#i changed her name to Reese now

[voidling-prince]

Teasing alistair is fun

[mlobsters]

person of interest s1e10 number crunch

I wanted to say thank you, Harold. For giving me a second chance.

first time watch liveblogging via gifs part 8 of ?rinch

[notjustjavierpena]

The Making of Ellie - Part I: Baby-Making

Series Masterpost | Main Masterpost | Support a disabled creator

A/N: This DILF!Joel piece has rotted my brain for 24 hours straight. I have had absolutely no break from thinking about this, and it’s never been easier to write something.

Summary: A look into how you and Joel’s relationship is going two years in. Joel’s POV on his never-ending love for you and his extreme baby fever.

Pairing: Joel Miller x f!reader/you (no y/n)

Tags: +18 Smut (MDNI!), Joel’s POV, domesticated Joel Miller, Sarah makes an appearance!!!, tooth-rotting love and fluff, they’re crazy about each other, talk about birth control and ovulation, pussy eating (joel is a cunning linguist), fingering, bit of praise kink, dirty talk, bit of body worship, breeding kink, daddy kink (if you squint real hard), slow and sensual piv sex, intense orgasms, creampie, God they are in love

Word count: 4k

Link to this work on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49183051

Song inspiration(!!!): Too Lost In You by Sugababes

Baby-Making

Joel comes home from work around the same time each day now — and it’s never after dinner time. He has made it his mission to make time for Sarah and you, cut down work since you moved in, because two working adults living in the house means that he can slow things down. 

His health has improved, his mood too, his fatigue has practically gone and Sarah has had more time to just be a kid, started playing soccer again, and has even taken up coaching the little league team now that she’s 16. It’s good for him. You are good for him. For both of them. 

He loves it. He takes the afternoon post-work ritual very seriously. Always texts if he should pick something up from the grocery store. Sometimes brings you flowers too, remembering that one time you’d said that you didn’t actually mind the cheap cellophane-wrapped bouquets. 

It’s interesting to him how natural it feels for him to slip right into domestic bliss with you because he never thought that he would get there again after Sarah’s mother. On top of it, he never considered himself a gentle thing, but after you, it’s like you kiss the calluses of him away. He is nothing but gentle now, even in his roughness. 

He throws the keys onto the side table by the front door after arriving home, shrugs off his jacket, and bends down to take off his boots. The sound makes you appear in the doorway. Joel notices that you’ve changed into gray sweatpants and a tank top with a strawberry on it since arriving home, basically removed anything from you that is professional and uncomfortable. Joel loves you like this because he is the only one who gets to enjoy you like this; relaxed and beautiful, hair in a messy bun on top of your head and fuzzy socks on your always-cold feet. He smiles at your radiance, then pads across the floor to kiss you hello. 

There’s something in your eyes; a flicker of mischief as you grab his wrist to look at his watch. With a grin that nearly sets his heart into overdrive, you hold his hand up so he can look at the time too. 

“It’s five minutes past,” you tut.

“Right, but I got ya something,” he says, reluctantly turning away from you to rummage through his jacket pocket. He fishes out a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and you immediately snatch it from his hands, holding it close to your chest.

“Gremlin,” he teases and you stick out your tongue at him, “No needa hide it. ‘S too sweet for me anyway.” 

“I shall save it for later then,” you walk to the kitchen and open the top cabinet that holds the mugs. You stand on your toes to reach into the very back, shirt riding up just a little, and stash the chocolate cup for later consumption.  

“Hidden from Sa-rah, the candy thief,” you purposely pronounce her name wrong for dramatic purposes. Then you lower yourself onto the soles of your feet again, not bothering to pull your top down again. Joel watches the slight reveal of the dimples on your back.

“Right,” he chuckles. 

Dear Lord, he loves you so much that it is ridiculous. In a way that makes the future look better than it ever has because it’s no longer filled with uncertainty. He knows what’s going to happen; he’ll build a house for the three of you, he’ll marry you in the Texan spring and he’ll give you as many babies as you want. He’d do it all today if he could. 

“How was work?” You interrupt his thoughts by wrapping your soft hands around the nape of his neck, resting them there. You have rosy cheeks, feel warm against his skin, with love radiating from your fingertips. 

“Good, told Tommy to handle the next few clients. Some hotshot guy comin’ into the office tomorrow,” Joel tells you, wrapping his arms around your waist and tugging you closer. He thinks that you don’t actually care about any of this, but there’s no indication of boredom on your face.

“He building a castle or something?” You ask. 

“Somethin’ like that. Guy’s filthy rich but not from his own doin’, looking at blueprints at the end of the week. Should be interesting,” he continues, “Not that you care about that.”

“I do actually like hearing about your job,” you kiss him on the lips, peck them repeatedly until he cannot help himself and lifts you up to hug you tight. His arms rest along your back and his hands on your sides, fingers sprawled out underneath where your bra had been in the morning. You must’ve taken it off too. He loves you comfortable. 

“You just love my hands,” he retorts, nose against your cheek, “Don’t deny it. I see right through ya.”

“It’s definitely not completely wrong,” you admit when he sets you down again.

You walk back to the kitchen, too tempted by the knowledge of what is in your kitchen cabinet. You only take half, proclaiming some bullshit that you have to watch out for your blood sugar since one can never know when it’s going to get you.

Joel rolls his eyes, following you, “I can give ya some sugar.”

“Joel Miller!” You pretend to look shocked. He tastes the peanut butter in your mouth, pushes you against the counter. 

“Gross,” a teenage girl’s voice says.

“Oh right, Sarah’s home,” you announce sheepishly.

Joel pulls away to look at his daughter, “Hey kiddo. How was school?”

“You don’t care about that,” she smirks, “But if you must know, it was fine. No homework.” 

“That don’t sound like Mrs. uhhh…”

“Green, it’s Ms. Green, Dad,” Sarah says dramatically as she moves across the floor to put on shoes. Her tone turns taunting, “Go ahead and make out with your girlfriend. I’m going to soccer practice.”

“Have fun, Sarah! We’ll have dinner ready,” you chime in. 

“See ya, honey.”

The door closes behind her. The house grows quiet for a moment, but then the mischief is back in your eyes, “She’s seeing a boy.”

Joel nearly gets whiplash, not sure why his pulse spikes. He trusts his daughter to make good decisions and has taught her how since she was just a baby, “Nah, she ain’t. Just said she’s going to soccer practice.”

“Joel,” you sigh loudly, “It’s Tuesday.”

“So?”

“She has practice on Thursdays.” 

“Christ,” he runs a hand over his stubble, tries to keep his composure, and ignores the urge to send her a text. 

“But you know what?” You’re back in his personal space, tugging at his arms to make him hold you close again, “Such a fun coincidence. I’m also seeing a boy.”

Joel can feel the tension seeping out of him in an instant.

“Really? ‘Cause I’m seein’ a girl. She’s real pretty,” he wishes that he could show his past self how tooth-rottingly sweet he is being with you because he’d hate it. Though if past-Joel found out who he was treating like this, he’d instantly become a goner just like present-Joel is now. 

“‘S her sweet tooth, unhinged behavior that I love the most though,” he continues. 

You whine in his arms, lean your head back and it earns you a kiss on your neck, “Don’t be like that. Not when I’m ovulating. I’ll climb you like a tree.”

Oh.

Oh.

It may seem innocent but Joel knows this is how you play dirty. It suddenly explains a lot. The sweatpants, the rosy cheeks, the way you glow, no bra, the cravings, why Joel wants you so bad.

Joel wouldn’t say that he is controlled by biology, and he hates the men trying to argue their way out of acting like cavemen. But looking at you right now in your stupid strawberry tank top, knowing that you’re horny and ready because your body wants to make him a daddy... Joel’s head swims. 

Something shifts in the air. You can see it on him, but Joel assumes that you wait for him to act on whatever is bubbling up in his chest and below his belt.

And act, he does. He distracts you with deep, long kisses until he can snatch you up from the ground and carry you upstairs. You squeak out a giggle but don’t fight back, enjoying the freedom of being alone with him.

“That’s why you’re so fucking sexy,” Joel says after placing you on your shared bed. He is already shedding himself of his shirt, undressing hurriedly to get close to your skin with his own as quickly as possible.

You crawl back on the bed, untying the strings of your sweatpants and yanking them down your legs. You match his urgency, but still decide to tease him, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Shut your mouth,” he yanks the rest of your pants off as soon as he is naked in front of you. He throws them in the pile of his own clothes, “You know exactly what I’m talking about, dirty girl.”

You’re just about to take your top off before Joel stops you with a hand curled around the hem. He knows you’re sensitive at this point in your cycle, but it’s not why he wants to keep it on, “I love how cute you are in this shirt. Keep it on like this.” 

He crawls properly onto the bed to demonstrate and tugs the shirt up over your tits so he can still see the stupid animated fruit on the front. Afterward, he tugs your panties down your legs and off your feet. He will swear to a higher power that he can even smell it on you, sweet like strawberries and honey between your legs and it makes him feel like an animal. 

He has had baby fever for a while now, even told you his plans on giving you a whole bunch of babies and you’ve merely giggled at him, especially when he told you that twins don’t run in his family, but he is sure that nature will give him a whole litter with you. 

“Want me to eat you out?” He asks to which you whimper and nod. He doesn’t give you what you want right then and there, instead climbs up to cradle your head in his hands and gives you a long, slow kiss. He sucks on your tongue, hums into your mouth, and gets you worked up and wet before he’ll treat you right. 

“Tell me,” he says when he breaks the kiss, nosing along the bunched-up fabric of his new favorite top of yours. He sucks at the skin between your breasts, places open-mouthed kisses along the swell of the left whilst cupping the right. 

“I want you to eat my pussy,” you moan softly, running a hand over his hair as he licks a nipple. You slide your fingers into it, but you don’t tug at it unless you feel like you need to hold onto it for dear life. 

“God, you’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” he growls before going further down your body, his spit leaving a shine where his mouth has been, “Can’t believe I own these tits.”

He goes further down, lets out a satisfied noise when he can see between your legs, “—and this pussy.” 

“Yes, it’s yours, fuck, baby,” you sound delirious already, happy and eager to be touched, on the verge of a giggle even, “Joel, need your mou—“

You gasp loudly into the quiet bedroom. Joel has covered you with his mouth, eyes almost rolling back into his skull at the taste of your ripe cunt. He is too lost in you, a complete idiot with how head over heels he is for you, and he shows it by devouring you like he is starved. 

“Baby!” You cry out, sensitive, “Fuuuck— just like that!”

He watches your thighs twitch in his peripheral, holds you down by placing a strong hand just below your belly button, and uses his thumb on said hand to pull the hood of your clit back. He sucks the little now-hard nub into his mouth, sending you into a state where he is unsure if you can even sense the sheets underneath you. If you had superpowers, he surely would’ve made you lift off the bed as if you were possessed. 

He bobs his head a little, probably looking obscene as he hums against your clit and wiggles his head too. He looks up at you through his lashes, sees the red flush on your chest, and knows that you are close. Christ, he hasn’t been this into someone before. 

“I’m gonna— you’re gonna make me—“ you say like always, announcing your departure from reality. He keeps going, feeling your stomach jump in a stuttering manner underneath his palm with how uneven your breathing has become. 

“Fuck, I’m coming!” You sob with a yank of Joel’s hair and suddenly your thighs are shaking violently without your control. Joel can feel you coming before you announce it, your cunt clenching rapidly against his lips and your clit pulsing in his mouth as he sucks your folds into his mouth. You taste so good as a gush on slick smears his lips and chin even more. He laps it up.

You push him away when he gets too much, and he turns his head to kiss your inner thigh. You finally release the giggle that you’ve been suppressing, drunk on dopamine and Joel falls in love with you a bit more. 

“You’re fucking incredible,” you say. The hand in his hair slides down so you can affectionately run your knuckles over his cheek. He responds by gently rubbing your thighs, soothing you on top of putting such strain on your heart and your breath. You hum, “I love you so much.”

Without warning, he smacks your thigh and you sit up straight. He grins, “Love ya too, sweetheart. Think you can give me one more before I fuck ya?”

