “Betty!” Ronnie exclaimed mirroring earlier events. “We’re so happy you came!” Betty arched an eyebrow suspiciously. “We?” Ronnie nodded pointing a finger to Jughead who was watching them sipping on a warm beer. “Well I'm gonna grab a drink.” Betty stepped in the direction of the table when Archie arrived in front of her with two drinks. “For my ladies.” He offered with a smile, handing them the drinks in his hand. Betty murmured a thank you while taking the drink from him. Ronnie beamed at him, “Thank you Archiekins.” Betty took her drink in slowly, her surroundings becoming a bit blurry. She wasn't a drinker in fact this may be the first drink she ever had, she couldn't remember. Perhaps a small glass of champagne at a wedding, but nothing strong had ever touched her stomach. Jughead walked to Betty with a purpose, taking her hand, he didn’t say a word. He pulled her lazily to the dance floor. Betty giggled, whether it was prompted by the alcohol or by his actions was unsure. Surrounded by sweaty bodies in the middle of pulsing music, Jughead pulled her into his body like Betty watched him do to Veronica many times. She found herself automatically wrapping her arms on his neck when his hands snaked around her waist. He pulled her hips tight against his groin. Betty gasped at the prodding member on her thigh. Jughead smirked as he began to move their hips together. Betty held tighter onto his neck trying to steady herself from his movements against her. He held her waist against his chest and continued to grind against her. She moaned letting her head fall into his neck. The sound that escaped her mouth seems to motivate Jughead further, his groin rubbing frantically against her. Betty arched her back to slide down him slightly, her head hanging behind her. Jughead grinned at her and pulled her back up to meet his gaze. Betty bit her lip dying to close the gap between them. Jughead recognized the gaze in her eyes and pulled away from her, his arm dropping from her waist. If he stayed any longer he would lose his control and give in to the desire in Betty's eyes. “That, baby, is how we dance around here.” Jughead said abruptly walking towards the door. On his way out, he grabbed a cup of beer pouring it down his now dry throat. The cup fell to the ground as he walked out the door.

[presssorg]

Twitter terror: Arrests prompt concern over online extremism

Twitter terror: Arrests prompt concern over online extremism GREECE, N.Y. — A few months after he turned 17 — and more than two years before he was arrested — Vincent Vetromile recast himself as an online revolutionary. Offline, in this suburb of Rochester, New York, Vetromile was finishing requirements for promotion to Eagle Scout in a troop that met at a local church. He enrolled at Monroe Community College, taking classes to become a heating and air conditioning technician. On weekends, he spent hours in the driveway with his father, a Navy veteran, working on cars. On social media, though, the teenager spoke in world-worn tones about the need to “reclaim our nation at any cost.” Eventually he subbed out the grinning selfie in his Twitter profile, replacing it with the image of a colonial militiaman shouldering an AR-15 rifle. And he traded his name for a handle: “Standing on the Edge.” That edge became apparent in Vetromile’s posts, including many interactions over the last two years with accounts that praised the Confederacy, warned of looming gun confiscation and declared Muslims to be a threat. In 2016, he sent the first of more than 70 replies to tweets from a fiery account with 140,000 followers, run by a man billing himself as Donald Trump’s biggest Canadian supporter. The final exchange came late last year. “Islamic Take Over Has Begun: Muslim No-Go Zones Are Springing Up Across America. Lock and load America!” the Canadian tweeted on December 12, with a video and a map highlighting nine states with Muslim enclaves. “The places listed are too vague,” Vetromile replied. “If there were specific locations like ‘north of X street in the town of Y, in the state of Z’ we could go there and do something about it.” Weeks later, police arrested Vetromile and three friends, charging them with plotting to attack a Muslim settlement in rural New York. And with extremism