#can't wait for the Emmy's in case you can't tell

[ednacrabapple]

So I just finished watching the six individual episodes that got Emmy nominations for outstanding writing in a comedy series like I've been threatening to do and here they are ranked from best to worst:

Pride Parade - WWDITS

This might be the best episode of any sitcom I have ever seen in my life. There is so much that happens in this episode. I've seen it a million times and I still don't know how they fit everything in AND made sure everything got enough time. This episode has EVERYTHING. Nandor goes to space. Laszlo terrorizes people at the beach. Colin Robinson and Ghost Nadja both posses Nadja's body. It's insane. This episode absolutely deserves the Emmy (though we all know it won't win). And I still want to know why Nandor wasn't speaking to Matthew (the little bird that flew into his room that he was trying to befriend) anymore lol

Also Natasia Demetriou absolutely should have been nominated for a best actress Emmy for her performance in this episode alone but that's a story for a different time

2. Orlando - Girls5eva

The 30 Rock vibes are immaculate. I had no context for anything that was happening and I still loved every second of it. I was literally laughing the entire time I was watching this episode. Paula Pell especially is outstanding. This one episode made me want more and I need to watch the entire show now. I loved it

3. Brooke Hosts a Night of Undeniable Good - The Other Two

God this episode was so fucking chaotic and insane. I literally don't even have anything specific to say about it. It was just so fun??? Also that fricken song that Cary and the other gays were singing is stuck in my head. Amazing episode no notes

4. Career Day - Abbott Elementary

Now, I absolutely adore Abbott, which I'm sure you can all tell by now, so it really hurts me to put it so low on the list, but honestly Career Day was the weakest episode of the season in my opinion. It was still good - the whole plot with Melissa and Gary was so well done and heartbreaking, and some of the jokes about Ava going to Harvard to use their wifi to earn a degree from Grand Canyon university were hilarious, but overall I think this episode could have been way better. It just felt like something was missing, ya know? I think there are some other episodes from this season, like Smoking or Party, that were better overall and maybe deserved the nomination more. I still love this show, but this episode is kinda meh

5. Bulletproof - Hacks

I know absolutely nothing about this show or the characters, but the episode was still so compelling. This is definitely a show that handles the whole "dramedy" thing well from what I can tell. I definitely enjoyed this episode, but it just wasn't quite as good as some of the other episodes that got nominated. Also, that scene on the plane with the sorta proposal was amazing lol

6. Fishes - The Bear

This show is not a comedy. Full stop. It is a drama. Like, sorry it can't compete against Shogun, but how is that WWDITS' fault? Or Abbott's fault? Or Girls5eva's fault? It should be in the drama category - NOT stealing nominations from actual comedies.

That being said, this episode was just not good. It was so boring. It couldn't hold my attention for more than a few minutes at a time, and it was just so long. It felt like it was never going to end. And I swear it was 90% people yelling at each other and nothing else. But don't worry everyone, I'm sure this is the episode that will win the award, despite being the least deserving by far 🙄

[itsjustmylifeconfessions]

I loved episode 6 for so many reasons (Pedro your Emmy nomination is secured!) but two things really caught my attention while watching the episode and seeing people reacting to it (on YouTube, twitter, here...)

The amount of male reactors that didn't know what a menstrual cup was, and even thought it was some sort of birth control, shouldn't have been surprising to me but damn y'all really don't know anything do you?

One video I watched they were saying Maria was trying to control Ellie, by giving her birth control and cutting her hair against her will. They did not think Maria was being genuinely helpful at all.

Now let me tell you, as a woman, I would have helped another woman with everything she needs immediately. We have a shower, let me get you a nice soap. Need period products? I got you. I have scissors do you need a haircut? Let me get you clean underwear, do you need a bra? Here have a hair tie.

When Ellie found the tampons in ep 4 that made me so happy, then this happens and this display of not only women's solidarity towards each other but this awareness of our daily issues actually warms my heart.

I've always wondered what it would be like to be a woman in an apocalyptic world. We need these things. We don't just want them, we need them. I have cramps that are so bad sometimes I think I'm gonna pass out, even if I take meds, but I have never, not even once, watched a scene with a woman even acknowleding her period. unless if for some bulshit pregnancy arc but don't get me started

The second thing was that a lot of people (not just men in this case) thought that Joel was having a heart attack, when it was so clear he was experiencing something like a panic attack/anxiety/PTSD episode.

The lack of awareness on mental health is so clear. Maybe it's because I deal with anxiety and know what it feels like, but I understood immediately what was happening in those scenes.

We are so used to not talking about it. It should be so obvious to everyone but it wasn't. Because we don't even discuss this in real life.

I love that the show doesn't shy away from such important things that somehow for us are taboo. Mental health, women's health, these are things we don't really see in shows like this and I love that they are not hiding from it.

Ellie is a girl, she has periods. She also has a lot of trauma to unpack. Joel is not a robot, he's been through so much of course there's trauma there, of course he'll have PTSD and anxiety and have panic attacks on the possibility of caring for someone so much again and failing to protect them.

Anyway, I'd love to talk about everything I've been loving about this show but this post is too long already. I'm loving how they are adapting this story, they are doing a fantastic job, and the things they are changing/adding are only making the story better, and I can't wait for what's coming next.

[eva-knits12]

A TED talk- the PR edition.

I know very little about PR.

Megan Moss Pinchon, the founder of Narrative, had every chance to pull her client, Chris Evans out of this situation. But no. She only sees him as a six-foot-tall walking dollar sign. I'll explain.

Pulling Chris out right after the pap walk. Talk about cringe.

Pulling Chris out right after the family's annual Disney trip. Mama Lisa's annoyed and murderous expression says it all.

Pulling Chris out after the trash nun's famous shower tantrum, which got her suspended on IG, and would have gotten her on a sec offenders registry. But, no. Meg swept that under the rug.

The Ghosted premiere. The trash nun's shoes up uninvited. Chris looks pissed! That's unusual for him, given his happy-go-lucky demeanor.

The laser focused comment. Meg needed to pull Chris from this, but no. She stood by, making sure he stuck to the script. When he didn't, Meg certainly gave him an earful. Instead, we get 5,000.artickes about them being "IG official", onky to have another 5,000 articles about Valentine's Day photo dumos when it's fucking clear he can't stand her, and can"t stand beinf around her.

After Scott's comment. It was clear Scott was put on the spot, and didn't know what to do. Instead, you used a People article to sweep it under the rug.

After the engagement rumors. Boom, there was a huge chance. But no, you just cleaned up using a dog shelter video and a People article about the family.

The "wedding". It's clear that fraud was committed. You had Chris claiming this the same weekend as 9/11, but wait! Was it that Friday? That Saturday? That Sunday? Nobody can keep the timeline straight. When the met? 2020? No, there was a global pandemic, and at that time, you had your client go to London to help clean up the cocaine Cinderella 's mess. He would have been nominated for an Emmy for Defending Jacob, but no. 2021? No, there were still lockdowns. 2022? Think again. They never met. The trash nun was still with Lucas while seducing old men, making internet porn, and selling foot fetish pics and foot fetish videos. You had every chance to pull him out of this. Then, later that week, you had your client in a "second wedding" in Portugal, the trash nun's home turf, only to avoid immigration laws. Where is the marriage license? Visa's with her name on it claiming that she was here? Where is the spousal visa? They don't exist. Ask anyone who has dealt with immigration, and they can tell you becoming a U.S. citizen is a process, albeit a very long one. Anyone who has married a non-U.S. citizen knows that your spouse is not leaving U.S. or foreign soil for a minimum of four months.

The Con. You had your client, Chris, wear an ill fitting ring the entire time, and admit to fraud. His panel wasn't recorded. How convenient. He spent more time talking about Dodger than he did about the trash nun. He looked very exhausted, haggard, and drugged. Since he was drugged to comply, Meg could have wound up in jail for possession with the intent to distribute, but no. Even that was cringe, and Meg was at the Con the whole time, making sure her client stuck to the script. You also had two people right next to him, one taking gifts from fans, and one watching intently. For what? In case he wanted to escape? I wouldn't blame Chris for making a run for it.

Another People article on Thanksgiving. Chris wanted to handle his return to IG and social media privately. But, no. You had to go ahead, embellish the crap out of it, and again, mention the trash nun, when it's perfectly clear that he hasn't said her name this time, and she's not on his list of followers or peopke that is following him. He is only following two accounts, and two accounts are only following him. Again, you had a chance to pull your client, but no. You chose to announce his return to IG loudly using People.

The manipulation quote in the SMA interview. The trash nub is famous for this, and Meg is, too. Again, you had a chance to pull your client from this.

The GQ article. Again, you could have protected and pull your client. But, no. He was drugged to comply, and you had Mama Lisa there making sure he stuck to the script. I'm pretty sure Mama Lisa didn't want anything to do with it.

We all know Meg loves her designer toys and clothes and accessories. Whatever makes her money, that's the tactic she takes. She cares nothing about her Chris and her other clients. I can guarantee she's done the same with her various other clients, but nothing to this extent.

At the end of the day, Meg is working for Chris. It's not Chris working for Meg. Chris just needs to fire her. She's done more harm than good, and all at the expense and the safety of her client.

I just want to give Chris a hug, and tell him it's going to be okay. I'm still sticking around because I believe in him.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[chirpsythismorning]

May I ask you if the Strike will ever end? :(

At this point I am just letting time tell.

I think that the plan originally was for the studios to hold out until October, assuming only the writers were striking. But with the actors being in the mix now, that definitely increases the stakes for the studios to come back to the table and actually negotiate in good faith.

The question is are they going to go back to the table to negotiate with SAG AND the WGA?

I just can't see the actors being on strike past October, but if the studios are really, really stupid (they are), then yes, it could go into 2024 (The Emmy's are prepared to postpone until January. So that's their worst case scenario at least...).

I personally don't think the actors will be on strike into 2024 because none of them being able to promote movies/shows each passing day is going to start pressuring certain studios to cave sooner than others, and that's what could inevitably force those other studios to follow suit. No one wants to want to exist in a world where all of their competitors are back to work and they are not.

The problem is that right now lot of the studios are seeing each other as equals/allies, despite being competitors. But still, at the end of the day they will always be competing, and that's going to be their downfall as the clock ticks for their little studio suicide pact.

Again I think a lot of the studios initial plans (best case scenario) was to stick it out together vs. the writers until Oct. before even coming back to the table, then hoping it would end sometime around then with the writers being forced to take a shit deal because they need work to live. They also probably hoped that the public would be taking their frustration out on the writers.

Obviously that plan has veered way off course, so it's possible based on that alone we could see it all end sooner than it would have.

But that's wishful thinking overall tbh. It's just too soon to tell.

I think, best case scenario we could start hearing actual back and forth between SAG and the studios by the end of August.

Now, that doesn't mean they'll make a deal in a day and agree on it (it could last another month + despite talks happening soon). It means that maybe we'll start seeing verified reports of some back and forth about negotiations starting to happen again.

