#apparently it’s a female orange cat which my mom has always wanted

[moodyvoid]

My mom walked into my room and said “my friend is bringing me a kitten.” and then left, so I guess we’re getting a new family member.

[rainythefox]

Nightfall (CH.15)

Synopsis: Pre-Resident Evil 1, slight-AU/Canon Divergence. Claire Redfield comes home to visit her  brother Chris for the holidays but gets caught up in a dangerous game of  cat and mouse with Albert Wesker, the Captain of STARS, after stumbling  upon dark secrets. She can’t call the law; Wesker is the law, and she  can’t tell Chris. She is trapped…Claire/Wesker & Slight Chris/Jill (There’s Wesker & William Bromance too lol). Rated M for smut, language, violence, adult content.

AO3 Link

Chapter 15:Infatuation

Claire was awake when she heard Chris getting ready for work, but she stayed in bed. She didn’t join him for breakfast or a cup of coffee. She didn’t see him off. She just turned over on her side, away from her door where the hallway light creeped through underneath. She had endured a near sleepless night of tosses and turns, the aches in her muscles a stinging reminder of what she had done.

She must’ve fallen asleep for a couple of hours because she awoke to sunshine peeking through the curtains. The sun was out, reflecting off the snow that blanketed the city. Claire got out of bed and did her usual morning ritual: dressing, brushing her teeth, hopelessly trying to come up with a way to escape her grim situation. Funny how that last one had snuck into her daily routine. Her new normal apparently.

Claire made herself toast and orange juice for breakfast but barely touched it. She tried distracting herself with the newspaper, but there wasn’t anything interesting to read in Raccoon Times.

Umbrella Corporation opens new distribution center, creates 600 new jobs

Mayor Warren promises more funding for local orphanage

Kite Bros. expands Downtown travel with new subway tunnel

Clock Tower Plaza puts up traditional Raccoon City Christmas Tree

Even though Chris left her his truck again, she didn’t want to go anywhere. Where would she go? See a friend and potentially drag them into her situation? Try and get help from someone else that was under Wesker’s boot or on his payroll? Raccoon City seemed like an illusion now, a cesspool of collusion and extortion. As though the rose-colored glasses she had once viewed the city in were ripped from her eyes to expose all of the red flags and blood she couldn’t see before.

Besides, she felt bad for the fight she had with her brother last night. Despite Chris overstepping boundaries with his overprotective nature, he was just concerned for her. He knew she was hiding something and was worried. The Redfield siblings only had each other, for nearly nine years now. Chris had sacrificed time and time again for her, to make sure they could stay together, to make sure she could go to college, always making sure she had what she needed over himself. Even when Chris’s behavior got him discharged more than once, he always put her first.

He knew she could take care of herself. He made sure he taught her all he could. Most brothers were protective of their sisters, but Claire wondered if Chris’s...excessiveness was perhaps a form of PTSD from what happened to their parents. Stepping into that guardian role, he went right into the Air Force, just like their parents. He abandoned a normal future to ensure hers, to keep them together, and to somehow get closer to the parents they had lost.

That was why it was hard to stay mad at him. Even if this time he unmindfully didn’t know the danger he was putting them in with his good, albeit intemperate, intentions.

Claire decided she would apologize when Chris got home that evening. And so, she spent the day trying to be productive, to keep her mind from wandering. She studied for a while, and then cleaned the house for a bit, blasting Queen at high volume. However, no matter what she did, she couldn’t keep herself from thinking about not only her situation, but the man that now had her literally pinned under him. She worried what his next scheme for her would be. But she’d be lying to herself if she denied the excitement that also thrummed through her veins. The strange mix made her queasy.

By the time it started getting dark, Claire realized she had wasted most of her day deep in thought, trying to make sense of it all, plotting for a way out, and maybe spending more time than she’d care to admit thinking about what happened between her and Wesker.

Chris would be home soon, so she started dinner. While cooking, she turned on the television to keep her mind focused, but after a few channel changes, a local news station caught her attention with a caption that filled her lungs with ice.

“Raccoon University professor missing, linked to drugging and sexual assault of multiple students.”

Claire turned up the volume, perturbed, because she just knew which professor they were talking about…

“-ow long has this been going on, Alyssa?” asked the anchor.

The news reporter, a pretty, bob-cut blonde, was quick to answer while standing out in the cold in front of Raccoon University, wearing a white coat and a red suit. “I’m being told this may have been happening for over a year now. The RPD are keeping the victims’ identities under wraps at this time, but I do know there are at least four. Dr. Simon Lowery has been missing for a little over 24 hours, having fled after trying to drug a female student at the open house last night. We have yet to get a statement from his wife, but police are saying she had no idea of his behavior. We’ve heard the same testimonies from colleagues. This is one of those -”

Claire clicked the remote. The TV went black, silent. She stared at the screen, a shocked reflection looking back at her. The news story rubbed her wrong. Lowery was a bad man, she knew that much. He would’ve killed her over those documents, would’ve strangled her in the snow when they fought to keep her quiet over stealing whatever it was she had stolen. But not once did she get the feeling he was like that.

She’d bet money that the news story over Lowery was made up to cover up what really happened. She wasn’t sure if Wesker came up with the story or if it was any of his numerous pawns. Didn’t matter. It proved what she already knew, just like the other day when the news covered that Finley guy’s supposed “suicide” in his car. Just as Wesker had told her before, their fates were whatever he decided. Not just their deaths but their legacies, tainting and twisting them, dismantling and disgracing them, like a true god of death.

The city would never know what really happened to Finley and Lowery, whether they deserved their fates or not.

Claire shook out of her thoughts, a chill running over her as she recalled Finley’s head exploding, blood spraying all over the snow. Why had fate led her down that very same path that day?

A smoky, tangy smell pervaded her nostrils. Dinner was burning! Cursing, she raced into the kitchen to save it. The pork chops were burned on one side but other than that, the rest of dinner turned out okay.

Chris came in not long after she had finished cooking, silently walking over to her spot on the couch as she read a book. The couch shifted when he sat down, and so she looked up from the pages. Still in STARS uniform, her older brother scratched the back of his head, uncomfortable but presenting her an apologetic smile. It was hard to stay mad at him with a puppy-dog face like that.

“Hey…”

“Hey,” she mimicked.

“I’m sorry, Sis. About last night. I clearly went overboard. It���s been eating at me all day.”

“Chris, it’s -”

“Let me finish,” he pleaded. “I know you’re an adult. I know you can kick anyone’s ass. I’m overprotective because of what happened to Mom and Dad.”

She sighed. “I know.”

“But that’s no excuse to act the way I did. I trust you, Claire. And I believe in you. But I get so...obsessed with making sure you’re safe and-and fine that my stupid brain can’t see anything else! I let it get the better of me too much. So, from now on, I’ll work hard to keep myself from going overboard and to trust you more. N-Not that I haven’t trusted you! You’ve never given me a reason to doubt you. It’s stupid of me to act like you have. We’ve always had that unspoken pact that we can tell each other anything and it will always stand.”

Claire shifted uncomfortably in her spot. “A-Always.”

“I love you, Sis. I’m really sorry.”

The Redfield siblings were both stubborn and proud, and so sometimes it was Chris who apologized first and sometimes it was Claire. Although Chris usually gave in before she did. Despite that, this was still pretty soon for Chris to give in, as big as a fight they had. Claire wondered if something happened at work that made Chris come to his senses faster. Maybe Jill talked to him? Wouldn’t be the first time. She was her brother’s best friend, after all.

She decided it wasn’t important for now. She had been ready to apologize to her brother when he got home, and here he was apologizing as well. She was ready to put the whole fight behind them and move on...as best as she could in her predicament anyway. At least Chris had seemingly given up pushing her for answers. What a lucky break! Jill must’ve really lined him out.

Claire hugged Chris. “I’m sorry too, Bro. Love you!”

His strong arms wrapped around her and squeezed hard. For years growing up, it had been the safest feeling in the world. She always cherished it. Soon they pulled away, and got up to eat dinner.

William paced, flipping through pages, catching important details and logging them away at a rate far faster than the average person. Wesker leaned against the wall, dressed in his STARS attire, watching him pace a trench in front of him. Always calm, always collected. How did he do it?!

The cable car shuddered, flicking the light overhead as it rose to the surface. He hated taking this hunk of junk! Normally, he didn’t have to, but they were meeting Irons in the sewers. Perfect place to find the slimy rat.

“No! Goddamn it, no! Why? They said Sheena Island was strictly testing and experimentation! That old bastard is moving my Hunter research there without my consent, and now the Tyrants? Mass production on a prototype? Even if they perfect the Epsilon strain, it’s nowhere near ready for cloning!”

“Are you truly all that surprised?” Wesker asked.

“No, I just…” William sighed. “It’s shit like this that tells me Spencer has no plans to put me on the executive board! If I don’t get in there, we’ll never be able to fulfill our plans! And there’s no way in hell I’m bartering the G-Virus for that spot. It’s my legacy, mine to completely control. He’ll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers!”

“Best not tempt fate, old friend.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“At any rate, your tantrum is premature. With those numbers, the Sheena Island facility won’t be operable for any kind of mass production until August at the earliest. The research team on the Epsilon strain knows that the T-002 will be obsolete by the time it is finished. More than likely a new model is being developed and that will be the one they intend to manufacture. We have time to take this knowledge and use it to our advantage later.”

Birkin snorted. Lately Al’s “optimism” gave him anxiety. "Don’t you think we have our fingers in too many pies already? And toes at this rate. We’re wearing ourselves thin, Al. With too many enemies waiting for us to screw up.”

It was a reasonable concern. Sheena Island’s true motives were still mostly top-secret for now, going by this information sent by Alex. Roth must’ve bought this information from this other cohort of his, and was probably trying to haggle deals with Mueller, Lowery, and Bard. As well as Crawford and Finley. William made a mental note to thank Alex for this later. Wesker may have been a member of the Umbrella Intelligence Division as well, but he meticulously watched his dealings, aware of Spencer’s tabs on him. Alex didn’t have this problem, and so was their go-to source of anything they weren’t privy to.

His partner scowled. “That is such an absurd idiom. Regardless, we are committed at this point. Roth still has our stolen data and the plans for Sheena Island directly affects our goals. You admitted it yourself.”

The cable car shook and screeched, sliding to a halt. The light above the door turned green, and the robotic female voice told them to watch their step and have a good day. No, he would certainly not have a good day! He was having to deal with this and was about to meet a big rat in a stinky sewer. Didn’t the stupid voice know that? How insensitive!

“Yeah, I know. Guess we better be careful how we handle this.”

Wesker and William exited the cable car and walked side by side through the sewer facility. There weren’t many workers, but they all gave them a wide berth, keeping their heads down.

Wesker chuckled to himself, but William heard it over the water pumps and machinery.

“What’s so funny?”

“Just acknowledging that your prolonged bout of paranoia has made us change places. I’m usually the one telling you we need to be careful.”

They were both ruthless and ambitious, but Wesker had more patience and control. And although his back-and-forth stints of paranoia did make him more cautious, Will still hadn’t developed the patience or control that his partner had always had.

If only you knew why...what he’s making me do…

William frowned, rubbing his shoulder and quickly cleared his throat. “Well, no wonder you're so optimistic lately, taking after me. Like a little ball of sunshine!"

His partner didn’t respond to that, and William hoped it wasn’t because he had caught his nervous tic. In case he did, he quickly changed the subject. “So, did you get the kind of reaction out of Ada you were expecting?”

“More or less. I’m still annoyed by how you handled it though.”

“Look, you asked me to bring Claire up in a way to get a reaction from Ada to see if your suspicions were right and I did just that! You’re welcome, by the way!”

They reached the monitor room where they were meeting with Chief Irons. William entered first, and the Chief immediately noticed him, an Umbrella mercenary on each side of him. His pudgy eyes squinted testily and he opened his mouth to start his usual complaining. That is, until Wesker entered right behind him. His mouth quickly snapped shut. Ah, the benefits of having Al around!

Irons glanced around the room, his usual air of arrogance belittled and squashed like a bug. But there was nowhere to run in this room, nothing to protect him. He was at their mercy, but the tough-as-nails Irons wouldn’t be one to break so easily.

He half-laughed, half-snorted, attempting to cover his discomfort. “Now this must be a special occasion if you're both here. Rumor has it when you two are together, someone's going to die...or wish they would."

"Well, funny thing about rumors, Brian," William smirked. "There’s always some truth to them."

It was fun seeing the color drain from his face only to completely flush red like a cherry. He glared their way, fists forming tightly at his sides. "Oh yeah? And how exactly am I on you two assholes' shit list today? Considering all I do is cover your goddamn tracks and provide you with security all hours of every fucking day. Wait, don't tell me, you two have a rehearsed good cop, bad cop routine just for me?" He laughed. "No thanks."

Will nudged Albert. "Damn it, he guessed it! Wait, am I bad cop this time? I forget?"

"I'm always bad cop."

"No fair! We should take turns!"

Irons rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Just get to the point of why I'm here. If we're negotiating new deals, it's a bad time. I'm a busy man, after all."

"Funny you should mention that, Chief," Wesker sneered. "We're done negotiating with you."

The Umbrella mercs pulled their guns on the Chief. Irons froze on the spot, eyes bulging and going to the trained weapons, and this time he turned a bit green.

“Listen, Albert...let’s not get too hasty. Let’s talk like gentlemen. I-I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

His resolve was cracking slowly, but William wouldn’t count the bastard out just yet. Irons had grown complacent in his position, taking advantage of anything he could get his grubby hands on. William and Wesker had allowed much of this behavior to slide in the knowledge that Irons would eventually get himself into a bind. And that’s where he was now.

“Of course, Brian. I am a sophisticated man, after all. Take a seat.”

The Chief of Police looked relieved at that and pulled out a chair and sat down. The Umbrella mercenaries stood at his back, guns still aimed to the back of his head. William and Albert sat down across from him.

William slid a sealed yellow envelope across the table to Irons. “Open it and take a good, hard look, Brian.”

Irons wiped his mustache, a little sweat forming on his brow. He slowly opened the envelope and sifted through the contents. Each page he flipped through he grew a shade whiter, until he was pasty like a ghost.

“What the fuck is this?”

William leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. “Oh, I don’t know. You tell us.”

Irons trembled in his chair, both from anger and fear. He flushed again, one fat fist crinkling a page and he quickly stood. “You fucking bastards!”

One merc’s gun barrel pressed into Irons’ skull and he quickly remembered his place. He slowly sat down. He sure was sweating a lot now!

“You put yourself in this situation, Brian,” Wesker stated. “You know I keep tabs on you and yet you got sloppy. Arrogant, too, thinking you’d be able to set me up.”

