#gus x william

[badgerhuan]

William Kerr and Gus Valentine should've kissed

[maverickcalf]

Chapter 5 Conversation between William Kerr and Gus Valentine

[valorianknights]

Pilot Huntlow just lives rent free in my brain

Hey, maybe we can use the Golden Garden ship name for them? Or Flower Crowns? Idk but I love them so much!

A Smug Gus and Live Lumity Slug reaction. Amity is concerned and judgemental while Luz is being a smug shipper with Gus.

Paulina: What? Everyone else went on a life changing field trip with William.

*scoops handsome wizard into a hug"

William: *I am God's Miracle*

Paulina:Now it's my turn!

I also have the uncolored version!

I find it hilarious that beta Lumity is this edgy teen romance, meanwhile Pilot Huntlow was just literal wholesome, slice of life, fairytale fluff.

[syoddeye]

down the hatch / badgering

141 x f!reader | ~1.9k | series page tags: p in v sex, vaginal fingering, cunnilingus, bad jokes, manipulation, spanking, manhandling a/n: you know that tunnel scene in willy wonka and the chocolate factory? that's how it feels when i write this. a hoot and a half. banner by @/cafekitsune.

it’s an adjustment. living with roommates again. roommates who refuse to leave, thanks to all the death and destruction outside. convenient excuse, really.

no more naked mornings. you could go tits out—they fucking do—but you’re not entirely without reason. as salivating as they are, the hunks are your enemies.

even if they’ve showered, trimmed, and got some of the bloodstains out of their clothes. 

even if soap makes canned meat and powdered eggs palatable, whipping up a spam and rice bowl for you without asking.

even if gaz finds a five-hundred-piece puzzle on a scavenging trip and bites his tongue when you bat his hand away when he tries to help sort the pieces.

even if ghost slips a game of hangman under your door at lights out, and lets you guess a couple of letters each night. (first word? ‘wanker’. second? ‘larynx.’)

even if john—well, wait, no. the asshole hasn’t made a peace offering. probably because he knows you won’t honor them or because he’s sore about the whole ‘no cool nickname’ thing. whatever.

at night, alone in your room, you plot. how does one evict four man-roaches? make living with you worse than living outside.

in a weird way, your austrian neighbor and his aspirations for a fucking von trapp family: the squeakuel comes in handy. he hoarded all types of junk.

soap’s your guinea pig. he’s moody. something’s always itching under his skin. he snaps at the other men too easily and watches you like a dog admiring meat hanging off a bone. opportunity arrives one morning when john and gaz head topside and ghost settles in the living room. you corner the scotsman in the bunker’s tiny gym.

you linger in the doorway, fixated on the dark shapes under soap’s armpits. his mohawk sags, beads of sweat streaking over the freshly shorn hair. down his flexing muscles. and the grunting, christ. it’s a peek into heaven, which makes ruining it difficult.

without a word, you plop onto the other bench and take up the clarinet you found in your room. channeling the gusto of gus polinski, you wet your lips. how hard can it be? you don’t know polka, but you know rossini.

soap’s head snaps at the opening notes, nearly fumbling a pair of dumbbells, his face a flurry of anger, amusement, and annoyance. it’s a valiant effort, his ignoring you, but in the end, you only make it halfway through your best attempt at the william tell overture before he cracks. he rips the instrument from your hands and tosses it aside. he stands over you, smelly and slick, breathing heavily through his nose. 

you end up dragging him to your room.

soap is the definition of a romp in the sheets. a no-holds-barred deathmatch. it’s the first dick you’ve caught in months, and what a reintroduction. a miracle the bed survives. he starts with his mouth sealed to your clit, tongue working like it’s making up for lost time, as if your cunt and his face go way back. it’s refreshing, but you saw how fast he dropped to his knees for gaz.

two orgasms slip out by the time he wrenches off his damp clothes, chin glistening and eyes glittering. he goes cross-eyed the second his dick slaps against your folds, and you laugh at his desperate groaning when he sinks in. though, your laughs are choked off by his sudden, furious thumbing of your clit. (you punch him in the stomach—ignoring the filthy moan that elicits—and hiss out, “a genie isn’t gonna come out, stop fucking rubbing so hard!”) he ends up coming on your stomach and contorts to lick it off, muttering little gratitudes into your skin. it’s…cute. kind of gross, but cute. you kick him out after a power nap.

soap’s a wash. ba-dum tish. try, try again.

you set your sights on gaz. he’s tricky.

it quickly becomes apparent he’s the best at scavenging. smug about it, too, which you leverage. his ego’s easy enough to feed despite his unease. all it takes is batting your lashes and complimenting his hauls.

amazing. this must be the last jar of berbere ever.

pads? for me? so considerate, i’m stunned.

a mostly intact game of monopoly? wow, here, i thought we were done with landlords and taxes.

it’s simple. you begin with small requests. toothpicks. socks. lip balm. when he returns, he drops the goods in your lap like a cat with a mouse. stares at you with those pretty eyes while you lay it on thick. 

you escalate. either he’ll die on your absurd fetch quests or go crazy trying to fulfill them. brand new period panties. a specific type of hair dye. unopened baby lotion. naturally, he can’t find any of them. he still delivers approximations—granny pants, food coloring, and half a bottle of moisturizer—with a hopeful smile you crush under feigned hums of disappointment. ah, well, if this is the best you can do. it chips away at him. his smiles tighten.

you figure he’ll make a dumb mistake on his next outing out of some fucked desperation, and you’ll be down a roach. but after you tell him to keep an unopened pack of nail varnish because they aren’t your colors, he loses it. this time, you’re dragged to bed.

gaz pins you to the mattress, one hand on your throat and the other shoved into your leggings. pupils blown to the point where they’re shark-like. you’d spare a thought for all the poor creatures dead in aquarium tanks across the globe if he wasn’t hellbent on shoving a third finger in.