If it's coming from the studios, we can't really make anything of that, because if SAG is saying on the other side that they're not getting any calls, then it's all fodder.

So for the time being, we need to wait to hear from SAG or the WGA about what's going on to even gage if any progress is being made at all. Until even an inkling of something like that occurs, it's not happening anytime soon.

Maybe we could hear something like that going on by the end of the month with SAG, but maybe not.

I do have worries that what we'll start seeing on the studios end, sooner than later, is talks with SAG but not the WGA. If that happens and WGA stays on strike, we're still looking at a standstill regardless of if SAG comes to a deal with the AMPTP.

As far as I know SAG can't like write in their deal that they'll only agree if the studios make a deal with the WGA. It's not that simple. And it's possible the studios could use that to their advantage. But that's also assuming that the studios are even willing to come to a good deal that SAG will agree on anytime soon.

It's pretty likely though that the studios already know of the deal they're going to make that the writers and actors will be willing to agree to, but they're holding out. And that's just the grossest part of all.

TBH we're dealing with really slimy people which is why I can't even say with utmost certainty that the strike will end.

Hope this helped 😅😭

[thatgirlstrawberry]

💛Sunshine💛 - The Visit pt. 2/The Son

In which you all read about Spencer’s family life

Overall warnings: mentions of sex, children, violence, regular cm stuff y’know

After everyone was calm, they all sat around the living room eating soup and grilled cheese.

It was oddly quiet. The sound of spoons clanking against the edges of the bowl was awkward.

"Spence?" Audrey cleared her throat.

The man looked up at her. Her eyes were a little wide and her lip was caught between her teeth. She set her bowl on the end table next to the couch.

"Can you tell us about the case? When we can get out of here and go home?" Audrey asked, eyes full of hope.

Sadie nodded from her spot at her little plastic chair. "Yeah, daddy. I wanna go home."

Charlie's eyes just shot back and forth between his mother and father waiting for a response. Joey was fidgeting with his spoon.

"Uhm-" Spencer's voice cracked nervously and he cleared his throat, eyes tearing away from his wife's. "Well, we haven't Uh... the unsub hasn't been active. So... so we... we don't know, Aud. We're at a loss."

The woman's face fell for just a moment. Her smile lit right back up and she glanced at her children. "Will you guys start cleaning the kitchen, please?"

Charlie scoffed. "That's not fair!" Both of his parents looked at him. "Dad just got here and you're making us clean?"

Audrey looked between her husband and Charlie hoping that he would say something to calm him down a bit. When he didn't Audrey smiled. "Dad will come help in just a minute, okay?"

Charlie rolled his eyes and spun around walking into the kitchen with loud footsteps. Sadie and Joey followed him quietly.

When the kids were out of earshot, Audrey looked at Spencer. "Honey, it's been 5 months." She shook her head. "Don't you think of the unsub isn't active... we can go home? I mean, c'mon, the kids hate it here."

Spencer tilted his head and moved closer to his wife. "I want more than anything to get you home but we haven't even found—" He stopped and looked at Charlie to make sure he wasn't listening. "We haven't even found Emmy yet." He whispered.

Audrey sighed. "How are my parents? And Marcus?"

Spencer smiled a bit. "Your parents are doing good. They miss you and the kids, they're safe." He nodded. "I haven't heard from Marcus in a few weeks. I think he's still sad about Chloe."

The woman sighed and placed her hand on her belly. "She's started kicking." A soft smile graced her lips.

Spencer got on his knees on the floor, reaching to touch her stomach. He smiled as he felt the baby's kicks. "I hate that I can't be with you everyday." He whispered. "I hate that I can't see your beautiful face and our beautiful kids and feel our beautiful baby."

"How much longer do you have left?" Audrey asked.

Spencer looked at his watch. "Thirty minutes."

Audrey sighed and bit her lip. "Go help the kids. Catch up with them." She smiled, nodding her head in their direction.

Sadie stood up on the step stool putting dishes away, Joey wiped down the counters and Charlie pretended to clean off the stove.

Spencer chuckled softly and pulled his wife in for a kiss. They stayed like that for a while until she sighed and pulled away.

Spencer got up from the ground and walked into the kitchen, tickling Sadie. She squealed and Joey laughed as he pretended to body slam her into the counter.

Audrey smiled, her lips quivering as she look away from them, tears filling her eyes.

.•.•.•.•.

30 minutes later Spencer sighed and walked over to the door slowly. Joey and Charlie followed behind him and he carried Sadie in his arms.

Audrey was waiting for him with her hands on her belly. She had a smile on her face but Spencer could tell it was fake.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." He spoke, kissing Sadie's head. Tears were running down her cheeks but she said nothing as he sat her down.

He turned to his boys and tugged them both into him, wrapping his arms around them.

"Dad, please don't go." Joey cried.

Spencer sighed and rubbed his son's back. "I'm sorry. I will work my hardest to solve this case and you guys can come back home. I swear."

He pulled away from them and turned to Audrey. "I love you." He said. "And I'm sorry. I will figure this all out."

She nodded and smiled still. "I love you too."

He turned to the children. "I love you all."

He left shortly after they repeated it, walking sadly towards the SUV where Hotch sat waiting.

Spencer climbed into the car and exhaled heavily when he shut the door. Hotch saw the quiver of his lips and sighed.

Suddenly, a tear rolled down his cheek and clicked on his seat belt. "I don't want to talk about it." He told Hotch. "We just need to get this case done and take down this piece of shit so I can take my family home."

.•.•.•.•.•.3 weeks later.•.•.•.•.•.

Audrey was humming and rocking in the chair in the living room. She had her eyes closed and she was rubbing her belly.

It was about 10 pm. The kids were asleep and she was thinking about how much longer she and the kids had to be cooped up in the house.

"So, when your father and I got married, we didn't have rings." She whispered. When no one was around, she liked to talk to Peach. Especially about Spencer because she didn't want the baby to not know who he was. "That night, in the middle of us— Um wrestling, he remembered that we didn't have rings so he put some pants on and drive to a jewelry store." She giggled. "He came back with five rings and a band and told me to pick my favorite one."

"And when I picked, he put the rest in his drawer and said he was saving them for his children." Audrey opened her eyes and shook her head. "So that means, you'll get yours one day when you decide who you want to marry. And-"

There was a knock at the door.

Audrey's heart dropped when she realized that the knock wasn't the BAU's code.

She got up quickly, making sure that she wasn't able to be seen from the blinds. She rushed into the kitchen and opened the utensil drawer where the burner phone was supposed to be.

Her hands searched through the drawer but the phone was nowhere to be found.

"Shit." She cursed, her heartbeat picking up. She opened the other drawers in search but still couldn't find it.

"Audrey?"

She stopped dead in her tracks. She recognized the voice immediately. "Marcus?" She whispered, placing her hand on her stomach and walking towards the door.

She stood on her toes and looked through the little hole in the door.

Audrey bit her lip and dropped back down onto her feet and furrowed her brows, hesitating. She sighed heavily and unlocked the door. She opened it slowly, peering out at him.

"Marcus?" She spoke quietly. "Marcus, what the hell are you doing here?" She asked.

Marcus looked sad. "I think I know who Chloe's killer is!" He whisper shouted. Audrey raised her eyebrows and stepped back a little, letting Marcus step inside.

She quickly shut the door and locked it again. She spun around to see Marcus pacing. "W- Marc, I don't understand, how did you find us?"

Marcus glanced at her, his boots heavy on the ground. "Spencer's team. They told me." He nodded. Audrey furrowed her eyebrows.

They wouldn't do that.

She walked back towards the covered window and used her fingers to separate the blinds.

The watch car was across the street but the officer inside didn't look like he was awake.

Something is wrong.

Audrey breathed and turned back around. "You think you found the killer?" She asked. "How?"

He stopped pacing. She felt that something was wrong. "I-"

"I think I hear Sadie, give me a second." Audrey stopped him with a soft smile.

Something is wrong. Keep your composure.

"If you ever feel uncomfortable, threatened..." Spencer sat himself down in front of Audrey who was playing with a baby Charlie. "Audrey, are you listening?"

The woman looked up with a smile. "I'm sorry! He's just so cute." She shook her head and gently touched her baby's nose with her pinky.

Spencer chuckled. "I know, we make pretty cute babies, we should make more, but Audrey I need you to listen to me."

Her smile faltered a little bit and she nodded. He tilted his head. "My- My job is dangerous and I come face to face with some pretty dangerous people." He told her. "And I put... a lot of people away."

Audrey nodded, trying to keep Charlie from crawling out of her arms.

"And to get back at me, they might go for you o-or one of our kids." He said. He leaned forward, placing his hand on Audrey's knee. "So if you ever feel like something's wrong when you're around someone, you get yourself out. You give an excuse and you go. If the kids are with you, you get them and leave. Okay, Aud?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Okay. But, what if whoever is making me uncomfortable doesn't let me go?"

Spencer sighed and made sure that his eyes were locked on hers.

"Then you fight like hell."

Audrey glanced at him as she began to walk towards the kid's room and made sure to unclench her fists. She didn't know exactly why or what was happening but her brother was giving her a really bad feeling.

Marcus cleared his throat. "I don't hear anything." 

Audrey slowed her feet down a little. "Yeah, but I should go check on her. It must just be my mom brain." She laughed.

He stepped in front of her.

"Audrey, I don't hear anything." He said. The woman lifted her eyes from his chest to his face.

"Marcus?" She whispered.

"Yeah?"

Her eyes flickered down to his shirt once again. "Who's blood is that?" Her voice was low.

Marcus' breath hitched. "I'm sorry, Aud." He shook his head and planted his face in his palms. "Peter, from the car outside, he wouldn't let me come see you."

Audrey shook her head as tears filled her eyes. "Marcus, what did you do?" She asked, her voice breaking.

"I did what I had to, Audrey."

"Marcus, I really need to go check on the ki-"

He pushed her back. "Shut the fuck up!" He screamed, and Audrey flinched and stepped back.

She glanced to her left at the key table by the door. She took note of the metal lamp that sat there and looked back up at her brother. "Marcus, did you kill Chloe?" She asked, a tear slipping down her cheek. "And Lucas?"

Marcus shook his head with a smile. "Oh, I killed a whole lotta people." He laughed lazily.

"And you sent those pictures to Charlie?" She said. He nodded and she thought back to the night it all started.

The minute he left the room after "finding out"about Chloe, Charlie got the text.

"And you gave the folder to Sadie?" He nodded again. "But how? She knows who you are."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "There's this thing called a mask, Audrey."

"Marcus, w-why are you doing this?" She asked, stepping forward so her hand was right next to the lamp.

He shook his head and laughed again. "Remember uncle Lou?" He asked. "From Vegas, the one I was staying with on vacation all those years ago?"

Audrey nodded. "The week I met Spencer."

"See, Uncle Lou told me all about everything. He's the one who got me into this. He showed me exactly how to do it. How to kill people." He nodded, pointing his finger at his head. "But I came up with my own way when I got old enough. I didn't want them to trace it back to uncle Lou."

