#but i might update them for kicks later just in case

[carlyraejepsans]

Setting up AO3 Enhancements on a mobile browser

Hey there! Do you:

read fic primarily on your phone?

feel tired of having to punch in a lot of filter tags every time you browse for fics?

have an android device?

then I might be able to help you make fandom a cozier place! (and hopefully nip future drama in the bud, lol)

With this post, I'm gonna guide you through the process of installing the AO3 Enhancements browser extension, normally only available on desktop, on your mobile device. It works a charm, and I've been using it for months, and it's made the Undertale tag navigable again despite my utter disinterest in AU content.

Here's an archived version of the full post in case my dumbass accidentally deletes it for some reason

Let's get started!

UPDATE: For IOS users! You can download the browser app "Orion" which allows firefox extensions! No need to do this procedure, just install it and download the extension as you normally would from Firefox Add-ons

1) Download Firefox Nightly.

For those who are hearing of it for the first time, Firefox Nightly is a separate Firefox browser made specifically for developers. The name itself is due to the fact that it's patched and updated on a daily (er, nightly) basis. This makes it more prone to crashing and issues than the standard Firefox app, but I've switched over to nightly as my main browser months ago now, and if I ever encounter a problem, I just... download the latest update and I'm good to go.

What's crucial about Nightly, however, is that it gives the user access to various additional features. One of them being desktop extensions on mobile, which is what we're here for.

Here's the Google Play link.

2) Make a Firefox Account

This will be necessary to install the extension later

Once you've done that, go to the Firefox add-ons website and log into your account in the upper right (where it says "Biscia" in the screenshot below). Click on "View My Collections"

3) Making an add-on collection

Since browser extensions are technically blocked from being directly installed by the browser, Nightly offers a workaround.

Create a collection, and give it a name without spaces to avoid errors.

4) Adding the extension

Here is the link to ao3 enhancements (if it's not showing up, try reloading the page in desktop mode). Scroll down until you see the option "Add to a collection" and select the one you just created.

You can do it with any extension! Go nuts. There's lots of good stuff out there. Just remember that it's not guaranteed every one of them will work, since they aren't intended to be used on a mobile device.

5) Activating debug mode.

In your browser, tap the little sandwich menu in the bottom right, scroll down and click Settings. It should be under "Save to Collection".

Scroll down even more until you reach the "About" section, and click on "About Firefox Nightly"

Click on the firefox logo 5 times, and it should be done.

6) Activating your add-ons

Go to "View my profile" as seen in the screenshot in step 2. At the end of the link, there should be a string of numbers. Copy it.

After this, go back to the browser settings again, scroll down until you reach the add ons section and click on "custom add on collection". Paste the numbers you copied from your profile where it says "User ID", and the name of your collection EXACTLY as it appears in the link, where it says "Collection name". Mind, it's case sensitive.

Press okay, and it should kick you out of the app. Open it again and, going in add-ons then add-ons manager, you should be able to add your extension.

ATTENTION!! If you get the error message "failed to query add-ons" you either inputted the wrong user id or the wrong collection name

To avoid this type of issue, don't name your collection something that has spaces or punctuation in it, as it might mess with the link formatting.

7) Setting up your AO3 enhancements filters

If everything's worked out fine, you should be able to visit ao3 and see a new drop-down window.

Click on it, click on option, and it should open up a new window with all the settings available! Tweak them to your heart's content. Though mind, the background tag wrangling done by the ao3 volunteers doesn't work with this extension, so the extension is going to hide only the works tagged EXACTLY what you filtered. Character for character. This makes things a bit tricky when people aren't consistent with their tagging, but if it proves to be enough of a problem, you can just filter out the author name in full and be done with it.

You can choose to hide the fic behind a "show" button, or make it not show up at all. If you choose the latter option, and you blocked a tag that has lots of fics, it might look like certain pages of searches are almost empty, since all the fics were hidden.

And that's it! I sincerely hope this helps people avoid their triggers and other topics that make them uncomfortable. No more excuses fellas. You find a tag you haven't filtered yet? You add it to the list and move on. Easy peasy.

Hope I haven't missed anything. Let me know if you need any help!

[sanguinesky-if]

Hello dear author last night I completed the public demo and I just wanted to inform you that the Lexie POV at the end broke my heart, I was gonna have flings with T And S but I don't know whether I'll be able to bring myself to don it now, I just feel bad for Parker he did nothing wrong but stiill got shit on 😔.

Also I find find the Parallels between L and my MC very amusing, L blames herself for EVERYTHING leaving MC to attend her sister's wedding, having Parker over, and making MC sad, whilst my MC would blame himself for having Parker kicked out and having L be scared.

Finally in Lexie's POV Parker tells her that MC already has other friends so is that Reffering to K and will that line always be there regardless of wherever we pick any heart choices for K?

Hello! I'm happy to know L's POV is eliciting an emotional response.

I was gonna have flings with T And S

I apologize if this is disappointing, but (so far)* no one from the main cast can become just a "fling".

You can check out the Romance System Overview for more information about the romance progression and the different dynamics available in the game.

*I wrote "so far" because I'm still deciding how to best approach the issue of route locking. But I'm glad you mentioned this, as it's actually something that's been bothering me for a while.

T and S were supposed to have sex scenes in Chapter 3, Pt. 2 because when the game was originally planned as a visual novel, the route-locking happened at the end of Chapter 2, and the opportunity to have sex with them made sense without implying that the other ROs would be affected.

Since this is no longer the case, I'm hesitant to include their sex scenes because:

This will block some of the ROs' routes (with T, the routes of 3 ROs will be blocked; with S, 2).

This will greatly impact other routes, given how jealous the ROs can be.

Considering that this is my first IF and I already have a lot to keep track of, for now, I've decided to move their drafted sex scenes to the side stories (and part of me happy with that decision, because the format of the side stories gives me so much freedom for sex scenes without need to worry about other ROs).

Though I understand that most people would probably prefer to see the sex scenes in the main story sooner rather than later, I'm trying to make balanced decisions that feel right.

And, most importantly, I don't want to overwork myself.

Still, if anything changes, I'll update the Romance System Overview and release another post to inform about those changes.

I just feel bad for Parker he did nothing wrong but stiill got shit on 😔.

I love hearing different opinions about Parker! But what if they purposely announced that the shower was free louder than necessary? 🧐

MC would blame himself for having Parker kicked out

L didn't kick Parker out just because of what Parker said about the MC.

If you choose the "concealed crush" dynamic with the "MC keeps their feelings hidden" subtype, it'll give you a little insight about L (and a part of the reason why MC might be hesitant to confess):

So even without mentioning the MC, L would have asked Parker to leave because L don't want to give them any hope that their kindness may ignite (as it had many times before).

in Lexie's POV Parker tells her that MC already has other friends so is that Reffering to K and will that line always be there regardless of wherever we pick any heart choices for K?

There are 4 variations of what Parker says, depending on how many romance points you have with K and Morgan.

If you have 0 romance points with both of them, Parker will say something completely different.

Thank you for your message! I hope my answers were helpful!

[xkaidaxxxx]

Villain's Love

Dabi x Reader

Mentions: Bad behavior, forbidden love, humor, great friends. Sfw.

Reblogs are appreciated. Check Masterlist for pt.1 and pt.2

You woke up to his voice in the morning, 

Call: 

Dabi: Time for school. Wake up already. You need to get ready.

You shifted thinking you were hearing shit.

 Dabi:  Flame please get the hell up. You’ll be late!

 You shot up from bed checking the time.

Y/n: 35 minutes!? Wait wait..” 

Dabi: You’re finally awake.

Y/n:   You didn’t hang up last night.

Dabi: Yeah I ended up knocking quickly after you did. I forgot.

You got up rushing to the bathroom getting ready to shower. 

Y/n: Keep me updated with the time please. 

Dabi:  13 minutes passed.

You finished your shower and started your routine. 

Shower 

Body lotion

Changing

Brushing teeth

Make up 

Hair

Y/n:  Fuck my life. It’s over if I show up late.

You laughed  in the process of putting on a bit of concealer to not look dead. Skipping foundation. You always do your eyeliner quickly. A total pro. You quickly put on mascara and a dark red matte lipstick.  

Y/n: I look tired.

Dabi laughed through the phone. 

Dabi: Wake up early next time my flame. 10 minutes left.

Y/n:  My hair! I don’t have time. 

Dabi:  Screw the hair! Hair clip it or whatever. It’s not the end of the world.

 You clipped up your hair. 

Dabi: Menstrual products packed in your bag?

 You always have it packed just in case. 

Y/n:  Yup. All set.

You grabbed your bag using your quirk to get to class. 

Y/n:  Bye babe. I’m about to enter. Love you so much we'll talk later bye.

End of call 

“ You’re late Ms. Aizawa.” The teacher said, “ I’m highly aware of that.” you responded rudely as you were walking to your seat. “ You come in late to class during an exam that started 10 minutes ago and have the audacity to respond to me rudely. You have an F. Get out.” the teacher said. “Listen here! If you don’t know I’ve had 2 weeks of hell! I’ve been yelled at, slapped in the fucking face with agonizing pain. I haven’t been able to sleep right these past 2 weeks due to all the trauma piled up on me! I’m physically and mentally tired! Now I have to come in not knowing what the hell is on that test since I was stuck in the goddamn hospital and don't use the excuse of “ You should’ve studied.” Study what? My teacher didn’t care to come see me or contact my father and explain to me what is going on in class and what chapters I should focus on!!! Give me a fucking break alright!!” you yelled, getting all your anger out. “ Go to the principal's office now. Your father should work on his parenting.” the teacher said. “ I’ll take her ma’am so she doesn’t try anything.” Mirio said. “ You son of a bitch!!! You don’t have fucking kids you asshole!!! You can talk shit after you have a fucking child to raise!! No one talks shit about my father, you got that!!!” you yelled, throwing and landing a rough punch. The class gasped.

“ Now's your chance to run to your dad,” Neijire said. One of the other students helped the teacher sit up. You ran like your life depended on it. “ She’s done for..” Mirio said. “ H-Hey all might… Do you know where I can find my dad?” you asked. Guilty face and all. “ Teaching class outside in the training grounds. Why?” he asked. “No reason! Bye and thank you!” you ran. 

As you got there you were sweating and panting. “ Isn’t that your daughter Mr. Aizawa?” a girl with pink hair said. He looked over at you. With the expression on your face and the time you should be in class screamed you did something stupid. “ What did you do?” he asked stopping the class thinking it was one of them who fucked up. “ I um..well these past 2 weeks have taken a toll on me dad..You know that. I woke up late today..I got to class 10 minutes late..the teacher told me I was late and I said “ I'm highly aware of that” in such a bitchy tone and then She kicked me out and gave me an F on my exam for doing that. Then I sort of exploded on her. At the end she sent me to the principal's office saying you need to work on your parenting. That made me lose my cool even worse …long story short I punched her…She’s probably at the nurses office by now.” you replied. The entire class 1-A was shocked. Who would’ve thought Aizawa’s daughter would pull such a stunt. “ That’s badass,” Bakugou said. Kirishima nudged Bakugou. “ You’re grounded. A month. Hand over your Macbook and Ipad. You’ll be using my computer for school. You will give me your phone. You’ll have your watch for communication. If any assignments are online I’ll have your teachers send it to my email. Oh and forget about the Game and Anime con.” He said. “ Yes Sir…but about the con I promised Shinso I’d go with him as a gamer anime besties date. It’s literally next week Friday-Sunday. I can’t cancel on him. We’ve been planning for months now.” You replied as you took out your computer, tablet and your regular phone handing it to him. Aizawa took them from you. He sighed. “ Get back to work, kids.” he ordered and they did.

“ I know what you did was because of what you have been through but it’s not right for you to act that way towards your teacher. The first part of it. The second part I allow it. We have each other's back. I’m so proud of you, my child. I love you. I’ll allow you to go to the convention. Your gamer anime bestie date. Keep me updated when you go out every hour.” he said. You gave him a tight hug. He hugged you back.“ I love you too ,Dad.” you replied. The girl were awed at the sight. The guys had the what the fuck face. “ How did Shinso end up being besties with his daughter? She's a total babe. I’d do anything to get with her. Her melons are huge” Mineta said. “ She is a total babe,” Denki agreed. You walked over. “ Hi boys” you said smiling. “H-Hey” Denki said. “ What’s up?” Kirishiam replied. You let Denki go but Mineta is a disgusting perv and makes women very uncomfortable with his words and actions. Mineta was drooling and staring at your body. “Denki, right? Can you do me a favor pretty pleas?”You asked. He nodded. “Is it okay if you zap him for me?It takes about 2,700 bolts to kill someone. Can you use just enough to make him regret everything he's done and said to women.” You said giving him a quick hug and then releasing him. “ Yes, anything” Denki replied. He zapped Mineta really well. Enough to knock him out. Your dad pretended like he didn’t see anything. Serves Mineta right. “ Awe, thanks so much sweetie. I appreciate it alot. I’ll treat you to lunch when I’m not busy. Do you have your phone?” you asked. He took it out. You grabbed it adding yourself to his contact list. “ I won't have my phone but I can reach you through my watch”you said handing it back. He took it. Denki was losing his mind.

You saw Principal Nezu and walked over ready for your punishment. “ What you did was unacceptable. You will give an in-person apology to your teacher on top of that. Your punishment is cleaning the class on your own. Oh and to top it off you seem to like your dad's class, so since you have off periods you can help your dad.” he said. You were shocked he even thought that crap. Yeah, you liked your dad's students but it sucked having to use off periods on them. How would you catch up on work and take power naps? “ I will apologize but so will she. She insulted my father and no one messes with my dad.” you said crossing your arms “ Alright,” he replied. All might have stayed with the class as you and your father followed Principal Nezu to the nurse's office. You walked inside with them. “ I’m sorry for being rude and punching you in the face,” you spoke to her. You’re a straight-to-the-point type of girl. “ You’ve been through a lot so I forgive you. I should’ve contacted your father about your class assignments and things you should’ve studied.” She replied. Then it turned into awkward silence. You looked at her and cleared your throat. “ Don’t you have anything to say to my dad, ma’am,” you said, raising one of your eyebrows. “ I am terribly sorry Mr. Aizawa for disrespecting your parenting. I was out of line.” She apologized to your dad. “ Way out of line,” you said. Your dad smacked your head. You rubbed it afterward. “Ouch,” you said leaving the room. You checked the time on your watch. “Off period. Fuck my life.” You walked back to your father's class. 

“ Hey you’re back!” Denki said. “ Yeah in my off class I will officially be with you guys.” you yawned. “ Alright. I see you’re all working on your power moves. Show me.” you ordered. Everyone took turns showing you. “ They all suck at the moment. Yes, even your power moves Bakugou, so take that stupid look off of your face.” you said strictly. The guys laughed. “ Kirishima. Make your hardening, harden even more. I think tossing you a few sharper and more heavy things will help. Denki try and aim your electricity better so that you don’t hurt your friends around you. Try out targets.Uraraka when you use your quirk try to relax your body. Clear the mind. Remember you have control of your quirk not the other way around. Mina you should try and form different and effective ways to hold your acid. Bakugou. Those Ap shots auto cannons need help. They can be stronger. If you can just take the stick far up your ass out and allow me to help you.” You said with a yawn afterwards. “ SHUT UP AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!!” he yelled.

You took 30 minutes to help the girls and 40 to help the guys. “ sooo ... .Ms.Aizawa do you like someone?” Mina asked.  She loves love. You blushed instantly. “She does!” Jiro yelled. “ Mina. Jiro. Get back to work.” you ordered. “ Is he cute or hot or both?” Mina asked while working on her quirk. “ He’s hot af. Very handsome. He treats me very well. He's cool, ya know. That’s all I’ll be telling you.”  you responded. “ We don’t know. You’re lucky.” Momo replied. You gave your advice and helpful orders then went over to the boys. You pulled out some very sharp knives and threw them at Kirishima with much power. He managed to block them but still got cuts. “ Mhm… I’ll get back to you on that.” you said to him. He was shocked you tried that without warning first. “Tokoyami. Your quirk. Have you ever thought of using it to fly?” You asked. “ I need help controlling it first. In the darkness…it takes over.” he replied. “ Okay but answer my question.” you said. “No I haven’t.” he replied. “ You can control it during a certain time. You can use it to learn how to fly. I’ll put in a good word with Hawks. He can teach you. I’ll beg him if I have too. You’re doing great.” you pat his back. You groaned while walking over to Bakugou. “ Idiot. Don’t just make accurate pinpoint explosions. “ you said, crossing your arms. He ignored you and continued. “ What a waste of a great quirk.” you commented trying to get his attention. “ I’m the best one here!!” he yelled at you. “ Oh really. Would you like a reminder on how I kicked your ass. Now get the stick far up your ass and let me help you.” you spoke sternly. He nodded. “ Your Ap Shot auto cannon is great. Amazing. It has potential to be more than that. When you pinpoint them they’re still in a large shape. How about making them thinner. It will pierce and explode through something and if you manage to control very strictly you can pierce something and turn them into bombs. You’re welcome extra.” you say walking away. He stood there feeling stupid. All might and your dad watched you. “ Your daughter is very smart.” All might, said to Aizawa. “ I know. I raised her.” he said 

As the school day was finally over you walked back to your dorm. “ What’s your punishment?” Tamaki asked. “Cleaning duty, Off periods I’ll be helping my dad with his class, which gives me no time to catch up in class nor take naps. My dad took my Mac, Ipad and phone away. I only have my watch so yeah.” you replied. “ I’ll help you clean so that way you can have some little more time to catch up.” he said. “Thanks Tamaki. Let the others know I said HI.” you replied going to your room. 