“so bloody irritating,” gaz seethes. “spoiled and greedy. have you always been a brat, or am i special?”

you spend your ration of oxygen wisely. “i think you think you’re special.”

for that, your knees meet your chest, and your pussy nearly chokes his dick. or so he tells you, pure filth spewing from his mouth. you giggle madly through the slight pinch of pain, mirroring the feral grin on his face. he’s big, and you could be wetter, but you’re not on your back for good behavior. he’s happy to tell you about that, too. how awful you are.

disappointingly, it doesn’t take long for him to lose his grasp on language. a shame, given his shit talk. 

he bats your hand away from your clit when you try to coax your orgasm along. clicks his tongue, eyes half-mast, and smirks. “gonna be good? gonna thank me?” 

in another world, you’d nod. whatever you say, beautiful. in this world, however, you flip the bird, and he flips you.

gaz pants like a bull, pulling you back onto his cock with an iron grip on your hips. his hand comes down across your ass, but there’s this je ne sais quoi missing. it’s the thought that counts, you guess.

after he makes a mess, you fully expect gaz to continue his tirade. instead, he finds a towel. he rolls you over and tucks you in. thanks you. it’s a shame memoirs are meaningless now as the perfect title comes to mind: ‘bunker bumping: backshots in the apocalypse’.

okay. zero for two. historically, settling for 50% isn’t unlike you. 

back at the drawing board, you reevaluate. annoying the men to death hasn’t worked, and they’re exceptionally durable in dogshit conditions. each day, they get closer to rigging the equipment necessary to contact their ‘friends’, seemingly unperturbed by your efforts. in fact, they seem more comfortable. at home. they poke around the utility room to assess what needs maintenance or improvement. the nerve.

it’s untenable. no matter what that dumb voice in your head insists, you miss solitude. miss not having an audience. you want to watch leon and the silence of the lambs without commentary. dance naked. leave the toilet door open. 

you withdraw.

the bedroom becomes your bunker within the bunker. you take meals alone. painstakingly move your puzzles and hoard books. shower at night after they go to bed. ignore them in the halls. keep your mouth shut when someone addresses you. it’s a fruitless endeavor, keeping your head in the sand, but a part of you hopes if you become as unobtrusive as possible, they’ll forget you exist. after all, they have each other. they put those squeaky single beds through the wringer.

problem is, you don’t account for scragglebeard himself. nosy fucker. 

it happens on shower night. towel-clad and testy, you trudge from the bathrooms and find your door open. you freeze in the hall, hearing clinking sounds and lowered voices. gaz and soap emerge, ferrying dishes and dirty clothes, not sparing so much as a glance. your stomach twists, immediately jumping to the worst-case scenario. they’re reclaiming the space, and they’re finally going to kill you.

unfortunately, it’s not so simple.

“whatever this is,” john sternly says the second you enter the room, “we’re going to fix it.”

ghost traipses past, arms full of unopened cans and more dishware. you glare at his back, then turn to john.

“get the fuck out.”

he chuckles. “sweetheart, what’s not clickin’? this isn’t just your shelter anymore.”

“got it,” ghost reenters, a roll of duct tape held aloft. 

well. you had a nice run. sure, the calamity was a setback, but considering you probably lasted longer than everyone you ever hated, present company aside, that’s a tick in the win column. 

however, ghost doesn’t bind your limbs or cover your mouth. he crouches at the ventilation shaft connecting our rooms, rips off several pieces of tape, and covers most of the grid. “you fuckin’ talk in your sleep.” he points at the small hole he left uncovered and stands. “my bed’s right through ‘ere. it’s fuckin’ unsettlin’.” grumbling, he shuffles out once more.

john’s not shy about scanning you from top to bottom, but apparently, he doesn’t like what he sees. he turns away. “what are we missing?”

you pick through what’s left of your clean clothes. “loaded question.” poking your head through a shirt, you shimmy the towel to your hips.

“where else would you find a clarinet?”

“up your–” he glares over his shoulder, and you smile sweetly. “there’s a small storage space in the closet here. it’s empty now.”

“we found the surveillance room and utilities. it stands to reason that there are others.” john scratches his chin, watching you like a hawk as you pull on shorts. 

“oh. you think?”

“i do.”

“well, think outside of my room. i’m going to bed.” you move to the bed and listen to john close the distance. he hovers, his breath hitting your neck in an exasperated huff. it sends a shiver down your spine. you bet he’s got what gaz was missing—experience behind the swing of his palm.

“like it or not, sweetheart, we’re sticking around. now, i’d prefer it if we kept things civil. based on what the boys told me, i know you’re capable of being friendly.”

it’s not the smartest decision in the world, wheeling on a man trained to kill. he catches your wrist as it winds up and twists it sharply behind your back. with one solid push, you get a mouthful of linen as your body promptly hinges at the waist. an angry string of obscenities gets lost in the sheets. you’ve never been so humiliated. or breathtakingly aroused.

john tuts.

“bad call, badger.”

[whitesinhistory]

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A post shared by I Dissent 🇵🇸🔻🍉 (@katie.blue.is.the.feeling)

So the Republicans are trying to shut down the government to damage their own states so that they make the Democrats look bad before the election… Is that the game plan they’re going with?

Here is the full list of Republicans who voted against the stopgap bill to prevent a government shutdown in September 2024:

Indiana: James R. Baird, Jim Banks, Rudy Yakym III, Victoria Spartz

Ohio: Troy Balderson, Warren Davidson, Jim Jordan, Max L. Miller

Florida: Aaron Bean, Gus M. Bilirakis, Kat Cammack, Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, Bill Posey, Michael Waltz, Daniel Webster

Texas: Michael Cloud, Tony Gonzales, Lance Gooden, Morgan Luttrell, Nathaniel Moran, Chip Roy, Keith Self, Randy Weber Sr., Beth Van Duyne, Roger Williams

Arizona: Andy Biggs, Elijah Crane, Paul A. Gosar, Debbie Lesko, David Schweikert

North Carolina: Dan Bishop

Colorado: Lauren Boebert

Illinois: Mike Bost, Mary E. Miller, Darin LaHood

Oklahoma: Josh Brecheen

Tennessee: Tim Burchett, John W. Rose, Andrew Ogles

Missouri: Eric Burlison

Georgia: Andrew S. Clyde, Mike Collins, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Richard McCormick

Utah: John R. Curtis

South Carolina: Jeff Duncan, Russell Fry, Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman, William R. Timmons IV

Kansas: Ron Estes, Tracey Mann

Mississippi: Mike Ezell, Michael Guest, Trent Kelly

Iowa: Randy Feenstra

Minnesota: Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach

Idaho: Russ Fulcher

Virginia: Bob Good, H. Morgan Griffith

Wyoming: Harriet M. Hageman

Maryland: Andy Harris

Louisiana: Clay Higgins

Pennsylvania: John Joyce, Scott Perry

West Virginia: Alexander X. Mooney

California: Tom McClintock

Kentucky: Thomas Massie

Montana: Matthew M. Rosendale Sr.

