#Pocket Protection Paul P. Sure

[sheshallfromtimetotime]

By John Paul Brammer

There was a spot where I liked to sit at the local gay bar, a nook with a window and two wooden stools. I’m the kind of person who likes to “go out” just to sit down. A friend and I sat there together once, quietly sipping our drinks and watching people walk by. It was a peculiar scene. The sun was out and the bar was mostly empty. In the coming days, cops would be installed by the entrance, and they would frisk everyone coming in.

But not yet. We sat in silence. I think we were both waiting for the other to start crying, but neither of us did.

A sense of emergency brought out a different side to the bar, which felt like a shelter that day. I was reminded of a time when I was a kid back in Oklahoma. The sky turned yellow-green, a funnel was spotted, and we were marched into the school gym and told to hunker down. The wooden floor of the gym, inches from my face, felt in those long minutes like the fierce embrace of a parent, like it had promised to protect me where on any other day it would have hosted my jumping jacks and halfhearted laps without comment. 

Sitting in the nook at the gay bar, my phone was going off in my pocket, my drink was incredibly stiff, and I could do little but watch the world, the real world, the world outside, mosey past the window. The partition between these worlds, I was reminded, was ever so thin.

Surely, every person is a house of private hurts no one else is privy to, aches that others don’t share and can’t understand. This is true of entire communities, too. Looking out from the inside, one wonders how everyone else can go about their days so outrageously unencumbered. It feels traitorous. It must be the case for everyone. But all the same, I felt resentment. I both wanted straight people to be more visibly upset, and for straight people to disappear for a while. 

Tragedy shrinks everything. It was a small thing to think. But there it was.

How successful can a front door be at keeping the world at bay? The front door of the gay bar has help. See a couple of would-be patrons walk in, having somehow missed the rainbow flags and posters for the drag show and a name like “Manhole,” immediately realize what they’ve stepped into, politely look around, and leave. 

In the past, maybe it’s not so much like this anymore, the gay bar would be in a spot nobody wanted to go, in a neighborhood nobody wanted to live in, on a street nobody wanted to be seen walking down. Before these neighborhoods became gayborhoods, they were ecosystems for trans sex workers and broke artists and runaways. 

It must be the case in any number of cities around the world, for any number of “historically gay” locations. It’s usually the beach nobody wanted, the park nobody felt safe in. Later, as coffee shops and boutique fitness gyms move in, they are scrubbed and festooned with flags and hailed as monuments. A past life is alluded to, perhaps in the form of a mural with Marsha P. Johnson on it, while the people who would have huddled there decades ago find another jagged corner of the earth to perch on. 

That’s how it goes in some places. Others persist, or become a mix of misfits and faces fresh out of the closet and elder gays who will tell you all sorts of wild things if you listen. I know a few of these places in Oklahoma City, where all the bars are sequestered together, a bowl of free condoms, drinks that are actively trying to kill the demons on the way down.

One night, I met up with a man from Grindr and we went to one of them. An old cowboy in Wrangler jeans and boots and holding a guitar sat up on the stage next to a drag queen who introduced him. He gave the saddest cover I’d ever heard, a country version of “Someone Like You” by Adele.

Goodness, life is harsh.

In the mix of pain and sadness and rage following the shooting at Club Q, a nightclub in Colorado Springs where five people were gunned down and many more injured, there is an emphatic lack of surprise. Threats of violence to trans people and drag performers have found acceptance in the mainstream, with accusations of “grooming” being levied against essentially anyone who isn’t cisgender and heterosexual. “It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it?” seems to be a prevailing sentiment. 

And it was, really, only a matter of time. 

Among the victims were trans people, straight people, gay people, all committing the grievous sin of being there. For all the modest gains in the past decade, the truth remains that even if you sequester yourself, even if you keep it all behind a closed door, they will find you anyway.

In the collective psyche, if there is such a thing, the violence perforates a membrane to hit a specific and tender spot, where the inner child hides behind a flimsy wall. You were never safe. 

The rest of the world doesn’t disappear in the gay bar. It laps at the front door like waves against the ribs of a ship. It isn’t a universe unto itself where we get to live unencumbered by the lives we left propped up against the wall outside. The grimy gay bar, the one in my head, resists the gold-leafing of an ode. I don’t think of it as a temple, or as a church, or as a sacred space. I threw up in one after accidentally drinking too much as a plus-one to the GLAAD Awards in 2015.

But sometimes, after spending too much time outside of one, I get that familiar urge for an overpriced well drink and shitty pop music, for the sharp, judgy, lustful glances of faggots, for the near-darkness and the sticky floors and the people who, while not in perfect accord, have at least resolved to find each other.

We do find each other, I think. That much hasn’t changed over time. Life can’t be all fight, and while historically our movements have been depicted as a headstrong march against the tide, we do also move like water, following from different sources a common gravity toward a spot, both hidden and in plain sight, where we learned without remembering ever learning it, “that’s where I go.”

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Audio: New Orleans' Pocket Protection Releases A Strutting and Funky New Single

New Audio: New Orleans' Pocket Protection Releases A Strutting and Funky New Single @colorredmusic

https://soundcloud.com/colorredmusic/pocket-protection-paul-p-sure-color-red-music Pocket Protection is an instrumental groove project that features a collection of accomplished New Orleans players including — The Revivalists‘ George Gekas (bass), Ed O’Brien (EOB)‘s PJ Morton‘s, Raphael Saadiq’s and Pretty Lights touring musician Alvin Ford, Jr. (drums), Lembo‘s and Deltaphonic‘s Paul Provosty…

[childrenofthenightt]

only the black rose (chapter 4)

pairing: jimmy page x layla porter (oc)

warnings: bordering on nsfw, a little fluff, and yet another pretentious description of a zep song :)

words: 3.9k

summary: in the blink of an eye, it’s 1975 and layla’s suddenly joining led zeppelin for their north american tour. throughout the chaos, the band take a liking to her, she builds friendships with the boys, and love blossoms. but all good things must come to an end.

author’s note: i blushed countless times writing this chapter. also things are heating up folks!!! not beta’d as always! hope you enjoy!

masterlist

playlist

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

----------

The dressing room of the Rotterdam Ahoy was certainly not a palace of luxury, with its plush navy couches and line of chairs pushed against the wall, next to a long folding table packed tight with refreshments. A full-length mirror sits in the corner, casting refractions of faint yellow light onto the off-white brick walls. John Bonham lounges on the loveseat, drumming out an intricate rhythm on his knees, brown eyes far away as he stares off into the distance. John Paul Jones perches on the chair nearest to the door, strumming a tune reminiscent of rockabilly on a beautiful mandolin, nodding his head to keep the beat.

Looking up, Jonesy spots Jimmy across from him, occupying the couch next to Bonzo. Jimmy is tuning up his acoustic guitar, no doubt the precious gift he had received just days before. Every so often, Jimmy would pause in his focused tuning to shift in his seat with a wince, stretching out, before finally resuming.

“You okay, Pagey?”

“...Hm?” Jimmy grunts out, concentration stolen completely by the beautiful guitar in his hands. Heavenly notes swirling around the small room, mixing seamlessly with the sharp harmonies of the mandolin. Jimmy did always preach about unity, after all.

“Are you okay? You keep wincing, and you’ve shifted in your seat about 20 times in the past two minutes.”

“My back is a little sore, I must have slept in an odd position. Nothing serious.” This is punctuated by a crackle as Jimmy stretches once more.

“Well, you did have a nice pillow though, didn’t you?”

“Jonesy—”

“I hope you know that Robert has pictures, Jim.”

“You’re joking.”

“Nope,” Bonzo chuckles, popping the P, and smirking at the man across from him, who has finally stopped plucking the strings of the guitar. Jimmy wrings his hands together, stopping only to thumb at his nose. “No need to be nervous, Page. I’m sure he’ll only show a couple of them at the wedding, which reminds me. We need to know her ring preferences. Stones are important to girls, or something.”

“He took more than one? Wait… Rings? We’re not… I’ve known her for like, 5 days! Marriage? She doesn’t even like me like—”

“Who’s getting married?” Layla questions, voice floating through the open door as she walks in, arm in arm with Robert, who is sporting a cheshire grin. The blond sends a subtle wink at Jimmy, strolling further into the room.

“Layla, quick question.”

“Oh no. Should I be scared?”

“Only a little bit.” Jonesy cuts in, chuckling at the helpless look on Jimmy’s face.

“Bonzo, I-I really don’t think—”

“Pagey, shush,” Bonzo interrupts the guitarist, who splutters, dumbfounded at the exchange taking place. He moves to stop Bonzo from speaking, but Bonzo shoves him back onto the couch behind him, Jimmy landing with a huff. “Now, birdie… What is your favourite gemstone?”

“Garnet. Do I want to know what this is about?”

“Probably not.”

“Great. Well, as fun as this has been, I’ve got to go find Peter, he wanted to talk to me about something,” Layla drawls, a smile just evident in the slight curl of her lips, painted a pretty pink in the artificial light of the room. She catches Jimmy staring her way, and her smile grows wider, taking in the stunned expression on his features.  “I just thought it would be a good idea to rescue Robert from the horde of groupies that had him surrounded first.”

“Very smart. It would be rather hard to play without our frontman. Unless… Bonzo, how quickly can we get Coverdale in here?”

“Jonesy, I’m hurt. You know my voice is better than his.”

“Every single day, I am astounded at how humble you are, Robert. Truly brings a tear to my eye.” Layla laughs, turning towards the door, when a soft voice pipes up from behind her, paired with the sound of footsteps, muffled by the carpet under their feet.

“Mind if I join you, petal?”

A soft smile graces the woman’s lips at the sound of Jimmy’s dulcet voice, and she turns around to face him. Gazing up at him almost shyly, she nods, and they walk out together, Jimmy’s arm comforting around the woman’s shoulders. As they exit the dressing room, Robert pokes his head out, a mischievous smile growing slowly.

“Use protection, you two. Can’t have any little Page-Porters running around the venue.” Before the duo could retort, Robert retreats into the dressing room once more, his golden curls and the sound of his cackle following. Embarrassment colouring his face, Jimmy releases his hold on Layla, but is stopped by a hand at his wrist. Forest green and golden brown meet once more as she nods lightly. Jimmy, confident that Layla is comfortable with his touch, wraps his arm around her shoulders once more, as they walk through the venue in search of Peter Grant.

“For a man of his stature, I hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be to find him.” Jimmy laughs, which causes Layla to look at the man. His laugh may just be one of her favourite sounds, she thinks. Jimmy, sensing Layla’s eyes on him, looks down at the woman, whose head dips shyly, so different from the sassy exterior she lets people see. He lets his gaze linger, taking in the unruly chestnut ringlets that frame her tanned face perfectly. Her brown eyes hold unimaginable depths, and he is frightened by how often he gets lost in them. Her lips, the colour of lovely flowers in the bright morning light, are bitten cherry red out of nerves. Layla looks up at him then, and instead of shying away, this time he holds her gaze.

“Jim, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course petal. Ask away.”

“I’m just… a little curious,” Layla says, smiling as she stares right back, biting her lip for an entirely different reason now. “Why exactly do you call me petal?”

“Because I can make you blush the colour of a rose in bloom.”

“...That was so cheesy. I hope you know that, Jimmy,” Layla says, a giddy laugh bubbling out past her lips. “You know, I need a nickname for you now, so we’re even.”

“Oh, is that right, petal?”

“It is, actually. How about… angel? I mean, just look at that face.”

Jimmy’s breath hitches, audible even through the bustle of pre-show preparations. His free hand moves up to scratch at his neck once more, a nervous tick, of which he has many, that Layla is now accustomed to. Recovering quickly, Jimmy smirks, eyes glinting mischievously.

“Actually, petal, I think I might be a devil in disguise, but that’s something for you to figure out.”

“Right, because a devil would definitely check up on me, and help me when I was drunk out of my mind, and make me morning coffee exactly the way I like it.”

Knowing he’s been beat, Jimmy’s gaze falls to his feet, suddenly very interested in a particularly deep scuff mark. Layla chances a look at the man, and smiles softly at his reaction. Stepping in front of him, she puts a hand to his shoulder, wiping off imaginary dust from his shirt. His eyes follow her fingers, which finally land on his chin, lifting his head to face her. Layla moves in closer, tucking the hair falling into his face behind his ear.

“I appreciate your help trying to find Peter, but you have a show to get ready for, don’t you, angel?”

“I—”

He is interrupted by the whisper of soft lips brushing his cheek, and the fading scent of the woman’s perfume as she slips past him.

“Damn, she’s good…”

----------

Maneuvering through the maze-like hallways of the arena, Layla finally spots Peter, who is in deep conversation with a stage-hand, back turned to her. Moving closer, she can hear snippets of conversation detailing stage lights and lasers, and she wonders just what she had gotten into. Peter, hearing the padding of Layla’s footsteps approaching, finally turns around, grinning the moment he sees her.

“Layla! I’d like to speak with you for a moment, if that’s okay?”

“Of course, Peter! In fact, I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Layla exclaims, falling into step with Peter as they trek through the long hallways once more. “You had said you wanted to talk to me earlier?”

“Right, yes. You had expressed interest in helping out in the wings during the tour,”  Peter says, leading the woman with a paternal hand at the small of her back, ensuring she doesn't get lost once again. “But I was wondering if you had wanted to maybe experience this show in the audience? I only ask, because the experience is much different from the crowd, and I wouldn’t want you to miss out.”

“I would love to, Peter, but if you do need help…”

“Go have fun, dear. A front-row view at a Led Zeppelin show doesn’t come very often, after all.”

“Thank you so much, Peter!”

“It’s my pleasure, Layla. Now, we’ll be on in about 30 minutes, so we better get you to your seats sooner rather than later.”

Peter riffles through the pockets of his blazer and produces a rectangular piece of paper, no doubt the tickets themselves. Layla is led to an usher, and Peter, with a wink and a smile, turns on his heel, walking away, no doubt to check on his boys. The usher leads her onto the floor, right in front of the stage. Layla thanks them, a gleaming smile making her glow.

The venue is already packed to the brim, and with a glance behind her, Layla spots an ocean of faces, eyes glued to the stage in anticipation. At the sight of this, Layla can’t help but reciprocate these feelings.

“Hell,” Layla mutters under her breath, shaking her head lightly. “I’ve seen them play in the studio… How much better could it get than that?”

In the relative darkness of the large room, she can see shadows moving out from the stage wings, the hollers of the crowd growing deafening.

Here we go.

A booming voice erupts out from the speakers scattered around the stage.  Layla can’t help but join in, letting out some cheers of her own, wide smile nearly splitting her cheeks.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Led Zeppelin!”

A soft click cuts through the sea of white noise like a knife, and the stage is illuminated by a giant sign reading, ‘Led Zeppelin’ in bold, lit letters, which ignites the flame of excitement once more. A smug look passes between them and the band starts to play, catching the audience off guard. Bonzo’s sharp drumming serves as a count-in for Jimmy and Jonesy, their combined excellence creating a solid wall of pure sound, only penetrated by Robert’s masterful wails. Jimmy, gleaming in a suit accented with shining panels of silver, looks absolutely decadent, enraptured by the music he is playing. The chorus sounds, echoing slightly, across the great sea of faces, who are relentless in their fiery adrenaline. Robert glides across the stage, singing as if the crowd were snakes and he was a charmer, entrancing them with his stage presence and golden voice.

“It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely... time.”

Finally, the last notes fizzle out, Jimmy improvising a run under the blanket of unity courtesy of the rhythm section, and the crowd’s screams grow thunderous, a reward for the incredible first song. This trend remained throughout the entirety of the concert, every song fueling the fire.

Layla is completely in awe, eyes blinking rapidly in hopes of comprehending exactly what she had just witnessed. She had known exactly how talented every one of them was, she had seen it just days ago when they had played in the studio, but what she hadn't anticipated, was just how much the stage lights and the crowd brought them to life. They looked holy, faces painted with pure concentration and confidence. Throughout the show, she couldn't help but hang on to Jimmy’s every move. Up there on stage, bliss apparent in the uptick of his rosy lips and eyes full of ecstasy, he was hypnotising, beautiful strong fingers tickling the fretboard in hopes of squeezing ethereal notes from it. The woman wonders what it would be like; for the guitarist to touch her like that. To make her whimper like the guitar he manipulates every night. She wonders what it would be like to touch unmarked, alabaster skin, to bury her fingers in jet black hair as perfect, pink lips rock her world. The touch of callused fingers making her skin tingle and hum and burn in euphoria.

“Layla, you’re going to start bleeding if you keep biting your lip like that. Are you alright, my dear?”

Looking up abruptly, Layla is met by the whiskered face of Peter Grant, smiling softly as he looks down at her. She shakes her head to banish the illicit thoughts, curls flying wildly about her head.

“I’m… Peter, that was incredible!”

“Why don't we sneak you backstage so you can tell the boys what you think?” Peter says, smirking at the astonished face of the young woman in front of him. “They've been asking about you ever since they got off stage.”

“Lead the way!”

The two make their way to the dressing rooms, idle chat between Layla and Peter the soundtrack. Walking through the dressing room doors, she sees the boys facing away from her, celebrating a job well done. Robert is reclined on the couch, two beautiful blondes on each side getting his full attention. Bonzo and Jonesy are chatting in the corner of the room, sipping on bottles of whatever liquor they could find. Jimmy stands alongside them, laughing softly, dimples rising on his cheeks. In the harsh light of the dressing room, the sweat dripping from Jimmy’s body makes him glow, and Layla can’t help but stare.

“Boys, it seems we have a guest.”

Four pairs of eyes lock on her, and she smiles winningly, the beginnings of a giggle bubbling up her throat.

“Excuse me, ladies,” says Robert, as he extricates himself from the arms of the blondes, smiling apologetically. “But I really must greet the little dove.”

Immediately, arms surrounding the young woman, and as bad as the boys smelled, impressively sweaty after such a wonderful show, she was too excited to care. Pulling back finally, she gives her friends a megawatt smile.

“Guys, that was… That was truly amazing! I don’t know how you did it,” exclaims Layla, hands flying every which way to prove her point. “But you completely exceeded my expectations! I thought your little studio performance was excellent, but… This!”

“Wow, Layla. You’ve got such a way with words.” Jonesy jokes, putting an arm around the woman, leading her into the post-performance chaos. Bonzo pours her a shot glass full of something unidentifiable, vodka perhaps, and Layla tips it back quickly. Liquid courage firmly in place, she catches Jimmy’s eye. Wrestling out of Jonesy’s arms, Layla struts over to the raven-haired man and guides him to the corner of the room, a small hand slipping into his.

“Petal—”

“Shush!  Jim, that performance was… I don’t know what to say! Everyone had a great show, of course, but your guitar,” Layla rambles, speaking so quickly that the guitarist can barely hang on to a word the woman is saying. “... And Stairway. Oh my god, I don’t think I looked away once during the whole song! And—”

“Layla—”

“... Communication Breakdown ended way too soon, but the way you moved your fingers so quickly across the fretboard. I just don’t even—”

“Petal, please calm—”

This time, Jimmy isn’t interrupted by the ranting woman, but rather a set of slightly chapped lips on his, and a soft hand cradling his cheek, the other a warm weight on his shoulder. Layla is… kissing him. As soon as he makes this discovery, the lips against his turn down into a slight frown, and begin to pull away. Frantic at the thought of Layla pulling back, Jimmy brings a hand to her face, the other threading through her unruly curls to land at the back of her head. Deepening the chaste kiss, Jimmy’s eyes close. If he had been less preoccupied, he would have seen Bonzo, phone in hand, calling home in hopes of talking to his lovely wife. He would have seen Jonesy, laughing and pressing ever-closer to a beautiful brunette, a hand pushing back her long wavy locks. He would have seen Robert walking closer with a smirk set on his lips.

Jimmy finally pulls away, staring deep into Layla’s chestnut eyes, glazed over slightly as she blinks back at him, lips a luscious red from the heated kiss. Jimmy opens his mouth to speak, but another voice beats him to the punch.

“Goodness, little dove, if I knew you were handing out kisses like that for a good performance, I would’ve walked off before Jimmy. Hell, I’d’ve shoved him to get to you.”

Layla scoffs at the blond’s words, her hands twined around the guitarist’s neck. “Sorry, blondie, I’m not handing those out to just anyone. Besides, don't you have two beautiful blondes looking to take a bite out of you?”

“Ah, you're right, little dove. Excuse me, but I must get going.” Robert says with a wink, strolling back over to the two women.

Layla looks back at Jimmy, to find him staring at her. They remain there, gazes locked on one other, until Jimmy finally looks away, scanning the room.

“Let’s go somewhere a little more private, hm?” Jimmy whispers, taking Layla’s hand in his and leading her out the door.

Walking through the maze of hallways, hand in hand, Layla is struck by the parallels of the last time her and Jimmy were here. Only this time, she hadn’t just kissed him on the cheek. Her cheeks flush a dark scarlet at the thought as she is pulled into a deserted room, hand still linked with Jimmy’s own.

“Layla, I…”

“That was…”

The couple speak in unison, nerves taking over. Jimmy takes a deep breath, gripping Layla’s hands tightly in his, as he looks down at her, green eyes twinkling like stars in the midnight sky.

“Are you,” He starts, clearing his throat as he gazes down at Layla, who is looking up at him in reverence, reminiscent of the look she had given him on the plane. “Are you okay, petal? You don’t seem like the kind of person to just… kiss someone like that.”

“Honestly? Angel, I’ve been thinking of doing that for a while. Since the moment I first saw you, really.”

“Well… The feeling is mutual, but I mean… I think we should talk about this.”

“Jimmy Page, always the pragmatist.”

The man chuckles, smirking at the woman, places a hand beside her head on the wall, leaning in close. “Hey, you’ve never complained about it before, so why start now?”

“Maybe I did, behind your back. You would have no way of knowing, would you?” Layla says, a sweet smile on her lips as she bats her eyelashes; the image of false innocence.

Jimmy smiles at the woman, until it slips off his face, his downcast eyes troubled. He reaches up a hand to thumb lightly at his nose, and she realizes that he’s nervous. Tilting his head up with a finger at his chin, she meets his eyes.

“Jim, what’s wrong? Did… Did you not like it? The kiss, I mean?” Jimmy startles at this, quick to reassure her with a hand at her cheek, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles along her cheekbone.

“Of course I liked it, petal. How could I not? I just… I want to do this right, Layla.”

“Mhm.” Layla hums, moving closer to the man, smirking softly at the nervousness that plagues the guitarist.

“You’re not just… You’re not just some groupie to me, y’know?”

“Mhm.”

“I don’t want this to be just a one night stand, or… or a fling, or a friends with benefits situation, Layla. I want you.”

“Right.”

“I think we should take this slow, and see where… When did you get so close to me?”

Layla leans forward, placing a peck on his lips, and pulls away, leaving him stunned. He shakes his head, and tries again, brow furrowing in determination. “Layla, I’m serious, I really—”

This is met by yet another peck of the lips. Jimmy opens his mouth to speak, trying once more, but he is thwarted by yet another sweet kiss. Finally giving in, Jimmy deepens the kiss, hands landing in her hair. He spins them around, and crowds Layla against the wall, pulling back briefly, which elicits a soft whine from the brunette.

“Jimmy—”

“Are you okay with this, petal?”

“... Get over here.”

She pulls him in once again, and they resume where they left off. Jimmy laps at the opening of Layla’s bottom lip, asking for entrance, and his request is granted. The couple battles for dominance, their hands roaming anywhere they could reach. Jimmy’s palm slides down to rest at her back, dangerously close to slipping lower. Layla smiles against his lips, and pulls away, breathing heavily. She presses one more breathless kiss to Jimmy’s lips, and smiles widely, taking in the man before her. His hair is a mess, his lips are swollen, and his eyes are locked onto hers, searching her face with a hint of a smile. She wants this to work; for them to work.

“Angel, I want to take this slow too. I don’t want to lose you to someone else, just because we rushed this. I do, however, hope we can still kiss like that on the regular.”

“We’ll see, petal.” Jimmy laughs, winding a familiar arm around her shoulders, as he presses a kiss to her cheek.

“Oh, how the tables have turned… I’m usually the one dishing out cheek kisses.”

“That may just have to change, then.”

“Be careful, I could very well just go and find Robert right now. You know, maybe I'll go steady with him instead…”

Laughter follows behind them like a shadow as they walk back to the dressing room to find the rest of their crew. Jimmy’s arm still rests around the shoulders of the woman, and as they enter, the band take in the disheveled state of the couple.  

“Oh my god—”

“Come on, boys, we have a plane to catch!”

“Actually, Pagey,” Jonesy interjects, smiling at the couple, eyebrows waggling. “We still have a few minutes. What happened while you were gone?”

“Did you guys, like… have a quickie in the custodial closet or something?”

“God, Bonzo, we—”

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Bonham.” Layla interjects, kind smile cutting through the sarcasm of her response. Bonzo smiles back, clapping Layla on the shoulder. Robert pouts playfully, curls bouncing as he lowers his head slightly.

“That should have been me…”

Peter chooses this moment to walk in, alerting them that it’s finally time to leave. One taxi ride later, everybody piles into the Starship, making themselves comfortable. Jimmy and Layla take a spot on the comfortable loveseat, and fall asleep right away, leaning up against one another.

If they wake up, backs sore once again, it’s worth it to them.

----------

taglist: @jimmys-zeppelin @salixfragilis @timetraveller4 (let me know if you want to be added!)

[reyesstrand]

not sure if I’m allowed to send another but, what about 85 for tarlos?

sorry for the wait for this, but this idea got in my head and it kind of got out of control — a good ending to this series, i guess!! i hope you enjoy! 

prompt taken from this list. also available on ao3!!

Three weeks to the day after the solar flare, Carlos receives a cryptic text from his mom: come for lunch today?