As soon as you closed the door behind you, you grabbed your phone video calling Dabi. You changed quickly. He answered. 

Dabi: How was your day?

Y/n: I yelled at my teacher then punched her…I’m grounded. 

Dabi: You more than likely did it for a good reason. How are you holding up?

Y/n: I’m okay. I’ll be busy catching up with school work. I’m sorry If I don’t answer your messages throughout the day. 

Dabi: It’s okay. Just work hard to finish your studies. 

Y/n: Oh and I have the perfect days for the Vacation house. Next week 15-17 and the weekend. The students have a break. It’s the teachers grading and evaluation days. 

Y/n: I’d have to invite a friend with me otherwise things will look suspicious. 

Dabi: That's great. I can’t wait to see you soon.

Dabi: You told people about me didn’t you.

Y/n: Yeah…

Dabi: It’s fine. Just know if they try something on me I’ll make sure they’ll regret it. 

Y/n : They won’t I promise. Although they will have their guards up just like you. This is all if they agree to come with me. 

Dabi: Alright. I’ll have to call you later my flame. I’m meeting up with Shigaraki soon. You need to focus on school right now. Oh and you look sexy in my hoodie. 

Y/n: Yeah? Glad you enjoy seeing me in it. I’ll send you pics later. Don’t be a perv and think they’ll be naughty. 

Dabi: I’m not thinking that. I have to go. I love you very much. 

Y/n: Love you too bye.

End of video chat. 

You hid the phone away. 

You have sent nudes to Dabi before and you’ve received some as well. You’ve been feeling insecure for a while. You noticed you gained a lot of weight. You obviously hated that. You were chubby. Dabi had no issue with it. He made that clear. You still can’t help but think if he’s just being nice. 

You sent messages to the rest of the big 4. 

Message sent: Meeting at my dorm 3 mins. 

They all liked the message to confirm attendance. 

You opened the door once they got here. “ Okay dudes. We have to talk.” you said closing and locking the door. “ Like girl talk?” Mirio asked. “I was wondering if you guys would like to hang out at my family vacation house. The days of break we have.” you invited them. “ You want us to go with you because you want to see your prince.” Neijire summed it up. “ Yeah…he knows I told you. Can you please do me the favor? It’s not only to see him. We need a serious break.” you replied. “ The first and last time we help you meet up with him.” Tamaki said. 

As the break finally came. You were excited to see him. Mirio was driving with Neijire as the passenger princess. You sat in the back with Dabi and Tamaki. Poor Tamaki was scared and ready to throw hands if necessary. “ Say Hi.” you ordered Dabi. “ Not much of a social guy but Hey.” he said to everyone. “Hi! You’re Y/n’s criminal. Forbidden love. Romantic!” Neijire said. “ Yes I’m hers.” he replied, pulling you closer to him. “ Hello.” Tamaki and Mirio said. You yawned, leaning into Dabi. He gently played with your hair and hummed you to sleep. “ You got her to sleep in an instant. She’s been having trouble sleeping these past two weeks…” Mirio spoke. 

“I know. She asked me to stay on the phone with her last week when she woke up late.” Dabi said.

[tianasficrecs168]

Stony Fanfic Recs

So I've got a few ways I've marked up my fanfic list, just so I can sort through it easier (yes I do have a lot. yes I will be sharing).

Brackets (…) means it's still being updated/not done/WIP – and I'm paying close attention to it

Zeros with a strikethrough (000) Disappeared off the net (I still have a doc of it saved somewhere)

A black dot • means it's a one-shot

Ship with + means it's either time travel or dimension hopping – something along those lines

A heart ♡ means it's focused on Sexy times (it's pure filth PWP)

Anyway! Onto my MCU Stony fic recs...

Arysteia: “The Twice-Told Tale” (Steve/Tony+) • For someone he'd hero-worshipped for so long, Steve Rogers in the flesh is a pretty big disappointment. For one thing, he keeps looking at Tony as though he reminds him of someone else, and even if he never says anything, Tony's pretty sure it's his father. A lifetime of not measuring up to Howard's expectations is more than enough, thank you very much, and he's certainly not going to make an effort to live up to any of Steve's. Steve's pretty clearly failed to live up to his expectations, in any case, and that's not hypocritical at all.

Wordsplat: “Hashtag Finally” (Steve/Tony) (000) • Since the story's been deleted from....whichever site, can't remember - I have the doc saved. Also the summary for this one is just the beginning of the fic (I'm lazy): It started with Clint. Technically speaking, Tony never actually invited him. He would have, given any sort of contact information, but Clint disappeared right after the battle of New York and clearly didn't want to be found. Natasha probably knew where he was, but knowing didn't mean sharing, so Tony never got the chance. Invitation or no invitation, three years later Tony still found Clint Barton sitting on his couch, watching Dog Cops and eating Cheetos in his underwear. "Sup." "Shit!" Tony jumped, dropping his mug. "Aw, coffee." Clint peered over the top of the couch. "Sucks, man."

“Meet Your Heroes” (Steve/Tony) (000) • Another one that bit the dust -> google doc The summary is the first few parts of the fic: It’s been a while, sure, but it’s far from his first rodeo and he knows exactly what’s about to happen when the door of the black van in front of him rolls back to reveal four armed men in black ski masks. So yeah, not the best way to kick off the week. He’d had a great weekend. After months of toying with it, scrapping the idea only to circle back around, he’d finally committed and built the mechanized suit he’s envisioned since the “Avengers” first appeared on the scene a few months ago. Part of the reason he’d tried to scrap it so many times was how nervous he’d been to tell Steve. Steve didn’t like to talk much about the mysterious team of superheroes running around their city these days, so Tony had sort of assumed that expressing his desire to join them might make things tense to say the least, if not start an outright fight. To Tony’s pleasant surprise, Steve had instead been weirdly over the moon about it all. Told him to go for it. Went on and on about how the Avengers would be lucky as hell to have him. Practically rewarded him, jumped his bones no less than five minutes after he announced his intentions. So that had been great.

AshitaNewssnoopy: - “Worth It” (Steve/Tony) • When Steve said he wanted to court Tony, he assumed that he just meant that he wanted to take thing slow. And that was fine by Tony. No really, he could do this thing if that's what Steve needed (shut up, Pepper; he so could). Because Steve was worth the wait. But then the gifts started coming and the letters popped up and there were chaste kisses and romance and…and what is even with this? Just when did his life turn into a romance novel?

Anonymous: - “With you” (Steve/Tony) • Sometimes Steve gets overwhelmed by how much he loves Tony.

ItsallAvengers: - “Keep on Beating” (Steve/Tony) • There were an awful lot of things Steve loved about Tony. But one thing in particular Steve could never get enough of was his heartbeat.

Sara_holmes: - “Like Sunlight” (Steve/Tony) • Steve is used to the way it feels by now; a strange but gentle tugging connection under his sternum, warm tingles in his skin whenever they touch. That is, until Tony gets himself kidnapped. Then it kinda feels more like someone is trying to wrench his heart out through his ribcage.

Scifigirl47: - “Some Things Shouldn’t Be a Chore” (Steve/Tony) Steve takes things like personal responsibility and respect seriously. Tony's got people he pays to take care of that kind of thing, and anyway, he's pretty sure that he's going to die of some exotic disease in his workshop, because Dummy's still a little spotty about what is 'clean' enough to put on an open wound. The rest of the Avengers are in this for personal gain, except for Clint, he just enjoys being a dick. And some things shouldn't be a chore.

[sebstanismyspiritanimal]

Here's chapter four! This one is a little awkward, I'm not good at writing cases and idk how to solve them so i kept the case out of it as much as possible 😂 but we get a cameo from Max! In my head the CB radio is bc obviously walkie talkies are the parties main mode of communication but obviously that wouldn't work over several states but they're jaded from government spying so they don't wanna use cellphones. So Dustin and Lucas rigged up a CB that can do that! Idk if that possible but hey sci-fi.

I'll probably be adding this to ao3 soon bc I finished writing chapter five, I will continue to post over here unless people just tell me they want to link for each new chapter instead of the whole one

As always here's chapter 3 if you missed it!

Eddie Munson is acutely aware of the fact that she did not go to and graduate the FBI academy, or any academy for that matter. Honestly, she hadn't been worried about it until Hotch sent her and JJ to talk to the families of the victims and she quickly realized that she had zero idea of what she was doing.

"Mrs. Barlow, I know how difficult this is for you, but any information you can give us can help." They were seated across Lucy's sister-in-law, the one that had reported her missing and the woman was crying into a tissue at her kitchen table.

The woman took a shuddering breath and nodded, "Okay."

JJ glanced to the side in an awkward way and cleared her throat, "Was Lucy involved in drugs, in anyway?"

Tammy- the sister in law grimaced and nodded, "She had problems as a teenager but she was sober! I met her brother when she was 25 and she was already 2 years clean. Why? Do you think someone from her past did this?"

JJ leaned forward and as gently as possible broke the news that Lucy's cause of death was of a heroin overdose. Eddie flinched as the effect of the words was immediate.

"How dare you?! Lucy was sober! She wouldn't give that up after this long!" Eddie leaned forward and clapsed Tammy's hand before she could jump to her feet.

"Ma'am, I understand that this is difficult and that Lucy took great pride in her sobriety. She was probably a sponsor for other people too right?" At Tammy's nod Eddie smiled and continued, "We aren't suggesting that Lucy willingly took these drugs and I know that by you entertaining our questions it seems like you are letting Lucy down, but Tammy we need your help. There is another woman missing and the clock is ticking for us to find her before someone else gets hurt."

JJ and Eddie held their breath waiting for Tammy's response, hoping they weren't about to be kicked out.

After what felt like an eternity Tammy slumped in her chair and raised a hand to her face, "Okay, what do you need to know?"

At JJ's encouraging look, Eddie continued the questions. "Was there a recent event in Lucy's life that could make a dealer able to lure her somewhere? A breakup? Maybe a job loss?" They watched as Tammy pressed a hand to her mouth and let out another sob before nodding, "She had just broken up with her girlfriend of 8 years, Lucy had discovered she was having an affair."

JJ and Eddie quickly finished up their interview before leaving the house, not wanting to make the family's grief worse.

2 hours later they were walking into the station to update everyone on what they had found out.

"Lucy Barlow was a recovering heroin addict and had been sober for 11 years and had just recently found out her girlfriend of 8 years was having an affair." JJ smoothly took over for Eddie, "Andrea Lakes has been a sober alcoholic for the last 7 years and just recently got laid off from her law firm. They were both sponsors too."

The others were silent as they took in the new connection the girls had found out from the families.

"So the unsub might have been able to lure them away to a secondary location using the promise of drugs and alcohol?"

"After five years the chance of a relapse decreases to 15%." Reid said contradicting Morgan's theory, but making Eddie perk up.

"You're right, with all of the years of sobriety breaking it is uncommon, but not unheard of and both of them were sponsors for many other people. What if they were going to meetings? New people are coming and going to those all of the time, it wouldn't be unusual to see new faces and with both of them sponsors, approaching these new people would be expected."

They spent the next couple of hours bouncing ideas and leads around the room before Hotch called it a night, leading them back to the hotel.

Hotch talked at the front desk for close to 5 minutes before sullenly walking back to the group.

"So there is apparently a cheer competition in town and they are running low on rooms. We're going to have to pair up." The group groaned before getting into usual pairs when they realized they were uneven with Eddie on the team now.

Hotch grimaced realizing that he was going to have to put her with one of the guys, or make one of the girls share a bed.

"Are you comfortable sharing with Reid or would you rather share a bed with one of the other girls?" He questioned making Eddie shrug, obviously unconcerned.

"I've slept in worse conditions than having to listen to Spencer snore. Can't be worse than Russia in December." The snoring comment made Reid squawk in protest before everyone jumped on the Russia comment, complaining when Eddie wouldn't give up any more info on the walk to the rooms.

---------------------------------------------------

Spencer was startled awake a few hours later by a loud bang. He rolled over in bed and went to reach for the bedside lamp when he saw Eddie's silhouette at the lit up window instead of in bed.

"Eddie?" He questioned, sleep roughing up his voice.

"It was just a car backfiring, Spence, go back to sleep." She murmured back not turning away from the window. Spencer watched as she palmed something into her pocket, a silver flash of something before it disappeared.

Spencer glanced around the room, taking note of the chair pulled back from the table in the corner and an old CB radio with weird wires and a pack attached sitting on the table.

Spencer was debating if he should say something when the radio crackled to life.

"Eddie?" A whispered female voice came thru the speaker and Spencer saw Eddie glance at him as he hurriedly shut his eyes, hoping she thought he had just gone back to sleep.

"I'm here Max."

He heard her whisper and the same voice whispered something he couldn't quite make out back before he really did fall back asleep.

[rosyandraw]

Hi I love you. I’ve been carefully waiting for you to update 🤍 but also I do have a question! I noticed that you made Damen a Scorpio, and Laurent a Taurus in NMFY. Was this intentional? Because I saw on capri twt someone made a timeline to show Damen & Lauren’s 6 year age gap, and their most likely birthday. And Damen being a Scorpio and Laurent being a Taurus totally fits 😭🤍 In case it was totally intentional and you wrote it based on the books, you’re absolutely brilliant and I love you more. I wanted to know whether you’re into zodiac and have opinion to their zodiac compatibility pairing

I LOVE THIS AND I LOVE YOU FOR ASKING (also I just updated when I said I was going to lmao, for once!)

Sorry my answer is so long. But here is my essay on Scorpio Damen and Scorpio/Taurus compatibility.

I haven't seen the timeline, so I did it based on the books and then my own opinion of their characters. I'm really into astrology. I'm into spiritualism too and I'm an eclectic neopagan (not that you asked lmao)

Laurent is late spring, so can only really be a Taurus or a Gemini based on the information we're given in the books. And I think Taurus is more Laurent's vibe.

We know they're 20 and 25 during the books which kicks off around June time but by Marlas, which would have been early spring/March Damen was already 19 and Laurent was approaching 14. So Damen's birthday has to be later than September as the books only span 3 months (being generous) but before Spring (battle at marlas).

Then it was just a matter of deciding what I felt vibed best with what we know of them. I toyed with a few for Damen but none of them felt right -Capricorn, Sag, Libra- they just don't fit him very well.

I think Damen fits a Scorpio for so many reasons, mostly because they're incredibly deep but don't really show it. They're charismatic people quite naturally but they can also be ruthless. They're also -like Taurus- extremely loyal.

Scorpio people feel very deeply, they can be great leaders, resourceful, passionate when something is important to them, they love challenges and tend to be fucking fearless when they see obstacles.

You’re probably thinking "but Scorpios are manipulators" and yes. They can be and I would argue that Damen isn’t the kind of person that manipulates on purpose but, as with most scorpio’s, he is charming when he wants to be and often charming people don’t recognise their influence on the people around them. He is also smart and strategic and his manner of looking at things coupled with a natural charisma often influences situations and the people around him without him purposefully thinking let me manipulate this. Manipulation doesn’t always equal sneaky, sometimes it references a natural sway and I think Scorpio is often this kind of person. Especially because they are almost always confident they are right and confidence is everything when you’re influencing a situation or person, whether you know it or not.

Scorpio is often calm and collected. They feel deeply but don’t show it the way you associate with the other water signs. They can be violent when pushed and can be relentless with it, whether it’s a physical fight, a slanging match, or a cause they believe in Scorpio is IMPOSSIBLE to fight with. They keep their heads, they aren’t prone to lashing out or to displays of emotion but they can and will absolutely ruin you if you get them there. If they were a sin I’d say it might be Pride.

We know from Canon Damen is very cool and collected in high stress situations. He compartmentalises to a fault, he doesn’t EVER let his situation get the better of him in terms of his emotions. I am talking explicitly about his ability to keep his shit together when in fight or flight and his decision making ability in high stress situations. And of course his penchant for not letting himself feel the horror and sadness of everything that has happened: Kastor, Jokaste, his dad dying, being stabbed by his brother, the post, Ancel etc.

He feels it very deeply but he doesn’t let it show, he doesn’t let it rule him and he doesn’t acknowledge it pretty much all the way through the books.