New York: Claudia Tenney

Wisconsin: Thomas P. Tiffany, Derrick Van Orden

New Jersey: Jefferson Van Drew

Alabama: Barry Moore, Gary J. Palmer

Arkansas: Bruce Westerman

Why is this important to me? I would have been out of a job. Government contractors would rather cut you and rehire you for less pay or benefits. Also, if I miss 1 or 2 paychecks I will be homeless.

[leupagus]

Three-Legged Puppy Fics

List five of your least-popular fics, as well as when/why you wrote them.

Home to the Weary: Merlin, Gwen/Morgana, 2010.

I wrote this at the request of a friend who wanted, I think, something Gwen-centric. Because I was not a fan of the show I decided to focus on an AU in which Gwen backflipped out of that whole situation and founded her own sort of kingdom, only meeting the terrible trio years later. It was really fun and was the first time I'd ever tried writing a fic that hinted at a larger world going on around the characters, if that makes sense. This one's a little pretentious but you can definitely see my "style" as it were.

Treads on the Ground: Babylon (not the sci-fi show, the short-lived british cop show), Liz Garvey/Finn Kirkwood, 2022.

This was written during my Bertie Carvel phase where I'd watched "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" and was desperate for something, anything, that didn't have him wearing terrible prosthetics or playing a psycho. He still sort of plays a psycho in this show, but he looks super hot and angry all the time which is really all I needed. (Also bonus hilarity: Liz's boyfriend in this show is played by none other than James Lance, playing "louche asshole" to the absolute hilt.) Anyway I wrote this because I really wanted a fake dating AU for these two AND a "Finn is secretly in line to the throne" fic and this was the perfect way to combine these two. I'm still legitimately really proud of thsi fic.

The Bright Relief: 1776 musical, John Adams & Thomas Jefferson (and a little bit of / in there, if I'm honest), 2010.

I wrote this because my friends waldorph and screamlet and I were having the Summer of 1776 Feelings and we all wrote various (wonderful) crimes and misdemeanors in that fandom, mostly revolving all the ways in people who love John Adams make fun of him. That was a truly terrible summer but made a whole lot better by those two, and by William Daniels being the most John Adams to ever John Adams. (I actually rewatched the miniseries a few months ago and Paul Giamatti does a great job but that thing is SO DREARY. Although I will say Stephen Dillane first caught my eye in the role of TJeff, aka once again playing a guy who's down real bad for someone smarter than him (in this case both Abigail AND John). The scene where he first meets Abigail is just nonstop flirting, with John making faces in the background. It's great.)

Happy Tails To You (Until We Meet Again): SGA, Rodney McKay/John Sheppard, 2009.

Oh lordy — probably the worst fic I've ever written, but I can't quite bring myself to delete it. I've been on the periphery of fandom for most of my adult life (what up X-Files yahoo groups and Prodigy Star Trek RP rooms), but SGA was what made me start thinking of writing fic after a long period of only reading it. (Yes, there is college-era gus fic out there. No, I'm not posting it on AO3.) I never quite got a handle on Sheppard or McKay but I did enjoy writing this and the other SGA fic I wrote, but yeah this deserves its obscurity.

Honey Now I'm Not One To Complain: Dalgliesh, Adam Dalgliesh/Kate Miskin, 2022.

Another one of my "Bertie Carvel is extremely attractive when he's sad and/or a cop" flash-fandoms, although I wrote a pretty good primer on the first season that I think gives a good case for the show as a whole. I wanted to write that largely because the show is so resolutely grim and I prefer stories that are... not grim, so I gave myself the challenge of putting these guys into one of the classic tropes. I did toy with the fake dating/marriage trope but honestly I think this was funnier, and I would always rather commit to the bit.

Tagging uhhh let's see, @laiqualaurelote, @themardia, @sadcypress, @auntieclimactic, and @eyebrowofdoom, if they (or anyone else) wants to do this.

[cintasfics]

Masterlist

Psych

OC profile - Marley Williams

Relationships and dynamics

Misc. ideas and headcanons

One-shots/Drabbles

The People You Meet at Happy Hour - Carlton Lassiter x oc during a night out with some friends from work, marley runs into lassiter, who is at the same bar under similar circumstances. growing tired and her social battery draining, she excuses herself from her group to hang back with the detective at his table.

Hear Santa Barbara, I swear it's calling me - Carlton Lassiter x oc a private case leads the three members of psych detective agency to a nightclub, where marley goes undercover as a dancer to find out more information. the head detective at sbpd enters the same club one night following a tip called into the station and is taken aback by what he sees.

Nothing some (eye) candy can't fix - Juliet O'Hara x oc (platonic) while visiting the sbpd, marley stops in to check on juliet, and finding her friend overworked and under stress, resolves to do something about it

Blue eyes and the tie to match - Carlton Lassiter x oc a case involving models and a fashion designer causes some changes to occur within the group style-wise, and marley can’t help but voice her appreciation

Soft Spot - Carlton Lassiter x oc needing a favour from lassiter to make progress in their case, shawn and gus decide to take advantage of the man’s feelings for their friend, encouraging her to be the one to ask for his help

One of you is going to have to change - Shawn, Gus and Henry x oc (platonic) waiting outside a restaurant for the rest of their party to arrive, shawn wishes he never came up with the idea of going out to eat after being met with a horrific sight

Leave It On - Carlton Lassiter x oc while things are getting heated between the couple, lassiter finds out that marley has a certain appreciation for an aspect of his uniform

Series - First Meetings

A match made in the emergency room (and again in a cafe) - Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster x oc (platonic) when shawn ends up in the emergency department after being run off the road while investigating the murder of the regional spelling bee spellmaster, he finds a new friend in the nurse that looks after him, even if she doesn’t know it yet

Another thorn in Lassiter's side - Carlton Lassiter x oc shortly after becoming friends with shawn and gus, marley attends (read: is dragged along to) her first crime scene and her presence gets a mixed reaction from the two detectives on the scene

When Marley Met Henry - Henry Spencer x oc (platonic) marley's car breaks down on the way home from work, and unable to respond to her request for help personally, shawn sends his dad in his place

Episode outlines

Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Piece - 1x03 Woman Seeking Dead Husband: Smokers Okay, No Pets - 1x04 9 Lives - 1x05 Weekend Warriors - 1x06 Shawn vs. The Red Phantom - 1x08

Marvel

Kneel - Erik Lehnsherr x reader It’s Halloween at the school for gifted youngsters, and Erik is more than happy to indulge you in a certain interest of yours

[hiro-doodlez]

KINDA ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CHARACTERS I LIKE FOR NO REASON

Aang

Ace

Alphys

Asriel

Amethyst

Amity

Angel dust

April oniel

Big Man

Bill

Blue

Blackstar

Blueberror

Buggy

Casey J.