“Jesus, what’s gotten into you?” You ask genuinely as you lower onto your back again. 

“Wanna fuck a baby into you,” he replies, voice an octave lower than normal. He senses your shiver without having to look at your face, “Please. Wanna get her red and puffy so it fucking sticks.” 

You let out an involuntary moan at the idea. You want this as much as him, he hopes, and he slides two fingers into your neglected pussy whilst he waits for the green light to fill you up. He crooks them upwards, fingers the spongy spot that only seems to have been discovered by him, “Lemme in. Lemme come in you.”

You’ve been off the pill for a while with the reasoning that it wasn’t doing any good for your body. Joel had stocked up on condoms since then, actually filled the top drawer of his nightstand to the brim because honey, we’re young and healthy, red-blooded Americans. But it had planted the idea in his mind that he could potentially knock you up, and suddenly the stash of condoms was being used rapidly. 

“Okay,” you say with a half-moan, “Fuck, okay.”

Joel immediately sits up on his knees, still fucking you open on his hand. You squirm underneath his touch, trying to get a hold of your breathing this time, holding eye contact with him as he drags another orgasm from you. 

It is much less hurried and a lot more intense, muscles clamping down on his digits rhythmically as you bite your lip and close your eyes with a soft gasp. He can’t decide if he finds this more sexy. 

“Did you mean it?” He asks as he trails kisses up your belly. He kneels between your legs and places an elbow on either side of your chest so he can hold both your breasts in his hands. He squeezes them together, sucks on a nipple until you sigh deeply, and then watches them bounce back into place. 

“Yes,” you say and your voice doesn’t sound unsure at all, “Fuck yes, I want your babies. Wanted them since I saw you. Want you to make me a mommy.”

“The prettiest momma out there,” he says, euphoria evident on his face. He slides his arms underneath you, rests his head on your breasts, and hugs you close to his chest, “Wanna fuck ya.”

“Please,” you say softly, spreading your legs open for him but he has other plans. He releases you from his arms to sit up again, spreading his knees a little. His hands wrap around your ankles to lift your legs up onto his shoulders, your feet behind his ears. He leans over you afterward and bends your flexible legs backward until the front of his thighs are against the back of yours. He can go deep like this, fill you up with his come how he has wanted to for months.

He takes hold of his cock, eases it inside of your spent and warm cunt inch by inch. You feel incredible around his dick without a piece of rubber separating the two of you. He can feel the head of his dick nudge at your cervix, moaning quietly as he is engulfed by your wet, pulsating heat. 

“How are you still so fucking tight?” He groans, resting his forehead against your calf as he gives you a moment to adjust to the stretch. He knows he is big, gets a thrill out of how well you take him each time as if you were made specifically for him. There had been one time where he’d called you a trooper, and you had laughed so hard with his dick inside you that it had made him come. 

“You feel so big like this,” you say as you look down between the two of you, already sounding out of breath. Joel kisses your calf repeatedly and softly, trying to soothe your overwhelmed body. 

“Goddamn. You’re so sexy,” he praises, placing both hands on the sides of your head so he is hovering above you. He finds your hazy eyes, “Look at you.” 

He gives an experimental roll of his hips that makes you whimper, both hands reaching for the backs of his knees. You hold onto him, staring up into his eyes with that siren-like look in them, and then you moan softly.

Joel starts fucking you desperately at that. He doesn’t hurry though, keeps his hips’ movements slow and sensual to have you moaning and gasping ever so slightly at the intensity. He knows he could just give in and fuck you rough and fast, but the heavy-lidded gaze that you are giving him with your mouth hanging open is too good to spoil. 

“Joel,” you cry but it’s barely audible compared to what he sometimes drags from you. He can feel your nails dig into the flexing muscles of his thighs, creating half-moon shapes in the flesh. He switches to a rocking motion, and it sends your eyes rolling into the back of your head. You moan with your bottom lip between your teeth, “Mhm—“

“I know, baby, let it out,” he can see your pulse jumping wildly underneath the sensitive skin of your neck, feeling the heat of his orgasm pool at the base of his spine. He needs to be closer to you. 

“Lift your legs down to the sides,” he tells you gently, thrusts coming to a halt and him realizing that you’ve heard absolutely nothing. He repeats himself, waits for you to follow his instructions, and then hooks his arms underneath your knees. 

Joel gets closer to you by resting his weight on his elbows, his own body on top of your slightly contorted one. You reach for him, grabby hands in the air until he allows himself to be pulled in for a kiss. You cradle his face, make him feel safe in your arms. 

“I love you, baby,” he breathes deeply. The new position gives him an opportunity to reach deeper inside of you, and it’s accompanied by each upward snap of his pelvis causing his cockhead to push into your g-spot. It makes it difficult for you to continue kissing him, eventually simply breathing into his mouth as he has you speared on his dick. Never once do you let go of his face, thumbs on his cheekbones, and tip of your nose against his. 

“I love you,” you whisper, unable to catch your breath. Joel can feel your walls flutter around his dick, threatening to pull his own climax from him too soon. You pant, eyes burning, “You— baby, shit… you’re gonna make me come.”

“Yeah?” He speeds up a little, carding a hand through your hair and gently tugging on the bun. He coaxes you, “Gonna milk my cock into you? Make me a daddy?”

“Yeah,” you whimper wantonly, tightening your legs into his sides as you try moving with him, “Yeah, baby. Gonna make you a daddy! Fuckfuckfuck. Ah— I’m, I—“

Joel doesn’t know if he’s ever made you come like this; without all the muscle and rough touches, without the fast-paced snaps of his hips and the foul taunting from his mouth of how dirty you are. But come you do, with your brows furrowed, gaze on his and a controlled breathing that suddenly becomes erratic and uneven after you let out a high-pitched cry. 

“That’s it,” he admires you, “So good f’me.”

You clamp down on his cock so hard that he sees stars, fucks you through each convulsion of your cunt. His mouth drips with filth as he works himself toward his own pleasure, “You make me so fucking horny, baby. Wanna knock— ngh, wanna knock this pretty pussy up all the time. Give ya a whole fuckin’ litter.”

He tips over the edge not long after, heart pounding in his chest and the sensation in his balls tightening. He releases with a groan, settles deep inside of you to make sure he doesn’t waste a single drop. His orgasm pulses through his cock, swirls in his belly, and warms the small of his back. 

“Fuuuck,” he pants. He carefully removes his arms from underneath your legs before he collapses, allowing you to stretch out underneath him. You look completely fucked out, gasping feebly as he teasingly gives you another thrust before pulling out. 

You wrap your arms around him as he falls onto you, nose against the shell of his ear. He can barely lift his head when you speak, humming into your neck that vibrates as you talk, “You think other people have sex this good?”

“Nah, ‘s why everyone is so fuckin’ miserable, why they gotta build mansions with their parents’ money,” he murmurs. 

“Stop thinking about the hotshot client in bed,” you tease as you cradle his head in your arms, lifting your legs to wrap them around his waist. It seems you cannot get close enough, “You should only think about sticky, sweaty me.”

Joel finds that he doesn’t care about sticky, sweaty skin and you feeling like a furnace after three orgasms. He lays with you like this for a while, sure that you’ve drifted off to sleep at one point, until you push at his shoulder, voice back to your normal pitch as the post-orgasmic bliss has faded slowly, “Gotta pee.” 

“Sure,” he rolls off of you. The sight of your waddle to the bathroom makes him smile, eyes following the way the fleshiest part of your ass and thighs jiggle with each step. 

When you’ve closed the door behind you, Joel finds the strength to rid the bed of the dirty sheets and start dressing again. He’ll have a shower before bed, he decides, ignoring the sensitivity of sliding on boxers and jeans again. 

Hurriedly, he bounces down the stairs to the kitchen. He gets the rest of your peanut butter cup, places it on the nightstand with your clothes right beside it. 

He checks the time. There’s no point in trying to cook something up for dinner if Sarah is home from ‘practice’ soon, so he goes down into the kitchen to order pizza, heart thrumming in his chest as he hears you shout a thank you from upstairs at the discovery of the other half of your favorite snack. He is happy. So so happy.

Especially as he writes ‘pregnancy test’ into his Notes app shopping list.

.

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If you would like to follow my writing then go follow @notjustjavierpena-fics and turn on notifications 💖❤️

[grlsbstshot]

Join us for the next chapter of NEON LIGHTS premiering sat.

Catch up on the previous chapters here. Chapter I // Chapter II // Special Edition // Chapter III

James Lucas sits down with Reese Lane of RHYTHM Magazine! Hear all about life, love, and his upcoming third album -- promisingly titled Painted -- during this exclusive interview!

When he won a Grammy before the age of twenty, James Lucas – born Jameson Lucas to music legend, Anaïs Lucas – knew he was in trouble. He says his ego has always been an issue and didn’t improve.

“I caught myself thinking shit that should have never crossed my mind. That I didn’t need to keep improving. That I was already the greatest. I immediately started chasing gold. It was a high. But I wasn't ready for it...and deep down, I knew that."

He would choose to continue at Howard University, graduating at 21. Instead of returning to Los Angeles, Lucas moved to New York and in four short years, built a stage career -- a departure from his music dreams. 

He led a few off-broadway shows before hearing about one particular musical: Alexander H. He would be cast in the role of Aaron Burr but according to Lucas, he had a much more fortuitous thing happen to him – meeting his music collaborator, producer and songwriter, Ellington Dupree.

“He’s my best friend. I don’t know of anybody who understands music better than he does. He makes me better. And he’s the reason I found my sound. I stopped cosplaying as Ginuwine and Joe. I found me because I wanted to be as good as EJ.”

You know the story from here…Tony award. Grammy award. Moving back to LA to work on his second album with Dupree and then? Massive success with his second album -- titled 2506. Named for his age and month of birth, Lucas found himself exploring different kinds of r&b with an all new production -- provided by Ellington Dupree.

“Everything blew up. It was all a blur when we released 2506. Six Grammy noms, two wins. I didn’t even take the time to soak the moment in. My life had changed and I was just trying to keep up.”

His life changed in other ways on Grammy night. It was the first time he met his on-off partner, singer Imani St. Cirie. The two would go on to embark on a very public relationship for the next two and a half years before abruptly breaking up in early 2023.

The mention of her makes Lucas lapse into silence for the first time in almost an hour of conversation. Despite the rumblings of reuniting, neither star has spoken about the other. Even the reasons for their breakup are closely held secrets – unless you listen between the lyrics.

Reese Lane: Do you not like talking about her? James Lucas: I could talk about Mani all day. But I mean – we were together but now we're not. Reese Lane: And the Instagram situation? James Lucas: ...Do you listen to my music? RL: Yes. Often. JL: Then you understand me and Imani. You get that we're...complicated. RL: Is that what you want? JL: I want her. So...if she calls, I go running. If I call, she comes running. That’s what it means to be complicated as f*ck. It'll always be that way. I don't care who she moves on to – it'll always be me for her. And that's not ego. It's the truth.

And just as he says, there's an understanding of their relationship in the lines of almost every track. Lucas has never confirmed which songs are inspired by his personal life. But songs filled with lost love, longing, and frenzied sex paint the picture of a chaotic romantic life. I tell him so and Lucas laughs...long and loud before agreeing. He relaxes somewhat before escorting me back inside the suite, his new home while he films several films in New York.

Jameson and I enjoy a drink (or several), order pizza, and settle in for another round of questions. He's even more open than before. I ask him to tell me about his next album and he does one better -- he pulls out his phone and plays three tracks. Back to back. Without explanation or asking my thoughts. He says the album isn't done but from what i heard, it's pretty damn close to being that.

The first track he played was a smooth yet assertively playful croon about his love for someone who seems to not be paying him much attention in return. The next is a beautiful ode to a woman he seems to be encouraging to be happy. The last was completed recently he says -- two days ago, in fact -- and it's a moody deconstruction of...himself, his ego, and the way he treated another nameless woman.