He mulls it over; he loves his mother, and it’s no secret to anybody that knows him that he’s a total mama’s boy, but there’s got to be a reason behind her impromptu meal, and an evil part of his mind tells him it has to be bad news. She doesn’t mention anything about his sisters joining them, and Carlos doesn’t know if that should stress him out more or less. If it’s something bad, he’d assume that he and his sisters would find out at the same time — but that only leaves him more confused.

She’s a strong woman, and is a complete health-nut — ever since his abuela started having mobility issues, his mother’s been a champion for organic eating and natural sleep aids and doing yoga every morning. Carlos can’t put bad news from the doctor completely off the table, but he starts to drift towards the other countless possibilities — and so he can’t say no to her. Even if it’s his only day off that lines up with TK’s schedule, he spares a glance at his softly snoring boyfriend before figuring the man’s close enough with his own father that he’ll have to understand a shift in plans. And so Carlos finds himself more alert than he’d been when he’d rubbed sleep from his eyes and initially checked his phone five minutes ago, thumbs hovering over the screen before he sends her a simple of course, mami, and sets about getting ready for the day after pressing a quick kiss to TK’s hairline.

He’s showered and had his coffee and is trying to quietly get dressed when Carlos hears TK groan and grumble, clearly fighting between catching a little more sleep and getting out of bed. Carlos watches with a small smile as TK slowly sits up when he realizes he’s alone in bed, before their gazes catch, and his heart soars as TK’s eyes visibly light up at seeing him.

“Everything okay?” TK asks, voice still deep and groggy, and Carlos nods as he starts on buttoning up his shirt.

“We might have to change our plans today,” Carlos says apologetically. “I really—fuck, I really wanted to spend he day with you, but my mom wants me to come over and she usually doesn’t spring stuff like that on me unless there’s something wrong, and—”

“Hey,” TK cuts him off, and Carlos raises his brows at him. “It’s okay, seriously. Marjan’s been bugging me to take Buttercup to get some pampering, anyway.”

“You’re the best,” Carlos says, and TK grins at him.

“Damn straight.”

TK tilts his head up, clearly looking for a kiss. Carlos huffs out a laugh and comes in close, so their mouths are nearly touching, before he whispers, “You have no shame, do you.”

“Nope,” TK grins, eyes crinkling in the corners, popping the p before he closes the space between them and gets the kiss he wanted. “I’ll see you later, though?”

His eyes shine with hopefulness, and Carlos nods earnestly. “I’ll text you when I’m on my way home.”

There’s another brief kiss, before Carlos sighs as he presses their foreheads together.

“I hate just leaving on you,” Carlos admits, even though the thoughts surrounding what his mom’s intentions are with lunch are swirling around his mind.

“I’ll be fine,” TK says, ducking forward to press another kiss to the corner of Carlos’ mouth. “Say hi to your mom for me.”

It’s only half a joke — TK’s been talking, metaphorically, about meeting Carlos’ family for a week or so. He mentions it whenever Carlos talks about childhood memories or a story from one of his sisters, noting that Carlos has known his dad technically even before he knew TK. But it never evolves from a few jokes, and even though Carlos wants nothing more than to continue to make their relationship solidified through introducing each other properly to the people that mean the most to them, he doesn’t know how to seriously approach that subject.

Instead of trying now, Carlos leaves with a promised, “I’ll see you later,” before he grabs his keys and phone and makes his way out of his home.

The half-hour drive goes by mostly in a blur, because he’s too caught up in what might unfold at the lunch. They usually try to have big family dinners bi-weekly, due to everyone’s work schedules and his sister’s kids’ schedules, but he can’t remember the last time a meal like this was just dropped on him the day-of. He does have the right state of mind to stop and grab his mom a bouquet of lilies, her favourite, before he pulls up to the humble farmhouse he’d lived in his whole childhood.

“Is everything okay?”

The words are out of his mouth within seconds of stepping into the house, half-startling his mother as she pours out two glasses of sweet tea.

“Can’t I ask my favourite son to have lunch with me when I know it’s his day off?”

Carlos flushes a bit, handing the flowers to his mom as she pulls him in for a hug. “I’m your only son.”

“Still my favourite,” she grins, smacking a kiss on his cheek before she gestures toward the back deck. He follows her, taking a deep breath as he goes.

* * *

“I know something is up, baby.”

He'd been expecting something regarding her own well-being or health, or his abuela's, so when the conversation turns to him he's sort of confused. And Carlos has grown up hearing from people that he has his mother’s eyes, and as he looks into them now, he thinks he sees the similarities as she looks at him with a particular warmth laced with concern he’s been accustomed to since he was born.

“You know, I saw an interesting photo of you the other day,” she says it off-handedly, but Carlos still manages to choke on his drink. She doesn’t hesitate, going on to describe the picture he knows intimately because he posted it to his Instagram only forty-eight hours ago: him and TK, smiling as they stand close, too close to just be friendly to any onlooker, taken by Paul in the late hours of the night as they strolled around downtown after their shifts. He hadn’t even considered his family seeing the photo, and he silently rues the day his sisters made their mother various social media accounts so she could keep up with their lives. Her voice turns soft, as she squeezes his arm and asks, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Uh, I have to pee.”

He says it quickly enough that he can run off to inside the house, where the remnants of their lunch sits scattered over the counter. Carlos beelines for the bathroom and leans against the sink as he pulls out his phone.

how do you feel about my mom knowing about you?

seriously.

Carlos sends the messages to TK and taps his phone against the heel of his palm as he waits for a response. He thinks back to his mother’s implications — that she knows about them, is okay with them — and figures that he could always lie. It’ll look suspicious as hell, of course, after he just fucked off like that, but he’s never really brought any boyfriends around before. Mainly because he’s never been in a serious enough relationship to warrant that. But he thinks — he knows that there’s something real between him and TK, and he wouldn’t hate his mom and eventually his sisters knowing about him and meeting him and welcoming him into the fold of their family dynamic. But he needs to make sure this is still something TK’s okay with, that it’s going at his pace.

TK texts him back quickly, like always. i was serious about wanting to meet her someday. maybe even soon. so if you want to talk about me i support you.

you’re sure? Carlos texts back, as he feels his nerves starting to both tamper off and confusingly grow at the same time as he walks toward the backyard again, preparing to let his mother into this part of his life.

100%. tell her only the good things, i wanna impress her, TK replies, along with a string of heart emojis. Carlos huffs a little, quickly typing out, she’ll love you no matter what, before pocketing his phone and sliding back into his seat across from his mother.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, meeting her eyes, and as he opens his mouth to continue, she quickly interjects.

“Don’t lie to me, Carlos,” she warns, though there’s warmth behind her words, a desperate plea to tell him that she wants to be included in this part of his life, no matter how new it might be. "You know you can talk to me."

So Carlos takes another deep breath, not really looking at his mother as he whispers: “I met someone, mami.”

He stares down at the ground; after a few seconds, he shifts his gaze to stare at the blooming gardens that live in clusters around the yard, various vegetables and flowers alike growing with vengeance as the summer welcomes them back into the world. When she makes a noise and he finally meets her gaze again, she’s looking at him with nothing but fondness.

“Oh, baby,” his mom is smiling, now, and she brings his face close to press a kiss to his forehead.

“It’s only been official for a few weeks but, um, I really like him,” Carlos admits, as his mother lovingly squeezes his hand. With a laugh, he adds: “I like him a lot. And I’d love for you to meet him.”

His mother leans forward and curls her arms around him, like she did when he was a kid and he felt too small to conquer the world, and he immediately feels calm wash over him. “I would love to, mijo.”

(Carlos has a flash of a memory, then, coming out when he was fifteen years old and terrified but desperate for his truth to be known. He first told his older sister Camila, and then his mother a couple of days later, and he remembers so vividly how they hugged his then-tiny frame, all knobbly bones and a height he was getting used to, both of them supportive and loving and adamant that nothing would change how much they love him. He towers over both of them now, but he feels protected in his mother’s arms, like he always has).

As they pull out of the hug, his mother elbows him good-naturedly. “Alright, tell me about this boy then.”

His mama’s grinning at him teasingly as she says it, and Carlos sits back and huffs out a laugh of his own, rubbing the back of his neck.

“His name’s TK. He’s a firefighter,” Carlos says, barely holding back a bigger smile when his mother makes an approving face at that tidbit of information. “He’s—he’s funny and beautiful and has the warmest heart.”

“I’m so happy for you,” his mother says, eyes bright with love, as if just listening to him talk about TK has made her realize how truly happy he is. And maybe it's allowed himself to look at inside retrospectively and figure out that yeah, he is happier than he's ever been. “I’m sure I’ll love him. You’ll have to bring him around.”

“I will,” Carlos promises, feeling like he’s floating on air. “Oh, and he’s from New York City.”

He says it pointedly, knowing his mother’s always wanted to travel to the Big Apple.

“Well,” his mother says, “I guess we’ll have to show your city boy how we do family dinners, then.”

She brings him in for another hug as she smiles, before she goes off to refill their glasses. Carlos sits back, considering the idea of TK being a part of his family, for good — and he finds that he wants nothing else in the world.

[spaceyantique]

what you want [paul x reader]

prompt: “Hello! I was thinking about the song Lady Jane and i wonder if you could do a smut with Paul being all protective of the reader at a party because Mick Jagger is trying to flirt with her. I think jealous Paul would be so hot!” and also the end of this here headcanon

word count: 2.3k oop--

warnings: uhh smut. Jealousy, some overstimulation, also a bit of choking. fingering and p e n e t r a t i o n. also a bit of drinking!

notes: heyyy this is your friendly neighborhood feminist here to remind you that the concept of “owning” a partner can be really derogatory and dangerous. remember your partner is a full person, not your property! always make sure you’re using language that your partner is comfortable with and that they consent to any kinky/sexual stuff BEFORE you partake in any of it. okay thanks byeeeee 

this is filth!!

The cold air outside the nightclub stings your cheeks as you’re quite forcefully dragged from the steamy interior. Paul’s wrapped his hand around your bicep, pulling you along the sidewalk, and hardly looks back as you try to wrench yourself from his grip.

“What the fuck, Paul? We’re supposed to be--” You stumble over a crack in the sidewalk in your heels, but Paul keeps his pace “--celebrating your album release! Why the hell did you--” He whips around to face you suddenly, and you nearly run straight into him.

“Fuck d’you think you were doing? With Jagger?” His face is unrelenting and as far from the angelic “romantic type” as it could be. You’re speechless for a second, and in your silence, Paul turns furiously back around, releasing you and instead walking towards your car, hands jammed into his pockets. You chase after him as fast as you can in your heels, and he’s silent for the car ride home.

Sure, you had been talking with Mick at the party, but hadn’t everyone? He’d been flitting about, saying cordial hellos to everyone, and you’d been left at the bar while Paul went with the boys to give another round of interviews. You’d fallen into a wonderfully interesting conversation about something to do with the latest films (you’re both avid horror film fans, as it turns out). Sure, Mick had been leaning awfully close to you against the bar. And sure, perhaps you’d been giggling a bit more then necessary, but it was after eleven and you’d been drinking since the start of the party hours earlier. So perhaps it wasn’t too much of a surprise that Paul was pissed with you, but it was still embarrassing to be dragged out of the party so unceremoniously.

Once you reach your flat, Paul whips the car door open and stomps around to your side, wrenching open your door and practically tossing you out onto the sidewalk. 

“Hey!” You begin, but he holds you firmly by the shoulders and looks you dead in the eye.

“Stop. You’re done talking. ‘S my turn. Understand?” You don’t know what it is about the way he says it, but your stomach clenches involuntarily. His eyes bore into yours, but you can’t find it in yourself to look away. You just nod. 

“Good girl,” Paul says, and you feel your heartbeat speed up just a bit. “Let’s go inside.” 

You dutifully follow him inside, and the second the door closes, he’s on you like a madman. Paul’s hands tear off your jacket and fumble with the zipper on your dress, and no sooner has he slid the fabric down over your hips is he pinning you to the wall, one hand lightly wrapped around your neck.

“My girl thinks she can just get all cozy with Jagger? Like she forgot all ‘bout me?” Paul’s accent is thicker than usual, and you press your thighs together when his fingers rest at the base of your throat. You whimper, and he presses the gentlest of kisses to the corner of your mouth. “That’s alright. I’ll remind ‘er.” 

With that, Paul grabs your waist and hoists you over his shoulder in a sort of fireman carry, maneuvering you through the house before placing you on your feet in the middle of your bedroom. Then, to your confusion, he turns and takes a seat in the armchair in the corner of the room. He rests his chin on his palm and stares plainly at you. You stand there for a moment, only in your bra and panties and heels, fidgeting awkwardly under his gaze. You cross your arms over your chest and then uncross them again, shifting your weight from foot to foot, but Paul just continues to stare.

“What now?” Your voice is more desperate and whiny than you expected. Paul merely tilts his head amusedly, still taking you in. 

“Take them off.” You fumble to undo the clasp on your bra. “Slowly,” he adds. As you unhook the double clasps, you’re overcome with a wave of self-consciousness and your cheeks burn as you look away from him to a comforting patch of carpet.

“Hey.” His voice is softer than before, and when you look back at him, his face has changed too. “‘S just me. You’re okay.” Keeping eye contact with him this time, you let the garment fall from your shoulders onto the floor and slowly drag your panties down over your hips to join the pile. You step out of them, and still looking at Paul, raise your chin ever-so-slightly in defiance. He surges up to take you in his arms once again, but before he does, you swear you see the shadow of a smile cross his lips. 

Paul pushes you backward until your knees hit the mattress and you’re tumbling onto the bed. He’s on top of you nearly as fast as you can blink, tracing his way up your inner thighs. You part them for him on instinct, but after three or four passes of him coming as close as possible to where you need him most without touching, you’re beginning to get impatient. You let out a whine, arching slightly to try to get his hand closer, but Paul stops dead.

“No,” you can’t help but groan.

“Oh, s’that how it is, love? Now you can’t get enough of me?” Paul’s smirk is downright devilish, eyes dark and glinting. You nod breathlessly.

“Never enough.”

“Say it again.” Your breath catches in your throat as he brushes the pad of his thumb over your clit, light as a feather. He’s hardly touched you at all, but you can tell you’re going to start dripping onto the comforter soon. “Tell me how much you need me, love.”

“Please,” you blurt as his thumb brushes you again. His other hand has drifted up to settle around your throat again, and as much as you wish you could say you were in control of the situation, you’d probably let Paul do anything he wanted right now. “Please, Paulie, Paul.”

His fingers tighten around your throat with expert pressure, and you feel yourself becoming lightheaded. You’re just starting to get that airy, tingly, floating feeling when Paul lets go and all your sensation comes rushing back at you at once. You gasp the new, cool air and clutch at Paul’s shoulders. You reach towards his jaw to pull him into a kiss, but he leans away faster. 

“You didn’t answer me, pet.” The heat that rushes through your body at his words is so overwhelming that your eyelids actually flutter. 

“Need you,” you gasp. Then, somehow even more raggedly, “please, Paul, I need you so bad.” He smirks again and thrusts two fingers into you before you can say another word. 

It’s like you’ve been struck by lightning. You arch against the bed, pushing into his touch, delicious moans dripping from your lips. Your eyes squeeze shut and you can’t help but clench around his fingers.

“That’s alright, love?” Paul’s voice comes from somewhere above you. For only a second, you feel his breath fan over your collarbones before he’s pressing feather-light kisses over your decolletage. 

“Yes, please, please,” you gasp. He’s magnetic, irresistible.

Your world is spinning slightly, and you wind your fingers through his mop of dark hair to gain some purchase. Paul starts finger-fucking you in earnest and leaving pink and red marks over your chest. He doesn’t slow for a moment, even when he slips a third finger in and you gasp. He just leans up and kisses you soundly, using his thumb to brush against your clit and swallowing every sound you give him. Between his relentless pace and his teasing, it’s not long before that familiar heat between your thighs is starting to become overwhelming.

“Paul…” you moan against his mouth. He takes your lower lip between his teeth and tugs as he pulls away, making you whimper. You clench again around him and he kisses the very tip of your nose.

“Close?” You nod, and he adjusts his hand so he can curl his fingers up and -- oh, fuck. Your eyes slide shut again as you arch into his touch even harder, breath coming in quick, high-pitched pants.

“Come for me,” Paul says, and you do, vision dissolving and whole body trembling. As you come down, you let your knees drift closer together, desperately trying to catch your breath. You blink back into reality and open your eyes, and suddenly Paul is hovering over you. Through your post-orgasmic haze, his expression is unreadable, but you smile lazily as he cups your jaw. He leans down and you tip your chin up to kiss him, but he stops hardly a centimeter from your lips. You huff impatiently.

“Silly girl.” Paul smiles. “Thought I was done with you?” 

And then he’s pulling you until your hips are on the edge of the bed, and that magnetised feeling is back again. You’d let him do whatever he wants, just have his way with you. And again, you do.

Paul flips you over so that you’re bent at the waist over the bed. For a moment, he leaves you waiting as he snatches a condom from his wallet and rolls it on. When he returns, he presses the small of your back down with an open palm and you think the heat radiating from his touch would be enough to keep you warm forever. He snakes his hand down between your legs and you jump, still oversensitive from your previous orgasm. The pressure from his hand leaves your back, and you hear Paul’s belt buckle jangle as he undoes it with one hand. There’s more fabric rustling (maybe him pulling his shirt off) and then he thrusts into you in one fluid motion.

There’s that blinding electricity again, a circuit that charges your whole body, every part of you. You cry out, and Paul leans down to you, still buried to the hilt. 

“I know you can take it,” he growls, nipping at the shell of your ear. “‘S what you wanted right?” He draws nearly all the way back out before snapping his hips to meet yours and you can’t contain your moan. When he says it, it suddenly all makes sense, and yes, yes, this is what you want. You tell him so and he chuckles.

“Naughty girl. Teasin’ me to get attention.” He pushes you a little further onto the bed and with the new angle, he’s suddenly hitting a new spot that’s sending tingles up your spine. “Well, then, let’s hear what you want so badly.”

“You, I want you.” Your words are muffled by the bedspread, so Paul tangles his fingers in your hair and turns your head to the side before returning his hand to its near-bruising grip on your hip.

 “Come on, let’s hear,” he pants. He’s starting to lose that composure now, and when you glance back at him, you can see his face is flushed bright red and his hair is far from its usual neatness. His blush ends just beneath those irresistible doe eyes, and the delicate arch of his eyebrows and his beautifully crafted pout make it easy to see why he’s called the pretty one. He catches you watching, and those lips slide into a tilted smile.

“Watchin’ me?” You nod and make to respond, but he changes his angle again and now he’s hitting the perfect spot with each thrust. “Let’s hear who’s making you feel this good.” His fingers are still relentless on your clit, and you’re starting to get overwhelmed. 

“You are, Paul!” 

“‘S’that right?”

“Yes, yes, please, Paul,” you babble.

“Come on, love, I can feel how close you are. Scream for me, tell the neighbors who’s making you feel so good.” Paul’s voice is strained and breathless now, and he’s losing his rhythm, but he tightens the hand on your hip. “Tell Jagger who you belong to.”

It’s only a few more thrusts before you’re tumbling over the edge again, and you can only hope the neighbors don’t call the police with how loudly you scream Paul’s name. He follows just after you, and after you both ride out your highs, you allow your legs to collapse under you, completely exhausted.

“Oh, baby,” Paul murmurs. He pulls out and turns you over with the gentlest touch. With some half-hearted help from you, he pulls you upward so that you’re fully on the mattress. He gathers your face in his hands, kisses you once, twice, three times on the forehead and tells you to “wait right here” while he gets a washcloth. 

You’re glued to the bed for a bit, your limbs completely uncooperative as Paul cleans you up and helps you into a pair of boxers and one of his big tees, soft and faded from years of wear. Then, he disappears into the hall and you curl yourself up under the covers, just waiting for his warmth to return.

Thankfully for you, he does quickly and with a glass of water in his hand. He helps you upright again, makes sure you drink it, and then he’s bundling you up in his arms and you’re sinking into sleep.

You’ve been quiet for a while when Paul speaks again.

“You alright?”

“Mm?”

“Was that alright? Didn’t hurt you, right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. It was nice.” Your words are heavy with sleep and he kisses your forehead.

“Good. That Jagger just gets my blood boiling. He’s almost worse than John,” Paul murmurs, brushing a few strands of hair off your cheek.

“Mm. I can tell,” you smile, eyes still closed.

“Go to sleep, love. You’ve earned it,” Paul says. You nuzzle into his shoulder and breathe in his scent. Wrapped in his arms, you’re exactly where you want to be.

[amazingmsme]

Preventing Apotheosis Part 4

AN: As I said, a new chapter to celebrate Black Friday! Hope you’ve all enjoyed the series so far, I know I have! Just so you know, it’s really gonna pick up after this chapter. Lots of action & good shit that I can’t wait for you guys to read! 

John took out his comm and started talking to his boss, stepping out of the room. After hunting down the two infected girls and shooting them, Curt went back to the room where their hostages were tied to chairs so that their forms wouldn't slump over. He waited anxiously for John to end the call, and his head whipped toward the door when he heard the knob turn. The General walked in with a stern look on his face that Curt matched.

"You'll be pleased to hear that we won't have to kill them so long as they swear to never utter a word of this incident to anyone. They'll go into the Witness Protection Program to start their new lives and live out their days most likely traumatized."

"Well that's better than the alternative," Curt voiced. It still wasn't ideal, but at least they had the chance to live. 

"We need them to wake up, you got anything that could help with that?" John asked. Curt rapped his chin in thought, "Let's see, I'm only one of the world's greatest spies, and I interrogate people on a daily basis, of course I do. Here,"  he quipped, pulling some smelling salts out of his pocket. He shoved him out out of the way and knelt in front of them. He snapped the small packet and waved it under their noses. Both men shot up with a gasp, frantically looking around. Bill's eyes locked on McNamera and he tried to lunge forward. Thankfully the restraints held firm.

"You killed Alice! You took her away! She was only a child!" Tears welled up in his eyes, "She was too young to die!"

"Bill, your name is Bill right?" McNamera didn't wait for an answer before he continued, "That thing wasn't your daughter. She was an empty husk of a human, one of those singing alien freaks. She was about to kill you; one more second and she would've pulled the trigger an' you'd be dead on the ground."

Bill shook his head, "No, no she was still in there!" His friend in the chair turned to him, "No Bill, she wasn't. I mean, you saw the way her eyes were glowing. And they were blue, her eyes were never blue!" John took a step forward and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, and he jerked away. "I'm truly sorry for your loss, but there was no other way. At least we were able to find the two of you alive." Curt found it funny how he didn't tell them how he was going to kill them only a few minutes before. John turned to the taller man in the chair, "What's your name, son?"

"Uh, Paul, sir," he said. His eyes were full of panic. He probably thought they were gonna kill them.

"Nice to meet you Paul, you too Bill, my name's General John McNamera, I'm with a special devision known as P-E-I-P we call it "Peep.""

"P.E.I.P.? I've never heard of you," Paul said. John yanked his cigarette from his mouth.

"And you never will. Not a peep. We've dealt with things like this before."

"You mean things like this have happened before?" Paul asked with worry.

"I said nothing of the sort that information is classified. This is my associate-"

"I can introduce myself," Curt cut him off and pulled out his badge. "Agent Curt Mega, C.I.A."

"We were sent here to do a clean sweep of the island, and make sure word of this doesn't spread." As he spoke he untied the men.

"Wait- are you gonna kill us too?" Bill asked in a panic. John was quick to reassure.

"Those were my orders, yes, but I talked to my superiors and they're allowing an exception. There's gonna be two choppers coming to pick us up at 23 hundred hours. That's 11:00 if you're stupid, synchronize your time piece with mine." Paul pulled out his phone to set an alarm. "Is that a phone?"

"Yeah it's a 6s-" John grabbed the phone from his hand and threw it, making it shatter on impact. "Wear a watch!"

"Jesus John, the hell's your problem?" Curt asked and pulled out a spare phone from his bag. "Here, perks of being a spy."

"Th-thanks," Paul stuttered and gingerly took it. He eyed the General carefully before fiddling with it. He pressed the home button twice, three times before going to turn off the phone only for it to spark to life with a taser. He screamed and threw it away from him.

"Shit, I gave you the wrong one! Unless you want the taser phone.  It still functions as a regular phone but if you press the home button three times followed by the power button it'll activate the taser. Guess I should've warned you..."

Paul gulped, "That would've been nice."

"The offer still stands. Like Barb says, "It just might save your life." So?"

Paul shrugged and took the offered phone/weapon. "Why not? Today can't get anymore fucked up," he sighed. "C'mon Bill, lets go get the others."

Curt held out his hand, signaling them to stop. "Wait, how many of you are there?" He glanced at John, and they both shared a look. The helicopters could only hold so many.

"There's five of us sir."

"It'll be a tight fit, but we can manage," he shrugged. John nodded.

"Just make sure your little party doesn't grow," he narrowed his eyes into slits. Paul shook his head.

"I don't think we could even if we wanted to. I'm pretty sure we're the only ones left."

"Good. Keep on your toes, and try to stay alive 'til 11:00." Paul pressed his lips into a thin line, "Will do."

Suddenly, McNamera raised his pistol, startling both of the men.

"Wha-?"

In one swift movement, he flipped the gun around with practiced ease, holding the barrel. The handle was extended towards Paul. "I'm authorizing to use my firearm," he clarified. They visibly relaxed.

"Thank you sir."

"Maybe when this is all said and done, we can meet up somewhere and talk," Curt suggested. "Catch up on how you're doing."

They both nodded.

"Sure."

"That sounds nice."

"Do you gentlemen like coffee?" John asked. Both men nodded. "Do you like musicals?"

They answered simultaneously.

"No."

"Yes!"

John scowled at Bill as Curt came up beside him, "You must have good taste." John glared daggers at Curt.

"You're both garbage," he said dryly. Mega scoffed and rolled his eyes. John pointed at Paul, then Bill. "Twenty three hundred sharp. You're not there, we leave without you." He pulled his hat on a little tighter around his head. "I don't wanna be on this God forsaken island longer than needed."

