#he's stepping on byron if that's what you're into

[valhargreeves]

John McBride for @baroness-brod 's birthday 🎂🥳🎉🎈

[dean-winchester-is-a-warrior]

Things Learned and Unlearned Ch. 9

Series Summary: Y/N has spent her life trying to outrun her mother's reputation. When she meets the rich and successful playboy, Dean Winchester, how quickly can he get her to stop running?

Pairings/Characters: Dean Winchester x Y/N, Sam Winchester, Jessica Winchester, Lucy Winchester (OC)

Warnings: Each chapter will have it's own warnings, but there will be smut, seduction, virgin!reader, playboy!dean, Edwardian era BS attitudes surrounding sex and women. (Technically it's set in 1900 and the Edwardian era started in 1901, but you get it.) Angst, Fluff, all the good stuff that regularly pops up in my series. 😁

Chapter Warnings: Nothing major, brief oral (f. receiving)

Word Count: 4,208

A/N: Here's Ch. 9. I so appreciate all the love and support you're all giving this series. Hope you enjoy the latest installment. ❤️

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As Dean walked up the winding garden path towards Y/N’s hotel suite, he felt his long day start to fall away from him. His meeting at lunch had not gone well. 

He was attempting to put together a multi-layered deal between Winchester Shipping and Lumber, The Northern Rail and Freight Company, and Clearwater Pulp and Paper Mill in Maine. Ideally, if it worked, all three companies would benefit from a combination of lowered costs and guaranteed contracts. 

His lunch meeting had been with the vice president of Northern Rail and Freight, Byron Temple. Temple wouldn’t budge on the overinflated prices they wanted from Winchester Lumber for transporting their lumber from North Carolina up to Maine. 

Dean was trying to make it work, but Temple’s attitude and arrogance made Dean want to punch the guy in the mouth twice in the span of a single, hour and a half long meeting - didn't really bode well for a business partner. He was hoping the president and the board of the company would be more reasonable and less mulish.

But as he approached the garden doors, the anticipation of an evening with Y/N pushed the terrible meeting out of his mind. He opened the doors wide and walked through, only to pull up short as Y/N called to him from the bathroom across the suite.

“Dean? Close your eyes!”

Dean frowned and smiled at the same time. “What?” He asked with a chuckle.

“Please?”

He gave an indulgent sigh, and shut his eyes, covering them with his hand.  “Alright. They're closed.”

He could hear the rustling of fabric and realized she must be wearing one of her new dresses. It made his smile deepen to know she was so excited to show it to him that she had him closing his eyes like a child at a birthday party.

The rustling settled and he heard her take in a big breath. 

“Alright, you can open them.” She said quietly.

He dropped his hand and opened his eyes slowly. His indulgent smile dropped away too, and he was left staring, dumbfounded.

The dress she wore was a deep, sapphire blue, silk taffeta. There were tucks and ruffles all over, and all he could think was that she looked like a confection, like something sweet and iced, and delicious. 

And though he didn't know very much about women's changing fashions, he could also see that the dress was stylish without being gaudy. It was draped perfectly on her naturally rounded curves, accentuating her soft figure. The dress enhanced her stunning beauty rather than overpowering it. 

Lowen really did do extraordinary work. 

He stared wordlessly, and his frown seemed to worry Y/N. She looked down at herself and smoothed her hand down the skirt of her dress.

“What's wrong?” She asked, turning slightly, clearly trying to work out the reason for his frown. 

Dean felt bad, and smiled, shaking his head. “No, I'm sorry, sweetheart. Nothing's wrong. You're perfect.” 

He took two strides forward to reach her, gripping her elbows and pulling her close. He lifted her chin with his knuckle and shook his head in wonder.

“You are never anything less than stunning, no matter what you're wearing, but…” 

He stepped back an inch so he could study her from head to toe before cupping her cheek and pulling her back into the circle of his arms. 

“But,” he continued, “you were made to be covered in satin and lace.”

He dropped his lips to hers, slotting his mouth against her and pulling a wholly satisfying whimper from her throat.

She breathed rapidly, shaking her head, as he broke the kiss. “I don't know if anyone was ‘made for satin and lace’, but the dress is very beautiful. So, thank you.“

He nuzzled his nose just behind her ear. “Mmm…” He moaned softly at the scent of jasmine and roses that hit him. His hands dropped to her waist and he pulled her tight against him, slightly crushing the taffeta of her skirt against his legs. 

He rested his forehead on hers. “So, how badly do you want to go out this evening? I could just pull this beautiful dress off of you again and we could stay in.” He said, low and gruff.

Y/N giggled lightly, but shook her head and stepped out of his grasp making him moan again.

“Uh uh.” She said, wagging her finger at him. “I was promised a tour of New York, and Janet, our poor maid, spent almost an hour getting me into this dress and forcing my hair to look like this.”

She patted her hair, piled high with loops and curls. She nodded her head towards the plush green chair in the corner. “Had to be done just right so that I could properly wear that hat.”

Dean turned to see a truly enormous hat sitting on the cushion of the chair. Y/N picked it up and moved to the big wardrobe that stood in the corner of the room. Looking in the mirror, she began to position the hat on her head. 

She had two long hat pins that she used to stab the hat into place. It looked like it was made of silk, with a fairly flat crown and a very wide brim. Both the crown and the brim were weighed down with big blue and green flowers and the whole hat was shot through with dark blue ribbon.

Y/N adjusted and readjusted the hat on her head before dropping her arms and snickering at the reflection that showed her drowning in the monstrosity.

She turned back to face Dean and held her hands up to frame her face. Her grin was wide, and an answering smile quickly spread across his face. 

“What do you think?” She asked with laughter.

Dean shook his head. “I think Lowen is an excellent dressmaker, but he needs to hire a new milliner.”

She chuckled and reached up to take out the pins that held the hat in place, pulling it off her head. 

She looked forlornly at the pathetic thing. “What should I do? I have two other hats, but they're just as bad.”

Dean grabbed the thing from her hand and tossed it over his shoulder. 

“Oops, it blew away in the wind.”

Y/N’s laughter was rich and bright and Dean felt it in his whole body, like stepping into a patch of sunshine.

He lifted her pretty, creamy white, wool coat from the coat stand by the door, and helped her slip her arms into it before lifting it over her shoulders.

Y/N pulled on her gloves, and hooked her elbow around his arm. She threw him another bright smile. 

“Alright, good sir. Lead the way to New York City.”

***

Y/N was having the time of her life. New York bustled and moved at a surprising pace, even in the late afternoon and into the evening.

For the first little while they simply walked up and down the busy sidewalks. Dean pointed out the store windows that were decorated for Christmas, and Y/N stopped to ooh and ahh over all of them.

Eventually they made their way to Pell Street for supper. As they stood outside the restaurant, Dean gave her an impish smile. 

“So, I thought we could have Chinese food for dinner. I'm gonna guess you've never eaten it?”

Y/N's eyes grew large and she shook her head. “No, never.”

Dean held out his hand and pushed open the door. “Then it's an adventure.”

Y/N's head was on a swivel as they entered the warm space. Everything was decorated in gorgeous hues of red and gold, except for a large painting of a slinky green dragon adorning the far wall. On the other walls, hung beautifully framed pictures of strange, but intriguing shapes made from thick black ink.

Dean led them to a table in the corner and a young woman appeared beside the table almost instantly. 

Her smile was warm as she gave a slight bow. Then she lifted her hand to indicate the menu that hung on the wall above a long counter. 

“Please take your time to tell me what you would like.” Her voice was soft and her accent was one Y/N’d never heard before. It was lovely.

Y/N read over the menu and then smiled shyly, confessing to the woman. “I'm sorry, I'm not sure what to order.” 

The young woman smiled back and gave another small bow. “Of course, Miss. I can please suggest the Chop Suey. Many Americans order this and enjoy.”

Y/N nodded, having no idea what that was, but she was on an adventure; she should be adventurous.

“Yes, thank you. That sounds wonderful.”

With a nod to Y/N their waitress turned her attention to Dean. He didn't bother to look at the menu when he ordered. 

“I'll have the Char siu on rice, please. And a bottle of Baijiu for the table.”

The young woman gave another bow and left their table. 

Y/N looked at Dean and shook her head. “You've been here before.”

Dean nodded. “A few times. The food is incredible, just wait.”

The girl was quickly back at their table with a brown crockery bottle and two small glasses.

Dean poured a small amount of the clear liquid into the bottom of the glasses and raised his for Y/N to clink against. 

“To adventure.” He said with a wink. 

“Adventure.” Y/N agreed. Before she could drink, though, Dean held out a hand towards her. 

“Small sips. It's strong.”

Y/N was incredibly grateful for his warning when her itty-bitty sip still left her lips tingling and her throat burning.

The food came quickly and it was every bit as delicious as Dean had promised. The flavors were quite different from what she knew, but the blend of vegetables and spices was incredibly satisfying.

After dinner, they walked some more, looking around Chinatown for a little while before Dean hailed them a hansom cab back to 15th Street. 

They got out of the cab in front of a massive five story building made out of beige stone. Ornate moldings and sculptures framed dozens of windows. 

On the ground floor, the windows held displays of shining, sparkling jewelry along with gold and silver housewares, like large platters, goblets, place settings, and other very expensive accouterments. 

Above the main doors, gold painted letters declared the name of their destination.

Tiffany & Co.

Y/N walked ahead of Dean through the front doors and her jaw dropped. The space was wide and open. Large display cases housed countless shelves filled with more glittering, shining things. Everywhere she looked was another priceless piece of handcrafted silver and gold, household decorations as well as fine porcelain and sets of china.

As they walked further into the room, Y/N could see the smaller, glass and cherrywood counters, displaying rows and rows of stunningly beautiful pieces of jewelry. 

Emeralds, sapphires, rubies, opals, pearls, onyx and jade shone from every corner of the room. But more than anything else, there were diamonds. Large, small, rose cut, square cut, French cut, pear-shaped - the diamonds seemed never-ending. 

Y/N snapped her jaw shut as a slim man in a finely tailored suit approached them and gave a practiced smile. 

“Good evening, sir. Can I help you?” 

Dean nodded. “Yes, thank you. I realize you're closing up shop soon, so we'll be brief.” He lifted a hand slightly, indicating Y/N. “I'm looking for something more to adorn this already beautiful lady with.”

The salesman nodded briskly. “And what are we hoping to adorn today? Neck, fingers, wrists, ears?”

Dean looked down at Y/N. “What do you think, sweetheart? Maybe a bracelet?”

But Y/N was shaking her head. “Dean, you can't buy me something from here.” She whispered quietly.

Dean raised an eyebrow and then turned back to the salesman. “Would you give us a moment, please?”

“Of course.” He said and moved off to busy himself elsewhere.

Dean looked back at her, but before he could even ask the question, Y/N was answering him. 

“Because everything here looks like it costs a small fortune!” She swept a hand around the room. “It's too much.” She finished in a small voice.

Dean shook his head. “Do you see anything you like?” 

Y/N gave him a look that said he was being ridiculous. “That is not the point.”

Dean shrugged. “Actually, it is the only point. So, a bracelet?” 

When she didn't immediately object again, Dean called the employee back over.

“So, I do think we'll go with a bracelet.”

For the next thirty minutes they went through countless pieces. Y/N liked them all and couldn't make a decision, mostly because they all seemed far too extravagant to sit on her wrist.

But finally, not wanting to annoy or bother the salesman any longer, (though he was the picture of professional politeness) she chose a double strand diamond bracelet with a fairly large, teardrop ruby in the center. 

They took her wrist measurement and got a sale slip ready.

“Do you have an account with us, sir?” The salesman asked. 

“Yes.” Dean said with a nod. “Winchester.”

A light of recognition entered the young man's eyes and he smiled broadly. “Oh, yes, Mr. Winchester. I haven't had the pleasure of serving you, yet, but we're so happy to have your business once again.”

Dean nodded. “Of course.”

He passed Dean the slip to sign. “The bracelet will be sized and ready tomorrow. Where would you like it sent?”

Dean signed his swooping signature. “The invoice can be sent to my residence on Riverside. But the bracelet should be delivered to The Rialto on Devlin. Room 17.”

“Very good, sir.” The employee said as he gave a final smile which Dean acknowledged with a nod. 

“Thank you.”

As they left the lavish store, Y/N's thoughts were very crowded in her mind.

I shouldn't have let him do that. What's going to happen if I don't stay? They didn't even say a price. I have no idea how much that bracelet cost. Why did they recognize Dean's name so quickly? Exactly how often is he buying women expensive jewelry?

Her thoughts were swirling like the soft snow that had started to fall. 

Dean tucked her hand into his elbow and hailed another hack. “I have one more adventure to take you on before we head home. Think you can manage it?”

His smile was warm, and Y/N shoved the thoughts aside. Yes, adventure, boldness. That's what these two weeks were supposed to be about. Not worried thoughts and a racing mind. 

She shot him a grin. “Absolutely.”

***

“Skating?” Y/N asked before biting her lip.

Dean raised his finger. “Not just skating, skating in Central Park.” He pulled her towards the wide expanse of ice. 

He frowned. “Wait. You do know how to skate, right?”

Y/N shrugged delicately. “ A little. Not well. I haven't skated since I was a little girl.”

Dean gave her a wink. “Well, don't worry. I won't let you fall.”

He brought her over to a bench before walking off, calling back to her. “Wait here.”

He returned minutes later with two pairs of rented skates. Sinking to one knee in the snow, Dean lifted Y/N's foot, unlacing her boot and pulling it off before replacing it with her skate.

Y/N blushed, hoping her cheeks would just look rosy from the cold. There was something very intimate about Dean brushing his fingers over her leg and ankle, letting her feel their warmth through her very thin stockings. It felt especially intimate in this very public setting. 

As always, of course, Dean noticed her reaction. He smiled at the way her breath hitched and she knew he was trailing his fingers down her calf so slowly, on purpose. 

She squinted at him, accusing, but he just grinned and quickly laced her skate. 

When they were both in their skates Dean stood up and took her hands as they stepped onto the ice. He held both of them, skating backwards as she tottered forward like a deer on new legs.

“Wonderful! You're a natural!” Dean teased as she gripped his fingers in a vice-like grip.

“Ha. Ha.” She said in humorless tones, though a smile curved her lips. Several times she nearly crashed to the ground, but Dean saved her every time. 

She watched the other skaters enviously as they looped around them, gliding like graceful fairies with wings. But Dean pulled her focus back to him. 

“Don't pay attention to them. You're improving every minute.” 

That was a little bit true, the longer she was on the ice, the more steady she became, but she was still far from graceful. The two of them skated shakily for a little while, Dean spinning her around a few times, making her laugh dizzily. 

As she slipped towards the ground for the fourth or fifth time, Dean caught her and lifted her a foot off of the ice, turning her into another dizzying circle, forcing a slightly undignified squeal from her throat. They ended the spin with her clutching his arms, as they wrapped around her waist, both of them laughing happily.

“Winchester!” 

Dean's attention was caught and he looked up, searching for the person who'd called him. 

About twenty feet ahead, Y/N noticed a plump man, a bit older than Dean, waving at him. She heard Dean's slight groan even as he lifted his hand in greeting and smiled unenthusiastically at him.

He spoke out of the side of his mouth to Y/N as he straightened up and tucked her arm modestly in his elbow. 

“I'm so sorry. This could get very boring.”

The man approached them and Y/N could see he wasn't a lot more steady on his feet than she was. She wondered if Dean could catch them both if they fell. 

“Winchester, funny seeing you here, of all places.”

Dean nodded and smiled much more convincingly than before. 

“Bradford. Good to see you. What brings you out to the park this evening?”

Dean probably regretted asking the question when Bradford launched into a speech detailing his complete medical history. He talked non-stop for nearly ten minutes about his health over the last several months, including the fact that his doctor had prescribed him daily exercise.

He patted his rotund stomach. “Doctor Shefford says, best thing I could do would be to lose a pound or two. Or ten!” He said, chuckling happily at his own joke. 

Dean smiled indulgently and that was when Bradford seemed to realize there was another person there, his gaze landing on Y/N with happy surprise. 

“Oh, and might I enquire as to the name of your lovely companion?”

Y/N smiled at Bradford, liking the odd man in spite of herself.

“Yes, of course.” Dean said with a nod. “This is a friend of mine from out of town, Miss - Taylor.” 

Dean stumbled ever so slightly on the false name. Bradford didn't seem to notice the hesitation at all as he tipped his small bowler hat slightly. 

“A pleasure, Miss Taylor. I do hope you're enjoying your stay in New York.”

Y/N smiled pleasantly, trying not to dwell on the name. “Thank you, sir. Yes, I am very much.”

Dean seized upon the opportunity. “Though, I daresay the day's excursion is beginning to wear on you, is it not?” He looked back at Bradford. “If you'll excuse me, Bradford, I must escort Miss Taylor back to her hotel.”