I playfully ask if those tracks about his life and Lucas surprises me by answering with a nod. I push my luck and ask again if they were all about one woman. Lucas grins and shakes his head that time, confirming what i've long suspected -- chaotic.

RL: Why is your love life like...that? JL: I don't know. I mean...I kind of do it to myself. I love hard. I love foolishly. RL: So you've been in love a lot? JL: No. RL: Do you believe in having a soulmate? JL: I do. I suspect I have one. RL: Is at least one of those about her? JL: ...Yes. RL: Imani? JL: You keep asking me about her. RL: You two intrigue me. JL: Why? (laughs) We do what everyone else does. We fuck, we fight, we love each other, we hate each other. We get it right and we get it wrong. It's just love. RL: So why be apart? JL: Ask her. She may tell you. RL: I will. Tell me which one is about her. JL: The first. And the last. RL: Which one was the second one about? JL: A friend. I'm actually supposed to meet her at the MOMA in an hour. (smiles) I like you. You don't let me get away with shit. You remind me of another friend. RL: The same one you're meeting today? JL: No. Genie. She's practically my sister. RL: Genie Adesanya? Well, thank you. I'm flattered. You two are still close after the breakup of your parents? JL: I still annoy her just as much. She's my sister. Whether or parents got married or not. She probably wouldn't agree though.

Once again, I'm surprised that he answers so openly. If his publicist was sitting in the room, they might tackle me and throw me out...but Lucas breezes through each question, more honest than anyone would expect him to be. 

"I don't have any shame." he says when I ask why he tells me so much. "I put everything in my music. Why lie? It's all in the music." He's nonchalant as he brushes his hand over his head -- the trademark cornrows he's sported since he burst onto the scene at the age of 19 gone. I ask him about his hair and he gives me a sheepish grin before saying it was for a project but I doubt it.

RL: When do you think the new album will be ready? JL: Soon. I usually finish music way before it's released. I'm just...all over the place right now. RL: Rumors about you appearing in your first film are circling. Plus this upcoming album. How are you juggling it all? Jameson Lucas: Actor & Singer. JL: With a whole lot of prayer. (laughs) I don't know. I will always think of myself as a musician before anything else. I went to school for it, I worked my ass off for that title. I'll never just be a singer. I'm a musician. Everything else is secondary.

By the time we wrap up our conversation, I understand why Jameson Lucas has so many admirers. It isn't just the fact that he's handsome or the fact that he's incredibly charming. Not even the fact that he's tall, can sing like a prince, or that flash of gold you see covering his teeth when he speaks -- it's that he's an open book. Even when you know you shouldn't fall under his spell, you do. And he makes it very appealing to be there.

When he gives you that lazy grin with those blue-green-hazel color eyes while laying across a couch -- the image of virile relaxation -- you can only think of one thing. There's a cockiness about Jameson but isn't overbearing or unappealing. It's the right amount of (in his words) essence. Even when he's crooning about how to teach you 'correction', you can't find it in yourself to hate him. He makes you want it.

Jameson walked me to the door of his suite, holding it open for me as I left -- and insisted on walking down to the lobby with me. He's dressed casually but draws looks all the way down, his long legged stride tempered by the fact that I'm wearing heels and he doesn't want to leave me behind. We part ways outside his hotel -- with an offer to interview him again once the album is out. I take up on it, we exchange contact information, and then he's off. He doesn't slide into a black car and roll the window up. He simply heads off down the street, towards the subway. On his way to a dreamy museum date with some very lucky friend.

[ask-my-transforming-idiots]

Welcome to the blog wair you can ask and interact with my transformers ocs :D

Rules:

1. Be kind no hate to other asks

2. Any type of ask is truly allowed (may it be about other charecters or backstory stuff you can cut deep)

3. I'm allowed to decline asks if I don't whant to answer them or I'm uncomfortable

4. Ryly just hav fun

Asks: open

(starting from March 29 2025):

Ask wip: 2

Ask completed so far : 2

Characters available for asks and interaction (yes more can be added to the list and characters can be subtracted): Wavebight, Sam, Reese, Sprocket, Gardjumper, Strider, Nightfin, Clouddiver, Sunshot, Crank, and Samson,

Here is a hight chart:

Frome shortest to tallest here is everyone:

Wavebight, Sam, Reese, Sprocket, Gardjumper, Strider, Nightfin, Clouddiver, Sunshot, and Crank.

(sorry Samson is not on this list you can see his ref here)

Fore anny interactions that are anonymous Thay will be done through the anon charecter you see below (if not specified human or bot in the ask I will decide Wich I draw)

Lore and other information (under cut):

(ask to find out More)

Wavebight- oc

He/thay

Alt mode: Walkie talkie

Alliance: Decepticons

(does not belong to me he belongs to @soulsquiggled for more info pls ask them)

Sam- self insert 1/2

He/thay

Alt mode: old tv

Alliance: Autobots

Works as an autobot communications expert he is not the best fighter mainly du to the fact that he is a pacifist.

Reese-oc

He/him

Alt mode: iPod (tf one/past) disk player (erthspark/now)

Alliance: Decepticons

Best friends with Nash (oc belongs to @certifiedforklif) , in the past was one of Cybertrons most popular Dj/music artists (along with Nash) is now a mined control expert among the ranks of the Decepticons

Sproket-oc

He/him

Alt mode: moter bike

Alliance: Autobots

Works in transporting important items or information fore the Autobots. He is a geek and has a human adopted son named frisk (oc by @soulsquiggled ).

Gardjumper-oc (oc fore friend)

He/she/thay

Alt mode: jeep

Alliance: Decepticons -> Autobots (changes sides specifically in the erthspark continuity)

Adopted sparkling of Strider, is kind at Hart and just got unlucky being adopted by a Decepticon. Brother (adopted not ofishaly) of nightfin

Strider-oc

He/him

Alt mode: moped

Alliance: Decepticons (slowly starts to become unaligned with ether sied over time)

Has a history of being left behind and falling off of cliffs , he is brothers with Moterboris (oc belongs to @certifiedforklif ) and is an adopted father of Gardjumper he gets separated from both at certain points in time.

Nightfin-oc (for a friend @nighttoaster)

She/thay

Alt mode: Mazda Miata

Alliance: Autobots

Sister to sprocket (adopted not ofishaly) solder for the Autobots serious in her work a strong thinker but has a good heart.

Clouddiver-oc

Thay/theme

Alt mode: small jet

Alliance: N/A (dies before that could pike a side)

Ex conjunx of sunshot. Was killed by there ex partner fore lying and betraying him. Not a good bot in the long run.

Sunshot-oc

He/it (he gets called an it by Manny)

Alt mode: fancy Show jet

Alliance: Decepticons

Joined the Decepticons out of necessity. He is a powerful fow after going insane and killing his ex partner Clouddiver and many others.

Crank-oc

He/thay

Alt mode: Cybertronian ship

Alliance: Autobots

Is a bot of curiosity kind of a good version of shockwave but not really. He likes getting answers to his questions and usually will know very little of a topic until explained.

Samson- self insert 2/2

Info here

For all characters close up refs go here

[gojoest]

Hey Ai, I just watched this movie earlier called Fear (idk if you already watched it but incase u haven’t I’ll just explain the storyline) and it’s basically about a guy named David (Mark Wahlberg) who becomes so obsessed with Nicole (Reese Witherspoon). I mean he’s literally obsessed with her he wants her to himself all the time, following her around, stalking her, and gets annoyed when she’s not with him and gets angry and jealous when she’s around her male friends. He also has a shrine made just for her with all her pictures and stuff, and tattooed her name across his torso. He also uses his charm and manipulation tactics to take her and resorted into violence when she doesn’t want to go with him and leaver her family behind like he literally tried to kill her family members just to forcefully take her.

I was wondering like I know Satoru wouldn’t do these kinds of extremes like u know trying to kill your family members, etc. But I want to know how similar could Satoru and David be in terms of obsession? Like I know Satoru can be pretty obsessed and intense with you minus the dark aspects like violence and murders.

so i watched the movie last night bc the second i saw your ask my mind immediately went ! yandere satoru ! but david and satoru are vastly different when it comes to their obsession, i think.

satoru would too be intense and quite mental with his obsession but in his own crafty way. he’d absolutely never be violent with you!!! insanity can manifest in various ways. but like he is very calculating and smart about it. he would never openly do things that would upset you and push you away — everything he does, he does so to pull you closer and keep you with him. he’d get rid of disturbances furtively. secretly, carefully, while he’s being your sweet and caring boyfriend. he wouldn’t show his true colors and intentions, because you wouldn’t love him if he did.

incredibly possessive. i think he’d get really worked up when faced with signs of you holding a special place in someone else’s life �� it could be a friend, it could be a parent. like you belonging to someone in a different way than you belong to him. which leads to this one scene from the movie that i associated with something that yandere satoru would do — david stealing nicole’s baby bracelet and carving his name on it so it reads “david’s girl” instead of “daddy’s girl”. oh boy… i think it’s something satoru would do too ;-; just to feel good about it himself, like he’s won. see? you’re his.

tbh right now the yandere i associate a lot with satoru is the ML from the manhwa ‘tears on a withered flower’, i think yantoru would be a lot like him.

the ML there goes to the flower shop where FL works at and buys roses every day. every day, for months — his house is basically filled with them at this point, like there are roses and petals scattered all around the floors… he’s been watching her for so long, waiting for her to notice him. by this point he knows a lot about her. she’s having a really hard time, going through major changes, life has basically beaten her down — she got cheated on by her (ex) husband she’s been with since high school and is in a lot of debt because of him which is why she works multiple jobs to make ends meet and pay off the debt… so he comes into her life in a very tough and vulnerable time and knows exactly how to make use of it. they get close eventually... he pretends to be poor too, yk to be more relatable, while in reality he is rich af. swaps his brand new super expensive shoes with one of his friend’s worn out ones to make it look more believable that he’s a lower class (he’s also younger than her btw, 10 year age gap) also beats up men that hit on her, secretly in the alleyways, without her knowing about it. she suspects nothing NOTHING i really love the story — there’s so much depth to it — and highly recommend it to everyone! it’s still ongoing and we’re starting to see more about ML’s backstory and how he also went through very traumatic experiences. i wait for every chapter religiously!!!! if you ever read it please lmk if you see the vision! i think yandere satoru would be a lot like ML

[captaincapsicle83]

Iron Man

The Avenger series, part 2

Tw: cursing, Tony not following directions

Previous Part

"Dude, you're like a million years old-"

"Excuse me, Ma'am, but I'm a billion! And your closer to zero. You're a baby. Added with the fact that I'm ten times as important as you-"

"Ten times zero is still zero."

"Not the point."

"I just wanna name it," you whined. Tony rolled his eyes, clearly baffled at your audacious manner.

"I picked an acronym before you were even born," He shakes his head, holding up the glasses frames in front of his face, not putting them on.

"Yeah? When?"

"September 21st, of..." He hesitated. "Of 19...93."

"Well, genuis, I was born in 1992-!"

"So me picking the name in the year of 1991 proves me right-!"

"You liar!" You exclaimed. "JARVIS, play back what Tony just said."

Before Tony can object, the ceiling emits his voice, "Of 19...93."

"JARVIS, you're being evicted," was Tony's response. "Pack your things. You're getting uploaded to a surf shop in Daytona Beach."

You laugh, taking the glasses from Tony and putting them into their case.

You were something of an accomplice to Tony's "Iron Man" shtick. You were what he called a "trainee," meaning you didn't fight anybody like Tony did. You practiced, though, and not just in a suit. You did end up giving Tony a black eye, Pepper freaking out over press stuff due to it.

"We can't send you in front of hundreds if people, or broadcast you to millions, if you looked like you run an underground fight club," Pepper exclaimed, pulling his head to the side with a grip on his chin. She looks at you all accusatory like, "You did this?"

"Cool right," you giggle, and pretend to bop Tony on the side of the face again. Peppers eyes roll before she stalks away, heels clicking.

"I'm her favorite," you say as she walks away.

"Nuh-uh."

"Yeah-huh."

☆☆☆

You sat on a gray couch, wearing pajamas and eating a bowl of cereal. A peanut butter reeses brand version of cocoa puffs. It tasted like heaven.