on the rise across the U.S., this town of neatly kept Cape Cods confronted difficult questions about ideology and young people — and technology’s role in bringing them together. —— The reality of the plot Vetromile and his friends are charged with hatching is, in some ways, both less and more than what was feared when they were arrested in January. Prosecutors say there is no indication that the four — Vetromile, 19; Brian Colaneri, 20; Andrew Crysel, 18; and a 16-year-old The Associated Press isn’t naming because of his age — had set an imminent or specific date for an attack. Reports they had an arsenal of 23 guns are misleading; the weapons belonged to parents or other relatives. Prosecutors allege the four discussed using those guns, along with explosive devices investigators say were made by the 16-year-old, in an attack on the community of Islamberg. Residents of the settlement in Delaware County, New York — mostly African-American Muslims who relocated from Brooklyn in the 1980s — have been harassed for years by right-wing activists who have called it a terrorist training camp. A Tennessee man, Robert Doggart , was convicted in 2017 of plotting to burn down Islamberg’s mosque and other buildings. But there are few clues so far to explain how four with little experience beyond their high school years might have come up with the idea to attack the community. All have pleaded not guilty, and several defence attorneys, back in court Friday, are arguing there was no plan to actually carry out any attack, chalking it up to talk among buddies. Lawyers for the four did not return calls, and parents or other relatives declined interviews. “I don’t know where the exposure came from, if they were exposed to it from other kids at school, through social media,” said Matthew Schwartz, the Monroe County assistant district attorney prosecuting the case. “I have no idea if their parents subscribe to any of these ideologies.” Well beyond upstate New York, the spread of extremist ideology online has sparked growing concern. Google and Facebook executives went before the House Judiciary Committee this month to answer questions about their platforms’ role in feeding hate crime and white nationalism. Twitter announced new rules last fall prohibiting the use of “dehumanizing language” that risks “normalizing serious violence.” But experts said the problem goes beyond language, pointing to algorithms used by search engines and social media platforms to prioritize content and spotlight likeminded accounts. “Once you indicate an inclination, the machine learns,” said Jessie Daniels, a professor of sociology at New York’s Hunter College who studies the online contagion of alt-right ideology. “That’s exactly what’s happening on all these platforms … and it just sends some people down a terrible rabbit hole.” She and others point to Dylann Roof, who in 2015 murdered nine worshippers at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. In writings found afterward, Roof recalled how his interest in the shooting of black teenager Trayvon Martin had prompted a Google search for the term “black on white crime.” The first site the search engine pointed him to was run by a racist group promoting the idea that such crime is common, and as he learned more, Roof wrote, that eventually drove his decision to attack the congregation.

The latest on Sri Lanka's bombing investigation Israel's Counter-Terrorism Bureau issued a travel warning for Sri Lanka on Thursday, raising the threat level to indicate a "high concrete threat," ... In the Rochester-area case, electronic messages between two of those arrested, seen by the AP, along with papers filed in the case suggest doubts divided the group. “I honestly see him being a terrorist,” one of those arrested, Crysel, told his friend Colaneri in an exchange last December on Discord, a messaging platform popular with gamers that has also gained notoriety for its embrace by some followers of the alt-right. “He also has a very odd obsession with pipe bombs,” Colaneri replied. “Like it’s borderline creepy.” It is not clear from the message fragment seen which of the others they were referencing. What is clear, though, is the long thread of frustration in Vetromile’s online posts — and the way those posts link