Y/N sold the excuse with a delicate yawn behind her fingers. “Yes, please forgive me. It was so nice meeting you.”

Bradford waved away her worry. “Oh, of course. Nothing like some bracing exercise to tire one out. My doctor's told me so.” He reiterated.

“Yes, very true." Dean nodded. "Sound advice. Take care, Bradford. And Merry Christmas.”

“Yes, Merry Christmas!” Bradford shouted as Dean pushed Y/N forward on her skates, practically carrying her across the ice.

When they got to the bench again, Dean looked back to see Bradford skating away, hands behind his back as he glided off, a little shaky.

“He seems nice.” Y/N commented. “How do you know him?”

Dean shrugged. “We just belong to the same club. He is nice enough. But I can only take him in short intervals. He inherited his father's money a long time ago and I think he's just very bored.” He tossed her a smile. “If you really wanna keep skating, we could wait a few minutes and see if he's gotten his fill of exercise.”

Y/N shook her head, her smile soft. “No, it has been quite the excursion, we should probably head home. Or back…to the hotel, I mean.”

Dean just nodded and made quick work of divesting them of their skates and then leading them the short distance out of the park. He hailed them a final cab for the night and helped Y/N into the seat.

They rode quietly for a while, and Y/N couldn't pinpoint why she felt off. It had been an amazing evening, she should feel content and happy.

After a few minutes, Dean leaned close to her and spoke quietly. “Sorry, about the…uh, Miss Taylor. I wasn't sure…” He cleared his throat. “I mean I know nothing is…nothing is determined yet about your future. So, I wasn't sure if you'd want to use your real name. Or…but, I should have asked earlier.”

In reality, she was just a girl using a fake name to hide her shame, sitting beside a man who’d done all of this countless times before.

Y/N shrugged but admitted to herself that the clandestine nature of the fake name was what was throwing her a little. But It was also the expensive bracelet from a jewelry store that knew Dean by name from his many former visits.

Both things were sharp reminders that her happy little picture of domesticity with Dean was just a fabrication. 

But she didn't want to examine these things. She wanted to pretend they weren't true. So, she tried to push the thoughts away and shook her head. 

“No, that was smart. Quick thinking. It seems very unlikely that, if I…if I go home in ten days, that anyone from this life will have cause to seek me out, or to inquire about the name of your brother's governess. But all the same, it's probably best if they don't know my real name.”

Dean nodded and silence descended again for several blocks. Y/N kept trying to ignore the troublesome thoughts churning in her mind, but they were starting to make her stomach hurt. Finally, she looked up at Dean. 

“Kiss me.” She demanded in a very small voice.

Dean didn't wait to be asked twice, pulling her against him, and then sinking deeper into the shadowed recesses of the jostling carriage. 

He kissed her hard and deep, like he was stamping her, branding her with the scorching heat of his mouth. She whimpered and he swallowed it down whole, sucking on her tongue and consuming every moan he created. 

His hands roamed over her, undoing the buttons on her coat to slip his hands inside. But he growled slightly as he met the barrier of her satin taffeta.

“You are wearing entirely too many clothes!” 

Y/N gasped out her laughter just as the driver called to them. 

“The Rialto.”

They sat up and Y/N tried to rebutton her coat and fix her slightly disheveled hair.

Thank god for a private entrance, she thought.

Dean paid the driver and then lifted her to the ground, pushing her forward even quicker than he had on the ice. 

She was giggling and panting all the way down the garden path and through the French doors into her suite. With the doors barely closed, Dean immediately began littering her room with her strewn clothing, pulling it frantically from her body while she puffed out stern warnings not to destroy her brand new dress.

When he finally had her naked, he dropped to his knees in front of her, fully dressed, coat still buttoned; he didn't even pause to remove his leather gloves. 

He simply pushed her thighs open and immediately began to feast on her. Almost instinctively, she lifted her leg over his shoulder; the fine, soft wool of his coat was smooth and sensual against the back of her leg.

A long time later they laid side-by-side on the floor, with Dean finally naked too. He'd simply yanked down the thick blanket from the bed to cover them. Y/N laid her cheek against his warm chest and sighed deeply.

She gripped his hair tightly as he pulled her apart with his mouth. When her legs got too weak to hold her up, he simply lowered her to the floor and continued.

Y/N's body was cushioned by the plush rug beneath her, but her back ended up slightly rug-burned from twisting and writhing on top of it as she cried out her ecstasy.

She was incredibly appreciative of Dean's ability to force all her churning thoughts and worries into the back of her mind. She squished them into a tiny closet there and left them alone - for the night at least. 

Jensen RPF and Any/All Characters:

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[magalidragon]

cruel summer | a smutty Jonerys summer fic 🍋 👗

What!? TWO FICS!? Shocking, I tell you, shocking. This should have been a one shot. This should have been porn without plot. But who are we kidding? Second chapter being written as we speak. It's for @snowxstormworld Jonerys Summer Lovin' '24, Day 5: Sundresses, prompt. Enjoy!

She exhaled slowly through her nostrils, eyes fluttering shut, and sinking into the pillows beneath her. "Perfect," she murmured to herself. It was just perfect. Except when she opened her eyes, she had a prime view of Jon Snow in his room. A scowl formed; maybe this wouldn't be a nice as she wanted it to be. She cocked her head, watching him as he moved. He didn't notice her, or if he had, he didn't care. He had unbuttoned his shirt and the edges were flapping around at his hips, but he hadn't turned yet for her to see what he was packing underneath. He was thin, but she'd never gotten the idea that he was bony. He turned slightly and she let out a tiny gasp, unable to stop herself. Her book flew up to cover her mouth, hoping he hadn't heard. Thank gods, he hadn't. He kept tossing things out of his duffel onto the bed. Fuck. Jon Snow was hot. Of course she knew he was attractive; he had that face that women dropped their panties for, all angular and sad looking, like they could save his poor tortured Byronic soul. Until they found out what a fucking asshole he happened to be. But he was jacked. Not in a bulky way, but he was sporting a six pack, defined muscles across his pecs and since his jeans were low, he had that cut 'v' that drove her insane. She wondered what was beneath. No, no you don't, she berated herself, growling. You are not getting the hots for Jon Snow of all people. She stole another look over the top of her book, watching him fiddling with his camera. The messenger bag he carried all his various photography equipment in was battered, but he took out each piece and examined it thoughtfully, before carefully replacing them in cases and padding. Then he began to skim through the back of the camera itself, frowning and idly studying whatever appeared. He eventually shrugged off his shirt, which showed her the expanse of his back, muscles continuing to ripple as he threw on a t-shirt. She thought she saw some scars on his stomach, but she didn't look too long, because after a moment, his back still to her, she heard his voice call out, amused: "Are you done staring at me Daenerys?" She yelped, bouncing to her feet and storming to his open door in a huff. "Excuse me!" Her cheeks flamed, mortified. "I was not staring!" "Sure looked like it." He smiled, his gray eyes sparkling. "Knew you couldn't help yourself." "You're clearly deranged. You were the one stripping in full public view." "I changed my shirt. You were ogling." "Shut up!" Stupid comeback, but she was ogling and she was horrified he'd caught her. She rose on her tippy-toes and poked at his chest. "Close your windows if you don't want everyone looking at you." "I'll be sure to keep my door locked, lest you find your way in here because you can't help yourself." "You're infuriating!" "What are you even wearing?" he blurted out suddenly, stepping backwards and taking a sweeping look over her sundress. He scowled. "Is that some puritanical undergarment?" "It's a sundress!" 

[townofcadence]

When it comes to your muses, who does Artair get along best with vs the worst with? Who inspires him vs who scares him? Is there anyone in your list he doesn't know, but if they met, they'd get along?

OOH Okay!!

So of my muses, Artair gets along really well with Byron (though that's his uncle/guardian so that ones feels like a given lol) Jace, Saffron, and Axel, probably. Jace and Artair have a lot of overlap in personality, and they actually knew each other in highshool, Jace was just a year behind Artair (Artair graduated a year late after losing his parents and being sent to his grandparents and the whole horrible mess that was). Artair has always been enamored with Jace's artistry and actually had Jace do a few tattoos for him, and even design the protective rune on his arm. Jace has always looked up to him due to his experience and knowledge of the supernatural, since Jace wanted to be a paranormal investigator as well. Saffron has always been soft and Artair can be very gentle, so they have a pleasant rapport, and Axel and Artair met in a queer meetgroup he attended with Jace and ended up becoming good friends because they also share a lot in common.

Opal would be pretty up there too, to the point she trusts him with artifact retrieval her boss tasks from her to delegate. But they got off on the wrong foot when someone's introduction of Artair was the worst anyone's ever done it. Still, on meeting him she realized something was off and they talked it through, and she knew the info she got was.... pretty misleading. So she trusted in him and now they're on the same team. But they're not as close yet.

I would say Eevie, Elias, and Prince, but they're ex-friends in a way that's hard to come back from :'p

Artair I would say gets along worst with Error, and then Richard, Resonance, and Weaver especially. Error is complicated, in that he's an alternate reality version of his best friend. But Error is a ghost that came back with all the betrayal and hatred that Elias once had for him tying him to the mortal plane via anchor. So where Elias overcame that through shattering his own anchor, Error hasn't yet. It's kind of a one sided hate relationship instead. But it's also good at times? It's hard when Error's anchor is what it is, to get away from the feelings he manifested with.

The other three are genuinely enemies, though. Richard eats people and is cruel and essentially traumatizes people for his amusement. Weaver steals humans away that step into the fae rings, and makes contracts with them under manipulative circumstances, and steals their faces to wear over his own, leaving them expendable handymen at his circus (and Weaver hates Artair because Artair gave himself to weaver in a deal to save his friend, Steph, and then loophole-ed his way out. Weaver felt very slighted and has intentions for revenge, or returning him to his faire somehow). Resonance is the entity that possessed Artair and forced him to murder Elias. Resonance wouldn't mind taking his body for another joyride or killing him, and Artair fucking hates him lol.

His inspiration would definitely be his friends, including some like Caelan, Bee, Dante, and Echo! And also his uncle who raised him lol. While the ones who might scare him sometimes might be Caelan and Opal, and the other less than friendly muses above lol.

A lot of the list he's yet too meet, but I could see him geting along with most of the list because he's an easy to get along with muse, where you have to prove you're truly heinous to people he cares about or people in general to get on his shit list. Mack, Alyx, Atlas, Fox, Io, Micah, Dr. Connor, Caleb, Ethan... pretty much everyone could be his friend if they met, he really just... loves people and how different they can be. Even the more 'hostile' muses like Mack or Kingbreaker don't phase him-- he knows under the guise of a lot of people who respond with aggression first is a person twisted and hurt by life and people and grief. He'll put up with them aiming their anger and hurt at him and be patient with them, because sometimes those people just need someone stubborn and patient enough who won't just leave them because it's easier. And often, he gets to see a side of them few others do and really connect, because he cares about them enough to try.

[faerywhimsy]

Okay imma quickly just break my Tumblr hiatus for this one thing.

Here is a picture of my very old, very well worn 1999 copy of the first Vampire Diaries novel, first published in 1991. Once you open the book and start reading, you're going to realise very quickly that one of the main characters (slash love interests) is able to shape change into a crow, the feathers of which are surrounding our pretty, blonde heroine's features.

Why am I randomly posting this now, in the year of Our Lord 2023, you ask?

I am posting it because of this promo image for AMC 2024 IwtV, which I now place side by side the previous cover:

The, uh, the compositions are pretty close to being the same, are they not?

And what did it bring to mind when I first saw this promo material? Well, it's interesting, because I started looking at this in mind of Louis who, while being shown in other materials as being the typical noir heroine in the face of the danger Armand poses.

No sign of that danger here. Louis looks straight up like the man of the house, in charge of his dwindling family.

But Armand's not there in this promo material. Or is he?

I point your attention again to the Vampire Diaries cover, and the crow that signifies Damon Salvatore, definitely the Byronic-hero of the piece, and I don't care how much they salvaged him for TV.

And now look at the red theatre curtain on the left. Just as Elena is portrayed as the heroine being covered (consumed?) by the crow that signifies Damon, Lestat has something similar going on with the theatre curtain signifying Armand through his Theatre des Vampires.

They're softening Lestat, people.

They are preparing the viewers to forget EP5 in order to make way for a new villain: the utter monstrousness of Armand going psycho in mid-century Paris.

Yeah, you guys better strap in and be ready for not seeing what Armand really is until after you've stepped into this elevator. By then, it's gonna be well too late.

[lostonehero]

What remains after eternity

Aftermath

Trevor frowns, staring at the vial of dark red, nearly black blood. He knows for the fact that all the progress they had was erased. He couldn't tell how long it'd been, but that didn't really matter. He can make a few observations, Lyf regrew and cuts off his wings multiple times to have food to share. Marius has finished his heat transformation, and his new parts and abilities seem purposely dormant due to the starvation and virus. He glanced over to the pair of sleeping twins who hadn't moved. He doesn't envy them.

"Trevor." Janet's voice makes him turn to face her. "So?"

"I barely started." Trevor sighs. "It's not good, Raphaella started the ivs, and the broth is being kept warm." He puts down the vial of Marius's blood. "I've got samples from his spinal fluid, blood, and marrow. The progress that has been made is completely wiped out. We're back at square one. I hate to say this, but I welcome the challenge. I know it's not a game. I just..."

"Treat it like you would of before." Janet gently headbutts Trevor. "They need you to be at your best for this. You should also be nice to his metal arm. Remember it's sentient."

"I almost forgot about that." Trevor smiles softly. "Alright, I need to do some tests. Do you mind keeping watch while I bring my samples to Raph's lab?"

"Why do you think I'm here?" Janet chuckles. "Aurora has my back to alarm for you."

"I do!" Aurora chirps. "I have also informed Nastya who was the first to find Marius. As per the twins' request, only the ones inside myself have been informed besisdes Nastya. Raphaella and Misery are waiting for you, Trevor."

"Thank you, Aurora." Trevor collects his samples and heads off.

Janet hums when he is out of earshot. "Aurora, be ready for whatever comes next."

"I always am." Aurora clicks.

.....

"If you keep asking me what I think I'm going to light you on fire and see if your ashes works which I know won't." Trevor growls.

Jonny clears his throat. "Want to repeat that?"

Trevor gasps, stumbling off his step stool. "Dad! I uh..."

Jonny laughs. "Still my baby boy." He smiles softly. "Get up and tell me what you've figured out. I know I ain't the best with this science shit, but Janet asked me to check up on you."

"It's not good." Trevor sighs as Jonny takes a seat on the exam table. "Whatever progress they had was wiped out for Marius, er Byron? I don't know what to refer to him as since he isn't lucid or has woken up. Anyway, it seems that without the updates from Raph or Misery, the virus mutated and took over again. At this point, I wouldn't suggest curing it.... I mean, well, the best thing to do would be to work backward kind of." He hops up next to his dad to sit. "There isn't getting rid of this virus. If I could engineer it to basically fuse to his very DNA, there could be a chance that it would change him, but he would finally be whole again. I just don't want to do anything drastic like that without consent. I mean, I would have before, but he's like family now, and I know he can't answer for himself...."

Jonny rubs his son's back. "Relax Trevor, you can ask his mate, or even his daughters." He pauses as Trevor leans on him. "Just explain it to them and give them the risks and how it would work."

"Are you sure you're ok with this, with me?" Trevor frowns. "I've done so much awful. I hurt so many people in the name of my own selfish need. I just... I feel like you shouldn't be ok with this."

Jonny snickers. "Trevor, I ain't no saint either. I've killed for less. I've hurt others for even less than that. I'm a terrible person, and honestly, I can't say I regret my actions." He sighs and gives his son a half hug. "You have a moral compass that I had beaten out of me. I'm proud of you regardless of what horrors you committed. You hesitate, and I wish I could say I could do the same."

"Thank you." Trevor pulls his dad into a tight hug.

Jonny can feel a wet spot where his son is crying. "Come on, we should check on them."

"Aurora?" Trevor mumbles in his dad's chest.

"Yes?" Aurora chirps.

"You're a little shit." Jonny can feel his son shake in a silent laugh.

"Is Lyf awake yet?" Trevor continues to cling.

Aurora chuckles. "That is quite adorable."

"Fuck off." Trevor mumbles.

"Alright, alright." Jonny pats his son's back. "Is the space cop up yet?"

"Lyf has woken up for a brief moment of panic but fell asleep as soon as he saw his twins. The twins are currently trying to wake him to eat some broth, but they are unsuccessful, so they are currently lying on either side of Lyf. I think they are playing 20 questions with Janet." Aurora chirps. "Nastya has managed to wake Marius to feed him some broth, but he is not lucid in the slightest."