"Iron Man," Tony mumbled, reading a newspaper, standing behind you with Pepper. "Hey, that's kinda catchy."

"Thanks, I came up with it," you say, taking a bite of your cereal. Pepper was doing Tony's "makeup" since he had another bruise on his face, and also, the planned press conference scheduled for today was being broadcasted "everywhere."

Probably not in lesser fortunate countries, but you didn't mention that to Pepper. You wanted to stay the "favorite."

On the TV in front of you, the news was playing. You found the news to be exhausting, and quite morally wounding, but you were to lazy to find the remote and change the channel. You wished you could be watching literally anything else though. You had quite a liking for American children's shows. And Hannah Montana was on at this hour, maybe even SpongeBob.

Tony is given a speech, which he looks over as Pepper thanks Agent Coulson.

You wouldn't. The guy ate the last donut this morning, and he doesn't even live here.

As Pepper and Coulson walk out, you turn around in your seat to look at Tony.

"You aren't gonna read that, are you?" You say, crunching the last bites of your cereal.

"Of course I am, who do you take me for," He winks at you. "Now finish your cereal, and get dressed, we have ninety seconds before we have to be out there, and you look like a bum."

"I'm a squatter, it's the New York in me."

"The only 'New York' in you is Venice Pizza."

"And yet, I'm living in Iron Mans house rent free," you say, putting a false wistful look on your face, as Pepper is walking back into the room.

"He's not Iron Man," she shakes her head.

"Is so," you retaliate, walking away, tilting up your bowl to drink the milk out of it.

"You know, I'm starting to belive I'm not Iron Man," Tony says thoughtfully.

"You're not," Pepper scoffs. "And I'm starting to believe I'm raising two children. Y/n! You better come back out here dressed!"

☆☆☆

"And now, Mr. Stark will be making a statement," A man onstage says. You're on the sidelines with Pepper. You follow her lead, clapping when she does. Smiling when she does.

You were a star student. Have a star.

☆

You knew what was coming though. Oh boy, Pepper wasn't gonna be Happy. And, well, the head of security, who really was Happy, wasn't exactly gonna be a basket of roses himself.

But when was he ever?

"-To consider that I am a superhero."

Fuck up number one; they never said he was a superhero. You sucked in a breath, knowing the house of cards was about to fall.

As Tony stumbled over his words, a soldier whispered in his ear. Maybe something taboo, or maybe to read his cards. Guess the world will never know...

You have to bow your head, as you were already laughing. You felt Pepper smack you shoulder.

"The truth is..."

You pulled in another large breath, looking at Pepper to show you had composed yourself.

"I am Iron Man."

[moonlight-collective]

welcome to our plural focused sideblog. we'll try to keep our thoughts somewhat organized here. allow us to introduce ourselves proper, by name, text color (if applicable), pronouns, and any note we want to give. I will try to give general descriptions but they will likely change if the individual sees fit

Aros - he/they - I primarily run this blog. I will not take a text color as you can assume it's me unless otherwise stated.

Luna - she/they/sea/it - Host

Reese - he/they

Ivy - she/they - Primary caregiver

Nova - they/she - Primary protector

Envy - she/her - fusion of Ivy and Nova, takes care of our syskids specifically

Renn - any - Primary protector

Emily - she/her - Primary caregiver

Cyn - She/Her - Hello, I am Cyn, from, "Murder Drones". If you want to know, more, you should, message! I don't, bite. probably

that is all of us that would like to be introduced for now, do check in for updates in the future.

[feronaville]

im deep down on megamassikalove's blog cc shopping n saw her participate in an ask game thingie n i wanna do it too even tho its like a year old LMAOO bc it looks fun n i rarely see them on my dash!

1. What’s your favourite sims death? old age ,, boring answer but i love my sims man they my babies fr any other death genuinely upsets me

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? maxis match altho i do sorta uhh maxis mix i think it's called sometimes, really i download whatever i like (mostly maxis match) i just want everything in simlish fr

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? i like when my sims gain weight bc that's how i get my body diversity but if their outfit doesnt have fat morph n i dont wanna change their outfit i do cheat it sometimessss but not very often

4. Do you use move objects? move objects is enabled in my game alwayss

5. Favorite mod? honestly im not sure! im def a big acr fan but that's just the first one that comes to mind, there's soooo many must haves imo!

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? both sims 2 pets n sims 2 seasons! my auntie bought them for us, i got soooo excited about pets n lil ol me asked her, "woah can we get monkeys??" LMAOO

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? i pronounce it like aLIVE

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? REESE BULLARD!! he was in my very first bacc years ago, he had more personality than any of my other sims ever had he was so silly

9. Have you made a simself? i have! i made one in sims 2 back in like 2018 but she didnt look like me fr haha, i made one some years ago in sims 4 n she actually looked a lotttt like me but i have lost all her pics unfortunately. now i just have a sim in one of my current 'hoods that's named after me

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? dang if only i knew myself better fr ,, hmmmm ima say animal lover, loves the outdoors, artistic, childish, socially awkward. maybe

Which is your favorite EA hair color? hmm i don't think i have one? i'll just say red

Favorite EA hair? i don't see ea hair in my game fr anymore but as a kid i think my favorite one was meg i think

Favorite life stage? im not sure honestly! i might have to go with child, or adult idk tbh

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? i only started getting into building fr last year i think, building is a struggle for me but i really enjoy it! i think i'm def more of a gameplay person tho i just feel pretty restricted building for sims 2

Are you a CC creator? i am! pretty much just recolor things but i wanna try my hand at making terrains to share, and i'm slowly starting to upload lots n want to upload sims as well. i've made splash music and loading screens too, kinda wanna get back into doing that actually

Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? i consider @gir-sims to be my friend! yall should check out her bacc, its both on youtube n dreamwidth!

What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) the sims 2 is my favorite game in the world, been playing since i was like four/five!

Do you have any sims merch? i have a social bunny sweatshirt that i adore! i tried to google for it but it seems the shop is closed now, i got it from etsy by littleplumbobdesigns. i found this shirt it's the same design, except what i have is a pink sweatshirt with a pink social bunny!

Do you have a YouTube for sims? i do! i currently just have my port taylor bacc series on it, it's linked on my blog :^)

How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? i spent the first manyyyy years of simming without cc ,, idk how i did it man. i used to use alpha cc for sims 4 then i ended up switching to mostly maxis match! for sims 2 i switched hair systems twice (started with new hair system, then simgaroop, now it's mostly poppet v2). i can recall switching eye defaults too. that's all i can think of

What’s your Origin ID? i think it's behindthesea00 (my mom made me the account to buy me sims 4 for christmas) BUT i share that account with my younger sister. i dont think she plays sims anymore so idk if she still gets on it, i dont either tbh i dont need origin/ea play/whatever to play my game anymore YAY

Who’s your favorite CC creator? oh gosh there are soooo many!!

How long have you had a simblr? hmmmm i think i've had this one for 3-4 years? but it's been longer than that bc i have a sims 4 simblr that i completely abandoned as i no longer play sims 4, i havent played it since right before infants came out

How do you edit your pictures? for gameplay pics i just cropped them for the most part, occasionally adding a silly lil detail to it. i add woohoo heart to censor nudity when needed. for cc i honestly seem to just do whatever i feel like doing, lately i think i just take the pic, crop it, n add text to it

What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? i only play sims 2 so no more packs for me! other than cc packs that our lovely community makes!

What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? for sims 2 hmmmm im honestly not sure, ahh this is a hard one! sims 2 has such great packs idk if i can choose! hmmmm def pets for sure n i really love open for business too

[lotus-flower-writes-history]

The Unofficial Black History Blog

Della Reese (1931-2017)

Della Resse was born Delloresse Patricia Early on July 6th, 1931, in the Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan.

As a side note, Black Bottom was a predominantly Black neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. French settlers named it for its dark, fertile soil. Before World War I, it was home to European immigrants. During the Great Migration, African Americans from the South moved to Black Bottom to work in the auto factories.

 The neighborhood thrived from the 1920s to the 1950s, with many businesses, including restaurants, drugstores, and barbershops. It also had a vibrant entertainment district with jazz bars and nightclubs, including ‘The Forest Club.’ 

The neighborhood had a strong sense of community. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was demolished to make way for redevelopment, and the Lafayette Park residential district and a freeway replaced it. Some historical elements of the neighborhood remain.    

Delloreese was born to Richard Thaddeus Early, an African American steelworker, and Nellie Mitchelle Early, a Cherokee cook. Although her mother had other children before Reese, she was raised as an only child.

She spent most of her childhood at Olivet Baptist church and began singing in the choir at six. Along with gospel, she also loved Jazz and Blues music. When she was 12, she joined the interracial Church of Our Faith. 

At 13, she was hired by gospel legend Mahalia Jackson to sing in her gospel group. Later, she toured nationally while attending Cass Technical High School, where she was the first in her family to graduate high school at 16.

While attending Wayne State University, she formed her own gospel group, ‘The Meditation Singers’. But in 1949, when Reese’s mother suddenly died, she had to quit school to support her sick father. She then later moved out at the same time when he took in a new girlfriend. 

She went on to take on various odd jobs, including truck driving, working as an elevator operator, and performing at jazz clubs. It was during this time that she changed her name to Della Reese. 

Della’s big break came in the 1950s when she entered and won a contest to sing at Detroit’s famed ‘Flame Show Bar.’ The prize was a week-long gig at the club. While performing, the original week turned into two months as Della became one of Motor City’s top jazz singers and was exposed to the styles of outstanding performers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Billy Eckstine, and others. 

A manager scouted her during her time at the Flame Show Bar. In 1953, she moved to New York City, became a vocalist with the Hawkins Orchestra, and signed a recording deal with Jubilee Records.

During that time, she recorded six albums with Jubilee Records, including her first big single, “And That Reminds Me.” The song broke into the Pop Top Twenty and sold over a million copies. She was voted “Most Promising Singer” by Billboard and several other music publications, including Crashbox and Variety, as well as the Disk Jockeys of America and the Jukebox Operators Association. 

In 1969, Della signed a new recording contract with RCA and had her biggest hit with “Don’t You Know?”, which reached #2 on the pop charts and topped the R&B charts. This was followed by three more singles that made it to the Top 100: “Not one minute more,” “And Now,” and “Someday (you'll want me to want you).”

In 1960, she earned her first Grammy nomination for Best Female Vocalist for her album Della. During the 60s, Della continued to record music, do tours, and perform on the Las Vegas circuit for over nine years and launched a successful television career. She made appearances on The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall, Pat Boone in Hollywood, and The Joey Bishop Show.

In 1968, she made her first debut acting on the series The Mob Squad, and she would sometimes fill in for The Tonight Show Host, Johnny Carson, making her the first black woman to host a national television variety talk show. 

In 1969, she was given an opportunity to have her very own talk show, Della ( also called The Della Reese Show), which aired every weekday as a variety/talk show that allowed Della to showcase her singing and her engaging conversational style. 

Along with her co-host, Jewish-American comedian Sandy Baron, Della introduced her audience to two or sometimes three guests every show, such as Muhammad Ali, Eric Burdon, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, Linda Ronstadt, and Soupy Sales. She also invited up-and-coming new talent at the time, such as Steve Martin. 

During the show’s airing, Della would always make sure her guests were the center of attention. On occasion, she would perform musical numbers with her gusts, keeping the spotlight on them and not herself.

The Della Reese Show runtime only lasted one season (200 episodes) from June 1969 to March 1970. Although the show had good ratings and was successful during its runtime, it was because of Reese’s skin color, that the show met its unfortunate end.

The market in the Deep South and its unexpected willingness to promote a show starring an African-American woman. 

In 2008, in an interview with the Archive of American Television, Della stated: “The man who was selling our show said he couldn’t sell our show because my gums were black. That was his rationale – that my gums were not pink. Every time I smiled, I turned people off.”