Carol

Chopper

Chara

Charlie

Crona

Cross

Connie

Death the kid

Deku

Dipper

Donnie

Dream

Dust

Enid

Error

Flower

Franky

Frisk

Fresh

Frye

Garnet

Gojo

Grian

Gus

Gummigoo

Hunter

Hamato

Howl

Horror

Husk

Hiro

Ink

Izuku

Jax

Jin/yin

Jade emporer

Katara

Killer

K.o

Kris

Kiki

Kyo

Kagemine

Kacchan

Lapis

Law

Len k

Leo

Luffy

Lucifer

Lady bone demon

Luz

Miku

Midoriya

Miles

Mk

Macaque

Mable

Marina

Mob

Monkey king

Maka

Mei

Mikey

Nami

Noelle

Ne zha

Nightmare

Outer

Pigsy

Papy

Pink

PJ

Pearl

Peridot

Pomni

Ponyo

Queen

Quackity

Rad

Ragatha

Raph

Red son

Rin k

Ritsu

Robin

Rose

Sokka

Sans

Sanji

Steven

Shiver

Shoko/shoya

Son wukong

Susie

Soul

Tang

Terezi

Todoroki

Toph

Toriel

Undyne

Usagi

Usopp

Verisika

Vanessa (paf)

Vaggie

Venomous

William a.

Willow

Wendy

X

Yuki

Yamcha

Zooble

Zoro

Zuko

[aceditwrites]

The Master List (hi)

Master List:

Hi, i’m ace. I got really bored and i need an excuse to procrastinate on my personal writing projects so i decided to start an account dedicated to just writing. So like, you can request almost anything (limits below) like if you want like a platonic fic just ask! If you want the reader to be the kid or sibling of the character, i’ll do it! You can be as specific or as vague as you want, eventually i’ll get some prompts for help but for now, you gotta wing it. Also I’ll write for like any fandom even if i dont know it, i’ll try my hardest but i’d prefer if you stuck to the list below. Anyways yeah.  (also pfp is nyurei on picrew)

So basic rules, 

If youre an nsfw account dni, also i will not write smut regardless of age given i’m a minor

No incest 

I’m currently only doing x readers, that might change in the future but for now no ocs or ships

I’d prefer if you didn’t request x reader with an actual person, (ex. Instead of asking for a Maya Hawke x reader, ask for a Robin Buckley x reader)

If you know a character’s sexuality and you dont fit, dont ask (ex. Nico is gay, I will not write Nico x fem! reader)

Please specify pronouns when requesting 

Please keep in mind i’m not a professional writer 

Please use common sense and dont do something that makes me have to update the rules

Anyways, so fandoms i’ll write for

It 2017/2019: Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, Stanley Uris, Bill Denbrough, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom, Mike Hanlon (specify if you want 2017 or 2019)

Percy Jackson: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, Piper McLean, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Connor Stoll, Travis Stoll, Nico Di Angelo, Will Solace

Supernatural: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Castiel, Gabriel, Kevin Tran, Crowley, Charlie Bradbury, Rowena (does girly have a last name 💀), Jack Kline (platonic only)

South park (platonic only for everyone, they’re children): Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh, Eric Cartman, Kenny McCormick, Butters Scotch, Tolkien Black (or is it Token? I swear its always spelled different), Timmy, Craig Tucker, Tweek Tweak, Jimmy Valmer, Wendy Testaburger 

Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory: Darius Bowman (i’d prefer if we kept it platonic with him but romance is ok i guess), Kenji Kon, Brooklyn, Yasmina Fadoula, Sammy Guiterrez, Ben Pincus, 

Marvel: Tony Stark (platonic only, so sorry) Steve Rodger, Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, Wanda Maximoff, Peter Peter, Ned Leeds, M.J, Harley Keener, Thor Odinson, Loki Odinson, Shuri, T'Challa, Okoye

The Owl House: Luz Noceda, Willow Park, Amity Blight, Edric Blight, Emira Blight, Gus Porter, Eda Clawthorne, Lilith Clawthorn, Hooty (platonic preferred, but if you freaky like that go ahead and ask for romance, see what happens), Raine Whispers

The Umbrella Academy: Luther, Diego, Alison, Klaus, Five (would he date a kid or an adult cause-), Ben (he can be alive or yall could be ghosts), Vanya 

Dear Evan Hansen: Connor Murphy (my beloved), Evan Hansen, Jared Kleinman, Zoe Murphy, Alana Beck

Heather: Heather Chandler, Heather McNamara, Heather Duke, Veronica Sawyer, Jason Dean, Martha Dunnstock

Invincible: Mark Grayson, Debbie Grayson, Eve Wilkins, Rex Splode, Amber Bennet, William Clockwell

Idk how any of this works but uh have fun

[badgerhuan]

Unknowable

A Beacon Pines William Kerr double drabble.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR (ONE OF) THE END OF THE GAME.

Read on AO3.

Dedicated to @maverickcalf .

Learned everything about this game less than a week ago and hadn't been able to stop thinking about this pathetic asshole since.

--x

He doesn't know who he is outside of William Kerr anymore.

He has been playing this role for so long. Never slipping, not for even one second. The terror of being found out and caught and failing the Founder outweighed any want for comfort he might have. It's not like who he was before all this was worth going back to, anyway.

Sometimes, alone at night, he'd try saying his name, his legal name, out loud into the dark.

The words feel foreign on his tongue.

But this isn't so bad. The town is...quaint. Nice. Comfortable. The people are wary of him, to be fair, but nothing some smooth talking can't fix. He's good at that, talking. It's why the Founder chose him.

The mayor is kind to him.

The mayor is the Founder's son, he reminds himself.