Scorpio is deeply self aware (not always emotionally) and there isn’t a single instance in the book where Damen doubts himself. Not even in chains. He doesn’t even really doubt Laurent even when Laurent throws test after test at him. There’s a loyalty and surety there.

In terms of sex and romance scorpio is the sign of sexuality which matches nice with Taurus because they are the sign of sensuality. We know Damen’s only two outlets in terms of his emotions are fighting and fucking. He is a deeply DEEPLY sexual person and he has so much passion in him that he literally walks into the lions den with an I love you and some big fucking balls. Like??? Who else but a scorpio would have the AUDACITY to do that shit?

Prone to one-night stands and expression through their bodies Scorpios will only truly be satisfied when they find the ONE which again -so is Taurus. And when they do they are loyal and passionate and tend to spend their teen years and 20s being fuck-boys and hoes until they realise they want more.

Sound familiar? The second Damen fucks Laurent there is no going back for him because he’s found the person that can satisfy both his intense needs: sex and the emotional intimacy he’d been craving (but ignoring) his whole life.

When Scorpio’s find the one they want the literally merge their lives and hearts and become the power couple WE kind of people.

Intelligent, loyal, strategic, dedicated to the people they care about, they work well under pressure, are focused, resourceful and hardworking. They enjoy the chase; they are competitive and they like a little mystery in their romance. When in love they are unshakeable and loyal and passionate above all else. Their kind of love can be too intense for most people but Taurus WANTS that security and the assurance, Taurus thrives on being the centre of someone’s world and no other zodiac sign will do it quite as well as Scorpio

Taurus and Scorpio have a lot of sexual energy between them and natural compatibility. So I think it makes a lot of sense, Laurent and Damen's chemistry on page is stellar and it is INSTANT.

I think any time I read an enemies to lovers I assume they have birth charts that are compatible because Love and Hate are so closely aligned. Hate is such a passionate sentiment, I don't think it's possible that two people like that don't have some natal compatibility/facets that make for glorious tension.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble and thank you for this because it was so so much fun to word vomit about it haha! 💕💕

[jenuinely-speaking]

Delvation

The blend of two words, Delve; to dig up and study, and Causation; the event where a permanent effect takes place.

Hit some snags on my main story, so taking a break to write a one-shot that's been swimming rent free in me noggin' for the past month. I'm halfway done with it, so I might actually post it later tonight! In the meantime, here's a segment with the boys as a little preview:

Note: Everyone I write is aged up to be adults, unless stated otherwise. Universe: Bayverse Setting: New York City Tunnels, New York (guys are 30) Warnings: Swearing, grammar mistakes ---++---++---++ Turtles ++---++---++---

A relaxing, slow and mindless day—thank the Universe and Pizza Supreme both – Donatello was able to get some much needed work done. He had a lot of updates he needed to make on the both of their vehicles, and Raphael wanted his help on completing his latest portion on the latest motorbike he'd been working on for the last six months. He had planned to spend the entire day, par meals and their scheduled two hour training periods, shell deep in their large garage. Music blaring, drills going, sparks flying, grease and oil cased until he was in much need of a shower.

He had planned that.

What he got instead was, at hour three, his silent border alarms went off on his wrist watch. Without hesitation but with many, many cuss-words stringing abound beneath his beak, he bee-lined it to his computers.

He'd been watching the group since, perhaps the last forty or so minutes; humans that were delving the tunnels. Looked like they were kids, five of them with the eldest possibly college age. But thankfully, they showed to be well-verse in protection and inspection of their surroundings; all wearing PM2.5 masks, the two leads sporting tactical night vision goggles with grade-A flexibility, a bonus in his books, and one of the guys in the middle with a night vision camera. This wasn't their first tunnel to explore.

“Any new things happening with the group?”

Don split his attention for a second to see his elder brother walk in, blue mask rested around his neck as he walked in with a small plate of donuts in one hand and two mugs in the other. Sweet, sweet Galileo, what a savior.

Just as the snack had been placed on a nearby table, Don grabbed a jelly donut and took an immediate large bite. The heavenly thankful sound he made was closer to a churr than a sigh when the grape jelly touched his tongue, but the black coffee made it all the better.

“No; but the young woman that's with them is funny.” he murmured through his bite and went back to his desk to continue surveying the said group.

“Funny?” Leo appeared standing next to him, the second mug in hand. "Funny, how?" His tone conveyed a blend of suspicion and curiosity as he looked at the screens that showcased the group, currently having stopped to laugh about something.

Don gave a nod towards the screens showing the kids through a bite that finished off the donut, “mmhm.” His smile peaked through his chewing and sip of coffee that gave his snack that delicious finish before he sighed, satisfied, and leaned back in his chair. “She made a joke about Brown Noise during their discussion about tinnitus. Apparently one of the boys' ears have been ringing, and she thought it was a perfect opportunity.” A chortle from his elder brother had him grinning; he knew Leo would at least get a kick out of the science joke, like he had.

“Are any of them related?” Leo leaned against the computer desk with a balanced arm while he sipped his coffee, his sapphire eyes taking detailed notes of the spy camera screens. He blinked when one of the screens zoomed in on two individuals; the tallest boy with a designed high buzz cut and an athletic body that screamed “sports jock” and the one girl in the group with wavy hair set in a high tail. Though, Don claims she's a young woman that's at least in her mid-twenties, based on her height and voice. Leo wasn't sure about that. “These two?” He raised a brow ridge. Even with them wearing PM2.5 masks and dexterous night vision goggles, he could tell they did not look anything alike.

“Yeah,” Don supplied and pointed his cursor on both, “after she made the joke, the boys were talking about how this kid, Kayden, and his family always make the others laugh with science jokes.” With a shrug he clicked the screen back to its original position, “not sure how they are related, but they are according to that admission.”

Leo nodded in acknowledgment, “any luck finding out who those two are?” He knew Don had a hard time locating their identities, unlike the other three boys, who were without facial obscuring goggles. When he saw the cursor move to another screen that was sifting through a picture-label directory at an unseeable speed, he blinked and raised a questioning brow ridge back at his grinning little brother.

“When Kayden's name came up, I started sifting through the boys' online schoolbooks.” His grin faltered as he looked on at the screen next to it with ten pictures of boys with the same name, varying spellings, displayed. When another popped up, his frown deepened, “it's a popular name, to say the least.”

All Leo could do is hum in agreement as yet another boy's image with provided basic information popped up on the growing list. So far, none of the listed boys looked like they could be the one in their tunnels, based on hair style alone.

Both tensed when the parameter alarms went off once more, only this time it wasn't the silent pings, but a short blaring.

Donatello shot up to attention with a slam of his now empty mug. With a few clicks, the alarm was shut off and he immediately went into the camera system to see where it was triggered.

“What asshole mutant decided to pick a fight today?” Raph grumbled as he jogged into the labs, a well-used towel draped around his girthy neck as he wiped it and his bare forehead from sweat.

“Not sure. Donnie's looking into it,” Leo's sights flickered to their baby brother screeching his skateboard to a halt at the threshold and kicked it up before entering.

“Yo, those kids alright?” Mikey sounded more concerned than the rest of them as he stood on Donatello's other side of the computer station. “They didn't stumble on Leatherhead, did they?”

Shit, Leo didn't even think about that. Looking back up at the screen, his eyes widened at seeing the now highlighted spy cam box that showcased the mutant parameter trigger. It was the same spy cam screen showcasing the kids standing by the water.

The kids had stopped at some point to look at the water, something having caught their attention. They seemed to be frozen, all five looking tense with anticipation for something to happen. When Don clicked to increase the video size and began to mess with the settings, Leo couldn't help but feel that he and his brothers were now reflecting the human group on the screen: tense, coiled, and sweating with sparking anticipation.

A separate screen popped up, highlighting a zoomed area where one of the humans was already looking towards. When Don enhanced the settings for a sharper, clearer look at what was in the water, all four turtles sharply inhaled.

“Shit.” Don frantically stood from his chair and by passed his brothers to grab his gear.

“Dojo. Now!” Leo clipped, and he and his two other brothers ran full speed to get their weapons.

Not even seconds later, all four were running down the tunnels towards the one that held the human group.

“Donnie! Fastest route, now!”

He was three steps ahead of Leo as he yelled “this way!” and flipped onto his shell after a sharp turn; they were taking the fastest short cut through the river tunnels.

“How long 'till we get to the kids, Brain?” Raph hollered through the rush of the water.

“Any way we can get eyes on them!?” Yeah, the brothers could sympathize with Mikey on that one.

Don held up his wrist to double check their trajectory and time on his projected screen, “less than a minute!” He looked back towards his brothers, “Sorry, Mike—not gonna be able to hold eyes on them with this water spray.”

“Awe man.”

“I want all of you primed,” Leo interjected, “Donnie, focus on any that are injured—get them out of there immediately. Mikey, help him with either the injured or protection, preferably the latter. Raph, you're with me. We're going to keep that sonuvabitch off of them.” A loud crick sounded over the water spray of their fast travel as Raph flexed his neck, “with pleasure.”

[candygalaxyyy]

It’s 4 AM for me rn, I should probably go to bed because my sleeping schedule is a mess… but I’m dead set on understanding the timeline for the eighth sense. Sorry in advance for any misinformation or plot holes :) I’ve been rewatching episode 6 since Wednesday and I’ve just finished rewatching all six episodes again, safe to say things are becoming clearer. So first of all, it’s not a dream. The whole of episode 6, the drowning scene, jae won pulling ji hyun out of the water, it’s all very real. Even though the gas station scenes felt very surreal and almost mystical, especially with the lighting, blurred polaroid effect and music, but it’s still real?! People have already mentioned that on here; about it being real, time being warped with future events and other theories. And idc if this is obvious but I need it in writing to come back to.

Here’s my understanding of the past/present/future theories. Everything in episode 6 is the present, up until the trauma kiss. After the trauma kiss scene the screen fades to black, I believe that indicates a shift in the timeline being shown (it happened before but i forgot when exactly I’ll update later after I’ve watch it again). So the eighth sense is centered around jae won’s therapy session! How do I know this? Well after the opening theme in episode 1 the first scene we see is jae won at his therapist’s, and she says ‘tell me about your worries’. And so the story begins. He mentions in either episode 4 or 5 that his current worries kicked in after leaving the military so we meet ji hyun exactly when jae won’s been discharged. We still get ji hyun’s focus sometimes because as much I feel this story is jae won centered, ji hyun’s perspective gives a full picture of their relationship (have not grasped the whole story of why yet, probably to give depth to ji hyun and his importance in this story).

Jae won’s present day therapy session only appears after certain triggers are brought up, and the most telling one is him getting wasted, and his dad smashing the camera his brother gifted him (episode 5). I think this is the trigger that causes the whole therapy session, cause he mentions him putting up a front (his fake friend taehyung talking about his family), his dad aggression (broken camera) and other things we’ve seen. Furthermore, it was the longest snippet of the session we’ve seen thus far. It’s also all one session, we know this because they’re wearing the same clothes and hair in every therapy scene. Anyways, as he lets all his worries out and she asks what makes you happy these days. He thinks of ji hyun, tells her and then she says she should further their relationship if that’s the case. So he decides to take ji hyun to the beach, following the advice of his therapist and since ji hyun told him to rely on him. (present day leading to episode 6). So now we are in episode 6, going to the beach and all that good stuff, Jae won opens up because he’s just been advised to deepen his relationship with ji hyun and he feels comfortable to do so. They surf and give each other trauma through kisses… THE SREEN FADES TO BLACK.

We’ve jumped to the future, the lighting, tones and atmosphere after the trauma kisses has totally shifted from the rest of the episode, so it’s fitting to say it’s future events. To me that hotel scene is another trip in the future because they clearly say that they are only staying for that one night on the beach, because they don’t have clothes (and after them getting close on that trip it is safe to assume they will definitely go on more boyfriend trips). One reason I think the writers might have done this is to remind us of jae won’s current relationship with well deep relationships. All of his relationships after his brother and up till ji hyun were surface level. Why? Because he lost someone who he loved so deeply in such a traumatic way, he couldn’t protect his brother, he couldn’t protect his love so he chooses to disassociate from human relationships. But he can’t do that with ji hyun, he’s on his path of loving ji hyun. HE TOLD HIM SOMETHING HE’S NEVER TOLD ANYONE EVER BEFORE, HE WANT TO BE A PHOTOGRAPHER AND ONLY HIS YOUNGER BROTHER KNEW THAT. JAE WON IS ALREADY TRUSTING AND LOVING JI HYUN ON ANOTHER LEVEL THAN ALL HIS CURRENT RELATIONSHIPS. And of course after this we cut to them getting even more intimate and in their boyfriend era in the hotel, that’s their future. The drowning scene is also their future. And how will jae won react to *potentially losing another loved one after just starting to open up again (JI HYUN WON’T DIE THOUGH). How will he handle the guilt and pain he feels when ji hyun ends up in a hospital bed because of them surfing together in deeper water when ji hyun can swim that well? How will ji hyun handle it this time around?

[rulers-of-hungary-tournament]

The Housekeeping Post

This is... Well, you've read the thumbnail. For Hungarian monarchs who ruled after Mohács I refer you to @best-habsburg-monarch

(A later team-up to better determine the truly best ruler of Hungary is possible, but that's kind of a distant idea as of writing this post.)

Rules:

New rounds of the main poll on Mondays; there may be other irregular or regular bonus polls at the admin's leisure.

More or less following the same model as Best Habsburg Monarch mentioned above, i.e. one-on-one duels organized into brackets. Round 1 has 32 contestants, Round 2 has 16, Round 3 has 8, Semifinals of course 4 and lastly there's Finals, where we crown the Ultimate King Of Hungary.

We are using Hungarian names (even with the idiotic Hungarian system of putting regnal numbers before the names, natch), but in some cases you will see their Slovak names in brackets. Because fuck it, we ARE reclaiming these bitches.

Contestants are more or less taken from the Wikipedia list, with some caveats. Václav III. doesn't count. If anyone feels sorry for him, they are kindly invited to create a kings of Bohemia bracket. (Seriously if someone wants to complete the Visegrád triplet, please do, and then tell us all about it!) Neither does Otto of Bavaria, because I don't know shit about him (I mean his short disputed reign doesn't exactly help his case, but you could argue we are letting in shorter and more spurious reigns, so that's not completely fair). II.Lászo and IV.István are labeled as antikings by Wikipedia, and if we kick them out, we get 32 contestants, which is a very convenient number for a bracket, so there you go.

Don't know who that bitch in the poll is? Never fear, I'll always inform you of what at least my Medieval History teacher said about them!

Polls last a week, of course.

Propaganda, babyyy! Propaganda and antipropaganda are most enthusiastically encouraged, provided they are true and pass the general ethical standards and junk. The caveat being that propaganda does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the admin; all it has to be is ethical and factually correct.

Spread the good news! Reblog, talk about it with friends, whatever. Just let people who might be interested in participating know of this blog's existence!

TAGS: #main bracket - polls and recaps of the main bracket #main bracket recap - recaps of the rounds of the main bracket #bonus polls - well, bonus polls #memes - well, memes #about us - what others say about this bracket (with our response or otherwise) #housekeeping - other posts, mainly about how this poll works, updates etc.

(PICTURE SOURCES: Thumbnail: https://mindentudasboltja.hu/Tabula-Hungariae-Lazarus-1528 I know the map of Hungary should've been from before 1526 but THERE AREN'T ANY SURVIVING ONES. Sorry dudes Lazarus is the best we got.) Profile Pic: https://www.hungarianconservative.com/articles/culture_society/legends-tales-and-the-doctrine-of-the-holy-crown-of-hungary/)

[yjano]

Never The Same.

Part 3.

Pairings: Jake x Mc.

Warnings: Swearing, violence, angst, smut, other pairings;), traumatic experiences.

Words: 5.7k

Author's note: Honestly, this story is going to be a big piece of work and a lot of angst. It's not connected to the game at all. Because I always want to try something new and newer. Read it only if you're into angst stories, please. Guys I already started writing chapter 4...But I might get a little busy from tomorrow so excuse me if I'll update later. Thank you.♡

Ding.

I smiled to myself as I heard the familiar ding of my phone indicating I got a message. I immediately knew who it was. After that night in the bar Lex and I had been texting a lot and I already considered her a close friend. We just matched well and I couldn't help but feel happy to have gained another friend besides Lilly.

Deciding to text Lex back later I silenced my phone and put it in my bag. I was currently on my way to the visitor's room of the prison once again. After I worked out some of the details of Jake's case I couldn't help but feel the need to discuss them with him. Of course last time I visited the prison. Jake had made it very clear that he did not like me and that he would do anything to complicate the case even more, which is why today I had a plan.

Last night I had spent the entire evening coming up with a strategy to get Jake to corporate at least a little. I had even texted Lex and asked her what she would do but she didn't turn out to be any help.

With a confident look on my face, I was waiting for the doors of elevator to open. I knew it would work this time, even though my client was one of the biggest criminals in the country. I was Jake's only hope, he didn't even have another choice than to help me.