Since the show’s cancellation, all 200 episodes have been lost to time, and only fragments are available today. Even after this setback, Della’s career continued to be successful over the years, as she made numerous appearances in shows and movies – Harlem Nights (1984), A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996), but she’s most notably known for starring in the CBS series, Touched by an Angel (1994-2003), and in 1994, she was honored for her talents with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

On June 12th, 2017, Della was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame.

On November 19th, 2017, Della Reese passed away at the age of 86 due to Type 2 Diabetes. 

Della Reese was a remarkable talent whose impact on music and television remains profound. She overcame challenges to become a famous jazz singer and innovative TV host. Della's soulful voice and warm personality endeared her to many, making her a beloved figure in American culture. Her legacy as a trailblazer continues to inspire generations of artists.

••

My Resources

[chicaotaku-fanfics]

There's Three of You?! Pt.17

This is the previous to last part of the entire arc, sorry for being so late, but here it is, hope you enjoy!

Warnings: foul language, might be some medical inconsistencies

CHAPTER 17

I arrive at Gaffney the next day, and find out thanks to Maggie that the three Halsteads are at the hospital, meaning that yes, our strange overdose case was in fact Intelligence’s case. I thanked her for the heads up and went to leave my stuff in my locker, when she yelled for me again, but this time she too called for Dr. Manning.

We treated the patient and stabilized her, and before I knew it, Natalie had disappeared with our new patient’s purse.

JAY’S P.O.V

We were at a conference room at Med, we had a board with the three overdosed women’s pictures up and were discussing what had happened to them, when Natalie opened the door and came in.

“Sorry to interrupt. A new patient just rolled into the ED. Unconscious, pancytopenic just like the others.” she started, we all looked at her and then between each other. “Look, I don't know if this is legal, but, right now, I really don't care.” she added, lifting a woman’s purse and leaving it on the table. “That's her stuff. Have at it.” she said.

“Thank you” Erin said, while emptying the contents of the purse on the table for all of us to check.

Natalie turned to leave after saying something about ordering a mass spectrometry.

Gotta ask Lilly about it.

“Uh, Leah has Dani Frank, Carol Shepperd, and Jessica Pope as contacts on her phone.” said Kevin.

“All our victims knew each other.” said Erin

“Yeah, looks like that.” Kevin said. Just then Antonio ended the call with the insurance company and gave us a name.

“I got a name. Dr. Dean Reybold.” he said. Voight’s and Erin’s expressions changed, they looked like they’d seen a ghost.

Him, Erin and Al all exited the room, and Antonio, Kevin, Adam and I were confused beyond belief.

LILLY’S P.O.V

As the day progressed I regularly checked on our newest patient, Leah Kamen, who had the same symptoms as our other three “cancer” patients. And when her mass spect came back, we confirmed it, loaded on chemo, never had cancer.

I’m not liking this at all.

At some point in the day, Jay sent me a message that only managed to confuse me even more.

From: Jaybird 💙

Need to meet you at the precinct.

To: Jaybird 💙

Ok, meet you there in 20.

I notified Maggie, and asked her to tell Goodwin just in case. I made my way to the doctors lounge to change my lab coat for my jacket and inside were Connor, Sarah, and Will.

“Hey you. Where’re you going?” asked Will.

“To the 21st.” I said, the three people inside looked shocked.

“What? Why?” asked Connor, his tone laced with worry.

“Did something happen?” asked Reese, then Natalie entered the room.

“All good in here?” she asked, I nodded.

“I’ll be back later, I told Maggie about me having to leave, and told her to let Goodwin know just in case.” I explain, grabbing my car keys, phone and wallet and making my way out.

I made my way to the precinct, parked outside and made it inside, at the same time, Jay was coming down the stairs to the lobby.

“You’re here, great. Come with me.” he said, I followed him, barely being able to nod towards Sergeant Platt.

We made our way upstairs and everyone was there, looking at the steps as if not to miss us coming up.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, everyone turned to look at Jay.

“Do you still have your student doctor scrubs and coat?” he asked.

“Stupid question, of course I do. Why?” I asked him.

“Do they still fit?” he asked instead of answering.

“Yes. Why? Why do those scrub matter?” I asked, beyond confused.

“You’re going undercover. We’ll send you in as a med student who wants to do their oncology residency at a private practice.” said Voight from the other side of the room.

“Oh-kay, you do know that I’ll need papers right? Also, by the sour look on Erin’s face, I can tell something went wrong.” I said. I heard Ruzek groan and turned to see him hand a $20 bill to Atwater. “What just happened?” I asked them.

“Atwater bet that you’d know Erin was pissed just by looking at her, but Ruzek didn’t believe it.” said Al, I just shrugged.

“About the papers, don’t worry, we have them.” Voight said, extending a file towards me.

I opened it and started reading.

“Miranda Walter, 4th year med student, and the rest is pretty much my file back in UC.” I said, everyone fell silent. “What?” I asked.

“You’re telling us, that you had the best grades of your generation, and were a candidate for valedictorian?” asked Atwater.

“I was valedictorian at my highschool graduation.” I said, that made everyone look shocked.

“Girl, what was your GPA?” asked Ruzek.

“Constant 4.0 GPA from junior high to high school.” I said, I could pretty much hear Ruzek and Atwater’s jaws hit the floor. “I know, I know, I was a nerd. Moving on… what do I have to do?” I asked Voight.

WILL’S P.O.V

One thing was knowing that my sister occasionally worked with Jay, another one entirely different is seeing her leave because Jay texted her.

“What just happened?” asked Nat.

“That was my sister… going to give a medical consultation to my brother at the 21st.” I said.

I mean, she told me she’s the medical consultant for the unit.

“Medical consult? Why? I don’t see why she’d be needed there, don’t the police have medical examiners?” asked Nat again, confused and, if I were crazy to think it, a bit jealous?

“Well, they’re dealing with people who’re still alive, Nat, so I guess they do need her input.” said Connor.

“This just got ten times more complicated.” I said, then sighed.

“You can say that again.” said Reese.

“Well, no time for that.” said Connor, this time pointing towards the nurses desk, we all turned and Maggie was practically two seconds away from bursting inside the lounge. “Looks like she’ll come here to drag our asses back to the ED all by herself.” he said, I snorted and nodded.

“Back to work then.” I said.

LILLY’S P.O.V

I had successfully made it inside Dr.Reybold’s practice, he trusted me right off the bat, and that made my job 100 times easier.

Certainly, this guy isn’t smart at all. Just arrogant.

The glasses I had were in reality a little camera that recorded everything said and done during the day. This went on for a relatively short time, considering that we didn’t have much time left.

“Hey Miranda, I need your help.” said the blonde assistant.

“Sure Elena, what’s up?” I asked her.

“I know you’re on your way to a fancy medical degree, but I need you to help me with some things.” she said, that raised alarm bells all over me.

“Sure thing, what do you need help with?” I asked her.

“Just need to shred some things.” she said, I got suspicious.

“Shred? What would we need to shred?” I asked her as innocently as I could.

“Oh, just some old patient files, nothing serious.” she said, as if it was nothing. I kept my cool.

“Why would we need to shred patient files?” I asked

“Some of them have, sadly, passed already, and some went to see another doctor. The paper file is kept as a formality, since now everything is digital.” Elena said

“Oh, so it’s kind of like cleaning up?” I asked her, she nodded, “Okay then, go on ahead and I’ll catch up with as soon as I go to the restroom, okay?” I asked, and she nodded again and left.

As I turned, I saw Reybold’s law team enter a conference room with him.

I took out my phone and texted Jay the safe word.

To: Jaybird 💙

Mermaid

JAY’S P.O.V

I received Lilly’s text, I looked at everyone.

“We move out. She texted the safe word.” I said, we started moving. Voight turned to me.

“Tell her we’ll maintain the cover just until we get Reybold outta here.” he said, I nodded and texted her one last time.

To: Lilyflower 🪷

Copied. Antonio will cuff you to maintain your cover.

From: Lilyflower 🪷

10-4.

We entered the practice and spread out, Erin and I went straight to the conference room where Dr. Reybold was. As I opened the door, I managed to catch the last part of what his lawyer was saying.

“It's just preemptive. They're just looking for…” she cut herself off.

“Sergeant!” Erin exclaimed, calling for Voight, I went inside the room.

“Where's the warrant?” she asked, I aggressively handed her the paper. She took it and gave it a quick read. “So you came here with a hastily written and narrowly defined search warrant to what? Upset my clients' patients?” she asked.

“Your client has been diagnosing patients with cancer they don't have to fleece them with treatments they don't need. I'd say he's the one upsetting them.” said Erin, coming to my side.

“This is absurd.” he said, then Voight came in and everything in Reybold’s expression changed.

Luckily, everything went as planned, and I ended up arresting Reybold for obstruction of justice, per Voight’s instructions. Just as I walked out with him, Antonio was walking out with Lilly, and Kevin with the assistant.

“Miranda, Elena, don’t worry, everything will be okay.” the man said.

“Actually it will. Because you won’t harm anyone else.” I said. Kevin followed after me, and Antonio behind him.

LILLY’S P.O.V

We made it back to the precinct and after making sure neither Reybold nor Elena were nearby, Antonio uncuffed me.

“Didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked.

“Nah, all good. I’ve got some very interesting things I need to show you.” I said, tapping the black frames. He smiled.

“Good girl. Go change, I’ll set it up.” he said, gently removing the glasses from my face.

I went to my locker here, courtesy of Sergeant Platt, and then changed into something more «me»: some dark skinny jeans, black sneakers, a purple button up shirt, and my wrist watch.

I went to the bullpen and except for Erin, everyone was there. My footsteps alerted everyone of my coming in.

“Hope you got what you needed.” I said, referring to the video on the screen of my brother’s desk.

“It’s enough to charge the assistant with obstruction of justice and destruction of medical records, as well as destruction of evidence in a police investigation.” said Antonio.

“Good.” I said, just then, Erin came back upstairs.

“The best the DA can do with the files recovered is charge him for fraud.” she said, clearly mad.

I was about to say something, when my phone rang, silencing everyone.

“Halstead.” I answered.

“Yes, I know who you are, that’s why I called you.” Will’s voice answered me back. “But, the reason I called you is because Jessica Pope didn’t make it. She was just pronounced dead.” he said, I let out a sigh. “I’m sorry.” he added.

“Me too. Thanks.” I said, then hung up. I turned to everyone. “Jessica Pope didn’t make it.” I said, everyone’s expression was serious.

“We need to nail this son of a bitch.” said Voight. “And I know who else can help us.” he said, before taking his leather jacket and leaving the precinct.

I checked my watch and groaned. “I better go, I still got three hours of my shift and all my stuff’s still at the hospital.” I said. “Anything you need, have Jay text me.” I added.

“Sure thing.” said Atwater, Jay stood up and walked to me, following me to the locker room.

“Hey.” he said, I looked at him, he opened his arms and I accepted the hug. “Excellent job out there.” he whispered into my ear.

“Thanks.” I said, squeezing him a bit tighter, it felt good. After a few seconds, he let go.

“Just, fair warning: we might need you to testify.” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder, I nodded.

“Yeah, I figured. If it wasn’t on your side, Reybold’s lawyer will find a way to get me on the stand.” I said, a chill running down my spine at the thought. “Better convince that DA… Dana, is it? To hurry up with the case, if not… we know what’ll happen.” I added.

“Yeah, something neither of us want to happen.” he said, I nodded, hugging him again and then grabbing my stuff -namely my bag with my scrubs, wallet, phone and car keys- and turned to look at my brother.

“Like I said, text me if you need anything.” I said, he nodded and accompanied me to my car.

“Drive safe.” he said, I smiled at him.

“Always. See you tonight for a movie?” I asked.

“If we don’t get stuck here late, sure.” he said with a small smile on his face. “Love you Lillyflower.” he added.

“Love you too Jaybird.” I said, starting my car and driving to the hospital.

Please, God I beg you, don’t let this guy get away with it.

I made it back to the hospital in time for Maggie to call my name. I walked over to her, dreading what she’d say.

“New patient for you in treatment 5. 14 year old boy fell off his skateboard, dislocated shoulder, jaw, and a broken ankle. Possible concussion too.” I looked at her in shock.