"Me either," Curt agreed, locking eyes with the general and offered a fleeting smile. Call him crazy, but he could've sworn the man returned it.

He saluted the two men as they made their way out. "Best of luck to you."

"Try not to die," Curt offered his own advice before he thought better of it. Before a mission, he and Owen would always say that to the other before diving into the mess they were about to get themselves into. A painful ache shot through his chest at the thought of his old partner. What they had was special, and just like that it had been ripped away. And when given the chance to have it all back, Owen, the stubborn bastard that he was, threw it away, giving him no choice but to shoot.

"Get your damn head out of the clouds agent, we have to move!" McNamera barked at him, sending him crashing back down to reality. He blinked a few times before shooting him a sly and cocky grin.

"Sure thing General," he said, letting a fair amount of sarcasm drip from the use of his title. John sneered at him as he followed him out of the room.

The agent was infuriating, he thought, but damnit to hell if he wasn't starting to grow on him. It didn't help that he was incredibly handsome as well, but he could dream about him once they were safe and off of the island. Until then, nothing was set in stone.

[georgeharris0n]

The Exciting Adventures of Tiny Paul

Rated: PG (They curse, but that’s it.)

Word Count: 2k

Pairing: Tiny Paul McCartney/John Lennon

Chapters 1/1

Note: I had to do some Tiny Paul after seeing @macca-is-art create the most beautiful Tiny Paul art I have ever seen!!!! Check out the one, this fic is based on Here !!!! Auro, I hope you like it, and that it captures the beauty of your art.

Also- this is set when Paul is turned Tiny in Help!, but stays tiny for a bit longer… enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Ringo was fast asleep in the comfortable beddings of Her Majesty’s cool satin pillows. This moment may have been the only instance in the last few days that he appeared to be able to sleep again without any strange nightmares or just not sleeping at all in fear of getting nabbed while his eyes are closed. With a murderous cult and a pair of kooky scientists after him.

Getting shacked up at Buckingham Palace was probably the most well deserved hide away he needed.

On the outside it seemed all was normal. In fact, Ringo was in such a deep sleep he hadn’t even noticed George detangle his arms from his waist and get up to take a piss, which typically made him whine, or at least stir. He finally perceived that in such comfortable quarters, and with the extensive security, he would certainly be safe from any outside dangers that could be praying on him.

Unfortunately, Ringo wasn’t quite as “safe” from the inside dangers. One in particular, being the small bassist currently taking notice to George’s bathroom departure…

Since Paul’s mishap with the shrinking syringe. The boys came to realize, very quickly that a Tiny Paul was big problem. Paul may have shrunk indefinitely for the time being, and despite his small stature and increased vulnerability (which John pointed out repeatedly). Paul managed to make most of his situation and have a bit of “fun” with it…

In this case, with a unconscious Ringo.  Paul quickly took his chance once he saw George close the bathroom door. Sneakily, Paul wiggled his way out of his makeshift bedding- one of John’s clean socks folded on the nightstand. He peered over his shoulder to the opposite bed, and sure enough John was fast asleep.

Tightening the grip on his gum wrapper, Paul stood over at the edge of the nightstand to the two inch gap before him, which- at his height appeared more like five feet.

Paul took a quick breath and without wasting anymore time, leaped from the nightstand to the sheets of Ringo’s bed.

He was enveloped in the satiny softness of the Queen finest thread count. He finally understood why the lads had been sleeping so blissfully since arriving to Buckingham Palace. It was 10 times more comfortable than John’s crummy sock.

Lucky bastards.

Paul stood on the sheets to see Ringo, his target, sprawled out under his covers. Lifting up an edge, Paul slipped underneath, completely undetected…

Ringo’s good night sleep only could have lasted so long. Without a word of warning, Paul’s little feet were using Ringo’s stomach as a catwalk to which he could sashay across.

The lad jolted awake as his leg and abdomen involuntarily spasmed at the ticklish sensation creeping up and down his torso. Immediately, the cover was jerked away, and Ringo frantically searched for what had tickled him so suddenly. It wasn’t till he felt the sensation again on his thigh that he realized what the cause of these ministrations was.

Of course, he only realized that after he had given it a swat with his bejeweled hand, and saw it fly across the room into the nearby couch.

“Shit! Paul?” Ringo sat up on the edge of the end bed, squinting in the dark guest room for the tiny Beatle.

Ringo heard a stirring coming from the other bed.

“….P…aul? What ‘bout Paul?” A grumbly John murmured from his pillow on the bed directly beside Ringo’s. John was barely awake given he was a deep sleeper, but- the sound of Paul’s name was enough to get him conscious at most. John’s eyes pried open to the night stand between him and Ringo and immediately noticed the empty sock.

It was like he turned a switch. John sprung forth from his bed in a crazed panic.

“WHAT- Ringo, where’s Paul?”

Ringo was already standing up inspecting the couch cushions for any sign of him, avoiding John’s eyes as well as he could, either because of how tired he was or not wanting to see the guitarist’s panic turn on him.

“He was in me bed, I think? Gave me a real-”

“Your bed! You crushed Paul? You crushed Paul in the bed?!” John went wide eyed, taking a step back to steady himself with the night stand.

“No I haven’t crushed im’! I must of just hit him or something. I could’ve sworn I saw him on the couch.”

“Hit him! You daft git! What’d you do that for? You know he’s small now, what if he’s hurt or-”

“I didn’t do it on purpose John!”

“Well where is he then!”

“I’m trying to figure that out! If you’d stop yelling and help me look-”

The tiny fellow in question watched as the two argued. John reprimanding Ringo about how “delicate” he was and how easily he could get squashed.

The two were arguing so much they hadn’t even noticed Paul practically in stitches behind a discarded throw pillow. He was having a big laugh as John’s face fumed with panic after George stepped out of the bathroom unaware of what on earth they could be fighting about at 2 in the morning.

“Not another step Harrison!”

Tiny Paul knew how to have his own fun, and how to keep the lads on their toes for a few hours.

___________________

 The Palace, even in all it’s royal glory, had been a bust. Apparently not even the queen’s guards could protect the infamous Beatles.  The police of Scotland Yard now lazily were keeping track of the lads as they attempted to go about their day.

With a killer cult after Ringo, Paul in his still unrelenting miniature state, and the constant hiding from country to country, the boys took to the streets to frequent some pubs and shops. Since even the farthest getaway was foiled anyhow, they may as well stay on familiar ground.

John had Paul snug in his jacket pocket, as per usual, with Ringo and George in tow. They marked along the pavement past the next pub till John spotted some local entertainment. A rather loud group, playing bagpipes had caught his eye. John stopped in his tracks, and pointed ahead to them

“Look! A band!”

Paul’s antics may seem like a pretty great strength, in terms of an upper hand over his cautious bandmates, but John’s constant worrying was not without merit. Paul was much smaller, and though all 4 Beatles had been protected and sheltered in the last few days. Noticing, and keeping an eye on him was tedious. Being out an’ about in public was far more dangerous considering only the other 3 Beatles knew of Paul’s condition. It wasn’t as though every individual would be watching out lest the stumble upon a small Paul McCartney… unfortunately Paul was going to find this out the hard way.

“Boys! It’s too loud!” In John’s pocket, Paul’s little ears couldn’t quite stand those bolstering bagpipes as he un-curled himself from deep in the pocket void to peak out with his ears covered.

The other fellas may have found the band entertaining, but- from Paul’s view of the the nearest pipe he saw something fishy was in their midst. He pipe was… leaking? Red? Like red paint of some-

Paul was over the edge of the pocket seam when he saw the pipe suddenly sputter and squirt out a stream of paint at the direction of his friends.

“Guys! Hey! Watch out! John?”

It was that damn cult! They had been duped again! George frightfully guided Ringo forward with a protective hand on his back, running from the scene, John right beside them, flashing a cheeky “Fuck you” smile behind as they all sprinted to the nearest pub.

Well… almost all.

Paul had been so caught off guard in the initial sprint that he had fallen out of the side of John’s pocket and down onto the side pavement. He was completely panicked as his friend ran for dear life and disappeared from view.

“Come back! John! I’m here, please!” To no avail, Paul’s cries were drowned out, and his mates were long gone, currently too preoccupied by being chased to notice Paul was now stranded.

The terrified Beatle was enveloped by busy pedestrians who probably couldn’t tell him apart from a crumpled gum wrapper. Curling in on himself, he was left in utter shock unable to move. Body just hoping and praying that in the next moment he wouldn’t be trampled by a neighboring high heel. The tiny lad shivered and shook with tears brimming in his eyes.

John left. He left me.

John had become Paul’s protector in a way these last few days whether Paul admitted it or not. Always so attentive and snippy about keeping Paul safe. Paul hadn’t realized how much he needed John till this moment. How reliant he was on him.

Paul felt the concret go cold and dark. A shadow came over his small little body, probably a shoe coming to smash him like a little bug, a meaningless little thing to kill without a second thought, a small nasty Beetle on the street-

“M-Macca?”

In a fearful whisper, John cradled Paul in the palms of his hands, looking down to see the bassist tearfully open his eyes.

“Is he alr-” George didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Paul began to cling to Johns shirt.

He couldn’t help but to sob uncontrollably against him. Letting out the smallest tears onto John’s red dress shirt.

John hadn’t even noticed his own tears fall out of worry and self resentment. He couldn’t help but cry when he saw Paul quivering and sobbing in his very own hands.

“I’m so sorry Macca…”

John let the tears fall. That- or maybe he hadn’t noticed he was crying in the first place, no matter the reason, Ringo and George could see the guilt in John’s eyes. Both laying hands on his arms for comfort as John gently rubbed the top of Paul’s head.

He may be Paul McCartney, but even the great McCartney needs his Lennon…

__________________________________

That night, once tears were dried and were apologies made. Paul refused to leave John’s side. Not that John was complaining. After the incident, he couldn’t bare the idea of Paul alone tonight in his sock.

Though John was reassured it had been an accident, he still couldn’t shake his being responsible. He had been so protective before, and hated the fact that he let this happen after being so forceful regarding his smol Paul.

Paul was snug on John’s breast pocket now. Not having been the same since that afternoon, he was shaking with fear from on and off nightmares…

“Oh and This boyyy…”

Whenever John woke from his dozing, to Paul’s shaking, he soothed him with loving touches in his soft hair and sang him back to rest.

It was the least he could do,

[allstarsstorymode867]

All-Stars -Story Mode- CHAPTER 15 Pt. 5

After a long absence of the story, I am now posting this part finally after I finished up this and been sitting there just collecting dust. Do enjoy this part. ^^

P.S: I had noticed some mistakes on this part so I edited just in case you are going to point it out.

Part 4

Part 6

-Meanwhile, with the Group of Survivors in Fallen City, at the Exit of the Caves-

A light at the end of the Caves, Werner is one of the ones who saw it as he said “Zhe end of zhe Caves, ve’re nearly at zhe exit of zhe Caves.” to Cuphead, Mugman, Frisk, Bendy and Radec.

“Good! I’m getting too tired of this bulls@#4t already.” P!Dempsey said as he kept padding with P!Takeo’s help as they are close to U!Richtofen who is the only one padding while U!Nikolai had passed out drunk.

Bruno had been silent since his teammates had been taken, Sniper had happened to row by with Scout and Demoman when he noticed him, so he asked “Mate, are you alright?”

“I was barely alright, Austrian.” Bruno barely answered, “I am still worried for my allies, Scarlett, Shaw and annoying Mexican, Diego. If what Knight said about them being in the different universe then…” he continued but Scout cut him off as he said “I missed Miss Pauling too! But hey, I’m pretty sure they will be fine!”

“Just ignore him laddie,” Demoman said as he shook his head, “He is our version of the Annoying Mexican, Bruno.” he humored.

Bruno smiled as he shook his head and said “Expect he had million words carumed into one mouth.” as Scout had overheard this conversion and yelled “Hey!” making Sniper and Demoman laughed.

Colonel Radec had been focused on the Cave’s walls for any Hallow creature so he can give his men or his worst enemies to know so they wouldn’t be in a valuable state again. Frisk had looked at the river as they drifted away in their memories of the Underground once again.

"Tra la la. Did you ever hear the old song coming from the sea?"

They giggled as they recalled the lines the River Person had quoted whenever they took the boat ride to any part of the Underground, on the line for Alphys, to visit the Skeleton Brothers and others that became their friends.

Radec had heard them laughing and looked over to them to which Frisk noticed and looked back at him. “What are laughing about, Human? He asked as he does acknowledge that he was STILL trapped within the blob of ink that Bendy had him in.

>[Something I remembered.]<                              [None of your business.]

                                        >[Something I remembered.]

“Remembered something?” he said after Frisk answered, “Human child like you had laughed after you remembered something funny?” he asked, Frisk nervously nodded as they did remembered when they first met Undyne while on the way on Hotland.

*You asked him why he thought of that…. *Along with the reason why he and them are here.

Radec remained quiet for a moment, then looked at them once more and answered “I had been serving as Scolar Visari's personal bodyguard for the Second Extrasolar War and he had trusted me with his life. When one groups of our own had discovered power beyond belief and reconsion on this planet, he had first turned his attention towards this and uses it an ‘obertinuity’ to win the war against the UCN, ISA and ICSA.” as he looked at them while Cuphead, Mugman, Trace and Bendy looked over to with judgemental looks.

“Power, all men would do everything to get it and they will receive it. Children like you are too young to hold it” he continued as he is aware the judgemental looks he is receiving and Cuphead walking towards him, his finger tip glowing and ready to fire with eyes burning with reconizible anger.

He grabbed his red strap and growled “And was that the reason you wanted us to be joined with that crazy-” but he was cut off by Radec who forcefully snapped at him “And we will achieve that when we have you both recaptured along with the others and finding that wolf then soon that power and victory for my people and my people alone! Not you or them.” yet he only receives another judgemental glares from Cuphead, Mugman and Bendy but not Frisk, they had known that humans can be judgemental as well.

*You had remained silent until finally you asked…

“Why do you think that power could matter to victory?”

“I don’t,” he excused, “Visari wanted it then, they, even you know that we would matter, if I fail then Helghan Empire will be ashamed to me and the consequences of failure would be very much depends on me by the Visari himself.” he explained, Frisk felt pity for him but it doesn’t change their thoughts on him though.

“We’re here!” Gordon yelled out from ahead of them, making others looked up ahead and saw light glowing brighter and revealed to be the outside of the Caves, leads into the park of Fallen City.

“Vait.” Werner said, getting Cuphead, Mugman and Frisk’s attention as they looked at him, “Do understand zhat I’d have to take Trace back to her family. I von’t be here vhen you get back if you decided to.”

The three looked at each other as Bendy turned into his second form and then stands over Radec and then picked him up, then they looked at Werner and said “Yeah, we understand.”

Werner nodded in agreement along with Trace as the boats ahead of them had docked and their rowers begin to dismount.

They reached the shore and docked it, they all began to dismount their boats with the Helghast but they and Radec haven’t made any admits to escape or fighting due their number had suffered to a vulnerable amount, there were 70 then with their attack, it was reduced to 30 and when the outbreak happened after the gate keeping the zombies out was blown to pieces, it was once again reduced to 7 Helghasts; 6 troopers and 1 Colonel.

They are surrounded by their enemies as they walked over to the rocks and had them all sit down on their knees with their hands on the back of their heads, Bendy had carried Radec over and then places him with them.

“Well, ain’t this bloody peachy then…” Sniper began with a grumble, looking at them as he adjusted his sunglasses a little bit before placing his hands in his pockets. “Now there’s just seven of you left, but I think there’s quite a lot of you to go.” he continued as Radec turn his head to the Austrian man.

“Wait until the rest get here with the Third Helghan Army and seeing you all of you executed for threatening us.” One Helghan soldier spoke up with courage in his voice, Radec glared at his soldier as he yelled “Private! Keep silent.” as the soldier looked at his superior and then said “Yes sir.” after a long silence.

Irritated, P!Dempsey walked up to Colonel Radec and then grabs him by the collar in a feral manner and bombarded “What makes you think that here, in this f@#ked up city so you can boss us around like you are still under authority?!” as he shook him a bit.

“I didn’t, Visari is our authority and only we are loyal to him, never to betray him.” Mael Radec answered calmly, that clearly got P!Takeo’s attention and his face was lit in anger, “Are you blinded by your own loyalty?” he said as he turned around to face the Colonel with the angered expression.

“Having brought here with little notice before you will realize that your leader had unknowingly sent you all to die at the hands of demons that will eat your soul and bodies or he had knowingly did that because you all knew that you can endure anything even death.” he spoke with a tone of someone who had been betrayed as he and the Helghast soldiers looked at him with both anger and confusion that he speaks against Autarch like that.

Takeo was looking at them before turning his head away from them before walking ahead. U!Richtofen walked over to them and gave a pitiful look, “I vould love to see how all of you had your humane traits changed vhile on an hazardness planet you’re lived on but vhat ISA you are talking about, I hope zhat zhey vill let me do zhat.” he said with an insidious grin on his face.

Something about the Nazi’s grin had send chills down Radec’s back, this man is a sociopathic doctor in this version of Dr. Edward Richtofen he had ever met, they then heard a groaning from the far left of them, making everyone raised their weapons once more and looked around.

Cuphead and Mugman stood protective in fount of Frisk, Bendy growled as looked at the direction as Ultimis Nikolai had finished up his vodka, he had found a gas can with fuel still filled in it and he refills the bottle with it, putting in a cloth into the opening of the bottle and readies the lighter.

Erron stood by with both revolvers ready as Gordon looked at something at Bendy’s back, it’s a crowbar but not just a crowbar, it was HIS crowbar. He quickly walked to Bendy and then pulls it out of his back, Ink Bendy didn’t seem to mind or/and feel what Freeman did, he just scratched his back like a flea had bitten him.

They were ready for a horde of zombies come out but one detail had happened to be chased by them as a middle-aged man, appearty at age 55, with dark brown hair with little white coming in, light orange/brown eyes with barely shaved facial as he carries a portable camera and wore a brown backpack, dark gray dress shirt, army green coat, navy blue jeans with a bloody bandage on his left leg and black casual shoes.

He is wielding a baseball bat with barbed wire wrapped around it, he ran for his life as he looked back and saw one zombie attempted to grab him but he just reared back and hits it with it, unlike the damage of a normal bat, with the damage point of the barbed wire baseball bat, it took a chunk of flesh from the sides of a zombie’s face.

“Take that!” He yelled as he finishes it with a second blow before continuing running, he noticed them ahead of him and he freils his arm around as he yelled “Hey! Help!” and does the trick for him.

Primis Dempsey points the gun at him, making him stop as he held his hands up while he yelled “Wait!-” but to his surprise, the Marine ordered “Move!”

He moved out of the way for one of the dead running up behind him and he opened fire on it, making it fell down on the ground and died just inches from reaching him. Sniper, Soldier, U!Richtofen and P!Takeo joined in and fired a lot of bullets at them.

Bruno walked over, the Hammer of Valhalla in his hands, he then slams the ground with it and making it quake under their feet and causing the horde stumble and then fall onto the ground.

“Heavy! Now!” Bruno yelled as Heavy hurryingly ran up to the action and then using his minigun, Sasha who he had named, opened fire on the horde and killing them all till they are nothing but a pile of dead bodies laying on where they stood.

Heavy panted as he lowered his gun with the barrel had smoke coming out of it as he muttered “Heavy’s getting too old for this.” while he looked at the pile of bodies on the ground. They looked over to the man they had just saved and then Scout said “I guess there are more people like here.” as he looked at him.

“And a freelance photojournalist who had covered wars and zombie outbreaks, I didn’t guess you guys had saved my a#4… And what’s doing this by blurring out the swear words, it is working. The name’s Frank West.”

“Freelance?” Bruno questioned to the named middle-aged man before him, making Frank looked at him as he holds his camera by the lens near upper chest level, “Yeah, you know, going into the quarantine zone alone, with no crew to me back up and just being on your own when you’re like me.”

“I had a friend that’s a weather specialist back on the Isles where me and my brother lived.” Cuphead said as he looked up to the man, who looked back down to him. “Trust me, kid, if you were me, it will take more than bad weather in history that can take you out of this world permanently if you are not…”  he was saying when he looked at Ink Bendy who is looking back at him with Gordon and Erron as Frank finished with “Too careful.” while he lets go of his camera and readies the bloodied up bat for defense.

The three was doing the same but Primis Takeo interfined as he got between them and maintained “Do not attack each other, we are all in this and we must solve it before it could get any worse, West-san, is it?” while looking at him.

“I can agree but not without getting a full cover of this first and I don’t know what roleplay forum you’re in, could be a lot more serious about this and it’s Frank West, thanks.” he said as he looked at him and felt like he’s familiar to him for a strange reason.

“I am serious.” P!Takeo relented, before turning to the three and said “Stand down.” as he looked at them. Erron, Gordon and Ink Bendy looked at each other for a moment before Ink Bendy transformed back into his normal form while Frank took pictures of this with his camera, Gordon had gotten his crowbar back and he puts it away on his back and Erron placed his revolvers back in their hoisters as he said “Alright Takeo, you’re the boss.”

“Takeo huh?” Frank said, after finishing up his taking his shots and tilted his head with curiosity, “You’re the leader of the group, Tak?” he asked again. P!Takeo was going to say something when U!Richtofen spoke up as he walked over to the photojournalist, “I am zhe leader of zhis group und I vill be able to answer your questions on zheir behalf!”

“Richtofen…” P!Dempsey said, shaking his head while U!Nikolai looks at the cocktail and then the lighter. Frank West looked at the Doctor with his eyebrows raised, he wasn’t sure if this man is their leader or just self-proclaimed himself as one and maybe one of the Psychos he had often encountered.

“I uh, I appreciate that one of your own had saved my neck from these zombies. But do you know that there’s an Umbrella Corps already in the area, looking for survivors and wiping out many of those things they can find.”

*A part of you wanted to believe Frank on that part, you hoped that this Corps could rescue everyone here, if they survived the outbreak of course.

“Umbrella Corps?” P!Dempsey questioned as he looked at him, along with U!Nikolai who was hardly paying attention to the conversion. “a former pharmaceutical company that gotten a pretty bad wrap in Raccoon City Incident along other incidents happening after that, now been reinstated and seemingly reformed mercenary group trained to deal with bio attacks that had been the results of bio-genetic engineering.” West answered as he looked at the rest of the group and to the captured Helghasts before concluded “I’m just surprised that they haven’t rescued you guys yet but that’s why I still can't wrap my head around one thing.”

“Oh, vhy is zhat you zhink zhat vay?” U!Richtofen chuckled as he turned away from him for a moment. Frank simply shuffled around before saying “Well, I had found a tunnel that had been blocked off with their tents left abandoned for anyone. Ether those zombies got ‘em or something else did and if it was an outbreak, this city would’ve stayed quarantine for a while until the situation is taken care of and this virus, I wasn’t sure if those wasps had something to do about it but I had encountered dogs that looked like they didn’t escaped forest wildfire, it’s too crazy.”

U!Richtofen only let a “Heh.” from his lips before turning his gaze back to the man before him with his multicolored eyes and answered “Almost as if… One element from zhe table had something to do vith zhis?” “Well no, I think maybe?” Frank said as he knew this man wasn’t right in the head, Doctor wasn’t done as he walked over to him and questioned “How much do you know about zhis, Mister Vest?” as Frank is stepping away from him to keep a healthy distance from him.

“I know when I left the safehouse to find more information about what really happened here, this story that I am covering, it may be a bigger story of the century- hell, maybe bigger than my career that has ever been before.” he answered as U!Richtofen had grinned with Bruno and P!Dempsey looking over to them, unsure if they are needed if U!Richtofen decided to be primitive towards Frank West.

“You should get the hell out of this city while you still can,” Erron said as he stepped up to the two men, “If you had gotten that story, then get out of here while you still can.”

“Hey, I am not going to abandon this one, I’ve covered wars, ya know!” Frank insisted, Erron and U!Richtofen looked at each other with defeat before U!Richtofen sighing “Alright Mister Vest, if it is your death vish zhen go ahead.”

“Thanks General,” Frank replied, with a thumbs up, U!Richtofen nodded with a smile as he had often been called “Major General Edward Richtofen” rather than Doctor but he didn’t mind it. He had turned around as he took his hat off for a moment and started to walk back to the Helghasts but Frank then said “Hey,”

U!Richtofen turned back and looked at him but he was confused on what he said next.

Frank asked “Have we’d met before?” as others around him looked at him in confusion.

[Drawn by Meaghan “Icefir” Halter]

Others are looking at him with confusion, U!Richtofen is looking at him with confusion as well but soon rebound with a smile, putting his hat back and said “I am sorry but you’ve mistaken zhe Doctor for someone else.”

Frank looked at him for a few more moments before looking at P!Dempsey, P!Takeo and U!Nikolai then turning back to the German. “Is memory fogging up to you, old timer?” Scout asked as he placed his bat on his shoulder. “Who are ya calling “Old timer?” kiddo, I can still fight while covering this story.” Frank West said but then felt pain on his back for a little moment before maintaining his composure.

They heard a sight rattling from where they had come from, making everyone raised their weapons once more as they all turned to look at the cave and seeing a small pebble rolled out of the cave.

*Something is in the Caves... *Or was it someone in there…?

“What is that…?” Demoman asked as his eye glows yellow once more while others took a few steps back, Cuphead and Mugman’s fingertips are glowing a little bit at the entrance of the Caves. Waiting for something to come jumping right out at them.

They listened, nothing, they waited, nothing and something or someone coming out; nothing.

“Maybe…. Maybe it was nothing.” Erron said as he lowered the revolvers down a little bit but kept his eyes trained on the Caves entrance still. Then, they all heard another sound clattered loudly from behind them, they all quickly turned to see what it was and without thinking, they began to open fire on it.