Trevor pulls away, rubbing his eyes. "I'm not surprised. The damage on Lyf's body is self-inflicted. He cut off his own limbs, mostly his wings to feed the both of them. With the rest and iv, his body is probably in shock, adjusting to not being in survival mode. Similar occurrences have happened when Thomas and Laz have been trapped in places. Laz sacrifices himself to keep Thomas alive." He scratches his neck. "Tink used to be a scholar before they went mad. They may have done something similar. Aiden is made of stone he can't accomplish that. Izzy has mentioned something similar, but I've never observed it. What I mean to say they are all different species, but they're all acolyte, so with what I have observed, it should take approximately a week for Lyf to be fully recovered unless Yog Sogoth gets involved. Well, he will still look starved, but he will be mentally and physically healed." He hops off the table.

Jonny smiles proud of his son. "Well, that means you have time. You can discuss the options with the twins to start with."

Aurora hums softly. "Raphaella would also like to look at the samples now."

Trevor sighs. "Fine, fine." He waves Aurora off. "Can you come with me to check on them?"

Jonny nods and hops off the table. "Of course I can."

.......

"Aren't you two spending time with your respective husbands?" Aurora chirps spotting Thomas and Mae.

Mae rolls her eyes. "Laz, Charlie, and the fledgling god have been talking for hours at this point, and I'm bored listening about human things. They're allowed to catch up, but fuck I don't care in the slightest about their history. I don't even know what the fuck they're talking about." She throws her hands up. "Like what the fuck is a ice box? Why are they're churches so fucking lame? How the fuck did they accomplish anything? Like I wanted to hear about the war, but all of it is stupid god bullshit. If I wanted that, I would bother Nexus or Scratch."

"Please don't." Thomas sighs. "Human culture and history isn't excatly something either of us are interested in. That kind of stuff is Janet's thing. I love Laz, but we'll he also gets fucking bored when we talk New Texas." He cracks his back. "Besides, I want to play chess, and Trevor is the best at it, and I want a challenge."

"I ain't a fan of chess, but I do have to ask dad when Izzy and the others came by and why Izzy and Grams are doing the horizontal tango." Mae blinks as Thomas stares at her.

"What the fuck did you even say?" Thomas stares at his twin.

"Grams is fucking Izzy. From what Pa said, because I actually saw him out as far as he could go away from Grams. They've been at it for like six hours at this point. Also, Pa is a hologram brain in the machine thing. Why does he have a limp?" Mae crossed her arms. "Also, Carmillia was nailed to a cactus."

"I clearly went a different route than you did." Thomas shakes his head. "Does Pa look pathetic?"

"He looked confused." Mae shrugs. "Anyway, Aurora, do you know what happened?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about." Aurora pauses. "I can ask your father."

"Nah, I'll find him." Mae hums softly. "Besides, I heard there's newbies here."

"I wouldn't call them newbies they're technically older than us." Thomas sighs. "Well, that's what Laz says."

"Unfortunately, he's normally right." Mae huffs. "Hopefully, Alex is lingering around somewhere here. I'm so bored I may even play a hand of cards with them."

Thomas snickers.

"Oh fuck off. You suck at cards it's not even fun winning against you." Mae headbutts her brother from the side.

Thomas headbutts back and then gasps. "I WAS FUCKING RIGHT!" He points spotting Trevor who freezes like a deer in headlights.

Mae growls, letting off a string of curses, making Aurora squeak out in surprise. She pulls out something from her pocket and growls louder, shoving it at Thomas. It was an old, worn doll looking closer at it. "Fuck you Trevor." She headbutts Trevor hard enough he falls on his ass.

Trevor blinks incredibly confused. "Um.... What did I do?"

"You helped me win an old bet." Thomas chuckles softly, holding up his prize that Trevor recognized immediately.

"Ok how the fuck did you convince Mae to bet that first, Secondly what bet?" Trevor huffs as Thomas helps him to his feet.

"I knew you became a mad scientist, Mae didn't believe me, and so we made a bet ages ago." Thomas sighs. "I will probably give this back to her, though. It ain't right keeping it knowing how much it means to her."

"You brats kept that thing?" Jonny interrupts startling the two. He plucks it from his eldest and hums. "Where's yours?"

"Technically, that is Thomas's." Trevor rubs his arm. "He gave it to Mae after a nasty encounter with raiders that burned it to break her. It didn't go as they planned."

Jonny had a slight blush on his cheeks. "Fucking if you want a new one I can just make another one." He looks away. "Why are you two back?"

"You would make us another one?" Thomas swallows. "I uh... well, of course we're too old for it, so you don't have to."

"Shut the fuck up." Jonny rolls his eyes. "You're getting new ones. That means you too, Mae. Get the fuck out of the vents."

Mae hops out of a vent landing next to her dad.

"How the fuck do you keep doing that?" Aurora chirps.

"It's just climbing." Mae rolls her eyes. "Why go all mad science now?"

"It's a bit complicated." Trevor frowns.

Jonny sighs. "You're the only two not here for what happened. It's only been 12 hours, give or take. Marius and Lyf have returned in worse shape. The gods took them and sent them back, and none of us knew how long it's been for them. They're starved, and Marius's virus has completely taken over again somehow, even worse than before. None of it is good, and the twins requested we don't tell anyone until they return to Aurora."

"Oh." Mae crossed her arms. "What do you need me to do?"

Trevor lights up slightly, pulling out a list. "I have a request for supplies and ingredients for my work."

Mae snatches it and looks it over with a smirk. "Honestly, Trevor, I expected something more insane. Yeah, I'll grab this shit. You're going to integrate this virus into his DNA to have his body adapt and change so he won't be sick. That's clever."

Trevor stares at Mae mouth agape. "How the fuck...?"

Mae winks. "I'll handle it." She grabs the small cloth doll from Thomas. "I'll be back in an hour tops."

Thomas shrugs. "Don't look at me! I would have suggested isolating the virus strain and reverse engineering it to become a boost to his system and heal himself from the inside out."

"That's not.... where the... How the fuck do you know that?" Trevor stares at Thomas since Mae is already out of earshot.

Thomas looked uncomfortable. "Let's just not look into why we knew that stuff."

Jonny takes a breath. "Thomas, I'm going to need you to keep the twins away when Trevor looks over Lyf and Marius. They know of your brother and don't trust him in the slightest."

"Sure, I can do that." Thomas nods. "Why are you referring to them as twins? You don't refer to me or Mae as twins."

"They're identical." Jonny pinches his brow. "Impossible to tell them apart. Their names are Freya and Selene, and unlike you and your sister, neither of them are older."

"Ah." Thomas frowns. "You alright with that, Trevor?"

Trevor nods. "Yeah. Just be careful they're more on the xeon side of their lineage and are incredibly toxic like physically."

"It's not like I'll die." Thomas stops. "I'll be careful."

Jonny nods. "You both better be careful."

"Yes, dad." The two say at once.

......

Lyf gasps, and the remains of rainbow static fill his vision. He froze as his vision slowly game back to groans and whimpers of pain. With effort, he sits himself up. Both of his girls were on the floor at either side of his bed. He watched in mute horror as their limbs reformed, and a mark glowed on their backs.

"I warned you two." A male voice sighs.

"Be nice, Trevor. Also, your hair is on fire." Another male voice rings out.

"Fuck not again!"

"W-What?" Lyf's voice was barely a whisper.

Both twins left bloody handprints on the side of Lyf's bed, burning through the blanket.

"We're ok."

"Just give us a second."

"Don't push yourself either of you." Lyf finally looked over to recognize the voice belonged to Thomas. "Just because you've got the mark of Terminus does not mean it's easy no matter how often you test it."

"We know!" Both twins growl at him.

Thomas holds up his hands. "I ain't looking for a fight. Neither of you is in any condition for that either. Give Lyf some space. He's awake."

The twins step back with a stumble holding there quickly, closing wounds.

"N-no." Lyf croaks out.

The other male, who was Trevor? Lyf wasn't certain. "Relax." Trevor helps Lyf to sit up fully. "Take a breath, and please don't pull out your ivs. Janet is currently keeping an eye on Marius as he plays and wanders around." He takes out a thermos and gently feeds Lyf. "Now that you have something in your stomach. Your twins are fine they look to have just finished healing, and they know it was an accident."

Lyf takes a deep breath. "Freya, Selene?"

"Yes!" The two say at once.

Lyf smiles softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"It's not like you could kill us."

"Selene!"

"What? I'm right."

"You don't have to say it."

"Freya, we both know Papa would freak out if we were mortal."

"Girls." Lyf sighs he looks awful and exhausted but relieved. "Girls, that's enough."

"Yes, Papa." Both say at once.

"Before you ask, I'm working on the next steps for Marius." Trevor crossed his arms. "Mae got what I needed about six hours ago. Thomas has been trying to get the twins to eat and sleep in proper beds, which hasn't worked. The next process will be done within the hour if you wish to stay awake for that. I'm taking a different approach, and hopefully, that will be a permanent solution." He looks away. "It's not going to be an easy process, and I will be locking myself in the same room as Marius to see this through."

Lyf looks down at his hands. They were discolored greatly. He knew he looked horrid. He hurt his own children. He balled his fists. "Don't you want to know what happened?" He sounded broken.

"I'm not my father." Thomas frowns with a tisk before Trevor can answer. "I can make my own assumptions, however. It's been ages, and the food was non-existent. You cut off your own wings multiple times just to feed Marius, and you neglected yourself. Your hair isn't evenly cut it was probably burned with an acid like substance, most likely the rain on Xeonia. Even with the adaption from your heat bond, it did not protect you from the harsh reality of the planet. From added context, you arrived on Xeonia before Marius was even born and stayed long after, but before the spread of the virus of the first time. You're paranoid, obviously from losing your children when they were young, younger than we were with our dad. Marius quickly lost lucidity after your kids vanished. He was hiding it from you and them with games and stories."

Lyf sucked in a breath staring at Thomas.

"S-stop!"

"D-Don't."

Thomas narrows his gaze, ignoring the pleads. "It didn't get better. Wars are horrible when you're searching for answers. Even more so when you're trying to keep your own partner nearby. How many times did you reduce him down to his arm to get through? More than you can recall."

Trevor scurries out of the way. They all had these fits dad would call them. They never remember when it started. Only know the story once they finish telling it. It's a curse from their grandfather's side. The gods don't even know what it is. He hates it. He could never purge it from himself.

"A time of peace came and went you almost abandoned Marius as dead weight." Thomas tilted his head. "You locked him in a bunker, didn't you?"

Lyf shakes. "I... I.."

"He wasn't aware. He starved with no one to care for him. I wonder how many times he collapsed from the sheer exhaustion of it all. You dug him out once the rumbles of a new war were coming, and you saw first-hand the true reason why he lies. Why he pretend to play dumb. Why he never talk about his home planet."

"That's enough!"

"Shut up!"

The twins seemed stuck in place as Thomas barely glanced at the two, returning his gaze to Lyf.

"Tell me, was it worth it? Was it worth it to witness the horrors? It wasn't a war. It wasn't a drought, and it wasn't a famine. No virus, no dictator. It's just pure evil throughout the planet. Horrors even the gods couldn't stomach. You couldn't flee. You would leave Marius behind. You could never abandon your mate. A war would have been mercy. A famine would be heaven. A virus would have left to sanctuary. What you witness. What you saw was nothing but pure madness and horror. Tell me, did you enjoy watching Marius's parents get -" Thomas can't continue holding his throat from a clear bullet wound, and the static in the air lifted.

Eyes landed on the figure holding the smoking gun, and the screaming from Thomas as the mark did its job was silent.

"Some stories shouldn't be told." Mae's boots sounded so loud against the metal floor as she slung Thomas over her shoulder. "Janet strapped Marius down for you. Get to it." She watches Trevor basically run out of the room.

"Why?" The twins watch Mae put Thomas in a bed, wrapping him up tight.

"How did he know that?" Lyf swallows.

Mae looks back to Lyf. "It ain't your business."

"The fuck do you mean!"

"You shouldn't know that!"

Mae lights up a cigar and takes a deep breath before walking close to the three. She blows out thick smoke on them. "It ain't your fucking business. You aren't my fucking kin." She growls tail lashing behind her.

The twins growl back.

In an instant, both twin's braids fall to the ground in a bloody heap. Mae tosses her cigar on the mess, causing a fire separating them. "I won't say it again."

"Sallie, stop." Thomas's voice was strained. The wound in his neck was still sluggishly bleeding. He sits himself up. "We all have some version of this. Dad has it the worst. I ain't proud of it, and I'm sorry."

Mae watches the fire die, leaving a sickly sweet smell behind. "Tommy."

"Dad ain't get his storytelling from age." Thomas grimaced, holding his throat.

"What do you mean?"

"Did the gods curse you?"

Mae let's out a hiss. "It ain't the gods."

"Sallie...." Thomas wheezes and swallows. "None of know what it is, and neither do the gods."

"Just drop it." Mae growls.

Thomas gets up and grabs Mae's hand with his bloody hand. "Stop." He takes a breath easier. "Come on, let's just find dad."

Mae nods, holding onto her twin tight.

Lyf waits to speak until they leave. "Girls, I'm sorry I hurt you both."

"It's not your fault."

"We're fine!"

"That's not the point, and you both know that." Lyf sighs. "You both don't have to pretend I know we're basically strangers, but you both are still my babies and... and I just want... I want to be your dad."

"You're already our papa."

"That's all we want."

Lyf smiles softly.

"Besides, we've already seen you at different points in the timeline before us."

"We know you're different, and it doesn't scare us. We're different, too."

"We also know you still can't tell us apart."

"We also know that we love you."

"Alright, push the beds together and lay next to me. You both need to recover. I know your hair is alive. No arguing it's just a flesh wound." Lyf smiles as the beds come together, and he lays back down.

"It is just a flesh wound."

"Our hair already grew back."

"Hush girls." Lyf chuckles.

.......

Jonny glanced up at his twins and returned to his sewing. "Get your bloody hands away from my work, and you can stay."

Mae seemingly realized that she had blood on her hand as she let go of Thomas's hand. "Dad I..."

"No." Jonny clicks his tongue.

"No?" Thomas growls.

"No, neither of you have to say anything." Jonny puts down the half finished doll. "You two haven't changed no matter how old you get. You only hold each other close like that after the curse rears its ugly head. I'm guessing it was Thomas from the dried blood around his throat. Now, you two can either sit while I work or get cleaned up." He sighs, watching his twins sit together by him. "Just because I am able to use it doesn't mean I expect any of you to be comfortable with it. I will say it as nausea till it gets through your thick skulls. I don't know what it is, and it shouldn't define either of you."

Thomas looks a bit embarrassed. "Sorry for getting mad."

"I should bring back that stupid fucking jar just for you." Jonny huffs picking back up his project. "You have my temper boy, and I expect nothing less."

"It was about Lyf and Marius." Thomas crossed his arms as Mae leans on him.

"And? Thomas it takes a pair of eyes to just look at the two to know something went fucking wrong." Jonny rolls his eyes. "Tell me something I don't know. You're smarter than that."

Thomas huffs but he had a small smile on his lips.

"I saw gramps." Mae hums.

This causes Jonny to stop and stare at his daughter. "Why?"

"Well, I asked. He seemed confused, but Grams and Izzy were going at it in the sand. Grams let him wander while she was busy, and he kind of just stood there. He has a limp, which is weird because he's basically a ghost in the machine." Mae shrugs. "I also saw angles of Grams. I don't think I will ever be able to forget."

"Ew." Thomas makes a face of disgust.

"He still has that limp." Jonny sighs and returns again to his project.

"I went a different way, so I didn't see any of that. I'm glad about that." Thomas sighs. "I think if he's still out, Alex would ambush him for a game of cards."

"That was his game of choice." Jonny hums. "I have been meaning to talk to him. I ain't looking for closure, so don't either of you start." He looks up to give a look to the two. "Mom says he's better now, and I don't know. I think I might want to try. You brats can bother him. I never said you can't."

"I bother him plenty!" Aurora interrupts. "Valerie gives him free roam, and he tries to hide in my programming. It's quite fun scaring him. It appears that given freedom is a new way your mother has found a way to hurt him."

"Can you not interrupt a conversation with my children." Jonny rolls his eyes again.

Mae and Thomas giggle.

"Dont encourage her, you brats." Jonny puts his sewing project to the side. "What do you want, Aurora?"

Aurora ignores Jonny. "Children, tell me stories about Jonny raising you."

Mae laughs. "Oh, now I won't say shit."

Thomas snickers. "That's literally the worst way to get information from us."

Jonny smiles proudly.

"Nastya was right they are just mini, yous!" Aurora huffs. "Jonny took on space cats before he was reunited with you."

"Yeah and?" Thomas gets up, picking at the dried blood on his hands. "You should if seen dad panic when we reached 18, the idiot thought we would leave."

Jonny chuckles softly.

Mae gets up after her brother. "Fucker thought I would give up my game, and I will get you one day." She smiles. "Besides, dad had pets when we were growing up. He also taught us how to kill skin and cook them. New Texans are a social species. We don't do good alone. If you actually looked at Ivy's archives, you would know that."