“I get the head injury for not wearing a helmet, broken ankle and the dislocated shoulder might be from a bad landing… but the jaw?” I asked the head nurse.

“His friend accidentally ran over him, the impact went to his jaw. As a consequence, the friend is treated by your brother for a broken arm and scraped knees.” she said, I winced from the pain.

“Yikes… okay, I’ll leave this and grab my coat, I’ll change into my scrubs after seeing the kid.” I said, I went to the doctors lounge, barged in, left my bag as it was in my locker, changed my jacket for my coat, and made my way over to Maggie to grab the iPad with the patient file and treat the kid.

CONNOR’S P.O.V

I was in the doctors lounge, literally catching a small break to check the new medical journal when the door swung open. I raised my head to see Lilly barge in, change her jacket for her lab coat and leave again.

Just when I thought that’d be all the movement I’d be seeing, in came Will. He noticed Lilly’s bag on her locker, and her jacket on the hamper.

“I guess my tornado of a little sister came back?” he asked with an amused look on his face.

“She literally threw her bag in there and swapped her jacket for her coat. No second glance at the room.” I answered, Will snorted as he made himself a coffee.

“That’s her alright. Always making her presence known… even if she doesn’t notice.” he said with a fond smile on his face.

He looks kinda cute smiling like that.

Wait.

WHAT?

“Hey, you good? She didn’t scare you, did she?” asked the redhead in front of me, I nodded.

“Yeah, it was just surprising… to say the least.” I said. Will handed me a cup of coffee, making me realize that he had made two cups, not just one like I had originally thought.

“What you reading?” he asked, coming to sit beside me on the couch and looking at my tablet’s screen from over my shoulder.

“New medical journal. Wanna read it with me?” I asked, he nodded, a pink blush appearing on his cheeks.

He looks cute when he blushes.

OKAY! Connor Rhodes, STOP IT!

LILLY’S P.O.V

I checked the kid’s x-rays and managed to set his jaw and shoulder back into place without much trouble, then I asked for another set of x-rays to make sure everything was put back into place correctly.

Okay, all is back where it should be, thank God.

I then called ortho for a consult in regards to the kid’s ankle.

“Okay Emilio, I’ve set everything up for your CT. While you’re in there, I’ll get another doctor for a consult and work on fixing your ankle, alright?” I asked him, he nodded. A little bit overenthusiastically. “Careful. Your head isn’t 100% healed, remember?” I asked him again.

“Sorry Dr. Halstead.” he said, I gave him a small smile.

“It’s okay Emilio, all’s good.” just as I said that, April came in to take Emilio to his CT, I nodded and off he went.

I used that time to go back to the doctors lounge, grab my bag, head to the bathroom and change back into my scrubs.

I came back out, finally looking like a doctor, when Maggie shot me a teasing look.

“Don’t start Maggie, please.” I said, already knowing what she was gonna say.

“I haven’t said anything Lillian… though if you must know, it looks like you have a new admirer.” she said, mischief in her gleaming smile. I groaned.

“Maggie! No! He’s 14 years old!” I said, she laughed.

“Didn’t you see how he practically melted when you started treating him? You left him speechless when you walked into the treatment room.” she said, just then, Will and Connor joined us.

“Who did my sister leave speechless?” asked Will.

“Her new admirer. Emilio Acosta, 14 year old boy and Dr. Halstead’s new patient.” she said, tone teasing, I blushed.

“For the love of God Maggie! Stop!” I said, covering my face.

“So another broken heart for your jar of hearts dear sister?” asked Will, I slapped him in the chest.

“Shut it. And I don’t have a jar of hearts!” I said, he looked at me.

“Oh really? Then what about Tommy Maguire, Henry Yule, Dan Stewart, Greg Thompson…” he started the list, I slapped my hand on top of his mouth to shut him up.

“Okay, okay, shut it! Not my fault they had crushes on me!” I said, Maggie and Connor sneakered.

“Looks to me like our dear Lilly is a serial heartbreaker.” said Connor, I turned to him.

“Not you too.” I said, they all laughed. 

Then my phone pinged with a text message notification. I checked it, it was Jay.

From: Jaybird 💙

We’re going to court for homicide, you’re the ace up our sleeve.

To: Jaybird 💙

Good. Text me when I’ll have to be there.

From: Jaybird 💙

Officially, someone will send a citation with the details, but heads up, court date is THIS FRIDAY

To: Jaybird 💙

So, three days from now?

From: Jaybird 💙

Exactly.

To: Jaybird 💙

Ok.

Some time later, I had the results for Emilio’s CT and I went to his room, the mom had finally arrived.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Halstead, I’m treating Emilio.” I introduced myself to her.

“Elena Sandoval, Emi’s mom. His father will be here shortly, he’s parking the car.” She said, I nodded. Not two seconds later, the man came in… Emilio’s reaction and the vibe I got from him was enough to know the kid wasn’t comfortable.

“What did you do this time?” Asked the man, serious tone in his voice, I was surprised.

Normally when your kid has a broken bone or straight up ends in a hospital, you should be worried, not ready to kill them.

“Mr. Acosta. I’m-“ he rudely cut me off.

“Can you get the doctor that’s treating my son? We need discharge papers and then we’ll leave.” He said, focused on his phone instead of me.

“I’m Dr. Halstead. I’m treating your son, and he’s not going anywhere until the orthopedist comes for a consultation regarding Emilio’s broken ankle. And, as I was about to tell your wife-“ he cut me off again.

“Ex wife.” He said sharply.

I’m going to kill this man if he keeps this attitude up.

“As I was telling Ms. Sandoval, Emilio suffered a fall which resulted in a dislocated jaw and shoulder, those have been fixed already; but he still sustained a concussion, and has a broken ankle.” I explained, I saw the father about to talk, I managed to cut him off. “Now, the CT scan came back clear, so we have nothing to worry about in that regard. Meaning, the only remaining issue is the ankle. Dr. Valdoza should be here shortly to discuss treatments and course of action.” I said, just then, the orthopedist came into the room.

“I was paged?” asked the older woman, I smiled at her.

“Yes. Dr. Valdoza, this is Emilio Acosta, he broke his ankle while at the skate park earlier this afternoon.” I explained.

“The x-rays?” she asked, I showed her the iPad in my hand. “Thankfully it’s a clean break, meaning Emilio won’t need surgery to fix this. I’ll go for the necessary materials for a cast… that means, Emilio gets to choose the color.” said the woman, Emilio’s eyes lit up.

“Really?” he asked, his father interrupted.

“May I ask where did both of you get your medical license?” asked the man.

“Raúl…” started the mom, he cut her off very rudely.

“Mujer, si crees que me creo por un segundo que este par de inútiles tiene licencias médicas, te equivocas. Las mujeres solo sirven para cuidar de la casa y tener hijos.*” said the man, I was shocked.

And if I show him I understood everything?

“Lamento desilusionarle Sr. Acosta, pero mi licencia médica me la aprobó el IDFPR, al igual que la licencia de la Dra. Valdoza. Se las podemos mostrar si gusta.**” I said, with my most fake sweet tone, he looked at me with a scowl on his face.

“Estoy bien, gracias.***” he said, mad at being caught.

“Muy bien, la Dra. Valdoza vendrá en breve con los materiales para el yeso de Emilio.****” I said, Emilio’s eyes were even brighter.

“¡¿Hablas español?!*****” he asked, I nodded, then turned to the nurses desk.

“April, would you be so kind to come here for a second and keep Mr. Acosta and Emilio company? I need to talk to Ms. Sandoval about something.” I said, the man in the room looked ready to kill me.

“Ella no sale de este cuarto sin mi permiso.******” said the man.

“Señor Acosta, no creo que le guste que llame a seguridad para que sea uno de los guardias quien le haga compañía en lugar de una de las enfermeras.*******” I said, he clenched his fists. “Hablaré con la señora Sandoval, con o sin su permiso, ella no es de su propiedad.********” I said, then took the mother away.

“April, just in case, call Earl, and have him stand outside the door, out of the father’s line of sight, please.” I whispered to the nurse, she nodded.

I took the woman to an empty conference room and started talking to her.

“Mire señora Sandoval, no quiero parecer entrometida… pero su ex esposo parece ser un hombre agresivo. Emiliano se tensó apenas lo vio entrar en la sala.*********” I said to her, she let out a long sigh and then looked at me.

“Raúl siempre ha sido de carácter fuerte. Tengo el presentimiento que fue maltratado de pequeño, el problema es que se desquita con sus palabras y actitudes hacia mí y a las mujeres en general.**********” she said, I nodded.

“No tiene que tolerar esa actitud. Ese hombre dice que ya es su ex, ¿tiene la custodia completa de su hijo?***********” I asked, she nodded.

“El problema es que no respeta el hecho de que Emilio le tiene miedo. Ha sido tan severo con él desde que era pequeño, que Emi le llama «señor».************” that made alarms ring in my head.

“No debería de ser así. Si no se siente segura, o si siente que Emi no está a salvo en la presencia de su padre, puede decirme, notificaré a la policía y se lo llevarán. Con ese arresto podrá pedir una orden de alejamiento y se le concederá con mayor facilidad.*************” I said, Ms. Sandoval’s eyes were red-rimmed and glossy.

“¿Haría eso por nosotros? Apenas nos conoce.**************” she said, I just nodded, a small smile on my face.

“Es mi trabajo como doctora abogar por el bien de mis pacientes y sus familiares, y en este momento, alejar a ese hombre de ustedes es lo mejor para Emilio y para usted.”***************” I told her, she smiled and threw herself at me and wrapped me in what can only be described as a bear hug.

“Gracias. Gracias, gracias, gracias. Raúl siempre lograba hacerme parecer como una «loca paranoica», es por eso que nadie nunca hizo nada, porque eran «temas familiares». El que usted me crea… es mucho más de lo que jamás imaginé.***************” she said, still hugging me, I hugged back.

“Notificaré a mi jefa y luego ella notificará a la policía. Su pesadilla está por acabar señora Sandoval.*****************” I said, she nodded against my neck and then she pulled back.

I took out my phone and texted Maggie.

To: Mama Bear 🐻

Mags, about the kid in 5

His father is emotionally abusing him. I asked April to keep an eye on him.

Earl’s outside the door just in case.

Please tell Goodwin. Have her call CPD.

From: Mama Bear 🐻

You got it BabyBloom.

I turned to the woman before me and smiled.

“Está hecho. La jefa de enfermeras está enterada y ella le notificará a mi jefa en breve.******************” I told her, she nodded and we made our way back to the treatment room.

“Well Ms. Sandoval, as I told you, the aftercare is pretty easy, just make sure Emilio doesn’t put any pressure on that ankle, when lying down have the foot elevated, he’ll be in crutches or maybe a wheelchair if it’s more comfortable for him.” I said, she nodded.

“A wheelchair?! My son is not an invalid!” exclaimed the father, it took everything in me not to roll my eyes at him.

“Sir this is just a precaution. Your son did break his ankle after all, we don’t want him coming back to the ED in need of surgery.” I said to the man, he pretty much snared at me.

“Are you sure your license is valid? I can bet a real doctor will look at my son’s x-ray and say he’s really okay and reveal you only want to cash out some of the insurance money.” said the man, my eyes went from kind hazelnut to deadly russet.

“Sir, are you by any chance a doctor?” I asked him.

“No, I’m a businessman. But-” I cut him off, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Atwater, Ruzek and Burgess entering the ED.

“Didn’t think so. Now, I would appreciate it if you thought you know how to do my job better than me. So, if you could kindly shut up and follow the officers that have just arrived, that would be great.” I said, he froze at the mention of the officers, he turned and saw the three members of Intelligence behind me.

“You… maldita perra-*****************” he started to say.

“Yo no amenazaría a una mujer frente a un oficial de policía si fuese usted.******************” I said, smugness overflowing my tone and expression, he was removed from the room in handcuffs.

“Thanks guys” I said to Burgess, as she was the closest to me.

“Don’t mention it. Remember your court date on Friday.” she said before leaving.