Audrey shook her head. "But why Marcus? Why are you doing this to us?" She cried. "Your family?"

Marcus bit his lip. "Audrey, the perfect daughter." He said, his eyes widening. It's like he was crazy.

"Wh- Marcus, mom treated me like shit. I don't understand." She told him, stepping forward a bit.

"She might have treated you like shit, but they treated me worse." He said, stepping up to her. "She treated me like nothing."

Audrey tilted her head to the side. "Oh, Marcus..." She grabbed his face and tried to get him to look at her. "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head and shut his eyes. "They forgot my birthday four years in a row while you were away at college." He cried. "I didn't even go to college, I'm their little disappointment."

"Marcus, our parents love you." Audrey told him.

He open his eyes. "Loved." Audrey's entire body tensed. Her heart dropped— hell it might have stopped.

"Marky, you..." She shook her head. "You didn't." Her voice was quiet.

The man scoffed as she removed her hands from his face. She didn't back up, she was too afraid to move.

"Do you know what she said to me right before I stabbed her in her throat?" He asked. Audrey could throw up, she grimaced at his words.

"'Audrey wouldn't have done this.'" He mimicked their mother's voice.

Audrey gasped in pain as she felt something sharp in her back. She looked up at him and her breath hitched as he felt her brother pull a blade out of her.

He unwrapped his arm from around his sister (that she never felt) and shook his head.

He waved the bloody blade in front of her face as she stumbled back. Her turned around and began walking towards the kid's room.

She felt more tears fall as she reached back to the key table. Her hand gripped the cool lamp and she stalked forward.

Her pain was unbearable but she kept her lip between her teeth trying to keep in a scream.

She caught up to him somehow and raised the lamp over her head quickly. She brought it down and it made contact with her brother's head and hard. He collapsed and hit the ground, groaning in pain. She dropped the lamp and grunted in pain as she felt the stab wound in her back rip open even more.

Her chest heaved as she stumbled over him. "Charlie, Joey, Sadie, wake up!" She screamed.

She opened the door to the kids room and they were stirring in their beds.

She grunted as she tripped over a toy and landed on her belly. Her mouth fell open and she shouted in pain.

"Mom?"

She felt hands on her arms as she tried to get up and the light was flicked on. "Mommy?"

She looked up at Charlie and he immediately saw the tears in her eyes. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"B-basement— basement now!" She screamed as he pulled her up.

"AUDREY!"

Sadie screamed at the loud voice.

"Mom, you're bleeding!" Joey noticed.

Audrey nodded. "I know baby, I know, I'm okay. We have to get to the basement now." She said, her voice coming out broken.

Charlie held his mom under his arm as she cradled her stomach. "Who's out there, mommy!?" Sadie cried as Joey picked her up.

"Don't worry about it, bunny, come on." She cried, her back stinging.

She started to walk towards the door and she peeked out of the room quickly, pushing Charlie back a bit.

There was no sign of Marcus but there was a pool of blood where he landed.

"Okay, come on guys." She whispered.

Charlie wrapped an arm around his mother once again, helping her walk through the hallway.

Luckily the basement door wasn't far from the children's room. She stopped in front of the key pad and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt the baby kick hard. "Oh, God."

Her shaking hand punched in the three-digit key quickly and the door opened.

"Hey, kids."

Her head plummeted again as she looked back, Marcus standing there with a bloody hand against his head.

"Uncle Marcus?" Joey spoke.

Audrey looked up at Charlie. "Hey, you gotta let me go, okay?" She told him, her voice wavering. Charlie shook his head but Audrey softened her eyes and nodded. "Yeah baby, you gotta let me go."

She stepped forward, squeezing her eyes shut again and she looked back at her kids. "You guys go down there, okay? Do not come back up, do you understand?"

Sadie sobbed/screamed as Charlie nodded, a tear slipping down his cheeks. Joey stood there glancing between his mom and uncle.

Audrey turned back to face her brother. "You stay the hell away from my kids." She glared as she heard Sadie's screams descend down the stairs.

Marcus laughed. "What will you do about it?"

He asked. "Once I kill you, I'll go downstairs and gut them just like I did our mother."

Audrey flinched. "I swear to God, you even put a scratch on one of my kids, Spencer will kill you with his bare hands."

Marcus stalled towards her and she stood there, one hand holding the wound on her back and one holding her aching stomach.

"Shit, you messed me up, Marky." She shook her head. She lowered her head and heard his footsteps getting closer to her.

When she saw his shoes on the ground beneath her, she quickly looked up and clicked him in the face.

Marcus stumbled back a bit and clenched his jaw. "You pack a punch, big sister." He seethed as he looked at her.

He leaped forward and punched her back. She fell backwards and landed on the ground, groaning and coughing.

"Mommy, no!" She heard Sadie scream.

No, Sadie go downstairs!

Audrey gasped as Marcus got on his knees next to her and flipped her onto her back.

His hands wrapped around her throat and she looked up at him with wide, teary eyes. "N-no, Ma-Marky-"

Marcus laughed at her and tightened his hands.

"Get the hell off of her!"

Suddenly, Marcus flew to the side as someone, Charlie, tackled him. "Charlie!" She coughed, rolling over.

She looked at Joey and Sadie who stood by the open door to the basement. She got to her knees and crawled over to them. "Go! Go downstairs now!"

She hated screaming at her kids but she needed them to go downstairs. She couldn't let them witness her get brutally murdered.

They flinched at her serious, almost angry, tone and tan down the stairs, Sadie still screaming.

She pushed the heavy metal door shut with a grunt and spun back around. They couldn't get out unless they knew the code and eventually Joey would find some way to communicate with the team.

Or someone would come across the mangled man in the front seat of his car that Marcus killed.

Marcus stood there with Charlie up against his chest and his knife on his neck. "Marcus, no." She shook her head and stepped forward. She glanced at Charlie who had his eyes closed, his chest heaving. His nose was bloody and she could tell that Marcus did that to him.

"I was going to kill you here but now I have a better idea." Marcus spoke slowly.

"Please, Marky. Let him go. Let him go and-" She coughed. "I'll let you kill me."

Marcus acted like he was thinking about it. "Mm..." He rocked his head from side to side. She glanced from him to her shaking son. "No." He chuckled. "You two are coming with me." He nodded and glanced at Charlie before looking back up at his sister. "And if you try to run, I will cut this kid from the neck down."

"Do anything to buy more time." She heard Spencer's voice in her head. "More time means a better plan."

Charlie opened his eyes and locked eyes with his mother. "Mo-"

"Shut the hell up!" He said, pushing the knife further against Charlie's neck.

"No! Marcus, okay! We'll go, just stop!" She held her hands out in front of her.

Marcus smiled and shook his head.

"Remember, Audrey. You run, he dies."

———————————-

HEyyy

WHO SAW THAT COMING OMG?

Anyways! Sorry I haven’t updated this story in a while but it’s starting to get rrrrreeeeeaaaaallll

Let me know your predictions!!

[coquelicoq]

i completely solved a cryptic crossword for the first time the other day! this is huge for me because i've always been so annoyed by them lol. but i kinda get it now, it is very satisfying to figure them out.

that said, there are several answers where i still do not totally understand the clues. if anyone who is familiar with cryptics (sometimes just called "crosswords" outside of the US) wants to help me out, i'd be very interested to hear your take!

this cryptic was in the 2022 puzzle mania edition of the nyt (released at the very end of the year), so if you are planning to solve it and haven't yet, i guess don't read this? lol. since i waited five months to do it i feel like that will apply to no one, but just in case.

i realized after drafting this post that the answer key is available online (here), but it did not actually answer my questions in every case, so i've kept my original text but added the answer key answer after each one in case it makes more sense to you than it does to me.

13A. Has misgivings about deception to an auditor (4): RUES. so "has misgivings about" is the definition of "rues". but i don't know what "deception to an auditor" is doing. could it have something to do with the fact that "rues" is a homonym and anagram of "ruse", a kind of deception? but i still can't figure out what "to an auditor" is for.

the answer key gives "homophone ruse" for this, so i guess i was right about the deception part, but i still don't get the auditor thing.

14A. A con almost grabs actor's awards left unbalanced (10): ASYMMETRIC. so EMMYS is hidden backwards in "asymmetric", which takes care of "actor's awards" and "left", and "asymmetric" means "unbalanced", i guess. so that leaves "A con almost grabs", along with the A and TRIC of the answer. i can't figure out how to make those relate to each other.

answer key says "a(symmE)trick – k (rev. Emmys)". fuck does that mean?? why are we subtracting the k? and i'm still not really sure what the con is there for?

26A. Concentrate for spare and strike (5): THINK. "concentrate" is the definition of "think". what is the "for spare and strike" doing??

answer key: "thin + K". okay i see how thin = spare but wherefore this K? does K stand for strike in baseball? that sounds vaguely familiar...

28A. African country returned Los Angeles family inheritance (7): SENEGAL. senegal is an african country, and it's also an anagram of angeles. i'm guessing the "returned" is a clue for the anagram? but what is "family inheritance" for? oh wait, senegal backwards is LA genes!! but then is it just a coincidence that "angeles" anagrams to "senegal", or is that indicated in the clue somewhere???

answer key: "rev. L.A. + genes". okay so it does sound like angeles being an anagram of senegal is a coincidence, or at least not covered in the clue?? seems like a missed opportunity but what do i know.

5D. Largely moderate Arizona city (5): TEMPE. tempe is a city in arizona. what's "largely moderate" doing here?

answer key: "temper – r". am i to understand that this is saying moderate = temper and the "largely" part of the clue is telling me to keep most but not all of "temper"?

[duckapus]

(this would obviously be after Emulator's corruption has progressed significantly, to the point where she's well aware of the problem but the malware has such a firm grip that it can force her to keep it hidden from the others, though it doesn't yet have full control. Key word being yet.)

Deep within the horrific fleshy caverns beneath the Mushroom Kingdom, Emulator stands amongst the ruins of the old castle, where the infection wracking her code is at its strongest. Here, she can drop the illusions that she's been forced to apply, revealing a web of pulsing, glowing fuchsia veins covering her model and a twitching photorealistic eye where her brooch should be. Her face is twisted in both pain and concentration, eyes firmly shut. Floating in a circle around her are seven different-colored Wonder Flowers, each with several lines of pink-and-yellow code spinning around them in thin cylinders.

This will only delay the inevitable you know.

She shuts out the voice, and she has every moment of every day since it became clear enough to understand.

Plus, are you really gonna drag a bunch of randos into your mess?

Focus Emmy, you're almost done.

And of course there's the fact that you'll just be trading one known flavor of corruption for seven different mystery flavors at once. Bet that'll go over well.

Just tune it out, girl. You got this.

And while they're all dealing with this mess you're making, I'll still be right here, chip-chip-CHIPping away at your mind.

Focus.

You're already so tired, Lovely. We could be so good together if you'd just let me in.