In any case, being William Kerr is nice. Losing himself in the role is nice. Not that there was much of himself left. He doesn't mind it all that much.

He can't fully remember what the distant dream that the Founder promised him was, but the journey there...is worth it. Maybe.

He's not entirely sure he wants it to end.

[phantomhunting]

THE KING OF FNAF?

Read of AO3

< this is Chapter 1 >

disclaimers: This all takes place much after the events of each canon, Aftons & Emilys meet Fnaf: the musical, This is based off the gacha Fnaf concept of aftons meet past/future/au/canon/etc, This fanfic features my personal headcanons & theories and a Fnaf AU alike to gacha AUs (aftons can transform into their animatronic form, aftons have ther abilities, illusion discs make them seem normal, Ennard, etc) there's no need to get mad if you disagree with stuff, There's some canon-typical violence, And there's two ships (Nate x Mark, Michael x Jeremy Fitzgerald)

"Liz please I need to get some sleep before my shift toni-" right as Michael finished his

sentence, the doorbell rang. Elizabeth walked over to the door, turning on her illusion disc

and kicking any visible bloody appendage out of sight. She opened the door and stared down

the men outside with her big green eyes. "Who the fuck are you?" She asked, forgetting she

appears as a child. "Wow! No need to curse!" the man with the dyed hair exclaimed, "I'm

Mark, this is Nate, and this is... Uhh what's your name again?" He turned to the man in the

purple hoodie. "AJ!! ITS AJ!! IS IT REALLY SO HARD TO REMEMBER?!" He screeched,

it hurts Elizabeth's ears. "Shut up, stop shouting like a 5 year old, who's the last guy?" She

asked, pointing at the man in the bloody suit. "That man goes by many nam-" Mark started,

but was cut off by that same man. "Matt, or Scott, or William, or Dave, or evil dirtbag with a

chainsaw, or phone gu- okay yeah that's a lot of names. Most people just call me Matt

though" he chuckled, Lizzy raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here?" She asked, not wanting

to deal with adults right now. "Well, our car broke down and we need a place to stay..." Nate

started, "...and your house seemed more welcoming than your neighbour's, we were kicked

off the property" Mark finished. Elizabeth stared at them for a moment, confused, and then

turned to the inside of the house, "MIKE! THERE'S PEOPLE AT THE DOOR THAT WANT

TO STAY!" She shouted, hoping her brother heard. A bang was heard from the vents above

her, followed by a soft, robotic 'fuck'. "Enn, you have to stop spying on people from the

vents" she shook her head. Mark and Nate looked at each other, worried if they made the

right decision. After a few seconds, a man barely resembling Michael walked in to the room.

"Mike, this is Mark, Nate, Matt, and uhh-" Liz started to explain, but forgot the purple

hoodie-d guy's name. "AJ!" he exclaimed in anger. "James, exactly what I said. Anyways

they want to spend the night here because their car broke or something" she continued.

Michael thought for a moment, staring at a hidden blood spot on the wall, slightly terrified of

how that might go. "You know what? I'm sure dad will appreciate some guests, and I'm sure

Ennard will love it too" he said finally, winking to Liz, implying the four guests will not

leave the house unless it be in ghost/soul form. AJ started to shiver, it was getting cold

outside. "Come on in!" Michael smiled wide, fixing his loose tie which had his illusion disc

in it. The fours walked in and Lizzy closed the door. She went to the kitchen because she was

hungry and left the group and Michael all alone. Michael led them to the living room, which

was luckily empty. He took out his phone and texted the family group chat (which had very

little messages in it) "guests over, get En to clean up all the rooms and leave the vents, get

him his illusion disc too. C, get yours, it's on dad's table in the workshop. Dad, please don't

murder them. Liz, get mom and make some dinner, they probably need to eat. And under no

circumstances will any of you be talking about the past!! We are the Schmidt family until

they leave tomorrow morning." He sent the message and sank on the couch next to Mark. He

noticed two pins mark had on his shirt, one read "Freddy Fazbear's pizzaria security" and

they other was a bisexual pride flag. Mike raised an eyebrow, "you wor- uhh you like men

and women?" He thought it might be easier to approach that subject first. "yeah- I mean I

have a boyfriend" Mark pointed to Nate, who was chatting with AJ. "Ohhh, cool! I'm gay,

and I have a boyfriend too" Mike responded, wondering what Jeremy was doing right now.

"Nice" Mark pulled his phone, bored. His phone's wallpaper was him, Nate, a weird plushie

version of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy on the background of a burned building with a

sign reading "Freddy Fazbear's pizzaria" in big letters and "get some Freddy-filled fun

today!" In a smaller font. Mike cringed at that slogan, ""don't ask as about our kids" was a

better one" he thought to himself. He wanted to ask about the job because he never saw Mark around, and he knew literally all of the workers at Fazbear entertainment's places. Besides,

those looked nothing like the animatronics from the actual locations, and that building didn't

look like any location! He was confused and concerned. "You uhh.. you work at Freddy's?"

He asked quietly, afraid of the answer. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm a- or well, I WAS a nightguard

before this psycho burned his own place down." Mark chuckled and pointed at Matt, which

concerned Michael so much more. Freddy's locations belong to either his dad or his dad's

"friend", not this random dude! "I thought the owners were William Afton, Dave Miller, and

Henry Emily?" He said confused, attempting to sound normal. "Those are all his nicknames"

Mark chuckled again.

Before Michael could say anything further, William walked through the front door, looking

exhausted and with a big stain of blood on his clothes. "It rained today." He said through

gritted teeth, still in pain from the springlocks. Michael burst out laughing, glad his dad got

springlocked again. Mark stared at the blood with wide eyes and internal panic, Nate and AJ

did the same. Matt looked for a moment, then made a face of understanding, "you work with

springlocks too?" He asked, rolling his sleeves up to reveal scars from his old springlocks

suits. "Yep" William unbuttoned the two top buttons of his shirt, revealing deep scarring from

countless springlocks failures. "Oof, that's rough buddy" Matt responded as he got up and

reached his hand for a handshake, "Matt, or Afton, nice to-" but he was cut off by Michael

and William. "AFTON?!" they screamed in unison, shocked at this discovery.