With that done, the day was officially over for me, I went back to the room just in time to watch Dr. Valdoza finish putting the bright green cast on Emilio’s foot and leg. She smiled at me, I returned the smile, then I turned to the kid and his mom, Ms. Sandoval looked at me and smiled, mouthing out a thank you. I smiled and nodded.

Friday came very quickly, I had requested the day off, knowing I’d be at the courthouse all day. I woke up early, jumped in the shower, and once done got dressed in a white blouse, a black blazer on top, black dress pants, black heels, my heart necklace and earrings. Got my makeup done, and then got my phone, headphones, the copy of my CPD contract, my badge and car keys in a small brown purse and went to the kitchen to get my coffee ready. I got the finishing touches and made my way to my car.

Once at the courthouse, I met with everyone outside. The one who I didn’t expect to see was Dr. Charles.

“Dr. Charles.” I said as a greeting.

“Dr. Halstead. Pleasure seeing you here today.” he said, I nodded and we all headed inside.

The trial started and, halfway through Dr. Charles’s cross examination, everything was going well, but Dr. Charles’s diagnosis on Reybold was something I had already suspected.

“My conversation with Dr. Reybold coupled with a look at his history led me to a clear diagnosis of psychopathy.” Dr. Charles started his explanation. “The psychopathic mind lacks fear, remorse, empathy.” he continued, telling everyone something I had known for years now, as well as my brother and every member of the Intelligence Unit present there. “In essence, it can't connect to or care about others. That's Dr. Reybold.” he concluded.

“But he's a doctor.” said Ms. Shelby, the ADA “Doesn't that suggest empathy or caring?” she added, looking at the jury.

“Well, you'd be shocked how many functional psychopaths are in the world, you know, attracted to power, control. Flaunting his success rates, the therapies only he can administer, belittling his patients to keep them under his control. «I'm the one with the medical degree», he would say to his patients.” added the psychiatrist.

“You know this how?” she asked.

“Because he told me.” answered the doctor.

“I renew my objection. This entire conversation…” started the dirty blonde lawyer, but was cut off.

“Was a spontaneous admission that has already been ruled on.” said the ADA.

“Agreed. Overruled. Continue, Ms. Shelby.” said the judge.

“So Dr. Reybold would ask his patients if they had a medical degree?” asked Dana.

“And made sure they knew he was the only one who could save them. Those are actual words from our conversation.” said Dr. Charles. I was disgusted by that behavior.

“Thank you, Dr. Charles.” said Dana, as a way to show she was done before going back to her seat.

“Well, let's talk about that conversation. Was it at your office?” said Reybold’s lawyer.

“No.” was the simple answer.

“At the court? Ordered by a judge?” she continued with the assault of questions.

“Nope.” again the psychiatrist gave a negative answer

“Did Dr. Reybold know he was being interviewed?” asked the lady, and I was two seconds away from strangling her.

If she’s like this with Dr. Charles, I don’t even wanna imagine how she’ll act when I take to the stand.

“As I said before, it was not an interview. It was two doctors striking up a conversation.” said Dr. Charles.

“Where did this conversation take place?” asked the lawyer.

“In a coffee shop.” said Dr. Charles.

“Near your house?” asked the blonde woman.

“No.” Dr. Charles said.

“Your office?” she asked again.

“No.” he answered again.

It got to the point where I completely tuned out of the trial. The woman was roasting Dr. Charles for literally just cooperating with a police investigation, but what brought me back was a comment she made towards the end.

“Ever socialize with members of the intelligence unit, Dr. Charles? Perhaps at a bar called Molly's?” she asked this time.

“I have.” he answered.

“So they're friends of yours?” she asked, now I knew what she wanted to do.

“My report on Dr. Reybold is an unbiased analy…” he was cut off.

“That wasn't the question.” she said, a smirk on her face.

“I know them through work and would be very proud to call them my friends.” he said.

“No further questions.” she said, going back to her seat, I could only worry about how this would look for us.

“I would like to call our next witness to the stand, Dr. Lillian Halsted.” said Dana, I stood up, fixed my blouse and blazer and made my way down to the stand. I could see Reybold and his lawyer’s shocked expressions when I walked by.

I pledged to speak the truth and took my seat at the stand.

Time to fix the image of the unit’s investigation and bury this son of a bitch.

“Please state your full name for the record.” said Dana.

“I’m Dr. Lillian Marianne Halstead.” I said.

“What’s your profession Dr. Halstead?” she asked.

“I’m an emergency medicine doctor working at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. And I’m also, occasionally, the medical consultant for the Intelligence Unit of the Chicago’s Police Department District 21.” I said, I could tell the exact moment realization hit Reybold’s lawyer.

“Could you tell me, were you involved in the treatment of any of the three patients, Jessica Pope, Dani Frank or Carol Shepperd?” she asked me, I nodded before answering.

“Yes, I was involved in Jessica’s Pope care as a consultant doctor. As well as Carol Shepperd.” I said.

“How did you get involved in their care?”  Dana asked me, then Reybold’s lawyer intervened.

“Objection. Your Honor, this girl said that she was a 4th year medical student going by the name Miranda Walter. This is clearly some ploy to destroy my client’s reputation.” she said.

“I’m inclined to agree… does the witness have a way to explain the deception?” asked the judge.

Thank God I came prepared.

“Yes Your Honor, I have a way to explain. With me I have the copy of my contract with the CPD, as well as the highlighted section where it covers the need for me to go occasionally undercover, all tied in a pretty red bow with this.” I said, producing said document, and my police badge from my purse. “The contract is real and legally binding.” I said.

“I’ll accept the document and badge. Proceed Ms. Shelby.” said the judge.

“Could you please explain how you got involved in the care of Jessica Pope and Carol Shepperd?” asked the DA.

“Yes. Jessica wasn’t originally my patient, I had been treating a firefighter from FireHouse 51, Christopher Herrmann, when her doctor and my colleague, Dr. Ethan Choi asked me to take a look at her charts, to see if I could see something strange, or notice if he had missed anything.” I started retelling the story of the last three days in the ED.

“What did you find?” asked Dana.

“I found the same thing he did; abnormalities. Originally, Jessica had been brought in because of smoke inhalation, it was just that her blood results just didn't make sense.” I said, pausing for a second, I then turned to the jury. “Normally, fire and smoke inhalation victims show a high white count from stress demargination. But Jessica, her cell count was low across the board. Something that worried both Dr. Choi and me.” I said, turning back to Dana.

“What happened next?” she asked.

“Objection Your Honor, are we here for a trial or a storytelling session?” asked the rude lawyer.

“Overruled. Continue, Dr. Halstead.” said the judge.

Thank God. 

“Thank you, Your Honor. Next, student doctor Sarah Reese suggested a mass spectrometry to be done on Jessica, by this point, my brother -Dr. William Halstead- had already gotten involved. We went through with the mass spect, hoping to get some answers, and we did.” I said. “The results showed that Jessica had an overdose of chemo, in fact she had seven times the regular amount. And on top of that, we discovered that she didn’t have cancer.” I added.

“What did you do when you found out?” asked Ms. Shelby.

“I went back to my patient. I then heard through the speaker system that another colleague, Dr. Rhodes, was needed in the ED. That’s when Dani came into the picture. Sadly, despite Dr. Rhodes’s and my brother’s best efforts, Dani passed away, at 16:21 that afternoon.” I said, looking down, the pain of losing a patient evident in my expression and voice. “Later, Dr. Charles ordered an autopsy, I was notified of it when I got a page to go to the morgue.” I added.

“You’re talking of Dani Frank, another one of the fraud victims, correct?” asked Dana.

“Yes, that is correct.” I said.

“And at what point did you get involved in Ms. Shepperd’s care?”  she asked me.

“When Dr. Charles came to me in confidence, and asked me if I didn’t find it strange that despite Dr. Natalie Manning’s best efforts, she didn’t seem to improve.” I said honestly.

“And what did you do next?”

“I got clearance and ordered a mass spectrometry and some biomarkers on Carol Shepperd. The results? The same as Jessica and Dani: an overdose of chemo for a cancer she never had.” I concluded.

“Thank you Dr. Halstead, no more questions.” said Dana, nodding at me and going back to her seat.

“Well Dr. Halstead, this is clearly a shock. Finding out you weren’t who you said you were.” said Reybold’s lawyer.

“That’s what undercover work is, you create an identity and live your life as that person, it’s an act.” I explained.

“So you were acting when you came into Dr. Reybold’s office and said you were a medical student?” she asked.

“Yes.” I answered.

“If you lied about that, I wonder what else have you lied about?” she said, in a clear attempt at making me mad.

“Objection!” exclaimed Dana.

“Sustained.” said the judge.

“If I may answer?” I asked, looking at the judge, he seemed to hesitate, but nodded. “I haven’t lied about anything I’ve said so far, as you may know as a lawyer, I am under oath.” I said, not an ounce of regret, nor malice in my tone.

“Very well… why did you go to Dr. Reybold’s office that day?” she asked.

“I was called by the Intelligence Unit to help, since I was involved in the care of three patients that had shown a pattern in their symptoms. They first asked me how likely it was for something like this to happen…” I said, and the lawyer cut me off.

“And what was your answer?” she asked.

“Well, if you’d let me finish my earlier sentence, you would’ve saved yourself the trouble of asking, since I was about to say it.” I said, a fake sweet smile on my face. “But my answer was that it is highly unlikely for three different women to overdose from chemo on the same day. That’s when I was asked to go undercover as Miranda. To figure out what was going on.” I said. 

“And that had nothing to do with the fact that you have socialized with the Intelligence Unit? Just like Dr. Charles.” she asked.

“I would’ve done it despite the fact that I do socialize with the Intelligence Unit, since it’s in my contract with the Chicago Police Department. Contract that the judge already has in his possession.” I said, she looked mad and desperate.

“Any reason why you socialize with the Intelligence Unit?” she asked.

“Well they drop by the hospital from time to time, either to interrogate a witness or warn us about a suspect, as well as the fact that I go to Molly’s regularly.” I said.

“And that has nothing to do with your relation to one of the members of the unit in particular?” asked the woman, I looked confused.

“If you want an answer, I’ll need you to clarify the question.” I said.

“Objection!” said Dana.

“Sustained.” said the judge.

“Very well, let me rephrase, are you familiar with the name…” she went back to her desk. “Chicago Police Department’s Detective Jason Joel Halstead?” she asked, a smug grin on her face.

“Of course I am.” I said, keeping my answer short and letting this fool of a woman play herself.

“Isn’t that your husband’s name?” she said, I let out a snort, when I looked up, Jay was rolling his eyes.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I apologize for that.” I said, looking at the judge and then the jury. “No ma’am, that’s not my husband’s name.” I said, she looked mad.

“Do I need to remind you that you’re under oath, Dr. Halstead?” the lady asked.

“No, you don’t. But that’s not my husband’s name, simply because I don’t have a husband. I’m currently single.” I explained. She looked confused. “I know Detective Halstead for the simple fact that he is my older brother.” I said.

“Then you pretty much did this as a favor to him?” she asked.

“Objection Your Honor, the witness has already given an answer.” said Dana.

“Sustained.” said the man.

“I’ll rephrase, did Detective Halstead ask you to do this as a favor to him?” she asked me, I wanted to roll my eyes so badly.

“Your Honor!” exclaimed Dana, I beated both her and the judge.

“As I’ve said before, I did this because I was ordered to, both by the sergeant in charge of the investigation, and because my contract with the CPD says so.” I said, my tone showing my annoyance. The woman looked mad, I wanted to laugh at her so bad.

Poor fool. Has a law degree but can’t seem to understand what the implications of having a contract are.

“No further questions Your Honor” she said, her tone of voice clearly showing her anger at not being able to play me or make me slip and look bad.

“Very well, the witness can go back to her seat. We’ll reconvene after a brief recess.” said the judge.

Ok, here's the chapter, the translation for the Spanish parts is as follows:

*: Woman, if you think for a second that I believe that this pair of idiots have medical licences, you're wrong. Women only serve to take care of the house and have children.