Another assault on the parts of her mind that are still her own, this time forming the impression of a gentle, delicate hand brushing along her jawline, and she can't help but shudder before stubbornly, desperately picturing a vivid memory of a fluffy purple tail performing the same action.

FOCUS damnit!

Still thinking about other girls, are we Lovely? Don't worry, when we're finished here we can go liven up that stuffy office and let her join our fun~!

She very firmly does not think about that, thank you very much, instead transporting the modified Wonder Flowers to random, scattered locations throughout the kingdom, before sitting down on what's left of one of the staircases to wait.

'I'm sorry everyone, I wish I could've done more.'

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

Meanwhile, up in the Showgrounds, Domain and Forum are telling the Crew (or at least some of them. A few aren't there right now due to prior obligations...or a nap in Melony's case) about the SAA/Diamind 6 fused universe.

3 winces, "Yikes, and here I thought you couldn't get any worse than our activation."

"Oh, ours is still considered the worst. This one was pretty bad, though."

"Anyway, we were wondering if a few of you would be willing to visit their world. You know, introduce them to the multiverse, see how they're settling in, that sort of thing."

4 smiles, "That sounds like a great idea. Guys?"

"Mario's ready to go! How about you, bro?"

Luigi nods, "Sure! November's pretty slow for flower sales anyway."

"Hell yeah, maybe I can make deals on some new kinds of space drugs!" Bob...will be Bob, I suppose.

Marcy raises a sword, "could I come as well? I usually miss the interdimensional adventures."

Meggy side-eyes the two of them and leans over so she can whisper to 4, "I'll try to keep the wonder twins from getting us arrested again."

"Good call. Juliano, Tari, how about you?"

"I'd love to, but I'm having a bad leg day at the moment," sure enough, Juliano's leaning on his cane more than usual.

Tari, however, has no such issue, "sure, it sounds like fun!"

Toad...is still in his house, not having bothered to show up to the meeting. Even if he now likes the Crew enough to live with them like this, he still very much values his "Me Time" and not getting caught up in Adventures if he doesn't have to.

As you might expect, the kids (just the three who live in the castle, since the Haltmanns are with their mom this week and everyone else is still at their own homes) are pretty excited, "Space trip! Space trip! Space-"

"Now hold on there!" 3 gives them a stern look, "These kinds of trips usually take multiple days since we don't know exactly where our destination is, and tonight's a school night. So the four of us are staying right here."

The three deflate a bit, "Figures."

At this his gaze softens, and he kneels down to their eye level, "Sorry, but I've gotta put my foot down this time. You kids already miss enough school from the adventures we can't keep you home from. Besides, it's not like this trip's a one-off. We already visit the other SMG universes all the time, and this won't be any different."

4 looks at this exchange with great fondness, then turns to the group, "So that's everyone set, right?" At the various sounds and gestures of affirmation, he grins, "Then there's no time like the present."

He opens up a portal to the new universe, and the typical goodbyes are had all around, with one longer exchange between the SMGs.

"Don't have too much fun over there without me, Scrub."

"Only if you try not to destroy the place while we're gone, Edgelord."

"Hey, you're the one who's gonna have three Avatars to deal with."

Predictably, Mario leans back out of the portal in his SM64 model, "HEY! You two should kiss!"

The two turn to glare at him, "Shut up Mario!"

Once he's gone, they end up laughing, "Okay, but seriously. Be careful out there, alright?"

"I'll do my best," he goes to step through the portal, then pauses partway through, "Oh, and I know you can handle things just fine, but you do your best to be safe too, alright? I've got a weird feeling."

"Roger that." as he finally leaves and the portal closes, 3 rolls his eyes, "right, like the world's gonna get flipped upside-down or something just because a third of the team's gone. We'll be fine!"

Right as he makes that assertion, the scene changes to one of Emmy's modified Wonder Flowers appearing beneath the Ferris Wheel in the deeper parts of the Showgrounds...

[secretly-tword-obsessed]

omg okay so when i saw that you write for big mouth and human resources i about lost my shit. so im a huge jatthew fan and id really like a lee jay drabble where matthew gives jay cheer up tkls bcuz he's sad about his family OR lee pete the logic rock headcanons.

ofc you can chose not to but yk💓 ill write them if you wont 😩

Hey! Sorry I'm so late to this - if you like it I'll keep making these in quicker time.

Again, so sorry it took so long, I have periods where I do and don't have time for this witting because of school, but I'm free for the next few weeks (yay!)

Sooo I think I'll do Pete HC's, especially because he interacts with Caleb so much in this new season, meaning I can weave him in there somewhere.

Pete is made of rock, so him being ticklish is like, impossible

(bows, leaves)

Hah! Oh so you thought! (re-enters)

So even though he's so rough and strong we all know that he's a softie. We also know that he's muscly, and that muscles make you more ticklish.

Rochelle found out that he was ticklish actually before they were dating by seeing him get tickled by Emmy before hours. Ofc when Pete saw Rochelle he was visibly embarassed and was pathetically trying to sound like a strong guy and said that he was faking laughing for Emmy's satisfaction to shut her up.

"Come on, surely there is an ounce of logic in your love bug brain. You know that I couldn't possibly be ticklish, I'm a rock and i can't even feel temperature. What was I supposed to do when Emmy started annoying me?"

Rochelle smirked - "well, ok, if that's the case than I still don't think Emmy is satisfied, so maybe you should 'fake' some more"

So yeah whenever someone asks if Pete's ticklish or doubts it when he says he isn't he always brings up logic to conclude that he couldn't possibly be ticklish

This also happened with Connie once because yk she's so randomly curious about the weirdest shit so she walks up to him one day and goes - "so, you know how your made of rock right? Does that mean you can't be ticklish?" And his heart STOPPED for a moment.

Also it has happened with Caleb ofc. Once Pete and Maury were in a meeting to create a list of notes on what touches would be acceptable for a potential partner, and they both wondered weather tickling would be ok so they asked Caleb in person. He said that it would be fine but first asked Pete if he would be ok with it. Ofc Pete pulled off his whole "i'm a rock so your question makes no sense" thing and ofc Caleb didn't fall for it and told him that, very many times, he had observed Pete getting itchy, which means that he was just as likely to be ticklish and even more so because he was sensitive. Maury smirked at Pete and Pete felt like throwing Caleb out the window (but never ACTUALLY considered it because he never would - he's a nonviolent rock).

Oh wait I haven't gotten to him ACTUALLY being tickled yet much so he is sometimes tickled by Emmy when she is pressuring him to say something (Emmy can always tell when there is something up).

ALSO I think Caleb tickled him once but on accident. Like he was poking and prodding Pete because he likes the texture of rocks and Pete just clenched his teeth and took it. Until he couldn't take it anymore and started giggling, squirming out of Caleb's grip with a "stawwp ittt" (fic idea?!)

Now, for the most important thing, spots...

Belly - 8/10. Lots of giggles

Neck - Not much

Sides - Bro will SCREAM, especially on the sides of his belly. 10/10

Underarms - pretty bad, some light chuckling. 4/10

That's all I can think of rn, thankyou for reading! Until next time gigglers (:

[reidsaurora]

ofwilliamandwalter's birthday celebration challenge!!!

First of all, I just wanna say that I cannot believe that in a month's time, I will be entering the last year of my teen years. 18 has been rough (let's face it, most of my teen years were rough), but I'm so super excited for what 19 has in store for me!

That being said, I thought it would be fun for all of us to celebrate together! So, I came up with this challenge (it was inspired a little bit by @smurphyse's birthday challenge so shoutout there!) for all of us to celebrate! As always, I put my own lil Emmy twist on things and I'm super excited to see how it turns out!

So, Emmy, what's the challenge?

As you all know, I am lover of literature. I love reading any and every fanfic I can find on this app.

So, I'm challenging you guys to write something based on one (or more) of the prompts listed below!

The theme of course is:

BIRTHDAY 🥳🎉🥳🎉

Prompt Set #1 — One-Liners:

1. "I know it's not a cake, but it's the best I could do on such short notice."

2. "You've got frosting in your hair." or "You've got frosting on your face."

3. "What did you wish for?"

4. "Why didn't you tell anyone it was your birthday?"

5. "Hey... I brought you a slice of cake."

6. "Sorry if the decorations are a bit weird. They ran out of the ones we wanted to use."

7. "You look funny in a party hat."

8. "You have to make a wish when you blow out the candles!" - "My wish already came true—I have you in my life."

9. "I never cared for my birthday until I met you. Now each birthday reminds me of how grateful I am that we get to spend another year together."

10. "CELEBRATE ME! TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!" - "It's four in the morning." - "Yeah! I was born at four in the morning!"

Prompt Set #2 — Scenarios:

1. Person A is a grouch about their birthday so Person B decides to throw them a party with only their pet(s) present.

2. Person A got Person B's birthday wrong and spends the whole day pampering them. Person B finds it too adorable to say anything.

3. Person A has a crush on Person B for quite some time, so they take B's birthday as an opportunity to give them a present and show them that they care about them. B is surprised because they have never really noticed A before, but enjoys it all the more.

4. It's a tradition in the office that when it's someone's birthday, someone else brings a cake. Person A's birthday is coming up, and Person B finally sees their chance to make a move.

5. The party throwers made so much noise setting up the party that the police came before the person being surprised even arrived.

So, Emmy, what are the rules?

Anyone can join! No matter if you follow me or not, no matter if you're a writing account or not, no matter if you've ever even written a fic before. YOU CAN ALL JOIN!!!

All writing is allowed! There is no specific genre you have to stick to. Write what you love and we'll love it too!!

I like to keep things clean for the most part, but should you participate with a NSFW entry, please: HAVE YOUR AGE IN YOUR BIO OR YOUR PINNED POST!! I will not be sharing any NSFW entries from ageless blogs.

Please include a summary, what pairing it is, content warnings, word count, and what prompt(s) you chose.

Pairing must be one of the following: Criminal Minds character x reader, Criminal Minds character x character, Supernatural character x reader, Supernatural character x character, or Lesley Smith-Juniment x reader!!!

There is no limit to how many times you can enter! If you have multiple ideas for multiple different prompts, please send them all!

Please share with all your writer friends! The more, the merrier!

All entries must be tagged "#ofwilliamandwalter's birthday challenge" so I can find them! I would also prefer to be tagged in them just in case I cannot find them under the tag!

Challenge ends: one month from now, on my birthday — August 2nd, 2022

Again, I wanna thank you all for being such lovely people! I can't wait to see everyone's beautiful creations and I hope you'll consider participating! It would make this birthday girl extremely happy :)

Feel free to send any questions, comments, or concerns about the challenge in a DM! I'm always here to answer 🥰

↳ icon in collage by @scrapbookspence (full birthday icon pack coming soon!)

↳ other pictures featured in the collage are from pinterest. all rights go to the original owners.