"We are an uncomfortable close social species. Fucking if dad ends up knocked up and I start leaking I'm going to be pissed." Thomas groans. "It was bad enough when you were expecting. Laz freaked out so bad he thought I was expecting."

Jonny starts to cackle.

"It is not funny! That ass wouldn't touch me for months! Dad, stop laughing!" Thomas huffs now red face.

Mae giggles. "It was hilarious you're just a baby."

"Oh fuck you." Thomas growls.

Jonny gets up and grabs his twins by the ears. He takes a breath. "No fighting you brats."

Thomas and Mae huffs.

......

The sun was just coming over the horizon. Trevor was still in the room with Marius. It's been a week. Alex huffs watching the sun rise. They were outside Aurora leaning on her. They heard a noise that made them quirk a brow. They watched Tim walk by waving, but he was nearly silent. They decided to check it out.

Billy sat on the sand. He clearly had mass since he seemed to be counting the grains in his hands. He was in loose-fitting clothing, obviously New Texan. He was shaking enough to see that he was clearly rattled.

Alex knew that look. They knew that look from their own father after.... they sit next to their gramps. They pull out a deck of cards. "Well, you shuffling or am I?"

Billy jumps clearly, just realizing that Alex was next to him. "What?"

"Fine, I'll deal." Alex starts to shuffle. "Dad says your game of choice was anything cards. Never said if you were any good."

"I was a drunk." Billy hugs his chest. "Val won't let me back in my machine."

"Shame, you'll just have to entertain me then." Alex deals out two hands and places the deck down.

Billy picks up his hand with a raised brow. "Why?"

Alex gives a knowing look. "Does it really matter?"

"I suppose not." Billy seems taken aback. "You have it too?"

"We all have it." Alex hums softly. "I always assumed it was from grams, but seeing from your reaction, she doesn't know." They put down a card. "I ain't gonna tell."

Billy seemed confused. "Why? I ain't doing nothing for you."

"Suppose not." Alex picks up a card. "Why does it matter? It ain't like it will kill me."

Billy threw down his hand and raised his brow. "You ain't bad."

Alex hissed. "Neither are you. Not anymore, I guess." They take the cards and shuffle. "Janet, you can join us."

Billy whips his head around to spot Janet, who sits next to him.

"I can play a game or two." Janet hums softly. "Mae says you have a limp."

"Always had a limp." Billy raised a brow.

"That is annoying." Janst sighs. "Anyway, I did grab breakfast for you." She tosses over a wrapped sandwich. "I made it, had a feeling you would be out here."

"Where's dad?" Alex unwrapped the sandwich.

"Sleeping in as far as I know. Everyone's split up in two groups. There's the mess Tim made and doesn't quite understand, and then Marius and Lyf. It's a fucking mess." Janet frowns. "The twins are nice to talk to, but they're still scared of me."

"I can't help you with that." Alex quickly finished their food. "Just because we know each other doesn't mean I can just fix what they think of you."

Janet picks up her cards. "Ain't asking you to. So why play with gramps?"

"He's pretty good." Alex shrugs.

Billy frowns. "Val won't let me back in my machine."

"I figured as much." Janet hums. "Are you sure Henry's real? Haven't seen him once. Brian and Misery sure, but Henry, not at all."

"He's terrified of you and Trevor like how Laz is scared of grams." Alex hums drawing a card. "Ain't his fault, just look at what Carmillia did to Brian."

"That's fair enough." Janet furrows her brows, looking over at Billy. "Nanobots?"

"Correct." Billy tosses a card down.

"Unlike Trevor, I'm not one for science. I prefer history and different cultures." Janet picks up another card. "So why haven't you come inside? Aurora is amused by you, and dad does want to speak to you."

"I don't belong." Billy scowls as Janet throws down her hand.

"None of us belong anywhere anymore." Alex collects the cards.

"It's not like New Texas is the same. Our home is a museum." Janet leans back. "We want to stay with dad, but who knows how long that will last before the gods get bored." She lights up a cigarette. "You ain't special."

Billy blinks and looks away.

Alex puts their cards away and lays back in the sand.

Janet joins them. "Just enjoy the quiet moments." Blowing out smoke, she sighs. "Unfortunately, with our luck, it won't last."

"Ain't that the truth." Alex sighs.

Billy seems uneasy but joins them, laying down. "You should hate me."

"So?" Janet blows out more smoke.

"Time has a habit of dulling hatred into annoyance." Alex yawns. "Fucking every time you get me all introspective."

"Sucks to suck." Janet snubs out her cigarette.

"Fuck you." Alex huffs.

.......

"The fuck are you doing?" Jonny raised his brow at his four kids outside Aurora currently burying Billy in the sand.

"It's pretty self-explanatory." Mae rolls her eyes.

Jonny sighed and pinched his brow. "Why?"

"We're bored." Thomas shrugs. "Also, gramps hasn't moved." He was clearly missing one of his horns.

"Thomas got mad at losing, and I took his horn." Janet hums. "You really suck at any sort of game."

"Fuck you." Thomas huffs.

"Mae started it." Alex shrugs. "Grams came by, but she sucks at games like Thomas does, so she left."

"Again, it would be Thomas sucks at games like grams does. Respect the age difference." Mae sighs.

"Stop." Jonny rubs his temples. "Dad why the fuck are you letting them bury you?"

Billy shrugs. "Val won't let me back in my machine."

"Can you give a different reason that one is getting stale." Janet scoffs.

"You're just mad you can't take his horns because he's made of nanobots." Mae sticks out her tongue.

"I am going to get a better collection than Tommy ever had." Janet rolls her eyes.

Thomas blinks. "It's not really a collection. It's literally mine and Mae's horns I made into actual instrument horns."

"Fuck you." Janet scoffs.

"They've been at this for hours." Billy mumbles.

"Of course they have." Jonny crossed his arms. "Have any if you done something productive or just bothering your grandfather?"

"I say this is productive. It's family bonding, dad." Alex snickers.

"You can join us." Mae smiles softly.

Janet pauses. "Why does he have a limp?"

"Seriously?" Thomas sighs. "Obviously, it happened before what gram did."

"Then dad would know! It ain't like gramps will say shit." Janet huffs throwing sand at Thomas.

Jonny looked at his father, who again just shrugged. "Brats, I gave him the limp. Seriously it's not that fucking important. Now dig him out."

A collection of groans as Billy is pulled out of the sand and pushed in front of Jonny.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the worst now. Thomas, give me your chess board." Jonny grabs it from his eldest, sets up a pile of sand, and sits setting up the board. He puts his goggles on and motions to his father. "A game, and you brats can watch it you behave."

Billy raised a brow and cautiously sat down on the other side. "What's with the goggles?"

"My eyes are shit." Jonny sighs. "Barely can see without them."

Billy gives a soft, huh? "That's explains a bit. Ain't you going to shoot me again?"

"What's the point? It ain't like it will stay." Jonny makes the first move. "I understand why you did what you did. I don't agree, but I understand."

"I was a drunk." Billy moves the next piece. "I beat the shit out of you for being a kid."

"You were a drunk out of necessity. Ma doesn't know the truth." Jonny hums softly. "And I expect you to keep your mouth shut. Ignoring the culture of the time and how society was set up. It could have been worse. Gambling and drinking were your escapes, I know for a fact you only did what you did to Ma out of obligation."

The four watches held their breath.

Billy sighs. "If it wasn't me, it would have been another just how the world worked." He raised his brow. "You already knew that."

"Ma told me." Jonny hums softly, taking his father's piece. "I don't know everything, and I don't want to. All I know is that Ma wants me to give you another chance. Even without her encouragement, I wanted to have a talk with you."

Billy tisks. "I ain't worth that. I blew my chance." He moves another piece. "You shouldn't trouble yourself."

Jonny knocks over his king and leans back as his father resets the board. "I've had a lot of time to think. I've seen empires rise and fall. Love comes and goes, and monsters become heroes. I don't consider myself good in any capacity. I don't even know why my brats like me." He looks over to his kids then back to his father. "There really isn't anything left for me to do. I can't die. I don't age. It's only a matter of time till I'm alone again." He stares at the reset board. "After everything, you forgave me, and I never deserved that."

"You were a child." Billy moves his own piece going first. "I knew one day you'll kill me just as I killed my own father."

The kids' eyes widen as they stare at their father.

Jonny's neutral expression doesn't even flicker of a change. "So you wanted me to kill you."

"In a sense. It would have been a fitting end." Billy raised his brow at his son's move. "You don't see it that way."

"I don't." Jonny hums softly. "It's a fucking stupid ending to hope for. We've seen countless stories that played out in a continuous cycle. You picked a coward way out." He lets out a breath. "You were a drunk barely aware of anything around you. You took to the bottle to escape. You would have ended up dead on your own without me."

Billy's eyes widen as Jonny takes his king in only a few moves.

"It wasn't even a kill, I left you alive." Jonny sighs. "You weren't the man I heard about. Hell, even Ma told me stories about the rumors about you. Not that she believed them. I know there was truth in them." He finally shows emotion with a frown. "You were run out of every town till you ran to the shithole that was Jack's territory. I wouldn't call you two friends, but he knew your history. He offered you sanctuary in exchange to get rid of the growing resistance at the caves."

Thomas covers Mae's mouth before she can interrupt.

"It wasn't personal." Billy sighs, setting the board back up. "Val was the leader. Jack had me make an example."

"It went sideways." Jonny narrows his gaze.

Billy nods. "I was the fall guy. My reputation Jack used that. I ain't a saint boy." He sighs. "I was the town drunk in that shithole. Gambling and drinking are what I was known for now. Whatever I was before ain't anything."

Jonny holds the king in his hand. "That ain't true for shit." He tossed the king at his father, who catches it without blinking.

Billy stares at the worn wooden piece. "What makes you think that?"

Jonny crossed his arms.

Billy chuckles. "You really are my kid."

"Suppose I am." Jonny gets up. "Brats fucking behave." He turns and heads back to Aurora and stops right by her entrance. "I'll see ya later."

Four pairs of eyes stare at Billy.

Billy narrows his gaze. "That fucker."

"What was your relationship to Jack?" Thomas shoots off first.

"Did Grams really take Jack's eye?" Mae goes next.

"Just what were you known for?" Alex jitters excitedly.

"Did you have siblings?" Janet huffs as eyes stare at her. "It's legitimate questions! Gram has siblings."

"They ain't blood related." Billy flinched as eyes refocused on him.

"What!" The four shout.

"Vindication motherfuckers." Janet smirks. "So, do we have any great aunts or uncles?"

"They're dead." Billy blinks he wasn't exactly prepared to lie about these questions. He supposed his kid did find this a fitting punishment, and it wasn't painful, just confusing. "Jack and I er..."

"Jack was a worse man than Billy ever was." Audrey interrupts she was clearly in her android body. "We are still family."

Billy looked away. "Didn't say you weren't."

Audrey had a look of pity on her features and sighs. "Billy, where is Val?"

Billy's eyes glowed for a moment as he tensed. "My system is 20 clicks north."

"I ain't here to get you riled." Audrey sighs. "Is it true she is on a date?"

"You mean with Izzy?" Mae shrugs. "She did stop by lost at cards and went off. They did have fun in the sand, but I ain't saying they on a date."

"It would be nice, though." Alex hums.

"Fair enough." Mae nods.

"Wait, what do you mean by Jack was worse than gramps?" Janet raised a brow.

"Gramps is literally right there." Thomas points at Billy, who looks slightly uncomfortable being known.

"Well, yeah, but he talks like dad, and none of us can tell truth from fiction if he doesn't want us to know." Janet sighs.

Audrey gives a look to Billy, who shrugs.

"It don't matter if they know." Billy gets up on his feet. "It ain't like he's around."

Audrey grimaced. "You could say they were in a relationship. Not a good one, but it was something."

Billy scowls. "Don't coat it in honey and feed them shit." He sighs. "I was his toy as per requirement of my sanctuary. Part of that is why my boy exists. I was told to make an example of the leader of the resistance."

Audrey looked sick. "Right well." She pats Billy's back. "To be fair, I've never seen anyone drink shine that fast."

"I ain't need your pity." Billy huffs. "It's what happened.... why are you looking at me like that?" He looks at Alex.

Thomas made a o with his mouth as it clicked. The rest had looks of understanding.

"Well, dad did say we were allowed." Alex gives a look to their siblings.

"I suppose it wouldn't be much of a shame." Thomas nods.

"Wouldn't be that difficult." Mae smirks.

"I'm sure Trevor wouldn't mind being in the dark a bit longer." Janet narrows her gaze.

Audrey thins her lips. "Now kids, your grandfather wasn't a good man, but that doesn't mean he hasn't changed..... I...." She watches as the four grab and left Billy up. "Kids?"

Billy blinks clearly, incredibly confused. "Are you going to pull me apart?"

The four laugh and run off carrying their grandfather's. Audrey chases after them.

.......

Lyf looked healthier, and his twins stood at either side of him. He grimaced seeing the state Trevor was in as he left the reinforced room.

Trevor was in shredded bloody clothes. His eyes were sunken in from starvation. He had many new scars and discolored skin. He staggered out of the room with a heavy sigh. "He's asleep. I honestly can not tell you if his mind will be intact the next time he wakes. He's still suffering from the effects of starvation on that scale, but the virus to his DNA did work. His body had adapted to it entirely."

"What does that mean?"

"Can we see him?"

"Make sure you have food in case. He's a bit like a wild creature." Trevor sighs. "He needs more time to recover."

Lyf pushed forward. "Go rest. I'll take over the watch on him. Thank you."

"Where my dad?" Trevor swallows.

"Jonny is making lunch."

"Jonny is making a lot."

Trevor nods. "Thank you." He pauses. "Let him rest. There is no telling what is going to happen when he wakes up."

Lyf watches Trevor leave and heads into the room.

Marius is laid out naked. He is pale, and there seems to be new spines along his wings. He was still incredibly skinny, but he did have color in his face again. He was breathing that odd pattern that was normal to him and his species. His lower half up to his hips were covered in a thick fur that he knew to be soft. The bald spots in his fur on his legs and wings seemed to have healed, which was a relief. He looked peaceful asleep.

"Girls, leave me with your dad for now. Let me be the first he sees when he wakes again, and if he isn't himself, then let me take that damage." Lyf gives a sad smile. "I would never forgive myself if I let him hurt you, and he would never forgive himself even if it was an accident. I hurt you both already, and I don't want to do that again."

"Papa, we're already healed."

"We can handle anything."

Lyf gives them both a tight hug. "My beautiful little girls. That isn't the point." He lets go. "Let me do this."

"Papa that isn't fair."

"We can handle this."

"We aren't little kids anymore!"

"You can't just lock us out."

The twins can't argue anymore as a flash of rainbow static and the door was shut cutting them off from their parents again.

[julieverne]

"Jesus! Maura, what the hell is that?" Jane asked, jumping behind Maura, clutching her hard from behind, staring in horror at a spot on the coffee table. Maura leaned forward and picked up the tarantula, cooing softly to her.

"It's just Byron. Cailin asked me to take care of her while her father is here. Hope doesn't really like her. And that's a shame, isn't it?" Maura asked, stroking the soft, furry thorax. "No matter, she's a lovely house guest, but she is a proficient escapologist." Jane backed away, shaking her head.

"Uh-uh, Byron has to go."

"Jane. You've faced serial killers and garden variety murderers and sociopaths, but this little sweetie bothers you?" Maura asked in consternation. "She's much smaller than you, and relatively harmless in the arachnid sense. Very placid and calm, they do make wonderful pets. She's very affectionate with Cailin, and she is getting to know me slowly. I admit they can look alarming, but that's simply a survival instinct from when spider bites used to kill people. It's an implanted memory that the way they move signifies danger." Maura tucked Byron back into her terrarium and Jane stepped forward again now that she was contained.

"Byron, huh?" Jane asked, looking through the glass, still several feet away. "Make sure that lid is on tight, okay?"

Maura paced, then put the kettle on the stove.

"People like me, people who have a hard time connecting with people, people who feel overlooked or unwanted often keep unusual animals as pets. Rats, snakes, lizards, macaws, tortoises. Pets that need a home. Pets only an owner could love." Maura looked down. "Because we know what it's like when someone doesn't see who you are. And Byron is as deserving of love and respect as Bass and Jo are, and I'd like you to treat her as such."

Jane swallowed and stepped forward, looking into the terrarium. She stepped forward again, and looked closely. Long legs, fur and large mandibles. She looked up at Maura; Korsak was always taking in strays but it wasn't because he was lonely for human company. But Maura liked things that Jane couldn't bond with. Things that moved weirdly, that didn't make noises Jane could interpret. Nothing Jane could understand. Maura's teeth worried her lip and Jane sighed.