As the familiar ding of the elevator sounded I quickly got out through the doors and didn't wait for the guard to follow me. I knew the way to the visitor's room myself. Within a minute I stood in front of the door which would lead me to the prisoner, except when I opened the door Jake wasn't sitting on the chair he was sitting in the last time I visited him.

With a questioning look on my face, I turned around to look for the guard who was supposed to bring me here to ask him where Jake was but before I could the door on the other side of the room opened with a loud bang. The first one to come through the door was a large and muscly guard. The man had big muscly arms and short red hair, overall he seemed perfect to work in a place like this.

When the muscly guard moved out of the door frame I immediately locked eyes with the person I was waiting for. Jake had once again a smirk plastered across his face and a challenging look in his eyes. A challenge I was keen on winning.

Jake might have won our last battle, but I was determined to win the war. His tattoos were still proudly displayed on his arms and hands but the black bruise around his left eye was new. I sighed softly, I could only hope Jake hadn't done something which could complicate his case even more.

Behind the prisoner, another guard came into view. He had a stern look on his face and even though he was way smaller than Jake he sure looked like someone who could kick some serious ass. Once all three of them entered the room both guards immediately went to stand next to Jake and placed him on the same metal chair he sat in the last time he got a visit from me.

As Jake was seated down, both guards immediately got ready to handcuff the prisoner to his chair but stopped when I interrupted them.

"You don't have to handcuff him to the chair you know, he's not an animal and I'm pretty sure he won't hurt me," I said with confidence in my voice. Both guards looked at me as if I had grown two heads, and I slowly started to doubt my plan. Was I doing the right thing?

To my relief, the guards walked away from Jake and while the big muscly man took a seat next to the door which would lead back inside the prison, the other went through that exact door and left but not before saying.

"I swear to god Dalton, if you even think about hurting her we won't hesitate to kill you." In return, Jake's smirk only grew wider.

"So, you're back, you have no brains do you?" Jake asked while he sat back on his metal chair. Both his hands and feet were still handcuffed together, but it somewhat made me happy that he wasn't handcuffed to the chair anymore. Even though Jake was anything but nice to me it didn't feel right to treat him like an animal, after all, he was still a human.

"Maybe I don't, but that's not what I am here for," I said trying to sound as confident as possible, but still with a hint of uncertainty lacing my voice.

"Listen, Jake, I'm not here to fight with you, I just want to discuss some major points I found while working on your case," I said and looked with hopeful eyes at him.

"I don't fucking care about anything you do Estrada, if you want to help me I suggest you stop annoying me and crawl back out of the shithole you came from," Jake said with a bored expression on his face and an annoyed tone laced his voice. I looked at him. The disappointment was visible on my face.

The fact that Jake still wasn't interested in helping me made me feel somewhat sad. Last night I decided to show Jake who was now sitting in front of me that I wasn't scared of him at all by telling the guards they didn't have to handcuff Jake to his chair. I had hoped to show exactly that. Turns out this was yet again another failure, the prisoner in front of me was unpredictable and had done exactly the opposite of what I had hoped.

"Look, I'm not here to annoy you, Jake, I'm only here because I want to help you, can't you be nice?" I asked, I was clearly on the verge of giving up. Jake's case was in less than two weeks and if Jake wouldn't corporate with me, I would surely lose it and Jake would be put on death row.

"Are you trying to make me laugh Estrada?" Jake asked with an angry tone lacing his voice. Suddenly his whole aura changed and he gave a scary vibe. Before I could fully process what was happening Jake stood up and leaned closer to me while he slammed his hands on the metal table in between us.

"Listen, Estrada. The first time you came to visit me I thought it was pretty fun to toy with you but now you are just annoying me." Jake said with an angry voice and an annoyed look on his face. The way he looked at me made me feel scared, really scared.

"You see the black eye I have here?" Jake asked while he looked me straight into my eyes. "That's your fault, Estrada." He said with a harsh tone and a scary look in his eyes. I didn't understand what was happening, I surely would remember it if I would have hit him. I knew for sure I didn't. I never even touched him. I didn't even dare to come near him.

"You see, I didn't want to come here today, but the guards forced me, and when I resisted some of them became violent, so you know to defend myself I slammed one of those fuckfaces head against the wall." He said with a cold look on his face. I looked at the prisoner with horror in my eyes. How could someone just slam another person's head against a wall?

Slowly I started to reach with my left hand for my bag, I wasn't staying any longer in this room with Jake in this mood and the guard not doing anything about it. As I felt the handle of my bag I clenched my fist around it and slowly started to get up, afraid that if I would do so any faster Jake would notice. As I was almost fully standing Jake suddenly stormed my way.

"Oh no pretty face you are not going anywhere, you still need to pay for the black eye on my fucking face," Jake said in a scary tone and within a second he stood in front of me and grabbed my collar in his hands. If I wasn't afraid of Jake before then I was now.

My heart started to beat rapidly and my whole body suddenly became completely warm. I was sure Jake would kill me any moment now.

I had a shocked look on my face as I saw how Jake slowly shortened the distance between our faces.

"If I see your pretty face one more time before the trial I won't hesitate to kill you," Jake whispered dangerously low in my ear. It gave me goosebumps over my whole body and I swallowed slowly. I had to get myself out of this situation, my head started to hurt and I started to feel dizzy. Fear crept up my spine and my eyes rapidly started to fill with tears.

Suddenly Jake got ripped away from me and I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. I watched as the big muscly guard who had been sitting beside the door pushed Jake in the direction of the door which lead to the cells. When Jake didn't corporate and started to attack the guard a few other guards stormed in through the door.

As I watched how Jake got dragged away I locked eyes with him one more time. The evil look Jake gave me made me swallow hard and once the inmate was out of my sight I made sure to leave the prison as fast as possible and never come back.

Was it too late now to back out?

~

I swallowed nervously as I looked at the big unfamiliar building before me. Last night Lex had texted me to come over this evening to do something fun and I gladly accepted. I had a super fun night with Lex back at the bar, so why not right?

The building where Lex lived was a huge skyscraper with black tinted glass, it just screamed luxury to me. In front of the door stood four big and muscly men in black suits, they were wearing black sunglasses and all of them wore an earpiece to communicate with whoever was on the other side of the line. They were placed in front of the entrance to make sure unwelcomed guests would stay outside and it made me a little nervous.

Why would a normal building have four security guards outside? At DW inc. We didn't even have one so why did this building?

I tried to swallow my nerves away and shook my head lightly as I tried to get rid of the thoughts before I began to make my way toward the entrance. Maybe the people who lived here were super rich and they secured the building to make sure no unwelcome guests could rob them.

As I almost reached the entrance I checked my phone one last time to make sure this was the address Lex mentioned in her text. As I confirmed it was indeed the address Lex had sent me. I decided to just walk up to the entrance. Lex probably already told the security guards they had to let me in.

Within two minutes I reached the entrance, but as I tried to go inside the big skyscraper I was immediately stopped by the guard closest to the entrance.

"Do you have an appointment?" The big bald man spoke with a bulking voice while he looked down at me. I swallowed and my heart began to beat rapidly in my chest. Jake was scary, but this man was doing a pretty good job at coming close to him.

"I got invited by Lex, I'm her friend," I said, uncertainty lacing my voice. I didn't know why but that man made me feel scared. It almost made me feel like I was doing something I shouldn't do.

Maybe it was because of the booming sound the man's voice made, or perhaps the fact that due to the sunglasses, the muscly guard wore I couldn't see his expression.

"Name?" The man asked again, startling me a little.

"Mc Estrada." I quickly said while I tried to get a glimpse of the expression on the big muscly man's face. I failed due to the big black sunglasses the man was wearing and I quickly looked down, the unsettling feeling still present. The man said something while he pressed a button on his earpiece and I guessed that would be how he could communicate with the person on the other end of the line.

"There is no Mc Estrada on the list of appointments, I have to remove you from the property." The muscly guard said, his expression still unknown to me. I raised my eyebrows and a confused look quickly made its way onto my face, I had double-checked the address and was certain Lex was supposed to live inside this building.

As I hung my head low and turned around ready to leave I suddenly heard something.

"No wait, let her in guys."

I suddenly heard the familiar voice of Lex. I quickly turned around and was met with the friendly brown eyes of Lex who I had texted so much. Lex looked exactly how I remembered her and a smile broke out on our faces.

All four guards looked a little startled at the sudden statement of the much smaller girl behind them.

"Of course, miss Torres." The guard who had earlier spoken to me now spoke to Lex. I looked at the guard with a questioning look. Miss Torres?

Lex quickly took my hand in her own and dragged me inside the expensive-looking building. When I took a look around the ground floor of the building I was amazed. Everything inside looked like it was made out of very expensive materials.

To my surprise though there were no normal people on the ground floor, just a lot of security guards. I didn't have a lot of time to think though as Lex was still pulling me towards some place still unknown to me.

Before I was fully registered where Lex was pulling me. I was dragged inside the most luxurious elevator I had ever seen. The walls were decorated with modern-looking white and black marble and the buttons looked like they were made out of pure gold. It almost made my mouth drop open. Lex quickly pressed the button for the 64th floor and finally let go of my hand.

"I'm sorry Mc, I forgot to put you on the visitor's list since I was really busy this morning," Lex said while a friendly smile started to form on her face. I smiled at her back. Without Lex, I wouldn't have known which floor I had to go to anyway so in a way I was pretty happy Lex came down to get me.

The elevator reached its destination pretty quickly and once the beautiful shining black doors opened both of us quickly got out of the elevator. We were now standing in a small white room with only one door in it. In the corner of the room stood a small table with a vase filled with black flowers in it.

"This is mine and Kaden's floor so don't worry about running into anyone except us," Lex said before she began to make her way toward the only door in the room.

I quickly followed her and couldn't help but look amazed at the sight in front of me. I was standing in a beautiful apartment with white walls and marble floors and the sides of the apartment were covered in huge windows. On the left side of the apartment was a huge black kitchen situated.

The kitchen looked spotless as if it wasn't touched anyone before and I couldn't help but let my mouth drop at the sight. Lex owned this whole floor?

Behind the kitchen, there was a huge dinner area with a beautiful white table and black chairs. The table was made for at least ten people. It was a stunning sight to see.

On the right side of the apartment was a huge black couch situated with a big tv in front of it. There was a modern-looking white table in between us which was placed on top of a blue furry carpet. On the couch were multiple white cushions with black flowers on it placed and it gave me a warm feeling.

My favorite thing about Lex's apartment though was the view. I took a few steps closer to the windows and almost lost myself completely in the view. From here you could look over almost all of Duskwood. The cars looked like tiny ants and the people driving them were even smaller. The lights of the streetlamps gave off a beautiful contrast and together they looked like small stars.

"So how do you like my home?" Lex asked while she walked towards the big black couch and sat down on it. She looked even smaller on the black couch than she already was. I smiled at my relatively new friend and walked over to take a seat on the couch.

"It's beautiful," I answered and I couldn't help but wonder how much this apartment would cost. Maybe one day when I would be a successful lawyer I would be able to afford a place like this. I slowly walked towards the big couch and took a seat next to Lex, while the impressed look on my face was still visible.

"So what do you want to do, Kaden isn't supposed to be home until 11 pm or so," Lex said while she went to the kitchen to get the both of us something to drink. My eyes immediately lit up when I saw her come back with two glasses of cherry red wine in her hands. Lex softly placed both glasses on the table in front of us and took a seat next to me.

"Let's just talk," I said whilst looking at her. Lex softly nodded.

"Are you doing any interesting cases at the moment Mc?" Lex asked whilst she picked up her glass and took a sip from the red liquor. I immediately thought of my client. Everybody in the country knew his name, he was known for being reckless and dangerous.

I was pretty surprised about the question Lex had just asked. It wasn't a secret I was Jake Dalton's lawyer, it would even be aired on national television since his capture was such big news. I looked at Lex who wore a small smile on her face.

"You know Jake Dalton, right?" I said in a soft voice while locking eyes with Lex. To my surprise, Lex started to laugh a little.

"Yup." Lex said while popping the p. "A little too well if you ask me." She softly whispered while a small smile made its way onto her face. I looked my friend in the eyes with a questioning look on my face.

"What do you mean?" I asked Lex, a questioning tone lacing my voice. I raised my eyebrows when I saw how Lex reacted to my question. I swore I saw shock written all over my new friend's face as if I heard something I shouldn't have. Lex however quickly recovered from the shock.

"Ah I just followed all of the news about him you know, nowadays it's all the newspapers talk about," Lex answered before she quickly picked up her glass of wine and took a big gulp out of it.

"Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" Lex asked while she placed the glass of wine back on the table and stood up. "I'll go get a glass of ice, don't move okay?" Lex smiled while already making her way to the kitchen.

I picked up my glass of wine and took a small sip of it. Why was Lex acting so weird all of a sudden? I took Lex's absence as a moment to look around myself. I smiled when my eyes landed on a big framed picture on the wall. It displayed Lex getting a piggyback ride from a silver-eyed boy. Both of them looked extremely happy.

"So I'm back, let's talk about something else," Lex said when she came back in sight and quickly made her way onto the couch before sitting down but not before placing a bowl with ice on the table in front of us.

"That night in the bar you told me about your sister and how she meant everything to you, can you tell me more about her?" She asked while locking eyes with me.

I immediately started to smile when I thought of my little sister. "Her name is Sina and she is ten years old," I said and smiled at her.

"Do you have a picture?" Lex asked and I immediately nodded my head and started to unlock my phone. I smiled when I looked at my screensaver. It was a picture of me and Sina sitting next to other in a tree. It was taken last summer when I was still living with my parents. I turned my phone towards Lex who in response took it from my hands.

"You can see you two are sisters," Lex said while looking closely at the picture. "Where was this taken?" Lex then asked before she handed the device back to me. I carefully took my phone from her and locked it again before quickly putting it back in my pocket again.

"In the backyard of my parent's house," I said, happiness lacing my voice. My family truly was my happiness and I would do anything in the world to protect them.

As we talked a bit longer about my family and looked at some pictures on my phone we suddenly heard the familiar ding of the elevator sounding through the room. Lex looked up from the phone and turned around to take a look at the enormous clock on the white walls.

"Ah that must be Kaden, it's already 11 past 11," She said while turning around. I also turned around and started to look at the door which I remembered would lead to the room with the elevator.

Not even 10 seconds later the same door opened and through it came a boy with silver eyes whom I recognized from the pictures I had seen. He was pretty tall and wore a black expensive looking suit. His hair was slicked to the back and an expensive watch was proudly displayed on his wrist. Overall he looked powerful and I immediately knew how Lex could afford this apartment. The guy who had just came in had to make a lot of money if he looked like this.

The guy slowly turned towards us on the couch and smiled when he locked eyes with Lex. He quickly made his way over to her and leaned down.

"Hey, baby." He said before giving Lex a small peck on her lips. I looked at both of them with a smile on my face. The moment that guy had walked through that door Lex had done nothing but look at him with adoration in her eyes, they looked cute together.

I silently wished to myself to be able to have a relationship like that in the future. As the guy walked around the couch and took a seat next to Lex he locked eyes with me.

"You must be Mc, I've heard a lot about you." He said while taking his jacket off and laying it on the couch. "I'm Kaden, Lex's boyfriend," Kaden said while sticking out his hand for me to shake, a certain possessiveness lacing his voice. I smiled at him.

"I know, Lex here won't shut up about you over text," I said before I took his hand and gently shook it.

"So how was work babe?" Lex asked while she looked at Kaden. As the two locked their eyes I couldn't help but feel the tension between them, it was time to leave soon. Kaden shifted closer to Lex and laid a hand on her thigh.

"Fucking tiresome, ever since bro has been away I've been busier than ever," Kaden said while he rested his head on Lex's shoulder. He did indeed look tired, I of course had no idea what job Kaden had but he seemed exhausted.

"Hold on babe, just two more weeks until Ja-" Lex said but was cut off by Kaden slapping his hand on her mouth.

"Until my bro is back I know." Kaden finished Lex's sentence and I looked weirdly at the two. What had just happened?

Deciding it was time to leave I stood up from the big black couch I was sitting on and quickly finished my glass of cherry red liquor before placing the glass back on the table.

"I think it's time I'll head home, it's getting pretty late," I announced and both of them looked up at me.

Lex immediately jumped up from the couch and took Kaden's hand and began to pull him up.

"Okay let's go then, we'll bring you home," Lex announced before she grabbed my hand with her free one and started to pull the other two toward the elevator. I looked at Lex with a questioning look on my face. Lex noticed it and smiled.

"I can't let you use public transport at this time of the day, it's way too dangerous," Lex said before pulling both me and Kaden into the elevator.

Within a few minutes, all three of us were standing in the basement of the building. The basement itself was nothing special, just a dull grey parking garage. The cars who were standing in it however were.