“Your sick fantasies with the mayor’s daughter will be released to the public. Your replacement has already been chosen. You will die,” William continued.

“No! No, please! We can come to an agreement!”

“There are no more agreements to come to, Brian,” Wesker growled. “Just two choices. You can die like William so eloquently stated or you can sell the remainder of your pathetic soul to our cause.”

And unsurprisingly, the Chief went with the option that kept his sorry ass alive. “Deal! You got it!”

“And just so we’re clear. That -” William motioned to the envelope. “- never goes away. This is your last chance. Next time...well...there won’t be a next time. Just you dead and your dirty secrets exposed for all to see. Never forget how replaceable you are, Brian.”

Irons slowly nodded, guarded. “And exactly what are you two going to want me to do for your “cause”?”

“You will still perform your normal duties for Umbrella, and only report to me,” Wesker explained. “But if William and I tell you to do something, you do it. Even if it goes against your orders from Umbrella.”

“Fine.”

“William will be taking over as your handler. You should thank him. It was my intention to kill you tonight and he convinced me otherwise. If he asks you to perform in the circus, I expect you to clap your flippers and balance that ball without any disinclination. Do I make myself clear?”

Irons ground his jaw and stiffly nodded. “You always do, Albert.”

William sat up a little straighter, a haughty grin spreading. Albert’s protectiveness of him always gave him a feeling of empowerment, feeding his ego, and made a darker part of himself more bold, more ambitious.

“Don’t worry, Brian,” Will said with a fake, friendly smile. “You do a good job and stay on my good side, I always pay really well, way more than Al does.” He added a postscript after seeing the Chief’s interested grin. “Get on my bad side, however, and you’ll be my newest experiment...just ask Lowery.”

The Police Chief’s relief was short-lived. The mention of Lowery’s name struck something in him. He scowled, stiffening once more, looking between the two partners in crime.

“So you two were behind what happened at the university?”

“Oh yes,” William bragged. “Which is partly how we found out about your little attempt to set up Albert.”

“Which brings us to our next order of business, Brian,” Albert added. “Who was with you when you met up with Aaron Roth?”

Irons shook his head, hands on the table, still aware of the guns at his back. “Look, Lowery and Bard paid me to keep their business dealings hush-hush. I think they were trying to coerce Mueller into selling key information on his project in exchange for getting some crucial research going down on some island.”

Will sighed. “Don’t make Al repeat himself, ya idiot.” He snapped his fingers. “His name? Who is he?”

“S-Some bigshot from Europe who works on this island. He’s partners with Roth, buying and selling research within Umbrella and other companies. Goes by Stefan Bennett, but I couldn’t tell you if that’s his real name or not.”

When Will glanced at Al, a subtle flex in his shoulder was all he needed to read him. Bennett wasn't anyone known to them.

"Where are they hiding out?"

Irons shrugged. "Don't know. I'm only being paid for their meetings. Bennett will be at Bard’s annual Christmas party. I don't know if Roth will be there. He acted like he had other plans."

Like selling my research, the bastard...

"Then I suppose a meeting with Nathaniel Bard is in order," Wesker announced, sunglasses glinting under the fluorescents as he looked to William with a dark grin.

William returned his partner's smirk. "Yeah...It's party time."

(photo by IsmaelUchihaSan)

It was the perfect day for Jill to be off, or not have her shift until the evening anyway. Late morning, while Chris was stuck at the RPD, the girls enjoyed a light brunch and lattes at a quaint coffee shop before doing some last minute Christmas shopping.

Claire always enjoyed hanging out with the older woman. They had a lot in common and Claire was always learning something new with her company. She often found herself wondering if her oaf of a brother would ever romantically ask Jill out. It seemed like everyone could see it but them. Then again, perhaps they didn’t pursue their feelings because of their careers. Claire didn’t know the policies of STARS, but there might be restrictions there.

The two of them picked up Claire’s gift she had bought for Chris and took it over to Jill’s house. The box was tall and rectangular, about the size of a small adult. Though bulky, it wasn’t as heavy as it looked, and with each of them on one end, was able to carry it easily into the home.

They were greeted by Jill’s overly affectionate golden retriever, Bella. Claire flopped onto the floor to properly greet the fluffy, blond dog. Jill giggled at the sight.

“Hell of a guard dog, ain’t she?” Jill joked. “She’ll lick you to death.”

Better than getting my throat ripped out by Wesker’s dog…

Claire pushed aside that unpleasant memory and stood back up. Hard to believe that was only a few days ago. Her hand was already a lot better, but her ankle still hurt like a bitch.

They carried the box into Jill’s other bedroom that doubled as an office and home gym. The STARS Alpha member’s house was a three bedroom, two bath. She assumed the third bedroom was a guest room, but Claire wasn’t sure. Chris’s house was a bit bigger, with three bathrooms. They had their own in their bedrooms and then the guest bathroom in the hallway.

“Thanks for keeping this here for a bit, Jill.”

“No problem. I guess my home is the popular choice to hide gifts. Chris has yours here as well. I’m just waiting for Barry to ask to keep the girls’ gifts here, as if they don’t have enough space in that big house of theirs.”

“Well, you know how Moira is. She gets into everything. They can’t hide any gifts from her! She’s gonna be a handful as a teenager!”

They laughed and returned to the living room, Bella trailing behind them. Jill fetched them some water and the girls took a load off on the sofas.

“The punching bag was a good thought,” Jill declared. “I know Chris has been wanting one.”

Claire nodded, smiling as she watched Bella carry around her favorite plush duck toy. “Yeah. He’s been really wanting to start bulking up more. Although when we were playing on his guitar last night, I realized he needs a new toolkit for it. So I might have to go pick up one of those as well.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot you play too. Why haven’t I got to see you play yet? I’ve watched Chris lots of times.”

Claire shrugged. “I guess we just never think about it when I'm visiting.” The Redfield siblings didn’t mind playing guitar in front of others, but they cherished playing together, reciting notes and melodies their father had played for them when they were young. “Chris told me you played piano? I need to see that!”

Claire didn’t get the piano at all. That was entirely different from the guitar.

Jill softly laughed. “Yeah. It’s ingrained from childhood. Had the meanest instructor ever. Chris jokes that playing the piano won’t ever do me any good, and suggests I learn something else.”

“He’s just jealous,” Claire joked.

Jill laughed at that. “He totally is. You know, I’m happy you two reconciled so quickly. Chris can be so stubborn sometimes.”

“He can be, but I’m not one to talk. Whatever you said to him, it must’ve worked. So thank you for that. I know he’s just trying to look out for me, but it gets old. I’m an adult and can take care of myself.”

The older woman furrowed her brows and shook her head. “It wasn’t me.”

“Huh? It wasn’t?”

“No, it was the Captain.”

Her heart flipped, twisting her lungs to where she choked on air before she could take a drink of her water. It took all in Claire’s power to keep a straight face and feign something catching in her throat. “I’m sorry?”

“The fight you two had upset Chris a lot, affected his performance when we were doing some training. I guess Wesker picked up on it. Apparently, they took a long lunch together, and the Captain helped Chris get his head straight. At least, that’s what Chris told me later.”

Claire was completely freaked out by that information but hid it, wiping her suddenly clammy hands on her pants. She drank half of her water in one gulp and squeezed the bottle so hard it crumpled in the middle.

“O-Oh, I figured it was you.”

“Not this time,” Jill answered. “But it wasn’t without a lack of trying. He just didn’t listen. Not until he had gone too far anyway, the ass. At least Wesker got through to him.”

“Yeah…” she cleared her throat and stood up. “Well, I should get going. I don’t want to take up all of your free time and I have some studying to do. Thanks for helping me pick that up and letting me hide it here.”

It was partially true. Claire didn’t want to take up all of Jill’s day off before she had to go in for night shift. But mostly the recent news had unsettled her and she needed to gather her thoughts on the matter.

Jill smiled, nodding as she patted Bella on the head as the retriever’s big brown eyes stared up at Claire with that duck still in her mouth, tail thumping hard on the hardwood floor.

“No problem, Claire.”

“Stay safe tonight, Jill.”

“You’re not on the schedule...again.”

Ada sighed, crossing her arms and looking at the guard like he was stupid. He was. “I know that. But that won’t matter. William will still see me.”

The guard shifted uncomfortably, studying her suspiciously and then glancing at his list again. “Dr. Birkin is an extremely busy man. He’s been doing important tests all day and asked me to not allow anyone but Mrs. Dr. Birkin and Dr. Wesker entry. I’m sorry, ma’am.”

“I’m here on behalf of Albert. He’s busy at the police department currently. Just give him a ring and you’ll see.”

The guard hesitated, thinking and unsure. Clearly, he was scared to disturb his boss in the middle of his important work.

Ada smiled flirtatiously at him. “C’mon, Johnny. Help a girl out? It’s important.” She winked.

Johnny sighed. “Oh, alright.” He put a hand to his headset. “Dr. Birkin? I’m sorry to bother you, but Ms. Wong insists on seeing you. She says she’s here on behalf of Dr. Wesker.”

The spy didn’t miss how the camera up in the corner of the hallway turned down their way, aiming the attached machine gun right on their faces, blinking red light a far deadlier version of Candid Camera.

“Yes, sir. I understand. Will do,” Johnny said into his headpiece. He nodded at Ada and stepped aside. “You may enter. But please, keep it short. He has much to do.”

Ada waved him off. “Thanks, Johnny.”

She went through the automatic door, was sprayed down again, and strolled through the large, multi-room laboratory. She turned a corner, saw bright yellow and outstretched arms, and, on reflex, kicked the thing away from her.

“Ow!” came a muffled voice.

“Will, you idiot. Don’t sneak up on me like that,” Ada snapped.

The mad scientist pulled the hazmat suit’s helmet off, waddling over to the nearby safety station to strip it off and hang it up.

“I think that’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to scaring you!” William laughed.

Ada crossed her arms, glaring at him. “You didn’t scare me. You didn’t even startle me. You mildly annoyed me.”

“Ugh, you sound like Al. One day I will scare him. It’s on my bucket list. It might get me killed, but imma do it!”

The spy shook her head. “I don’t know about you sometimes.”

Birkin seemed extra...quirky today. He had an extra bounce in his step, grinning, humming as he left the safety station to his main desk. That’s when Ada noticed numerous empty energy drink cans and half a cup of cold, forgotten black coffee.

“How many of these have you had?” He did kind of look like one of those zombies Ada had seen being dissected in the Arklay lab, pale skin and dark circles under his eyes.

“Uhh…” he pondered, counting on his fingers as he twitched and quivered restlessly. “Five? I think?” He flopped down in his chair, shifting it side to side.

Ada leaned against his desk, glancing at the disorganized paperwork strewn about. Her sharp eyes caught many interesting and familiar things: G-Virus, Plant 43, Hunter Beta, Cerberus, NE-Alpha parasite, Lisa Trevor, T-Virus Epsilon. Then her eyes caught the interesting things that she had only seen once and was curious to find out more, now with associated words that intrigued her further: Prototype Virus, Project W, eugenics research, Progenitor, Ndipaya.

She had only a few seconds of absorbing these words before William snatched up the two papers that had anything on it. She watched him open his safe and put them inside, only accessible with a scan of his hand.

Ada acted like none of it interested her. “Five, huh? And how long have you been up, exactly? You look like shit. You smell like shit.”

William lifted his shirt and smelled. “I don’t know, when did Al and I go talk with Irons?"

“That was yesterday morning.”

“Oh...shit. Well, it’s been over 24 hours then.”

“I can tell.”

“So, how’d it go with Mueller?”

“As well as you’d expect. I’ve already relayed the info to Albert. Mueller won’t be a problem. In fact, he’s willing to help if it gets rid of Roth. I guess he feels scammed by the trade.”

William smirked, still swiveling slightly side to side in his chair. “I bet he does. Well, with Lowery no longer having a tongue and Irons and Bard put in their places, looks like we might be able to wrap this up by Christmas!”

Ada rapped her nails on the desk, frowning. “Albert told me the plan. Look, between you and me, I gotta ask...what’s the deal with him and Claire?”

Will chuckled. “What’s wrong? You jealous?”

“In your dreams. It’s just that...I mean, I don’t know the girl,” she lied. “But I thought he was just using her to get to Roth. Why have a fling with her? He doesn’t do that...at least not with just anyone.”

“You sure are a curious little kitty,” William half-joked, half-warned, leaning back in his chair. “What are you hoping to use this knowledge for?”

Ugh, she hated when he was an asshole. Then again, he was protecting Albert and so she should’ve known better. The spy sighed. “Fine. I’m just a little worried about Claire, alright? Can you blame me?”

She knew how Wesker worked. Claire was in way over her head. Didn’t matter how smart and strong she was. Despite being his type, she was still different than most and he did seem to have some kind of soft spot for her. And that is what both bothered and intrigued Ada.

“It’s not like you to worry about others like that. And I can blame you, actually. You got yourself tangled with Al. That’s on you.”

Ada bit her tongue. This wasn’t about her. “And poor Claire got tangled out of her control. C’mon, Will. I’ve helped you two a lot recently. Throw me a bone here. I deserve something in return.”

Will kept a straight face, thinking it over. Ada glared at him. Finally, the Golgotha creator grinned widely and leaned forward. Ada recognized the child-like delight, and knew he was about to spill the beans.

“Alright, alright! I think he has feelings for her.”

Ada laughed skeptically. “Whatever, Will! Tell me for real.”

She had to admit, she had thought something similar a few days ago when she spied Wesker nearly pinning Claire against his car. But she soon dismissed it. He definitely liked her and was attracted to her…but had feelings for her?! That was a little hard to believe.

“I do! He is obsessed, I’m telling you. The girl would’ve been dead a long time now had it been anyone else. He’s given her more chances than I’ve ever seen. He had the chance to pop her brother in the back without anyone knowing and didn’t do it! I don’t think he knows it himself, or he purposely keeps himself in denial, but...there’s something about her.”

Ada frowned, thinking it over. William had a point. All of Claire’s stunts to try and fight Albert should have ended with her dead a long time ago. And how her brother had been getting suspicious and snooping around, well, it should have ended the same with him by now.

“You think she reminds him of Anezka?” Ada asked.

Was that her name? Ada couldn’t really remember. She wasn’t around back then and had only heard all the different stories when she came here a couple of years ago.

“Nah...I mean they’re both redheads and feisty, but I don’t think that’s it. Anna jilted him, and besides being a little touchy over it, he’s moved on.”

“Is that really what happened?”

William shrugged. “I guess? No one really knows...not even Al.”