"Bryon, I'm sorry I squealed when I saw you. I hope you're not frightened of me." Jane choked back a sarcastic comment. "Yeah, look, Bryon and me aren't gonna be best buds, but as long as he stays in there we'll be fine."

Maura nodded and released her lip. Jane looked at her again; did she really see herself in these... unusual animals? Did she really feel like a snake or a rat, something people shrank away from in fear? Sometimes people did, but it was from her role, or her cutting open a human body rather than who she was.

"But you and me - we're better than fine, aren't we?" Jane asked, wondering just how insulted Maura had felt when Jane pulled away. "Because you know I see who you are, don't you? And you deserve all the lo-" Jane cut herself off. "You deserve all the love you get, and then some. If you were in a pet shop, or the pound, I'd walk in and point straight at you. Not because you'd be the prettiest - whatever she is," Jane gestured to Byron.

"Tarantula," Maura confirmed.

"But because, much like Byron, you have an intelligence and capacity for affection that would make anyone that overlooked you an absolute fool," Jane said whole-heartedly.

Maura's eyes lit up. "Do you want to hold her?" Maura asked, and Jane flinch-smiled.

"Oh, may I?" Jane asked with mock-excitement. Maura pouted and Jane held out her hand, rolling her eyes. "The things I do for you. Oh, it tickles." Jane lifted the arachnid to her face and Bryon waved one long leg at her. "Oh, they are kinda cute," Jane said, waving back. "Ok, she can go home now," Jane said when Byron started scaling her arm. Maura chuckled and put Bryon away again. She dropped a cricket in the tank. "Oh, wow, she's a badass," Jane enthused, watching her pounce and grab her prey.

"Sometime you just have to be open to something different. Something new," Maura said, looking at Jane with that softness to her eyes she had when they were alone.

"With you around, I learn something new everyday. Now c'mon, give me some spider facts. I love... the way you explain things."

Maura blushed and hung her head, looking back up with the spark in her eyes reserved for Jane alone, and she started explaining tarantulas.

[phoenix-flamed]

This was Byron's third attempt at interacting with a chocobo -- it already wasn't going well. Most other children his age were over the moon about chocobos, all too eager to learn how to ride one if the opportunity presented itself. But Byron just couldn't stop thinking that the bird might make a meal of his hand if he reached up to pet it. He stared up at the chocobo with his arms crossed about his front, both hands tucked safely under his forearms. Byron wanted so very much to be like Elwin -- brave, daring, adventurous. But how could he even join him on adventures if he wouldn't learn to ride a chocobo? "She looks like she might bite me," Byron fretted, his eyes darting from the bird to Elwin. "I'm afraid to get too close."

(some bb!byron in your ask box :3 he's 5 and wants to ride chocobos with Elwin but he's too afraid of them to learn)

When Elwin had stolen away from his lessons on proper court etiquette in order to spend some time with his little brother, he hadn't thought much of the younger boy's current location. One of the servants had directed him to the chocobo stables, and sure enough, Byron was there -- although from first glance onward, it was clear that the other was having some trouble.

Pushing aside his excessive worrying over Byron's well-being, the older brother instead focused his attention on working towards a solution to the problem. If Byron was afraid of the chocobo, then he would just have to help his little brother overcome that fear and see how friendly the beasts could be.

His lips were pursed in thought, his brow furrowed as he gazed up at the creature. Then his head tilted slightly to one side, and a fist rested just below his chin as he contemplated the situation. Then he smiled, wide and bright, and nodded to himself. With that same gentle warmth filling his gaze, Elwin finally looked back to Byron again.

"She won't hurt you -- she's just nervous, too."

The older boy stepped forward, closing more of the gap between them and the chocobo. A hand reached up(and he pushed himself up onto his tip-toes) to gently pat the large bird on the side of her head, before he began to stroke along her neck towards her back. "It's alright! Please don't worry, both of you." His free hand gestured for Byron to come closer, and he indicated with another pat where the other should pet to soothe her. "She's shy, and isn't sure how to react to us because we're so small. See how she's standing, as if wanting to run away? And the way her feathers are fluffed up? That means she's feeling defensive, I think. Try talking to her in a friendly tone. I like to tell the chocobos about myself -- my name, and little things such as how my day was or what I did, or what I learned during my lessons or how I've improved with my swordsmanship." A pause, followed by a rather sheepishly voiced confession: "Sometimes, I sneak out here to read my favorite books to them, too. They're very good listeners!"

The next glance over at his little brother brought with it an even brighter, encouraging smile. "Once both of your minds have been eased and you're feeling better, I can help you get on her back, if you'd like."

[the-most-faithful]

New Chapter

Three men and a woman walked the circular corridors of the Ministry of Magic with an array of objects inside a nondescript cardboard box.   “Better not attract attention” Scrimgeour had said a few days earlier. Since the opening of Albus Dumbledore's will there had been a tense air within the offices of the Auror department. A short man with short red hair and a long shaggy mustache walked towards the group without really seeing them, he kept his gaze on the floor and had a limp in his walk. The man holding the cardboard box was overwhelmed by the redhead who seemed to wake up from a trans state.   “Damn Cattermole, be careful!” the man shouted, saving the box from a disastrous fall. The redhead apologized with a grumble and walked off purple towards the elevator. No one noticed a white scroll falling to the ground. It had slipped out of a small, ancient-looking book, the binding was stained and peeled in some places. An old copy of Beedle the Bard's Tales. The parchment was carelessly stepped on by many ministry officials, folded and crumpled until it came close to the wall on the right. In the evening, during cleaning, a house elf with long ears curved downwards made it disappear with a snap of his fingers.

  "Dumbledore wanted to leave Godric Gryffindor's sword to Harry." he revealed, lowering his voice. “He told me the night before he died.” Scrimgeour stiffened. “Dumbledore didn't have the power to donate that weapon. Godric Gryffindor's sword is an important historical object, and as such belongs…"   "It belongs to Harry!" Hermione grew heated. “He chose it, he found it, the Sorting Hat gave it to him…”   "According to reliable historical sources, the sword can be offered to any valiant Gryffindor" Scrimgeour retorted. "That does not make it Mr. Potter's exclusive property, whatever Dumbledore may have decided." Scrimgeour scratched his unshaven beard, looking at Harry. “Why do you think…”   "That Dumbledore wanted to leave me the sword?" Harry concluded, trying to contain himself. “Maybe he thought it would look good on the wall of my house.   "It's not a joke, Potter!" Scrimgeour growled. “Is it because Dumbledore believed that only Godric Gryffindor's sword could defeat the Heir of Slytherin? Did he give you that sword, Potter, because he believed, like many, that you were destined to destroy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"   "Interesting theory" said Harry. “Has anyone ever tried to stick Voldemort with a sword? Maybe the Ministry should entrust this task to a few people, instead of wasting time dismantling Deluminator or covering escapes from Azkaban. Is this what you do, Minister, locked in his office, trying to open a Snitch? People die, I almost died too, Voldemort hunted me across three counties, he killed Mad-Eye Moody, but the Ministry didn't say a word, did they? And she also expects now that we collaborate with you!”   "You've crossed the line!" cried Scrimgeour, rising; Harry jumped up too. Scrimgeour limped toward him, holding his wand. Byron jumped in front of him followed by Ron who had quickly grabbed his wand. But Harry stopped them: “No! Do you want to give him an excuse to arrest us?”   “You remembered you're not in school, huh?” Scrimgeour gasped, breathing in Harry's face. “Did you remember that I am not Dumbledore, who condoned your insolence and your rebellions? You may wear that scar around like a crown, Potter, but it's not for a seventeen-year-old to tell me how to do my job! It's time you learned to have some respect! "It's time she deserved it" Harry retorted. Byron visibly clenched his jaw. “I advise you to take a step back, Minister” he uttered the last word as if it were an insult.   “You can't touch me, White.” Scrimgeour replied, clutching his wand.   “Believe me, I don't need to touch you.” even though he was unarmed he seemed to radiate an aura of power that gave Harry goosebumps. Scrimgeour must have noticed something in Byron's eyes too because he took a few steps back. He searched Harry's eyes. “We… should work together”   "I don't like your methods, Minister" he replied. "Remember?" For the second time he raised his right fist and showed Scrimgeour the still white scars on the back of his hand:

I must not tell lies.

Scrimgeour's expression hardened and he turned away before Byron.   “Don't relax too much, White”   “Found anything?” Byron asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “Not yet, but rest assured we won't stop, Dumbledore has covered up too many things.” replied the Minister angrily. Byron's lips curled into a sneer. "Some things are better in the shadows."   “Not the truth”   “The truth Minister… you might not like it.” Harry looked at the two men confused, what were they talking about?   “If even half of the things I know turn out to be true, you can be sure that I will shove you into a cell in Azkaban myself” Byron nodded smiling “I don't know if he will have time.” Scrimgeour dashed past him, bumping his shoulders violently before exiting the room

Read in Ao3

[thegayestminotaur]

What’s your All or Nothing AU about? I’m pretty curious about it, IK it focuses on Dr. Venture (had hair LOL) and Dr. Orpheus. Srsly I am interested about it and its lore. 👀

I'm really gonna try hard to be brief here.

The basic gist is that after Season 2 Ep. 10 "I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills", Byron and Rusty start dating. Their relationship is rocky at first for various reason, like the fact that Rusty is kind of a terrible person and has a lot of internalized homophobia and Byron's unresolved trauma following his divorce along with his rather lawful personality clashing with Rusty's chaotic nature. They do fall in love, of course. I'm not in the business of writing a slowburn with this one. Dr. Henry Killinger showing up during Season 3 Ep. 2 "The Doctor Is Sin" is a major turning point for Rusty in the fic. Upon the revelation that Rusty is in love with Byron, Killinger switches from setting Rusty up as a supervillain to setting him up for superscience success. Ya know. Because Byron wouldn't like dating a villain. It's hard work, but by following Killinger's 'Action Plan', Rusty's able to go from literal joke to a superscience powerhouse. The fic is split into two parts. The first part is a pretty straightforward romance that goes over Rusty and Byron's relationship up to and a little ways after them getting married during the events of All This and Gargantua-2. The second part is more of an action-thriller that goes over Rusty's fight against... well... everybody. First it's just Guild, but after Rusty gets shot in the head during a protest in NYC, he declares war on the NYPD. Not like, actual gunfire and bullets war, but when you're a billionaire living in the USA, you can do a lot of shit that makes life difficult for people and Rusty is nothing if not petty. By sheer unbridled spite, he starts threatening to tip the balance of power that the OSI has carefully maintained so Hunter declares him too dangerous to live. Turns out, though, that it's incredibly hard to kill Rusty now since he has been training to not be hit and also is married to a dude who can bring people back from the dead. But while Hunter is concerned with Rusty taking over the world because he's too petty to stop and think, Rusty's concerned with something way beyond the scope of governments and Secret Governments. Aliens. Okay, okay, hang on, now - Aliens are canon to Venture Bros. In Season 2 Ep. 5 "20 Years To Midnight" we actually see two different aliens. One of them happens to be one I quote all the time with the wonderful line "IGNORE ME!" But like... if Jonas Sr was communicating with aliens to the point where 20 Years To Midnight happens and he maybe felt like the construction of Gargantua-1 was necessary (this is just me speculating) then why don't we see them again? (Probably because the series was cancelled i'm fiiineeee :'''3) but I think with both Rusty and Byron advancing their respective talents in leaps and bounds to the point where OSI considers them too dangerous to be left alone, then a threat from outside Earth makes perfect sense.

Plus, this way I can also write "Hyper-Competent 21, The Monarch, and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch Threesome" because The Monarch always steps up his game to match Rusty's EMA (Equally Matched Aggression Rating) and I love that also sooo But why does Rusty have hair? During the events of the fic, Rusty takes a look at the DNA sequences his dad left behind and realizes that his genome is fucked up. (This is canonically confirmed in Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart, but is something that you can glean through other episodes/seasons.) In fic, he goes in and uses gene therapy to patch things up a bit which causes some minor physical changes.

Don't get me wrong, I also love canon Rusty. He's a pathetic lil meow meow, a totally wet lil bastard, and I love him. I have nothing wrong with his bald headed-ness, but this way you/I can see the progression of him in fic from Pathetic Bastard to Hyper-competent Alien Fighter depending on how much hair and which facial scars he has. Same thing with Byron and his scars and how pointy I draw his ears and teeth.

[2fox2furious]

A Glitch in the System Part 4

"Oh, I think I've got it Stanley!"

Stanley looked up from the doodles he had been scribbling on the edge of the notebook. [Got what?]

"A name for me. Or, well, some options. You'll help me pick, won't you?"

[Sure.] Stanley sat up from his spot on the couch, resting his head on the hand he didn't use to write. [It's your name though.]

"Well yes, I know that. But there are so many good names out there, why, it's hard to choose." Stanley nodded, gesturing with his hand for The Narrator to keep going. "See, Stanley, I'm between Byron, Francis, and Melville, do any of these stand out to you? Are they, oh I don't know, fitting enough?"

[You look like a Byron.]

"Yes, thank you! I thought as much, I—"

Stanley held up his hand. [But I like Francis too. I think you could make a good Francis.]

"Hmm, that is true." The Narrator sighed, sitting down next to Stanley. The old couch groaned underneath the both of them. "So does this mean Melville is out of the picture?"

Stanley nodded. [Axe it.]

"Ah, you're right. Okay, consider it gone." He pretended to crumple up a piece of paper and throw it over his shoulder. "Let's see then. Byron, Francis. Byron, Francis. Hmm, oh, it's so hard to choose. I could keep repeating them I suppose until I make a decision... Byron, Francis. By—"

Stanley held up his hand again, waving it in front of The Narrator's face. [I like Francis. It's fun.]

"Yes, yes it is, but Byron—"

[Use it for a last name or something.]

The Narrator's face lit up. "Oh Stanley, what a brilliant idea! Yes, that's what I'll do, I'll craft it into a wonderful last name."

[So?]

The Narrator—no, Francis nodded. "Yes, Francis it is! Oh my, it'll be hard getting used to having a name...I'm Francis now, can you believe it?"

[It'll be so much easier to write from now on.]

"Of course, yes, there's that too." Francis sprung up from the couch, a new pep in his step. "You know, all this name choosing has really gotten me in the adventuring mood again. What do you say, Stanley?"

He groaned, but allowed Francis to pull him to his feet. [Don't know what else you think we'll find out there. What is it, the fourth time we're going out there?]

"Fifth actually! I've been counting."

[You sure have been.]

"Well, there's something about this place. Something to find...I can practically taste it, Stanley!"

[I didn't realize you wanted to get rid of me that badly.] Stanley twirled his pencil between two fingers. [You really want me to leave as soon as possible, huh?]

Francis's eyes widened. "No, no, nothing like that. You'll find out soon enough I think."

[Find out what?]

"Just a theory, Stanley, nothing to worry yourself with."

[What is it?]

Francis started to respond, when without warning he froze, eyes locked on something behind Stanley. His eyebrows furrowed, yellow eye glowing brighter than it usually did. Stanley spun around, but nothing seemed out of place. Francis sighed.

"Ah, must've just been a trick of the light, nevermind me." His voice was firm, but Stanley saw the way his hand wavered as he pushed open the door. "We should...get going though, just in case."

Stanley continued to grumble as they set back out into the forest.

[Tell me!]

"Stanley, please just drop it," Francis sighed. "It's unfinished. An idea, nothing more."

[So is everything else here.]

"Not you. Not me."

[Yeah, well we're not supposed to be here.]

"That's exactly my concern," Francis mumbled, shielding his eyes as he glanced up at the sky. "We shouldn't stay here much longer."

[I think we already established that.]

"Oh, don't give me that. I'm working on it."

[And? Not gonna tell me that either?]

"I—" Francis let out an exasperated breath. "You can be insufferable, are you aware of that?"

[Don't keep avoiding my questions, Francis, please. I'm stuck here too.]

Rubbing his head, Francis said, "Yes, yes, you're right. An old habit I suppose." He cleared his throat. "This place wasn't meant to hold finished ideas you see. I fear it won't be able to handle people and concepts such as ourselves."

[So? Any way for us to get out?]

"Goodness, it's been so long, I don't remember all that's here. There was..." He laughed. "Oh, that's right, the game show! Why, how could I forget? Yes, I was quite fond of that one."

[Why'd you scrap that one then?]

"Ah, glitches again, it was very unfortunate. Plus, the doors didn't mesh well with the parable... although, I don't remember—"

Stanley waited for Francis to respond, but he was silent. Quieter than even the air around them, with it's low, mechanical hum.

He turned, searching for his friend, only for the Francis as he knew him to be gone.

Instead, the creature was there again, in his place.

[Francis?] He went to take a step forward, but the creature held a hand up, stopping him in his place.

"Stay back Stanley. This form, it's unstable—"

Stanley shook his head. Holding out his hand, he waited, watching Francis with expectant eyes.