The barrels of their guns were red hot and smoking after firing bullets at whatever it was, Frisk had their eyes covered as they opened fire at it, they had seen enough blood for today, scratch that- they had enough seeing blood for a lifetime.

They had gone through Genocide Route after Genocide Route to know enough to see how a person can kill another person. They all kept their eyes on the wall that was riddled with bullet holes they made, waiting for something to come out but once again, nothing.

“Dang…” Scout finally babbled from the rush of fear as he looked at the wall, “This whole zombie crap can get ya in a rush of adrenaline!” he proclaimed as he lowered his scattergun while P!Dempsey raised an eyebrow.

“Best to get used to it,” The Corporal said as he puts his pistol away, “In this outbreak, you will feel all the adrenaline going through you.”

“Mate, I had a lot of adrenaline going through me already.” Sniper added as he places the SMG away as well. “Bendy,” U!Richtofen said as he looked over to the Ink Demon who looked back at him.

“Pick up zhe Helghast Colonel und make sure none of zhem vill make get away.” he ordered, Bendy nodded as he walked over to Radec once again and then picks up the Colonel, then growls at the Helghast soldiers, making them stand up and then walked slowly in an orderly line with Heavy, Soldier, Sniper and Demoman watching them with eyes of a hawk.

To those who are wondering what they had just shot at, it was a zombie, unharmed after it hid from behind the wall after gunfire is heard.

It may be your average zombie but this one is…… different.

[Digitally drawn by Meaghan “Icefir” Halter]

This zombie is a female, her eyes are different colored; her left orange and the right one is red. She wore a light grayish blue tank top, navy blue hoodie with a tear with the bite mark exposed and olive green pants.

Like most of the walking corpses, she had pale skin and looked much like her kind but if you encountered a zombie like her, she’s not entirely like her kind. She is, strangely, aware of the environment around her and human emotions.

She simply stood there, shaking like a leaf, lucky that none of the bullets didn’t hit her and killed her right away. She regained her composure and then steadily ran away.

-Somewhere outside the city…-

A group of animal-like humanoid creatures, a woman that appeared to be human with blanket covering most of her back and body and blindfolded. The animal-like humanolds consists a white cat with small bottle tied around his neck a red coat with a blue patch snitched on left sleeve, a middle-aged german shepherd dog with a SWAT clothing and bullet-proof vest with shoulder pads, a fox with Japanese kimono-like warrior clothes, Elderly white ferret with a cowboy hat and old-west clothing, bay cat whose fur-hair is green that is fading into red and wearing that appears to be general’s clothes, lime green and white cat with purple hair with a button-up hoodie with the sleeves and wore bandages and a jackrabbit whose fur is white and gray with a ponytail tied as his ears looked like they were torn off and then sewed back on due to the stitches they had, he wore a hat, trench coat with sleeves rolled up, pants that had the same but different shades of gray.

For the woman they are carrying on a makeshift stretcher, she is clutching onto a unique flower in her hand, a red Amaranth flower, she said nothing as the white cat and white-gray jackrabbit are ones carrying the stretcher as they walked.

“Two weeks…” the German Shepherd dog said under his breath, looking at the Fallen City with his two crimson red eyes as he places the sledgehammer with what appeared to be a car battery attached to it onto his left shoulder. “We had managed to escape with the Angel for two long weeks.” he continued as he felt a paw placed on his right shoulder, making him looked at the lime green cat who is wearing a smile on her face.

[Digitally drawn by Meaghan “Icefir” Halter]

“We are just halfway towards the Land of The Daybreak! You should be happy that we are almost there.” she said as she winked to him, the jackrabbit looked over to the two with eyebrows raised.

“I shouldn’t say that when tasks given seemed just too easy now.” he said as he supports himself and the strencher as his hands are getting tired from carrying the woman on it.

“That was I was thinking, Lois.” The German Shepherd agreed, looking at at the Jackrabbit with the cat removing her paw from his shoulder and looking at him as well. The lime cat scoffs and said “Says the former con artist who made each biggest con too easy than any others that had ever seen.”

Lois rolled his golden yellow eyes as he shakes his head, “And that came from a thrillseeker who took a long falls to death like you, Zoy.” he scoffed back as others seemed amused towards this.

She rolled her eyes in vex, she then looked at the German Shepherd and said “Why did you think this is too easy for us, Brütal?”

Brütal said nothing as he looked at Fallen City once again, “I just heard stories that Humans and Monsters had once lived in that city, in a time long before our time, this city had a different name before it was known and famous for being the home of the Undead. Long before they took off into the stars for a new home, leaving our first ancestors behind to look after it.”

White cat’s ear twitches when he heard Brütal said it, “Are you referring to the Legend of Broken?” he asked looking over his shoulder to the German Shepherd dog.

“Of course.” Brütal answered as he looked at the white cat whose eyes are golden but only had one blue pupil on the right eye. Lois and White cat then found a nice flat rock for them to place the woman on, they walked over to it and then gently rests her on it, “Thank you…” the woman said softly, white cat looked at her with a confused look and said “for what?”

“For helping me... We’re getting closer now.” she said with a soft smile, the white cat smiled back as he looked at her, “Danil!” Bay cat said his name, he looked over and see everyone sitting down for a temporary break. “I think it’s my turn to watch the angel now.” the white ferret said in an old western accent as he got up and then walked over to the two, patted Danil on the shoulder before sending him to join the group.

“Thanks Stöne.” Danil said as he walked to the group, Stöne nodded as he stood protective of the Angel they kept calling the woman as, in truth it may be crazy but that’s what the blanket is for, to hide her wings to avoid unwanted attention.

“To remind what our parents told us about the Day of Broken Wraith, Broken was once human and lived her life with a puzzling disorder that slowly delayed her development in life yet it had made her the perfect target for sociality.” Brütal began the story with hand gestures after he rested the Battery Hammer against a ruined car, “She was taunted, tormented and been wronged as an unwanted runt of litter. Then one day, she was fed up of Monster Race and her own kind, she ran towards the hidden temple of Mt. Ebott against her stepfather’s wishes and broke the crystal of mystical power to control and manipulate each universe.”

[Full body of Broken but what she really look like will be revealed soon in chapter parts of chapter 15]

“Like playing god, she caused many disasters to happen in the city she once called home and one of them being a zombie outbreak after a star of 115 fell from the skies, the city has fallen so very hard and painful. Like that, she had her vengeance on those who hurt her but most of them were just innocent bystanders who have done nothing wrong. Her heart and soul corrupted now as she decided that not enough so she plunged the world into an era of chaos and mayhem but there’s a plan B for both races to survive and that is to leave the planet they called home in advanced shooting stars that will take them across the galaxy in search for a new one.” Brütal retelled this tale to his allies.

“With Humans and Monsters soaring across the universe after being exiled, Broken was satisfied to have the whole world to herself as she thought she was finally rid herself of the “scums” that are the bane of her life, but there’s one thing that has not yet count on; Lightium, the element that created us, brought Crystallines back from imprisonment of the galaxies and Broken released her Hallows to take over these lands. Yet, we all still talked about one day she will be bored and bring north these gods, demons, heroes and villains known as “All-Stars” into this world from their own. Having them fight each other for survival or for glory if one team or sole survivor of the confect had survived long enough through it. They will be rewarded with riches and power beyond all reality.” he concluded with a sigh, Lois’s ears twitched as he heard the last part of the tale, he spoke “How do we know if the Angel had been an All-Star that we’re helping out then?”

“We are not sure about it, we only know that she had accidentally fallen out of grace high above.” Brütal answered with his eyes closed, “And that is the reason why we have to return her to it, to erase these seven sins off of our hands for forgiveness.” Danil interjected as he stands up on his two legs, looking over to the red bay cat and said, “Right, Zolen?”

“Of course you are right, Danil, right, Ren?” Zolen looked over to the now named fox. Ren nodded when Stöne said “I am worried if that part of the tale would come true sooner than later. I can’t remember when..” before placing his paw on his forehead, “I can’t remember when my real name is when…” that Lois quickly realized this and yelled “His memory is going again!”

Zolen ran over to him and said “You’re Stöne, Papa!” with her german side coming out of her, “S-T-O-N-E. Stöne!!”

“Was that my first or last name?” Stöne questioned with his paw removed from his forehead, looking at his adopted daughter with confusion. “We don’t know, we just know that your name is Stöne” Ren added as she looked at them. “I guess you’re right but I do remember when… Father Raji had found her.”

“That’s it!”

“That’s when the Angel had came to us!” Danil said after Zolen had pointed it out that her adoptive father had correctly remembered his memory. “When Danil had came to our home after he claimed he was a traveler, Father Raji had came to us with the Angel out of fear that god-fearing folks from the town will kill after mistaking her as a Fallen Angel and asked us to get her back to Heaven where she came from. Then you four came along after Father Raji said that we can be relieved of our sins against the Gods of the Old World.”

“If we survive long enough to get that goal,” Lois added, “I just want to get back to my life that is normal, not this and right now!”

“Shut your trap, Lois, you had been a pain in the butts of everyone on this crazy journey.” Brütal threaten him with his weapon raised after picking it off. The Jackrabbit’s ears fell downward again with fear when Danil entered in to defend him by saying “He may be annoying but he could still be useful if there other worst Furthers like him, even ourselves that are only wanted to be forgiven for all we had done!”

“Shut your mouth before you’ll say something you might regret, Kitty boy!" Brütal threaten again as his attention to Danil instead. “Enough!” Zolen barked out with her teeth bared with annoyance and angered.

“We are all in this one! I know that this time it’s not normal and we’re now fugitives of our kind, I know that we are carrying an Angel but it doesn’t mean we can take our frustrations out on each other for it.” Zolen reasoned to them, Brütal lowered the hammer a little as he listened to her with the others who calmed down after they all looked like they were ready to get into argument themselves.

“We are all tired and cranky without a home for us to protect us, to hide us from the outside world of this.” Zolen spoke with understanding, “But we had to keep walking to get the Angel back up there and we have to still cling onto hope even though it had been crash but if it’s going to kill then we’ll just fight for our lives.” she finished as she got out a shotgun and then pumps it back, ready to be used.

Lois sighed “This is it, oh boy… I was right about this trip is going to be long.” as he placed his forehead and shakes his head in sorrow.

“Best get use to it,” Brütal jeered, “It wasn’t my first rodeo on journeys.” as he got up with his hammer, putting it on his shoulder once again after getting his well rested break. He looked at the group and said “Break is over, we have to continue on now.” before turning and then walking ahead.

Danil and Lois then goes back to the stretcher with the Angel still sitting on it and then they lift it up with little trouble and then continued to head for Fallen City. “Should we be aware for Untotens while we were carrying the Angel?” Lois unconsciously asked out of his thoughts, Brütal turned his head to the jackrabbit and answered, “We will take care of it, there are little research about their weaknesses are and use them to our advantage.”

“That’s what I worried about, I don’t want blood anywhere on me.” Lois added as his ears had folded down again.

[viktorbezic]

Double Dribbble: Losing Out To Homogenous Design

I’m not deliberately trying to single out dribbble here. Dribbble is typically used as the poster child and a culprit for homogenous design. Not gonna lie. I wanted to use the title Double Dribbble, while also highlighting what happens when we all use the same sources of online inspiration. IE. The sea of sameness effect. After the demise of FFFFound where I’d uncover all sorts of new visuals, there were no platforms that provided serendipitous discovery until Are.na came along. But getting offline, going through old books, traveling, making trips to galleries, looking at things from different disciplines helps. If your only source of inspiration are the most popular Dribbble shots, or the top UI Pinterest boards, algorithmically served, of course, it’s very likely you’ll come up with something that looks just like the sum total of what you’ve consumed. Ideas come from different recombinations of existing ideas and knowledge. This is true of all creative disciplines. The more unique the combination, the higher the chance of leading to a significant breakthrough (1).

There are many culprits from an over-reliance on data, a focus on utilitarianism, the re-use of the same frameworks, and designing templates without a feel for the content. Why am I writing about this? Hasn’t this piece been done before? Sure it has. But every now again I get bored to tears by digital and UI design and go on the hunt for folks who are pushing the boundary. It’s also a good exercise to re-ignite my own interest in a design discipline that I’ve been involved some, way shape or form over the past decade. I share a similar sentiment to Marc Kremers, “Too many sites are just exercises in good, generically appealing taste. Anyone can do that. It’s super boring.” (2)

I’ve reflected on how we got here not only to push myself but to also highlight some of the pieces I go back to and re-read. Disclaimer: I’ve been guilty of going the templated approach on side projects I’ve launched. I also use a bought template on Tumblr. I’m in the process of rolling my own. So I’m part of the problem as well.

How we got here.

Clean, workable, well-designed interfaces are the baseline. When you get to this point, you’re not finished. There’s still more to be done. I’ve re-read Yaaron Schoen’s piece “In Defense of Homogenous Design” and do agree with some of Schoen’s points. There are some learned behaviors and existing digital design paradigms. Examples include, pull to refresh, swipe to dismiss, underlined hyperlinks, etc. The argument as Schoen presents them go something like this: “This is great. We’re teaching people how to use digital products and if your digital product looks similar, all good. Jackets look the same, we know where the pockets are.” It makes sense, but my gut feeling is this line of thinking can stop us from really evolving a design (3). I know some restraint needs to be exercised so care needs to be taken as you select the right opportunities to level up on. There needs to be some expressive elements and a human touch. If all we did were the basics we wouldn’t need designers. All we would need are the UI frameworks to paint by numbers with.

We can’t always stick to existing paradigms.

There are instances when we can’t always stick to existing paradigms. One example was highlighted in a designer news thread by Renee P. that goes something like this: a decade ago people hadn’t heard of “pull to refresh” or “swipe to dismiss.” These new paradigms had to be invented (4). But with every new platform, the paradigms will need to be created or advance as the technology evolves. When I was working at a large holding company owned digital agency, I remember a VR commerce project we made for the high-end retailer. We’d demo it to our clients and teach them an entirely new paradigm for VR navigation (5). Staring at a diamond for a certain amount of time to advance the experience. Once folks learned it, it became second nature. I’m not big on VR but thought it was a good example from first-hand experience. There’s a host of new technologies we are still defining interfaces for. Some that have no UIs at all as with conversational interfaces and multiple dimensions when it comes to AR and mixed reality, etc. In the context of new platforms, screen-based interfaces may need to be recontextualized as people learn new behaviors and paradigms.

The other reason to break an existing paradigm is to infuse some sort of character into the product and put a unique spin on it. The question goes something like this, back to Schoen’s Jacket Principle, what if I don’t want to wear the same jacket as someone else, or design one like someone else? If I had a to design one, I might put extra pockets someplace else. Maybe there’s an act of discovery there. It’s about a point of view and bringing something unique to the table. As Alan Kay stated, “Point of View is worth 80 IQ points”. Which leads me to my next point.

An over-reliance on utilitarianism creates forgettable products.

Brett Bergeron, Creative Director at the digital product design studio This Also, presents an argument in his piece on “Good Enough Design” that we no longer have major constraints that bind us to just focusing on utilitarianism. And by not injecting personality into a digital product you fail to keep people’s attention. “More than ever, we are at a place in technology where interfaces can be utilitarian and emotionally expressive at the same time.” Bergeron uses This Also’s Google Dots case study as one of the examples. Injecting the search giant’s digital ecosystem with personality with the use of playful animations. Through an expressive logomark people understood when Google was doing something magical for them. He goes on to note that by not going beyond functional design a lot of products fall into the usable but forgettable category. A reason needs to be given to keep a product installed and opened again. As Bergeron notes, It’s worthwhile infusing the product with character so it’s differentiated. As a result, it protects the initial investment in building it (6).

Solely relying on web metrics discounts the team’s intuition and experience.

It’s been shown time an and again that a lot of digital metrics are bullshit. Especially with the increasing levels of bot traffic and fraudulent media buys. If you don’t have a core community of people using your product and you are heavily relying on media buys you may have a harder time trusting your metrics. Numerous studies are out with numbers showcasing billions of lost ad dollars to bots and click farms. The former CEO of Reddit came out confirming how bad the problem has become. Even Facebook isn’t able to identify genuine numbers.

You can’t do without metrics. We need them but it’s a single data point that needs to be paired with feedback from your community, user tests, research and any information to help set the appropriate context. Unfortunately, too many times I’ve seen clients afraid to make calls or provide their own point of view and instead fall back on metrics as a cover your ass tactic. “The numbers said so.” Also, let’s hypothetically say web metrics were accurate and bots didn’t exist. To use them exclusively to design anything results in sterile outcomes.

When folks do A/B or multivariate tests it’s typically done as a best effort approach. We question the design more than we do the science behind the testing and the reliability of the tests. It’s the combination of data (from multiple sources) and intuition together. Not taking the design team’s years of intuition and experience in coming up with a solution is a miss. Lastly, metrics are used to optimize for the local maximum. To make incremental improvements to an existing design. They can’t tell you whether or not you need a whole new design altogether.

Doing what you know will work.

There are many reasons why we fall into this trap. The independent digital designer and author Paul Jarvis attributes it to being victims of our own success. “Sometimes successful work can lead to less innovation, and then the real making stops. You become more like a factory production line than a meaningful creator.” We fall back on what works because it’s comfortable. Not only that, but we’d like to re-use as much work from the last time to get to the finish line faster. Do that enough you stunt your skills and growth, and start to lose touch. Boredom slowly sets in. This doesn’t mean we can’t leverage design patterns. It’s about determining how best to apply them (7).

Lack of diversity in thinking and experiences.

The digital artist and game designer, Morgane Santos not only points out that we are making more or less the same thing, but there’s also a cultural element here at play as well. IE. “The Designer Daves” of the world. Male, black wardrobe, 5-panel cap. The lack of people diversity in the digital design world produces one point of view. Diversity matters in producing work that’s different. Numerous studies show this. As Santos notes, “So, this whole designing with empathy thing? It literally cannot happen if all designers have the same background, the same look, the same style.” (8)

Marc Kremers echoed a similar sentiment and also related it back to the culture of being a designer, “I think designers naturally just want to fit in, have a nice, cute life, do nice, cute things. Work hard, be nice to people. Read Kinfolk. Raw denim. Beards. Flat Whites. Nice fonts, nice illustrations, nice design. Go with the flow. Just good, tasteful things, experiences, and activities. And before you know it, your life is an Instagram feed, literally indistinguishable to any other designer’s nice Instagram feed. You melted into the digital soup. I don’t know if this rant makes any sense, but I guess my awareness or fear of this singularity is just naturally percolating in my work. I’m a nice guy though.” (9)

This is an excellent reminder to collaborate with folks who aren’t exactly like you or at least to reach out for feedback and perspectives from more diverse groups. It takes effort. It’s way too easy to talk to folks that are just like you.

Disregarding Content

Another issue is not taking a holistic view of what we are designing for. Especially when it comes to content. I’ve listened to an Executive Creative Director once tell a team, “We’re great at making beautiful boxes without anything to put in them.” Very organized and thoughtful experience design without any regard for a greater concept, narrative or developing a paradigm that the best suits the content. Travis Gertz in ”Design Machines: How to Survive the Digital Apocalypse”, highlights the perils of not taking content and it’s unique needs to into consideration.

Gertz compares digital design to editorial design and highlights the emotive qualities editorial design historically has. The divergence between the disciplines is in the following areas: How systems are designed, How content is treated, and how we collaborate. In digital design, we nerd out on our CSS responsive grid frameworks, design systems and obsess over style guides and pattern libraries. The goal is typically to design for maximum template efficiency and component reuse. Unfortunately, this is where things end. In editorial design, the philosophy was slightly different. Editorial design systems are made for variation, not prescription.

Gertz also elaborates on how content is treated in the process. It’s not about content first or content last. It’s about the content’s connection to the design. In editorial design its standard practice for content creators and editors to work hand in hand while designing the system. Content development doesn’t come at a later stage to be plugged in once the design is done. It’s just as important as design and engineering. When digital products are built in an assembly line fashion and the boxes are built before the content exists we’ve missed an opportunity.

With the added complexity in digital design over editorial design, other design disciplines were created. User experience design was needed so that the flow of a site, application or product worked. As Gertz alludes to, this is another step in the assembly line where content isn’t carefully considered as there’s not enough collaboration between the creative disciplines. In digital design, a heavy emphasis is placed on dividing up roles by the stages of a project to gain efficiencies from each of the design disciplines. Unfortunately, this created more silos. As compared to editorial design. Where editorial designers knew the design stack from a system-level and how it laddered up to the expression of each piece of content.

Gertz boils down the problem to poor collaboration and a disregard for content. I know this type of tighter collaboration would be harder to scale, but a more editorial lens on things would help guide teams on what should be produced. There’s no need to create a component library of 30 components as a “just in case measure” if the current content only needs 5 of them (10).

Have a concept.

This is critical in other design disciplines. In digital design sometimes we can get away with not having a concept because if the thing works, no matter how basic or boring, you can check the box and tell everyone it works. Or you can fool yourself and everyone else with the cop-out that it’s an MVP (Minimum Viable Product). I remember being part of a large scale multi-brand platform redesign team. We had our very intelligent, engineering-minded UX team present the designs by nerding out on how flexible the components were and how great they looked across breakpoints. The clients were bored but did wind up asking some great questions, “How will our X product look in this thing?” and “What about X visuals that were unique to the brand? Will we have those?” Shame on me, shame on us. Making a site responsive or adding parallax scrolling isn’t a concept. A concept should give the team a guidepost when it comes to selecting grids, type, illustration and interaction paradigms. Developing a concept requires research and mining for an insight to ensure you’re in fact solving the right problem.

References

1. Batey, Mark. “How to Have Breakthrough Ideas.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 20 July 2017, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/working-creativity/201707/how-have-breakthrough-ideas.

2. “Exploring Digital Design | Marc Kremers, London.” Exploring Digital Design | Marc Kremers, London, Represent UK, digitaldesign.represent.uk.com/index.php/marc-kremers.

3. Schoen, Yaron. “In Defense of Homogeneous Design — Yaron Schoen — Medium.” Medium.com, Medium, 16 Mar. 2016, medium.com/@yarcom/in-defense-of-homogeneous-design-b27f79f4bb87.

4. Schiff, Eli. “In Defense of Homogeneous Design — Designer News.” Open Sans and Baskerville (Libre… — If You Had to Choose 1 Font Pair to Use for the Rest of Your Life –, Developer News, 21 Mar. 2016, www.designernews.co/stories/65889-in-defense-of-homogeneous-design.

5. Publicis Sapient North America. “‘The Apartment — Virtual Reality Retail Experience’ for Retail and E-Commerce (by Publicis Sapient North America).” The Best and Largest Global Advertising Agency Directory & Creative Library — AdForum, Adforum, www.adforum.com/agency/6644039/creative-work/34520718/the-apartment-virtual-reality-retail-experience/sapientnitro-retail-and-e-commerce.

6. Bergeron, Brett. “Good Enough Design — Brett Bergeron — Medium.” Medium.com, Medium, 20 Sept. 2016, medium.com/this-also/good-enough-design-29ab5132f3a3.

7. “Everything I Know.” Everything I Know, by Paul Jarvis, Paul Jarvis, 2013, p. 102.

8. Santos, Morgane. “The Unbearable Homogeneity of Design — Morgane Santos — Medium.” Medium.com, Medium, 10 Mar. 2016, medium.com/@morgane/the-unbearable-homogeneity-of-design-fe1a44d48f3d.

9. “Exploring Digital Design | Marc Kremers, London.” Exploring Digital Design | Marc Kremers, London, Represent UK, digitaldesign.represent.uk.com/index.php/marc-kremers.

10. Gertz, Travis. “Design Machines.” Louder Than Ten, 18 Sept. 2018, louderthanten.com/coax/design-machines.

[korra-the-red-lion]

Unnatural Affairs. Chapter 21: The Banishment.

(Ally + Lyn + Michael)

Lyn.

“You’re going to training camp, aren’t cha, Lyn?”

I looked over at Matt who was hanging off the lane rope, water dripping off his beard. Andrew looked at me quizzically as well as they waited for my answer.

“Probably, yeah,” I said with a shrug. I’d totally forgotten about it, honestly. I’ve been so busy with all this spirit hunting junk that training camp just slipped my mind.

“Good. Kerry and I are going too.” Matt licked his lips. “So, you, Loryn, Kerry, Maddie, Thom, Ollie, and Will. Oh, and me!”

“I’m going to,” said Emma. “So’s Robin and Tams.”

“That’s not too bad,” I commented. “You only got like 7 people last year. You nearly got half the team. Wait, is Gunner not going?”

Andrew shook his head. “Me and Gunner are gonna go home together this year. I think he needs it.”

I looked over at Gunner, who just dove in the water for his heat. We were doing practice races today to work on our spirits and diving techniques. We got out of the pool since they started and walked over to the benches, where we sat and waited for it to be our turn again.

I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes, thinking about all the shit we learned the last few days. I couldn’t believe that old prof was the killer. I didn’t like the guy, but I didn’t think he was capable of murder. Of course, not all killers looked like killers. That’s how Ted Bundy and Paul Bernardo got away with so many killings before they were caught.

We hadn’t told the police yet because we literally had no concrete evidence that he did it. We really only were going off what we’ve seen and what ghosts have told us and done to us. We couldn’t really say much in our defence. Whatever. Tomorrow we were going to get rid of the monstrous Fredrik Moore with the help of Katherine.

Ally told us this two days ago. Then she causally mentioned that she nearly got killed by Kinkly when she went to go speak to the ghost residing in the art building. I swear to God, between Ally and Michael, I was going to have aneurysm. Who the hell causally mentions they nearly died through a text message?? It was a little exhausting to keep up with, truthfully. I only understood so little, yet I was expected to keep up with all the crazy. I was definitely ready for it to be over.