him to an enduring conspiracy theory. —— A few years ago, Vetromile’s posts on Twitter and Instagram touched on subjects like video games and English class. He made the honour roll as an 11th-grader but sometime thereafter was suspended and never returned, according to former classmates and others. The school district, citing federal law on student records, declined to provide details. Ron Gerth, who lives across the street from the family, recalled Vetromile as a boy roaming the neighbourhood with a friend, pitching residents on a leaf-raking service: “Just a normal, everyday kid wanting to make some money, and he figured a way to do it.” More recently, Gerth said, Vetromile seemed shy and withdrawn, never uttering more than a word or two if greeted on the street. Vetromile and suspect Andrew Crysel earned the rank of Eagle in Boy Scout Troop 240, where the 16-year-old was also a member. None ever warranted concern, said Steve Tyler, an adult leader. “Every kid’s going to have their own sort of geekiness,” Tyler said, “but nothing that would ever be considered a trigger or a warning sign that would make us feel unsafe.” Crysel and the fourth suspect, Colaneri, have been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a milder form of autism, their families have said. Friends described Colaneri as socially awkward and largely disinterested in politics. “He asked, if we’re going to build a wall around the Gulf of Mexico, how are people going to go to the beach?” said Rachael Lee, the aunt of Colaneri’s girlfriend. Vetromile attended community college with Colaneri before dropping out in 2017. By then, he was fully engaged in online conversations about immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, gun rights and Trump. Over time, his statements became increasingly militant. “We need a revolution now!” he tweeted in January, replying to a thread warning of a coming “war” over gun ownership. Vetromile directed some of his strongest statements at Muslims. Tweets from the Canadian account, belonging to one Mike Allen, seemed to push that button. In July 2017, Allen tweeted “Somali Muslims take over Tennessee town and force absolute HELL on terrified Christians.” Vetromile replied: “@realDonaldTrump please do something about this!” A few months later, Allen tweeted: “Czech politicians vote to let citizens carry guns, shoot Muslim terrorists on sight.” Vetromile’s response: “We need this here!” Allen’s posts netted hundreds of replies a day, and there’s no sign he read Vetromile’s responses. But others did, including the young man’s reply to the December post about Muslim “no-go zones.” That tweet included a video interview with Martin Mawyer, whose Christian Action Network made a 2009 documentary alleging that Islamberg and other settlements were terrorist training camps. Mawyer linked the settlements, which follow the teachings of a controversial Pakistani cleric, to a group called Jamaat al-Fuqra that drew scrutiny from law enforcement in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, Colorado prosecutors won convictions of four al-Fuqra members in a racketeering case that included charges of fraud, arson and murder. Police and analysts have repeatedly said Islamberg does not threaten violence. Nevertheless, the allegations of Mawyer’s group continue to circulate widely online and in conservative media. Replying to questions by email, Mawyer said his organization has used only legal means to try to shut down the operator of the settlements. “Vigilante violence is always the wrong way to solve social or personal problems,” he said. “Christian Action Network had no role, whatsoever, in inciting any plots.” Online, though, Vetromile reacted with consternation to the video of Mawyer: “But this video just says ‘upstate NY and California’ and that’s too big of an area to search for terrorists,” he wrote. Other followers replied with suggestions. “Doesn’t the video state Red House, Virginia as the place?” one asked. Virginia was too far, Vetromile replied, particularly since the map with the tweet showed an enclave in his own state. When another follower offered a suggestion, Vetromile signed off: “Eh worth a look. Thanks.” The exchange ended without a word from the Canadian account, whose tweet started it.