Ada wished she had been a fly on that wall when Anezka was still around. So many rumors and gossip about what happened. She practically disappeared, as though she was only a dream. But Albert remembered...resentfully. Ada knew him well enough that it wasn’t just his ego that got hurt. He actually had cared for her, and he hated that he did.

“Well, Albert’s given Claire all these chances to let her live. You think he will let her go when Roth is dealt with, as he has promised her?”

William scowled, leaning back in his chair. “What do you think?”

The double agent had no idea why, but her heart sank a little. As if she was hoping for something she knew better of. And here she thought her line of work had snuffed out all remaining optimism in her life.

“He won’t kill her. I guarantee it,” William boasted. “As obsessed and possessive he already is of her, she’s stuck. There will be conditions he gives her. I’m sure you know what those would be.”

“You sound happy about that,” Ada pointed out.

He shrugged, but the slight upcurve of his lips gave him away. “I like the girl. Sherry adores her. She’s proven to be quite resourceful and clever. She’ll be handy to have around. Besides, if Al actually has feelings for her, I gotta see where it goes! The geneticist in me really hopes he knocks her up.”

It may have sounded like a dark joke, but Ada knew the lunatic genius was dead serious. “I’m really disturbed by how obsessed you are with your best friend’s love and sex life.”

“I’m just looking out for him!”

Ada would never understand Wesker and William’s relationship. One of life’s greatest mysteries. But what was also another mystery still was why Wesker had feelings for Claire.

Was she the next Anezka?

She parked right down the road. It was already nearly dark, but at least the temperature hadn’t dropped too much. Claire stuck to the recently salted sidewalks, hands stuffed in her parka. Her heart pounded in her throat, and her mind raced with what he could want this time.

Wesker called her while she was waiting for Chris to get off work, summoning her to his house for an “important discussion”. She was anxious for two reasons. One, the last time she saw Wesker just a couple nights ago, they had sex. And two, after learning from Jill that Wesker was the one who dealt with Chris, she wasn’t sure what that meant for her or her brother.

She was queasy, butterflies in her stomach, but she wasn’t about to lose her cool. More than anything, she feared her body would betray her once more, a dark excitement coursing through her blood.

Upon reaching Wesker’s house, Claire spotted a vehicle she didn’t recognize in his driveway. She didn’t get too close to it, but it looked like a ruby-colored Porsche Boxster. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or not about not being alone with the STARS Captain, but she took a deep breath and rang the doorbell anyway.

After a minute of silence, anticipation eating at her, the door opened. Her heart skipped when those familiar grey-blue eyes and dark smirk greeted her. Her stomach twisted, but Claire couldn’t tell whether it was from disgust or excitement.

“Good evening, Claire,” he purred. He stepped aside to allow her entry. “Please do come in. I don’t want you catching a cold.”

She rolled her eyes and stepped inside. “Thanks.”

He shut the door while she looked around. Odin padded over and sniffed her, docked tail wagging slightly. But she didn’t see anyone who could’ve owned the car outside.

Wesker’s hands brushed up her back. The bad thing was Claire realized she didn’t blench this time. No, this time she shivered in pleasure. She inwardly scolded herself as he took her coat off to hang by the door.

“We have much to discuss, dear heart,” he said, one muscular arm locking around her waist and pulling her deeper inside the house.

That’s when the younger Redfield saw a familiar face come into the living room from the kitchen, carrying a full glass of red wine. She nearly blurted Ada’s name, surprised, but quickly bit her tongue, hiding any reaction. Wesker didn’t know that she and Ada had already met personally. And it needed to stay that way.

“I sure hope you weren’t saving that malbec wine for a special occasion, Albert. I helped myself,” Ada said. When her eyes landed on Claire, she was the perfect actress. There was no recognition, no subtle signs given to Claire. “Is this her?”

“The one and only,” Wesker affirmed.

Ada took a long sip of her wine and sat it down on a coaster on the center table before walking over to them. Wesker stepped away while the double agent looked Claire over, one arm crossed and one hand on her chin as she thought. She walked around Claire and even grabbed her arms and lifted them and spun her around.

“Hmm...Yes, I can definitely work with this.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Claire grumbled. Ada spun her around again and grabbed at her hair. “Hey! What’s the big idea?!”

“Hold still, hun.”

Ada withdrew a tailor tape measurer. She measured Claire’s waist, chest, and height, even her arms and legs. Afterwards, she yanked Claire’s ponytail out and felt through her tresses.

“What are you doing?” Claire snapped.

“Taking measurements,” Ada replied. “Trying to figure out what to do with your hair.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain later,” Wesker stated. His Doberman sat at his side, head cocked curiously as Ada got handsy with her measurements.

“Okay, finished,” Ada announced, rolling up her tape and putting it in her pocket. She retrieved her wine and took another drink. “I’ll have something ready by tomorrow.”

“What ready?” Claire demanded. “What’s going on?”

Wesker’s lips barely curled upward. “Oh, where are my manners? Claire, this is an associate of mine, Ada Wong. She originally was to pick you up at the university. Ada, you know Claire, I’ve told you all about her.”

The Eurasian beauty dipped her head. “Charmed.” Still completely in character, although Claire now saw something subtle in her eyes as she stared at Claire. Perhaps a warning? Or just acknowledgement?

“You too...I guess,” Claire said.

Wesker chuckled, catching their attention. “You do not have to pretend to be strangers on my account, ladies. I know you’re well acquainted.”

Claire ground her jaw, glaring at him. Ada didn’t even flinch, expressionless. Taking another sip of her wine, she shrugged.

“Can’t pull the wool over your eyes, can I Albert?”

“Oh come now, Ada, don’t be that way,” Wesker teased. He obviously sensed something from her that Claire didn’t. He stepped around the agent’s back and, besides her tensing barely, she didn’t look disconcerted. “You knew the risks when you decided to meet Claire behind my back.”

Ada didn’t say anything to that. Wesker’s dark grin grew a bit more.

“I’m quite curious of your intentions. You’re not the jealous type. And you’re not one to have concern for others. So why so curious about Claire? I know this has nothing to do with what Sergei asked of you.”

Jealous type? Claire glanced between them, not sure what kind of undertones she was reading here. She was missing something, that’s for sure. She could only infer that Wesker was gauging Ada for something.

“I was just curious what you saw in her, I guess,” Ada dismissed calmly.

Cool under pressure. Just like the man testing her.

“And did you figure it out?”

Ada’s eyes locked with Claire’s. “I think so.”

Wesker’s soft chuckle told them he didn’t believe her one bit. “You and William should give up trying to find something that isn’t there.”

Ada didn’t have to say anything. Her smile told it all. She was pleased somehow, as though she read deeper into Wesker’s words somehow. Claire wished she would tell her the secret. And also shake this weird feeling in her chest.

“Am I going to get filled in here on why she needed to take my measurements?” Claire grumbled.

“Yes, my apologies,” Wesker admitted, his full attention on her now, and the younger woman regretted saying anything. “Ada, you may go now. I’ll fill Claire in…” He smirked.

Oh god. Did he just…? Her stomach pitched and rolled. She knew what would happen once Ada left them alone. In his house. It was an instant body verses mind battle.

Ada shrugged and walked away. Claire never wanted someone to stay and leave all at once before. But the Eurasian woman plopped down on one of the leather sofas instead, resuming drinking her wine. Odin left his master’s side to plant himself in front of her, as if expecting Ada to give him attention now that she was sitting down. Claire released a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

Wesker scowled. “Or…make yourself at home.”

“I will,” Ada answered nonchalantly. “I’m not about to let this delicious wine go to waste.” She made a show of swishing the red liquid around in her glass. The wine complimented her burgundy fingernails.

Claire caught the agent’s honey brown eyes as she looked right at her while sipping from her lipstick-stained glass, a coded message for her. You’re welcome…

Claire swallowed mixed feelings and glared at the STARS Captain. “So what exactly are you making me do this time?”

“Relax dear heart, it’s nothing you’re a stranger to. We’re going to attend a party.”

His stereotypical college girl jab aside, it sounded easy enough. But Claire knew better. Whatever kind of party it was, with Wesker involved, there would be danger, deception, and death at every angle…

Claire stared at the mirror, stunned. She wasn’t one to get dressed up, not this fancy anyway. Her red-brown hair was pulled up into messy curls with a few tresses hanging around her face. She had more make-up on than what she was used to. The jade-colored halter dress complimented her hair, eyes, and heels. She was only in the shoes for less than half an hour and her feet were already cramping. How did women wear these things all day?

The two assistants Ada had helping her with Claire were finally finished and departed from the big, spotless, and up-to-date bathroom. They were in Wesker’s living quarters in NEST. The younger Redfield tried not to think about what happened the last time she was here. Wesker and William awaited them in the very same room where she and Wesker fornicated, only having arrived a bit ago while Claire was still being made over.

Ada looked her over one last time, one final judgment for approval. Claire didn’t say anything. She really wanted out of this bathroom, but at the same time, she wasn’t ready for the next step.

Apparently, the crooked STARS Captain had meticulously planned tonight. Chris and Jill were working graveyard shifts while he was off and Claire had to tell her brother that she might would have to stay the night at William’s house babysitting Sherry if her parents had to work all night. All the chess pieces were in place so far. Bard’s Christmas party would last well into the night, and depending on how it played out, they might be there awhile. She could only hope nothing went wrong and would get to return home tonight.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Claire. There’s no doubt about that,” Ada said finally.

“T-Thanks.” She wasn’t expecting a compliment from the older woman.

She looked in the mirror again, distracted. This was a little too much for her, but she had to blend in with the other guests at the party.

“I won’t be surprised if Albert takes you home with him tonight after the party.”

Claire blushed, taken off guard, a near panic in her chest only broken by blood rushing like electricity through her veins. She turned to the double agent, holding her breath. Ada sounded so sure as she looked Claire over. As if she knew something the younger Redfield didn’t. Surely, Ada didn’t know…

“I know what happened between you two,” Ada admitted, reading her mind.

“He,” Claire started to blame her captor, but stopped. Could she honestly say it knowing she had decided to do it? Wesker may have manipulated her into wanting to, but she still chose it all her own, no matter how much she wanted to deny it.

“He what?”

She shook her head. “…Nothing.”

“I told you he always gets what he wants, didn’t I? He’ll make you want it, too. That tongue of his is far more deadly than any weapon he has on him. You have no idea how way in over your head you are, Claire.”

The college student glared at the Eurasian beauty. Was she serious right now?! “You’ve got it all wrong! It was just a one time fling. And as far as the rest of my situation goes, I think I’ve been doing pretty damn good considering!”

Ada sighed. “You’re clever, strong, and resourceful. You’ve handled yourself impressively this past week, but that’s partly why Albert’s so infatuated with you.”

Claire frowned, not sure what to say to that.

“Albert’s hardwired to manipulate and take advantage of anyone and anything he can. You give him an inch and he’ll hook his claws so deep in you, there’s no escape. You gave him way more than that.”

“So what? I’m trapped forever now? Is that what you’re saying?” Dread seized in her chest.

Ada looked to the door, as if suddenly paranoid Wesker and William could be listening in and slightly lowered her voice. “I don’t know. Look…yes, he’s using you to take care of Roth in exchange for your freedom, but William and I suspect that Albert may have developed…”

“What?” Claire urged when the agent trailed off.

Ada quickly shook her head, frowning. “Never mind. Just…keep your head. Do what you must to get Roth where Albert wants him for you and your brother’s freedom. Albert’s got a soft spot for you, he’ll likely keep his word if you’re good. As far as this affair is concerned, I cannot help you. That’s your business. My only advice is that you be careful.”

Soft spot? Where the hell was she getting that? There was nothing soft about that man. Then again, she and William, two people who knew Wesker best, kept saying that, so it had to be true to some degree.

Claire wanted to tell Ada that there wasn’t an “affair”. It was a one time slip up, a mistake, it wouldn’t happen ever again. But she couldn’t even believe herself, so there was no way she would convince the double agent.

“Ok…thank you, Ada. For everything.”

Ada exhaled through a small frown. “Don’t thank me just yet…” She turned, walking for the door and motioning for the younger Redfield to follow her. “C’mon, we have a party to get to.”

Claire inhaled deeply, gathering herself, and followed her out of the bathroom. They came into the den, where Wesker and William sat across from each other on the leather sofas talking. They were dressed in posh black suits. Claire berated herself for goggling Wesker. The bastard was so damn attractive anyway, but that suit was hot! She couldn’t believe how much it actually affected her seeing him in that outfit.

The men noticed them and stood up, but their eyes immediately went to Claire. She suddently felt exposed. William’s jaw dropped and he ogled too. The smirk that slowly grew on Wesker’s face as he took off his sunglasses to look Claire over was wicked. More so, it was hungry. He popped William’s mouth shut without taking his eyes off of Claire and closed in like a predator about to sink its teeth into its coveted prey. His eyes entrapped her, an instant, breath-taking spell, and then she was hungry too, felt it spreading through every inch of her body like wildfire.

Ada was right…Wesker would be taking her home with him tonight. And nothing was going to stop him.

[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

Thank U, Next | Poe Dameron x Reader (1/2)

Prompt: High School AU

Fandom: Star Wars (Sequel Trilogy)

Words: 2791

Warning: Mentions past Armitage Hux x Reader, Ben Solo x Reader, Finn x Reader, and current background Finn x Rey.

A/N: I’m super late with the last three Writer’s Month prompts, but I ended up making this one longer than intended, like many of my fics, lol. Inspiration from the song Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande.

-

How long has it been since you’ve moved away from your hometown? Too long, apparently. There were some stores that closed down with new ones taking their place, buildings renovated and even a new road was added to cut travel time. Everything felt familiar to you, but also distant. You were born and raised here, but this was no longer your home.

When that invite for your high school reunion arrived at your apartment in the city, you debated whether you should go back. You had a lot of bittersweet memories there, but you were curious of what happened to your classmates. You’ve changed a lot since you graduated from high school and you hoped that certain people had changed for the better as well.

You went a week before the reunion, staying in a spare room of your mother’s new house. It was spacious and homely, filled with everything that your mother had always wanted, including a garden and a greenhouse in the backyard. Your parents had divorced a year after you graduated, something that had been a long time coming and they still remain friends. You could sense a heavyweight leaving your mother’s shoulders when the paperwork went through and you had helped her move out.

Throughout the week, you got situated in the spare room, making it your own for the times that you plan on visiting, as well as helping out with the garden. You always wanted one growing up, but your father was against the idea, claiming that it was too much maintenance that he didn’t want to do. It was peaceful in the backyard with fairy lights hanging around the patio. Oftentimes, you and your mother would drink a warm beverage and talk on the patio, catching up with each other and reminiscing. She had heard that some of your classmates stayed, some went to the military, and some even she hadn’t heard about in a while.