I looked at all of the expensive-looking cars with eyes as big as saucers. There must have been around 20 to 30 expensive cars in the basement and all of them looked amazing. A black Ferrari, a red Mercedes, and a white BMW were the cars they were currently walking two.

As Kaden clicked the button on the car key he got out of his pocket the lights from the red Mercedes started to shine, indicating that was gonna be the car the guy was going to use.

All three of us quickly got in the car and fastened our seatbelts before Kaden started the car and took off, all while Lex typed my address into the navigation. Within a fifteen-minute drive, we were standing before my house, and another 10 minutes late Lex and I had said our goodbyes.

As I was sitting on my couch I couldn't help but smile at the thoughts of my evening. Even though Lex had acted a little weird it sure had been a great evening and I would love to do it again soon.

~

I softly blew on the cup of coffee in my hands. I smiled a little as I slowly saw the steam from the brown liquor disappearing into the air. I carefully took a sip of the cup in my hands before putting it back on the table in front of me again

I was currently sitting in a small restaurant in the middle of Duskwood. It had only a few tables and it was kinda cozy. I had made an appointment with one of Jake's victims and was hoping I would be able to find something which would prove my client's innocence.

Even though Jake didn't care about the case at all, I sure did and I was willing to do anything to win. I figured that if Jake wasn't gonna help me, I would just find everything out on my own.

I straightened my ponytail as I saw a tall girl with black hair walk through the entrance of the small café. I waved shortly at the black-haired girl to make sure she noticed him. A smile crept upon my face when I noticed the tall girl making her way to my table.

She took a seat opposite me and looked me straight in the eyes, something which made me almost a bit nervous. The black-haired girl had piercing green eyes in which I swore I saw a hint of sadness and small freckles under her eyes. The girl wore a tired expression on her face, her eyes had dark circles under them and I immediately felt sorry for her. This girl surely must have been through a lot.

I sighed softly. The girl in front of me was named Luca Perez. A pretty normal girl with a normal life, until Jake decided to mess a girl up. Luca had been present during a bank robbery at the bank she worked for in September last year. A bank robbery Jake was being accused of. A bank robbery I had to plead the guy innocent of.

"Thank you so much for coming Luca," I said to the girl in front of me. I had invited her to the café to tell me what exactly happened that day. The black-haired girl smiled a little and nodded. Luca slowly placed one of her elbows on the table and rested her head against it. The girl looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"Okay, as I told you on the phone I am Jake Dalton's lawyer, and I would like for you to tell me exactly what you told the cops that night after the robbery," I said before taking a notebook and a pen out of my bag. If I wanted to make sure I wouldn't miss anything Luca said I had to write it down as fast as possible.

"I don't know what to tell you to be honest, I'm pretty sure you've read the file about that exact day at least twenty times." The black-haired girl said while she gave me a sharp look. I grabbed my pen harder and forced a smile on my face.

"I did, but I would like to hear it from you," I answered, the fake smile still present on my face. Judging from the file about that night, I had expected Luca to be a fragile girl who was traumatized by the events that happened on the day of the robbery. If I had known Luca was anything but that I would have never invited her here today. What would be the point of today if she wouldn't tell me anything new about that day anyway?

"Here's what happened that day, your fucker of a client robbed the bank while wearing beanies and masks, held a gun against my head, and killed three of my colleagues," Luca said, clearly on the verge of losing her cool. I quickly wrote some details on the paper in front of me before trying to calm her down.

"Listen, I know you're angry and upset but I'm just trying to do my job, I would prefer it if we could talk normally to each other," I said, a calm tone lacing my voice. Even though Luca had barely said anything about the day of the robbery yet I had a feeling she would still spill some important details about that specific day if I pushed it a bit. Of course, I felt bad for her, Jake had ruined her life. However I was only trying to do my job, nothing more.

"You think I don't know what you invited me here for today huh?" The black-haired girl in front of me said while looking at me. Anger was visible on her face. I looked back at her with a surprised look on my face. What in the world was happening here?

"You only invited me to try and find mistakes in the story I told the police so that that fucker can go free." Luca now started to shout before standing up. It made me feel small. She was way taller than me and was practically towering over me.

"Let me tell you one thing Ms. Estrada, I won't tell you anything about that day and I will testify against Dalton." The black-haired girl said before turning around and walking out of the café. I watched as the black-haired girl disappeared out of my sight and sighed deeply.

That girl had been my last chance at getting Jake out of jail, and while the girl did give some information away, it would still be one hell of a job to prove the innocence of my client. I sighed deeply, why did everything never go the way I wanted it to?

I quietly decided to pack up my belongings and go home. I quickly fished out some money out of my pocket and put it on the table before leaving the small cafe. It was of no use for me to stay there after Luca left.

As I was walking towards the subway station on my way to DW inc. I got lost pretty deeply in my thoughts. I had thought a million times about how I could prove Jake's innocence but I never managed to come up with a solid plan.

The evidence was just too overwhelming, anyone who would think that Jake was innocent would be completely crazy.

Sure I did have the information about Jake and his gang using beanies and masks during the robbery, a detail that was not described in the police file. But even if I would be able to plead Jake innocent of that crime, there were still at least twenty more.

I quickly got ripped out of my thoughts when I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. I quickly got the device out and raised my eyebrows when I saw the caller id of an unfamiliar phone number. I quickly pressed the green button on my phone.

"Hello?" I said, curious about the other person who was calling me.

"I have information that could benefit your client's case, meet me tomorrow at 9 p.m. outside the Roses Hotel," The caller on the other side of the line said before I heard the familiar beeping tone indicating the person on the other side had ended the call.

This could either go well or wrong...

[leebrontide]

Secondhand Origin Stories, Chapter 12

Here's this week's chapter! Reblogs welcome!

For those of you just joining us, I'm posting a chapter a week of my free near future scifi/low neon cyberpunk YA/NA novel, Secondhand Origin Stories, which has been described as

"-a character driven, compelling story full of family, queerness, corruption, brain altering nanites, secretly teen parenting AIs, and taking aspects of the superhero genre to their very human and rarely-explored natural conclusions."

For an index of already uploaded chapters that hopefully I will remember to update, content warnings and more, check here:You can follow along by following #SHOSweekly

Chapter 12

The next morning, Jamie was pleasantly surprised that she could get Aldis to let her help out around the office. She didn’t ask to go with the trucks, since obviously she’d ruin the “super-movers” image, but at least she could carry flat boxes to and from the ground floor garages for the pack-and-move client they had later that day. Then she inventoried boxes and tape, and headed back to the office. Being productive kept her out of her head and away from her phone. She just wasn’t ready yet.

She was a little surprised to find Aldis at the office desk when she went back upstairs.

“Morning. I--”

Issac poked his head in the office. “I’m headed out to lunch.” He looked at Jamie. “How do I look?”

Jamie regarded him for a second. The suit was fine. Issac, on the other hand... “Kind of sick.” Maybe he shouldn't have joined Yael in eating leftover birthday cake for breakfast.

He fiddled with the cuffs of his sleeves, tugging them down. “I didn’t end up sleeping a lot last night.” He held up his wrist, the translation bracelet glimmering inside his sleeve. “Software tweaks. Got a restaurant business meeting. It’s gonna be way worse than the grocery store.”

“Hope you plan to share those tweaks,” Aldis suggested cheerfully.

Issac shrugged. “Sure, why not. There must be a forum or something.”

“Hold on,” Jamie ordered, and ran back down the hall to the VIP suite. Her assisting Aldis had coincidentally kept her out of the apartment long enough for Opal to shower and get dressed.

Jamie found her bags and started rummaging. “I just need to find--” When she looked up, Yael was staring sullenly at the window, still laying on the “bed” they’d made by shoving the couches end to end. Xe was wearing a t-shirt declaring that “every pizza is a personal pizza if you try hard and believe in yourself.” 

“Yael, shouldn’t you have left already? Is that really what you’re wearing?” She realized after she’d said it how much she sounded like her mom. She found what she was looking for in her bag.

Opal leaned over the back of the couch. “You should probably take this kind of seriously. If I had an interview with the head of the APB, I would be trying to look as superheroic as possible. Especially if my brother was skating by on nepotism and a sketchy job to avoid getting arrested.”

Yael looked up at Opal, then sighed. “Fine. For Issac, then.” 

Opal rolled her eyes just slightly at Yael’s grudging acceptance, then glanced at Jamie, expecting to find sympathy. 

Jamie smiled back, wishing Opal’s smile looked less sad.

“Hey.” Yael lifted xyr phone, tilting xyr head back to look up at Opal. “Ambiguously-superheroic-teen selfie? I won’t post it anywhere.”

Yael was on some kind of kick. Xe’d insisted on taking pictures of Issac with his cake last night, too. Opal raised an eyebrow, but crouched down at the couch and gave Yael’s camera a dubious smile.

Jamie headed back down the hall, where she found Issac standing, talking to Aldis. “Here, Issac, sit down a sec.”

He sat down in an old brown office chair, watching her curiously. She revealed the bottle of concealer she’d brought, just in case. “You’re not usually as pale as me, but today, this might actually work.”

“I look that bad?”

Aldis leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “ ’Fraid so.”

Issac bit his lip. “OK, but only if you’re sure he won’t notice.”

“How old is he?”

“Like, 60ish?”

“Then he won’t notice,” Jamie assured. “Besides, it’ll be lower restaurant lighting.”

She helped him get the concealer on. He was almost as gun-shy about anyone touching the bags under his eyes as he was about the contacts. She hid the bruises lack of sleep had left on him, and brushed the color back onto his face. “There. You don’t look like you’ve been doing anything you’ve actually been doing.”

“You never even wear makeup,” Issac commented, checking his reflection in the mirror of his phone screen. 

“Putting on fake health is the only part I know how to do.”

Issac adjusted his tie another dozen times, then headed out towards the stairs in time to run into Yael, who was still in xyr pizza T-shirt. Jamie watched the two of them descend. Opal waved at them through the glass in the door as she followed them. She looked so miserable.

 Jamie looked around the office for a marker. Aldis went back to typing, then looked up at her. “I know I’ve said it like ten times, but you really don’t have to do this. I appreciate it and all, but it feels kinda like unpaid child labor.”

Jamie found a Sharpie, but it was purple. Was that OK? “I need something to do. And I’m sixteen.”

“Don’t you have, like, studying to do?”

Jamie shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t have to do it every day, and I’m still on track to finish everything I need way before I’m eighteen. Mom won’t let us go to college offline any younger than that.”

He nodded slowly, taking more from that than Jamie would have thought it contained. “Well, don’t overdo it.”

“You’re not going with the truck?”

He shook his head, settling back into his work. “Today is invoices and email. You’d be amazed how much of my time is that.”

Jamie smirked, trying to believe he was staying for work, not to babysit Jamie. “No I wouldn’t. Mom says she spends half her life emailing. And she’s always talking about company finances.”

“Hah. Guess your mom is an entrepreneur, isn’t she.”

“Yep. Her and Jenna started the company right after graduation. Jenna went to college really young. Mom says that’s why she won’t let us go early. Jenna got picked on a lot.”

“Jenna-- Bion?” he asked. 

Jamie nodded. “Is it OK if I use purple Sharpie to relabel the box cubbies? They need it.”

“Sure. Long as it’s readable, I don’t care.”

Jamie nodded, heading back towards the stock room, but stopped at the door. Would it be rude to ask? Aldis seemed nice, laid-back, but it wasn’t like she knew him well. And she really didn’t know if this was a sensitive subject or not.

But he was tall, and given the hauling everyone around here could do, he was strong. Curiosity got the better of her. “Hey, uhm. Can I ask you something a little personal?” His raised eyebrow and chair swivel suggested she may have crossed a line. “I won’t complain if you say no.”

“Well, now I’m curious. Tell you what. You can ask, and then we’ll see if I want to answer.”

Jamie nodded. That was more than fair. “I was just-- you’re taller than Drew, and maybe stronger, since you’re younger. And you help people, so I can tell you care, so-- why aren’t you a superhero? Or any of the rest of your employees? Why move furniture?”

She expected him to tell her about the racial prejudice in the APB, or about the difficulties with networking if you didn’t know someone. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, and gave her an opaque look. “Why do you think I’d want to be a superhero?”

The question was so bizarre she just stared at him for a long moment. “Why wouldn’t you?”

He scratched behind his ear, tilting his head as if he was as confused by her as she was by him. “They get shot a lot. Also electrocuted, burnt, dismembered…”

“But they get to help people!” Somehow, she couldn’t picture Aldis as a coward. He seemed so self-assured and put together. He was an entrepreneur, like Mom. That involved risk and leadership.

“So do we. And, since I got the choice, I’d rather help people without having to hurt anybody else.” Jamie bristled, and he saw it. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’ve got superheroes. But if I can run the rest of my life without violence, I’m going to.”

“But what about ‘with great power--’” 

He laughed, but it wasn’t mean, just surprised. “A superhero can defend the world from supervillains, but somebody’s still got to haul around furniture, create decent jobs, and look out for people in a bad situation trying to start over. There’re more problems superheroes can’t handle than ones they can.”

“Aren’t you proud of Opal, though?”

“Yeah, I’m proud of her! We all are. She’s got a fire in her, and she’s working for it. But her life is hers, and mine is mine. Honestly, though, I’ve got as much respect for her second-guessing it now. She refuses to be part of the problem. That’s character. I hope it works out for her, but I’m glad she’s gonna do it on her terms. And I can’t pretend we wouldn’t all sleep a little easier at night if she took a safer job.” 

Jamie’s heart sank. “She’s really thinking of quitting, just because of my dad?” 

“Personally, I think there’s more she’s not telling me.” Sure, like Jenna’s arms and legs and absence, maybe. She didn’t know what exactly Opal had told him. Like Opal, he probably filled in the gaps with whatever made sense to him. “But taking a kill order from someone you can’t trust isn’t a little thing.” He looked at her, carefully. “Do you think she should trust him?”

The question caught her off-guard. She had to think about it. She didn’t like her own conclusion. “No,” she quietly answered, finally. “I’m not scared of him. He didn’t hurt me, and I still don’t think he would’ve. But he loves me, and he doesn’t love Opal, and there’s something…wrong with him. Right now. He’s not himself.”

“Probably shouldn’t be a superhero, then.”

The idea of Dad not being a superhero didn’t fit into her head. He was ageless. He’d been a superhero long before Jamie, and it’d always seemed like he’d just keep on being a superhero even after Jamie was gone. She’d realized years ago that someday he’d look like her son, not her father. He was the constant the rest of life changed around.

Except that he had changed.

She looked at Aldis blankly for so long, he started to look at her funny. “I should go label the cubbyholes,” Jamie said.

He nodded, seeing through her, but letting it go. He interrupted her retreat. “Hey. You’ve got pretty impressive power, too.” Jamie turned around, baffled. “You can talk to any superhero you want, I bet.”

Jamie nodded, not sure where this was going. “Any of the US ones, anyway.”

“Plus, your mom. Who seems like a heavyweight in politics and bioengineering.”

“I hope I can talk to her.”

He gave her a sympathetic look. “I’ve been there. Opal was light on details, but I hope it works out for you.”

“It’s. I don’t think it’s as bad as it looks.”

“You’re still here, though.”

She shrugged. “Issac needed me to be.”

The VIP suite was different when she was by herself. Bigger, more echoing. It smelled like sausage, frosting, cardboard, dust, and what had to be some shower product of Opal’s. Jamie was sure neither Yael or Issac owned fake-strawberry-scented body wash. Home never had this many smells going on in one space; the air was too aggressively filtered.

She meandered over to the threadbare couches. This might be the most alone she’d ever been. Aldis was down the hall, but there wasn’t any SI-- no system with cameras, here. No family around. She leaned over the back of the couch, looking around for something to do. Yael had washed the dishes. Jamie wasn’t sure she could even get into her school files. There was only one thing in the world she was supposed to be doing, and she still didn’t feel ready to call home. 

The need to accomplish something started to itch in the back of her mind. She dug her guitar out from where she’d subtly stashed it. Issac hadn’t commented on her bringing it. She started tuning it. 

Too many thoughts went spinning through her mind. Nobody here would tell her what to do or not do. She finally had freedom to act, but had no idea what to do with it. 

What had she wanted more freedom for?

The windows here were low to the ground, and not as clear as the ones at home. But there was some sky visible. No cityscape, though. She was in the city now, not above it. What had she wanted to do, out here?

Out of the blue, she remembered her carnival narwhal, left on the floor at home. Of Dad flying her up to “save” it. The feeling of flying, of helping. 

“Martin, can you hear me?”

No answer. They’d meant it, about the privacy, then. She picked up her phone. Their number had been added to her contacts, and she called it. Martin picked up before it even rang. “Jamie! Hello! May I use the video function? Did you get my email this morning?”

Jamie smiled awkwardly, and arranged her phone so Martin could see her, sitting on the concrete floor. “Sure. And no, I haven’t checked my email yet.” She went back to tuning. “You email?”