Katherine had sent Ally a list of things that we needed for the ceremony tomorrow, or whatever you wanted to call it. I guess it was basic ghost hunting stuff like salt, iron or silver, special amulets. I didn’t really get it, but Michael was more than happy to find all that for us. Where he got it from, I didn’t really want to know.

“What’s on your mind, Lyn?”

Loryn’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I blinked back into focus. “Just some stuff.”

“Hm.” Loryn sat down next to me. “I can’t wait until this semester is over. I feel like once Christmas goes by, we’ll reset and refocus.”

“I agree.”

I watched Thom glance at Loryn as he walked up to the block. I wasn’t the most observant person on the planet, but I was starting to notice the looks he was giving her. I wondered if he had a crush on her or something. The thought of that brought a cheeky grin to my face.

“What are you doing for winter break, by the by?”

I shrugged. “Suffer until my flight, I guess.”

Loryn rubbed her hands together nervously. “Did you want to stay over at my place? We could leave together.”

“Loryn…” I stared at my friend, emotion building up in my chest. She was watching me with this stupid soppy look on her face too. “I can’t just impose on your family, especially not during the holidays.”

“And I can’t let my best friend go back to a place that makes her miserable,” countered Loryn. “C’mon, dad is totally okay with it. I just want you to think about for real, okay?”

“I will, I promise.”

She reached over and hugged me, and I hugged back. It really did mean a lot to me that she even asked. I didn’t know what I was going to do for winter break. I thought I’d just hang around here until then, but who knows, maybe the ghost problem was still going to be a thing then. I broke off the hug when I realized it was my turn to go up again. I patted Loryn on the head and headed over.

XXX

Michael.

I was so excited to see the list Ally had sent. I knew exactly where to get those things! As soon as my horrid math course ended, I raced down to the Dreaming Mythic. When I got there, Talia was in today. She smiled at me as I pulled off my hat and shoved it in my pocket.

“Mr. Yamamoto! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you last.”

“Yup!” I walked straight over to where the bags of salt were. “I’m here to stock up today.”

“I figured you were,” she said softly as she drifted over. “Katherine told me that you asked her for help.”

I froze. I smiled guiltily at her as I reached for the salts. “Yea’ I did. I hope that’s okay with you. I just got really excited when I saw her reading the spell book.” I did feel bad that I asked her like that, it probably caught her so off guard.

“Katherine is an adult,” said Talia wistfully. “If she wants to help, then she can make that decision herself. I just hope that you children are going to be safe.”

I nodded as I poked around the amulets. “I hope so too. I think that if we get hurt again, Lyn might kill us. And trust me, she doesn’t look that strong but that’s only cuz she’s wearing sweaters right now. She could crush my head if she wanted to. Plus, I’m pretty sure I’m scarred for life now because of this, so I don’t really need to add physio on top of therapy.”

Talia walked into the back room as I continued to poke around. I wasn’t really sure where I was going to get any silver from, but maybe the weird antique store down the road had something. These small towns and their wacky stores, huh? You could always find the weirdest stuff. This whole town had proven to be p r e t t y i n t e r e s t i n g so far.

I walked over to the counter with an armload of things. One could never be too careful when it came to fighting a giant ghost monster that could totally crush you with one hand. Never. I dumped my stuff and tapped my fingers against the counter as I waited for Talia to return. I wasn’t in a rush, so I didn’t mind waiting.

When she came back out, she was carrying a bundle in her arms. I looked at it quizzically as she set it on the counter delicately. My jaw fell open when I saw what it was.

A gleaming silver blade.

“This belonged to my mother, who got it from her father and so on,” said Talia as she ran her fingers on the flat part of the blade. “It served them well. I would like it if you took this to protect yourself. It’s much more efficient than a baseball bat.”

“How…?” I was dumbfounded.

“Mr. Yamamoto, I’m aware of how the minds of you people work,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “Also, I was a student once too, in a house full of girls. We all had our own weapons of choice in case anyone ever tried to break in.”

I ran my hand over my head. “I feel bad if any person ever tried to, after seeing this guy.”

She slid it back into the sheath and wrapped it back up. She put everything in a paper bag and handed it all to me. “Please, be careful. Those are dark forces you’re dealing with. And…” she paused, her face thoughtful. “Never mind. Take care, Michael.”

“Thank you, Talia.” I squeezed the bag to my chest tightly. It meant so much to me that she’s been so awesome this whole time. I can’t think of anyone else who would go to such crazy lengths to help a practical stranger. She really was a great person, no joke.

I smiled one last time before leaving the store. I couldn’t help but feel the nerves starting to creep in. It was going to be really dangerous, we knew that. It’s been dangerous this whole time. I think only when Ally spoke to Amelia was the only time she didn’t get hurt. These ghosts mean business, and their business is to kill.

In some weird way though, we had to do finish it. We were the ones who started this whole thing, really. If we hadn’t bothered to dig around more, then we wouldn’t feel the sense of responsibility to help them all move on. No one else could do this job but us. Sure, it was terrifying and stupid, but I’m happy in a way. I’m happy that we’re going to make a difference. Especially since all the victims were people that thought no one cared about this. But there were people who cared, somewhere out there. I mean, hell, we cared!

I understood their anger, though. I’ve been there. People making offhand comments about me behind my back. Being a biracial kid in Victoria hadn’t been terrible, but there were times that I was all too happy to forget about. I’ve been pulled over more times than I care to talk about because of the colour of my skin. There were times were people asked me if I was visiting people from home, as if my family didn’t live here in Canada. I understood all that. That’s why it was so important to me to help them out. Because someone had to.

So yeah, I was nervous. I was nervous because there was so much more at stake than just stopping Kinkly from killing again. It was about telling these people that they mattered. Because for the love of fucking God, they do.

XXX

Lyn.

When I got back to my room, I was surprised to see a package lying on my bed.

Nura would pick up my mail for me sometimes because she was a sweet and wonderful person. I didn’t order anything for myself, so I wasn’t sure where it came from. With a confused frown, I dropped my bag to the floor, grabbed the package, and opened it up.

A letter fell out, landing gently on my bed. I picked it up, surprised to see Olivia’s name scrawled on the front of it. Feeling even more confused now, I opened the letter to see what she had to say.

Lyn,

I just wanted to apologize again for making you come home for Thanksgiving. It was wrong of me to make you promise something like that when you needed a ride to the hospital. I still don’t know the real reason why you needed to go, but hopefully one day you’ll be able to share the truth with me.

It’s a little early for Christmas, but I got you a gift. It’s not much, and maybe you’ll hate it. What you do with them is your choice, and I’ll be none the wiser on what you decide. Speaking of, if you would like, Travis and I would be happy for you to come and stay for a while. I know you’re probably flying off to Florida or wherever again for your winter training camp. I just wanted to let you know the offer is there for you to take if you wish.

Anyway, I hope that you’ve been well and that all your finals go as you expect. You always give everything 110%, so I know you’ll do amazing.

With warmest love and regards,

Olivia.

I sat heavily on the bed, my emotions conflicted. I reread the letter a few more times, making sure I didn’t miss a single thing. It absolutely meant the world to me that Olivia went the extra mile to apologize for making me go back there. She didn’t have to, but she did.

I reached for the rest of the package and pulled out the box that was inside. It was a shoe box for Converse, and when I opened it, a brand-new brand of blue-green high-tops rested inside. I pulled them gently and examined them. They were my size exactly, and there was another note inside the box.

I know you loved those black ones you have, but since they were bloody, I thought these would be a good replacement.

They were gorgeous. I loved them already. I wouldn’t be able to wear them for while because of the weather, but Olivia made an awesome choice.

I thought back to Loryn’s offer. Now I had two places to go for the holidays, meaning that I wouldn’t be spending them alone, regardless of my choice. I felt warmth blooming in my chest. Maybe later tonight would end horribly for us, but for now I was content to just sit here and be thankful for the people in my life.

XXX

Ally.

December 1st.

If someone had asked me at the beginning of the term what I would be doing 9 days before the first day of exams, I probably would have said pretending that relearning the entire course wasn’t stressing me out at all. Instead, I was going to go back to the swim team’s locker room for the third time this term to hopefully help a ghost move on from this plane of existence. You know, a typical Wednesday.

I stared up at the clouds as I sat outside on one of the benches scattered around campus. It was a really peaceful day. It was cold, and the wood was wet on my legs, but still peaceful.

The nerves I felt were not as bad as I thought they would be. Maybe because we’ve already been through so much already. Scarred, bruised, hurt, but alive. We lucked out twice already, and I know we’ll do it again a third time. If everything went according to our plan, it should be fine.

I laughed to myself. When has anything gone according to our plans?

Still, I dropped my head back, so it was dangling over the bench, we’ll be okay. I have to believe that. I don’t want anything to happen to them. I won’t let anything happen to them.

I wasn’t a physical fighter, but I was going to try my best to make sure we all made it out of here okay. I owed Michael and Lyn that much. I dragged them into this wild world, and I was going to be the ones to make sure they got out of it alive.

“You’re doing your thinking face.”

I smiled as I sat up properly. “Hey. Did you get everything?”

“I totally did,” said Michael as he sat next to me. “Now, don’t divert the convo. What cha thinking about?”

“Just everything, honestly.” I tucked my hands under my armpits. “You know my brain is always running, it never stops.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” he chuckled.

We sat there as I rested my head against him. He put his arm around my shoulders. We took comfort in each other’s warmth. The steady rhythm of his breathing added to the calm I was feeling. There was something about sitting with a friend on a cold winter day that was under appreciated.

The day slowly waned away as we sat silently. I don’t know what Michael was thinking about, but it was probably about tonight. I could feel the anxiety emitting off of him. He wasn’t biting his nail, but he was bouncing his leg away from me quite a bit. I reached down and squeezed his hand in comfort, causing him to look my way. I smiled at him and he returned the gesture.

“Do you really think we’ll be okay?” His voice was small.

“I do,” I said firmly.

He nodded slowly, staring off again. “Do you think it was a mistake to ask someone else to help? I feel more guilty the more I think about it.”

I frowned in thought. “I’m not sure, honestly. I do think that she would have said no if she really was against the idea, though. She’s got spirit, I think.”

“Okay.”

“Hey,” I looked up at him. “Michael, I know you. Don’t beat yourself up over this. We’ll make sure nothing happens, alright?”

Michael closed his eyes tightly. “Alright. I just…I don’t know if I would ever forgive myself if someone got hurt because of me.”

A flashback of Michael smacking into the wall and the blood flying from Lyn’s arm shot through my head. I swallowed thickly as guilt rested heavy in my stomach and said, “Yeah, I get that.”

The sun dipped below the skyline as it started to get dark. It was only 6:00 now, and we had to wait until closing. Stupid winter and shorter days. It was starting to get too cold for me to stick around much longer, so I gently pushed away from Michael and stood up, my body shivering from the loss of contact. I fiddled with my glasses anxiously.

“I’m going to head back to my room for a bit,” I said. “See you soon.”

“See you soon,” echoed Michael.

XXX

“Hey, Ally?” The RA leaned against my doorway. “There’s someone waiting for you outside.”

I glanced at Sarah before pushing myself away from my desk. The RA walked all the way to the door with me before leaving without saying a word. I pushed open the door and saw Lyn standing there, her cheeks pink from the cold.

“Hey! Why didn’t you just text me?”

“Left my phone in my room,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t really want it to get ruined.”

I stepped out of the way to let her in. She gave me an appreciative smile as she came in. I wasn’t sure where we should go, since Sarah was still in our room. I decided on the common area and led Lyn that way.

After a quick look around, I walked in once I saw it was empty. I sat down on one of the sagging couches and Lyn plopped down besides me. She slipped her hat off and ran her hand over her hair to smooth it down. She took my hand into hers, which was freezing, and gave it a quick kiss.

“Are you feeling nervous?” she asked, her eyes searching.

“I’m definitely feeling it, yeah.”

“That’s good,” Lyn laughed. “I’m scared shitless.”

I nodded in understanding. “You’re not alone in that feeling.”

Lyn ran her free hand over her face before squeezing her ear. “That’s great to hear. Like seriously, you do all this crazy shit, and it always amazes me. Well, it makes me want to kill you first, but then I’m amazed. I don’t know how you can keep it up.”

I mulled over that for a few minutes before saying quietly, “Because no one else can. I mean…yeah, I totally scared. I literally think I’m going to die each time we go out, or that I was so stupid for doing this, or for dragging you guys into this. But…” I frowned, scrubbing a hand against my eye, “someone has to do this. I would feel terrible if someone else died while I sat by and did nothing about it, you know?”

Lyn looked thoughtful as she nodded. She didn’t say anything else as she released my hand, instead slipping her arm around me and taking my other hand back. She kissed the top of my head and held me close. I closed my eyes, taking comfort in her presence.

To be perfectly honest, I never would have done this alone. It was only because I had Lyn and Michael that I was able to do this. Not even counting the close encounters, it was really traumatizing to see how someone died. They have been here for me this whole time, and for that, I’m forever grateful. Sure, we’ll all be in therapy because it, probably. But at least it won’t be alone. At least someone I know will always understand what I’m going through, on some level. And hopefully after this was all done, we could figure out a way to stop Kinkly once and for all. Then it would all be over, and we can go back to being normal students. Students who were worried about their exams, not about whether they’ll be haunted that evening while studying in the library.

We sat together like this until it was time to go. My stomach lurched as we stood up, the realization of what we were about to do catching up with me. Lyn squeezed my hand tightly, her jaw set determinately. I could see the fear dancing in her eyes, the way she kept cracking her fingers, but she was ready to go. When she caught me staring, she winked at me with an easy smirk.

“Hey, we’re the Spook Searchers, this is what we do,” she said jokingly. “We search for spooks.”

“I don’t think dealing with monsters and witches is part of the description,” I pointed out.

She rolled her eyes as she held the door open for me. Startling, the wind was ranging outside. Despites my protests, Lyn pushed my back to my room. She was firmly insisting (read: leaving no room for argument) that I put on a pair of pants. According to her, every time we’ve gone there, we’ve had to flee outside and that I wasn’t going to be freezing my ass off just for the sake of my style. She had a point, but that didn’t mean I agreed with her. However, I sullenly complied because it did make sense.

Finally, we left Lukas and made a painful walk to the Athletic Centre, hopefully for the last time. The wind was biting into my face. It felt like tiny little cuts were opening on my skin. The walk only lasted 5ish minutes, but it sure as hell felt longer than that. Michael and Katherine were there when we showed up.

Michael grinned when he saw us, though I could see the tightness in his face. Katherine wasn’t even attempting to smile, instead glaring at us moodily. I gave Michael a quick hug while I nodded to her. She just stared back. Yay, this was going to be really fun.

Lyn patted Michael on the back and gave Katherine a nod of acknowledgement as she pushed the door open. Her friend was sitting at the desk and looked up as we walked over. Apparently, she had spoken to him the other day and told him this huge lie about how she wanted to sneak us into the pool for a secret party. She told him it was totally safe and that she’d lock up afterwards. Her ability to come up with believable lies was really amusing to me. First a camping trip gone wrong now this.

“Just make sure you put everything back to where it belongs,” he said to her nervously as he handed over the key.

“I totally will!” said Lyn in a bubble-gum tone. “Thanks so much for doing this for me, Hassan.”

“You owe me one.”

She gave him a big hug. “Yup! Have a good night, buddy.”

A smile flickered onto his face. “Yeah, yeah, you too, Lyn.”

Lyn cheerfully waved to him as he left the building. After she was sure he was gone, she quickly locked the main doors. Her shoulders were tense with stress as she came back over to the three of us.

“This better go well,” she said as she pocketed the keys.

“I think it will!” said Michael with a fist pump. “I have a really good feeling about it this time. Plus, look at all this awesome stuff I have!” He held his bag open for us to look inside. I saw bags of salts, some knives, and amulets. Katherine stuck her hand in there and pulled out the necklaces.

“I need you guys to put this on,” she said as she handed one to each of us. Michael readily put his on while Lyn stared at hers skeptically. I understand why, since the last time we relied on jewelry it didn’t do much for us. I took mine from Katherine and slipped it on, the weight of it feeling a little strange. Lyn finally shrugged and put hers on as well.

Katherine stuck her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out a small object. I felt my brows raise in surprise as she flicked it open, revealing the blade inside. I winced as she sliced her finger open. Michael’s face went pale, and Lyn frowned, her ears lighting up. Katherine hissed as she pressed the bloody digit to the center of her amulet, and it started to glow brightly. She muttered something under her breath and the brightness dimmed, the necklace reflecting only a warm glow.

“Who’s next?” she asked with her hand outstretched.

Michael tentatively stuck his hand out. Katherine took his hand gently, before quickly nicking the skin open. Michael’s face scrunched slightly in discomfort but otherwise he said nothing. She pressed her finger on top of his before placing it on the amulet. The same light show happened before it dimmed down.

I was about to lift my hand when Lyn quickly thrusted hers out. Katherine glanced up at her before cutting her thumb open, causing Lyn to flinch. She had her eyes closed the whole time Katherine worked silently. After it was over, she sucked on the thumb as if that would help with the pain.

Finally, I was up, and I gave her my hand. Katherine’s eyes searched mine before she took my hand into hers. Her grip was surprisingly gentle as she looked at my fingers. She grabbed my ring finger and sliced the knife against the skin. I felt the tingling in my face from the pain as she pressed our fingers together. I only just noticed now that she used a different finger for each of us, as three of her fingers dripped with blood. Once she was done with me, she quickly stepped away and dug out a clean thing of gauze with her other hand. She ripped the thing open with her free hand and grimaced as she pressed her fingers into it.

“Here, let me help,” said Lyn. She reached over the desk and grabbed the first aid kit. She quickly wiped up the blood and wrapped each of them in a small gauze.

“Thanks,” muttered Katherine.

Michael fingered his amulet with a curious look. “So…what was the point of that?”

“Protection,” said Katherine. “Your blood mixed with a witch’s should be a much better protection against anything that might try to take your body from you. It will do little against physical harm, so you still gotta be careful.”

“Gotcha.” Michael smiled at me. “Should we head down, then?”

“If we’re all ready,” I said with a smile of my own. I certainly didn’t feel happy, but I didn’t want all of us to be freaking out, so I put on a brave face. I did a quick look around and when everyone nodded in agreement, we headed down.

The hall lights flickered on as we walked down the stairs. The pipes were moaning overhead as they settled. I could hear the fans working through the pool doors as we walked by. Michael handed Lyn something that was wrapped up in a bundle, causing her to look very confused.

“What’s this?”

“Something I think suits you best,” he said with a wink. I could see the trembling of his hands but he hid them behind his back so we wouldn’t see his fear.

She pulled the rope off the bundle and let the cloth fall to the floor. She gasped as she held out the sword in her hand. I was surprised to see a weapon like that too. I looked over at Michael with wide eyes, who just gave me a shaky thumbs up. Katherine was eyeing the weapon with a strange look before she looked away, wrapping her arms around herself.

“We should keep moving,” I said, my voice echoing into the darkness.

Our footsteps sounded incredibly loud as we approached the locker room. When we stood in front of it, Katherine frowned in trepidation. She poked around for a bit before sighing deeply through her nose.

“This is it, then?” she asked, looking at us.

Lyn nodded. “Yeah. This is where the big fucking angry ghost in. The other one is apparently in the mirrors where the bathroom and showers are.”

“’Kay.” Katherine shrugged her bag off. “This is going to be a very dangerous thing. Once I start, he’ll fight against me. He’ll probably attack us. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other ghosts around the area get involved. Are you all ready for that?”

I swallowed thickly and nodded. “We know what we signed up.” Ugh, my voice definitely cracked there a few times.

Katherine looked at me for several long seconds before turning away. “Alright. Just give me a few minutes to get ready then.”

Only a few minutes before shit hit the fan, oh boy. Those were going to be a long few minutes.

XXX

Michael.

Watching Katherine work was something weird for sure.

She sat down on the floor and poured a bag of her own salt around her in a protective ring. Next, she set up a few black and red candles around her. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes as she muttered to herself quietly. I wanted to ask what she was doing but I thought leaving her alone was the right move to make. I went over to where the others were leaning against the wall instead.

Lyn looked really pale as she watched Katherine. Her face was devoid of any showing emotion, but I could tell by the way she kept tugging at her ear that she was really nervous. Ally was biting her lip as she fiddled with the zipper of her jacket. She attempted to give me a smile when I stood next to her, but it came out looking grim.

“We’re going to be fine, Ally,” I said. I believed it, too. I had to.

She nodded slowly, her eyes unsure. “I think so too,” her voice was so quiet. “It’s just what happens after that I’m scared about.”

“Whattya mean?” I tilted my head.

“With Kinkly,” her voice cracked at the end. “Sure, we’re helping Fredrik here and that’s really awesome. But what about the actual murderer? We don’t exactly have tangible evidence that says ‘hey, this guy is the killer!’”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” We both were startled by Lyn’s sudden jump into the conversation. She tore her eyes away from Katherine and gave us a tight smile. “We’ve already done so many crazy things together, what’s one more? I’m sure that we’ll figure it out once we have time to think about it. But first, we gotta focus on this, you know?”

We both nodded in agreement. My heart was thudding rapidly in my chest suddenly. The temperature in the hallway started to drop and I looked over at Katherine. Her face was screwed up in concentration as she continued to mumble to herself. Her gaze lingered up and when I caught her eye, she nodded towards the door.

It was time.

Trying my very best to swallow my growing fear, I held out one bag of salt in one hand and an iron knife in the other. Lyn drew the sword smoothly from its scabbard and held it tightly in both hands, her knuckles white. Ally took a deep breath as she held onto her own knife. She reached for the door handle, but it ripped open before she could even touch it.

Fredrik in his monstrous form bellowed at us in the cramped space. Suddenly, I felt the floor shifting beneath my feet as the area expanded. I stumbled a little before getting my footing again. I wasn’t sure what happened, but this wasn’t the locker room anymore. It was, but it wasn’t.

The whole space was distorted. The lockers looked like they were curved and wider than they usually were. The tiles on the floor were red with blood and the walls moved as if they were breathing. The whole area felt alive. Fredrik stood in the middle of it, his mouth drooling bloody saliva. Fiona stood next to him, her expression dark and hard to read.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” she said grimly. “You’ve made a horrible mistake.”

Her face twisted horribly as her own body began to transform. My pulse was pounding in my ears and my hands shook violently. My eyes flickered to Katherine, who was chanting loudly now, her eyes glowing brightly. All we had to do was make sure nothing bad happened to her while she finished.

Fredrik lurched forward, his powerful legs carrying him forward. We scattered away from the attack. He whirled and immediately went towards Katherine. My legs felt like lead. I tried to move but I couldn’t. I looked down and saw that my legs were trapped in a gory cast. I yelled in surprise, stabbing at it with the knife. Katherine was in danger, and I was helpless to do anything for her.

I looked up when I heard Fredrik scream. Lyn stood in front of Katherine, her eyes wide in fear but she held her ground. Fredrik’s face was dripping with fresh blood and the sword glistened with blood.

“That’s for scarring me, asshole!” Lyn swung the blade heavily, causing Fredrik to draw back.

Quickly I cut myself out of the gore cast and was about to run over to where they were when Lyn pointed over. “Go to Ally! I’ve got this!”

That sounded like a lie, but I wasn’t going to argue once I saw that Fiona was swiping at Ally, who was trapped waist deep in a gory hold. I ripped open one of the bags of salt I had and threw it directly at Fiona. She shrieked as she tore at her face. Pieces of flesh fell to the ground with a sickening wet sound as the blood welled on her face. The salt that landed on Ally’s gory prison started to dissolve and she started tearing chunks off with her own knife.

“What is this stuff!?” Ally scrambled back so we were side to side.

“I have no idea, but it felt very…fleshy,” I said with a heavy swallow. I was not going to be sick here.

Ally looked sick at the thought but nodded. “Okay. Okay. We need to stop them from getting to Kat.”

I nodded in agreement. I handed Ally a bag of salt. She looked around before kneeling down and ran the knife through a puddle of something liquid. She stuck the knife in the bag and pulled it back out, the blade now covered in salt. Geez, that was so quick thinking. I was about to do the same thing when Fiona screamed at us.

“YOU ARE GOING TO SUFFER FOR THAT, HUMAN. I WILL KILL YOU!” Her voice was distorted, sounding like it was being layered with something else. Her back ripped open with a wet sound as a second pair of bloody arms grew from her back. Her head twisted with a vicious crack as her jaw opened widely like a snake’s, only it didn’t seem to have a stopping point. Ally and I stepped away in fear.

We ran away from her attacks, each punch pounding into the floor with a fleshy sound. The floor kept trying to get a hold of us with its gory prison. Bones grew from the floor like tree roots, and we had to dodge them so we didn’t trip. Fiona was howling behind us like wounded animal. I could see the pain in Ally’s face as she tried her best to keep moving forward. But no matter how far we ran, it was like we couldn’t get away.

I barely felt fear as we rolled away from a smash of her claws. My body was running on instinct to survive. There were nearly no thoughts in my head besides run, survive, get away, dodge. Fiona picked something up that suspiciously looked like a body without a head and threw it at us. I shouted as we fell to the floor. Hands with rotting flesh shot through the floor and grabbed at us, keeping us in place. I struggled against their slimy grip, sweat dripping down my face. Fiona leisurely approached us, her twisted features manic.

“You should have kept your nose of this, Ally,” she said quietly. I could see the pain in her eyes, the agony she was feeling. She raised one hand, claws ready to tear into us.

“I’m sorry.”

Her eyes widened in shock. I twisted around to look at Ally, who’s face looked utterly heartbroken.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I’m sorry that you’ve been forced to become this thing, Fiona. I’m sorry that they gave up on you and your brother so easily. I mean it, and I meant it last time. What happened to you two was tragic and it’s so horrible that no one tried harder. I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through, I really can’t. B-but,” there were tears streaming down her face, “I know you don’t want to do this. I-I saw how David was being controlled.”

Tears sprung to my own eyes as Fiona hesitated. There was a battle of conflict playing out on her face. Ally closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. “You are in control here, Fiona.”