-

You were lounging in the backyard, reading an old book that you had in high school when an orange tabby hopped the fence and meowed. You bookmarked your page and sat up, seeing the orange tabby sit a few feet ahead of you, licking their paw.

“Hey, there, little one,” you said, reaching a hand out.

The tabby paused their cleaning, tentatively leaning forward to sniff your hand. When they realized you were good people, they rubbed against your palm and stepped towards you. Once they got closer, you realized the cat was female, her name tag reading Millicent Hux. Huh, you knew a Hux in high school. You had a crush on him for a year, and you remembered the whole school found out and he never spoke to you again because of all the teasing.

“Excuse me!” someone called out.

You turned away from Millicent and saw a tall and pale ginger man waving from the other side of the fence. He paused his waving when it registered just who he was waving to. You stood up with Millicent in your arms and made your way towards the fence.

“Armitage?” you asked in disbelief.

He smiled. “Yeah, that’s me. Lanky Armi,” he said with a shrug, “I didn’t know you were in town. Here for the reunion?”

“Yeah. I assume this is your cat,” you said, raising Millicent up.

“Yeah, I was about to take her out to the vet when she ran out of her carrier. Thank god she ended up here instead of hanging out by the road.” He grabbed Millicent from you, carrying her like a baby. “You look good.”

“You, too.”

He scoffed, shrugging off the compliment. “Still lanky and pale.”

“Are you going, too?”

He nodded. “I’ve seen a few of our classmates that had arrived earlier this week,” he said, hesitating to continue, “I, uh, saw Ben, too.”

“Oh,” you said, surprised.

From the way that Armitage said that, it meant that he knew or at least had an idea of what happened between you and Ben. They were close friends, after all. You never painted Ben as someone that cared for such gatherings. Sentimentality wasn’t his best trait. You weren’t sure how to feel about his presence in town.

Armitage cleared his throat, regretting about saying anything. “Well, I’ll see you around, then. Would love to stay and catch up, but this one needs her shots.”

“Alright, it was nice seeing you again, Armi,” you said, smiling, “And nice to meet you, too, Millicent.”

You walked back to your reading spot and sighed. Given the size of this town, you were surprised you hadn’t ran into anyone from school before now, and it was a pleasant surprise. Armitage was always tall and lanky, but he looked more mature and had a more lean build. He had always been a good kid, he was just easily influenced by others around him and you were disappointed that he had succumbed to it. He seemed to have gotten over that and you were glad that you could talk like friends, possibly making up for lost time. There was a classmate or two that you had ran into as adults that still maintained their immature personalities from school. You wondered how everyone else turned out.

-

Your mother had gone on a cooking spree on the first two days you were there and needed to restock the fridge. You volunteered to go grocery shopping but had to use google maps to find the address that the store had relocated to. Once there, the layout was relatively the same, just in a slightly bigger space.

While looking for a specific cereal brand that your mother insisted on eating, you heard someone clear his throat nearby. You wordless moved to the side, thinking you were in the way of something. You heard a soft chuckle before he spoke.

“(Y/n),” he said.

Your head shot up and you were met with a grinning Finn. “Oh, my god! Hi, how are you?” you asked excitedly.

“I’m good. Real good,” he said, pulling you into a hug. It was then you noticed a young woman around your age standing next to him with a sweet smile that showed off her dimples. “Rey, this is my old friend (Y/n). (Y/n), this is my fiancee, Rey.”

“Nice to meet you,” you said, turning to Rey.

She pulled you into another hug. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Finn told me a lot about his time at high school. He only has good things to say about you.”

“Well, that’s nice of him,” you said, raising an eyebrow at Finn.

He shrugged, wrapping an arm around Rey. “What can I say? I’m a nice guy.”

“I expect to hear all the embarrassing stories of him,” Rey whispered to you.

You smiled and said, “Oh, I have an arsonal full of those. Maybe we can meet up later. I’ve gotta get these groceries back to my mom first.”

Finn looks down at your cart, seeing beef, tomato sauce, vegetables, and other miscellaneous items. His eyes widened in excitement. “Is your mom making her famous beef stew?”

“Hell yeah!”

He groaned, thinking back to those times he used to come over your house for dinner and that first time he tried your mother’s beef stew. Ever since then, he always requested that she make it, or at least pack a container that he could take home and share with his family who loved it as well. His father would joke that two of you should get married once you two graduate, but marriage had never been a priority for you, and Finn knew that. You had different ideas of the future and respected the other’s decision for it, which was why your breakup was amicable and the two of you remained friendly and supportive of each other. 

“I’ll see if my mom can pack some for you and Rey,” you said as you walked towards your cart.

Finn grinned, patting you on the shoulder. “I knew I could count on you. Rey, you gotta try it! It’s so good.”

“Alright, I look forward to it,” Rey said, “It was nice meeting you.”

“You, too,” you said, then asked Finn, “Are you staying over at your parent’s house?”

“Yeah, same house, too. I’ll be showing Rey around for the rest of the week, but you can stop by anytime to see my folks. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you,” Finn said.

“Alright. I’ll see you when I see you, then,” you said before walking away.

You smiled to yourself as you left, having seen the way that they spoke and looked at each other. Their happiness was infectious and you couldn’t help but be happy for them. Your worries that you had before coming back slowly seeped away after pleasantly running into Armitage and Finn. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. You’re all adults now, surely it won’t be like that Romi and Michelle movie, though flying away in a helicopter looked pretty cool.

-

The park that you used to frequent seemed to have an upgrade with an added baseball field, more restroom facilities, an area with exercise equipment, and even a water fountain near the clearing away from the fields. You sat near the water fountain where there were painted picnic tables shaded by trees, a new journal and fountain pen sat in front of you as you brushed off the leaves from the table.

With your headphones on, you tried to get back into the writing zone that you’ve been hoping that your trip back to your hometown would help you with. When you left town, you went off to pursue your writing career, entering writing contests and having short stories published. Your new goal was to finish a novel. You would always start a story, but always got stuck on something and never finished it. Writing contests and published short stories could only get you so far and unless you wanted to keep churning out new short stories at a time, hoping that they’ll get through and be published, just to pay your bills, you needed to finish that novel.

You started small, writing down ideas, hoping that visually having them on the page instead of floating in your mind would help. Then, you took some of those ideas and jotted down plot points that the story could have. You continued this until you got into the flow of writing a rough draft for one of them.

Your timer went off, reminding you to head back home before it got dark. You finished your last thought before capping your pen and packing your things away. The sun hung low in the sky, a cool breeze rustling the trees, making you wish you brought a light jacket.

You got to your old car, you tried to open the backseat door that wouldn’t budge. It had always caused you problems like this, but you kept it because it at least got you where you needed to go. You sighed, yanking the door handle again before giving up. After years of forcing that door open, the handle looked like it was going to fall off.

“Still haven’t fixed that door, I see,” a voice said with amusement.

You turned to face the source of the voice and froze. Poe freaking Dameron stood in front of you, dressed in gray sweats with his military camp printed on the front and the side, dark spots stained near his armpits and his neck from sweat. He became impossibly more handsome since the last time you’ve seen him. He gave you a wide smile, one that made many of your fellow classmates swoon in infatuation at him and glare in envy at you, showing you the Poe you knew from school.

He briefly turned to open the backseat of his truck, taking out a hand towel to wipe himself down. “Back in town for the reunion?” he asked.

“Yeah. You, too?”

He nodded. “Everyone’s happy that I’m finally taking time off that’s more than two to three days. Apparently I’m a workaholic? Don’t know why,” he said with a shrug.

You raised an eyebrow. He definitely knew why. For as long as you’ve known him, once he got into something, he put his all into it. Joining a sports team? He’d practice during any free time that he had and become an mvp or team captain. Getting into music? He’d started a band that played during homecoming week and at school events. He even composed and wrote his own songs. It was his strongest and weakest trait. You loved his passion, but that passion would sometimes make him forget everything else.

“Huh, what’s your new obsession now?” you asked, leaning against your car.

Poe mirrored you with his truck as he wiped excess sweat from his hair. “Flying… it’s something that I picked up when I was in the military,” he said.

“Oh,” you said, looking down before clearing your throat to try and appear unphased, “What kind of flying?”

“After I left the military, I missed flying and travelling, so I got into doing helicopter tours in a few countries. Just a couple of years ago, I started to fly commercial airplanes. There’s a whole process with that one, but it was worth it.”

“That sounds cool. I know you’ve always wanted to fly those airplanes,” you said.

He nodded. “Yeah, funny how life works, right? You plan something, you end up doing something else, but if it was meant to be, you somehow end up where you had always wanted to go.”

“Yeah, I’m still waiting for that to happen to me,” you muttered.

“You got published, though,” he pointed out, “They’re short stories, but it’s a start. Your writing is amazing, (Y/n). I know you’ll get there.”

The corner of your lips turned up. There goes his award winning pep talks again. You didn’t know that he was even aware of the work that you’ve done. It didn’t do much for you personally, but you were glad that he hadn’t changed too much,

“Thanks, Poe,” you said, opening your driver’s seat door.

“Hey, can I say something before you go?” he asked before you could climb into your car. You paused, turning to face him. “Look, I know I should have told you that I enlisted, but I don’t regret going. I only wished that we had the chance to work it out, maybe take you with me if I could, if you wanted to. Or at the very least, parted on better terms.”

You avoided his eyes as you tried to find the right words to say. There were so many things you wished you had said on the day he told you about his enlistment. It was all too late to bring them up now. It wasn’t going to change the fact that you two broke up over it. You should at least clear the air, so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings, though, but you were stubborn. You never wanted to admit it, but while your break up with Finn had been easy and painless, breaking up with Poe was one of the hardest things you had to go through.

“I… I understood why you did it,” you said, “And I should have stopped to think about your perspective instead of getting angry and I’m sorry. It’s my fault that we ended things like that.”

Poe sighed, knowing that there was more that you wanted to say. Another thing that you loved and hated about him was his ability to read you. When there was no reply from him, you climbed in your car, shutting the door harder than you intended. While you were turning the engine on and fiddling with the radio, Poe stepped closer, leaning a hand on the roof of your car.

“Could we meet somewhere?” he asked softly, “You know, just to catch up?”

You leaned back in your seat, drumming your fingers on the steering wheel. “I’m running some errands tomorrow. Does lunch at the usual diner work for you?”

Poe smiled. “Sure, yeah. I’ll meet you there tomorrow, then.”

That night, you sat on your bed, wondering why your heart was racing while thinking about tomorrow. It had been so long since you and Poe sat down and talked. Meeting him tomorrow meant that you would have to eventually address all the things that were left unsaid, all the questions that were left unanswered, and all the things that had happened after going your separate ways. You doubt that the two of you could start over, given your different career paths, but maybe you could at least be on speaking terms.

[zamoimagines]

Sarah’s Characters and What Kind of Pets They Would Have

A/N: Had this in my drafts for a while! hope you guys like it

Billie Dean Howard

Knowing Billie and her spiritual intuitions, she would probably have an animal that can alert her when spirits are near. Cats are known for their protection properties (especially when it comes to evil entities). She’d own a female Himalayan that would come from a famous, expensive breeder. Her cat would be spoiled rotten and would be very partial to Billie. The cat would always travel with her. Whenever she sensed something in the room with her, the cat would hiss in the direction before jumping up to sit right next to Billie. Her cat even gets little clips in her show since she’s such a good spirit hunter. 

Lana Winters

Lana needs a pet that’s protective and loyal since she had such bad PTSD from Briarcliff and Dr. Thredson. She’d probably go to a local animal shelter to get a dog. The owners warned her about one specific dog, an old german shepherd with one eye. They told her that he had some trauma because he was abused. Apparently, he had bitten every worker there. Being the brave soul she was, Lana asked to meet him. The dog would be really aggressive at first. Lana talked him down and eventually got to pet him. He was just misunderstood. So she took him home and they soon became best friends. He wouldn’t leave her side because since she saved him, he wanted to make sure he was there for her. He would go everywhere she went and would only be nice to the people she loved.

Cordelia Goode

Cordelia is relatively laid back, for the most part, so she wouldn’t want a high energy pet. She’d want something cuddly and loving (just like her!). Cordelia would’ve found a lost bunny in the middle of the yard. No siblings, no mother, nowhere to go. A little tricolored holland lop bunny. She had no idea where the little girl came from, but she definitely wasn’t wild. So, the Supreme took her in herself. As the years went on, the bunny bonded completely with her. She wanders the halls of the academy and loves all the girls that attend. When Cordelia was done with work for the day, the bunny would hop up to her office and sniff at her feet. They would then retire to her bedroom and cuddle until bedtime. 

Bette and Dot Tattler

Working at the circus got pretty chaotic at times, so they would need a smart, independent pet. Bette would constantly beg Dot to get a pet even though she knew Dot would always tell her no. One day, they heard a strange cooing noise coming from behind their tent. A duck was stuck in the middle of the ropes. Bette convinced her sister to help save it and he was free. But the duck began to follow them everywhere. Bette thought he was the cutest little thing. Dot loathed him immensely. He started coming in their tent and sitting next to them while they slept and followed them around the grounds of the camp. Dot slowly grew more in love with him as time passed on and even knitted him little sweaters for when it got colder outside. Bette would shower him with kisses and bought him a big bucket for their tent so he could swim whenever he wanted. 

Sally McKenna

Sally has a lot of time on her hands and she loves everything exotic. She would also need something chill enough to handle her intense mood swings. In her room would be a large tank with a huge, orange bearded dragon inside. He was all alone at the pet store, just like her, and she demanded someone to buy him for her. So Iris went and got him for Sally and she fell in love with him instantly. She spends many late nights talking to him about people she loathes, she takes many pictures with him and feeds him only the vegetables he likes. She collects crickets from the basement to feed to him as well. Sally can often be seen sauntering around the hotel with her bearded dragon on her shoulder. He has also become an icon on her social media accounts.

Audrey Tindall

A tiny designer dog screams Audrey since she’s an actress and she only wants the best of the best. She’d own a short-haired Yorkie that came with her to set every single day. The Yorkie would always have bows in her hair and would wear fancy dresses and collars. Audrey would carry a dog purse and take the Yorkie to lunch with her, on planes, to red carpets, etc. The dog was her life. Rory would always try his best to be nice to the dog, but it’s yappy to others except for her owner.  Very bratty and spoiled, just like Audrey. 