“I email a lot, actually. I’m on a lot of forums, too.”

Jamie wasn’t allowed on forums outside of schoolwork. Security issues. Nobody to stop her, now. “What did you email about?”

“It’s very long…sort of everything I’ve collected that I wanted to show you for about the last three years. Nothing important.”

Her tuning stopped. Martin had waited all this time, wanting to talk to Jamie. They hadn’t trusted Jamie enough to actually talk to her, though. Just like how Jamie was struggling to trust the generation above her. “Well, I don’t have much to do today. I’ll read it.”

She started to let her fingers run through tunes aimlessly. “How is everybody?”

“My privacy protocols are still in place. I can’t tell you about the others.”

Jamie slouched against the side of the bed. “Right.” She stared out the window again. “I’m going to call home. I’ll figure out some way to make sure you stay safe.” She was sure of that much. She just didn’t have any idea how. 

Really, she knew what she’d wanted freedom for. She knew what she’d wanted to do, out in the real world. She wanted to protect her city. Her home, and her family, and all the strangers who went about their lives around her every day.

She rested her forehead on the headstock of her guitar, growling in frustration. She could do whatever she wanted, out here. The only one who could stop her was her own body. It wasn’t even that bad of a body. It worked the majority of the time. But it wasn’t super. It wasn’t ever going to let her to anything extraordinary. “I’m lying. I can’t make you safe.”

“I don’t feel especially unsafe right now.”

“Me either,” she answered. “But it’s possible we’re both in denial.”

* * *

Physical labor didn’t require very much of Opal’s mind. Usually, that was a good thing. Her body could be hauling a couch, while her mind was working away at her future plans and dreams.

Today, not so much. She’d never give up just because someone told her “no,” but she’d never, in all her years of planning, studying and preparing, considered that she might not be able to trust the Sentinels enough to work with them. She’d always focused on the changes she wanted to carry out with the APB. She’d never considered that the Sentinels were really, at their base, just an APB branch. Why would they be any more trustworthy?

“Hey!” Miguel's shout shook her back into the present. She’d almost run him over with an armchair.

“Sorry!”

“You’re at work. Wake up.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“Hey, give her a break. She might have to fight LodeStar tomorrow or something,” Jayvon put in.

“Not funny, Jayvon,” Opal grumbled.

“I’m not kidding. You wont give us details, but his kids are suddenly living in the suite? Something bad went down. And if he’s not here helping, it doesn’t look good.”

“You better not have told anyone that they’re here.”

They both gave her unimpressed looks. “We’ve worked here longer than you. We’d never tell about somebody in the VIP suite.”

And it really didn’t seem like they had. Otherwise, the office would be inundated with news vans, or at least camera drones, and so far, she hadn’t seen anything. Jayvon gently took the armchair from her. “Go take a break. Get your head clear, and come back.”

Miguel nodded. “We’re ahead of schedule, anyways. Just don’t take forever with it.”

Opal slunk out of the fancy manor house, thankful and feeling guilty for it. She ducked behind the van, hoping the home’s owners wouldn’t come out to chastise her for slacking. She leaned her head back against it, enjoying the sun on her face for a long couple minutes. But the world wasn’t going to stop for her crisis of conscience. Last night was as close as she was going to get. 

She’d said she was giving up. Quitting this and finding a new dream just made sense. No matter what cute old baby photos Jamie came up with, Opal had to deal with the present.

But the very idea of it felt like cutting off part of herself and throwing it in the trash. She wasn’t sure how to make herself do it.

And even if she wasn’t a superhero, she was still herself. Even if she didn’t want APB endorsement, she still wanted to help. To protect. And those three weirdos were under her hospitality, now. Maybe Jayvon was right-- maybe she should be worried about how Mr. Voss would react to her helping his kids practically run away from home. She might be running low on hope, but there was still work for her to do.

She thought of Capricorn’s hand on Mr. Voss’s arm in the clinic, of his watchful eyes. Of the way he rooted for Opal and said she had grit. If anyone could get her more information, it’d be him. 

She glanced around the van, but nobody was paying attention to her. 

Opal texted Martin quickly. Is there any reason I shouldn’t talk to Capricorn about what happened yesterday?

The answer was instant. MARTIN: None whatsoever, as far as I can tell. 

She answered Guess I will then. Then yelped, as Martin took that as an instruction and put the call through. She put the phone to her ear, not wanting a visual call when she felt so shaken.

Capricorn sounded surprised, but pleased to hear from her. “Hi!”

“Hi,” Opal answered.

“Everything OK?”

No. Not at all. “Nobody’s hurt or anything.”

She heard a sigh of relief on the other end. “Then what can I help you with?”

Words tried to burst out of her, but she bit them back and tried to arrange them into tidy, polite lines. No matter how nice Capricorn had been to her so far, she couldn’t afford to offend him, now. Her voice shook, but only a little bit, and she honestly couldn’t tell if it was nerves or anger. “I want-- I need to know what’s wrong with Mr. Voss. Jamie says he didn’t used to be like this. But there is something wrong with him, and he’s freaking me out, and he scared Yael. Every time I see him, he looks about two seconds away from killing somebody.” Opal didn’t want to be that somebody, and she didn’t think she could stop him if he chose somebody else.

Silence on the other end of the line. She worried for a second that he might try and deny it. That would be worse, wouldn’t it? If the Neil Voss Jamie remembered and Opal had idolized had never existed in the first place? Opal heard a very quietly muttered “Shit.” Another pause. “This really isn’t my place--”

“I need to know. I’m sorry, sir, but they’re living with me now and I don’t even know what the situation exactly is. I need to know if he’s something I need to worry about.”

“No. God, no. He’s not--” A pause so long, she checked to see he hadn’t hung up. 

“OK.” He was quiet when he spoke. “That’s fair. You deserve to know. You’re right that he’s…struggling. The thing with this job is, it takes a toll on you.” He sounded tired. Sad. “And me, Neil, and Solomon, we can survive it. And we can heal. We heal fast, even. So can you. But fast isn’t always good. Neil’s been fighting since 2002, continuously. He’s broken and healed every bone so many times, his x-rays look like a city map. Seams everywhere. Soft tissue scarring-- if we heal before we get medical attention, things haven’t always been stitched or set back into place. Neil should’ve been retired years ago. He’s in constant, 24/7 pain. And he’s no lightweight about pain, believe me. I’ve seen what he can take, but for him, it never lets up. Some days, it’s more than he can take. But if he leaves, we’re a team of two, and they send a stranger into the house to live with us. To live with his kids. Or, he and the kids have to leave. He’s been trying to hold on long enough to train in Yael. He knows he’s a mess. He just can’t fix it.”

“But, that doesn’t…”

“The other part-- the reason you probably think he’s a drunk-- is that when you hurt all the time, eventually you have to do something about it. And it’s not like he can take an asprin and call it a day. Even if he wasn’t altered, that wouldn’t even touch what he’s dealing with. So…the thing is, he’s pretty dosed up. All the time, now. And since he caught Issac mid-fall, that was kind of the last straw for like seven of his joints. So he’s even more of a wreck, and on an even higher dose, than he has been. I don’t even know how he’s staying up.”

Opal could only connect the dots because she’d heard her mom talk about work. Chronic, severe pain. “Are you telling me that LodeStar has been high on narcotics for literally years?” There was a long, very not-comforting pause. “But then he shouldn’t be--”

“I know.”

“That’s completely--”

“Yeah.”

“And everybody’s just going along with this?”

“I tried to get him to retire. Melissa’s tried. Even Solomon’s tried. But we just-- none of us have it in us to make him. He’s my best friend. He has been for a long damn time. And he’s going to, just...he needs a little while longer.”

“So you all take orders from him like that?”

“No. Look, he’s messed up, but he knows he’s messed up. We haven’t taken orders from him in years. And I swear to you-- my hand to God-- in the field, he listens to me.” Opal thought back to the rumors that Capricorn was crushing on LodeStar. To the way he always had his eyes on him in interviews. It wasn’t a crush. He was keeping an eye on LodeStar because he knew he was compromised.

Opal leaned her head against the van. This was so messed up. This was not comforting at all. “But still though--”

“I know.” He sighed again, his voice even quieter. “I know. I know I’m on the wrong side in this. But this is the only family I have. I just can’t get myself to force it on him. I didn’t realize until yesterday how bad he’d gotten. But you might notice, we haven’t exactly been in the field since this went down. I can tell you that’s not an accident.”

Opal closed her eyes, trying not to groan out loud.

“Look, I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you. How are the kids?”

“They’re fine, I guess?”

“Think they’d be up for visitors?”

“As far as I know, nobody’s mad at you. But I’m gonna tell them what you told me.”

“If you want. I was hoping Neil would get his act together enough to own it in front of them, but he’s down for the count with that broken collar bone.” 

“Right,” she agreed miserably.

“I warned you it was a shit job,” he added, sounding sorry.

“Yeah, you did.” She straightened. “So I guess I’d better get back to my day job, then.”

“Tell the kids I said ‘hi,’ OK?”

“Sure.”

They hung up. 

Well, she’d known better than to expect Capricorn to pull some magic answer out of a hat and make everything OK again. At least he’d respected her enough to give her a clear answer. That was the only reason she was willing to trust everything else he claimed. 

Opal wanted to punch something. It wasn’t an urge she got a lot, but she felt it often enough to be used to shoving it down. What was she gonna punch-- the van? Denting Aldis’s van wasn’t gonna help anything. 

Her phone sighed, and she jumped. The screen said she was connected to Martin. “I’m so glad this is finally out in the open. It’s not as if not saying anything takes willpower-- I can’t break privacy protocols even when I want to-- but watching the fallout of people not talking has been very painful for me. I’m glad you’re going to tell the others.”

Opal leaned against the van. Martin’s sad little voice took some of the fight out of her. “Your family is a mess, pen pal.”

“Oh, I know,” Martin said. “Believe me, I know.” And Martin didn’t have an out like Opal did. 

“I’d fix it if I could,” she told them. 

“I still have hope. I think things could still turn out all right.” Hope. That was what Opal missed. Hope had given her strength. “Opal, if you go back to Detroit and decide not to be a superhero, will you still be my pen pal?”

Poor kid. “Sure. I’d like that.”

“I like being able to really talk to people directly, like this. This is so much easier.”

“Does that mean you’re going to tell the rest of your family about you?”

“I…maybe I’ll see how all of this ends up going, first.” Even the sweet robot kid didn’t trust these guys. “But since I can suggest things directly now, can I suggest you call someone to make you feel better? I don’t know you well enough to know who that would be, but you sound upset, and I think that would make you feel better. It makes me feel better!”

“Heh. That’s a really good idea. Thanks, Martin.”

“Happy to help!”

She pulled up her mom’s number. She had to get back inside soon-- if this was her only job, she’d better pay attention to it-- but a little Mom time might help clear her head. Plus, she had some questions to ask a nurse.

* * *

Issac peered into the window of the darkened restaurant, tucking his translation bracelet up into his sleeve. It was so ludicrously sensitive, a couple layers of fabric wouldn’t pose any problem at all. Lasansky knew it was there, obviously, since he’d been the one to put it on Issac. But the point of these damn things was to be discreet. He checked his reflection…though if his concealer was showing, he wouldn’t be able to make it out in a window reflection.

He was a brilliant engineer, years ahead of his time, with cool android eyes. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Lasansky probably wouldn’t be able to see the text on his eyes, anyway. He wondered if other people could. He should have checked the bathroom mirror last night.

God, his eyes itched.

He braced himself, and walked in, chin up, shoulders back. Looking nervous or unsure in a place like this would only draw more attention. Virtually everyone here was in a suit or some other business attire. He already stuck out by being young and bruised. He approached the maître d’, realizing with a little smile that his tweaks were working. He got a bit of errant text across his eyes, but he’d set it to a 1.5m radius of the bracelet, with additional alerts for a few key words, like his name. The maître d’ looked at him expectantly, and Issac choked for a second. Would he have to give his name? There were people right behind him. They’d hear. He leaned in a little, trying to be quiet. “I’m meeting Mr Lasansky.”

Martin said that nobody had reported on yesterday’s little exodus from the Plaza yet, but eventually, someone would notice that the kids of the Sentinels were out and comparatively unprotected. Issac was not going to rush that.

Looked like Lasansky hadn’t wanted to give out Issac’s name, either. The maître d’ showed Issac to a private room. That would have been the only thing even partially saving Issac, if Issac hadn’t gotten through those tweaks last night. Lasansky was sitting, leaned back comfortably in his chair, thumb moving over his phone screen. He didn’t look up until Issac sat across from him. Then he gave him that big, bleached-to-hell smile of his. Here’s the latest member of the Lasansky Securities family! Welcome to your first day at the new job.

Issac forced a smile. Family. Sure. He’d just functionally lost his parents, and he didn’t know this guy or anyone else who worked for him, but OK. If Lasansky wanted to call Issac family, Issac could bite his tongue and put up with it. At least in this “family” the criteria he’d be judged on would be concrete, knowable, and accompanied by paperwork he could see ahead of time. And he was deaf before he joined, before he’d been accepted. 

Issac couldn’t deny that the circumstances were weird and, OK, a little suspicious. OK, maybe more than a little. But Lasansky just really wanted Issac’s tech. Issac's skills. He valued what Issac had to offer. Better than back home.

Lasansky sat back, and seemed to study Issac himself for the first time. He smiled, shaking his head ruefully. Y’know, I feel for you. I really do. 

Noooo. Issac just wanted to talk about work. “Uhm…? I’m OK.”

He waved Issac’s baffled reassurance off. Oh, of course. Of course. I just keep thinking about that family of yours. That can’t have been easy to grow up with. Them having so little faith in you.

Was that what had happened? Definitely not with Jamie and Yael. They’d believed in him. They’d been wrong, but they had believed. 

“It wasn’t really like that. Mom got me all the tech I needed and everything--”

Ah. Lasansky answered with a sad, knowing expression. So it was only after-- He tapped his own ear. 

Stay neutral. Don’t flinch. Don’t look down. Tight smile. “Something like that.”

Lasansky nodded. Drummed his fingers on the table, creating unnecessary text noise. Y’know, it really is amazing how quickly people can turn on you, as soon as you show weakness. Right when you need them the most.

Issac looked away. What the hell was this? Issac couldn’t imagine Lasansky wanted Issac to have an emotional breakdown at a business lunch, so what the hell was with all this prodding? “You never did tell me why you were interested in me? I mean, in my work? You own prisons. Why get into medicine, now?”

Sterling nodded, gravely. Glad you’re paying attention. The fact is, Mr. Tillman, your technology could revolutionize the criminal justice industry. Eighty-three percent of our inmates report at least one event likely to result in brain injury. Think about that. I know you’ve seen the effects of a brain injury firsthand. Impulsivity, sudden nonsensical rages, paranoia, inability to think through their actions-- every one of these is likely to lead to dangerous criminal behavior. And as it stands, we can’t, in good conscience, let these people back out into the community. Imagine the kind of rehabilitation we could provide if we could treat these sorts of injuries. It’s this kind of forward-thinking, cutting-edge work that keeps us the APB’s only licensed prison provider. 

A knot undid itself in Issac's spine, and he grinned. “That completely makes sense. That would be huge.” 

OK, so Opal and Jamie didn’t like Lasansky. Opal missed her dad. Issac couldn’t fault her for that. And Jamie said they were over-incarcerating people, but that was the APB’s fault, really. And here was Lasansky, trying to help people in prison and reduce the prison population at the same time. That was hardly supervillainy. This was exactly the kind of work Issac wanted for his nanites. To help people be who they were supposed to be. Now he could prevent crime at the same time! Ha! He might even end up stopping more altered-specific crime than the team, over the course of decades. 

How many altereds became violent because an injury had robbed them of their self-control? How many of them weren’t who they were supposed to be? Issac knew not every brain injury was as severe or caused as huge of an effect as Jenna's, but he had no reason to think she was the only altered who’d been through that.

Lasansky seemed genuinely pleased by Issac's agreement. Exactly. You’re a big-picture guy, I can tell. Just the person we need to complete this team.

“Team?”

Sure! You didn’t think we’d make you do this all alone, did you? We’ve been tinkering with similar projects for quite a while now, and when your essay went out into the world, I thought, “Boy, what a shame he’s going to be busy for God knows how long with school, when he could be learning on the job!” But it looks like everything’s worked out, huh?

It actually did look like that. Issac smiled, much more genuinely. He wasn’t hearing, but maybe he was bouncing back, after all. Not being on Mount Olympus didn’t mean he couldn’t have a decent life. And if Lasansky could reach out to help people be better versions of themselves, so could Issac.

We’re just going to need the data from your original trial. We couldn’t have dreamed someone would be so bold that they’d test this on themselves. That took real stones. That’s gonna move this project up by years. Do you know how hard it is to get a permit to test on human subjects? Ha! Of course you do. But now, since you paved that golden road for us, it’ll be worlds easier. It’s already been shown to be nonfatal, even under a malfunction! 