↳ birthday dividers by @firefly-graphics

↳ tagging some of my moots who write!: @lunar-affection @rupurts-morgue03 @writer-in-theory @roguereid @fortheloveofwonderland @andiebeaword @samuel-de-champagne-problems @spookydrreid @arsonhotchner @foxy-eva @radiant-reid @one-sweet-gubler @lukeclvez @pretty-boys-book-club @letarasstuff @1234-angelika @wifeyreid @kbakery @sultrypotter @ellcsgreenaway @hotched @spencebunny @1967chevys @reidsbookclub

Prompts featured are from the following posts:

↳ "10 Birthday Prompts" by @youneedsomeprompts

↳ "Birthday Prompts 2021" by @seaside-writings

↳ "Birthday Prompts 🍰" by @creativepromptsforwriting

↳ "Birthday Prompts" by @mangoofthesea

↳ "Birthday Prompts!!" by @dialogue4urocs

[marinamar4]

Emma Swan Wayne

an idea with all those batman and white collar crossover fics is to do the same but batman and once upon a time version

It would be the same, Emma being the sheriff, and some hero, vigilante or civilian appear, can you imagine?

emma swan wayne:

Jason's age, maybe a little older than Jason

they meet on the street shortly before they steal the tires of the batmobile and they get along like a house on fire (or would it be thick as thieves?)

two for one bat

emma turns swan into her middle name and it's crazy at home, to top it off, she manages to be the apple of her dad's eye

When Jason Starts As Robin Babs Decides To Let Him Batgirl

a little upset with dick ... but she puts it aside once they start with the embarrassing stories of bruce

selina is a woman, little emma needs a mom, and if she gives him jewelry on top of it she gives him better jewelry (tell me that selina didn't teach the batkids to use the catwoman whip, I dare you)

while jason was a bit violent robin, emma was a chaotic and cheating batgirl

personally i picture jay and emmy as platonic brothers and soul mates, not romantic

in an attempt to fit in at school, emma follows fashion trends, it doesn't go well ... and she ends up saying "fuck it" (language of the streets)

not impressed at all by the league. except wonder woman, obviously

she doesn't like magic so coming to storybrooke with henry she's more of a "can't you just leave me alone and call zatanna or constantine? wait, no, he's flirting with regina!" that a "magic does not exist", after all, there are aliens

now the sad part (needed to bring henry into the story)

the first strong fight of both (jay and emma) is when jason wants to look for his biological mother and emma does not understand

she is heartbroken when batman informs her of her brother's death

her to superman: fuck it, let my daddy kill the damn clown!

now the good part ... emma escapes and disappears, but before? she leaves a gift: the joker is dead

and she is afraid of what her dad will say, so she keeps to herself, she meets neal cassidy, jail, henry, adoption, etc

now, things may vary:

bruce in my world is a good dad and actively ignores the signs

(Emma: I left you a letter!

bruce: I have it in the top drawer of the nightstand and I read it every day before going to bed, but I don't remember that part)

Does Batman respect her decision and let her go? At least until Red Hood shows up and they bring her back into the family? Or does he just not want to let her go? Is Jason looking for her, in that case, does she know or not that she killed the joker? Or is she so good at erasing her tracks that she is only caught at 28-29?

I like the first one better, she gives him the time to meet neal and have henry and come back

i guess she's mad at jason for the whole hood thing and she quickly takes timmy, steph and cass under her wings

tim is so cute! is neglected. dick is right, he needs a lot of hugs. And don't you want to sleep a little more?

stephanie is totally chaotic. she's great. she makes the best waffles. she wait, you wanna throw a glitter bomb on batman? done deal!

cassandra is cassandra. She is wonderful. That she was raised as a murderer? It's not important

also i imagine emma and steph will be like sisters, always loud, troubled blondes, but who can be in meditative silence when needed

(one mother's day emma asks tim why steph looks like this. he tells her to ask him. steph says

I got pregnant, I gave her up for adoption, I didn't want her to have this life

mine was a boy, I didn't want this life for him either, says emma, and they have something else in common)

Besides, when she comes Damian, Emma is just ecstatic

I already believed things about your strength, b!

how adorable!

oh, we can practice! dad taught me and your mom too when she was here once! and no, b is my dad, learn to wear it

(yes, talia she too she is good here)

headcanons:

for a halloween, emma dressed up as wednesday, and disguised selina as morticia and bruce de gómez. jason flatly refused to be pugsley or fester and ended up being cousin itt

For a costume gala, they were from the aristocats: Selina in a white dress and diamond necklace as Duchess, Emma in a white dress and pink bows as Marie, Jason in a black suit and a red bow tie as Berlioz, even Dick in an orange suit with blue bow tie from toulouse, and bruce they put him in a black suit but with the white shirt and orange tie from o'malley

at a gala, they copied the famous dance of "dirty dancing"

emma didn't like the classics at all until jason told her about them. it was tradition that every night they read a little before going to bed

emma's batgirl costume is black and white, because the swans are mainly black and white (there was no way to put orange, but you can imagine it however you want, I just know it would be a nod to her middle name)

like i said emma swan wayne is her name

dick made her addicted to froot loops and jason to hotdogs but without chili plise, the grilled sandwiches are either hers or damian's when he goes vegetarian

Alfred always made her chocolate with canellas and the cinnamon sticks became her favorite for when they were at her time of the month

Most relationships like Emma Wayne, like her father's, were to show

She just wanted a parrot! Why couldn't she have a parrot or lovebird but damian she can have a zoo!

i imagine emma totally admiring selina and talia both, great women, one with a brassiere and a tight leather suit, and the other a swordswoman princess

Because this girl when she got to Wayne Manor had a princess season, then it was the rude warrior era, she followed the fencing and archery, makeup artist, model, actress, etc.

She never liked Annie, but she was her favorite movie after the adoption

She preferred fantasy and adventure books, but she also started with mystery, she likes Sherlock Holmes a lot (she was introduced to him by her father)

She doesn't believe in Duke's "innocence". The boy jumped off a bridge, led a gang and decided that he could beat the riddle in riddles. it's just as chaotic as the rest, it only hides it better

It was supposed to be short I swear, just the crossover idea, but I got carried away

also my computer decided to restart and I had to look at everything in the translator's history, luckily it is so specific

[madphantom]

The Sound of Life - Chapter 7

Winslow woke up because somebody splashed ice cold water in his face. He gasped and opened his eye. It was Emmy.

She grinned. "G'morning, bro. Time to get up."

He groaned and wanted to conter with something witty but he wasn't wearing the voice box. So he just glared at Emmy, rolled over and put it on.

She sat down on the bed. "I'm curious. How does that thing work?"

"I'm not completely sure myself," Winslow confessed. "Swan constructed it. I think I should start learning sign language in case the thing ever breaks or some shit."

"Probably."

"What time is it?", Winslow asked and sat up next to Emmy.

"Six thirty," she said. "Everyone else is still sleeping. I just wanted to have a talk with you alone." She suddenly leaned over and hugged him with all her might. "You have no idea how much I missed you." When she sat straight again Winslow saw tears in her eyes. Emmy laughed shakily. "Of course, everyone else did too, but I think I missed you the most. I just..." A tear rolled down her cheek. It surprised Winslow to see his big sister so vulnerable. She'd never showed any weaknesses, ever. He slid closer and put his arm around her.

"It's okay now," he whispered. "I'm okay."

She nodded and bit her lip. "Sorry for the random outburst. I just...I just missed you real bad."

"I missed you too, Ems," Winslow whispered.

She smiled and wiped the tears away. "Oh Jeez. Pulling the crybaby number here. Get up bro! You have a wedding to attend!"

Phoenix didn't turn up to the breakfast. The twins didn't either. "They're turning her into some elf queen apparently," was all Emmy let slip.

Instead of Phoenix Oskar joined the table. He still seemed a little nervous around Winslow, but a few jokes later he relaxed. Maite on the other hand was on Winslow's lap within minutes and started asking him about the voice box and his teeth. Winslow laughed while answering her countless questions.

"You'd be an amazing dad bro," Emmy finally commented before pulling him up by the collar. "C'mon we need to turn you into Phoenix' Prince Charming."

An hour later Emmy was painting Winslow's nails golden. She had insisted on doing so.

"What's up with everyone wanting to paint my nails?!", Winslow asked. "That's new!"

Emmy grinned. "It completes the look. Fits your hair." She added a finishing touch. "Speaking of that, are we gonna ponytail your mane?"

"Jesus, there's a massive chunk missing, no."

"I think it would look cute." Emmy tilted her head. "Yep. It definitely would. I've got some of that glossy stuff. Let's do this."

Five minutes later Winslow looked into the mirror and barely recognized himself.

"Wow," he said.

Emmy grinned. "I hope you appreciate it."

"I do, it's..." Winslow was lacking words. "It's incredible."

"Good." Emmy put away the nail polish. "I'll be attending in jeans and my favourite hoodie because fuck beauty standards. Hope you don't mind."

Winslow shook his head. "Nope."

"I knew I could count on you, nerd."

The wedding took place in the small church of Dunphy. The few attendants seemed to be as excited as Winslow. He was waiting by the altar when the door opened and his bride entered.

"Phoenix," Winslow whispered.

She was walking down the aisle in a beautiful silken wedding dress. Her hair was flowing over her shoulders like a dark waterfall. Her smaragdine eyes sparkled. She was so beautiful it hurt. Then she smiled and Winslow felt as if an angel was walking towards him.

The priest was a little old man who had known Winslow since the husband-to-be had been a little boy. He started talking. Winslow didn't even listen until the end "...til death do you part?"

He could feel how he was shaking when he nodded. "I do."

The priest turned to Phoenix and repeated everything he had just said. "...til death-" - Phoenix flinched a little. Undoubtedly she thought of her wedding with Swan - "-do you part?"

She nodded and smiled with relief in her eyes. "I do."

"You may kiss the bride."

They leaned forward and their lips crashed together. A giggle and a muffled "Ow" were audible. The church erupted in applause.

"Hiya, Mr Leach." Emmy popped up next to Winslow. She was wearing jeans and a faded blue Elvis hoodie, just like she'd promised. "That was nice."

Winslow smiled. "It definitely was."

"The kiss was hilarious."

Winslow laughed.

"Okay, but seriously bro, you may need some practice," Emmy pointed out. "If you need advice..."

"God no."

"I've seen the sixties, my friend, I can tell you more about free love than all of the Beatles and Yoko Ono combined."

"Emmy!" He was furiously blushing.

"Okay, okay, relax, bro. T'was just an idea." She laughed. "Jeez. I can't believe it. Lil' Mister Awkward is a married man."

Phoenix turned up next to them. "Well, hellooo." She smiled. "Hey Winslow, I like the hairdo. Looks nice."

"Thanks. It was Emmy's idea."

"Your husband heavily resisted."

Phoenix laughed. "Oh dear."

Archie appeared by their side. "Eyoo! Let's party!" He was drunk as fuck. Phoenix laughed and pulled Winslow along.

Late in the evening Winslow and Phoenix stumbled into Winslow's room. Both were drunk and happy. The lights from the garden reflected on Phoenix' jewelry and in her eyes when she turned to Winslow and smiled. She was gorgeous.