Ally Mayfair-Richards

With the mishaps of the guinea pig situation, Oz would beg his mom to get a dog for the family. It was daunting but they needed something that could give affection to the whole family. Not to mention, owning a dog would look great with Ally’s campaign. For Oz’s birthday, Ally brought home a golden retriever from the local shelter. Oz instantly fell in love with the big boy, and Ally had to admit, she was falling in love with him too. Their dog became the talk of the neighborhood and was kind to everyone he came in contact with. Ally loved the way he would play with Oz and what a gentle giant he was. At night, the dog would sleep next to Oz in his bedroom which would make Ally feel much better at night. If it was late and she couldn’t sleep, he would come downstairs and give Ally some company.

Wilhelmina Venable

As the leader of Outpost 3, Venable would need a menacing-looking animal. She adopted a huge, tabby Maine Coon before the bombs hit. Within the Outpost, the cat wandered wherever her little heart desired. No one was allowed to touch the cat because it was Venable’s property. If anyone so much as lifted a finger to that kitty, they would die. During dinner, the cat would sit at the end of the table with Venable and she would have her own bowl of food waiting for her. Office visits with Venable for the purples would include her cat sitting on her lap while Venable spoke to them. The cat wouldn’t necessarily be mean, but every good villain needs a fluffy cat. 

REQUEST MORE HERE!

[floggingink]

Riverdale,“Chapter Fourteen: A Kiss Before Dying”

Hermione is drinking a serious glass of water this morning after having mixed “her reds with her whites” and knocking herself out with Valium after the Jubilee

is Hermione’s solid white nail polish the new heavy French manicure of mob boss wives?

Archie behind the wheel—concerning?

the TRAIL OF BLOOD leading from the truck to the hospital entrance, because—because I’d forgotten he’d been shot!

to which hospital, you ask? why, the one from Kill Bill, Vol. 1, where Daryl Hannah puts on that evil nurse costume with the hat and white dress and her eyepatch with the Red Cross cross

HOSPITAL TROPE AT THE DOOR OF THE SURGERY ROOM: “I’m sorry, sir, you’ll have to wait outside!”

gripped by the fist of Death, Fred Andrews hallucinates the future: Dream Cheryl is in a flowing red graduation gown, Mary is in a two-toned dress from Forever 21, Jughead calls him “Mr. A”

Alice serves herself orange juice, milk, and coffee for breakfast

Betty wears a soft lilac T-shirt and Alice has a lovely soft pear-on-beige nightgown

Betty CONTINUES to be ASTOUNDINGLY honest with Alice, who has for sure a soft spot for Jughead as a concept but can’t possibly be trusted with the knowledge that he almost deflowered her daughter. is it a power play? or is Betty just exhausted. I think she’s just following her own Jubilee advice to be sweepingly and unsparingly honest

Mädchen Amick, MÄDCHEN AMICK: Alice calls Jughead a “beanie-wearing cad,” as if Jughead A) has a flagrant history as a Don Juan or B) dropped Betty like a hot potato after giving it to her behind the train tracks

Sixth period is Intro to Film: “If that’s Snake Plissken, I want him blocked.”

Hermione’s hair when Veronica walks in is—is GREAT

Veronica was rich: Veronica eats a chocolate almond croissant from Bean & Beluga, which as far as I can tell is only in Dresden, which is in Saxony, which is in GERMANY

Veronica is knocking back a $300 Cristal Brut mimosa, as if she is Tupac?

I do like how she and Betty are both drinking orange juice

Jughead, tramping down his front steps to unveil the Bike: FINALLY, circumstances are COOL enough for my MOTORCYCLE

Best costume bit: he carved his cap symbol onto the front of his helmet, like how I drew a cat face after everything I signed in middle school: >^-^<

Archie mussing up his hair gives us a good look at his inguinal muscles beneath his lifted shirt, like when Neal Caffrey pulled a pistol out of his trouser waistline in that one White Collar episode

Jughead is definitely lanky enough to hug three people at once

I truly did miss how KJ Apa pronounces his flat A’s

Hermione does some good mom-work when she reminds a scattered Archie to call Mary

Jughead was NOT expecting to get grilled by Alice in this waiting room

Betty puts her FACE in her HANDS as Alice gets started—and Hal! HAL is there! honestly—I missed Hal!!!

“At least you can’t accuse my father of this, since he’s in jail.”

this remark certainly triggered something in the back of Veronica’s mind, since being in jail impeded Hiram Lodge not at all

all Veronica had for breakfast is sugar and she is not equipped to handle all the stomach-churning

she is wearing classic opaque black tights and some very wicked shiny black heels

Archie looks so small and scared when he’s on the phone with his mom!!!

probably all this emphasis on Archie calling it a “robbery” means……..it isn’t one…….I see you Riverdale…..

oh, Sheriff Keller is here? GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jughead, in a superhero move, sidles himself into Archie’s interrogation—and gets snacks!

“You mean like a snake?”

tbh Keller is pretty patient with Jughead, considering his father DID commit some serious crimes and Jughead STILL refuses to hop on board calling him on such

Archie preciously makes a little scissor motion with his fingers when he describes the homemade ski mask

I simply MUST KNOW, as an AMERICAN, what “jingle jangle” is. he lists right after METH for God’s sake! I mean, JINGLE-JANGLE??? is it like krokodil?????? Jesus!!!!!

Veronica drops “vintage bon mots as if they were bon-bons” (Archie would not have understood this)

Veronica fears that she won’t be supportive enough! Veronica—has she been paying any attention to herself for the past three months???

I really liked the soft look on Jughead’s face while Archie quietly tells him his worries about Serpent retribution while not trying to insult FP

Jughead and Archie hug very sweetly, Jughead embracing Archie’s blood-stained, honestly blood-dyed at this point, letterman jacket; Archie: “Thanks, bro”

INTERESTINGLY, they decided not to have Dr. Masters’ pristine white shirt be doused in Fred’s blood when he comes out to the waiting room, another hospital-episode item

it is sweet that the other parents stuck around. I mean it would be outrageous if they left, but even so, like, although I suppose Alice is about to write all this up

Archie’s button-down has an “Andrews & Son” patch on it in Fred’s next bullet-dream

DEAD ANDREWS of the PAST are COMING FOR FRED like in A Christmas Carol

his “something doesn’t feel right” is surely about him knowing something that Archie & Co. doesn’t know about the crime and I am assuming it’s that it wasn’t a robbery!!!

all of Archie’s stories have people calling him “Little Archie” when he was young

Veronica is walking with Archie and Vegas in THOSE SHOES

Jughead already has the power to summon certain gang members at will

I don’t know the name of long-haired Serpent Daddy but he is GRUFF and STEADFAST

Gay?!: oh Jesus the young one is there too

“Serpents don’t wear masks”

Jughead takes Daddy’s “knock some heads together” as entirely figurative

the female gaze: thank you for showing me Archie’s wet pecs even in this, his time of grief

Archie’s cast is going to dissolve if he keeps getting it wet like this

Veronica decides to console him the best way she knows how, with her hot bod

also, to be fair, she hasn’t had a chance to shower since like, yesterday morning, at least, if not the evening before that! they’re just being environmentally responsible

however she should take her pearls off first

honestly when Kevin said “Mr. Andrews” the first time I thought it was just his slightly ironic way of saying “Archie” because that’s just how adorable Kevin can be

Every triangle has three corners, every triangle has three sides: Kevin VERY MUCH was invested, or at least extremely informed, about Betty thinking she might have sex with Jughead the day before

did she think they might, before the Jubilee? and she texted Kevin?

he’s like, when Betty says they didn’t, “What, like, nothing, not even…?”

OH GOD! Kevin’s “Wait, what?” GOD KEVIN!!!!!! IS THE FRIEND WE ALL DESERVE

he instinctively sensed Cheryl Blossom’s presence before he saw her

Cheryl’s sheaths: Cheryl’s white skirt is slightly smoke-tinged on the bottom

“Is this the apocalypse?”

Cheryl, ever a Blossom, constructs a very palatable PR story to cover her tracks

she always delivers her lines spectacularly but she’s especially perfect talking about Penelope’s third-degree burns

THIRD-DEGREE BURNS

the thing about Archie’s thing about Fred’s wallet is interesting. no one wants to fucking lose their wallet. but is Archie over-endowing this wallet with powers it doesn’t have because it’s a small thing that seems to encompass the whole tragedy? does Fred keep his launch codes in there?

I honestly LOVED Archie at the end of his tether with his chin in his hand looking up at Veronica like, “I do, yeah”

Veronica very astutely of course knows this is an emotional overreaction and tells him to stick it, fondly

to make up for the past, Sheriff Keller put together a lineup of possible perps in under an hour

the killer apparently had blisteringly green Harry Potter eyes

Jughead cannot believe he got left out of going to the station to look at suspects

Betty using the word “rando” pleases us

Jughead doubts it: Veronica is not ready for Jughead to start slinging theories about more murder, hits

oh Christ, the motorcycle scene was perfect. they’re fucking cute together and Jughead loves her

Jughead knows his stock with Alice fluctuates wildly: “Or we can call your mom.” he KNOWS she KNOWS about BETTY

“You are gonna need to hold tight.”

and what does 12FW48 mean?

ARE YOU TELLING ME THE LODGES HAVE BEEN STEALTH CATHOLICS THIS WHOLE TIME. I thought it was the Coopers!!!! I’m the kid in The Catcher in the Rye who’s always trying to suss out the Catholics

the red devotional candle holders YYEEEEEEESSSSSSSS it’s taking me back!!!!

Veronica straight confronts her rosary-praying mother about possibly ordering the killing of Fred Andrews under the gaze of a huge Virgin Mary statue and still has the chutzpah to say something like “If the Manolo Blahnik fits”

Evil Hermione: “Mija...your disrespect...will no longer be tolerated.”

I love the difference between Veronica’s crime family and Jughead’s crime family! FP is like, run away from me as fast as you can! but also come back!!!! and Hiram is like, I CAN SEE YOU

FROM JAIL

the ladies lit up from below by orange candlelight (the best kind of lighting, as Clinton Kelly notes): “I should slap you for what you’re insinuating. But I’m not a violent person.”

new Reggie is SMOKIN’. his beautiful boy-mouth might be even more beautiful than Jughead’s

God bless Moose: OMG, when will Moose next get lines! you know!!!

the 2001 Josie and the Pussycats movie was a masterpiece: Melody has a fantastic long printed jacket

Reggie isn’t wearing his letterman jacket, which is I assume so we can ease into him being the most handsome man on Earth, ever

poor Fred’s imagination is all about Archie growing up and him missing all the milestones of Archie growing up, graduating, inheriting the company, getting married

the PINK GLOW of the DREAM DINER

they’re making Pop mop up that blood on his own? isn’t there a whole Amy Adams movie about people who will do that for you?

HOW DARE Jughead tell ANYONE to TONE IT DOWN

and yet, he would also be the one to be like, Yeah that line is from a Sam Raimi movie. like the doofy stoner in Cabin in the Woods who calls out the gas station guy for BEING the creepy outskirts-of-town doomsday scarecrow trope. so I can see both A) a Riverdale character saying something aloud like “the angel of death” and then B) someone immediately being like, Excuse me?

Jughead eats: Jughead is “always hungry, yeah,” MY MAN

does Betty think Jughead is insensitive for making Pop make their food or that she can’t quite believe he’s this hungry under this much stress? he did at least order coffee when his dad had gotten arrested

more Betty & Jughead being bathed in angel-light from behind

Jughead’s “But me?” movie moment is precious, but Betty is very serious most of the time. Jughead’s instinct is to make everything a self-aware parody of itself instantly, but he’s trying to make her laugh, and he is a semi-starved orphan

“I haven’t eaten since last night.” INDEED? it was Betty’s collarbone

“Yeah, it meant there were, like, ten biker dudes standing in front of me.” YES!!!! he was going with it in the moment!

but also he looked really good in it, I’m never going to be coy about that

“It fit you like a glove, Jug”: my dream is that the night before, after she and Jughead had a (long or short?) quiet talk about it “being late” and how Betty “should go,” Betty crawled into her bed and couldn’t stop going over the moment, over and over, Jughead shrugging that leather jacket onto his shoulders, “like a second skin,” and HIS HAIR doing that loose curl thing it does when his hat’s off, JUGGIE, and she stared at the ceiling in the dark, feeling some type of way

God though they continue to be so open with each other! no stone left unturned! he may imminently be in a gang but he is a great communicator!

“Facing facts, my dad is going away for a long-ass time.”

the incredulous smile when Betty says he might hurt someone else unintentionally is the same smile when he teased her about telling her mom she was about to ride his motorcycle

Cheryl’s hair: I WAS FUCKING WAITING FOR YOU, CHERYL

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THE BARN WITH DADDY???????????

honestly this scene was so holy shittingly crazy my brain synapsed a memory in self-defense back to the most insane 1990’s lurid movie scene it could compare it to, which is when Rebecca de Mornay finally shows her cards to Ernie Hudson in The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

Penelope VERY WEAKLY paws at Cheryl’s wrist to get her oxygen back

Cheryl’s a psychopath: the best part was Cheryl telling her she should move “quietly.” like, quietly. so fucking wrong

of course Veronica gets Fred a new wallet, the straightest line between Archie’s anxiety and short-term relief

WHO is the dude calling out “Nice, Jugs!” when Jughead shows up with all the food? PLEASE GOD tell me we’re going to get more Jughead and Reggie. Jesus H. please

Gay.: “You’ve really been just a rock-star god through all of this.” JUGHEAD

is that the second or third time or something Jughead has called Archie like, a god? the second time?

These students are legally children: Archie is honestly out here blaming himself for freezing up after seeing his father getting shot and when he gets a gun put to his head

Archie has to tell this story WITH HIS EYES CLOSED

hey could Archie maybe get his hand re-wrapped with clean bandages during some of this downtime?

“ALL HIS INFORMATION.”

and everyone is gorgeous in this low light, incidentally

“Damn good coffee”: WHAT THE FUCK is up with the person on the other side of the hallway doors walking into a room at the same time as Archie! I thought it was Cheryl before, but it’s just someone walking into a room parallel to Archie just to be—creepy!

Cheryl never forgets a dilf

Fred has the common courtesy to put Veronica in his closest approximation to a Vera Wang wedding gown during his morphine trip

Pop Tate is officiating

OH MY GOD CLIFFORD!!!!!!!!!!!

the Blossom corpse: JASON???!!!

god no one could sneer like him!!!! RIP!!!! what happened to him in the barn, I won’t forget!!!!

Jughead in that dress jacket was cute and Betty in her VIVID BLUE gown was stunning

my prediction was that Fred was going to realize who shot him but would be in a coma throughout the season and would have to communicate to Betty (after giving up on Archie) through Christmas lights

you see, Fred thinks this guy is after ARCHIE

Fred wakes up when he leaps to save Archie in his dream…….the power of his love wakes him up..….just as the power of Archie’s hotness saved Cheryl..….