"What am I ever going to do with you?" Francis muttered. After a bit more coaxing from Stanley, he reached out tentatively, fingers grazing the palm of Stanley's hand.

It felt like being shocked.

He immediately recoiled his hand as a jolt of energy shot up his arm. He shook it, wincing, to try and get rid of that lingering, prickling feeling. It didn't hurt horribly, asides from being startled, but when he looked up, Francis's eyes were wide.

Pulling his notepad back out, Stanley quickly scribbled, [It's okay, I'm fine.] But when he looked up, Francis was gone.

Streaks of yellow hung in the air where he must've ran off to. Stanley knew better than to reach out and touch it, deterred by the sparking and buzzing that accompanied it. But those bright colors were fading fast, and Stanley knew he didn't have the time to stand around any longer.

He had to find Francis.

Stanley wanted to call out to him, to tell him to wait, but his voice caught in his throat. So, he chased after him, following the sparks of color that wound through trees and illuminated the shadows. Stanley was quick, but each natural obstacle seemed to almost bend before Francis, branches and rocks all making way for him, only to spring back up in Stanley's face.

Fumbling with his notepad, he ripped a piece of paper out and crumpled it up into a ball. Breath held, he chucked it as hard as he could in Francis's direction.

The ball didn't come anywhere near Francis, but at the sharp sound he froze and turned to face Stanley. His eyes were like flashlights as they stared him down, and the only sound in the forest besides Stanley's heavy breathing were the methodical ticking of his many clock faces.

[Stop running] Stanley scribbled, clutching his stomach as he tried to catch his breath.

"Stanley, I—"

He held up his hand. [No. No. You say you want to help me so badly, but then you run from me? Do you even want to help me at all?] He leaned back against the nearest tree, never taking his eyes off Francis. His hand shook more than he'd like to admit as he continued. [Why do you want me gone so badly?]

Francis's eyes widened. "No! No, that's not at all what I want Stanley. I want to send you home, I want you to be happy."

[Well I don't want to go home!] Stanley wanted to shout at him, to make himself known. The tightness he felt whenever he tried to speak was still there, but something changed, he could tell. Like all of the words that had been building up inside him knocked a pebble loose in the mound of rocks blocking his throat. "I want to stay here. With you," he cried out, voice small and mangled from lack of usage. It was an unfamiliar sound. He almost didn't recognize it.

Francis seemed to reach out a hand, longing to close the gap between them, but he hesitated, all four arms falling stiffly at his sides. "All I've ever done is hurt you, Stanley." The crack in his voice made Stanley's stomach turn. Just as he wasn't used to his own voice, he wasn't used to this side of Francis's as well. He felt that feeling wash over him again, the one that grabbed his tongue and refused to let go. Why did he say what he did? He shouldn't have, it only made the situation worse.

[That was different.]

"No it wasn't! It...it wasn't, Stanley. This is still the Parable—MY parable. Let me help you, Stanley."

[You want to help me?]

Francis nodded. "You may not believe me, but—"

[So come with me.]

"Come...with you?"

Stanley nodded. [Home.]

"I...I don't know if I can, Stanley."

[Why not?]

He sighed. "I'm not from that world. I don't know if my physical form can sustain itself when outside of the parable."

[So let me stay here with you.]

"It's not safe for you here."

[I don't care.]

"I care, Stanley!" Francis snapped, glowing yellow tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. "I care..."

Stanley took a step towards him, barely flinching as the world warped around them, until Francis looked human again. He brushed his eyes and readjusted his glasses, before straightening out his tie. "Ah, forgive me Stanley, I don't know what came over me back there."

[It's okay. You're allowed to feel emotions.]

With a dismissive wave of his hand, Francis set off back towards the house. "Yes yes, I'm well aware. Let's go back to the house, shall we? It's getting late."

[We've hardly done anything!]

"Well, I think it would be best for...the both of us, if we were to head back now, wouldn't you agree?"

Stanley could see how badly Francis wanted to get out of there, so he didn't press him any further. He nodded.

A heavy silence hung in the air around them as they walked back, neither of them saying a word, until Francis finally asked quietly, "Did you mean what you said back there?"

[Every last word.]

Francis made a noise partway between a chuckle and a sigh, but said nothing more. The silence this time, though, was different. Warmer, softer even, like the blankets back at the house.

It was...nice. He wanted more of that strange, comforting feeling. They may've not found anything of use to them, but at least the walk back didn't feel so much like a defeat.

[phoenixcoin]

❂⭃ @phoenix-flamed asked: ⥷❂ ❂⭃ “I brace myself because I know it’s going to hurt.” ⥷❂

Florence + the Machine Starters

⤛⌠❂⌡⤜

"No no, come off it, brother," Bryon grinned playfully and hooked Elwin in the crook of his elbow. "You're supposed to take it right on the chin. "You watch me this time, yeah? Let your little brother show you how it's done."

Byron was often too big for his breeches when it came to most things, and if there was ever a bad influence on Elwin, he would be it. Even with things as serious as training, Byron would often do whatever he could to spark the part of Elwin that was a cooped-up, mischievous young man as all young men were. But for all his trickery and corruption, Byron was equally supportive and devoted to his older brother. He stepped now into the ring with the man that was meant to be training Elwin, all knob and inexperience with only the barest hint of wispy hair on his chin, and he drew the shining axe from his hip. He knew he was going to get laid flat here. He knew he was nowhere near Elwin's expertise with a blade, yet, but he needed to offer the encouragement. And what better way to be encouraged than to watch someone flub something so badly you just had to go in and correct him?

One last flash of a bright, white grin in Elwin's direction, and Bryon released a battle cry as he rushed out to attack his coach.

[izdatazn]

S.U.I.T.S - Terran's Hidden War

TERRA 20 - GATEWAY ARCH

Harmony Bryon and Vivian Jack arrived at their desired meeting location in the middle of the Allegheny National Forest fairly quickly. The darkness of night made it easier for everyone to gather. As they couldn't go any further in their car, they proceeded on foot towards their destination. After a few hours of trekking, they finally reached a faint bonfire where they stood and waited.

A few minutes later, Isabel emerged from the woods and joined them near the bonfire without any visible reaction from the others.

"That was quick," Isabel remarked. "You wasted no time."

"Let's skip ahead to meeting your friend," Harmony suggested.

"But first, I need to know if you're being watched or followed," Isabel inquired.

"None of that," Vivian replied.

“Miyoung?” Isabel asked.

Miyoung stepped into the light cast by the bonfire and spoke up. "I disabled their communication device before they entered this area. I don't sense anyone following them either.”.”

“Viktor?” Isabel inquired.

Viktor also stepped forward into the glow of the bonfire. "Aside from satellite imagery, there are no aircraft or drones trailing them."

"Viktor is right," Miyoung confirmed.

"You guys have been thorough with this meeting," Harmony commented.

"Even if you brought basic spying essentials, it wouldn't be enough," I interjected as I stepped out into view by the bonfire. "The technology we possess is far superior to anything modern countries have at present.”

"Are you going to kill us now?" Vivian inquired, her voice filled with fear.

"No, you wanted answers. We will provide them," I responded calmly. "But first, I invite you to join our meeting. Follow me." I turned around and began walking away.

Isabel used her ice element to extinguish the bonfire. She watched as they stood up and followed behind us, with Viktor in tow. Meanwhile, Miyoung observed from the treetops.

Suddenly, Big Bertha emerged from its camouflage—an impressive vehicle that left them in awe. The bay door opened and I stepped inside. They followed me into the vehicle's interior. Before leading them further, Big Bertha scanned their presence.

"What is this?" Vivian questioned curiously.

"This is our transportation," I explained as Miyoung provided an update on the situation outside.

"I don't sense any of their friends nearby or outside of the national park," she reported. "I'll keep a lookout."

"Can she really see that far?" Harmony asked in amazement.

"Miyoung possesses a special ability to sense things from a distance," I diverted the conversation's focus.

As we settled inside Big Bertha's main body, four holographic figures appeared above the central coffee table—Daisuke, Asuka, Michi, and Dominique joined us.

"Welcome to our meeting, F.B.I Agents Harmony Byron and Vivian Jack," Daisuke greeted them formally. "While you were observing my friend here, we were also monitoring your actions."

Asuka confidently stated, "Issei Kobayashi is breaking an important rule while providing a service for you."

Harmony inquired, "What rule is he breaking?" 

To shift the focus, I redirected the conversation by asking Dominique, "What do you have to report?"

Dominique replied, "Zaporg Va'zad has escaped New York and is heading west. I'm unsure of Zaporg's exact destination but there are a couple of important infrastructures for SUITS."

Daisuke added, "The Gateway Arch in St. Louis Missouri is significant for SUITs. However, we will deploy teams to key areas in case of an attack and monitor Zaporg's movements.”

Curious about the Gateway Arch, Vivian asked, "What makes it important?"

To change the subject again, I turned to Michi and asked about the situation back in New York.

"It's not good," Michi responded. Multiple screens displayed news coverage of the attack on the Empire State Building. Videos showed Viktor and Isabel fighting a four-armed creature, Miyoung and Dominique pursuing Zaporg on rooftops, as well as my own battle against an undead knight. The media and netizens were speculating wildly about these events.

I looked at Vivian and Harmony and stated firmly, "This is why the C.I.A and F.B.I should not be involved in this war."

Harmony exclaimed, "There's a war happening in America?!"

"It's a hidden war," I asserted. "On Earth." The screens showcased numerous other videos depicting attacks or assaults around the world. The most recent one was the Shenzhen attack followed by the Berlin assault.

"Just like with F.B.I and C.I.A., S.U.I.T.S is also a specialized organization dedicated to stopping alien invasions on Earth," I explained further. "S.U.I.T.S stands for Specialized Units Investigation, Tactics, and Surveillance.”

Asuka continued, "Issei Kobayashi violated an important directive order - SUIT members are not supposed to have contact with humans. As you can see, Harmony Bryon and Vivian Jack, Kobayashi went beyond the directive order."

"Luckily for Kobayashi," Daisuke added, "given the current situation, he just received a harsh letter from the Council."

"Which is probably nothing since Kobayashi is an apprentice of Shiro Watoga," Asuka sighed.

Changing the subject, I said, "Anyway, let's move on. Daisuke, can you share what you've learned about the techs Zaporg Va'zad has with him?"

A video clip appeared showing Miyoung's perspective as she chased after Zaporg. Daisuke highlighted specific areas of the video.

He explained, "You can see Zaporg's tattoo on the left side of his face. After some quick research using Master Shiro's data dump, I discovered that Zaporg is a Tiv'oins minority subspecies of It'ul from Korouth." A photo of Ba'engi Blubcotot was shown next to Zaporg. 

"Besides being from the same planet but different subspecies," Daisuke continued after pausing for a moment. "Zaporg and Ba’engi have something in common - they both only have markings on a single part of their face." Two pictures appeared next to each person indicating this difference.

"We immediately noticed that individuals with full markings or tattoos are considered citizens of their society, while Zaporg and Ba'engi are exiles, as indicated by their single eye tattoo," Daisuke concluded. "Exiles imply that they are dangerous beings to their society," I added. "It means that the Exiles were specifically chosen by the Ace of Spades."

"But even Exiled It'ul's full marking could have been chosen by the Ace of Spades," Asuka chimed in, agreeing with my assessment.

"Okay, so we know Zaporg is an exile. What about the techs?" I asked.

"The Proteus shapeshifter technology is named after the Greek God Proteus," Daisuke continued. "The tech Zaporg was wearing is old and flawed, as evidenced by his exposed yellow markings."

"Great," I scratched my head in frustration. "Another thing to worry about. In short, shapeshifting technology allows them to blend in with their enemies. They can assassinate potential targets and sabotage key assets deep within enemy lines. This will be a problem if our enemies start using the new techs." I sighed and asked, "What about the next technology?"

"The Alchemy Gauntlet," Daisuke continued. "Or rather, the Alchemy Brace would be a better term for it since it disassembles from the wrist and assembles around the hand. It's like a brace attached to the wrist but when activated, it grows into a weapon gauntlet."

Viktor leaned forward between Isabel and Miyoung and whispered, "He called it the Alchemy Gauntlet! Looks like I'm not the only one who names things." Miyoung ignored him.

"Mr. Modegi has keen observation skills," Isabel chuckled. "After watching hundreds of videos frame by frame for hours before this meeting, he noticed that it wasn't just a surprise gauntlet, but a hidden small tech. I'm impressed."

"Daisuke continued speaking, 'Notice the triangle pointing upwards with a slit above the center? Zaporg shifted his arm to the right, and the triangle changed color. He went from utilizing the Wind Element to the Earth Element in a matter of seconds, resulting in an undead knight emerging from the ground. That's the foundation of both techniques, but to truly understand them, we must capture and study them. These techniques have the potential to level out the playing field in this prolonged war.'

"So our secondary main objective is to pursue Zaporg as he escapes westward and either capture his technology or apprehend Zaporg himself," I explained.

Harmony spoke up, saying, "We would like to assist. We have ample resources."

I intervened, stating firmly, "Your resources will not be sufficient."

Vivian chimed in with her input: "Then we would like to lend our support in any way possible. Your enemy poses an existential threat not only to United States but also humanity as a whole.”

I glanced at my team and then turned my attention towards Asuka and Daisuke before asking them directly: "What would you like me to do?"

Asuka responded promptly, saying: "The decision is yours. However, please be aware that if humanity were to join this conflict openly against SUITs council's wishes, you may face consequences later on."

I replied confidently: "The Council fails to understand that humanity will inevitably become involved in this war. Lives have already been lost since the Shenzhen attack. The Council will be too preoccupied with managing an open war rather than doling out any consequences."

Daisuke then asked me for my suggestion: "So what do you propose?"

I suggested eagerly: "How about pursuing a Legionary Operative Division Internship program? Can we make that happen?"

Michi interjected and informed us all: "The Legionary and Centurion Divisions have been collaborating with intelligence agencies worldwide since their inception. Given the current circumstances, these divisions will require additional personnel to fill intern roles. I will speak with Ichiro and try to escalate this proposal to the Lead Directors."

Ichiro responded in less than 12 hours, demonstrating the promptness of the Division Directors' decision. Although the preference is for SUITs to remain a secret from the general public, the Lead Directors believed it would be beneficial to openly collaborate with Intelligence Agencies and provide them with cutting-edge technology to counteract our aggressive enemies.

We have welcomed Harmony Bryon and Vivian Jack into our group, as they did not join L.O.D as interns as previously agreed. We provided them with a brief overview of SUITs and discussed the overall issue of this war. They were given detailed information about alien poison, drugs, and viruses, which they relayed to their Intelligence Agency who then shared it with other Agencies. Meanwhile, we deployed more assets on the ground to search for production lines while our SUITs Officers and Agents dealt with a larger matter.

Based on information received, Zaporg Va'zad was spotted in Louisville, Kentucky heading west towards an important asset related to SUITs in Missouri. Consequently, we immediately made our way to St. Louis to investigate further.

"Do you know why the Gateway Arch is important to SUITs?" Vivian Jack inquired.

"You'll find out soon enough," I responded. "I'm curious as well." Changing the subject, I called out to Isabel who was in the garage checking the diagnosis on a smaller vehicle. It was Wednesday, July 10th, 2079.

"What's it about?" Isabel asked.

"Saki and Hinata created a fanclub for you! They call you the Ice Queen!"

"Oh, I'm flattered!" Isabel exclaimed.

"What about Viktor?" his voice echoed.

"Sorry buddy. Looks like they haven't come up with a fanclub name for you yet!"

"Why did Isabel get a fanclub name first? What about me?" Viktor complained.

"I like the name Ice Queen," Miyoung chimed in.

"But you don't like being called Big Bertha?" Viktor questioned.

"I don't appreciate you calling yourself Captain," Miyoung retorted.

"Viktor is Captain," Viktor asserted.

They continued arguing.

"Are they always like this?" Harmony asked.

"You'll get used to it," I replied. "We're family here."

"And do they always follow you around even though they have more experience than you?" Harmony questioned further.

"I know, right? They have more life experience and yet they chose to follow me instead. Not sure if it's the right decision, but they trust my judgment."

"Well, your judgment isn't that great!" Miyoung shouted.

"That doesn't help, Miyoung," I grumbled.

"You're welcome," she sarcastically replied.

"Anyway, we have some important matters to discuss." Walking away from them, I added, "Who's calling us Big Bertha?"

"Daniela Angeloy is on the line. Patching her through now," Big Bertha informed me.

Daniela Angeloy was born in 1080 in Jerusalem, which is now modern-day Israel. She had a deep commitment to her Catholic religion during the medieval period and had a strong desire to reclaim the Holy Land from Islamic rule. Eventually, she became a member of the Knights Templar, a military order within the Catholic faith that was founded by Hugues de Payens, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Daniela remained dedicated to Hugues until his death. It was expected that she would succeed him as the next leader of the Grand Master position. However, she was tragically assassinated by Robert de Craon, who took Hugues' place as the Grand Master of the Knight Templar.