Fiona’s face twisted as she howled. She brought down both arms.

XXX

Lyn.

The sword was heavy in my hands as I swung it.

I thought it would be like a baseball bat, but man was I wrong. This thing was wearing me down so quickly. I could hear Katherine behind me, continuing with the spell. The hair on the back of my neck and arms were standing on end as the pressure around us continued to increase.

There was blood dripping off the sword where I had sliced Fredrik. My hands were covered in it from the splash back. My chest was rising and falling heavily as I panted. My whole body was shaking from the effort of keeping her safe. My heart was racing from a mix of adrenaline and fear. My stomach felt like it was cramping shut.

I was so worried about Ally and Michael too. I saw Michael run off to go help Ally, but I haven’t seen them since. I really had no idea what was going on and it was freaking me out big time. This whole place looked like a fucked-up rejection from a horror movie or something. The walls moved away from you each time you took a step. The floor fucking looked like it was made of human bodies. If I stayed still for too long, rotten hands reach up and try to grab me, or some gory entity does.

Fredrik watched me carefully, circling around. I sluggishly followed him with my eyes, careful to have the sword pointed at him the whole time. He was waiting for me to let my guard down. That wasn’t going to happen.

Katherine gasped loudly behind me, causing me to look back. Fredrik screeched as he launched himself at me. I swore viciously as I tried to defend myself. I really didn’t want another scar to match.

“Step back and swing upwards.” A jolt of panic shot through my whole system.

I did as the voice said, and Fredrik’s claw missed my face by half an inch. I swung upwards and caught him by the chin, Blood sprayed all over me and I blinked it out of my eyes as I stumbled back.

“Duck, then thrust forward.”

Again, I did as it said. The sound of his claws rushing by filled me with dread as I took a huge step forward. I jabbed the blade into his belly. Fredrik shrieked in pain as he doubled over, stumbling away from us.

“Good job. Stay close to the witch now.”

“Who are you?” I asked into the wind.

“Someone trying to help you, darling. I know we’ve never talked before, but you have to trust me.”

I shook my head as I stepped back. I stopped next to Katherine, who was breathing heavily. She pushed sweaty bangs from her face and looked up at me, her face going pale as she took in my appearance. I felt disgusting, so I could only imagine what I looked like.

“Are you finished?” I asked, kneeling down next to her.

Katherine nodded quickly. “It should only take a minute for the effects to kick in now.”

“Thank God,” I muttered darkly.

“Are you hurt?”

I glanced at my hands and shrugged. “I really couldn’t tell ya, honestly.”

“That’s…that’s fair.” She pulled her knees to her chest, her eyes wide with fear. “This place is so fucked. Is this what you’ve been dealing with the whole time?”

I shook my head. “Mostly just insane shit happening in the locker rooms. Though I took a lovely blood shower once,” I said sarcastically.

Katherine opened her mouth to say something when there was a huge roar that shook both of us to the core. Fredrik was writhing on the floor, clawing at his skin. Blood gushed from his self-mutilation. My stomach lurched from the display, and I looked away. But when I heard him howling, I found myself looking once more. Layers of flesh peeled away from his body. Bones became exposed as they crumbled away. Organs were exposed as they melted away into nothing.

“What’s happening to him?” I asked, my voice thick with fear.

“The monster is dying,” Katherine said flatly. “The human soul is becoming exposed.”

I watched in horror at the remaining parts of what was Fredrik dissolve into a frothy liquid. From the remains stood a boy, not much older than Ally or me. He looked scared and confused as he looked around. When he saw us, he tripped over the bones of the monster as he tried to walk over. He stopped a couple feet short of us and fell to his knees.

“You saved me,” he cried. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” said Katherine softly. “I hope you have a better time in the Shadow Lands, Fredrik Moore. I know this journey hasn’t been easy for you.”

He wiped at his eyes and nodded. “I hope so. Is…is my sister here?”

Katherine lifted her hand and pointed. Fredrik looked over and gasped when he saw his sister standing over Ally and Michael. I felt fear coarse through my veins as I saw her bring down her own claws. I screamed out their names as I tried to get to my feet. Tears left paths down my blood covered face as I stumbled over to where they were.

The plume of dust dissipated, revealing a very stunned Ally and Michael but otherwise unharmed. I collapsed next to them, grabbing a hand from each of them and trying to control my crying.

“We’re okay,” coughed Ally. Her eyes widened as she took in my appearance. “Are you okay?!”

I nodded as I squeezed her hand. “I think so,” I said with a hiccup.

Michael sat up, his face pale and ashy looking. “I’m okay too, in case you forgot I was here.” He said it jokingly, but I could hear how weak his voice sounded.

“I’m glad you’re okay too,” I sniffled as I gave his hand a good squeeze.

I stiffened when I saw Fiona approached us. She was no longer a monstrous version of herself, instead looking like a young woman. There were tears dripping down her face as she bowed her head. Fredrik put his arm around her and rested his head on hers.

“Thank you, Ally…for saving me. He was controlling me, and I couldn’t stop myself from hurting you.” Fiona wiped at her face.

Ally smiled tiredly. “You’re welcome. I’m just glad you are together again.”

Fiona grabbed Fredrik’s hand tightly as she looked around. Both her and her brother looked confused as to where we were. That was not a good sign. Even though my body was physically exhausted, the panic that was settling into my bones was causing me to feel twitchy.

Then we heard the slow clapping.

XXX

Ally.

I looked around, but I couldn’t place where the clapping was coming from. Fiona and Fredrik both looked terrified. Michael sat up straighter as he looked around as well. Lyn’s pupils were wide with fear. Katherine stood wearily next to us.

“You need to get out of here,” whispered Fiona. “He’s coming.”

The whispers of ‘he’s coming’ echoed all around us. I shakily stood up. Lyn and Michael did the same. We instinctually stepped closer to each other. Lyn reached out and even pulled Katherine a bit closer.

“I can’t believe you managed to pull that off, Alexandra,” said his voice all around.

“Pulled what off?” I called out, hoping my voice sounded stronger than it felt.

There was an unsettling chuckle. “Getting rid of me from Fredrik. That required a lot of power. I didn’t think you’d be able to find someone to pull it off. But you proved me wrong.”

“Show yourself, you monster!” I yelled.

The earth shook underneath our feet violently. Fiona and Fredrik ran away from our group, disappearing from sight. The ground split open to reveal beating organs beneath our feet. Michael finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and threw up. Lyn looked sick too, but she managed to keep it down. Katherine couldn’t tear her eyes away from the horror that we were standing on. When there was another chuckle, the ground shook again.

“I’ve been here the whole time, Alexandra. This is my body you’re standing on, after all.”

Shocked coloured my face. How was that even possible? I stepped away from the seeping wounds at my feet, trying to make sense of it all.

Then he showed himself.

Robert Kinkly looked just as he always did. Round glasses, frumpy sweater with crazy wispy silver hair. He smiled at us and gave a polite clap for us. Lyn gritted her teeth and hefted the sword back up. Michael held the knife high as well, his hand steady despite his fear. Katherine looked petrified as she stepped slightly behind us. I didn’t blame her at all. All I wanted to do was ran away and hide away forever.

“Honestly, I do have to ask, how’d you figure it all out?” He tilted his head in that way that he always did when he asked us questions in class.

“I’m not telling you,” I spat out. God, I was feeling a lot braver than I actually was.

He blinked owlishly. “Huh. Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ll just have to kill you three and make away with all that research you have. It will be tragic, three students losing their lives just before exams. But the roads are icy at this time of year, after all.”

“You’re a fucking psycho,” snarled Lyn. “I can’t believe you murdered all those people.”

“Language, Lyndsey. There is no reason for you to be speaking to me that way,” he scolded coolly. “Besides, I had to kill them. It was the only way for me to survive.”

“But why?” I cried out. “You died! I don’t understand how you’re even here!”

Kinkly held his hand up. “Patience, Alexandra. To be honest, I’m not quite sure myself. I remember when I died, and I remember begging for a second chance. The next thing I knew, I was alive and well. The only issue I ran into was my flesh began to rot away on me. However, I soon discovered I could stay alive so long as I could sacrifice someone else’s life in exchange for mine. And well…” he spread his hands out with a cold grin. “It was obvious who I was going to choose.”

“But…” Michael’s voice cracked with emotion. “How could you do that to innocent people? Amelia and the Moore siblings didn’t deserve that. Dahlia and Jamieson didn’t deserve that.”

Kinkly laughed with a shake of his head. “I didn’t kill Dahlia. She was already here when I died. But the others? Nobody cared when they were alive, and nobody cared when they died. Really, I may have been the way to swing the axe, but I wasn’t the one who killed them. Society did.”

I felt anger bubble in my chest as I took a step forward. “That’s a lie you tell yourself. These people, they had live. They had futures. You are the one who took that away from them, no one else!”

“Please, stop with the dramatics already,” he said with an eyeroll. “I told you so many times to keep to yourself and mind your own business. Really, your own death is on your hands. Shame, too. I thought you had potential.” His face twisted into something horrible. The grin was too large and stretched out, like it belonged on someone else’s face. His teeth were just slightly too pointed to be natural. He laughed loudly and the floor shook once more.

“Lie down and die for me, ALEXANDRA HOLLAND, LYNDSEY HART, AND MICHAEL YAMAMOTO.”

My whole body shook as panic shot through my brain. It was bad for a ghost to know your full name. It was really, really bad. But I didn’t really know why, I just knew it was. I could feel the power behind those words. I closed my eyes, ready for the end.

[parkerbombshell]

Color Red Radio #16 - 2021

SATURDAY'S 8PM EST bombshellradio.com CRED #16 / 2021 OPENING JINGLE 22 M1) The Phil Wilkinson Set - Ol’ Stinky                 5:54                                                    M2) The True Loves The Dirty        3:36                                        M3) Polyrhythmics   The Cutdown            5:15    M4) Royal Horses    - Cabbage                 2:34                                                    M5) Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal  - Take Your Time                4:32    M6) WRD Trio          - Bobbys Boogaloo             3:17    The Hit                       M7) The Handcuffs  - She Ain't No Fluffer                       2:50    m8) Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal  - Take My Chances             5:23    M9)  Brothers of Brass        - Freedom                  4:15    M10) The True Loves -       Mary Pop Poppins 4:04      M11) Polyrhythmics - Digital Cowboy                   5:51    m13) WRD Trio -      Red  Sunset  4:34 M14) Pocket Protection      - Paul P. Sure                       7:58    Read the full article

[chmergess4ever]

The Chmerkovskiy’s (Part 8)

Hey Guys! Thanks for being so patient! Here is the next part to my story!! Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if there is anything you would like to see happen to either couple in the next few chapters. I think I know what end goal I’m working towards now. Enjoy!!

A few weeks later, everything was back to normal. Sharna had been over the house a lot and her and Val’s relationship was progressing.

“I know babe, I know.” Peta laughed loudly as she tried to balance the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she folded laundry for her family.

“I’m just saying. I want to take you out to a nice dinner. Shai will come with. We’ll give the two lovesick fools some time alone.” Maks said to her from the other end of the phone.

“You really think that’s a good idea.”

“For our mental sanity. Yes.”

Peta laughed again. “Ok, alright. Let’s do it.”

“Alright, babe. Get dressed up. We’re going fancy.”

Peta giggled as she shook her head and ended the phone call. She lifted her laundry basket and began making her way down the hallway. She was nearing the living room when she heard a vibration. She put her basket down and pulled her phone out of her pocket, which had no new notifications on it. Then she spotted Val’s phone on the end table by the couch. She moved to get it so she could bring it to him but as she picked it up, the light came on and she couldn’t help but see what was on his phone screen. A text from Kelly Monaco.

She rolled her eyes as she took the phone, picked up her basket and knocked on his door. Sharna answered it, dressed in one of his dress shirts which ran down to her knees.

“P!” She said excitedly.

“Val here?”

Sharna looked confused, “Um, yeah.” She looked behind her and called for Val before turning back to her best friend, “You ok? You seem upset.”

Peta nodded modestly, “Yea, I’m ok. I’m just really tired.”

“Understandable. Ya feel me?” Sharna threw her head back in laughter.

Peta smiled. “Yea, you two seem to be having fun.”

Before they could continue their conversation, Val approached the door and Sharna had receded back into the bedroom.

“What’s up, P?” He had a towel tied around his waist, and appeared to have just gotten out of the shower.

Peta put his phone in his palm, “You should consider turning previews off for your text messages.” She then turned and started down the hallway. He called after her but she didn’t want to hear it.

They went out to dinner that night but the atmosphere wasn’t right. Peta hadn’t been in the right mood since she found his phone. She knew this was a mistake. She knew that the two of them dating was just a call for disaster. She loved her brother-in-law but that didn’t change who he was as a person and his reputation regarding relationships. She deep down knew inside that he would somehow hurt Sharna. She didn’t think it would be by cheating but now she knew she was wrong. She didn’t want to see her friend get hurt and she was watching it happen before her eyes.

After dinner was over and the night dwindled down, Maks sat in their bed reading the newspaper. They had put Shai to sleep and decided that they were going to download a movie. Peta came out of the bathroom and climbed into the bed beside him.

“So are you going to talk to me?” Maks put the newspaper down and looked at his wife.

“About what?” “I know you’re upset about something. You can’t fool me.”

“It’s ok. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Well, I do.” He stroked his hand through her hair. “I don’t want you to be upset. Ever.”

Peta sighed, “Ok. Well. Lemme start by asking you a question.”

“Anything, Love.”

“Your brother. He dated Kelly Monaco, right?”

Maks chuckled, “Don’t know if I’d call it dating. But all the other stuff. How’d you even know that? It wasn’t public.”

“One would have to be stupid to think that something wasn’t going on there.”

Maks laughed again, “Yea, well, He was very much in love with her. There is no denying that.”

Peta nodded, knowing she was right. “Maks, Your brother is cheating on Sharna.” It had just blurted out and she was unable to control it.

Maks sat up straighter and took his hand away from Peta. “What?” He shook his head.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say it like that. I’m just upset.”

“What do you mean, he’s cheating on Sharna.”

“I saw his phone today. He had a bunch of texts from Kelly on his screen-”

“You read his phone?” Maks raised his voice ever so slightly.

Peta started to get worked up, “I mean, it was an accident. But that doesn’t change what he’s doing.”

“Well you shouldn’t be reading anything that has to do with him! It’s bullshit. You don’t know what those texts are for? You don’t know anything.” Maks yelled louder.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Maks! I’m trying to talk to you and all you’re thinking about is defending your brother.”

“Yea, because he’s my brother.”

Peta yelled louder now, “and I’m your fucking wife!! He’s doesn’t walk on water just because he’s related to you by blood.”

“Peta you need to calm down.”

She was now standing out of the bed and making her way to the door, “Don’t you dare tell me that I need to calm down.” She left the room and he followed her, making the situation even worse.

Val and Sharna were sitting on his bed when they heard them start yelling at each other. They couldn’t hear what it was about but they knew it was bad. As they made their way down the hallway they could start to hear clearer.

“Peta, you’re acting like-”

“Acting like what? Acting like what, Maks?” She yelled back.

“Fucking crazy!!”

“Crazy because I’m trying to protect my friend?”

“Yes!! You’re making these wild accusations and you don’t even know the story!”

“I know one thing’s for sure. I can’t talk to you about anything real!”

“I’m going to go out there.” Val turned to Sharna.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I need to help.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I don’t know but I’m going to try.” Val got up and walked to the door of his room, he opened it and they were standing right outside of it. He walked out and put his hands on Peta shoulders gently pushing her backwards away from Maks. She swatted his hands away as they approached the living room, “Get your hands off of me! This is your fault.”

Val raised his eyebrows and raised his voice, “My fault?”

“Yes, you cheating liar!”

Val stopped talking. So did Maks and so did Peta. Sharna was standing in the doorway of this room watching the whole thing unfold.

“Peta, what the hell are you talking about?” Val spoke to her as calmly as possible.

“Talk to Kelly Monaco lately?” Peta said sarcastically.

Val went quiet, unable to respond with anything. He scrambled his head for the words but before he could answer her, Sharna was standing beside him and talking for him.

“Peta, It’s ok.”

“Sharna!! It’s not ok! He can’t treat you like that.”

“No Peta, it’s ok. I saw it, we talked about it and it’s ok.”

Val turned to his side to look at his girlfriend, “Sharna-” “Val, it’s ok. Let’s just go.” She took Val’s arm as they walked back to his bedroom but before walking in she looked over her shoulder, “Thank you for caring about me, Peta.”

That left Maks and Peta standing the hallway silently. Shai started to cry and Maks moved to get him. Peta moved to the kitchen to get a glass of water and then slowly made her way to the nursery. She stood in the doorway and watched her husband and her baby. Easily, the two most important people in her life. He wasn’t looking at her but she wanted to talk anyway.

“I’m sorry.” She spoke aloud to him.

Maks was quiet, soft spoken as he tried to get Shai back to sleep. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You were right to accuse him. You were right.”

“No, I wasn’t.” She moved to stand next to Maks, “I wrongfully accused your brother of something he apparently didn’t do.”

“She never said that. She said they talked about it.” Maks shook his head, “and by his reaction, I’m really not sure what the truth is.”

“Can we re-establish one truth? One that we definitely know?”

Maks put Shai in his crib and stood face to face with Peta putting both his hands on either side of her, “And what may that be?” “I love you.”

Maks closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, “I love you too. And Peta, about what you said earlier. About you being my wife-”

“Maks, It’s ok. I get it. He’s your family.”

“But you’re my forever.” Maks cut her off before she could finish.

Knowing she wasn’t going to win, she receded, “And you’re mine.”

Maks pulled her in for a hug and they stood like that for a long time.

Sharna moved to sit on the edge of the bed as Val paced back and forth before sitting down next to her. He looked at her and then back down to the floor, “Why’d you do that?” He asked her.

“Do what?”

“Lie for me. You didn’t see any text. And we definitely didn’t talk about it.”

Sharna sighed and nodded, “Yea, I didn’t. But I know I have a boyfriend, who I love and who I trust.

Val shook his head, “I’m not. I’m not cheating on you.”

Sharna put her hand on Val’s shoulder, “I know. Hence the trust.”

“But, I do want to explain to you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I want to.” He turned to face Sharna and looked her in the eyes. “I loved Kelly, a long long long time ago. And there was a moment where I thought she was the one for me. That dwindled fast, but we’ve always stayed good friends-” “And I know that, Val. I know that. You’re allowed to have friends. Look at me and Sasha.” Sharna rested her hands on his thighs.

Val swallowed and then continued, “Regardless,that reasoning is not why I’ve been in contact with her.”

Sharna nodded allowing him to continue.

“I- I’ve been talking to Kelly because she knows someone who has been doing me a favor.”

Sharna looked confused.

“She knows a Private Investigator that has been keeping tabs on Paul for me. So I know when he is coming and this way, ’m prepared to protect you.”

“Val-” Sharna said exasperatedly.

“I love you, Sharna. And not one thing can happen to you. Because- I-  I don’t know if I’d be able to live without you.”

A tear escaped from Sharna’s eye. He wiped it away and continued speaking, “I’ve never ever in my life been this serious about someone before. And I’m sure that’s what scares Peta. Because she knows my track record and she knows my past, but I love you. And this time it’s different. I want you to know that.”

“I do, babe. I do.” She said through tears. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being you.”

[orbemnews]

Which Covid Vaccine Should You Get? Experts Cite the Effect Against Severe Disease At first glance, the results reported on Friday from the long-awaited trial of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine might have seemed disappointing. Its overall efficacy — the ability to prevent moderate and severe disease — was reported at 72 percent in the United States, 66 percent in Latin American countries and 57 percent in South Africa. Those figures appear far below the high bar set by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the first two vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States, which reported overall efficacy from 94 to 95 percent. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert and now the lead medical adviser to President Biden on the coronavirus pandemic, acknowledged the striking difference at a briefing on Friday. “If you woke up and you say, ‘Well, go to the door on the left and you get 94 or 95 percent, go to the door on the right and you get 72 percent,’ which door do you want to go to?” he asked. But Dr. Fauci said that the more crucial measure was the ability to prevent severe disease, which translates to keeping people out of the hospital and preventing deaths. And that result, for Johnson & Johnson, was 85 percent in all of the countries where it was tested, including South Africa, where a rapidly spreading variant of the virus had shown some ability to elude vaccines. More important than preventing “some aches and a sore throat,” Dr. Fauci said, is to fend off severe disease, especially in people with underlying conditions and in older adults, who are more likely to become seriously ill and to die from Covid-19. “If you can prevent severe disease in a high percentage of individuals, that will alleviate so much of the stress in human suffering and death in this epidemic that we’re seeing, particularly now,” Dr. Fauci said, “as we well know, over the last several weeks, our health care system has been stressed by the number of people that require hospitalization, as well as intensive care.” Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, compared the ability to prevent severe disease to the effects of flu shots, which do not always prevent influenza entirely but can make it less severe. “The same thing seems to be applying here, in a circumstance where this variant is clearly making it a little tougher to get the most vigorous response that you would want to have,” Dr. Collins said. “But still, for severe disease, it’s looking really good.” The Moderna vaccine also showed high efficacy, 100 percent, against severe disease. The Pfizer-BioNTech one appeared to as well, but the overall number of severe cases in the study was too small to be sure. But researchers warn that trying to compare effectiveness between new studies and earlier ones may be misleading, because the virus is evolving quickly and to some extent the trials have studied different pathogens. “You have to recognize that Pfizer and Moderna had an advantage,” Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, said in an interview. “They did their clinical trials before the variant strains became very apparent. Johnson & Johnson was testing its vaccine not only against the standard strain but they had the variants.” The best way to stop the spread of mutants and to prevent more new ones from emerging is to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible, Dr. Fauci and other researchers say. Viruses cannot mutate unless they are replicating, and they cannot replicate unless they can get into cells. Keeping them out by immunizing people can shut down the process. In addition to the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines already in use in the United States, three more may soon become available: those made by Novavax, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca’s vaccine has already been authorized in Britain and other countries. Globally, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to play an important role, especially in low and middle-income countries, because it works after just one shot, is relatively inexpensive and is easier to store and distribute than the vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna since it does not share their stringent requirements for freezing and refrigerating. People waiting to be vaccinated may wonder if they will be able to pick and choose among vaccines, and if they should hold out and wait until the one that looks best to them becomes available. Covid-19 Vaccines › Answers to Your Vaccine Questions Am I eligible for the Covid vaccine in my state? Currently more than 150 million people — almost half the population — are eligible to be vaccinated. But each state makes the final decision about who goes first. The nation’s 21 million health care workers and three million residents of long-term care facilities were the first to qualify. In mid-January, federal officials urged all states to open up eligibility to everyone 65 and older and to adults of any age with medical conditions that put them at high risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from Covid-19. Adults in the general population are at the back of the line. If federal and state health officials can clear up bottlenecks in vaccine distribution, everyone 16 and older will become eligible as early as this spring or early summer. The vaccine hasn’t been approved in children, although studies are underway. It may be months before a vaccine is available for anyone under the age of 16. Go to your state health website for up-to-date information on vaccination policies in your area Is the vaccine free? You should not have to pay anything out of pocket to get the vaccine, although you will be asked for insurance information. If you don’t have insurance, you should still be given the vaccine at no charge. Congress passed legislation this spring that bars insurers from applying any cost sharing, such as a co-payment or deductible. It layered on additional protections barring pharmacies, doctors and hospitals from billing patients, including those who are uninsured. Even so, health experts do worry that patients might stumble into loopholes that leave them vulnerable to surprise bills. This could happen to those who are charged a doctor visit fee along with their vaccine, or Americans who have certain types of health coverage that do not fall under the new rules. If you get your vaccine from a doctor’s office or urgent care clinic, talk to them about potential hidden charges. To be sure you won’t get a surprise bill, the best bet is to get your vaccine at a health department vaccination site or a local pharmacy once the shots become more widely available. Can I choose which vaccine I get? How long will the vaccine last? Will I need another one next year? That is to be determined. It’s possible that Covid-19 vaccinations will become an annual event, just like the flu shot. Or it may be that the benefits of the vaccine last longer than a year. We have to wait to see how durable the protection from the vaccines is. To determine this, researchers are going to be tracking vaccinated people to look for “breakthrough cases” — those people who get sick with Covid-19 despite vaccination. That is a sign of weakening protection and will give researchers clues about how long the vaccine lasts. They will also be monitoring levels of antibodies and T cells in the blood of vaccinated people to determine whether and when a booster shot might be needed. It’s conceivable that people may need boosters every few months, once a year or only every few years. It’s just a matter of waiting for the data. Will my employer require vaccinations? Where can I find out more? Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN that if there was an abundant supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, they would be his first choices because of their higher overall efficacy. But for now, there is not enough of those vaccines. If he could not get either the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or the Moderna one, he would take the Johnson & Johnson shot, Dr. Offit said — as long as the data that the company will be presenting to the Food and Drug Administration looks as good as what the company reported on Friday. He said Johnson & Johnson’s report of the reduction in severe disease was a powerful selling point. “That’s what you want,” Dr. Offit said. “You want to stay out of the hospital, and stay out of the morgue.” He noted that the company was also studying a two-shot regimen, which might raise its efficacy. People who take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be able to safely receive a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine later if a booster shot is needed, he said. Dr. Schaffner said he had just attended a meeting with other public health experts, and they had asked one another what they would tell their spouses or partners to do if they could get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine tomorrow, or had to wait three weeks for Pfizer-BioNTech’s or Moderna’s. “All of us said, ‘Get the one tomorrow,’” Dr. Schaffner said. “The virus is bad. You’re risking three more weeks of exposure as opposed to getting protection tomorrow.” He said Johnson & Johnson’s 85 percent efficacy against severe disease was a bit lower than those reported by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, “but it’s still pretty darn high.” It is not yet known whether it would be safe to take one type of vaccine now and then another later, Dr. Schaffner said, adding, “We haven’t studied this.” Source link Orbem News #Cite #Covid #disease #effect #experts #severe #Vaccine

[michelles-garden-of-evil]

Shadow Over Seventh Heaven Review, Part II: Jenny Wren and Richard Redbreast

Image source: “Da Luna et Ramsès- Doberman – Frère et Sœur -” by ERAL. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Welcome back to my review series for Shadow Over Seventh Heaven, the second novel by Ian Martin, original headwriter for Strange Paradise and second most prolific writer for CBS Radio Mystery Theater, published under the name of his second wife Joen Arliss. It’s been two and a half weeks, and I have been dying to go back to recapping this not-quite-rare-but-close piece of Martiniana.