"So, what are we gonna do now?", she whispered seductively and leaned against the wall.

Winslow laughed. "Whatever you want, Mrs Leach."

"Alright." Phoenix' smile widened and she started taking off her jewelry.

[starryeyedkid]

finally back 5/15/22

jesus tits i have so much to say

i have a boyfriend now. we've been together for a little over 2 months now. i'll call him elijah. believe me when i tell you that he is truly the sweetest man i have ever known. he treats me like a queen and i honestly don't deserve him. i've known him for 9 years and yet i'm only realising now how much i could love him. i'm such an idiot. i'll make another post about him soon.

i joined my school's danceworks team. our final performance is on june 3rd, so thats great. if that wasn't enough to tire me out i also joined my school's track and field team. i'm only really interested in doing javelin or shotput, so at least my legs won't be entirely worn out.

EUPHORIA SEASON 2 HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS 1)okay so jules and rue got together kinda which was great, but jesus jules is so problematic this season. like she cheated on rue, again, with the guy that she accused rue of having a crush on. AND after she claimed to no longer be interested in men. like bestie what are you on you were my favourite in season one now ur just letting everyone down 2) elliot is kinda a useless character, i get he was put in to represent someone who enables bad behaviour (in this case rue's addiction) but istg it just seems like he was there for the sole purpose of giving rue and jules problems in their relationship. i will say, however, i didn't mind his song. a lot of people were hating but those people just wanted to see maddy beat the shit out of cassie 3) cassie WHAT THE fUCk okay like it's not just that she hooked up with her best friends ex, she hooked up with her best friend's abuser. she knew the kind of hell nate put maddy through and yet she still pursued. i think she'll get a redemption bc what her character represents is so important, but god it was so satisfying watching maddy beat her tf up. she deserved it. 4) lexi is like the best character this season. her play, while questionable at times, shows how rue's addiction impacted everyone in her life, not just herself and her family. the parts she included about cassie were fucked up, but like fez said, some people need to get their feelings hurt. lexi was even hesitant about showing the school in the first place. honestly i loved lexi this season, she got the recognition she deserved and i hope that her and rue can work things out again. same for her and fez, i love them. 5) FEZCO>>> okay so his backstory was a perfect start to the series again. he deserved a backstory episode more than anyone and i absolutely loved it. it started with that hallway and ended in that hallway, iykyk 6) kat. deserved. MORE. i dont know what happened between her and sam levinson but her story arc deserved more. she introduced toxic positivity within social media but that was about it. they wasted her completely and i'm angry 7) no one can say that euphoria glamorizes drug use after episode 5. its so raw and emotionally complex, it brought me to tears and zendaya deserves that emmy more than anyone. i can't even begin to describe its layers without going on for hours. 8) bye mckay, you were raped purely for shock value. sorry man. 9) this season was like, really messy. it wasn't that bad, but it had the unfair task of living up to season 1- a masterpiece. i just hope season 3 is worth the wait.

i took a break from tumblr because i just didn;t have the time to formulate my thoughts into it. but, i love this. it's my diary and i want to check in more often. bye for now <3

[fly-pow-bye]

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Bedtime” & “Mojo Jojo Builds a Shelf”

Bad time.

Bedtime

Bedtime. Sounds like it’s going to be a really exciting title. Not a pun, just what this short is focused on. The lack of creativity certainly fits this short, let me tell you.

If I were to say one positive about this episode, it's that they managed to get all of their new personalities in the opening scene. Blossom wants to read her book, Buttercup is stealing Octi, and Bubbles is crying about it. It's not too far off from the original, which is always a plus. The Professor comes into the room, and tells the girls to go to sleep so they can take a good family photo.

There’s a running joke about an incident with a werewolf ray ruining the last time he tried this. This leads to the a running joke where the Professor, along with getting annoyed with the Puffs lack of sleeping, is worried that they're going to go werewolf again.

Professor: I'm starting to hear a lot of howling...figuratively...I think...

See, it's funny because...the full moon comes out at night? You really got to stretch for these jokes to make sense. At least this short is giving me something else for the Halloween season. Werewolves, oooh!

Buttercup has a song in her head that just goes "who’s up in the club, youse up in the club." I guess it's supposed to be a joke on how Buttercup is "staying up". Blossom calls it the worst song ever. Eh, it’s pretty close, but I can think of a few others that are worse.

This is certainly coming to mind. Emmy nominated episode. Yeesh.

As for the other two, Blossom bothers the other two with her headlight, as she has to read the latest financial reports. I get it, she's supposed to be a boring nerd who likes boring things, but isn't the target audience supposed to relate to this girl? Bubbles just randomly has a tea party in the middle of the night, and Buttercup just says "seriously". The "fist bump" for random scenes.

This episode takes a lot from I’ll Be Bake, except it is the Professor that is the comic foil, and with sleeping instead of baking. I didn't particularly like that one, but I think I have a newfound slight appreciation of it compared to this. At least I'll Be Bake stuck to the "cooking badly" theme, but they pretty much give up halfway through this three minute short.

They repeatedly just have the Professor catch one of the Powerpuff Girls in the act of doing something that involves them being awake. They repeat the Blossom reading gag, because they couldn't think of something else for her to do. As for the other jokes, I can relate to the Powerpuff Girls trying to sneak some video games at night, but I don't get the construction work joke. Is it funny because working is the opposite of sleeping?

Oh, and they randomly turn into werewolves for a split second, only for the Powerpuff Girls to deny it happened. That is the only payoff for the werewolf "joke".

It all ends with a cut to all three girls partying to the "whose up in the club" song. The one song Blossom was annoyed with a minute ago. Consistency, what's that?

Oh yeah, and Allegro makes a cameo for no reason whatsoever. He is not the villain of the short, he is never mentioned again, he is just floating across the screen as if his appearance adds anything to anything. They must know the critics exist, and they put him in just so they can get a reaction from them. That is the only explanation I can think of...and I guess they succeeded?

After all of that, the Powerpuff Girls get a bad family picture, as the Professor is tired, and the Puffs are sleeping. It's the expected outcome. The only real joke here is that the person behind the camera is that incompetent camerawoman from Bubbles of the Opera. Was the photo doomed anyway? Who knows, and who cares.

Mojo Jojo Builds A Shelf

I made fun of this title before, but this is actually a plot with a lot of potential. This is especially true if we’re thinking about the actual Mojo Jojo. I can imagine him trying to put together this shelf, failing miserably in wacky ways, and saying "curses". Two out of three isn't bad. Seriously, he never says "curses"!

The "great and evil Mojo Jojo", who has to tell people that he's great and/or evil, is about to enact his most diabolical plan...making an evil shelf for his evil snowglobes. Considering the real Mojo Jojo, it's actually not too far off from him making a ship in a bottle.

Specifically, it's a Forgen Klippylla shelf, Forgen being an obvious parody of ready-to-assemble furniture company Ikea. Their logo is even a blue rectangle inside of a yellow circle, the exact opposite of Ikea's. Most of the jokes that involve them involve them talking like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. Get it, because Ikea is from Sweden!

Much like I’ll Be Bake and Bedtime, it’s a one joke premise centered around failure. He tries to put up some books to keep the boards from falling over, and they fall over sideways. He uses the helpline, which he accidently dials the number that ends the call. The most random joke is where he tries his hardest to make the shelf, thinks he succeeded, but accidently made a pair of wooden pants. He phones the Forgen help line again, and apparently the helpline actually has an option for that!

There's actually a few times I cracked a smile at this, mostly because it's pretty relatable. Sure, there's moments like this in Bedtime, the relatable part, not the smile part, but it's far better here.

There's one scene where he accidentally hammers himself in the eye, a joke straight out of The Simpsons Movie. In the rest of the short, he has an eyepatch on, only taking it off in this one scene where he lasers everything in a failure-inspired rage. An attention to detail that is rarely seen in this show.

I actually have no problem with that laser scene for two reasons. It reminds me of the Donald Duck rage scenes, which I can totally see either Mojo or Reboot Jojo doing. The other reason is that, along with the first scene, it shows that the writers are aware they're writing jokes about supervillains failing at making shelves rather than just a person making shelves. A low bar, but a bar they clear nonetheless.

Despite all of that, he eventually makes the shelf. It's literally the next scene after that laser scene. No explanation, which is actually the joke. The very last joke actually got a smile out of me. Sure, it’s expected, but it actually has surprisingly good timing. All in all, it's the best of the four.

All in all, these shorts...exist. At least when you reached the absolute bottom, the only way to go is up. Even Bedtime isn’t as bad as Bubbs and You-Know-Who Get The Mail. Next, we go from slightly related to Halloween to the actual Halloween special.

← I’ll Be Bake & Blissfully Unaware (shorts) ☆ Midnight at the Mayor’s Mansion →

[lilacmoon83]

Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 169: Intuition

Regina quietly unlocked the door to the loft with the key that David gave her and Robin and Roland followed her inside. She spotted Bobby sleeping on the pull out couch bed and he stirred, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Mom? Dad?" he muttered, thinking it was them coming home.

"No, it's me sweetie," Regina called, as he opened his eyes all the way.

"Aunt Regina? Are Mom and Dad okay?" he asked. She smiled.

"They're fine...better than fine, actually," she replied, as he saw Robin and Roland.

"Papa Robin?" he exclaimed, as he jumped up and went to hug him. Robin chuckled.

"I can't believe how much you've grown…" he marveled, as he hugged the boy.

"Hey kid…" Roland greeted, as the boy almost bowled him over.

"You found us!" Bobby cried.

"Summer! Summer...you have to come down here!" he shouted.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" he asked.

"Still at the hospital. That's part of what we need to tell you, sweetie," Regina replied, as a disoriented Summer stumbled down the stairs.

"Bobby...why are you yelling?" she asked, as she looked up.

"Papa Robin?" she called, as she ran to them and hugged him.

"Look at you…" he marveled.

"I can't believe it's been two years for all of you when it's only been days for us," Robin added.

"How did you get here?" Summer asked.

"Well, that's part of what we need to tell you both," Robin replied.

"Yes and the most important part is that Emma is alive...and she's here," Regina told them. Their mouths hung open for a minute and then they both smiled.

"Really? Emmy's alive?" Bobby asked in disbelief. Regina nodded.

"But how?" Summer asked.

"She managed to hang on long enough for Elsa and the others to find her and since there's no magic here, the poison isn't affecting her heart," Regina replied.

"And Mom and Dad know?" she asked. Regina nodded.

"She's at the hospital with them now and Lucy is awake," she replied.

"Can we go see them?" Bobby asked. Regina smiled.

"That's why we're here. Go get dressed," she confirmed, as they hurried to do so.

~*~

Dr. Narita looked over Lucy's chart and nodded at Jacinda.

"Everything seems to be normal with Lucy. It's almost as if there was nothing wrong with her at all," the doctor said, a bit perplexed by that. He really could make any medical sense of this case at all.

"Thank you doctor...does that mean I can take her home?" Jacinda asked.