Daniela began speaking, "Good evening Kobayashi and the team."

"Good evening to you too, Daniela and the team," I responded. "What's the situation?"

"Our scanners have detected an assault force approaching from the north. It's not as large as the Shenzhen attack or the Berlin assault."

"It hasn't been reported on local news," I noted.

"They're not using an assault ship, Kobayashi."

"It's a special operations assault force," Vivian explained. "And you found them on your scanner?"

"That's correct. They recently went radio silent after that," Daniel continued. "We need your assistance, Kobayashi. It is believed that Zaporg Va'zad is leading the assault."

"Viktor, how far are we from the Gateway Arch?" I asked.

"We still have another hour until we reach our destination," Viktor answered.

"They might attack at any moment if they've gone radio silent." I paused for a second. "Isabel? Miyoung?"

"They're already at the garage," Miyoung answered.

"Harmony and Vivian will join us there too." They joined others in the garage. "We'll arrive in less than half an hour. Kobayashi out."

I left the main room and headed towards the back of Big Bertha. The backbay opened up while everyone geared up in armor for our journey. Isabel threw two devices at Harmony and Vivian.

"Attach these to your chest; these devices will show what we see," Isabel explained as she walked past them, climbed onto a ladder, and entered her aircraft. "I'll see you guys there." Her aircraft launched out of the garage with wings extended as she flew away.

"When can we fly one of those?" Harmony asked eagerly.

"Later," Miyoung replied as she walked past her and settled into Big Bertha's driver seat.

"You're driving?" Harmony questioned.

"You'll become accustomed to it," Miyoung replied. Harmony settled into the left sidecar of the speeder bike as Miyoung steered them out of the garage and executed a swift 180-degree turn, gliding past Big Bertha. "I find it hard to believe she's blind when she can operate a speeder bike," Vivian commented.

I occupied the remaining speeder bike, with Vivian in the right sidecar. I exited the garage, maneuvered the vehicle around, and cruised by Big Bertha. I caught up with Miyoung from behind.

We were a few miles away from entering the outskirts of St. Louis when we caught sight of the Gateway Arch. It was a striking monument, standing tall and shining brightly.

"We're entering the illusion shield," Isabel exclaimed in awe. "Take a look at this beauty!"

It took us about thirty seconds to react, as Isabel had already flown ahead of us in the sky. Even then, I couldn't contain my excitement as I marveled at the monument illuminating the night sky. The center of the arch was particularly impressive, as we witnessed a ship pass through it and disappear on the other side.

"What is that?" Vivian asked, curious about what we had just witnessed.

Isabel explained that the Gateway Arch was built in 1865 to honor President Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase and America's westward expansion. A few years after its construction, SUITs used this iconic structure as a Warp Gate for interplanetary travel within allied space. Other significant landmarks like London Bridge, Giza Pyramids, and Acropolis were also utilized by SUITs to create Warp Gates. These gates were heavily protected by Orbital Defense Guns." As we entered the outskirts of St. Louis, Isabel concluded her explanation.

“SUITs hid this from humanity?” Vivian asked. “We aren’t alone in the known universe?”

"I responded, 'Humanity was not prepared for the next leap. You have witnessed the events of the past few months.'"

"Heads up, Kobayashi," Isabel interrupted. "I see several enemy vehicles heading your way."

"What's the situation, Daniela?" I asked.

"You won't believe it, but this small assault force consists of hundreds," Daniela replied.

"Isabel!"

"I'm on it!"

"Miyoung, let's focus on reaching the Gateway Arch," I said. "You guys handle these pests. There are beam guns located underneath your seats. Don't worry; they are stationary, but your seat can swivel to help you aim in all directions."

Vivian reached for the gun beneath her seat and brought it into view. She aimed forward as we noticed our enemies in front of us. They opened fire, and we retaliated in kind. Vivian swiftly swiveled around and targeted our enemies behind us while Miyoung and I did our best to avoid colliding with them and dodging incoming fire from all sides. Fortunately, our shield was holding up well.

"That is more than just multiple enemies, Kobayashi!" Harmony exclaimed. "There are a hundred of them attacking us from all sides!"

"Do you deal with this every day?" Vivian complained.

"I explained that the high-value target needed to be nearby, similar to the Shenzhen attack but with less intensity. 

"Isabel?"

"I'm doing my best to support Daniela's team. They successfully breached the first defense and are now advancing towards the second one."

I skillfully maneuvered, avoiding collisions with our enemies as we raced through the city center a few minutes later. Suddenly, we noticed that the swarm of enemies chasing us had stopped and changed their direction. We passed through several checkpoints until we reached the defensive walls surrounding the Gateway Arch. After driving through the entrance, we quickly disembarked from our vehicle. Vivian and Harmony followed Miyoung towards the north wall where explosions could be heard in that direction. I joined them on the north wall and observed a small assault force relentlessly pushing forward while firing their weapons at our enemy.

"Do you think this is right, Miyoung?" I asked.

"Nothing ever appears right, Kobayashi," she replied.

"What are your thoughts on this?" Vivian inquired. "Don't leave us out of this conversation."

Suddenly, a series of loud booms resonated from above us. "My assumptions were correct," I stated confidently as I scanned for their source in the sky above us. My eyes caught sight of dozens of drop pods descending rapidly from above.

"Of course it can never be easy," I muttered under my breath before noticing that our defense wall guns had shifted their focus from repelling the assault force to targeting these enemy drop pods falling from above. Isabel also altered her aim towards these incoming threats

"Kobayashi, your team will handle the drop pods," Daniela instructed. "My team will deal with the assault force."

"Vivian and Harmony will focus on the assault force. Miyoung, come with me," I declared. "Where are you, Viktor?"

“Viktor just arrived in the city," Viktor chuckled. "Looks like there's more trouble than I anticipated."

Although the defense guns managed to destroy a few pods, they were not enough to prevent them from crashing to the ground. As Isabel attacked, I observed some of the pods transforming into aircrafts mid-flight and retaliating against her before giving chase. Two pods landed inside the wall; one of them transformed into a tripod mechanical war machine equipped with a cannon on top of its main head and a rapid-fire swivel gun attached beneath.

We watched as the closest defense guns relentlessly fired at the tripod, but its shield absorbed all of their shots before it began eliminating each gun one by one. Multiple creatures emerged from the pod and quickly set up their own defensive perimeter around it using a shield bubble. A fierce firefight unfolded within our base, in the skies above us, and in the northern part of city.

"They seem to know what they're doing," I commented. "Miyoung, have you located Zaporg?"

"Zaporg is not in St. Louis," she replied sadly. "We fell for their trap and now I can't track him again."

"In that case, our top priority is securing defense at Gateway Arch," I stated firmly. "We cannot allow them to dismantle SUIT infrastructure; we need to break through their defenses."

The inner defense was primarily focused on the defense force within the wall. It was an intense gunfight between both forces, even amidst heavy gunfire. Despite being outnumbered, they were doing a commendable job of holding off the overwhelming enemy forces behind their lines.

Miyoung noticed a particular area of the shield weakening and decided to focus her attention on that vulnerable spot. After a few shots, one of her bullets pierced through the shield, taking down an enemy. She continued shooting and managed to wound a couple more before the shield regenerated itself. One of them succumbed to their injuries, while others returned to their defensive positions.

"Do what you can to weaken their defenses," Miyoung commanded, "And I'll do my best to take down the enemies."

"What about that tripod?" Harmony inquired.

"We'll leave that task for someone else," Miyoung replied.

As we increased the pressure on them, we noticed their shield weakening rapidly. Miyoung successfully took down a few more enemies before the shields strengthened again. We observed that our enemies' numbers were dwindling, but our defense guns were slowly being destroyed by the tripod.

Miyoung aimed at one of the creatures wearing a portable shield hidden behind its back. She noticed that its shield weakened once more and took advantage of this opportunity by taking her shot. In one go, she successfully killed both the creature and destroyed its shield. The enemies quickly retreated behind their tripod's shield while we continued to weaken it further.

Behind that shield stood four remaining enemies who proved to be increasingly difficult to defeat as our defense guns were gradually eliminated by the tripod itself. Just when things seemed dire, I spotted Big Bertha driving into our compound through an open gate.

With great force, Viktor shattered through our foes' protective barrier with Big Bertha and crashed into their tripod war machine before coming to a halt himself and jumping out of his vehicle.

"Who misses Viktor!" he exclaimed, laughing. Metal quickly formed over his body, signifying his readiness for battle. With our assistance, we managed to eliminate the remaining enemies while Viktor focused solely on the mechanical tripod war machine. Unfazed by its attacks, he charged at the tripod and endured multiple direct hits from its guns in the process. Viktor grabbed hold of one of its legs and forcefully pulled it forward, tearing it out of the tripod's structure. He then used that leg to penetrate the machine's main body before ripping out one of its guns and discarding it. Finally, he tore open the main body and swiftly killed the driver inside.

Viktor laughed triumphantly. "This contraption is no match for Viktor!"

"Where did you find him?" Vivian asked.

"Every time someone asks me that question, I also wonder why he continues to follow me," I responded with a smile.

The assault force was quickly dealt with. They were stopped at the second defense and that was the end of it. The drop pod forces did significant damage to the defenses, and Isabel easily won the dogfight. The defense of the Gateway Arch was crucial, as it involved a large-scale force from both sides.

"What are you going to do, Daniela?" I asked.

"I will stay here and rebuild the defense guns," Daniela answered. "The Gateway Arch is essential infrastructure that needs to be kept operational for resources to enter and exit unnoticed. Both sides believe this because whoever controls the Warp Gates controls Earth."

"Where does this lead?" Harmony asked.

"To the dark side of the moon," Daniela replied. "Yes, the rumors were true. We have multiple bases on both Moon and Mars." She changed topics. "What will you do now?" Daniela asked.

"It seems like Zaporg wanted us off his trail, which led us to the Gateway Arch," I answered. "The enemy forces focused on attacking key infrastructures in the city. The assault force coming from north only made it as far as the second defense but made it appear like they were advancing. The same goes for their pod team; they caused significant damage to our defensive weapons but stayed in one location. We don't have any leads on where Zaporg is now."

"I saw enemy vehicles heading west when they stopped pursuing your team, Kobayashi," Isabel added. "Should we follow them?"

"Do we all agree to follow them?" I asked, and everyone raised their hands, including Harmony and Vivian." It looks like we're all on board then." I sighed.

"We will continue heading west."

[thorntonkrell-blog-blog]

Last night, as usual, we were watching a true crime story. In the story a man is stabbed and leaves a blood trail which leads back to the site of his stabbing and the murder weapon itself. The investigation of course delves into the background of the victim. Let's call him Clark. Seems like Clark was a great guy until he started drinking. One night Clark was at his favorite bar and had gone way over the line in his drinking. The bartender was a close friend of Clark's who said that he would give Clark a ride home as Clark was too drunk to drive. Clark's friend let's call him Greg, had also promised a ride home to another patron, a woman let's call her Vanita.

Greg had a small car which meant all three passengers were in the front seat. Vanita was disgusted to sit near Clark who was slobbering and sob storying and giving misdirections as he tried to guide Byron. Finally, Vanita confronted Clark calling him a drunk who didn't know his ass from his elbow. Clark apparently took this a signal to try to make out with Vanita who pushed him away. He tried again and again to the disgust and resistance of Vanita.

Vanita pulled out her knife and jabbed Clark in the leg which enraged him to the point of trying to strangle Vanita. Byron stopped the car. He went over to the passenger side and pulled Clark off Vanita, throwing him to the ground. Apparently while Byron was ejecting Clark from the car, Vanita had unintenionally stabbed him in the heart. Vanita and Greg took off leaving Clark to stumble his way wherever he was going. Clark regained his feet and staggered about twenty yards where he collapsed and left his blood trail behind him. Two passerbys saw the dead man walking. They alerted the cops. that's when Joe Kenda stepped into the situation.

By the next morning as Joe was organizing his manhunt, Greg heard about the "murder" and went directly to the police station with his lawyer and described the situation.

A few weeks later, the case was presented to a grand jury and the jury decided that Greg and Vanita had not committed a crime but rather had acted appropriately in the situation. It might have been different in Texas for example. Anyways both Vanita and Greg walked.

In this composition, the story of Clark is merely the Macguffin.

The mystery is not who killed Clark. The mystery that has universal meaning to all of us is why did nice guy Clark goe Dr. Jekyll. The obvious answer is that he was drunk and had lost his inhibitions.

By the time the show ended, Lynn was falling asleep. I was still awake and wondering. I asked Lynn if she knew about super-ego. She said "Yeah". I asked what's the difference between super ego and inhibition. She said "For God sake shut-up".

This was my signal to start formulating the story/essay/whatever that you're reading now.

Which took me back to my first knowledge of Freud.

When I first heard of Sigmund, I was a Catholic child whose conscious was already overwhelmed by conscience. I learned about the three forces that are always in conflict within our sub conscious. I was already familiar with an confused bt the Holy Trinity but that's another story.

The Holy Trinity of Freud is/was the id, the ego and the superego. All three were in constant conflict, the result of which determined everybody's behavior.

I had no problem with that concept and wondered why everybdoy thought it was so brilliant. I thought it was simple. Id was sin/ temptation. Super-ego was conscience. Ego was behaviour. Yeah I got it. Half of my education was dedicated to what actions were sinful and how serious each sin was. I was born in sin as was everybody else and we had to fight the good battle to overcome our sinfullness. I'd been doing that my whole life with confession every other Saturday to strengthen my already Herculean conscience.

MMMMKKKKAAAYYY

Last night I decided to look a little deeper hoping I would find enough to compose what I'm composing right now which might stop at any second or which might reach a logical end point which might live beyond our years or which may be unintentionally erased as was the draft that I wrote before this one which his one is trying to be as good as and so far is doing enough to survive.

Where was I?

Oh yeah. The difference between conscience, inhibition and super ego.

Ready Here wego.

In psychology, inhibition, conscience, and superego are concepts related to different aspects of personality and behavior, particularly within the framework of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory. Inhibition refers to the psychological mechanism that prevents certain thoughts, feelings or actions from reaching conscious awareness or expression. Inhibition involves the suppression or restraint of impulses, desires or behaviors. It can be conscious or unconscious. In hibition plays a crucial role in maintaining social order and adhering to social norms as influenced by socialization, cultural expectations, laws and individual experiences.

Conscience is the internal moral and ethical system that influences our concept or right or wrong. It acts as a regulator and produces feelings of guilt or remorse when individual moral principles are "violated"

Oh yeah

Both inhibitions and conscience are included in Super ego which represents the individually internalized moral and social standards passed on by our environments and parents. The super-ego, according to Freud controls and regulates behavior and strives for moral perfection and also produces guilt or pride based on adherence to or violation of internalized moral standards.

So if you wanna do a quick and Freudian slef-analysis just check in on what makes you feel guilty and what makes you feel proud.

I'll start.

No, I don't think so.

So now back to Clark.

Alcohol is the obvious wild card.

It attacks the super-ego which alrady has its hands full fighting of the id. When the super-ego gets distracted, it loses its handle on both conscience and inhibition. The battle becomes one sided. Good guy Clark becomes a public disgrace, intolerable to the point of murder.

Yeah...alcohol can and does do all of that as we all have learned at some point in our lives. We think we've got it all under control. Clark knew he did. Yeah, he drank a bit but he was a nice guy. Everybody told him so.

Yeah

I'm a nice guy.

I think I've full filled what I intended to write about when I sat down after getting the idea last night after watching yet another crime story.

Yeah, we're done here.

Time for a beer.

Inhibition:

Definition: Inhibition refers to the psychological mechanism that prevents certain thoughts, feelings, or actions from reaching conscious awareness or expression. It involves the suppression or restraint of impulses, desires, or behaviors.

Role in Psychology: Inhibition can be both conscious and unconscious. It plays a crucial role in maintaining social order, preventing impulsive actions, and adhering to societal norms. Inhibition can be influenced by various factors, including socialization, cultural norms, and individual experiences.

Conscience:

Definition: Conscience is the internal moral and ethical guidance system that influences an individual's sense of right and wrong. It acts as an internal regulator, producing feelings of guilt or remorse when a person violates their own moral principles.

Role in Psychology: Conscience is considered a part of the superego in Freudian psychoanalytic theory. It develops through the internalization of societal and parental values during the process of socialization. Conscience serves as a moral compass, shaping ethical decision-making and contributing to a person's sense of morality.

Superego:

Definition: The superego is one of the three components of Freud's structural model of the mind (alongside the id and ego). It represents the internalized moral and societal standards acquired through socialization and parental influence.