A few months after he turned 17 — and more than two years before he was arrested — Vincent Vetromile recast himself as an online revolutionary. —— Three months before the December exchange on Twitter, the four suspects started using a Discord channel dubbed “#leaders-only” to discuss weapons and how they would use them in an attack, prosecutors allege. Vetromile set up the channel, one of the defence attorneys contends, but prosecutors say they don’t consider any one of the four a leader. In November, the conversation expanded to a second channel: “#militia-soldiers-wanted.” At some point last fall the 16-year-old made a grenade — “on a whim to satisfy his own curiosity,” his lawyer said in a court filing that claims the teen never told the other suspects. That filing also contends the boy told Vetromile that forming a militia was “stupid.” But other court records contradict those assertions. Another teen, who is not among the accused, told prosecutors that the 16-year-old showed him what looked like a pipe bomb last fall and then said that Vetromile had asked for prototypes. “Let me show you what Vinnie gave me,” the young suspect allegedly said during another conversation, before leaving the room and returning with black explosive powder. In January, the 16-year-old was in the school cafeteria when he showed a photo to a classmate of one of his fellow suspects, wearing some kind of tactical vest. He made a comment like, “He looks like the next school shooter, doesn’t he?” according to Greece Police Chief Patrick Phelan. The other student reported the incident, and questioning by police led to the arrests and charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism. The allegations have jarred a region where political differences are the norm. Rochester, roughly half white and half black and other minorities, votes heavily Democratic. Neighboring Greece, which is 87 per cent white, leans conservative. Town officials went to the Supreme Court to win a 2014 ruling allowing them to start public meetings with a chaplain’s prayer. The arrests dismayed Bob Lonsberry, a conservative talk radio host in Rochester, who said he checked Twitter to confirm Vetromile didn’t follow his feed. But looking at the accounts Vetromile did follow convinced him that politics on social media had crossed a dangerous line. “The people up here, even the hillbillies like me, we would go down with our guns and stand outside the front gate of Islamberg to protect them,” Lonsberry said. “It’s an aberration. But … aberrations, like a cancer, pop up for a reason.” —— Online, it can be hard to know what is true and who is real. Mike Allen, though, is no bot. “He seems addicted to getting followers,” said Allen’s adult son, Chris, when told about the arrest of one of the thousands attuned to his father’s Twitter feed. Allen himself called back a few days later, leaving a brief message with no return number. But a few weeks ago, Allen welcomed in a reporter who knocked on the door of his home, located less than an hour from the Peace Bridge linking upstate New York to Ontario, Canada. “I really don’t believe in regulation of the free marketplace of ideas,” said Allen, a retired real estate executive, explaining his approach to social media. “If somebody wants to put bulls— on Facebook or Twitter, it’s no worse than me selling a bad hamburger, you know what I mean? Buyer beware.” Sinking back in a white leather armchair, Allen, 69, talked about his longtime passion for politics. After a liver transplant stole much of his stamina a few years ago, he filled downtime by tweeting about subjects like interest rates. When Trump announced his candidacy for president in 2015, in a speech memorable for labeling many Mexican immigrants as criminals, Allen said he was determined to help get the billionaire elected. He began posting voraciously, usually finding material on conservative blogs and Facebook feeds and crafting posts to stir reaction. Soon his account was gaining up to 4,000 followers a week. Allen said he had hoped to monetize his feed somehow. But suspicions that Twitter “shadow-banning” was capping gains in followers made him consider closing the account. That was before he was shown some of his tweets and the replies they drew from Vetromile — and told the 19-year-old was among the suspects charged with plotting to attack Islamberg. “And they got caught? Good,” Allen said. “We’re not supposed to go around shooting people we don’t like. That’s why we have video games.” Allen’s own likes and dislikes are complicated. He said he strongly opposes taking in refugees for humanitarian reasons, arguing only immigrants with needed skills be admitted. He also recounted befriending a Muslim engineer in Pakistan through a physics blog and urging him to move to Canada. Shown one of his tweets from last year — claiming Czech officials had urged people to shoot Muslims — Allen shook his head. “That’s not a good tweet,” he said quietly. “It’s inciting.” Allen said he rarely read replies to his posts — and never noticed Vetromile’s. “If I’d have seen anybody talking violence, I would have banned them,” he said. He turned to his wife, Kim, preparing dinner across the kitchen counter. Maybe he should stop tweeting, he told her. But couldn’t he continue until Trump was reelected? “We have a saying, ‘Oh, it must be true, I read it on the internet,”‘ Allen said, before showing his visitor out. “The internet is phoney. It’s not there. Only kids live in it and old guys, you know what I mean? People with time on their hands.” The next day, Allen shut down his account, and the long narrative he spun all but vanished. —— Read more about the four charged in the New York plot here . AP investigative researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed to this story. Geller can be reached at ageller//twitter.com/AdGeller Published at Sun, 28 Apr 2019 14:30:01 +0000 Read the full article