Certified pedigree: Fred having to come to and hear Archie apologize for not Von Flue choking this dude with a gun, “Archie…”

you know they put Betty and Jughead out in the rain for a minute

Jughead is too insane to ever be, like, smouldering, but he was cute spinning slowly on his heel and leaning against the wall, “Sure I can’t give you a ride home?”

Alice does have a gun

Please protect Betty: “Whatever you need to do...or explore…”

you know Betty just knows Jug’s nature and trusts him to be okay!

however I do not

they’ve figured out the perfect angle for filming Betty and Jughead’s kisses: over Jughead’s left shoulder as he cradles her goddamn face

Fwoopy hair is the best hair: thank you for Jughead not trying to wear his beanie and helmet simultaneously

I’ve seen Brick like thirty times: WHOA!!! WHOOOOOAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

HOLY SHIT, SERPENT DADDY!!!!!!!

Jughead for real walks into his dad’s trailer and there is a MAN with a BEATEN-IN FACE, TIED TO A CHAIR, Daddy and Baby Driver are out here smirking—JUGHEAD—“Ha ha, explore this, BITCH!”

“This guy was holding court at the Whyte Wyrm”: blood drool is like guzzling out of his slack, slobbery mouth

I’m writing a scene where it’s gay.: Baby has brass knuckles and sends Jughead a smirk for the ages

Hermione is “Hiram Lodge’s bitch”

Jughead’s wet bangs are always nice. it’s not the time, they’re just nice. all the extra-special stress-times we get to see his pretty hair

“So you could see we’d done what you asked”: Jughead didn’t even know he had the power to set this off! he got a man beaten half to death! INADVERTENTLY, BETTY

“With or without the jacket”—OH SHIT SERPENT PRINCE

is Hiram Lodge allowed to get snippy that Veronica wasn’t home when he came home early? like an asshole?

Hiram is, amazingly, seating at the head of the table, in the dark, because he is Satan

“So disrespectful.” SO DISRESPECTFUL

Summer + Blair = Veronica: “I know we’re all really happy about that.”

true to form, Veronica seems unruffled outwardly by this unexpected appearance, but we shall see, shalln’t we

Archie > Dawson: Archie is going to BEAT WITH A BAT any home invaders, which would make this something like his second night in a row with no sleep

do you know the SEVEN KINDS OF GLEE I felt upon seeing that vintage Beetle again!!!

there’s even a fucking piano-child-singing musical cue in the background!!!

SAVE THE BOY FROM THE DRIVE-IN WHO USED TO SELL KEVIN CHERRY SODAS

SHE DOUBLE-LOCKS THE DOOR, BUT LOCKS CANNOT KEEP OUT THE ANGEL OF DEATH, A MONIKER JUGHEAD LOVED TOO MUCH TO KEEP OUT OF HIS NOVEL

is Miss Grundy FOR REAL getting strangled with the CELLO BOW Archie bought her last season??? is this the violent ex-husband she talked about with Archie before that I thought she was lying about??? I—is—FUCK—

NEXT WEEK: FORSYTHE PENDLETON JUNIOR RETURNS

BONUS MATERIAL: I watched Dynasty, and while it wasn’t nearly as batshit as I expected, it did feature Elizabeth Gillies wearing this blouse featuring an Irish setter print

[chelsorz07]

yeah apparently i did two of these on this day eight years ago

2010/2018

There's some weird and personal questions, you down? always. I doubt they are, but sure. Do you have any alcohol bottles in your room? yep. No I have them in the fridge and freezer like a grown up. What's bothering you right now? i feel like i have to be jealous of someone who lives two thousand miles away. My joints hurt. Do you like anyone? obviously. Wow, you got me. Real personal. If someone said to you "nice ass" you say? thanks. i know i have a nice ass lol I’d probably tell them to fuck off unless it was someone I knew. Who did you last speak on the phone with? idk. my mom probably. Drug people. All legal and above board. Ever been so drunk someone else had to carry you? yes. Oh,  the picnic table night. Have you had to carry someone? not carry, but hold them up. I couldn’t carry someone. I have no muscles. I can’t even pick up my 20lb cat. Do you hate anyone? no. Yup. What are your plans for tomorrow? i think i only have to watch maranda for half the day, and after that i'm probably gonna rest some more. still sore. Work. What are you listening to right now? that 70s show. Found Out About You - Gin Blossoms. Was yesterday better than today? every day sucks lately. They were pretty much the same on a scale of one to meh. Who was the last person you hugged? maranda. the only person who ever hugs me anymore. Sheila. Do you want to be in a relationship with someone? i am. and i want to be. I am. Do you drink more apple or orange juice? neither. I hardly ever drink either because they don’t contain caffeine, but right now I do have some orange pineapple juice. Do you think anyone has feelings for you? these days i have to wonder. Supposedly. Are you nice to people you dislike? i'm not even nice to people i do like. Ha. Truth. Was this summer a good one? hasn't happened yet. Hopefully it will be. You kissed someone today didnt you? no. Nope. Still have a week before I even get to see him. How well do you know the last female you texted? i think it was amanda. so, really well. It was a different Amanda, but I know her fairly well. We used to work together and got pretty close. How long does it take you to fall asleep at night? hours. If I can at all. Would you rather write with a gel pen or Sharpie? sharpie. Hmm..I don’t think I have a preference. I miss gel pens. They’re making a comeback. What's the background on your cell? it's a slideshow. Cockles. Have you ever thought about giving up on someone but couldn't? i don't want to give up. i think HE wants to give up. Yeah, sigh. Is the person you last texted single? no. He’s married to my mom. Have you ever passed out on the bathroom floor? yeah. Still drunk from the night before (a little Summer Set nod there). Have you drifted away from anyone lately? oh god... That’s a loaded question. There are some people that I feel like if I were back home, we could pick up right where we left off. But I really miss them. Do you have hard time saying "no?" no. It’s probably my most used word that isn’t fuck. Someone just handed you $100,000,000 now what? go to school, and get a house/car. Go home. Whats the closest black object to you? keys on the laptop. The diamonds in my ring, my bra, my shirt, my hair.  What are you currently waiting for? for things to get better. I think I’ll always be waiting for that. What should you be doing? sleeping. Normal people would be sleeping, but I don’t have to be up till 3pm and it’s not even 4am so it’s too early. Describe how you feel right now in one word: lonely. Bored. Are you scared of anything? losing what i've got. Everything. Think of the last person who said I love you, do you think they meant it? i don't even know who it was. It was probably Mike, so I know he did. When was the last time you spoke to your sister? this afternoon. My older sister, about two weeks ago. My younger sister, I don’t remember. Which is weird because I get along with her better. Is there someone who makes you instantly smile when you receive a msg from? usually. Yeah. Have you been a happy, angry, or sad person lately? mostly sad. Oh my deep dark depression hole grows exponentially by the day. Do you think you can love someone without trusting them? you can, but not completely. I’m real sick of this question. Probably because I keep doing the same surveys over any over again since I have no one to actually talk to. Honestly, what's running through your mind? i'm scared. Nothing really at the moment. Ever kissed under water? no. I don’t even have a reason to BE underwater. I can’t swim. What color shirt are you wearing? navy blue. Black t-shirt, navy blue hoodie. Is anyone on your bad side? not really. Ehh. At 3:46 in the morning if anyone has the energy to piss me off they deserve a pass. Are you usually wide awake in the morning? no. Considering I stay up all night, yeah. What time did you get up this morning? I went to bed at 8am and got up at 2pm but there wasn’t much sleep going on in between.

[machsabre]

My Top Ten Hottest Characters list

Since I’m still in a position where I can’t post new art yet... I thought we'd have a little fun here and talk about some stupid subjects. :)

In all fandoms, there's one subject that we've ALL had conversations about. Be it video games, movies, cartoons, comics, novels, or whatever... It's the thought we've all had.

“Which of these characters is hottest?”

Yup. Deep and intricate thoughts with me all the time, baby. Next generation of philosophy begins right here! Seriously though, while I am a pervert... I consider myself one of the last of the greatest kinds of gentlemanly perverts. With comic art, it's not just how the character is drawn, but their personality as well. It's a lot like real life: Sure, someone can look at Chris Evans abs and say “Oh yeah, I could rub oil on those all day.” But it's not until you see him standing up to the KKK and you're like “Damn dude, marry me.” It's all the same ways with comic characters too.

And it's a difficult discussion to have, when talking about comic book characters, because it requires that you've developed feelings for a fictional character... And for a lot of men suffering from toxic masculinity, that's a bit of a difficult discussion to have. Wait, that's not true. It's really NOT a hard discussion to have, but it requires explaining that it's not just seeing the characters in revealing clothing or less... That much requires no imagination and five minutes on Google with the safe search turned off. But this isn't about fanservice... Which is something I have no issues with, as long as it's respectful to the character in question... But it's getting to KNOW those characters and loving those characters. That's something that's different. That's almost intimate. And let's be honest... There's a LOT of people who have serious problems handling that idea in real life with real people, much less with fictional ones. And naturally, when they have trouble comprehending this, they resort to mockery.

So let's start this stupidity. :)

Doctor Harleen “Harley Quinn” Quinzel: If I wanna see naked Harley Quinn... Trust me, there's NO lack of those images in multiple forms of media. But it's not about just trying to see photoshopped naked pictures of Margot Robbie. Yes, she is attractive, but it's not about that. The Harley Quinn we know from the comics is one of the strongest and most compelling characters in comics. She's more than just eye candy for Joker fan. In many ways, she was one of the first true examinations of an abusive relationship in comics, as well as a wonderful example of overcoming that abusive relationship and becoming a much stronger person for it. Yeah, there was a bit of understandable controversy over her introduction to the Nu52 universe years ago, but let's be honest... We all were already thinking about her in that way ever since Mad Love and the red see-through slip. But as far as character development goes, say whatever you will about her now... She's gone through some immense development, and almost all for the better. From pretty much leaving the villain life behind (and seemingly for good), fully canonizing her LGBT status, as well her open relationship with Poison Ivy, the Gang of Harleys... Which should NOT work, but they do for some reason... And most of all, officially putting her relationship with the Joker squarely in the past. There was a great amount of pride I felt for her when she seriously beat the ever loving shit out of that clown. Hell, my biggest fear for her is that some dumbass writer will decide to shove her and Joker back together again into their abusive relationship... And guess what? That's apparently her biggest fear too.

That's a level of deep meta-writing that's kind of rare in any form of fiction, much less comics and as a result... I don't think it's possible not to love her.

Tank Girl: I've established before that I have this fascinating love for Tank Girl. This shaved head anarchist was one of my first exposures to independent comics and she's stuck with me ever since. I even liked her movie, and the following Vertigo series with her. (Though I'm well aware that we don't talk about such things anymore. What is my fascination with her? Was it because she's this over-the-top crazy sometimes half-naked chick with shaved hair driving a tank around, while chugging beer and and chomping a cigar and firing a machine gun? Is it because she reminds me of this girl from college who I had the hots for but not the courage to actually ask out? Or is it just a case of  just shut up and stop asking stupid questions, and enjoy the British insanity. Honestly, it's probably all three.

Jessica “Spider-Woman” Drew: A few years ago, she was involved with the cover controversy involving Milo Manara, and then later by proxy Frank Cho as well, and I won't lie, I'm a little disappointed in how the creators acted. I'm not upset that they drew what they drew... That's what they're known for. But it's how they reacted to it. And what bothers me the most, is that these people who lashed back at the complaints, including people like that internet personality Maddox and others just didn't seem to get what the whole controversy was about, using the amount of times we've seen Spidey's butt as defense. And it's not that hard to figure out. There was a similar repeat about it last year with the Overwatch character Tracer, where her victory pose has her ass on display in her ugly orange tights. (Sorry, I love her, but they ARE ugly pants!) They changed it, and her butt was still there, but the pose was changed to something more playful and “cheeky”. Some online critics laughed at the “SJWs” because they thought that Blizzard trolled them... They didn't and just like the Spider-Woman cover, they didn't seem to understand what the entire problem was to begin with. There's a ENORMOUS difference between seeing her ass and her showing us her ass. It's all about consent.

Seriously, this is Spider-Woman. She's not this seductive femme fatale, slinking around, luring men into a false sense of security, like Black Cat. She's a former Avenger and SHIELD agent that lives in a shitty apartment, eats cereal out of cups, raves about gelato, punches the shit out of bad guys without thinking, headstrong, sometimes very arrogant and has a C-Lister villain as a nanny. (And now boyfriend.) Yes, she's a total MILF... But as Roger the Porcupine recently said, she's hot for reasons other than her yoga pants and her eyes, though they don't hurt... It's who she is. She's passionate and caring to a level that is somewhat rare in comics today. She's this single mom who couldn't even go out with friends to relax, because she was worried about her new baby. She had a hell of a reason to hate Carol for a long as time because of Civil War II, and she couldn't even remain mad long enough to do that, because she needed her best friend more than she needed her anger. She's handled realistically. She's Jessica Drew. If she wants to show us her ass, she'll show us her ass... And it may be followed up by either a roundhouse kick or a venom blast.

Madelyne “The Goblin Queen” Pryor: When the Inferno storyarc hit in the 80s with these Marc Silvestri covers, featuring this hot red head wearing one of the most revealing skin tight black leather costumes ever, pulling around Magik on a chain... Well, what do you want? I was a teenage boy who just hit puberty. Between her and Circuit Breaker from Transformers, I'm pretty sure I had no hope from there on.

Major Motoko Kusanagi: I know it's hard these days to bring up this character without the topic of Scarlett Johansson coming up, but personally, there's been enough versions of Ghost in the Shell, between the original manga, Stand Alone Complex, the Mamoru Oshii animated movies, Arise and whatever else that I can pretty much just accept the upcoming movie as yet another iteration of the concept as a whole. Hell, the original manga isn't even in that tight of continuity with itself. (Man-Machine Interface is kind of a clusterfuck of a story to be bluntly honest.) And it doesn't help that her creator, Masamune Shirow has kinda gone off the deep end these days. (Don't google this, if you're unaware. ESPECIALLY if you're at work!)

But Major Kusanagi was always fascinating. Bear in mind, that the original manga series came out in 1991, 28 years ago. (As of this writing in 2017.) Here was this cyborg, who wasn't a victim or arm candy or whatever. She was a professional soldier, who never cracked under pressure and was a skilled team leader and never once broke down crying as a drop of the hat. (In early 90s, this was revolutionary in comics.) In fact, the only time I can remember her tearing up in the original comic, she was experiencing a neurotheological experience from deep inside Cyberspace, witnessing the evolution of life from data.