Role in Psychology: The superego operates as a counterbalance to the id, which is driven by instinctual desires and impulses. It consists of two main components—the conscience (moral aspect) and the ego-ideal (aspirational aspect). The superego's function is to control and regulate behavior, striving for moral perfection. It often leads to feelings of guilt or pride based on adherence to or violation of internalized moral standards.

Together, the conscience and ego-ideal make up the superego, which serves as a regulatory force in personality development. The superego acts to inhibit or encourage certain behaviors based on internalized moral and ethical standards. It plays a significant role in shaping an individual's sense of morality, guiding decision-making, and influencing behavior in accordance with societal norms and personal ideals.

what's the difference between inhibition, conscience and super egoChatGPT

ChatGPT

In psychology, inhibition, conscience, and superego are concepts related to different aspects of personality and behavior, particularly within the framework of Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory. Let's explore each term:

Inhibition:

Definition: Inhibition refers to the psychological mechanism that prevents certain thoughts, feelings, or actions from reaching conscious awareness or expression. It involves the suppression or restraint of impulses, desires, or behaviors.

Role in Psychology: Inhibition can be both conscious and unconscious. It plays a crucial role in maintaining social order, preventing impulsive actions, and adhering to societal norms. Inhibition can be influenced by various factors, including socialization, cultural norms, and individual experiences.

Conscience:

Definition: Conscience is the internal moral and ethical guidance system that influences an individual's sense of right and wrong. It acts as an internal regulator, producing feelings of guilt or remorse when a person violates their own moral principles.

Role in Psychology: Conscience is considered a part of the superego in Freudian psychoanalytic theory. It develops through the internalization of societal and parental values during the process of socialization. Conscience serves as a moral compass, shaping ethical decision-making and contributing to a person's sense of morality.

Superego:

Definition: The superego is one of the three components of Freud's structural model of the mind (alongside the id and ego). It represents the internalized moral and societal standards acquired through socialization and parental influence.

Role in Psychology: The superego operates as a counterbalance to the id, which is driven by instinctual desires and impulses. It consists of two main components—the conscience (moral aspect) and the ego-ideal (aspirational aspect). The superego's function is to control and regulate behavior, striving for moral perfection. It often leads to feelings of guilt or pride based on adherence to or violation of internalized moral standards.

In summary, inhibition refers to the restraint of impulses and behaviors, conscience is the internal moral compass influencing feelings of right and wrong, and the superego encompasses both conscience and the ego-ideal, serving as a regulatory force in personality according to Freudian psychoanalytic theory.

You

Super ego includes both inhiibition and conscience?ChatGPT

ChatGPT

Yes, that's correct. In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the superego encompasses both the conscience and the ego-ideal. Here's a breakdown of the components within the superego:

Conscience:

This aspect of the superego is responsible for internalizing societal and moral standards. It represents the rules, values, and norms that an individual learns from parents, caregivers, and society at large. When a person acts in a way that goes against these internalized standards, the conscience produces feelings of guilt or remorse.

Ego-Ideal:

The ego-ideal is the aspirational aspect of the superego. It involves the internalization of positive role models and ideals that a person admires. When individuals behave in a manner consistent with their ego-ideal, they experience feelings of pride and satisfaction. The ego-ideal sets standards for personal excellence and accomplishment.

Together, the conscience and ego-ideal make up the superego, which serves as a regulatory force in personality development. The superego acts to inhibit or encourage certain behaviors based on internalized moral and ethical standards. It plays a significant role in shaping an individual's sense of morality, guiding decision-making, and influencing behavior in accordance with societal norms and personal ideals.

You

how does inhibition differ from ego-idealChatGPT

ChatGPT

In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, inhibition and the ego-ideal are components of the superego, but they serve different functions. Let's explore the differences between inhibition and the ego-ideal:

Inhibition:

Definition: Inhibition refers to the psychological mechanism that prevents certain thoughts, feelings, or actions from reaching conscious awareness or expression. It involves the suppression or restraint of impulses, desires, or behaviors.

Role in the Superego: Inhibition is part of the superego's function. It represents the restrictive aspect of the superego, restraining behaviors that may go against internalized moral and societal standards. Inhibition is associated with feelings of guilt or shame when an individual violates these standards.

Ego-Ideal:

Definition: The ego-ideal is the aspirational aspect of the superego. It involves the internalization of positive role models, ideals, and standards that a person admires. The ego-ideal sets criteria for personal excellence and accomplishment.

Role in the Superego: The ego-ideal motivates individuals to strive for positive behaviors and achievements. When a person behaves in a way consistent with their ego-ideal, they experience feelings of pride and satisfaction. The ego-ideal serves as a guide for aspirational goals and shapes the individual's sense of personal identity and values.

Key Differences:

Function: Inhibition primarily functions to restrain or suppress behaviors that conflict with internalized moral and societal standards. It is more focused on preventing undesirable actions.

Motivation: The ego-ideal, on the other hand, is more focused on motivation and aspiration. It encourages individuals to emulate positive role models and strive for personal excellence. It is associated with feelings of pride and accomplishment.

In summary, while inhibition within the superego involves restraining behaviors that go against internalized standards, the ego-ideal motivates individuals to aspire to positive behaviors and achievements aligned with their ideals. Both components work together within the superego to regulate and shape an individual's behavior and sense of morality.

You

Last night, as usual, we were watching a true crime story. In the story a man is stabbed and leaves a blood trail which leads back to the site of his stabbing and the murder weapon itself. The investigation of course delves into the background of the victim. Let's call him Clark. Seems like Clark was a great guy until he started drinking. One night Clark was at his favorite bar and had gone way over the line in his drinking. The bartender was a close friend of Clark's who sais tht he would give Clark a ride home as Clark was too drunk to drive. Clark's friend let's call him Byron, had also promised a ride home to another client a woman let's call her Vanita. Clark had a small car which meant all three passengers were in the front seat. Vanita was disgusted to sit near Clark who was slobbering and sob storying and giving misdirections as he tried to guide Byron. Finally Vanita confronted Clark calling him a drunk who didn't know his ass from his elbow. Clark apparently took this a signal to try to make out with Vanita who pushed him away. He tried again. Vanita pulled out her knife and jabbed Clark in the leg which enraged him to the point of trying to strangle Vanita. Byron stopped the car. He went over to the passenger side and pulled Clark off Vanita, throwing him to the ground. Apparently while Byron was ejecting Clark, Vanita had unknowingly stabbed him in the heart. Clark regained his feet and stumbled about twenty yards where he collapsed an left his blood trail behind him. Two passerbys saw the stumble and that's when Joe Kenda stepped into the situation.ChatGPT

ChatGPT

It seems like you've provided a narrative involving a true crime story with various characters and events. The story involves an intoxicated man named Clark, a bartender named Byron, and a woman named Vanita. The situation escalates when Clark, in a drunken state, makes unwanted advances towards Vanita, leading to a confrontation that results in Clark being stabbed in the heart.

The narrative introduces elements such as the bartender intervening, Clark collapsing and leaving a blood trail, and the involvement of passersby. You've also mentioned Joe Kenda, who is likely a reference to Joe Kenda, a retired detective known for his role in the television series "Homicide Hunter."

If you have a specific question or if there's something specific you'd like to discuss or know more about regarding this story, please feel free to ask.

You

Eventually, Byron heard about the "murder" and went directly to the police station with his lawyer and described the situation. A few weeks later, the case was presented to a grand jury and the jury decided that Byron and Vanita had not committed a crime but rather had acted appropriately in the situation.ChatGPT

ChatGPT

It seems like you've extended the narrative, indicating that Byron, the bartender, learned about the "murder" and decided to go to the police station with his lawyer to provide his account of the situation. Subsequently, a few weeks later, the case was presented to a grand jury, and they determined that both Byron and Vanita had not committed a crime but had acted appropriately given the circumstances.

In legal terms, this could be interpreted as a case of self-defense. If Byron and Vanita were found to have acted in self-defense, it suggests that they used force to protect themselves from Clark's aggressive actions, and the grand jury concluded that their actions were justifiable under the circumstances.

Self-defense laws vary by jurisdiction, so the specifics of how the legal system handles such cases can depend on local laws and regulations. If you have any specific questions or if there's more you'd like to explore in this story, feel free to let me know!

You

So the question of who killed Clark was solved. The bigger more universal problem is what caused nice guy Clark to become such a deadly nuisance in the first place. Of course he was drunk and had lost all of his inhibitions which made me wonder about the difference between inhibitions, conscience and super ego.ChatGPT

ChatGPT

The story you've presented highlights the complex interplay of psychological factors, including the influence of alcohol on behavior. It's important to consider the concepts of inhibitions, conscience, and the superego in understanding why an individual like Clark might behave in a way that deviates from their typical character.

Inhibitions:

In the context of the story, alcohol consumption is a significant factor. Alcohol is known to impair cognitive functions, reduce inhibitions, and affect judgment. When inhibitions are lowered, individuals may engage in behaviors they would normally avoid. In Clark's case, excessive drinking likely contributed to the loss of inhibitions, leading to his aggressive and inappropriate actions.

Conscience:

Conscience is the internal moral and ethical guidance system. While sober, Clark might have had a well-developed conscience that guided him away from harmful or aggressive behaviors. However, the effects of alcohol can dampen one's ability to make sound moral judgments, and the impaired conscience may contribute to reckless actions.

Superego:

The superego, as part of Freudian psychoanalytic theory, encompasses both conscience and the ego-ideal. It represents internalized societal and moral standards. Excessive drinking may override the superego's usual regulatory influence, allowing the id (impulsive and instinctual drives) to take precedence. This imbalance can lead to unpredictable and sometimes dangerous behavior.

In summary, the transformation of a "nice guy" like Clark into a potentially harmful individual can be attributed to the impact of alcohol on inhibitions, conscience, and the superego. Excessive alcohol consumption can disrupt the normal functioning of these psychological mechanisms, resulting in impulsive and aggressive actions. Understanding these dynamics can shed light on the behavioral changes observed in individuals under the influence of substances like alcohol.

[copingintheghetto]

Who, Where, Why?

I forget what my last words typed here were. Not gonna look. I just had a thought- why post what I find interesting about bands/artists and their lyrics, their donde estas- on facebook? Nobody in my friend list- mainly relatives because I deleted everyone my ex-sociopath boyfriend told me to- wants to read about these things. I should just blog about music and never write another line about anything on facebook.

While I'm here- there's something related to "living in the ghetto". Well, I came across the word. It seems that someone has tried to insult an intelligent, beautiful, professional, classy woman in Congress. I don't know if Ms. Crockett was born into poverty and clawed/climbed her way out or what. I am grateful that I wasn't born into poverty and have no idea what that experience would be like since I haven't lived it. All I can say is that I empathize with those struggling to rise above, cheer for those that do and feel confused as to why a person from a higher socio-economic background would spend their time casting stones at someone who rose above- someone who's words resonate with me- remind me that my glasses are, indeed, the right prescription as I try to keep my balance while navigating through my own little world, putting out fires big and small. Honestly, I wish I had not looked at this mess written on reddit and, instead, focused on my nauseating to-do list. SIDE NOTE- Mom On the Spectrum (also ADHD- on youtube.com) shared something that might be the best thing I've heard about all year. goblin.tools. Your to-do list- each task is broken down into steps for you. There's even this feature that compiles all of your 'brain dump' into a list of tasks! 'Judge' helps you read the tone of someone's message to you if you're not quite sure what to think about it. And it can help you think of a more tactful way to say something to someone. AND it can estimate how long any given task will take you to complete! Back to the beginning. Well, I think that person casting stones is doing so out of insecurity and not having any sense of self. SIDE NOTE- I have been struggling with talking out loud at home, alone, for a year and a half now. It's a compulsion, meaning I can't stop it even though I want to. I waste hours every day giving lectures, interviews, reenacting conversations- what I wanted to say, how I wanted to sound, all the points I wanted to make. Putting away some groceries takes 2 hours. I don't think it is OCD like my psych nurse practitioner said. I agree with the OCD personality disorder diagnosis I received 10 years ago though. I was going through a disorganized psych folder of mine the other day and came across a piece of paper with, "Dr. Clark" written at the top. At the very bottom is this: "Insecurity: loneliness and insecurity sometimes cause people to talk incessantly." But it doesn't say that it's all done out loud while alone like my situation. Regardless, I am definitely insecure. I was learning about all the different kinds of insecurity one can have the other day and it seemed that I had three types. All of it stemming from childhood trauma and abuse and all. So one shouldn't be ashamed about it. Should I waste time trying to put myself in the shoes of the stone thrower? No. I'm exhausted. Anyway, I digested some social media content along with all of the song lyrics I studied for the past week. The word 'ghetto' is used here. The post I read started with,

"Republicans don’t use racial slurs and stereotypes challenge GOP" from Reddit.

"With the disgusting remarks the left makes about Lauren [sic] Boobert, why shouldn't we be a little rough on ghetto Jasmine Crockett? Rep Crockett made an ass of herself during the #impeachmentinquiry hearing today...the woman has no class. I like Byron Donalds...he is a free-thinking black man with a brain. ""Cock-it"" is just a washed-up welfare queen who somehow made it to Congress." So, when you dislike someone for speaking truth backed up by facts, you lash out like a spoiled insecure child-bully because it makes you feel uncomfortable? You type out your lazy commentary- take jabs at someone superior in intellect and logic (just a hunch), knowing the majority of ignorant constituents wrapped around your cronies' fingers won't bother to look up the facts. This person and his/her cronies project a lot. (I think this is part of what's going on here. Not sure. I'm tired.) Repeatedly. Like, when will they stop?! Never. No shame because it would hurt their game. And they are in it to win it-no going back now! Having to admit defeat? No thanks. Let's just run with the ball and see how far we can go while ignoring the referees! When someone calls you something that they are, it is called psychological projection or projection bias. This is a psychological defense mechanism where a person subconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, usually to other people . (I'm not sure this is applicable here- I thought I was going somewhere with this.) Well, I think people like the one who spouted the hate about Ms. Crockett here are the ones making asses out of themselves. My mom does this. She- probably a narcissist- calls me one. SIDE NOTE: You can benefit from CBT if people do this to you- project- and you start to question yourself- start gaslighting yourself. It's crazy how that can start to happen. Second guessing yourself. Gaslighting- a subtle form of emotional manipulation that often results in the recipient doubting their perception of reality and their sanity. I guess I was saying that Ms. Crockett's words help protect me from gaslighting myself whenever I hear members of Congress squabbling about this and that. The stone thrower wants people to doubt themselves and their ability to think and reason. Doubt their intuition. Their gut feeling. This reminds me of my dad. He doesn't call to ask how I'm doing. He seems like a bully to me-one who is flat out bored sometimes. He calls to push my buttons because he's insecure. I never bring up politics but he usually, gleefully, sneaks something into a phone call for no reason. I don't share my opinion much because his loud, bellowing voice triggers my fight or flight response. If I didn't have these anxiety disorders and whatnot, he'd never speak to me about politics. Why do bullies pick fights with the meek? Insecurity. (again) I think most people know this in this day and age. But I still think that it is really sick and worth repeating that it is really sick. SIDE NOTE: I hope we can all express our own opinions without bighting each others' heads off one day. Wouldn't it be nice? (Beach Boys song popped into my head. I think it played at the end of a documentary I saw long ago.)

[tangledbea]

Who is bastion, was that the original name for before Eugene/Flynn Ryder

Bastion is not the same person as Eugene, though he was the male lead in previous (but not all) versions of the story. He has two different designs, depending upon which point of development you're looking at.

Disney's version of Rapunzel was in some stage of development beginning in 1996 and didn't really begin development as the movie we know until 2008 when Glen Keane and Dean Wellins stepped down as directors due to Glen having a heart attack. It was given to Byron Howard and Nathan Greno (with Glen staying on as executive producer) and took shape as Tangled at that time.

Bastion, as mentioned before, exists in two iterations. You have Glen Keane's Bastion

And then you have the Bastion who was based off of Johnny Depp and was in development (according to one of the images below) in 2006.

All above art by Jin Kim

I actually got insight into the first Bastion, or "Bear Flynn," as he was nicknamed by fans, from an animator who worked on it. Everything I know about him can be found in this post. And yes, his design did later go on to influence Kristoff's design.

As for the second Bastion, or "Johnny Bastion," as he is sometimes called, I know very little about the story at this point of development. We have a handful of concept art of him leaning on stuff and holding a strand of Rapunzel's hair. In 2005, Glen Keane was having difficulty working with what Michael Eisner wanted the Rapunzel story to be. But in 2006, when John Lasseter took over, one of the first thing he did was restart the Rapunzel project with Glen and encourage him to do what he wanted with it. That is, I believe, when Johnny Bastion was developed, so he actually predates Bear Flynn Bastion.

We actually have a decent idea of most of the plot of Glen Keane's version of the story, between concept art and animator interviews. It wasn't until Nathan and Byron took over the project that Eugene took shape as he is now (after the infamous Hot Man Meeting).