[iceinherheart-kissonherlips]

and throughout all eternity; [a doctor x river fanmix] [listen]

01. John Williams - I. Theme [instrumental] || 02. Franz Ferdinand - The universe expanded [unintroduced, forget your name forevermore, but I don't mind losing you this time] || 03. Duncane Laurence - Arcade [loving you is a losing game] || 04. Gus Black - The world is on fire [there's nothing left to say, the world is on fire and I love you] || 05. Regina Spektor - Samson [I loved you first, I loved you first, beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth] || 06. M83 - You appearing [it's your sad face, where are we?] || 07. Amanda Palmer - Astronaut [the pieces don't fit together so good, with all the breaking and all the gluing back] || 08. Emmy the Great - Paper forest (in the afterglow of rapture) [and now you write because you love him, now you write because he's kind] || 09. Damien Rice - Colour me in [I tried to erase it, but the ink bled right through, almost drove myself crazy and these words led to you] || 10. Tresassers William - Love is blindness [love is clockworks and cold steel] || 11. Margot & the nuclear so and so's - A light on a hill [and she burned for me, and no other man came near the flame] || 12. Carmody - Well [I'm still spinning out of time with you] || 13. The National - Weird goodbyes [move forward now, there's nothing to do, can't turn around, and I can't follow you] || 14. The Chamber Orchestra of London - The stong of loss [instrumental]

[deanwasalwaysbi]

23 Republican Senators & 124 Congressmen signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court asking for a 50 state ban on mifepristone, a drug safer than tylenol that is standard treatment for abortion & miscarriages, "due to safety concerns". The brief DARES to argue that banning the life saving drug would save women from 'reproductive control'. (x) These 147 people would rather have women die of sepsis than let women control their own bodies. If your representatives are on this list, call them and tell their office you will be voting against them in the next election because they asked SCOTUS to throw the US medical drug system into chaos at the cost of American lives.

United States Senate

Lead Senator: Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS) John Barrasso (WY) Mike Braun (IN) Katie Britt (AL) Ted Budd (NC) Bill Cassidy (LA) Kevin Cramer (ND) Mike Crapo (ID) Ted Cruz (TX) Steve Daines (MT) Josh Hawley (MO) John Hoeven (ND) James Lankford (OK) Mike Lee (UT) Cynthia Lummis (WY) Roger Marshall (KS) Markwayne Mullin (OK) James Risch (ID) Marco Rubio (FL) Rich Scott (FL) John Thune (SD) Tommy Tuberville (AL) Roger Wicker (MS)

United States House of Representatives

Lead Representative: August Pfluger (TX–11) Robert Aderholt (AL–04) Mark Alford (MO–04) Rick Allen (GA–12) Jodey Arrington (TX–19) Brian Babin (TX–36) Troy Balderson (OH–12) Jim Banks (IN–03) Aaron Bean (FL–04) Cliff Bentz (OR–02) Jack Bergman (MI–01) Andy Biggs (AZ–05) Gus Bilirakis (FL–12) Dan Bishop (NC–08) Lauren Boebert (CO–03) Mike Bost (IL–12) Josh Brecheen (OK–02) Ken Buck (CO–04) Tim Burchett (TN–02) Michael Burgess, M.D. (TX–26) Eric Burlison (MO–07) Kat Cammack (FL–03) Mike Carey (OH–15) Jerry Carl (AL–01) Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (GA–01) John Carter (TX–31) Ben Cline (VA–06) Michael Cloud (TX–27) Andrew Clyde (GA–09) Mike Collins (GA–10) Elijah Crane (AZ–02) Eric A. “Rick” Crawford (AR–01) John Curtis (UT–03) Warren Davidson (OH–08) Monica De La Cruz (TX–15) Jeff Duncan (SC–03) Jake Ellzey (TX–06) Ron Estes (KS–04) Mike Ezell (MS–04) Pat Fallon (TX–04) Randy Feenstra (IA–04) Brad Finstad (MN–01) Michelle Fischbach (MN–07) Scott Fitzgerald (WI–05) Mike Flood (NE–01) Virginia Foxx (NC–05) Scott Franklin (FL–18) Russell Fry (SC–07) Russ Fulcher (ID–01) Tony Gonzales (TX–23) Bob Good (VA–05) Paul Gosar (AZ–09) Garret Graves (LA–06) Mark Green (TN–07) Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA–14) H. Morgan Griffith (VA–09) Glenn Grothman (WI–06) Michael Guest (MS–03) Harriet Hageman (WY) Andy Harris, M.D. (MD–01) Diana Harshbarger (TN–01) Kevin Hern (OK–01) Clay Higgins (LA–03) Ashley Hinson (IA–02) Erin Houchin (IN–02) Richard Hudson (NC–09) Bill Huizenga (MI–04) Bill Johnson (OH–06) Mike Johnson (LA–04) Jim Jordan (OH–04) Mike Kelly (PA–16) Trent Kelly (MS–01) Doug LaMalfa (CA–01) Doug Lamborn (CO–05) Nicholas Langworthy (NY–23) Jake LaTurner (KS–02) Debbie Lesko (AZ–08) Barry Loudermilk (GA–11) Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO–03) Tracey Mann (KS–01) Lisa McClain (MI–09) Dr. Rich McCormick (GA–06) Patrick McHenry (NC–10) Carol Miller (WV–01) Mary Miller (IL–15) Max Miller (OH–07) Cory Mills (FL–07) John Moolenar (MI–02) Alex X. Mooney (WV–02) Barry Moore (AL–02) Blake Moore (UT–01) Gregory F. Murphy, M.D. (NC–03) Troy Nehls (TX–22) Ralph Norman (SC–05) Andy Ogles (TN–05) Gary Palmer (AL–06) Bill Posey (FL–08) Guy Reschenthaler (PA–14) Mike Rogers (AL–03) John Rose (TN–06) Matthew Rosendale, Sr. (MT–02) David Rouzer (NC–07) Steve Scalise (LA–01) Keith Self (TX–03) Pete Sessions (TX–17) Adrian Smith (NE–03) Christopher H. Smith (NJ–04) Lloyd Smucker (PA–11) Pete Stauber (MN–08) Elise Stefanik (NY–21) Dale Strong (AL–05) Claudia Tenney (NY–24) Glenn Thompson (PA–15) William Timmons, IV (SC–04) Beth Van Duyne (TX–24) Tim Walberg (MI–05) Michael Waltz (FL–05) Randy Weber, Sr. (TX–14) Daniel Webster (FL–11) Brad R. Wenstrup, D.P.M. (OH–02) Bruce Westerman (AR–04) Roger Williams (TX–25) Joe Wilson (SC–02) Rudy Yakym (IN–02)

If your representatives are on this list, call them and tell their office you will be voting against them in the next election because they asked SCOTUS to throw the US medical drug system into chaos at the cost of American lives.