In Part I, we learned of the late April Tennant, legendary star of the silver screen, whose glamorous life ended suddenly when she fell from the cliffs on her home estate of San Rafael. We also learned of her husband Richard Morgan, a legendary actor in his own right, and met his overly attached sister Lisa, who is not pleased by his recent remarriage, and Chita, their very Raxl-esque servant who clings to April’s memory. In this installment, we will meet Richard and his new wife, Jenny, themselves as they return from the Philippines to the former Spanish mission which may or may not be haunted by the spirit of his first wife.

Chapter 3

We open with our heroine, Jenny (née Summers), and her new husband Richard at the Manila International Airport, where paparazzi are hounding them. “She had seen [crowds] at fiestas, at rallies for President Marcos or even his opponents [1], at rush hours, church holidays, national holidays. The Philippine Islands abounded in inland fish, and in rice, but most of all, in people. But she had never seen a crowd quite like this” (p. 22). She is a little frightened, but Richard, for whom this is apparently a regular occurrence, tells her to keep moving until they get through the sea of people--which, given the current circumstances around the globe, sounds like a nightmare even though this book takes place about forty years ago.

A reporter starts to interview her and reminds her, almost right after their marriage, that she is replacing the legendary April Tennant:

“Mrs. Morgan--you are the envy of most every woman in the world as well as here in the Philippines. How does it feel to be Mrs. Richard Morgan the second?”

“You don’t have to answer,” Richard said protectively.

“But I want to,” she said. “It feels marvelous! I’m the luckiest woman in the world!”

“Aren’t you a little afraid?” the young man persisted.

Jenny wasn’t going to admit that to a stranger.

“Why should I be afraid?” she said.

“You are replacing a very exceptional woman.”

Now the noose of fear tightened around her neck, so that momentarily she could not answer. It was Richard who did for her.

“My first wife is dead,” he said with barely repressed anger. “For God’s sake let April rest in peace. For her own sake as well as ours. Now please--we have a plane to catch” (p. 23).

They leave him and hounding turns to harassing as rabid Richard Morgan fans begin reaching for them, tearing off pieces of her collar and the Filipino-style flower appliqué on her skirt and stealing Richard’s pocket square. “It was a good-natured, adulating adoring crowd,” the narration insists, “but like every mass of humanity, a possibly dangerous and uncontrollable force” (pp. 23-24). Sorry, narrator, but to me, it still sounds like a COVID nightmare--literally. I’ve had nightmares about this kind of thing for months. Generally, I try to avoid writing about current events on here because I don’t consider it appropriate for a blog about escapist Gothic melodrama, but this scene reminds me of some of my recent dreams.

Anyhow, the crowd and the reporter only reinforce Jenny’s feelings that she’s already in April’s shadow. Before Richard took an interest in her, she was only the daughter of an obscure American ambassador, not even an actress like April. She just got married and already she is having second thoughts, and not because of her husband:

Then that miserable worm of fear began to gnaw at her again, and she so desperately didn’t want to face the truth. But the words said themselves inexorably to her, marching across the inside of her eyelids as though chiseled on some granite rock that revolved before her inner sight, or burned so deeply on an indestructible tape that they could never be eradicated. The trouble is April Tennant. The woman the whole world revered and loved. They only wanted to see Jennifer, weigh her, find her wanting. They knew nobody could replace April--and that nobody had the right to try. Only without realizing what she was getting into, Jenny had done it. For once, she was the big attraction. But they didn’t think she could measure up, and she wasn’t sure she could herself. How had she ever thought she could? (pp. 24-25)

As they head for their flight, a crowd of “smiling brown people” cheer for them to return, and one little Filipina girl even chases Jenny down to give her “a woven garland of sampaguita flowers” (pp. 25-26). I must admit that I don’t know much about Filipino history, but I have trouble imagining that a crowd of Filipino people would cheer on the (presumably white) daughter of an American official who, given U.S. foreign policy at the time, would have backed Marcos’ repressive regime. Do I believe that they cheer for an international celebrity like Richard? Yes. Would they want to wish him a happy marriage? Probably. But I can’t imagine them liking Jenny much, for reasons that have nothing to do with April Tennant.

Chapter 4

This chapter begins with a description of Richard Morgan’s appearance that is an entire page long:

His mouth was full, the lips unusually red, with just the slightest quirk in repose which suggested sardonicism...The nose was classic, intriguingly flawed by some old injury...The eyes were brown, so dark that they were almost black, smoldering under somewhat sullen brows...His hair was a great, tousled, tawny mane, unruly, and resistant to brush or comb. His eyebrows had a fierceness about them that seemed to challenge anyone to cross swords; but this aggressive effect was completely belied by the way one or another would twitch and cock upward as though laughing at the world--or perhaps himself. His chin was probably too prominent, but again the feeling of overconfidence and overwhelming strength was softened by the deep cleft in the middle of it that broke the uncompromising line. He was not a tall man--perhaps an inch under six feet--but he carried himself with the lithe balance of a jungle animal or a trained athlete, and there was hardly anyone who did not think of him as tall and powerful. He was a man who even in repose radiated a sense of kinetic and tireless energy (pp. 29-30).

Richard Morgan, according to the cover artist.

Honestly, I was disappointed the first time I read this passage because he doesn’t much resemble Colin Fox. Virtually the only features the two have in common are the nose and the way they carry themselves--and (if we are talking about Jacques’ portrait) the lips. I always find it interesting how male authors describe the male characters whom others in the story find attractive, especially when said author is straight and writing for a female audience. Therefore, this is likely Ian Martin’s idea of what an incredibly handsome man looks like and/or his idea of what the average straight woman wants.

That, in turn, makes me wonder if this is how he visualized Jean Paul Desmond and his lookalike ancestor Jacques Eloi des Mondes, especially given that most of the other characters (and many fans, myself included) see them as incredibly handsome. Richard does have several facial features in common with John Bayliss, the actor originally cast in those roles, but there isn’t any evidence to suggest that their resemblance is anything more than a coincidence.[2]

The SP character whose appearance Richard’s description most closely matches, the Reverend Matthew Dawson. Lacks the unruly tawny hair and the sardonic lips and doesn’t carry himself like Richard, but the eyes are similar and they have the same chin. Not ugly (Dan MacDonald was better-looking IMO than the guy on the cover), but also not my idea of male perfection.

While relaxing on the plane, Jenny allows herself the luxury of thinking about herself instead of Matt Dawson’s tawny-haired twin. We learn that her name isn’t actually Jennifer--which contradicts the passage above where she calls herself that--but just Jenny, and that her parents named her after Jenny Wren from the (surprisingly dark) nursery rhyme “The Wedding of Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren.” She relates in particular to the part where the wren says “I must wear my plain brown gown / And never go too fine,” because she dislikes not just putting on airs, but thinking about herself, period, which she attributes  to her strict upbringing. She’s almost cartoonishly modest, which is pretty typical of Gothic ingenues and of Linda Barclay, the protagonist of Martin’s earlier “romantic suspense” book, Nightmare’s Nest, who was even more so.

We flash back to the evening she met Richard, who was apparently an old friend of Nene Ilusorio, one of her late father’s friends who became her close companion following his death in a helicopter crash. At that time, April was not yet dead, so Richard had to keep his dates with Jenny secret. They traveled out to the mountains together, where she showed him the rice paddies the locals constructed on the mountains with their irrigation system and where he won her heart by quoting Robert Burns’ poem “My Heart’s in the Highlands.” Apparently women find men who like Robert Burns irresistible, at least according to this and the Kitty Soames storyline on Dark Shadows. I can’t confirm, though, because no man has ever quoted Burns to me or given me a book of his poems.

Chapter 5

A filler chapter about Jenny and Richard’s flight from Honolulu (where they had a layover) to San Francisco. I got excited at one point when Richard said, “We had a picture half done that had to be scrapped because of her death” (p. 46), thinking at first that he was referring to the portrait and being reminded of two certain other portraits of a certain character from Strange Paradise. But then I realized, no, he means “picture” as in “movie,” not as in “painting,” and got disappointed. We also learn that Richard has an encyclopedic knowledge of all the classic poets and playwrights, not just Robert Burns. In a flashback, Richard recites Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “How do I love thee?” for her in his amazing voice, leaving her “drunk on love” and “drunk on all [the poets to whom he introduced her]” (p. 54). If he sounds anything like Colin, I can understand why she’s so seduced by him reading poetry. Even so, if I were her, I wouldn’t be able to get past the fact that he’s quoting other people instead of using his own words to convey his love. If Jean Paul could come up with something new to say to his frozen wife four days a week for a month, then surely Richard can as well. He's just being lazy--or is he? The back cover (”WHAT LAY BEHIND THE MASK OF LOVE?”) hints at some possible deception on his part.

Chapter 6

Jenny and Richard arrive back in California, and the story starts to pick up again.  This is roughly where “Here Goes the Bride” begins, not counting the teaser at the beginning. They are driving along the Pacific shore in a red Mercedes  without air conditioning, and Richard refuses to let her roll the windows down because he doesn’t want anyone to recognize him. He angsts for a while about how, even though actors like him need the audience in order to live and “for the magic to come alive,” the audience has become increasingly like “a great, crouching tiger...a creature of emotion and whim that can turn on you suddenly and get completely beyond your control” (p. 59). He rants about how April’s fans worshiped her and made almost a cult around her, and about how they will most likely go ballistic if they see him with another woman instead of playing “the high priest, ascetic, mourning, forever dedicated to her memory” (p. 60). By driving the car with the windows up, he hopes to avoid the paparazzi and other stalkers on their way to San Rafael.

We learn in a flashback, by the way, that the car is Lisa’s and that Richard had Jenny disguise herself as her by putting on a hat and sunglasses. Jenny asks if she really looks like Lisa--which, if it were true, would imply that he reciprocated Lisa’s feelings for him, at least on an unconscious level--but he says no. Her hair is dark, while Jenny’s is “tawny gold” (p. 63), which I had forgotten, probably because Lisa reminds me too much of Cersei Lannister not to picture her as such. Also, Richard has dark hair now, too? Two chapters earlier, his hair was tawny like Jenny’s. I guess this book’s editor didn’t notice the continuity error--not that it was that important, anyway.

The woman on the cover, most likely Jenny.

While waiting for Juan to open the gates, Jenny stares in awe at the fortifications surrounding the estate--which, as you may recall from Chapter 1, Richard had built around the estate, allegedly to keep his and April’s rabid fans out, and even added the broken glass himself. “It’s like a fortress--barbed wire, broken glass,” she exclaims. “And the gate looks as though you borrowed it from the Bastille!” The mention of the Bastille reads like subtle foreshadowing of a later reveal, but, per my self-imposed rule against spoilers, I won’t say any more about it for now. The gates open and we hear Richard’s pack of snarling dogs for the first time, the sound of which makes her uneasy. She asks about them and Richard just says, “They’re our guardian angels. They patrol the grounds at night” (p. 67).

We also meet Juan, “a square-set Mexican...a man of some sixty years, with a sun-whipped face that was as craggy and seared with lines as the landscape they had just passed outside the gate” and “blackened teeth in a dark-brown face dried by so many days of sun that the oil had cooked from the skin until it was tanned like animal hide” (p. 67). Here we have the third piece of evidence of the dystopian nature of life at San Rafael. First, we saw the excessive level of security which Jenny compared to the most notorious prison of France’s ancien régime; next, we heard snarling from Richard’s kennel; and now, it is implied that Juan doesn’t get paid enough to afford either modern dentistry, sunscreen, or a good moisturizer. Combine this with Richard’s refusal to romance Jenny in his own words and his insistence that they drive with the windows up and no air conditioning in southern California, and his behavior abounds with red flags. It does make you wonder what lay behind the mask of love, and it’s quite reminiscent of early Jean Paul and his control-freak tendencies even when Jacques isn’t possessing him.

Unlike Quito, his Strange Paradise equivalent, Juan can speak and often does. Half of his dialogue is in Spanish, the other half in English. Sometimes he will even randomly throw a Spanish word into a mostly English sentence (ex. “They will not be tranquilo till they see you for themselves” (p. 68), which, even with my extremely limited knowledge of Spanish, I know should read “tranquilos,” because he is talking about the dogs). This, combined with his appearance and the mention that he stands “with Indian patience, unmoving and stolid” (p. 70), makes him come across as rather stereotypical. It’s surprising how SP, despite being a decade older, has actually aged slightly better than this book in terms of racial matters--although, given that this book is forty years old, that’s to be expected.

Upon meeting Juan, Jenny feels “an icy whisk of rejection that shuddered between her shoulderblades [sic]” (p. 68), as though she knows before he says anything that he is a card-carrying member of the Cult of April Tennant. He reveals to Jenny that the dogs “are trained to kill...anyone who does not belong here,” and that they will only protect her “if they learn to know you belong” (p. 70). Then he casts a huge heaping of doubt on whether that will ever happen:

Jenny’s voice was hushed and sympathetic.

“You must have loved her very much.”

He lifted his head proudly, the dark deep-set eyes flashing from under the craggy brows. “She was La Senora de la Casa!”

The statement was simple and obdurate. A declaration of faith that shook Jenny because it was so basic. She found herself fighting to keep her throat from tightening up as she answered tentatively, “I hope you won’t blame me too much for taking her place.”

The answer, although delivered with remote courtesy, was flatly uncompromising. “There is no one to take her place” (p. 71).

Richard interrupts them when he returns with all six of his dogs on leashes, which frightens her even more now that Juan has given her reason to suspect that the dogs, too, worship April Tennant and will not accept anyone in her place. He probably wants them to reject her, especially because he never thought to give her some bones or treats to use to win their loyalty. If I were in her position, I would be begging Juan for some good cow knuckles filled with marrow for them to gnaw on. Then--assuming that he obliged--I’m sure they would love me forever.

Chapter 7

Richard introduces Jenny to his dogs, six Doberman pinschers named for “the six noblest Romans of them all. Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Marc Anthony--Mark for short--Cinna, and Casca” (p. 74). He has them demonstrate their obedience to him--while he demonstrates more of his own control-freak-ness--by ordering them to sit, then charge, then shake hands with her. Much to Juan’s likely chagrin, Richard has every intention on making the dogs recognize her as their new mistress, and so he has her give them dog biscuits.

They all appear to like her except for Casca, who is slightly less quick to obey Richard’s commands and also reluctant to kiss Jenny’s hand, unlike the others. She’s relieved to have found acceptance from them so quickly, but Juan has to rain on her proverbial parade by staring silently “with no solitary hint that he shared the dogs’ enthusiasm for Jenny” (p. 77).

Chapter 8

They get back in the car and continue driving (how vast is the estate?), this time with the top down because of the lack of prying eyes. We learn as they drive to San Rafael that April’s mother had it built, something that Richard doesn’t want to admit, but which he makes obvious at least to the reader:

“When April’s mother-” He choked that off and rephrased, biting his tongue for bringing up her name. “I mean, when the property was first bought, some foundations were discovered where the house was to be built; and the architect sold Apr--ah--them on recreating a Spanish mission. It was picturesque, but not very practical for modern living, so when Ap--I mean, when I was married and entered the picture, some changes were made [like the addition of that portrait, I assume]” (p. 79).

Jenny expresses her doubts that San Rafael “will open its arms to [her] and invite [her] in,” and he responds by kissing her, which doesn’t answer her question, but whatever:

He lifted her chin, tilting her face toward him gently, his eyes flickering back and forth across hers, his own gleaming and almost mesmeric as the sun slowly slipped down over the horizon. Then very slowly he touched his mouth to hers, his lips opening against hers as he quite suddenly pressed against her ardently, his tongue lightly touching hers, engaging it, probing and awakening her mouth and the answering touch of lips and tongue, till all the world was blotted out, and there was only the rush of teeming blood, throbbing in the head and along all the nerves to the end, and the surge of desire that blotted out anything else (p. 80).

Unbeknownst to them, Chita and Lisa are spying on them, wondering why the car stopped! (ROFL) When Chita realizes what’s going on, she criticizes Richard in true prudish Raxl fashion: “That he would be so shameless in daylight,” says she. “To take this woman in his arms--” (p. 81). Lisa reminds her that they are married now; although the narration doesn’t mention a twinge of jealousy, I’ve no doubt in my mind that she wishes she were Jenny in that car.

Richard and Jenny get out and Lisa rushes to hug them. Surprisingly, she acts outwardly friendly towards Jenny, who notices that “[Lisa’s] dark blue eyes were penetrating as they took in Jenny in one swift appraisal. They might have frightened Jenny except for the deep spark of interest in them, and the wide smile which she didn’t realize was uncharacteristic for LIsa” (p. 82).

Then he introduces Jenny to Chita, whom she instantly dislikes. “From her long sojourn in the Philippines,” the narration tells us, “she was very conscious of relationships between employer and servant. Not that she subscribed to the sort of feudal system that existed there, but simply because she was an extraordinarily sensitive girl who was responsive to human vibrations. And she could tell that Conchita’s were not right about her” (pp. 83-84).

Conchita, likewise, has a bad first impression of Jenny, thinking her a snob because of her use of Castilian instead of Mexican Spanish. But Jenny doesn’t realize that, instead noticing and fixating on the portrait of April:

Either by accident or design, those were the lights which Conchita had turned on. In the gloom of the hall, the full-length portrait dominated everything. Every detail of that matchless beauty was so sharp and clear that the figure of this lovely woman seemed to be alive and breathing.

And to Jenny, to be warning her and saying, “Why did you come? You don’t belong. How did you dream you could take my place? Did you think I would ever allow you to? This is my home, and Richard is mine. I’ll never let either of them go” (pp. 84-85)!

Compared to the beginning, Chapters 3 through 8 are not very meaty. These chapters are like chicken wings compared to the drumsticks that were the intro and the first two chapters. The main similarities that I found between these chapters and Strange Paradise were (1) the revelation that, like Maljardin-era Jean Paul, Richard is a control freak who is obsessed with his privacy and (2) the introduction of Juan, who fills Quito’s role as loyal male retainer but talks using occasionally inaccurate gratuitous Spanish (the “tranquilo” line). There is a lot of filler and also perhaps a little too much repetition of the idea that no one can ever take April’s place as mistress of San Rafael, so not as enjoyable as Part I or the next part of the story.

Coming up next: We get our first set of hints about April’s mysterious past, while Jenny tries to adjust to life in a house that may or may not be haunted by her spirit.

{ <- Previous: Part I   ||   Next: Part III -> }

Notes

[1] Did Ferdinand Marcos even allow his opponents to hold rallies? As I said above, I don’t know much about Filipino history, but I do know that he ruled over the Philippines as a dictator and tried to suppress any opposition to him. Most likely either the above passage is inaccurate or what Martin is describing are actually political protests, but it’s worded in a way that suggests that he thought of Filipino politics in the 1970s-1980s as more democratic than they actually were.

[2] I did look up Michael Wager, the actor who played Richard in the original radio drama, and he did resemble this description (and was indeed quite handsome, if I do say so myself). However, it would be strange for Martin to have Richard look like his original actor when none of the other characters in the book do. Notably, Jenny’s description in the book as a gray-eyed blonde bears no resemblance to her original actress Ruby Dee--which I suspect may have something to do with the publisher wanting to avoid controversy for depicting interracial marriage, as Ruby Dee was black.

[herokita]

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She was also young and all set for a grand life full of opportunities, hope and positivity. Unfortunately, Jeslinda Paul Devasahayam was involved in a car accident when she was 23 years old. Jeslinda saw her dream shatter right in front of her eyes. Suffering a spinal cord injury, she had to rebuild her life… on a wheelchair. She was worried about her family, her work and other limitations to her normal routine, but her main worry was money. “Who is going to support me, the surgery and everything after that? Finance was one of the main worries besides my career and whether everything would be okay. Those were my thoughts.” Jeslinda had just started working and didn’t think much about insurance and being financially protected. She relied on the insurance from her employer and believed she was still too young to worry about insurance. 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[go-redgirl]

Ilhan Omar Allegedly A HOME WRECKER And CORRUPT!

82,432 views

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INDIVIDUALS\COMMENTS\POSTS:

peccatoribus64 peccatoribus64 21 hours ago I thought she hates America!! And here she is stealing American husbands. "Somebody" has some serious double standards!!

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REPLY View 8 replies Debra Getz Debra Getz 22 hours ago There is a petition out there for her removal on ethics violations. Also, JW has filed a legal complaint.

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REPLY MartianSunset MartianSunset 19 hours ago I believe Omar is laundering campaign money through this guy and putting it in her pocket.

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REPLY View 7 replies Danger Dawn Danger Dawn 15 hours ago They are probably splitting that 230k; "legal" way to launder $$$

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REPLY View reply Rodney Armstrong Rodney Armstrong 23 hours ago (edited) Because Ilhan Omar "DID SOMETHING"  !!!!!.

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REPLY linross246 linross246 23 hours ago The freak that married her brother? No way!!

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REPLY View reply John Smith John Smith 21 hours ago Send her back to Somalia with papers explaining what she did, let the Sharia judge her...

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REPLY View 4 replies gomers44 gomers44 14 hours ago That money trail needs to be investigated. Maybe going to enemies of the state? Thanks ABL! 🙏🇺🇸🍺

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REPLY View reply Tom Quinn Tom Quinn 20 hours ago It's okay to carry on with a white guy if he's a wonky Marxist that promises you a lucrative future.

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REPLY Gaz Matic Gaz Matic 20 hours ago This is what they do. The squad. They all use campaign funds to pay their lovers!

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REPLY View reply C Harris C Harris 6 hours ago "These 'people' are incompetent, they shouldn't be in congress."

Fact.

Understatement of the year Read more

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REPLY Daniel Stump Daniel Stump 22 hours ago Wait a minute! You mean Ilhan has a white man boyfriend !!??

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REPLY View 6 replies S.W.S Ministries S.W.S Ministries 5 hours ago She did marry her brother what do you expect??? Standards!!!?

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REPLY Robert Thompson Robert Thompson 11 hours ago Oh no not another rasict dating us wwhhhiite men you dont say this is the new type of rasict lmao

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REPLY Paul Kirshman Paul Kirshman 22 hours ago "Me and Ms Omar, we got a thing going on. We both know that it's wrong, but it's much too late, to let it go now."

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REPLY View 5 replies Daniel Ramirez Daniel Ramirez 13 hours ago Hypergamy at it's best folks...... It's weeman nature nothing to see here move on. Alpha fux beta bux.

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REPLY Marina Syndulla Marina Syndulla 22 hours ago I'm not shocked this is what goes on in politics especially when a woman wants to get to the top

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REPLY Starr Watkins Starr Watkins 23 hours ago Corrupt to the core. She has no values especially marriage.

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REPLY E-beggar-In-Bangkok 2018 E-beggar-In-Bangkok 2018 22 hours ago Doesn't  Islam take a  very serious stance  against adultery?

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REPLY View 3 replies John Doe John Doe 22 hours ago Hey, talib married her uncle so what's up with that?

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REPLY View 4 replies Nicholas Helbert Nicholas Helbert 21 hours ago I love ALL of AMERICANS, but this woman can't stand us. It's  time she is rejected from OUR politics

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REPLY Lee Mayzes Lee Mayzes 5 hours ago I'm not going to throw the first stone.  God will, and I think He already has.

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REPLY sean rimmer sean rimmer 13 hours ago Great analysis. Many in the UK are watching with interest the developments in US politics, as it mirrors the UK's experience with Brexit.

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REPLY View reply Carol Beane Carol Beane 22 hours ago Oh, I forgot, she is a democratic above the law.

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REPLY POPPA SMURF POPPA SMURF 20 hours ago dude, she's a democrat.  look at the "hands off" that saved hillary, and bill before her.  the deep state protects those that further their agenda.  nothing will happen.

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REPLY fredocine fredocine 7 hours ago Ilhan Omar (aka Ilhan Nur Said Elmi and "homewrecker") is FINALLY going down!🎉🎊🤩😍

5

REPLY P P 21 hours ago She was married to her brother, not possibly or allegedly but for sure!

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REPLY View reply Red River Rover Red River Rover 3 hours ago That $230K is taxpayer money!  Giving it to her "lover" demands a federal investigation!

2

REPLY Autism Dad Autism Dad 23 hours ago Wait wait wait! OMAR is a real woman? I thought sHE's a transgender? :-) LOL

3

REPLY Helen Fukumoto Helen Fukumoto 7 hours ago The best hopeful news I've heard was Omar is possibly facing 40 years in prison & deportation for penalty of perjury 👍

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REPLY Zig Zag Zig Zag 5 hours ago Corruption is law of the land, thats why Jeffery Epstein killers will lose no sleep!

2

REPLY Lauren Lewis Grief Coach Practitioner Lauren Lewis Grief Coach Practitioner 10 hours ago Where I come from, a woman that hops from man to man, we know what she's  called!!!

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REPLY View reply Germane Habib Germane Habib 13 hours ago Whoa! Say it ain't so! Ilhan Omar's just another ho' with dough? Super....SMH!      🤦🏾‍♂️👎🏾

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REPLY Daren B Daren B 11 hours ago "Ilhan; you got some 'splainin' to do."