"Everything checks out. Let me consult with Dr. Aeson, but I don't see why she would need to keep her. We'll get her discharged hopefully later this morning," he responded, as he left and Sabine poked her head in.

"Aunt Sabine!" Lucy called, as she hurried in and hugged the little girl.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay, munchkin," she gushed, as she presented Lucy with a stuffed unicorn.

"Since this is such a magical situation, I thought a magical themed gift was appropriate," she said.

"Thank you...I love it!" Lucy gushed, as she and Jacinda exchanged a glance and an awkward silence passed between them.

"Well...my shift will be starting soon, so I better go," Sabine said.

"Sabine...wait! Can we talk?" Jacinda asked. The other woman looked hesitant at first and then nodded.

"I'm sorry for blowing up at you...it wasn't your fault," Jacinda apologized.

"I get why you did. I have no idea what we're going to do and I might have cost you Lucy," Sabine responded.

"You haven't heard, have you?" Jacinda asked.

"Heard what?" Sabine asked.

"My step-mother was arrested," Jacinda answered. Sabine's eyes widened.

"Seriously?" she asked, as she went to check her phone and saw the headline.

"Whoa…talk about bizarre," she said.

"I know...but I have a really good chance of getting full custody of Lucy back now," she replied.

"And I guess our rent won't be going up," Sabine agreed.

"Which is why I want you to take this," Jacinda offered, as she gave her an envelope full of money.

"It's the money we made selling your beignets," she said.

"Why are you giving this to me? We need it for rent," Sabine reminded. Jacinda smiled and pulled something up on her phone.

"No...because this is going to be our source of rent now," Jacinda replied, as she showed her a picture. Sabine quirked an eyebrow.

"A run down old truck?" she asked.

"It won't be run down once we fix it up and turn it into our own food truck!" she announced excitedly. Sabine's mouth dropped open.

"Are...are you serious?" she asked.

"Of course I am! I already talked to the guy and he's holding it for me. I just need you to take the money to him and it's ours," she gushed. Sabine laughed and hugged her tightly.

"You won't regret this," Sabine promised. Jacinda smiled.

"I know and since I'm going to get Lucy back, we'll need that financial independence you were talking about. And selling your famous beignets will guarantee that," she responded.

"Thank you...for believing in me," Sabine said, as she hugged her best friend again.

"You're like my sister...I love you," Jacinda replied, as the doctor returned with papers to get Lucy discharged.

~*~

"And that's the just of it and now we're here," David said, as he finished giving them all a brief rundown of everything that had happened. Emma smiled.

"Wow...so Bobby found you, just like I did," the blonde mentioned. Snow and David smiled.

"Yes...another one of our babies brought us back together," Snow said, as she squeezed his hand.

"Yeah...he started all of this in motion, but if Gothel is loose now, then we have a serious problem," David said.

"You think she's going to gather these other witches?" Elsa questioned. They nodded.

"We know she will. She wants revenge on humanity as a whole. No realm is safe from her, but she's going to start with this one," David stated.

"And as guardians of the chalice, we're the only ones that can stop her," Snow added.

"Not alone. True love's magic has proven to be a challenge for her, so you can bet we'll be right there with you," Emma interjected.

"But your heart has been poisoned, sweetheart. We can't put your life at risk like that," Snow refuted.

"Your mother is right. We thought we lost you, Princess...and we're not letting that happen again," David agreed.

"Then we find a way to cure my heart. I'm not letting you guys fight her alone. You know she almost killed your predecessors and I know you both. I know if stopping her means sacrificing yourselves that you'll do it. And I'm not letting that happen either," Emma argued, as they noticed more and more people began to fill the waiting room, as the morning hours arrived.

"Maybe we better take this conversation some place else," David said, as he looked at Weaver.

"There's a property just outside city limits that should suit our needs. There's room for everyone," he offered. They nodded and stood up, before discarding their cups. Elsa looked to the entrance and saw Leo come back inside. Or Luke, as he was called here and her heart fluttered. His eyes were red and her heart ached for him. She just wanted to hold him and knew if he remembered, that it would lessen the feelings of betrayal and sadness he was feeling over Nick.

Snow and David had been very gentle in telling her exactly what his situation was and now Elsa wanted to know where this Jack was so she could make him pay for hurting and using the man she loved. Jack was certainly lucky that there was no magic here, because if there was, she would have already found him, turned him into an icicle and then shattered him into a million bits. For now, all she could do was try to reach Leo and that started with finding a way to introduce herself. But she didn't know how to do that without being conspicuous. She found herself reminiscing about the last time they were together and though it had only been a few days ago, it was two years ago for him.

~*~

Flashback

Elsa fixed her braid in the vanity mirror that morning, as she heard the ruffling of the bed sheets behind her.

"You get up too early…" he muttered, as he rolled over onto his back. She smiled and turned to him.

"You're one to talk. I know you get up early to run the reserve back home," she chided.

"Yes...but I'm on vacation right now," he protested.

"You are...but the Queen doesn't get a vacation and I have meetings to discuss important matters of state this morning," she reminded.

"So you're a little late...you're the Queen. What are they gonna do? Start without you?" he questioned, as beckoned her back to bed.

"I can't…" she waned, though she was dangerously close to giving in.

"Yes, you can...you know you want to," he tempted.

"You are a bad influence," she scolded, as he pulled her down into bed.

"I'm already dressed and ready…" she protested.

"And you have magic, which means you can get ready again with a flick of your wrist," he purred, as he kissed her neck.

"Leo…" she admonished, as she was slowly melting under his ministrations. It was also not helping that he was naked and there was only a thin sheet covering him below the waist.

"Being late if very unbecoming of a Queen. And the Duke of Wesselton is being a nuisance, as usual," she protested.

"You know I could probably scare him enough to make sure he'd never come back here, right?" he questioned, as he continued to kiss her throat.

"As entertaining as that would be, it would hardly be tactful," she chided.

"I'm a Charming...I have no tact," he reminded.

"I know and making the Duke of Wesselton wet himself by showing him your lightning powers is mean," she replied. He chuckled against her skin, which gave her chill bumps. And for her, chill bumps were a much bigger deal than it sounded, for she didn't ever get cold like other humans so she didn't usually experience them. Except when she was with him.

"But it would be hilarious," he countered. She smiled.

"Be that as it may...it would be very undiplomatic," she said. He sighed.

"Okay...I guess since you're going to go off to your meeting, I'll go take a shower," he said, as he got out of bed. Even after being together a while, Elsa was still shy about this kind of stuff, but Leo was not at all shy about nudity. Not that he had anything to be shy about, definitely not and her eyes glazed, as she stared at him.

"A cold shower," he commented, as he started toward the lavatory. But she reached out and grabbed his arm.

"You're not going anywhere until I'm done with you," she admonished. He smirked.

"What about the meeting?" he asked coyly. She smirked back.

"I'm the Queen. What are they going to do? Start without me?" she questioned, as she tackled him to the bed.

End Flashback

~*~

Elsa was brought back to reality by her sister's hand on her shoulder.

"Go talk to him," she urged. But she was very hesitant.

"What do I say? He doesn't know me," she lamented. Anna went to the coffee station and filled a cup and handed it to her.

"He likes cream and sugar in it," Elsa said. Anna smiled.

"Then fix it the way you know he likes it," she urged, as Elsa did so and then glanced over at him.

"Go...if we've learned anything from Snow and David, true love will be enough to eventually bring him back to you," Anna encouraged.

"I hope so…" she murmured. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost him now.

"He may not know you...but his heart does. Trust it," her sister urged, so with a deep breath, she approached him with the cup.

"You look like you could use this," she said, as he looked up and saw the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen before him. She took his breath away and it made him wonder what that meant concerning his feelings for Nick if he was so easily captivated by someone else.

"Uh...thanks," he managed to say finally, as he took a sip.

"Wow...two creams and three sugars," he said in surprise.

"How did you know?" he asked. She smiled.

"I'm psychic," she replied coyly, as she sat beside him.

"Thanks...but I'm not sure I'm good company right now," he mentioned.

"That's okay...I don't mind doing the talking. I'm Elsa," she offered. He looked up at her and then shook her hand.

"Luke," he answered her.

"It's nice to meet you, Luke. I'm new here in Hyperion Heights and I have no idea where I'm going or how to get anywhere," she said.

"Uh...I could show you around," he offered automatically and then wondered why the hell he was so eager to be around this strange woman.

"I'd love that...you can show me your favorite places," she said, as she stood up.

"Uh...well, I don't get out much. I work a lot...but I really like what I do," he said, as his face fell.

"My...ex always thought it was lame that I wanted to be at the zoo all the time with the animals. I go stir crazy on my days off," he said.

"That doesn't sound lame at all...I love animals. I'd love to see it...maybe it would help you get your mind off whatever is troubling you," she replied.

"Uh yeah...okay, sure," he said. Elsa tossed a smile to her sister over her shoulder and waved to her, as she followed him out. Snow saw them leave together and smiled at her husband with hope, as Eva came out from the exam ward, looking distraught.

"Honey...what is it?" Snow asked.

"The blood samples I took from Leo and Henry...they're gone," she replied.

"Nick...do you think swiped them?" David asked. She shrugged.

"It's definitely possible. He wouldn't want Henry to know that he's really Lucy's father or that Leo is related too," Eva answered. David put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll get him...trust me, he's not getting away with what he did and tried to do," he added, as a woman with a camera crew waltzed into the waiting room. And they recognized this woman as Seraphina, Gothel's most loyal minion and one of her witch followers.

"Oh no…" Snow lamented, as David was quick to stand in front of her.

"Detective Nolan, is it?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied through clenched teeth.

"Phoebe Cooper, channel six news. I'm sure you're aware about the fact that Dr. Frankin Samdi's memoir has been released in the event of his death. Care to comment on the inscrutable details concerning you and your not so dead wife?" she questioned. He glowered at her.

"No comment," he said sternly.

"How about you Miss Blanchard...or I guess it's Mrs. Nolan. Please...can you tell us why your husband has kept your return to the living a secret for weeks?" she questioned, as she stuck the microphone in Snow's face.

"Because it's none of anyone's business," Snow refuted. Unfortunately, that just egged on the intrepid reporter and she gave them both a look that said she might remember being more than just a reporter.

"I'm afraid many disagree, especially those in the mental health field. I've already talked to several other doctors and while they do not support Dr. Samdi's fringe work, they agree that a woman as disturbed as you shouldn't be walking free," she refuted.

"My wife is not disturbed," David growled.

"On the contrary, Detective Nolan. According to the late Dr. Samdi's reports, your wife's dissociative identity disorder is legitimate. I've read the entire report," Phoebe refuted, as she looked at the raven haired beauty with a smug look.

"Sometimes, she's Mary Blanchard, sometimes she's Margaret Nolan, and sometimes she thinks she's...Snow White," the reporter revealed. The camera had already attracted quite a bit of attention and that little announcement made most bystanders chortle or eye her with derisive looks. She could see it in their eyes and normally, Snow never let the opinions of others, especially those she didn't know, affect her. But being looked at like she was insane was hard to take, especially after all the horrible nights in Dr. Samdi's hospital.