Help to patients who have to cross state lines to get medical care by donating to your local abortion fund here. (x)

[scientistmp3]

dropping my complete tbr below (over 100 novels) bc i neeeed someone to tell me what book to read next. reading strange sally diamond rn and it's too draining and cruel to continue atm. pls help me pick my next read ill love u forever!!!

specifically need a break from sally diamond's themes (csa, r***, p********a, on screen torture). my next read can still be disturbing in any other way that isn't the mentioned triggers idm

my current tbr:

a botanical daughter (noah medlock)

a sweet sting of salt (rose sutherland)

all's well (mona awad)

bad cree (jessica johns)

biography of x (catherine lacy)

birnam wood (eleanor catton)

black sheep (rachel harrison)

bridge (lauren beukes)

brutes (dizz tate)

cackle (rachel harrison)

carnality (lina wolff)

comfort me with apples (catherynne m valente)

dead eleven (jimmy juliano)

death valley (melissa broder)

diavola (jennifer thorne)

episode thirteen (craig dilouie)

goddess of filth (v castro)

her little flowers (shannon morgan)

home is where the bodies are (jeneva rose)

homecoming (kate morton) i think this one may be a bit too long for me rn

house of hollow (krystal sutherland)

how to solve your own murder (kristen perrin)

i cheerfully refuse (leif enger)

i keep my exoskeletons to myself (marisa crane)

in my dreams i hold a knife (ashley winstead)

jawbone (monica ojeda)

knock knock open wide (neil sharpson)

lapvona (ottessa moshfegh)

leech (hiron ennes)

lone women (victor lavalle)

looking glass sound (catriona ward)

midnight is the darkest hour (ashley winstead)

mirrorland (carole johnstone)

mister magic (kiersten white)

monstrilio (gerardo samano cordova)

mother thing (ainslie hogarth)

my murder (katie williams)

natural beauty (ling ling huang)

near the bone (christina henry)

no one's home (d m pulley)

notes on an execution (danya kukafka) probably not for my next read LMAO

penance (eliza clark)

revelator (daryl gregory)

ripe (sarah rose etter)

silver nitrate (silvia moreno garcia)

sisters of the lost nation (nick medina)

the burning girls (c j tudor)

the centre (ayesha manazir siddiqi)

the death of jane lawrence (caitlin starling)

the haunting of velkwood (gwendolyn kiste)

the husbands (holly gramazio)

the last murder at the end of the world (stuart turton) even tho stuarts novels hurt my head

the last house of the flower bride (roshani chokshi)

the missing years (lexie elliott)

the other valley (scott alexander howard)

the return (rachel harrison)

the skeleton key (erin kelly)

these fleeting shadows (kate alice marshall)

things in jars (jess kidd)

this thing between us (gus moreno)

tripping arcadia (kit mayquist)

unsettled ground (claire fuller)

wrong place wrong time (gillian mcallister)

[stanlunter]

The only reason why I'm glad that toh pilot didn't become canon is that if they made THAT version of Huntlow canon, it would be even worse than actual Huntlow. Not only that their dynamic would be so so boring and annoying, but it also would look and feel super weird since William looks and acts like a kid, while Willow is actually the oldest one of them who tried to act like a "mom of the team"

It would be even worse than Willow x Gus, since at least Gus is pretty mature

But the arts about Pilot versions of Willow and William already look wrong, it makes me really happy that they did change Hunter

( I don't even think they would still do it canon tho, but still, the way Huntlow shippers pretend like they would, actually scares. Before seing them, I didn't even think about it)

[cintasfics]

Another thorn in Lassiter's side

pairing: carlton lassiter x oc, juliet o'hara x oc (platonic)

wc: 1.6k

summary: shortly after becoming friends with shawn and gus, marley attends (read: is dragged along to) her first crime scene and her presence gets a mixed reaction from the two detectives on the scene

warnings: mention of drugs, murder, and suicide. lassie is a bit of a dick but it’s part of his charm (don't look at me)

a/n: I love the trope where two characters meet for the first time and one of them is certain they will never be more than friends despite their obvious interest - especially when the audience knows they will eventually end up together - and lassiter is perfect for that in my mind

The latest case to fall onto the detective’s desks involved the death of a prominent community members son, and while by all appearances it looked like a simple open-shut case of a drug overdose, the victim’s mother was resolute that it wasn’t the case. Her belief was supported when another body, deceased under the same circumstances, turned up a few blocks away.

Given the high status of the victim’s families, Chief Vick wanted to make sure that the case was solved as quickly and as thoroughly as possible, and to do this she called in their resident psychic.

At the time of the call, said psychic was at his agency’s office, accompanied by Gus and their new friend Marley, using the space for their impromptu video game tournament. He was slowly but surely getting the introverted woman out of her shell, taking her shyness as a challenge, determined to expand his and Gus’ small circle.

When the chief told him about the case, he knew it was the perfect opportunity to bring them all closer together and strengthen their bond. What says friendship like solving a murder together?

Marley didn’t quite see it the same way, sure she would be turned away at the first line of police tape, but she couldn’t deny the feeling of excitement growing at the idea.

~}i{~

‘Who is this? This isn’t a field trip destination, no civilians allowed, Spencer. You’re lucky we even let you two in here,’ came Lassiter’s annoyed bark once he noticed the stranger standing with the two ever-present thorns in his side. At least the woman had the decency to look embarrassed as she shot the so-called psychic a look that screamed ‘I told you so.’

Ignoring the weight of his new friends’ eyes as they bore into the side of his head, Shawn carried on in his usual fashion.

‘She’s not a civilian, she’s the newest member of Psych detective agency. Lassie, Juliet, meet Miss Marley Williams,’ his introduction was paired with a flourish of his arms in her direction, as if he was presenting her to an adoring crowd, ‘say hello, Marley.’

Marley threw another quick glare at him for putting her on the spot, before offering the two detectives a nervous smile and pitiful wave, ‘uuh- hi.’