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REPLY bella roja bella roja 15 hours ago Be SURE, there's much much more - even filthier - going on with her … follow the $$$ and the private jets

2

REPLY Ray Maresh Ray Maresh 22 hours ago Who would want that Somalia hair pie. Must be the Benjamin's.

2

REPLY Hawaiian Brian Hawaiian Brian 10 hours ago Sharia law demands she is to be stoned. It's part of her beautiful culture!

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REPLY View reply Wolff Street Wolff Street 22 hours ago And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8

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REPLY View reply Adam Bell Adam Bell 12 hours ago Philanderer, one who  wanders from one  mealliless  relationship to the next A drunkard, a sot, with money.

2

REPLY Jaqen H'gar Jaqen H'gar 20 hours ago Has she been tested for khat use? That would explain a lot!

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REPLY CPQ-Apollo CPQ-Apollo 23 hours ago Put her on a plane back to where she comes from and then drop her off at 33,000 feet

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REPLY DevilDog3381 DevilDog3381 9 hours ago What the Hell man. I'm sick of this B.S.

2

REPLY Cat Metal Cat Metal 20 hours ago She reminds me of them statues they find in Pharaoh tombs, except racist, sexist, hate-filled and Muslim supremist.

3

REPLY Glenn Heiselman Glenn Heiselman 9 hours ago Lady, if that smelly camel humper can steal your husband, he wasn't much of a husband.. She may be doing you a great favor.. Dump him collect everything you can out of him and enjoy a new life!!

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REPLY ResQmomKim ResQmomKim 18 hours ago "The Squad" are ALL puppets!  All "cast" in the roles by "Justice Democrats"!  And also, isn't adultery punishable by death in Omar's "religion"?

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REPLY View reply Connell Hunte Connell Hunte 23 hours ago Somewhere at 2:11 I got lost. Not what you saying but the stupidity of it all.

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REPLY Roma Holcomb Roma Holcomb 7 hours ago So she doesn't follow Sharia or US laws. Seems to be alot of lawlessness in our govt. Love y'all.

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REPLY Kaleb Smith Kaleb Smith 23 hours ago She's not going anywhere no different than Hillary

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REPLY Raven Vargas Raven Vargas 8 hours ago (edited) From incest to homewrecker her best political accomplishments lol Ickhan and Don Lemon claim white men are dangerous etc but both are knockin boots with white men HAHAHA this is awesome

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REPLY View reply I B Trippin I B Trippin 9 hours ago I say the Squad stays, They are the gift that keeps on giving........Trump 2020

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REPLY Gilberto Garza Gilberto Garza 15 hours ago Everything you said I could not have said better myself! Bless You.

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REPLY brob 3030 brob 3030 13 hours ago She allowed an infidel to invade her "territory". She's definitely not going back to Somalia ever again.

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REPLY Casey Jones Casey Jones 16 hours ago That’s not the only thing she is WRECKING!!! P O S

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REPLY Asia and Caucasia Asia and Caucasia 9 hours ago Good thing you’re a black creator, every other video on this is buried 😂🤣😂

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REPLY Shemuel Roget Shemuel Roget 10 hours ago I do not agree with any of Omar's politics, but I would rather for the people in her district to vote her out. That is a much better way to do it and to keep stability in the system.

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REPLY TEAMWOODPROTECT M. Wood TEAMWOODPROTECT M. Wood 8 hours ago Hell yes she's corrupt.. she has that snake tongue and manipulates everyone

1ookit,   I ain't never coming home no more." 🤣

1

REPLY King and Queen Turben King and Queen Turben 12 hours ago (edited) I'm surprised... Are we sure Tim Mynett isn't her brother from a different mother? Since she keeps it in the family.

She should be prisoned.

#(ck) common knowledge Read more

2

REPLY Ken McElroy Ken McElroy 18 hours ago Part of me agrees with you about hoping the squad are re-elected and part of me says no we need serious congress members.

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REPLY G Garcia G Garcia 3 hours ago She should be prosecuted following the guidelines of her beloved faith

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REPLY Juan Torres Juan Torres 6 hours ago Omar is useless,  worthless, and a waste of life; meaning, an opportunist who will take advantage of anything/ everything,( illegal/ immoral).

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REPLY Thedarknate08 Thedarknate08 6 hours ago No Way? I thought she was a perfect person and never sinned! She's just another cut**

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REPLY Ruby Woo Ruby Woo 23 hours ago Congress Omar is the real MVP haters gonna hate 🤘🏽

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REPLY Got Ghost Got Ghost 7 hours ago (edited) So you folks blood, sweat, and tears taxed by uncle sam then sum get paid to this fools & You the people let it happen

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REPLY Rufus LaCue Rufus LaCue 6 hours ago So both the left and the right have shady people in political positions, WHAAAT???!

1

REPLY Ghosty333 Ghosty333 21 hours ago Mpls Star and tribune has been covering up for her for a long time.

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REPLY Christine Taggart Christine Taggart 15 hours ago Congratulations Omar. You have just proved Mr. Modi  right about Kashmir.

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REPLY UnderseaCaveman UnderseaCaveman 19 hours ago Shouldn't she start digging her own hole now.....for the upcoming STONING???  Just Wondering!

1

REPLY Jon Padden Jon Padden 21 hours ago And once again the tangled web the leftists weave.  What am I thinking.  Leftists don't weave.  That's work!

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REPLY Drew Rushing Drew Rushing 12 hours ago Home wrecker, country wrecker, she’s just a wrecker.

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REPLY Buckwheat Loves Cryptos Buckwheat Loves Cryptos 20 hours ago How Would You Like To Be One Of The Idiots Who Voted For This Evil Excuse Of A Human Being God Will Handle Her WWG1WGA

1

REPLY wakawaka1976 wakawaka1976 8 hours ago No conscience, disingenuous, corrupt, jihadist, liars... That’s describing just about the whole of the left.

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REPLY Calvin Adams Calvin Adams 14 hours ago This is a Definitely an episode from Scandal. She's playing the system.!!!

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REPLY Brandon S Brandon S 20 hours ago (edited) “To go a little bit deeper”, lol. Not with this new guy.

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REPLY BE BOP ROCK STEADY BE BOP ROCK STEADY 3 hours ago Mr. Ponzi would be proud of Omar...is that really her name?

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REPLY unsheepled unsheepled 12 hours ago But all of the flaws and character deficits you find objectionable are PREREQUISITE  for being politics !

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REPLY Christopher Greathouse Christopher Greathouse 7 hours ago How can anyone love omar she is the poster child for a toxic person.

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REPLY Thil Thil 5 hours ago OOOO kill all white men. but not until I have caught me one. Yes Yes Yes I see.

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REPLY Danger Mauz Danger Mauz 12 hours ago She needs to slow her role. If she ends up sent back to her country(it's obvious why the Democrats are hiding her background). Everybody, knows what happens to adultresses in a religion in a very conservative country.🤔🤦‍♀️😬

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REPLY Grandma's Gone Gaming Grandma's Gone Gaming 20 hours ago I had no doubt that she was corrupt, even before this.

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REPLY Dones Fitness Motivation Dones Fitness Motivation 9 hours ago More ammo for Trump. They are digging there own grave. Trump 2020

1

REPLY Kelly Regan Kelly Regan 6 hours ago How could anyone  want that, makes you want to throw  up

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REPLY Chris Duane Chris Duane 11 hours ago Both AOC and Ilhan Omar are partnered with white men and they both have some of the most prestigious, high-paying jobs in the USA BUT they still claim USA is a racist country. If that doesn't show Demotards what frauds the Demotard Party is then nothing will.

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REPLY Daniel Insogna Daniel Insogna 5 hours ago I think u missed one little aspect of this story.  ....he’s probably only getting 125,000 She gets the other half. No doubt in my mind.  Something to think about.

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REPLY Snotty Scotty Snotty Scotty 4 hours ago How can she be romantically involved with him when she's not even related to him.

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REPLY Eto Rawa Eto Rawa 22 hours ago Waiting for the Hodgetwins to do a skit on this...."balls deep" an all!  😅

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REPLY steve diosdado steve diosdado 15 hours ago “Take your man” Ilhan , is really into white dudes. Does anything in this chick”s life make sense?

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REPLY Pride of a Saiyan Pride of a Saiyan 2 hours ago This just shows you how much a politician will lie and say anything for an agenda. What's the agenda?

REPLY Lonnie Smith jr Lonnie Smith jr 21 hours ago Is this even close to Trump paying porn star hush 💰 while his wife was pregnant.Both parties are a joke

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REPLY Johnny Tramain Johnny Tramain 59 minutes ago Me love you long time on taxpayers dime. Signed Omar & AOC.

REPLY lucy parrish lucy parrish 8 hours ago BOY, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS FULL OF SOME REAL "WINNERS"!

REPLY Haim Levy Haim Levy 11 hours ago GREAT JOB ! Mr Anthony B Logan.

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REPLY Ronnie Recon Ronnie Recon 23 hours ago what's the rumor Lamar lied in court 7 times .what is taking the law time to finally do something

REPLY Dixie Olly Dixie Olly 6 hours ago Thank patriot! God bless you, us, and USA! Amen.

REPLY ford nut ford nut 12 hours ago So shes bring ghetto behavior to Congress 🤣

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REPLY Drrck11 Drrck11 7 hours ago Keep in mind this is all still 'alleged'. Nothing has been proven as of yet.

REPLY Christin Soriano, Jr. Christin Soriano, Jr. 2 hours ago A FISHMONGER SQUAD, ALLEGEDLY A HOME WRECKER AND CORRUPT AND THE WORST ANTI-AMERICAN.  Thats it?

REPLY Phillip Nichols Phillip Nichols 1 hour ago Maybe Omar wants a. White man for a sacrifice to her so called Jihad

REPLY Katy Bell Katy Bell 1 hour ago So, classic case of 'projection.' Blame others what you are guilty of. Nothing new about this DemocRAT.

REPLY Julio Chavez Julio Chavez 6 hours ago The wife, must be a cougar,  judging by huge age difference.

REPLY Bradshaw 93 Bradshaw 93 37 minutes ago (edited) Trump is done ya'll  lol can't wait for 2020😂🤣🤪😎

REPLY RMorr50912 RMorr50912 48 minutes ago I’m pretty much 💯% with ya on this one ABL!

REPLY No Left Turns No Left Turns 26 minutes ago Sleazy - the one word that perfectly describes Ilhan Omar and every Democrat on this planet

REPLY marie renfro marie renfro 5 hours ago The fault is not all Omar's.  What about the married man?  He is to blame just like her.

REPLY Dale Gribble Dale Gribble 4 hours ago ABL I AGREE 100% thank u for the upload

REPLY JuneGDP JuneGDP 7 hours ago Corruption to the deepest degree.  “You shall know them by their deeds.” 🦆

REPLY Zig Zag Zig Zag 5 hours ago Why just kick her out, all of them corrupt! We need very very small government!

REPLY Matthew mcg Matthew mcg 7 hours ago Holidays are going to awkward in the ohmar house gotta see you ex husband/brother and buy him a gift ...

REPLY Henry Quenin Henry Quenin 5 hours ago I can scarcely believe how arrogant and in-your-face this Omar person is.  She's breathtakingly outrageous!

REPLY airnay airnay 5 hours ago To prove she didn’t marry her brother, she must tongue kiss him for the public to see.

REPLY Gary Grimm Gary Grimm 21 hours ago she is in favor of anything that harms our America (not hers).

REPLY Gerard Vinet Gerard Vinet 2 hours ago (edited) Because he's a gold digger,not for money but for publicity & recognition!

1

REPLY Marjorie Colao-Pullman Marjorie Colao-Pullman 21 hours ago Someone needs to make a visual aid of fact of her relationship status

REPLY Janice Smith Janice Smith 8 hours ago (edited) Wow! ABL broke it down right there! Love your assessment. She IS corrupt.

REPLY Barbara Jean The Costume Queen Barbara Jean The Costume Queen 4 hours ago Just a big ol’ shake my head! What goes around comes around!

REPLY Meltones Meltones 13 hours ago As soon as I heard the headlines I came to Youtube for some commentary.

REPLY tobagobum tobagobum 3 hours ago Isn't stoning the judgement for adultery in her religion?

REPLY Franky Compagnone Franky Compagnone 5 hours ago There's a love child here that will assure her place in American history. Thank you for nothing democrats .

REPLY strategic services strategic services 5 hours ago I'll pay a one way ticket to somalia for her.

REPLY Jo Smotherman Jo Smotherman 1 hour ago Everyone knows she is a hypocrite, but serving in Congress without following US law, needs to be dealt with.

REPLY L W L W 6 hours ago Keep up the good word man,your 100 percent correct.

REPLY weedislegal4me2 weedislegal4me2 6 hours ago Who in their right mind, and with eyesight, would phuk this skanky skunk?

REPLY Shane Persaud Shane Persaud 11 hours ago USCIS/immigration fraud is grounds for deportation so why is she still here??

REPLY iLm au Dio iLm au Dio 7 hours ago If Ilhan Omar turns out to be Kaiser Soze...🤯

REPLY Melinda GDW Melinda GDW 6 hours ago I'm shocked!...  That this hasn't come out sooner.  She is as loose of morals as she is ignorant & dogmatic!

REPLY Eduardo Castro Eduardo Castro 2 hours ago As a proud 2nd Generation Mexican American I will say bye, bye democratic party

REPLY Billy Bob Billy Bob 23 hours ago Yes 100% corrupt and should be kicked out of Congress and kicked out of the country for immigration fraud.

REPLY sssbob sssbob 22 hours ago Several weeks ago, ETS said Omars days were numbered.

REPLY ale ale ssandro ale ale ssandro 19 hours ago (edited) expell Omar, the other 2 can still be the face of the dems + they had one member leave in disgrace

REPLY Paul Brown Paul Brown 21 hours ago She believes that sharia law should be supreme, let her be judged and punished by its standards.

REPLY billsykes75 billsykes75 7 hours ago Looolllll sounds like "someone" could be getting Stoned...to Death..;-)

REPLY Vic Darapiza Vic Darapiza 21 hours ago And we are expecting something better from a terrorist?! an anti-semite anti-Israel omar.

REPLY Ballsdeep Singh Ballsdeep Singh 7 hours ago Land of the free... on another note, does she have a crystal skull under that head rag?

REPLY Jason Smith Jason Smith 13 hours ago If she is using that guy to basically wash money to buy yourself stuff or she is being corrupt about the money situation, she must have learned it from somebody!! # follow the money

REPLY Steven G Steven G 7 hours ago Yes, agreed she is corrupt to the core and does not represent American values.

REPLY density deep density deep 6 hours ago You sir got my subscription thank you for the great content

REPLY Nancy Nutt Nancy Nutt 4 hours ago SHE HAS NO scrupils. Used a CHILD TO PROTECT herself FROM DEATH threats. While Outside IN THE public.

REPLY Donna B Donna B 23 hours ago ABL  - u know what's happening!  Keep on keeping us informed...

REPLY Kentucky Justice Kentucky Justice 22 hours ago A quarter mil just to "hit that thang."  That brother must leave three tracks in the sand.

REPLY Kim Kincaid Kim Kincaid 30 seconds ago She just thinks she's moving on up since her husband is prolly on govt assistance.

REPLY Chuck Orvis Chuck Orvis 8 hours ago If that was a trump supporter the Democrats would be jumping up and down wanting investigations

REPLY Marvin Carter Marvin Carter 9 hours ago No!! Not voted out. But hopefully they all will be arrested and sent to prison. 😡

REPLY PNOYPWR PNOYPWR 23 hours ago (edited) IIhan Omar paid her Lover to Do her...a..." favor". She also married "Somebody" as She described in her 9/11 comment.

REPLY Khami Cakes Khami Cakes 5 hours ago Lol she outchea laying it low and spreading it wide🤣🤣

REPLY The Moonlit Quill The Moonlit Quill 17 hours ago This whole situation is nonsense and insane. She just needs to go back to Somalia faster than the speed of light.

REPLY Mauricio Chevez Mauricio Chevez 20 hours ago She needs to be expelled from congress and the country immediately

REPLY Jack Kimble Jack Kimble 3 hours ago Finally Justice for we the people need to clean up coungress three more times also.....

REPLY staci riley staci riley 1 hour ago Hopefully this is the way her cookie crumbles.

REPLY Golden Wings Golden Wings 7 hours ago 0mar hails from one of the most c0rrupt c3sspits on earth, S0ma|ia.  My expectation of her were low from the start.

REPLY bogieviews bogieviews 9 hours ago I'm with you - keep Omar and the squatters up in front so everyone sees what is in the hearts of democrats.

REPLY The SAM The SAM 14 hours ago (edited) let me guess if she breaks his heart; he's gonna go on a rampage lol 😂 this is so ridiculous

REPLY Sebastian Sebastian 8 hours ago Logan I am confused ... it's more complicated than many a script for a soap opera...HHAHAHAHAHA

REPLY Ground Zero Ground Zero 22 hours ago I think she needs a good old fashioned Sharia Stoning and "not the kind that you smoke !"

REPLY Linda Reeb Linda Reeb 8 hours ago She's definitely corrupt and a law breaker, should NOT be a law maker!!

REPLY Irvin Hawkeswood Irvin Hawkeswood 4 hours ago Rashida looks like she could handle the beans and frank with that big mouth !!!

REPLY gabriel32724 gabriel32724 23 hours ago One way of seeing if a person is fit for Congress is their character. Omar has none!!!

REPLY Isasiah Bradley Isasiah Bradley 2 hours ago I can't wait to see you tap dance.  The only thing worst that a racist...is an Uncle Ruckus.

REPLY Mimi Jones Mimi Jones 7 hours ago they are a blessing for the republican party.  they must remain.

REPLY chuck cuttress chuck cuttress 23 hours ago Its obvious he’s giving her most of the money back probably in a bank in somalia

REPLY massterclass9 massterclass9 20 hours ago Excellent journalism from the one and only ABL

REPLY Leo Lee Leo Lee 41 minutes ago What say me ?  I say a one party system could become more corrupt the the looney left.

REPLY Kelly Regan Kelly Regan 6 hours ago Isn't  she frightened  of her adulterous  male friends, GOD he's  WHITE, (help  help  help me)

1

REPLY J Kennedy J Kennedy 20 hours ago Polygamy is only legal in Utah, she gives zero f**ks for our laws !

REPLY Bosingr Bosingr 3 hours ago Upon  hearing about all this, Omar reportedly said "He feels just like a brother to me."

Okay, okay, I stole that from Michael Knowles over at The Daily Wire. I couldn't help it. 😁

REPLY David 1 David 1 3 hours ago Good for you to focus on the rules she has broken with her campaign funds.  I like your point of view...

REPLY Monique Addn Monique Addn 7 hours ago She has no morals yet shes running the country. Sounds about right.

REPLY Richard Kager Richard Kager 1 hour ago I want to see Candace Owens debate Ilhan Omar.Candace would eat her alive!

REPLY Micha Grobi Micha Grobi 10 hours ago R.I.P. Democratic party. Died Nobember 2020 after a long and evil way of supressing others and lie to we the people for so long. Amen.

REPLY Pewy McPewerson Pewy McPewerson 23 hours ago Muzzies will never conform to western civilization. They shouldn't be allowed to serve in any government capacity.

REPLY heriberto fernandez heriberto fernandez 16 hours ago Corrupt corrupt corrupt...   they need to get her out.

1

REPLY KODA 002 KODA 002 8 hours ago Follow the money. You may be shocked where its actually going

REPLY Chrissyblou Lam Chrissyblou Lam 4 hours ago So much for her towel wrapping religion & all it stands for.

REPLY Tomeka Ridley Tomeka Ridley 19 hours ago Ilhan Omar sounds like sick minded "twisted" hypocrite.

REPLY Jason Martin Jason Martin 23 hours ago She’s 3rd 🌎 t r a s h!

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REPLY skeletalsanta skeletalsanta 23 hours ago Ilhan Qatar said that Tim's a great man I love him like a brother

REPLY T M T M 8 hours ago F king her campaign consultants and giving them $230,000.  And Omar is a home wrecker!!

REPLY Infinite Holographic Quasiverse Infinite Holographic Quasiverse 11 hours ago (edited) Id do er.

She looks like a freak in the bed.

REPLY plaubel28 plaubel28 23 hours ago (edited) Her explanation will be Trump is Racist.

1

REPLY Valerie Fraser Valerie Fraser 7 hours ago Totally corrupt. It is always about the money.

REPLY Crazy 8s Drums Crazy 8s Drums 17 hours ago According to the Hadiths, Ilhan Omar must now submit to lethal stoning as prescribed by Sharia that she insists must overtake the US Constitution.

REPLY sergio black sergio black 11 hours ago (edited) What!? No. Not the Corrupt Socialist...😑

REPLY J M J M 17 hours ago Thank you for talking about this. Please make sure you have a bitchute and same name so I can find you if you are not here anymore.

REPLY Volk Lupo Volk Lupo 10 hours ago Now I'm just wondering what she's wearing under those cute little outfits she wears!!!🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

REPLY Randy Scherer Randy Scherer 23 hours ago If she was in her "Motherland", it's doubtful she'd be alive.

REPLY Bmw EM Bmw EM 22 hours ago the guy is both blind and deaf, and I guess he can't smell her either,

REPLY itsumademoheiwa itsumademoheiwa 22 hours ago What is the punishment for adultery according to Islam, again?

REPLY Alan Wood Alan Wood 14 hours ago Will she be using campaign contributions to pay his divorce lawyer?

REPLY Carol Costa Carol Costa 2 hours ago It's as if she thinks she is untouchable and No laws apply to her!

REPLY Gustav Babic Gustav Babic 11 hours ago You know that AOC didn't get where she is without opening her legs for someone.

REPLY Gary Morrison Gary Morrison 5 hours ago Thank you Thank you Thank you for all you do to educate the people on everything that's going on with our so called law makers please keep up your hard work please share this  with all the right people in media 🇺🇸

REPLY Kenny Driver Kenny Driver 15 hours ago Is anyone really surprised by once again the double standards from these SJWs as the left will no doubt defend her. Vile individual so she is.

REPLY Rebecca Gable Rebecca Gable 10 hours ago Wow--corrupt as they come!!!

REPLY PM V PM V 12 hours ago Can you sell a program so i know who the players are?

REPLY Nicholas Helbert Nicholas Helbert 21 hours ago Don't forget, she also said "white men" are the GREATEST threat to Americans

REPLY oneski io oneski io 15 hours ago Same kind of alleged crime as AOC?

REPLY RoatanDoug RoatanDoug 5 hours ago The leftist/democrat dumpster fire gets hotter.

REPLY Tiger Tough Tiger Tough 19 hours ago Can we stone Ilhan Elmi 🧕🏾 to Death???

REPLY Gary Wagner Gary Wagner 7 hours ago I truly believe that God will move to take care of the problem that we have in congress some things are being uncovered watch and see what happens next God bless

REPLY Atlas Latest Atlas Latest 9 hours ago 100 lashes for adulterous acts no?    Sharia law

REPLY Patrick Longerbeam Patrick Longerbeam 3 hours ago You can’t make this stuff up. The Democratic Party is a joke...

REPLY rebeccabowers65 rebeccabowers65 22 hours ago (edited) She is a home wrecker but a complete train wreck for this great nation.

1

REPLY Black whiskey 7 Black whiskey 7 6 hours ago In another words "that woman is a crook"..😦

REPLY xomthood xomthood 4 hours ago You called her controversial, I think the word you were looking for is despicable.

REPLY Warbird Phoenix Warbird Phoenix 6 hours ago So scandalous it makes me want to get my hair and nails done at the salon to gossip all day.

REPLY howtheheliru howtheheliru 12 hours ago The rat in the hat strucks again! What will it take to be rid of this train wreck!

REPLY Poppa J B 12 hours ago Adultery always Adultery. Sir you are absolutely right no character can be found but these are the ones supposedly a.voice to the people

REPLY M T 22 hours ago Mynett.....getting paid!!! All those Benjamin's$$$$

REPLY Aguomba Ubong 7 hours ago Republican should go out there teach people about capitalism incentives create jobs excessive tax don't

REPLY Riki tiki Tavi 11 hours ago Typical Islamist..they deny and lie..following the law of taqiyya. yet tim mynett admitted it.

1

REPLY Steve O 22 hours ago Like your point of view.   Refreshing

REPLY Leroy Green 12 hours ago So gossiping about irrelevant crap like this is what this channel has come to? Smh.

REPLY Theadore Bundy 8 hours ago Lol oh this is too good....adultery home wrecking with a half jewish white man. Hahahaha!!!!

REPLY Vera Howard 13 hours ago What’s done in the dark will come out to the light 💡 Thank  you Jesus For the BIG LIGHT 💡

REPLY LB Awakened 2 hours ago Lying , stealing, cheating, ...she's in the correct Party...

REPLY mark christofferson 10 hours ago Remember Ilhan next time a Muslim runs for office.

REPLY starlite556 3 hours ago His wife said that his company was broke.

REPLY Cory D 21 hours ago All I heard was she had kids with her brother. I'm pretty sure everything else you said was quantum physics.

REPLY SomeOneElse 23 hours ago The culture is told to lie and be proud of it, for their "god". Too many infiltrators! - Punish ALL who do not stand with America and rule of law.

All must be stripped from local and federal positions of any "authority".

REPLY John Leckie 20 hours ago It’s all about the Benjamins and back in her beloved Somalia they stone her to death.

____________________________________________________________

OPINION:  IIhan Omar is this country worst nightmare along with the rest of the So-called ‘Squad’ because they are Anti-Americans that were shown from the very beginning.  And The Democrats have allowed them to ‘run lose’ in this country instead of teaching them how to focus on their ‘constituents’ and the promises that they made to them to get their votes.  Well, we guess they had no Democrats ‘role models’ in Congress to teach them anything, when they too have been running around this country ‘unhinged’.  They needed someone respectful enough to look up too and they didn’t because their Party is out of control themselves.

They have proven to be the worst group of people in Congress, which means they are really terrible.