"I'm not crazy…" she hissed, as she inched herself closer to David.

"Right...and which one of your alters are we speaking to right now? Because I think we'd all like to speak to Snow White. Tell me...do you call the birds to you or do they just come?" she asked, as more chuckles and chortles ensued.

"Okay...you're done," David growled.

"Your wife needs professional help, Detective. But once again, the Police will show us all how they protect their own. Dr. Samdi may have taken advantage of your amnesia, but at least he was able to treat her for a time," Phoebe interjected.

"Samdi and Clayton Stavros stole her from me...let me think she was dead so they could lock her away. They took a mother from her children...why don't you report on that instead of attacking my wife," David growled. Phoebe smirked.

"Yes...you have quite a history with Clayton Stavros, Detective Nolan. Samdi's memoir isn't clear on why that is, but does state that you destroyed his life. Care to elaborate on that?" she questioned.

"Go to hell," David hissed, as started leading Snow toward the exit, with the others following them.

"This isn't over, Detective! You can try to bury this story, but it won't work! I'll expose the truth!" the reporter called, as they kept walking. Emma glared at the woman and approached her. It was subtle, but she could see the slight surprise in the woman's eyes briefly, before she covered it up.

"Leave them alone," she warned. Phoebe smirked.

"I'm sorry...and you are?" she questioned.

"They're my family...that's all you need to know and you won't be getting near them again," Emma refuted. The reporter smirked.

"We'll see. The truth...all the truths will come to light and it will bring a new era," Phoebe hissed under her breath.

"Not with me in town. You better run off and tell your boss that her plan to get rid of me didn't work," Emma responded, as she walked out, following her parents and the others.

"Mom! Dad!" Summer and Bobby called, as they got out of Roni's car and ran to them. Snow and David opened their arms and hugged them both tightly.

"EMMA!" they exclaimed. She chuckled, as she hugged them both.

"What the heck...you two grew like weeds!" she said, as she looked at them.

"We thought you were...gone…" Summer said tearfully, as she and Bobby had tears running down their faces.

"Hey...it's okay. I'm here and I'm fine," she assured them, as she hugged them again, while their parents looked on fondly.

"Reporters again?" Regina asked, bringing their attention back to the situation at hand.

"Yeah...someone is fueling this thing, because they're not letting it go," David responded.

"And they won't. Gothel's free and she already has one witch throwing us distractions like this. It won't be long before more pop up," Weaver replied.

"What exactly is Gothel's objective?" Rose asked, as she and Fandral approached. When the reporters had invaded the lobby, Emma had ushered them and their family out of the line of sight. They had enough problems with reporters dogging her parents. Seeing two people that were her parent's doubles would have only complicated things more.

"We don't know everything, but what we do know is a long story," Snow offered.

"We need to go somewhere a bit more secluded," Belle said. Weaver nodded.

"The house is ready. We can go there now," he offered.

"We'll join you later. I need to go back to the bar for now. I've been trying to track down Zelena and Jade. I'm hoping my ploy has worked," Regina said. David nodded and turned to Snow.

"Why don't you and the kids go with Regina? I'm going to go to the station and check in with Rogers and then see if I can get a trace on Nick before he tries to hurt anyone else," David said.

"What about Eva? What if he tries to come back for her?" Snow fretted.

"I can stay here...I basically can double as David. My presence won't really raise any questions," Fandral offered and dressed in modern clothes and cleanly shaven as he was now, he was basically identical to Charming.

"That's good...I like that plan," David agreed. Fandral nodded and kissed Rose, as they prepared to part for a while. David looked at Snow, as they prepared to do the same.

"Please be careful…" she pleaded.

"I will...he surprised me last time. I won't let him do that again," he promised, as he rested a hand on the small of her back and caressed her beautiful face with the other.

"I'll stop him...we'll stop all of them and then we'll find our way home," he added, as he used the hand on her back to bring her closer, squelching the daylight between them and kissing her passionately. She cupped his face in her hands, as he kissed her deeply, willing her all his love and they were breathless when their lips finally parted. She handed him the bag with the chalice in it.

"Take it...you might need it," she urged.

"I'd feel better if you had it with you and the kids," he argued. She looked as though she wanted to protest, but he kissed her again.

"Please," he pleaded and she nodded.

"I promise I'll be fine, my darling. No one is separating us...I won't let it happen again," he promised.

"He's right, because I'll be there to watch his back," Emma assured, as she hugged her mother.

"That is if I can tag along? We can just say I'm a new detective?" she asked Weaver. He nodded.

"I'll take care of any red tape that might arise. Welcome to the Hyperion Heights precinct, Detective Swan," Weaver replied. Snow smiled, as she kissed him one more time and then watched them hurry to his car.

~*~

Ivy looked through the small window and relished the sight of her mother, clad in an orange jumpsuit, and looking quite haggard from a restless night in jail. She wore a smug grin, as she waltzed into the room.

"Hello Mother…" Ivy greeted, as she placed the makeup bag on the table with a crinkle to her nose.

"You look like you could use this...yikes," she mentioned.

"Not only have I been denied bail, but my useless attorney didn't show up," she snapped.

"Yeah...well I think he has his own problems," Ivy mentioned, as she showed her the headline.

"So...he finally let the madness consume him. You had better watch your back if he's after witches," Victoria replied.

"Save your fake concern for me," Ivy snapped back.

"I need a new attorney," Victoria said.

"That's your problem. As far as I'm concerned, you're exactly where you should be," Ivy responded.

"Ivy...you have no idea what you're doing by allowing that witch to be on the loose," Victoria warned.

"I know that Gothel plans to make everyone that wronged her pay...including you. And that suits me just fine," Ivy retorted.

"And you don't care if your sister becomes collateral damage?" she questioned. Ivy rolled her eyes.

"I've lived in her shadow long enough! If she is the means to getting my revenge, then so be it," Ivy snapped.

"Please don't hurt her," Victoria pleaded, showing no concern for Ivy herself.

"Ana isn't in danger...she's going to be one of us. And you're going rot in here for the rest of your miserable life," she spat, as she stormed out.

"Guard...I need to make a call," Victoria requested.

"A public defender is on the way to represent you for your arraignment," he responded.

"This isn't a call for an attorney...please," she pleaded. He hesitated and then put a phone in front of her.

"You have five minutes," he said, as he left, but had a careful eye on her through the window of the door.

"Come on...pick up…" she hissed, but it went to voice mail.

"Detective Nolan...you and I have one thing in common and that's the desire to protect our families. If you want to stop Gothel...then we need to work together. I need a meeting with you and your wife. It could mean the survival of our children," she said, before hanging up. She only hoped he chose not to ignore her message.

~*~

Tilly entered the station and walked up the receptionist at the desk.

"Have you seen Captain Weaver?" she asked. Harmony looked up and smiled.

"He's handling an important case, but you're welcome to wait. Mr. Gold over there is waiting for him too," she said, pointing to Cassidy, who sat on the bench.

"You work for Weaver too?" she asked.

"Yeah...you too?" he questioned. She nodded and sat down. She saw Detective Rogers with a blonde woman, who seemed familiar to her. But she couldn't seem to put her finger on why.

"Tilly...here looking for Weaver?" Rogers asked. She nodded.

"He's going to be tied up for a while with a case. I think it would best if you both head home," Rogers stated.

"Oh...okay," Tilly replied, a bit disappointed.

"Tilly...have you eaten today?" Rogers asked. She shook her head and he felt his heart clench at that.

"Hang here for five more minutes and we'll go get you a sandwich," he offered. She smiled and nodded.

"Hey...can I ask you something?" Cassidy questioned and the girl shrugged.

"How long have you been an informant for Weaver?" he asked. She shrugged again.

"As...as long as I can remember. A few years, I suppose," she replied.

"Does he have any weird nicknames?" Cassidy asked.

"Nicknames?" Tilly questioned.

"Yeah...like Rumpelstiltskin. Have you ever heard anyone call him that?" he muttered.

"Rumpelstiltskin?" she questioned, as something about that name tugged at her mind.

"I...I don't think so," she answered.

"Yeah...it sounds dumb just asking," he said.

"Weaver is a bit mysterious that way. He doesn't really let very many people get close," Tilly offered. Cassidy was inclined to believe her, but he still couldn't shake off the strange group of people that had come to his rescue and how Weaver had known all of them. There was a woman and a boy that just appeared and they were obviously important to him. That was why he couldn't figure out why Clayton thought he was somehow important to Weaver or why he wanted to make sure he was the one to find his body. None of it made any sense, but the blonde woman that had saved his life definitely seemed familiar for some reason. Normally, Cassidy Gold didn't care about much, but he wanted to know what the hell was going on in this town and he was determined to get answers from Weaver.

"Nice talking to you...think I'll go track Weaver down myself," he said, as he left. Tilly watched him go and then Rogers approached.

"Okay...ready?" he asked. She nodded.

"Who is that woman?" Tilly asked curiously, as the blonde woman smiled at her.

"Eloise Gardener. She was being held captive until just last night," he replied.

"You rescued her?" Tilly asked. He nodded.

"Aye...and now her kidnapper will be brought to justice," he responded. But something about this woman tugged at Tilly's subconscious. Suddenly, she saw something in her mind, like a memory. It was Rogers, dressed in strange clothing and this woman, Eloise Gardener, dressed in a long cloak. Rogers was holding his heart, while she saw herself crying in the distance. And this Eloise glowered down at Rogers, like she was taking joy in his pain. But just as suddenly as the vision came on, it was gone and she gasped.

"Tilly...are you all right?" Rogers asked, as she looked up at him in awe. What was that? She had never had visions like that before, but she knew someone that had. Her friend Mary had them and that was why the evil Dr. Samdi had forced her to take medication. And she knew she could trust Mary with anything.

"Yeah...do you think after we get a sandwich that you could take me to Roni's?" she asked. He looked at her strangely.

"A bar is no place for you," he chided.

"It's not to drink...it's where my friend Mary works," she replied.

"Oh yes...my partner's wife, strangely enough. I haven't even talked to him since that whole story blew up. I can't imagine what it must have been like to find out that an evil doctor kept her away from him," he mentioned.

"Dr. Samdi and Mr. Stavros are evil…" Tilly said, as the image of Eloise flashed in her mind again at the word evil.

"I want to check on her," she added.

"Sure…let's go," he agreed, as they got into his car.

[morbidology]

Hi Emmy, I just wanted to say how much I love your blog. I was at lunch with my mum telling her all about how much I admire you and what a brilliant writer your are and how I can't wait to read your book. Have you heard of the Henri van Breda case? It's currently at trial and I haven't heard to much about it yet but I was where you land on the case. Do you think he is guilty or innocent?

Ohhh, this is such a lovely message. You're so kind! Thank you! I don't believe I have heard of this case but I shall certainly check it out!