She was mentally kicking herself at her weak greeting, and Lassiter was equally, if not more, unimpressed by it.

‘And what are you, another psychic?’ came his dry inquiry, almost sneering it at her.

‘Oh no, nothing like that,’ she was quick to assure, ‘I’m a nurse down at Santa Barbara general, I’m just here because I, I uhh-,’ feeling intimidated by Lassiter’s piercing stare, and honestly unsure of what exactly she was doing here, she struggled to explain her presence. Her new position in the agency was also a surprise to her, doing nothing to help her explain herself.

‘We were in the middle of her induction and onboarding paperwork when we got the call to come down here, so we thought we’d bring her along, show her what the job really entails. No better way to learn than on the job, right?’

God she could kiss Gus, sending him a grateful look. ‘Nice save.’

‘Marley here is a good conduit for the spirits, the visions and vibes I get when she’s around are stronger than normal,’ Shawn added, his never-wavering dedication to the bit the cherry on top, ‘her experience as a nurse also comes in handy, offering invaluable context to some of the information I receive.’

Lassiter continued to look between the three of them with a raised eyebrow, not buying it for a second.

But Juliet, ever the sugar to Lassiter’s salt, offered her a kind smile and her hand, ‘well it’s nice to meet you Marley, my name’s Juliet O’Hara and I look forward to working with you.’

Though the woman’s smile was warm enough on its own, compared to her partners surly demeanour it was like a ray of sunshine and Marley immediately felt at ease.

‘Just stay out of our way and we’ll get along just fine.’

The brief moment of respite that Juliet had given her crumbled with Lassiter’s words, but thankfully it was the last thing he said before returning to what he was doing before he had noticed her.

‘Don’t worry about him,’ Juliet reassured her, seeing the way her smile fell, ‘he can be a bit..’

Juliet struggled to find the right word to describe her ill-tempered partner, knowing that he wasn’t always the friendliest person in the world, but she didn’t quite know how to describe him to a stranger without giving them a bad impression. Worse than the one he gave himself, anyway.

Gus and Shawn had no such issue, however. Chiming in with their own descriptions to fill in the blanks.

‘You mean grouchy?’

‘Irritable?’

‘Downright rude?’

‘Blunt,’ she cut them off, knowing they could go all day if she let them, ‘he can be a bit blunt, among other things, but I’m sure he’ll warm up to you in no time!’

Free from the man’s harsh gaze and appreciating the woman’s attempt at reassuring her, Marley sent her a grateful smile, ‘thank you, Juliet. I’m sure it’ll be fine, he just took me off guard,’ her attention then turned to her two ‘colleagues’, ‘thanks for the warning by the way, totally helped me adjust to my new ‘role’.’

Gus had the decency to look apologetic, but Shawn simply brushed her sarcasm aside, ‘hey, trial by fire remember? If you can handle Lassie, you can handle anything!’

‘We had total faith in you too, just to be clear,’ came Gus’ fast reassurance.

‘I need to get back to Lassiter, but let me know if you guys find anything,’ Juliet cut in, sending the newcomer a final warm smile before walking away, ‘and welcome aboard, Marley.’

~}i{~

The case was soon wrapped up, with Gus and Marley’s combined knowledge of pharmaceuticals and medicine proving invaluable when determining what exactly led to the deaths of the young men.

Marley had watched Shawn perform his parlour scene moment with great amusement. She had to admit that he sold the ‘psychic’ thing well, and his commitment to the charade was commendable. If she didn’t see his work ‘behind the curtain’, so to speak, she might have bought it herself.

‘Thank you again, Mr Spencer and Mr Guster, as always we appreciate your help.’

Lassiter couldn’t hold back the scoff he let out at the chief’s words. Schooling his face into a neutral expression as she shot him a warning look before continuing.

‘And Miss Williams, I’d also like to thank you especially for your contribution to the case, Mr Spencer told me how you noticed signs of deterioration in Nate Mitchell and were able to prevent his death, which is no small feat.’

Uncomfortable with the attention on her, Marley picked at her nails as she responded, ‘thank you, Chief Vick. I was just doing my job, it’s no biggie.’

It was Shawn’s turn to scoff, ‘no biggie? Marley that kid is still alive because of you! I’d be hitting up his parents for a reward, I’m sure they can afford it, doing what they do.’

‘Shawn!’ came Gus’ chastising hiss. While part of him agreed with his friend, it wasn’t the time or way to say it.

‘While I’m sure you didn’t do it for the possibility of a reward,’ Shawn now on the receiving end of one of Chief Vick’s famous reprimanding looks, ‘Mr Spencer is right, it is a big deal and we’re honoured to have you as part of the team.’

With another shy ‘thank you’ and the assurance that Marley was a welcomed addition to the group, the trio made their exit, planning to stop on the way back to the office for a round of drinks to celebrate her first case.

The debrief done, Lassiter left the chief’s office all but storming over to his desk.

‘It was a good thing Marley came along when she did, huh? You know, I had a good feeling about her when we met at the Lawrence house,’ Juliet had followed after him. She ignored his bad mood, being used to it by now.

‘Yeah, she’s a real charmer. Really sold her little modesty act to the chief too.’

‘What do you mean?’ Juliet was honestly confused by his scorn towards her, she thought the woman was sweet. Plus, it would be nice having another woman around, ‘she seems pretty genuine to me.’

‘That’s how they get you, and if it keeps up like this, we’re going to be outnumbered by these consultants, hell, we already are! It was bad enough with just those two idiots, but now it’s 3v2 with them on top!’

‘It’s not us vs them, Lassiter. We’re all on the same side here.’

He waved his partner off, knowing there was no point in trying to get her to see things his way. A lot could be said about Carlton Lassiter, he knew that, he wasn’t ignorant to what others thought of him (though the delusion did win sometimes). But what couldn’t be said about him was that he was easily fooled by a pretty face.

Sure, the woman might have a good head on her shoulders, more sense than the two idiots she works with at least, and from what he could see she was good at presenting herself professionally yet sympathetically while talking to witnesses and the family of the victims. And maybe her laugh did bring to mind the sound of windchimes blowing serenely in the wind, but what was there to laugh about when investigating the deaths of two young men, even if she did prevent the death of a third.

And so what if he couldn't deny that she was an attractive woman, with sweet brown eyes and a smile to match.

He was a professional. And his relationship with her would remain as such.