Now there's a whole bunch of other factors that come into play here. It brings up the question, if you are a male and your brain is placed into a body of female specifications, are you still a male? Obviously gender definitions become more fluid, but after your hormones and sexuality being altered, would you still considered yourself a male? For that matter, would this transcend the concept of gender? Now “Ship of Thesus” paradox theories aside, there are more explorations and examinations on this subject in recent days, but in the early 1990s, this was pretty damn revolutionary. And that's just sexuality and gender, and not even bringing up the ideas of implanted memories, spatial perspective, brain hacking and even about Transcendance of Humanity. And Major Kusanagi was pretty much at the center of all this. Philosophically speaking, she kind of got me thinking about the world in a way more than one. That's... Pretty significant.

Kate “Hawkeye” Bishop: Kate Bishop was one of those characters I didn't develop a fondness for until much later after everyone else has. And it came about with Mat Fraction's Hawkeye comic, where she served as partner to “Hawkguy”. But you know when the exact moment happened where I decided this dark haired archer was destined to become one of my favorites? This moment from the Deadpool crossover...

That's it. That's all there is. I love her. She's too damn awesome.

(And in case you're wondering why her BFF and occasional fanshipping America Chavez isn't included here... She's awesome, but I'm still getting to know her. Right now, I'd have placed her at #13, right behind Helena “Huntress” Bertinelli and Clint “Hawkguy” Barton.

Doreen “Squirrel Girl” Green: Seriously, if you had told me even five years ago that Squirrel Girl would be on this list, much less so high on this list... I would have called you insane. And yet, here are. 2017 is weird. Here's this college co-ed, with a squirrel tail and buck teeth, with a weird habit of hanging around squirrels... By all means, she's a internet meme that went too far. You can almost understand why it would be so difficult to bring her into the live action movies. I mean, you can explain away Rocket and Groot: They're aliens. But Squirrel Girl? How the hell do you even begin to try and explain away that there's this girl with powers of squirrel and girl, who has legitimately defeated not only Dr. Doom... TWICE... But Thanos AND Galactus. It's stupid and silly and there's just no realistic way this can possibly work at all...

...And yet it does. It does so brilliantly on a level I never thought possible in comics. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl comic by Ryan North and Erica Henderson is one of the most brilliant comics I have ever read and it constantly blows my mind every time. This is a comic where Kraven the Hunter has become Kraven the Hunter of Hunters, as he drives around in the Kra-Van, after befriending Doreen. She's defeated villains using binary math counting. She's gone on lousy dates with sentinels and introduced us to 'superhero truthers”. There was an issue told like a “choose your own adventure” book and another told from the point of view of the pet cat. She has an antagonistic friendship with Iron Man, often bickering with him on Twitter. And that's just in her own book. Over in the U.S. Avengers, she's flying around with Cannonball, with her squirrel friends on jetpacks, while helping a time displaced Dani Cage, who's now the future Captain America fight the Golden Skull and his $kullocracy, who has a helicarrier with a volcano base on it... Jesus, this is all utter nonsense and it works. There's no reason it should work and it does. She's adorable, she's amazing... She's unbeatable.

Dick “Nightwing” Grayson: Hey, I may identify as mostly straight, but I have no probably acknowledging and appreciating the fine ass that belongs to Richard Grayson. I always liked him, to be honest. Even as a kid, I always thought Robin was awesome, so I always liked Nightwing too. To me, he's like the perfect superhero. He's has no superpowers, his hearts always in the right place, he tries hard all the time and is just generally an awesome guy. I actually loved the period of time when he was Batman. The dynamic between hims and Damian was utterly perfect, with a cheerful and upbeat Batman and a dour and pissy Robin. It's a dynamic duo I hope one day returns, because to be honest... This is going to sound insane, but I always think the Batman case is far, far more interesting when Batman is NOT around. I think Bruce's the least interesting of the entire Batfamily. Batman is this unstoppable force... He's this parody that people accuse Squirrel Girl of being, but without the sense of humor. But Grayson? He's flawed. He's not perfect. He screws up and makes mistakes, gets angry, is passionate and loving. He'll get into Bruce's face, and tell him when he's wrong. And Bruce will listen.

He's one of the greatest superheroes ever, and that's why he's up so high on my list.

Also, dat ass.

Barbara “Batgirl” Gordon and Dinah “Black Canary” Drake: I combined these two together for one entry. (Dinah has the top entry, if you're curious.)

Batgirl's always been a favorite of mine. In fact, I love many of her incarnations over the years, frok Barbara, to Stephanie, to Cass to even the unknown original, Bette. (And I even include Charlie in this list, even if it was short lived.) With Barbara, unlike Bruce or Dick. She didn't go through some horrible tragedy to want to fight crime... She just had a strong sense of right and wrong instilled upon her by her father, the Commissioner. To her, it was fun and exciting, though she was well aware of the dangers that came with the cape and cowl. She eventually did experience tragedy at the hands of the Joker with the Killing Joke... Which um... Well, let's just say, I'm not too big of a fan of. The controversies over that story has been brought up so many times, that there's no much else to say about it that others haven't said and said better. It's a good story, but it sucks that Barbara was basically a motivator to enhance the story for Bruce and the clown. But I think we all agree the character development that came out of her when she became Oracle was revolutionary. It was during this time that she teamed up with Black Canary and formed the Birds of Prey, leading to one of the most consistently famous and popular teams of all time. (Especially once Huntress joined in the fun.)

Eventually with the launch of the Nu52, we have her reclaim the mantle of Batgirl... And... Sigh... No offense to Gail Simone, I wasn't too fond of these stories. They seemed overly dark and depressing for the sake of being dark and depressing, at a time I really did NOT want dark and depressing comics. But I did really like that one “Future's End story where she became Bete Noire, and was leading a team of Batgirls. Probably because that was a similar idea I came up with long ago, with a team of Batgirls running around kicking ass.

Then came the Burnside Batgirl stories. I know they were a bit controversial to some people  sneering the words “hipster” around like a slur word and others loving the fun new take and direction with it, I felt firmly in the latter category. I thought the new costume was actually rather well thought out, looking less like a cartoon costume into something more practical. Much like Spider-Woman's new costume, I liked it a lot. I greatly enjoyed the entire run, and currently I'm following the creative team over at Image on their creator owned project Motor Crush. The new creative team on Batgirl I haven't bought yet, mainly due to budgetary reasons. ('m buying a lot more books these days!) But 'm currently waiting for the collection to follow along. However, I have been buying Batgirl and the Birds of Prey... And the reason for it? Well, it involves our #1 spot.

I'm not going to lie. I never hated Black Canary, but she was never a huge favorite of mine. She was just... There. She was to me what I always felt characters like Martian Manhunter or Gambit were: Characters good enough to be awesome on a team, but not awesome enough to support their own book. She showed up in the Burnside Batgirl relaunch as a supporting character who had her van burned and destroyed by Barbara's equipment malfunctioning. They established her as a musician, and I thought “Well, all right.” Like I said, I didn't hate her. I just didn't love her either.

Then her series came out.

Here's the thing about that. A couple years ago, I was in the stages of plotting a comic story for a musician friend of mine, where it was basically a comic story starring her. And I had this neat plot thought out... And then the Black Canary comic came out.

And suddenly I had to scrap that entire project because there's NO WAY I could a comic about a blonde rock musician touring across the states with a young girl in two, protecting her from monsters and evil scientists, as a former rival musician shows up as the antagonist... OH MY GOD, it's the same story!!

Understand, I'm not saying they stole it from me. I'm saying we came up with the same idea... They beat me to doing the story, and they were doing it better than I could have!

Though I was pissed, I kept reading it. I mean, it was a great comic! And they developed Dinah's  character far, FAR better than they ever did for poor Laurel Lance on Arrow. (I know there's a new Dinah now... But that's another issue all together.) This girl was amazing. And then I read a little more into it and found out that she was part of Team 7. Now, Team 7 was one of my favorite parts of the old Wildstorm Universe, and suddenly the idea that she got her powers from the same means that Grifter, Deathstroke, and the others got their powers... The old Gen13 fan in me fell in love this idea! And then I just started to read more and more into her, and found myself really loving Dinah Drake. Much like Jessica Drew, she ain't perfect, but the fighting skills are there. She can hold her own against other superpowered beings, with or without the sonic scream. Hell, in that horrible Injustice comic, her friendship with Harley Quinn was the only really good thing that came out of that.

And just to add to it all, her comic was awesome. It was a musical comic done right. I've heard from so many people saying that “music in comics just does not work, because it is an incompatible medium, and to that, I say “Fuck you, read Black Canary!” The art, while on the surface was sketchy and rough, there was a form of brilliance to it, such as an issue where she fought someone, with the battle overlaid over music bars. And then there was the final issue, where it was a tribute to David Bowie. I was really kinda bummed when it was on the chopping block for Rebirth. But Dinah is currently running around in Birds of Prey again, serving as the rational one between Barbara and the grumpy Helena. And as of recently, she was one of the first recruits by Batman to form a new Justice League comprised of basically the supporting characters of the CW Shows... And Lobo.

And all of that with both Barbara and Dinah isn't even getting into the close friendship the two of them have. You wanna say they're close like sisters or you wanna say they're a lot closer and are in denial about how they feel? Go with whatever you want, because I'm cool with either. I love 'em both, and that's why to me, Babs and D.D. are my top two hottest comic characters.

Next time, I’ll come up with a dumber topic. :P

[malmo777-blog]

About Me

Haven’t done one of these since I was fourteen. It’s time. 

1. What is your full name? Mallory Cook Fraser

2. What is your nickname? Malmo, but I try to get people to call me McFraser. No one does.

3. What is your zodiac sign?   Libra. Fun fact- I’m attracted to Tauruses, always have been, apparently always will be.

4. What is your favorite book series? Obviously Harry Potter is dope as fuck but I read these Stephanie Perkins books and fell in love.

5. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? No aliens, although something is out there that moves, it just isn’t gonna follow our earth definition of “life”. Ghosts- not typically. I believe in energy, and energy can possess things.

6. Who is your favorite author? I love Hemingway, Stephanie Perkins, and Sarah Dessen can be great if you’re in the mood. John Green is running out of steam at this point although he used to be on the list.

7. What is your favorite radio station? I love so many! Either 95.7 or 92.5 (both NH radio)

8. What is your favorite flavor of anything? Cherry

9. What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? Wicked or dooooooope.

10. What is your current favorite song? Today it was Cinderblock Garden. Lately, Undone (the sweater song)

11. What is your favorite word? Fuck. 

12. What was the last song you listened to? Broadside- Coffee Talk

13. What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? Skins really is for everybody. Or HIMYM. Although Fairy Tail is my favorite, it’s not for everyone.

14. What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? The Little Mermaid can always perk me up. 

15. Do you play video games? Not much anymore. Used to play super nintendo. Good at racing games.

16. What is your biggest fear? Being financially unstable as an adult.

17. What is your best quality, in your opinion? I’m 100000% honest all the time. I say things exactly how I see them and never leave people guessing. I don’t like to play games and waste time.

18. What is your worst quality, in your opinion? On the flipside of that, I can’t keep my mouth shut. If something is bothering me, I wanna talk about it, even if it’s venting to another person. Which sometimes causes unwanted conflict. Not a huge deal, but I’m also super type B and I hate conflict.

19. Do you like cats or dogs better? Cats. Dogs are too in your face.

20. What is your favorite season? Springtime, spring-a-ling-a-ling time.

21. Are you in a relationship? I’m in lots of relationships, just none are romantic.

22. What is something you miss from your childhood? It was so inexpensive to be a kid.

23. Who is your best friend? Not sure if he knows it, but totally my bud Dillon. He is my mind. We don’t even have to talk to understand what’s going on.

24. What is your eye color? Blue

25. What is your hair color? Golden blonde.

26. Who is someone you love? My daddy.

27. Who is someone you trust? My best friend.

28. Who is someone you think about often? Alex Gaskarth

29. Are you currently excited about/for something? End of the semester! Woooo! And I just barely got sick the day after it closed, which is good. I get sick every year around this time, it just usually falls on midterms week, not right after. So I’m happy I missed it.

30. What is your biggest obsession? My book series.

31. What was your favorite TV show as a child? Roccos Modern Life

32. Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? Obviously my best friend.

33. Are you superstitious? Only after one of my exes passed away. Since he did, things are freaky sometimes. But never scary. It’s always good energy.

34. Do you have any unusual phobias? Elevators. Potatoes. Mold.

35. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? In front.

36. What is your favorite hobby? Writing!

37. What was the last book you read? This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen. Finished it two days ago.

38. What was the last movie you watched? Road Trip. I love raunchy comedies.

39. What musical instruments do you play, if any? Bass clarinet, clarinet, guitar, a lil piano, a lil sax, and vox.

40. What is your favorite animal? Loke ;)

41. What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? Oooo haven’t been on here enough to decide.

42. What superpower do you wish you had? Ability to call spirits and bond with them.

43. When and where do you feel most at peace? Lying in bed right before sleep, listening to tunes.

44. What makes you smile? Going to work.

45. What sports do you play, if any? Marching band.

46. What is your favorite drink? There’s this orange mango peach shit from market basket that’s phenomenal. Oh, alcoholic? Ahh, umm, Smirnoff ice?

47. When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? Christmas. Cards, you know.

48. Are you afraid of heights? Used to not be but now? Abso-fuckin-lutley.

49. What is your biggest pet peeve? Mixed silverware in the dishwasher.

50. Have you ever been to a concert? Try 12.

51. Are you vegan/vegetarian? I am vegan, but not super duper strict raw vegan or that shit. Just nothing where the ingredients state meat, eggs, or milk.

52. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? An actress or a pop star.

53. What fictional world would you like to live in? Fiore

54. What is something you worry about? Money, clearly.

55. Are you scared of the dark? No. I’ve been living in the woods long enough to be used to it.

56. Do you like to sing? FUCK YES

57. Have you ever skipped school? One time I said I was sick so I could stay home and write Harry Potter fan fiction.

58. What is your favorite place on the planet? Fells Point, Baltimore

59. Where would you like to live? Baltimore

60. Do you have any pets? Not anymore

61. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? Early bird!

62. Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? Sunrises. The signal a new chance.

63. Do you know how to drive? Very well actually.

64. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? Headphones!

65. Have you ever had braces? Nope.

66. What is your favorite genre of music? Pop punk, 2007-2008 era

67. Who is your hero? My daddy.

68. Do you read comic books? Only Deadpool

69. What makes you the most angry? When TOP fans come into my store aND FUCKING TEAR APART THE T SHIRT WALL AHH GO BACK TO HELL YOU ANGSTY LITTLE SHITS!

70. Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? Real books. The creak of the pages, the smell. All part of the experience.

71. What is your favorite subject in school? History!

72. Do you have any siblings? Four older ones. Two and two, each gender.

73. What was the last thing you bought? A new air freshener for my car. Wait, no, groceries. Some of that juice I was talking about before.

74. How tall are you? Five foot nuthin’.

75. Can you cook? Apparently I can grill, I’ve been told. I think I make BOMB pasta.

76. What are three things that you love? 1. Blink 182 2. Chipotle 3. My dad

77. What are three things that you hate? 1. Pessimists 2. The word “hate” 3. Unneccessary negativity (kinda like this question)

78. Do you have more female friends or more male friends? A really good mix. My anime crew is all boys, my music friends are boys, my coworkers AKA besties are all girls, and my school friends are girls.

79. What is your sexual orientation? Straight.

80. Where do you currently live? Washington, NH

81. Who was the last person you texted? My girl Colby

82. When was the last time you cried? About twenty minutes ago, watching Fairy Tail

83. Who is your favorite YouTuber? I don’t watch a lot of youtubers but the one I enjoy the most is Shane.

84. Do you like to take selfies? No. But on occassion I will, just so I can do better personal branding.

85. What is your favorite app? I use wattpad more than anything.

86. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? With my mom? Deceptive, negative, she always needs something for nothing. With my dad, amazing. He’s my best friend, sole provider, everything. If he wasn’t my dad he’d still be my bestie because we just get each other.

87. What is your favorite foreign accent? My phillipino friend Cam is phillipino, sounds mexican, and my mock accent is indian. Fuckin hilarious.

88. What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? San Diego, west coast pop punk capital.

89. What is your favorite number? 7, but 77 in sports.

90. Can you juggle? No

91. Are you religious? I love all religion and the concept but do not identify with any one.

92. Do you find outer space of the deep ocean to be more interesting? Space fucks me up. Ocean for sure.

93. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? No. I may be a Gryffindor for the things I love but I am waaaaay too type b to take unneeded risk.

94. Are you allergic to anything? Nope. But caffine reacts really badly with my body.

95. Can you curl your tongue? Yup

96. Can you wiggle your ears? Nope

97. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? Often

98. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? Beach. I can go to the forest any time; I’m bored of it.

99. What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? Just as a flower does not get to choose where it blooms, a child cannot choose their parents. It stuck with me, that my character doesn’t at all need to be attached to them. That I get to be my own person.

100. Are you a good liar? No fuckin way.

101. What is your Hogwarts House? Gryffindor!

102. Do you talk to yourself? All the time, only in the car.

103. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Extrovert. Being surrounded by people makes me feel less lonely.

104. Do you keep a journal/diary? I keep an everyday question journal.

105. Do you believe in second chances? Only after apologies. No sorry, no chance.

106. If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do? Depends on the money. Ten bucks? I’ll call that my payment for the hassle of turning it in. Lots? Nah. If I turn it in with that much, they’ll probs be grateful and gimmie some.

107. Do you believe that people are capable of change? Absolutely. Everyone changes all the time. 

108. Are you ticklish? If I say yes you’ll know my weakness. If I say no I’m a liar.

109. Have you ever been on a plane? Yup. Like three times? Not sure.

110. Do you have any piercings? Belly button!

111. What fictional character do you wish was real? Wooderson

112. Do you have any tattoos? Not yet. A few more months.

113. What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? Moving out and quitting Shaws. I followed my dreams all the way to Hot Topic.

114. Do you believe in karma? Not really. Coincidences are funny, but good people hardly ever get good karma, it’s usually only ever bad for bad people. That’s not how it’s supposed to work.

115. Do you wear glasses or contacts? No.

116. Do you want children? Four!

117. Who is the smartest person you know? My best friend.

118. What is your most embarrassing memory? Tripping while hiking with my crush. My only recent moment.

119. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? Twice!

120. What color are most of you clothes? Maroon or green. Can’t decide.

121. Do you like adventures? Love*

122. Have you ever been on TV? Nope

123. How old are you? Seventeen without a purpose or direction.

124. What is your favorite quote? “I just wanna fuck this burrito!” - Jack Barakat

125. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? Totally depends on the mood.

[uwuears]

The Foxhole

The Foxhole is the oldest bar in our neighborhood. It sort of always stuck out whenever we passed it mostly because Dad always insisted it would never close. He’d purposefully point out the orange curtains in the windows and the white outline on the sign of the ears and snout. The Foxhole was ultimately a non-human bar. If you were primarily evolved hairless ape, which we were, then yeah you couldn’t be allowed in. Dad said this was just the way things were since animals had evolved in their own time. “we all need our spaces.” he’d tell us and I, of course, grew up in segregation. We had our space and they had theirs. Then things began to change when I left college. The first animal president was elected. An actual ape and then his running mate was a tiger. They implemented more opportunities for animals and allowed joined schools and workplaces. 

My own boss was even a cheetah but her dock-to-stock expectations were way too high. I still remember the day I first got to go into the Foxhole. I lost that job with the Cheetah lady and I was walking home thinking about how badly I just wanted to get out. I just wanted to go somewhere else. Get out of this state and maybe try something new. My sister was, in all honesty, the only thing holding me back. She wouldn’t leave no matter how much I knew deep down inside she wanted too. We were twins after all. I always knew what she wanted.

Anyway I’m walking by the Foxhole and the doors bang open and some blonde bouncer in high armbands to his fucking elbows has a scrawny weasel by the scruff. The craziest thing is the bouncer doesn’t look like-- well he looks like me. He’s hairless and clearly human with blonde hair and tan skin. He chucks the weasel down the stairs and he hits me then falls to the ground with me stumbling backward but catching myself on a street light. The blonde bouncer is hardly bothered by this sequence of events and instead just sneers at the weasel before turning back to the door and slamming it shut behind him.

“Jerk, big ass nobody lying sack of-” the weasel is really letting it out now as the bouncer is gone I’m sure if he was still standing at the top of the stairs the weasel would be as quiet and dumbstruck as I was. Finally the weasel spots me and huffs, “Fucking foxes, huh?”

I frown, “He wasn’t a fox.”

The weasel looks surprised at my sentiment before quickly shaking his head, “Course he was, kid. you need your eyes checked?” I don’t really say anything but then the weasel seems to realize something. His expression jerks to a sort of terrified horror as he takes me in all of my hairless humanness. “You...your...oh shit.” he hisses through his teeth. 

“You OK?” I asked not sure what to do beyond just glancing him up and down he stretched and winced. 

“Just wanted a drink yknow...” he says but his laugh suggests that he, in fact, is just shy and trying to steer the conversation away from what we were originally talking about. I’d grown up with another segregation to know it was bullshit. I had other friends; a bear, a hen, and a dog all of whom were good people. well, animals. The prejudice was just that. Prejudice. 

“I know a united bar. I’ll buy you one.” I offer and instantly the weasel looks pleased.

“Oh, you're a good egg, kid. Name is Weekly.” He holds out his furry paw and i shake it. “You people have eggs right? I don’t want to be...” he trails off insinuating what he means as I let go of his paw and he rolls it wearily at me. 

“No, no you’re good. This way.” I motion and we walk it. 

The United bar is ironically named Eden’s. There is a lot of biblical stuff when it comes to the whole human race's first perspective. For one the animals often refer to us as Arks. As in the ones who built them before the world flooded. Which it did big time again. Spoiler though this time it wasn’t the Big I Am. It was US. Being fucking gross. 

We sit at the bar and I order Weekly a drink. He takes a milkshake with vanilla ice cream and rainbow sprinkles. I honestly dunno why I thought I’d be buying him a scotch or something but he apparently is all for the sweets. 

As he slurps it down and I order my Jack’n’Coke he admits that “it kind of slipped out...sorry about that.”

I frown but try to play it cool, “What did?” Weasels aren’t all sneaky and the stereotype is rude but Weekly does have that feel about him. It also doesn’t help that a polaroid hangs around his neck by a strap and a press pin is on his lapel. 

“You know...” he laps up the cherry greedily and finally says, “Glamour?” 

The bartender walks by when he says it. A bull who sends him a look like he’s daring him to repeat it. Maybe Weekly has a death wish or maybe he just doesn’t care because he looks at me all excited. “The stuff we animals use to trick you Ark boys.”

I shrug, “oh, that.” I say though it’s a total bluff. They use what to trick us? How?I feel a bit like I’m lisening to a conspiracy thoerist go off about the bullshit in the goverment and how it’s the lizard men’s faults...Only now it is actually lizard men running congress. I pause on the irony of that for only a minute as Weekly slurps at the last of his milkshake only to raise a hand and order another. This time I hope it’s not on my dime as the bull bartender brings it up. 

“You know you ain’t supposed to be telling no Ark about that.” says the bartender with a admonishing look but Weekly rolls his eyes and sets back into his second serving. The bartender Bradley looks at him worried, “Look Cash ain’t nothing good ever come out of listening to Weasels or the press.”

“Ain’t nothing is a double negative so something good must of come-” Weekly is on a roll as he waves the cherry at Bradley. 

Bradley huffs and turns back to me. “You’re a smart kid. Trust me on this one. How’s your sister?”

“Why?” I ask and it fills the room between us with a sort of solidarity and coldness. That’s the weird thing. The really weird thing that has happened since the flood and since the fucking evolution of animals to be upright walking entities with opinions and forethought. The big thing actually isn’t the fact that the human race isn’t the top of the food chain anymore. No it’s not the fact that our goverments of the past and our history have inspired animals- pandas, turtles, lions, bears, etc to run the world democratically and united. No. It’s that humans are pretty much extinct. Our Arks the main ones anyway sunk. Most of humanity died on them. Those are the stories though. Five sunk, three were overcome with awful plaque, and the others were never heard from again. 

It was like every end of the world event. The strong survived, the evolved thrived. Humanity did neither apparently and so as far I knew there were a grand total of 200 humans left. That may seem a big number to most animals but generally speaking that 200 out of the 7.7 billion that once inhabited this planet only a decade before. The weirder things came attached to that extinction epidemic like a addendum. We became a classified endangered species and a oddity and in doing so became something sort of prized? The wording isn’t totally correct but it’s close. 

Human females are attractive to a lot of other species. Human males it’s sort of give or take but yeah close. Again it’s weird. We were taught in school to always be aware that it was up to the handful of us to repopulate the Earth with our species. It was our responsibility. That of course meant the afformentioned sex which meant other species got weird ideas because generally speaking if you were once a rat who couldn’t communicate sex and wanting it beyond squeaks you might not want to get freaky with whomever if you can communicate it. It’s a mix of weird and terrifying. 

My sister never really was OK with it. I remember the sort of gradual shut-in nature growing with her thoroughout the end of the floods. She didn’t come out much and there was of course Dad’s absence. Mom’s eventual...well let’s not get depressing. Really. 

“She’s fine, thanks.” I say but it’s clear by Bradley’s question that isn’t what he’s asking.

“Is she...still...well..” he wants to know if she’s single.

“She is and not looking.” I clarify and he nods and moves along thankfully. I wonder if my Mother was easily impressed with Dad or if she was tougher to get like my sister’s mother. That I add to the list of weird. Our Dad has a grand total of 16 wives and counting. He’s not around much and most of them have divorced him at some point. I dunno how many siblings I actually have but my sister. My Twin born the same day and time as me even if by a different woman well she is the one I care about. Our mother’s hated each other and it was only by sheer will that we met at all. 

“You got a sister?” Weekly asks and i nod. 

“Yeah.”

“What is...she?” Weekly harbors and i admit it’s not he most delicate way anyone has asked what other species is mixed with my human DNA. After all my Dad didn’t go off with another human woman there aren’t enough of them. Most of them aren’t interested in desperate human men anyway. No. My Dad mostly tried different species. I happen to have a whale mother. She went back to the deep blue sea after i was born. Sometimes when I have panic attacks i need to dunk my head underwater to breathe.No i don’t have a spout. Relax. The only clear thing about me from her is my affinity for water and of course the pale blue scales on my back and feet. Otherwise a human boy. 

“Sorry that was offensive.” he says and i admit it is.

“Tell you what. I’ll answer your question if you answer mine, yeah?” he nods eagerly and I start. “What is Glamour?”

Bradley huffs as he walks by and i ignore him. Weekly luckily does too. “It’s sort of like...a illusion. you know. We present ourselves one way based on pheremones and work so your eyes see us somehow when we are another....we can get rid of it whenever we want. It i think works because of snake pheromoes but i am not sure on that. Don’t quote me.”

Huh. “So the appearance changes?”

“Yes. I think those Cat-Pop stars are doing it best. Have you see the trend they bring but they look human with cute ears and a tail.”

I had seen them. Cat-Pop was from the East. They were popstars but with cute cat ears and tail with human body. Girls and guys it was another thing added to the weird list. 

“Now tell me about your sister!” Weekly whines and i give in.

“Her mum was a owl.” I confess. Weekly whistles. 

“Thought they were extinct?”

“All but.” I say. I remember her, Cashel’s mum. She hated my mum so much she found out what she was naming me and decided to name her child something similar just to spite her. Cash and Cashel .I wonder if my sister is sleeping. She struggles often to sleep at night and the feathers twisted in her sunny brown hair are always unkept. Owls died out during the first rebellions after evolution. Apparently they pissed off the Hawks, Falcons, and general Avian Alliance because they sided with Lions. There were stories of the Owls aiding the Lions through much turmoil. All knowing, all seeing. The wisdom to the Lion’s muscle. Cashel tended to bury herself in those stories. The only one who could unbury her were her friends and the guy i was rooting for as far as a romantic option. i remind myself to check in on Beau but for now I say goodnight to Weekly and he gives me his card. 

I know i didn’t get inside of the Foxhole tonight but i promise the moment I do you will know. I just need to lean up to it. It’s kind of a big deal.

When i make it home the house is dark and quiet. Cashel is curled up on the couch snoozing quietly. Her best friend Noodles (some people name their kids dumb things) lays next to her also snoozing. Noodles is a white cat with absolutely no glamour like Weekly described. She’s white and furry with long curls and a few earrings clipped to her hair. She and Cashel have been friends since college as they tried many times to become roommates. 

I move to my room and get ready for bed trying not to think about the blonde haired bouncer. He was the first person I’ve felt a weird attention too. A tugging. It was probably because i never saw any humans...but I guess what Weekly was saying was that he wasn’t human? He was using glamour? But why? To what end? 

I rub at my eyes. I’m beat. This unknown of weird can wait for tomorrow to dissect. Now is sleep. Now is dreams of the deep deep sea and the low rumbling of something much more ancient then any Ark in the recesses of the deep dark abyss.