Wait, what?

Lasansky reached across the table, put a hand on Issac's shoulder, and looked him in the eye. For once, he was completely earnest. I know you must hate walking around with such an obvious weakness, but the failure of that trial has helped get your work into the hands of people with the resources to make your dream real. And that failure, that’s only going to make it faster. 

Issac felt exposed. Obvious.

But vindicated. Nothing he’d been through would matter, if he could just get these nanites working and to the people that needed them. 

* * *

Yael plopped down on the designated park bench, stretching xyr arms along the back of it, xyr legs out in front of xyr. God above, xe did not want to be here. Xe wasn’t even a little ready to deal with Nodiah’s ability to throw xyr off balance. Everything in xyr life was already such a mess. Xe didn’t know what xe might end up saying to him-- or asking him. Papa’d said they’d talk about it. Xe didn’t need to hear it from Nodiah.

The park was nice, at least, aside from being searingly hot. Xe fiddled with xyr phone, reading an almost endless email Martin had sent overnight. Its tone was chipper, but nervous. Completely endearing. Martin’s memory was way better than Yael's. 

Yael's smile died on xyr lips. A secret artificial-- no, now Issac’s insistence on the term “synthetic intelligence” made sense, of course he wouldn’t want Martin to be called artificial-- a secret synthetic intelligence, then, in the plaza itself, watching an unsuspecting superhero team, and befriending an alienated bioengineer. Xe groaned, leaning further back on the bench. 

Yael couldn’t picture a good ending to this story.  

To most teens, the concept of supervillainy probably seemed abstract. Cackling evil madmen twirling their mustaches and building death rays. Papa hardly ever talked about the family he came from, but xe was pretty sure none of them had done much cackling or mustache-twirling.

Martin had sent Yael health statistics on xyr hamsters and, like, 12 apologies that they hadn’t found Skittles for xyr. Martin was sweet. They were trying. They were family.

Nodiah was prompt, of course, and too soon, xe could make out the imposing shape of xyr uncle walking from the parking lot towards the bench. Did he even own any jeans? Or anything other than suit pants? It was Saturday. Even Melissa didn’t wear suits on Saturdays.

Did he think of Papa as his brother? Did he even see Yael as family?

Xe wondered for the millionth time what sort of family Miriam and Ezekiel had been to Papa. Not for the first time, xe wondered if Ezekiel and Miriam had ever even seen the others as family. They’d had Yael. That didn’t suggest a sibling-type relationship. Maybe it was just Papa who saw his line as a family.

Yael hated how the membership on Yael’s mental list of who was “family” kept shifting around. Family was supposed to be forever, not change from day to day.

Xe couldn’t imagine Nodiah affectionately hoarding hamster videos for anybody. Or even leaving little piles of hamster bait around.

From a distance, surrounded by regular people, he seemed huge.

When he stopped a few feet from the bench, looking down at xyr with pinched lips and a considering gaze, xe met his eyes. He didn’t say anything, so Yael didn’t say anything. Xe watched him with open suspicion that matched his frank assessment. He sat next to xyr without a word, gazing over the park. Gradually, Yael let xyrself relax. The air felt like the whole city was submerged in stale bathwater, but xe was dressed for it, and watching the people was nice. 

Nodiah’s voice was as sober as his suit. “This is what I protect. This is the mission of your father, and every other superhero team in this country.”

Yael couldn’t object to that. The whole human life cycle was stretched out in front of them. There was a couple having a picnic on the grass, with their baby crawling around next to them. Over there, some little kids playing tag. Some other kids about Yael's age were playing basketball. A little ways away, two old women laughed loudly on another bench. 

Yael nodded. Wanting to protect a scene like this should be easy for anyone.

“For you,” he continued, “It’ll be harder. You’ll need to be be on your guard at all times to establish your character, to prove yourself trustworthy to the American people.”

“You came all this way to tell me that? I thought you’d be back in DC by now.”

“I came here to cover a duty your father’s obviously ignored.” Maybe he really was just looking for someone to talk to. “I’ve followed you, Yael. For as long as I have been able, I have watched you from a distance. Medical records, school reports, even the construction contracts from when you used to destroy walls in a tantrum. The records from when you broke Dr. Tillman's leg.”

“I never--” Yael objected.

“You were two years old. I’m not surprised they hid it from you.” Was that possible? Could Yael have hurt xyr family that long ago?

“How did you get it all?”

He looked at xyr out of the corner of his eye. “From Solomon, mainly. When it was outside my technical jurisdiction. That was his gift to me, and I accepted it.”

“But if you were so worried about me, then why haven’t we ever met?”

He pursed his lips. Yael studied him. His face wasn’t any more like Yael’s than Papa’s was. In his less-familiar face, it was more obvious that they looked almost the same age. Or they would have, if it weren’t for his suit. “Because I couldn’t afford to know you publicly. Your very existence is a threat to the safety of every altered in the US. To accept a family connection to you would be to fail to reject Ezekiel and Miriam, which the Secretary of the Altered Persons Bureau can not afford.”

One question answered, then. He’d already decided that they weren’t family. “Go, then.”

“Don’t be brash, Yael. You’re too big for it. Solomon gave me a gift, so I am repaying it by giving a gift to you. I’ve come to give you the warning that Solomon, your parents, and I never got, and that Solomon’s failed to give you. I know you’ve been raised on a steady diet of superhero and science fiction tripe. Cartoons and comic books and all that colorful propaganda. I’ve subsidized enough of the garbage, I know exactly what goes into those things. But I hope in all that, you were exposed to the older works-- novels, especially.”

Where was this going? “I mean, I read, if that’s what you mean.”

“But what have you read? We are the science fiction of former decades. They wrote about us long before we existed. When I came into the outside world, I knew enough to find out how they saw us. Dating back before our founders were born, I could find us in stories. Always the same. Gods, or monstrosities. We are Superman, or we are Frankenstein’s monster. And half the time, even if we would be Superman, we end up monsters anyway.”

“I’m not--”

“Of course you’re not,” he spat. “No one is. The wretched truth is that there are no angels or demons on this Earth. Just billions upon billions of humans. I have my own thoughts about what comes after this world, but I’ve seen too much of humanity to think anything but human instinct and the primal forces of nature rule here.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He turned, facing xyr fully. “Yael, I fought for my job for one reason and one reason only. To fend off peasants with pitchforks. This world doesn’t need us. We are made useful only because we are already here, and some of us need to be fought. The public tolerates superheroes because it knows there are supervillains. But those are the only two roles available. Who you are doesn’t matter, compared to who they judge you to be. No matter how strong we are, people will rise up and fight if they see a monster. And eventually, they will win. The presence of a scant few of us in colorful costumes convinces them we can handle it amongst ourselves. That military force isn’t needed. Your parents, Solomon, and I were built to conquer the world. And if we had, you would have been murdered in your cradle.”

The truth was too familiar to resist. Two roles. The one xe’d striven for all xyr life, and the one that stole xyr birth parents’ names out of Papa’s vocabulary. 

“I told you the truth in that basement. I won’t tell you anything but the truth. If you can’t make yourself into someone the public can trust, then I can’t condone any act of violence you perpetrate. No matter how just I may think it is.”

“What do you expect me to do? Change my hair? My face?”

Nodiah shook his head. “I can’t go on covering for you. Hopkins was bad enough. The other morning, on the lawn. And now this, with Voss. Don’t think for a moment we don’t know whose hands took LodeStar down. Your bloodline will be known, eventually. If you try to hide it, you’ll be a traitor, no matter how we try to spin it.”

“Then this is you telling me to give up.”

“This is me warning you to scrub yourself of anything that will taint your image further. No more disregarding the natural order by flip-flopping genders whenever you please. It is ridiculous and offensive. The ‘bisexuality’ is more than bad enough, but there is at least some precedence. No living in illegal tenements owned by shady ‘entrepreneurs’--”

“Aldis isn’t shady, he’s--”

“He flaunts his powers to make a buck. He keeps his nose clean in public, or I’d’ve had him locked up by now. But so far, at least, he keeps his goons in order, so I’ve let him be.”

“He helps--”

“Go home, Yael. Go back where you belong. Solomon’s done well atoning for his early mistakes. And Neil Voss may be a walking disaster with a very limited future, but his reputation is good. Capricorn can’t be helped, but at least he interviews well. His scandals are all decades old, now. He stays quiet. Keeps his head down between missions.

"Most importantly, Yael. You have to deal with the Tillman-Voss boy. I know you see him as a brother. He is on the wrong side of an oncoming fight, which is exactly where he flung himself. Put him on the right side, before it’s too late.”

“I don’t control him.”

“Try. Protect your family, Yael. Keep your own house clean. Solomon and I can barely stand to see each other for our shared shame. He can’t even bear to admit to you that he only has you because we failed your parents. They died, taking hundreds with them, because we fled instead of confronting them directly. Do not make the last generation’s mistakes. Stop him before it is too late. I am investigating Lasansky now. Once that is done, I will come for him. Make sure your brother is at a safe distance when that happens. This is your warning, Yael. Given only because you are who you are. You want to be a hero? Then prevent this altering technology from ending up in Lasansky’s hands. Be the person you need to be for the public to accept you in the role you want.”

“Investigating him for what? What do you want me to do?”

“Is Mr. Tillman-Voss a decent person?”

“Yes!”

“Then consider what a good person would give to make sure that technology that can reprogram the mind doesn’t get into the hands of a traitor. That is your yardstick.”

“Traitor?”

He stood, his voice gentling. “I believe in you, Yael. No matter how many walls you’ve wrecked, I think you’re more angel than devil, but you have to show them that. Be a hero. This is your chance, an opportunity to make yourself known for the right reasons. A chance to do what your father and I couldn’t do-- save your brother. If the Tillman-Voss boy is who you think he is, then protect him. By making sure he doesn’t get more blood on his hands than he can ever make up for. If he’s a good person, he would give his life rather than let that happen.”

Nodiah was 100% as upsetting as Yael expected. His life? Issac’s life? Who was Nodiah to demand or even hint at a sacrifice like that?

Yael could never let Issac die. No matter what he did. Xe could never watch him fall again.

Xe was just like Papa after all.

Xe searched Nodiah’s face, fighting down xyr silver. “This is a test.”

He shocked xyr by taking xyr hand. He held it tight-- xe thought he meant it supportively. “This is a chance. I pray it’s the only one you need, because it’s the only one I can give you. Do the right thing.”

Xe watched, dumbstruck, as he let go of xyr, turned, and walked back to his car without a backwards glance. 

Xe sat there a long moment. Yael pulled out xyr phone. To call Papa, or…Jamie, maybe. 

No Signal.

Yael blinked at the phone. Even in the sub-basement bunker, xe had a signal. Why on Earth would it fail xyr now? Xe looked up, just in time to see Nodiah getting back into an expensive but not ostentatious black car. Papa might say it was a sign that xe should take some time for contemplation. Reflection.

The phone beeped. Xe looked down. Xyr service was back.

Xe needed to get back to the others.

[faefarm]

Hi!

I just want to say thank you for creating my dream game I started playing it today and it’s what I’ve been looking for in a video game for such a long time so thank you 💖💖💖

I was wondering if it might be possible to have a demo for the game in the future? Some of my friends want to try it out first before they decide if they want to buy it (I’m letting them play on my switch so they can do this), but if someone doesn’t have a friend with the game they might not want to risk it.

I also wanted to ask about how multiplayer works as I’m a little confused. Is it like Stardew Valley where you can create a shared farm and you and your friends can make new characters to play on it together? Or is it different? (Btw it’s amazing that people on PC and on Switch can play together; I love this feature).

I’ve seen some people make suggestions in your asks about game features in possible future updates and wanted to share some things I’ve noticed whilst playing so far, but please ignore this if you’re not taking suggestions! I wanted to mention these just in case, but if you’re not taking suggestions that’s totally fine as well! 🌸🌸

1. I’m not sure if I can do this or not so this is more of a question than a suggestion, but can you change your name? I accidentally made my name my switch username which is fine because I like my username but I originally wanted to use my actual first name aha. Also being able to change names and pronouns would be really nice for people transitioning who don’t want to restart the game :D

2. This is random but if there’s ever plans to expand the face marking options, could there be one with just the starry freckles without the crescent moon on the forehead? It’s a small thing, but when I was choosing I was like ohh I’d love just the starry freckles ✨✨✨

3. When playing the game on switch (I don’t know if it’s different on PC), I wanted to name my house ‘Rose Cottage’ but there weren’t enough letters so I had to name it ‘Rose Cott.’ which is fine but having more letters would be rlly rlly nice 🌹

4. All the characters I’ve encountered so far are so interesting!! I was wondering if more of them could be romanceable later on? I kept meeting characters and being like ‘oh my friend would lovee this character’ and then realising they’re not on the romance options list. It’s not a big thing as I think the options that are there already are good, but it would be cool a thing to add. I think some of the store owners seem really nice like Rosalind 🌷

5. I love collecting clothing and furniture and bugs and fish and flowers: all that stuff and I’m soooo happy with how many options Fae Farm provides but I’m also a crazy collector, so more can never hurt. It’s not something the game needs, but if there was a DLC or something like that, more stuff is always fun!

Sorry this is so long; I’m just so hyped about this game and can’t wait to play more! I’ve had to take a break cuz I was playing it solidly all morning lol.

This game has come out during a rlly stressy time for me as I’m starting university next week, so having this to get cosy when I’m winding down from all the overwhelming new stuff is rlly rlly amazing 💖💖💖💖💖

Thank you!!

Hello!

I love the passion in these questions! Answers below!

I was wondering if it might be possible to have a demo for the game in the future?

Oh that's a great point, we'll pass this along to our team for consideration!

I also wanted to ask about how multiplayer works as I’m a little confused. Is it like Stardew Valley where you can create a shared farm and you and your friends can make new characters to play on it together? Or is it different?

Yes, you can create a new world for multiplayer or simply invite friends to your farm! It's purely invitational so no random people, and once the hosts leave players will be kicked off the host's island. You essentially create a new character when you join a multiplayer farm! If you host, you're still in control, but players can affect things like resources (they're shared) and side quests that include romances!

I’ve seen some people make suggestions in your asks about game features in possible future updates and wanted to share some things I’ve noticed whilst playing so far, but please ignore this if you’re not taking suggestions!

We love taking in suggestions, we'll answer below!

1. I’m not sure if I can do this or not so this is more of a question than a suggestion, but can you change your name?

You can change your name on https://account.phxlabs.ca/ and that will act as your display name! You can also change your main username on Switch if you haven't created a Phoenix Labs account, but once you create a PHXL account it will be your primary name!

2. This is random but if there’s ever plans to expand the face marking options, could there be one with just the starry freckles without the crescent moon on the forehead? It’s a small thing, but when I was choosing I was like ohh I’d love just the starry freckles ✨✨✨

I love this, we can definitely pass along the desire for more facial markings!

3. When playing the game on switch (I don’t know if it’s different on PC), I wanted to name my house ‘Rose Cottage’ but there weren’t enough letters so I had to name it ‘Rose Cott.’ which is fine but having more letters would be rlly rlly nice 🌹

There is a character limit, we will pass this along!

4. All the characters I’ve encountered so far are so interesting!! I was wondering if more of them could be romanceable later on?

We definitely want to introduce more romance characters! Merchants most likely will not be romanceable characters, but we'll never say never! I like Rosalind too 💞

5. I love collecting clothing and furniture and bugs and fish and flowers: all that stuff and I’m soooo happy with how many options Fae Farm provides but I’m also a crazy collector, so more can never hurt. It’s not something the game needs, but if there was a DLC or something like that, more stuff is always fun!

More things to collect is definitely a plus! We can't spoil DLC content, but we're sure you'll love it!

Thank you for such passionate questions, we can't wait to see you in-game!

[impostorsshow]

Uh, let’s see, random made-up fanfic title…

Don’t Be The Hero, Be My Hero

(I kicked ideas around for like AT LEAST 10 minutes before coming up with this idea and settling on it. It does feel a little vague, or open to interpretation, but I feel really proud of it.)

I know Sam and Max and Legend of Zelda and would be most interested in that, could also get myself invested in a Sonic fanfic because I’m dipping my toes into that pool, don’t know much about DSAF or Invader Zim beyond the surface to really get into a fanfic about those.

Oooo, I like this one [for the record all of these would be one shots]

For Sam and max, I immediately think of a standard 305 fic, either Sam pleading with max [or like his super ego British guy] to just let them save him, but Max. Y'know, it's inevitable, Max's super ego is too stubborn, too set on the idea of being an altruist to make up for all the times Max never listened to him, and Sam is just. Forced to leave him behind. He knows Max knows he hates that the city is being destroyed, but Max is his world and he wouldn't care if it meant he kept Max - this fic could either end when Sam goes to check on Sybil after Max's super ego just won't budge, or right after Max blows up, before Sam leaves to take a walk.

I see very easily why this could be legend of Zelda [heroes duh] but tthere's likem so many way this could be taken with every version of Zelda being sad over link, so let me instead offer a role reversal. Specifically, let me offer something about bots and totk, despite having not finished the game - from what I'm aware of, Zelda dies, never makes it into the future again and stuck in the past? Maybe becomes the blonde dragon? So a fic about link mourning his Zelda, a Zelda that knew so much of him and yet he got to spend so little time of, leaving her time against her will and never being able to see her knight again. Zelda is the only one who knew of the link in the past that he could talk to, and when she died, a part of him died as well, for the second time and permanently. And in case I'm wrong about that, it could be a fic of link slowly finding the memories of Zelda after his reawakening, and the title of the fic is the last line, and the first line of dialogue Link speaks, whispering into Zeldas shoulder after defeating dark ganon, pleading with her to never risk herself for hyrule again [something that would be happy, but is turned bittersweet by totk existing] honorable mention here is a fic about shadow breaking the mirror in the four swords manga, maybe a vioshadow fanfiction because god im a sucker for that, as much as i am a sucker for all 5 of them being brothers [though obviously those two headcanons can't coexist]. Might actually write that later I'll update this post if if I do.

Also, a sonic fic would definitely be tails, though I'm having trouble thinking of exactly where in the timeline, maybe after the whole dark Gaia thing and sonic not being able to sleep and all of that. Tails just wants him to stop focusing on everything else, to focus on himself for once. Or actually that would work really well for sonic boom, just pick your most hated episode and put it as a fluff one shot after that.

[sharky857]

Now am curious how the other bachelors and bachelorettes would react when facing the Troy to their farmer. OvO

Ohh, this is going to be fun.

*cough!*

---

QUICK HEADS UP! I'm tweaking this a little, because my brain was low-key fried and the whole time visualised only a "male-coded" kind of Troy, completely skipping over the fact that there are also "female-coded Troys" out there. Once realised this "f-up", I decided to "update" this musing to include also that counterpart.

I'll be referring to the two versions as "Troy" and (even though it may sound so bad to my ears) "Troyette". INB4: Why would anyone have two different approach to the same issue? The answer is simple: it wouldn't be uncommon for Troy(ette)s to turn the table around so that they would look like the victim. Sadly, it appears that f"emale abusers "Troyettes" can have a small advantage in this than their male counterparts, especially when they try to frame someone of the opposite sex. I figured even our bachelors would know this all too well, therefore adjusting their reactions accordingly, while the ladies would just not give two 💩 and potentially go on a rampage all the same.

(Which also means that yes. Not all reactions are being tweaked.)

---

In no particular order:

Elliott: As per last fic uploaded, both with a Troy and Troyette he wouldn't be able to intentionally hurt thethem. He would still take advantage of the size difference between himself and the other to scare the livin' 💩 out of them (I'll die on the "Elliott is 6ft tall" hill), although being very careful to keep some distance between himself and a Troyette, just in case she would even think about trying to play the victim afterwards. Bonus point for being an active writer, therefore incidentally and constantly "training" himself on which words to use and when. ("The pen is mightier than the sword", after all.)

Sam: His (over?)protective instincts would instantly kick in and he would feckin' deck & pound the Troy on the spot. There might be need for a couple people to get his rabid arse off of that jerk too. He would try to keep the quietest demeanour as possible with a Troyette, partly because he knows how female abusers are underrated and partly because his parents (mostly his mother, probably) have ingrained the "boys shouldn't hit the girls, no amtter what" kind of belief.

Shane: Might headbutt the Troy in the mouth, without a warning. He might or might not also wield an empty glass bottle like a one-handed club. He would look intimidating doing so, but he would never dare to actually smash the bottle against the other's head. Maybe. When dealing with a Troyette he could put on his best unfriendly and unapproachable scowl while demaning the other to "fucking leave before I call the cops".

Alex: He's been training to become a pro gridball player, therefore he could knock the Troy out simply by tackling him to the ground. He might be later spotted dragging the barely conscious Troy to the train station to chunk his sorry bum on the first train headed to the city, as if "the fuckin' incel" was made of thin air. Which shouldn't be much of a surprise, considering how ripped Alex would be. He would probably turn the opposite way when dealing with a Troyette instead. Pounding "a poor woman" and potentially getting himself into serious troubles is definitely not advisable. Alex would try to reason with the other instead; if the Troyette started to be more hostile and try to hit him too, he would take every single blow in like a boss, only trying to put some distance and threatening to call the authorities.

Harvey: The doc seems the kind to despise all forms of violence and he also looks the exact opposite of intimitading. He would try a pacific approach at first, telling the Troy to kindly leave the town. If the other is persistent, Harvey might then threaten to call the authorities to have him forcibly removed from the town. If the other insists still, Harvey also has a vaste knowledge of the human body anatomy; the doc may hate himself afterwards for hurting another person, but in that moment he would give the other either a single kick or punch to some specific nerves (the thighs would be the perfect target), leaving the Troy on the ground in a fetal position for quite a while. There might or might be not an howling Troy too, depending on his level of pain tolerance, to the point of leaving the others to low-key wonder if Harvey had just tried to eviscerate the Troy instead. But no, it's merely a bruised quadriceps femoris muscle. Extremely painful but definitely not life-threatening. Y'all can chill, now. Things wouldn't change much when dealing with a Troyette. Same step-by-step approach, but eventually he would actually go for the phone call instead of trying to hit a nerve.

Sebastian: He's not exactly as imposing as some writer and also kinda scrawny. Theoretically he wouldn't look like much of a threat, but he has a secret ace up his hoodie's sleeve: a resting bitch face. The Troy may already cower at the sight of Sebby's (accidental) homicidal glare. Then the Troy would flee for the hills at the mere sound of the coldest "buzz the fuck off and don't make me hunt you down" ever. He might or might not really mean that latter part. He owns a bike and is also a tech wiz; theoretically it would be a piece of cake to track the Troy down with an online research and pay him a "surprise visit" back. But Sebby would also have this funny feeling that all that would be called "stalking". In the end he might feel tempted to take that kind of action, but would refrain from putting it into practice. Things stay the same in case of a Troyette. Seb simply wouldn't give two 💩 about the other potentially trying to get him into troubles. After all, he would also have a few witnesses on his side to prompty prove a Troyette's words wrong.

Leah: Similarly to Sam, she would go instantly and absolutely apeshit, be them Troy or Troyette. She wouldn't hesitate to make a blunt weapon out of the first thing she could rip off with her bare hands, be it a tree branch or a big rock yanked from the ground. There would be need for more than a couple people to hold her rampaging arse back. The same people would also be the ones actually and kindly suggesting the Troy(ette) to leave the town and never come back or so may Yoba help them next time.

Haley: Might first murderise both Troy and Troyette's eardrums with her high-pitched, bloody-murder screams. She might or might not also take off one of her pretty shoes and try to stab them with the heel (with a bonus of trying to rip chunks of hair off of Troyette's head, if it's long enough); it would take only one person to hold a furious Haley back.

Emily: Precious, little Emily. She would probably cry a waterfall, as if she had been the one personally hurt. She wouldn't try to hurt the Troy(ette) herself, but you can tell she and Haley are sisters from the volume of her yelled cusses. She might or might not need for a valerian infusion tea in the aftermath (and probably a few hours of relaxing meditation).

Abigail: Once her brain has processed the shock, she won't hesitate to keep the Troy(ette) at knife point. It would be merely a tiny, pocket knife, the blade might be a little dull as well, but it would be still enough to get Abby's point across quite effectively.

Maru: Would try to not let on how terrified she is, trying to think what Sebby (and/or her father) would do in a similar situation. She would then resort to grab her own phone, threatening both Troy and Troyette to call the autorities this instant if they don't leave immediately. She would even show the other the already dialed number, all she would need to do would be to just start the call. After the Troy(ette) would be gone, Maru would talk with her S/O about filing a restraining order. Just in case.

Penny: Initially she would look at the Troy(ette) as if they had just murdered her firstborn before her eyes. Then she might cry a waterfall while telling the other what a horrible person they are, how could they be so cruel with their own partner, that was so terrible, what if someone did the same to one of their friends or relative, they should be ashamed of themselves, and so forth. In an accidental twist of events, in the end it would be the S/O to try and comfort Penny first (Penny would still comfort her S/O back, as soon as she would regain control over her nerves).

PLEASE NOTE!

Inb4 someone may come and ask me something similar for SVE and/or RSV: I have not started those mods yet, so I'm not familiar at all with those other bachelor(ette)s. Sowwie. 😔

[lulubelle814]

Regards, Loki - Chapter 25

Master List

Joy: Hey sugar.  Today was awful.

James: I’m sorry to hear that.

Joy: Could we meet for drinks?  I feel like I could use one.

He thought about it for a moment.  Should he tell her now?  Or should he meet her and tell her in person?  Texting was easier, but the gentleman in him said it would be better to tell her in person.  He didn’t, however, owe it to her.  He had worked on keeping his responses brief but realized he’d entertained her for too long.  They’d broken up a long time ago, and they’d only seen each other a couple times since then.

James: I’m sorry.  I can’t do that.

Joy: Oh?  You on a hot date with a pretty girl?

James: I don’t think it’s in my best interests.

Joy:  Why would you say that?  I thought we were friends?

James: We were friends a long time ago, but I can’t be friends with you now.  I’m sorry.

Joy: How are you sorry?  You don’t want to talk to me, but you’re sorry?

James: What I’m sorry for is how it might affect you, but this cannot continue.  I wish you the best of luck.

She texted him a few times.  At first it was a question or two.  Then it turned violent with threats and cursing.  James took the opportunity to talk to the building manager and front desk to have her barred.  They were very quick to respond and confirm to which he was very grateful.

There were a few more texts after that.  He took a screenshot of the texts before blocking her number, but saved the messages just in case.

Not quite an hour later, building reception reached out to him saying she’d shown up and started throwing things but that the police would be there shortly if he wished to make a statement.  He agreed and asked them to let him know once the police arrived.

Another hour later, she had been arrested, he talked to the on-site police, and then followed them (per their suggestion) to make an official statement.  He was able to give them the threatening messages she sent him when he cut off communication, and they said it would help immensely as it could be combined with the property damage charge.  All in all, they said it would be an open and shut case.

What helped keep him calm in the midst of it all was his Sigyn, knowing she’d be supportive.  In fact, when he was back home, he reached out to her.

Loki: That could have gone much better.

Sigyn: Oh no.  What happened?

Loki: She asked me to meet her for drinks.  I told her no.  It wasn’t in my best interests and that I couldn’t be friends with her.

Sigyn: How’d she take it?

Loki: Poorly.  Very poorly actually.  Thankfully, I’d had the sense of mind to notify the security desk in the lobby.

Sigyn: Uh oh

Loki: She showed up and demanded to be let up the elevator.  When they refused, she started destroying the lobby with anything she could get her hands on.

Sigyn: That’s awful!

Loki: She was arrested, and I made a statement with the police.

Sigyn: Because it was you she was looking for?

Loki: Not so much.

Sigyn: Then how come?

Loki: She started texting obscenities and threats to me.  The police are helping me get a restraining order.

Sigyn: I’m so glad you’re ok!  I don’t know what I’d do if she did something to you.

Loki: Your concern is kind and well appreciated.

Sigyn: I’d kick her ass if I knew who she was.  

Loki: Lets save you from garnering any assault charges.

Sigyn: Probably a good idea.

Loki: Yeah, probably.  But I do appreciate the sentiment.

James smiled.  He’d never encountered anyone so defensive of him except his mother, and the thought warmed his heart.  While chatting, he received an email update about the upcoming charity ball.  The music was now set up, and the event was set to take place in 4 weeks.  

However, there was one thing he needed advice on, and he knew exactly who to talk to.

Loki: I need your advice.

Frigga: What’s that?

Loki: You have to promise to keep this to yourself.

Frigga: I can do that.

Cora was the soul of discretion.  

Loki: There is an upcoming charity ball.  I was thinking of inviting Sigyn?  I enjoy our conversations quite a bit, but I wasn’t sure if I should invite her so she can attend or with the premise that we would meet?

Frigga: If I tell you, you have to keep it to yourself.  She’ll throttle me if she finds out.

James laughed.  Touche.

Loki: I can do that.

Frigga: She’s mentioned a couple times about how she’d like to meet you sometime but thought it wasn’t something you’d want especially with the arrangement set up.  

James raised an eyebrow.  She wanted to meet him?  Really?

Loki: Are you sure?  Maybe it was a misunderstanding.

Frigga: Very sure.  She didn’t want to tell you.  Didn’t want you to feel forced or guilted into it.

Loki: Do you think she’d want to go to the charity ball?  It’s a kind of masquerade.

Frigga: Abso-fucking-lutely!

Loki: I’ll get her an invitation.  Bruno will deliver it directly.  Physical invitations will be required for entry.

Frigga: She’ll be out of her mind excited.

He was relieved that Sigyn’s friend thought it was a good idea.  He felt even better when she mentioned Sigyn had spoken of the possibility of meeting him.  Even though he is giving her money for the arrangement, he had this feeling that it really wasn’t about the money for her, that they’d be friends even if money wasn’t involved.

James didn’t know how to explain how he knew that, but the possible reality of meeting her made him both very excited and very nervous.  Looking back at the email, he saw the charity ball would be announced on Friday, only 2 days away, with invitations going out on Monday.  Of course, a few people knew about it, but details were kept quiet until the announcement was officially made.

Taglist: @huntress-artemiss @jaidenhawke

[forensicated]

Smiffina Episodes - Episode 403

Smithy and Lewis are called to a break in where they find an assaulted male. As they move to check him over, they are ambushed and assaulted by the attackers. Lewis almost catches one of them but he receives a kick straight to the chest and falls down again. They return to the assaulted male to check him over and Smithy pulls a screwed up piece of paper from the mans mouth - it states that he is likely to be "Leo Cross" and that he's been accused of being a paedophile.

Zain is drafted in to work the case and Smithy explains the victim is an NHS worker who called the police 2 days previously as he was being harassed by two teens who were trying to get money out of him. Gina drops in as she's passing to see if everything is alright "Yeah, 2nd day back and it's already like I've never been away." He smiles. "... I meant have you got enough bodies?" Smithy smirks and explains that they've had some leads and then that he's going to check in on Morris later. Gina warns him not to hold his hand too long and has an unusual way of ending the conversation... 🤣

Later Smithy calls into the kebab shop where he got Morris a job - only Morris didn't turn up. As returns to Lewis to update him, Morris comes limping along the street. Smithy asks him what's wrong and Morris tells him that he fell - but Smithy doesn't believe him. He confesses there was a group of children on his estate that were smashing up a phone box. He intervened and then they started abusing and jostling him and then when they pushed him over they ran off. "And as usual there was never a copper around when you need one!" Smithy playfully rolls his eyes and hands him his old mobile phone, telling him to call his daughter who he hasn't spoken to since he went to prison. Morris refuses , telling him he doesn't know what he'd say to her and Smithy says if he doesn't ring her then he (Smithy) will and tells him the phone is a way that they can stay in touch themselves. Morris starts to tell him something but he stops before covering.

"I'll get a bad name standing out here talking to coppers."

Later, Lewis runs to find Smithy to tell him that there's been a call to CAD as "Morris is smashing up the kebab shop." "I don't believe this!" Smithy sighs, grabbing his stuff and heading out to the car with Lewis. When they get there the owner is upset and ranting in Greek, there's salad all over the floor and the shop is in a real mess but Morris has been able to slip out the back way and is long gone. Lewis tells him that the boss told him that Morris had a phone call with his daughter and... well, it didn't go well, and he locked himself in the toilet afterwards with a bottle of whiskey and he wants to press charges. "Course he does... how the hell am I going to talk him out of that?!" Smithy sighs.

Smithy and Lewis go to Morris' house, but he's nowhere to be seen. Lewis asks if he'd do something serious but Smithy assures him he's not worried about him harming someone... but then a call comes over the radio matching Morris' description and describing someone acting erratically under work-way on the Thames. Smithy tells Lewis to stay away and get back up but subtly so as not to spook Morris. He slowly approaches him, gently trying to find out what has happened to upset him so much.

Morris is in bits, telling him that his daughter has moved to New Zealand with her children 2 years ago. He didn't even know he was a grandad. He's had enough of being outside and says that he might as well have 'con' tattooed on his forehead and that he wants to go back inside prison.

Smithy sighs, telling him he's spent the last half hour talking to his boss getting him not to throw the book at him. "Please, Dale!" Morris begs. Smithy sighs and quietly adds. "I suppose I could get him to change his mind again." He reluctantly arrests him, adding "Are you happy now?" Morris is obviously made up. "Yeah!"

Gina tells him she's sorry about Morris and he just shakes his head, saying that in the nick Morris knew his place, everything was familiar and he felt safe. "And that's the important thing." he adds. "Knowing where you belong." As he walks off, Gina calls him back, winking affectionately at him and he grins at her before walking off.