**: I'm sorry to disappoint you Mr. Acosta, but my medical licence was aproved by IDFPR, same as Dr. Valdoza's. We could show them to you if you'd like.

***: I'm good, thanks.

****: Very well, Dr. Valdoza will be back in shortly with the materials for Emilio's cast.

*****: You speak Spanish?!

******: She doesn't leave this room without my permission

*******: Mr. Acosta, I don't think you'd like me to call security and have one of the guards keeping you company instead of a nurse.

********: I'll speak with Ms. Sandoval, with or without your permission, she's not your property.

*********: Look Ms. Sandoval, I don't want to seem nosy... but your ex husban seems to be an agresive man. Emilio tensed up as soon as he saw him enter the room.

**********: Raúl has always had a strong character. I have the feeling he was mistreated when he was young, the problem is that he takes it out with his words and attitude towards me and women in general.

***********: You don't have to tolerate that attitude. That man's already your ex, do you have full custody of your son?

************: The problem is he doesn't respect the fact that Emilio is scared of him. He's being so strick with him since he was a child, that Emi calls him "sir".

*************: It shouldn't be like that. If you don't feel safe, or you feel Emi isn't safe in his father's presence, you can tell me, I'll notify the police and they'll take him away. With that arrest you can petition for a restraining order and it will be easier to obtain it.

**************: You'd do that for us? You bearly know us.

***************: It's my job as a doctor to advocate in favor of my pacients and their family's best interest, and right now, getting than man away from you is in Emilio's and your best interest.

****************: Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Raúl always managed to make me look like a "paranoid crazy lady", that's why no one ever did anything, because it was "family issues". You believing me... is more than I'd ever imagined.

*****************: I'll notify my boss and then she'll notify PD. Your nightmare is almost over Ms. Sandoval.

******************: It's done. The chief nurse knows and she'll notify my boss shortly.

*******************: Damn bitch-

*******************: I wouldn't threaten a woman in front of a police officer if I were you.

Also, adding a pic of Lilly's court outfit, the only difference is the color and typo of the shoes.

[jujapaya]

OKAY SO - someone mentioned this idea for the Vengeance of Moon Knight, and while it may sound extremely bad—like I’m Mat-patting it up in here while comparing things that may not make sense—it’s Mackay, and he makes me go insane.

The idea was behind what was introduced in Issue 8 of MK 2021 — stories. (If you see this, op, PLEASE dm me or at least message on here so I can add credit <3)

More below! :)

Issue 8 was the first main issue for Hunters Moon. If you don’t remember, MK was facing imprisonment because of what was happening in Devils Reign, and Detective Flint needed help with an investigation surrounding Scarlet Fasinera.

As the issue goes on, Hunters Moon finds Scarlet, brings her down via Khonshu, and apologizes to Reese.

Overall, it’s a pretty cut and dry story! However, what really stood out about THIS issue and THIS issue alone is that it talks about how powerful stories are, and it’s never talked about again. Maybe that’s coincidence, but there are major parallels to how Scarlet survived through becoming a story, and what Moon Knight has done.

First: The wall paintings.

On the left is how Scarlet survived through becoming a story. People prayed to her. The second, well, Marc sums it up well in the first issue:

DO YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?? Not to say that Moon Knight can PROBABLY come back as a story, but I’m saying that. He’s already set up to be with the paintings on the walls AND his death.

We do not see this EVER again in the run, so that’s why it’s very suspicious to me… I know Mackay loves stories that constantly have action, but as we've seen for the entire run, everything has a meaning and a place in the story. It'd be odd if this was just thrown to the wolves with no further exposition.

Second: her talk about stories.

IF Moon Knight comes back through those symbols, the story is crafted by those beliefs and prayers (AND it's not just Mackay's Moon Knight run we see this motif- even in the current Avengers run, also written by him, we hear that when Thor fights the horrifying biblically accurate angel).

However, what strikes out to me is the "A story changes in the telling, Hunters Moon, but never learns."

Do you know how we see this new Moon Knight portrayed? That's right. Bloody and ruthless are a few words I can name off the top of my head. We have not seen a cover yet, except for issue one and the variants, that is them not fighting someone.

Do you know how Moon Knight is seen in a lot of peoples eyes? Bloody and ruthless. Do you know how stories are made? Through beliefs of other people. We even see this in issue #25!!

It's easier to be someone who everyone else knows. Not yourself. If no one knows who you are, truly, than your story—your new life—is not going to be yourself. Who you actually were, but it is you. To other people, you are the same.

Now, to end this all off... An excerpt from Badr:

While one person believes in Moon Knight, his story will continue. Do you see what I mean?

[daydreamgoddess14]

Everything More Than Anything pt. 3

Sydney Adamu x Carmy Berzatto - R rated 🔥 (not this chapter - boooo!)

Full Masterlist

Sydcarmy Masterlist

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Who wants to spend 7 hours at the hospital?!

(I just said to myself that if I post this chapter then I really, really need to get my ass moving on Chapter 4... and then proceeded to post this so I'm going to get on with 4 now, promise!)

~~~~~

Chapter 3

They drove in silence towards the hospital, Syd’s head immediately beginning to refill with restaurant stuff and now also Carmy stuff. She could feel his eyes on her as he kept looking over to her. His phone buzzed in the center console, 

"Would you mind checking that?" He asked. She picked it up, 

"Looks like it's from Pete?"

"Passcode is 1234."

"Wow, you're crying out to get mugged, dude."

"I have no money and nothing to hide, so," he shrugged with a wry smile as she unlocked his phone. 

"Pete said 'nothing happening just yet but Nat needs Mountain Dew and Reeses.' Girl, I hear you."

"There's a 24 hour place near the hospital." The car lurched to the left, "the fuck?" Carmy pulled over and jumped out. Syd heard a dull thud on the roof as Carmy’s hand whacked the metal. She nudged the window down, 

"You good?"

"We got a flat. I need to call trip A." She stepped out of the car, 

"Do you have a spare?"

"Not a fucking clue, Richie's probably sold it." She opened the trunk, cleared away some of the crap inside and lifted the carpet panel. She held her breath and could feel Carmy doing the same next to her. Tucked into the recess, she was relieved to see the spare tire, a jack and a wrench.

"Thank fuck he didn't." She sighed. He pulled the tire out and they got to work replacing the flat. 

"You know how to do this?" He asked, impressed. 

"OK, so quick story time, my mom and dad went on a date once - like they hadn't been dating for long, and he got a flat. He had no clue what he was doing so he made out like it was something serious," He jacked the car up while she loosened the bolts, "she got out the car, changed the flat in, like, seconds and then got back in as if nothin' had happened. My dad was totally stunned," he pulled the flat off and she replaced it with the spare, "her dad was a mechanic and he had no idea. So once he'd learned how to do it himself, dad made sure I knew how to do it as well." Carmy tightened the bolts.

"Sounds like she made a big impression on him."

"She did. There's never been anyone else for him, even after all this time." They jumped back into the car and Carmy eased back onto the road. 

"No one from his dance classes?"

"Dance classes, quiz team, poker nights, work, family friends… you name it. He refuses to be set up with anyone. He says I'm like her."

"Determined?"

"Good at changing a flat." She joked. Within minutes, he'd pulled up at the 24 hour store. Syd piled handfuls of candy and sodas into his arms as he followed her around the store, noting that she'd picked up both of their favorites as well as Nat's. "Right, let's go wait for your niece or nephew to be fashionably late?"

~~~~~

Fashionably late was an understatement. Syd was certain that she'd sat in the cold, uncomfortable plastic chairs for so long that she'd imagined everything that had happened in the office. It was all some sleep deprived fever dream her mind had conjured up to taunt her with. Fueled by sour gummy sweets, she'd arranged for Tina and Connor to run prep that morning. If the baby hadn't arrived before lunch service, she'd planned to take Carmy's car to the restaurant and work alongside Richie. The evening would have to wait until later to figure out. While she tried to decide if the images in her mind from earlier were a dream or a memory, she felt him stir next to her in the seat. His head had fallen into the curve of her neck while he'd slept. She felt the brush of his nose behind her ear, followed by a kiss. 

"D'ya sleep?"

"No. I sorted out tomorrow. Today. Whatever, it's covered til this evening at least and I'll burn that bridge when I get to it." He slumped in the chair and checked messages from Richie asking for an update. 

"Richie?"

"I spoke to him while you were asleep, he knows what's happening. Can I ask you something?" He turned to face her, a small nod urging her to continue. "Were you really coming to see me that night?" A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 

"Yeah. I uh, I'd been thinking since the walk-in about How good we were. How good you were. Or are now, I guess. I was gonna go all in on," he gestured between them, "all of this - the restaurant, the stars. I needed you to know that you have my full focus."

"At 3am?"

"It was important to me that you knew."

"Looks like we were on the same page." 

"As usual. You should sleep. I'll see if Pete wants to switch." He yawned. 

"I'm OK. You wanna go change, take a shower?"

"With you?" He asked, hopefully. 

"Alone. For now. If Pete needs a break too, someone needs to be here for Nat." She smiled shyly. "But, y’know, good to know that earlier wasn't some weird fucking delirious dream."

"I'm gonna need to hear more about these dreams -" 

"Hey guys, Nat's asked me to take a break. I’m stressing her out." Pete came out with a tired smile before Carmy could say anymore. 

"You need to eat something, and you need to sleep for a couple hours." Syd told him

"Ahh I don't want to leave her for too long." 

"You don't have to," Carmy assured him. "I'll get you back here in an hour if you wanna skip the sleep part?" He looked torn.

"Dude, you can't look after Nat if you're starving and exhausted." Syd warned him. 

"You're right. And you'll stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere." She promised. 

"I'll go tell her." He said gratefully. When they'd been left alone again, Carmy turned to Syd.

"Sure you're good to stay? Thought you hated hospitals?"

"Well turns out the Berzatto's are very persuasive."

"We can be."

"And Nat has called me a genius before so I feel like she already likes me more than you." 

“That’s guaranteed. You don’t piss her off half as much as I do.” He checked over her shoulder for Pete’s reappearance before kissing her softly. “You need anything?” As if on command, her stomach rumbled loudly. 

“Food, please.” She sniggered, hiding her face in his collar. “What time is it? What meal is it?” She checked her phone to see 4am glaring at her.

“I’ll find you something, I’ll be back with breakfast.” He gave her some space as Pete returned with his coat, barely noticing their proximity.

“OK, let’s make this quick.” He sighed, “thanks Sydney.”

“No problem, Pete. I’ll see you guys later.” She went straight in to Nat, not wanting to leave her on her own purely so she could watch Carmy leave.

~~~~~

The tired blond smiled as she entered, but the toll of the evening was written all over her face. “Oh, Nat.” Syd sighed. “How you holding up?”

“Thank god you’re here. Pete’s great but I need to vent and he’s just being too nice. I feel like I can’t even yell at him, it’s like kicking a puppy.”

“I’m all yours, have at it.”

“I fucking hurt all over and I’m so fucking tired and I swear to god if someone doesn’t pull this baby from my fucking body right now then it can just fucking stay there and I’ll go back to work and it just stays there forever.” She growled as another contraction gripped her.

“Wow. OK, if that’s what you wanna do then I’ll bust you outta here right now. We’ll get back to work, help Tina with prep and get you serving tables by lunchtime?” Nat glared at her. “Can you even get up? Will they let you?”

“I’m not really clear on what I can do, no one is telling me anything except ‘be patient, baby will get here when they’re ready’. Be patient? Be fucking patient?”

“Are you hooked up to any machines or anything?” Syd looked around the bed but couldn’t see anything. “Doesn’t look like it. Wanna go for a walk?” Nat looked up suddenly,

“Really? Pete didn’t think it was a good idea.” She frowned.

“Your body, your rules. What’s it telling you?” 

“To stretch my legs.”

“So let's do it.” Syd held out her hands and Nat turned on the bed so that her feet hung over the side. She wiggled further forward on the bed, hanging onto Syd’s hands until her wooly socked feet hit the ground. She beamed at Syd, instantly looking more relaxed. “There’s the Nat I know. Come on, we’ll just have a little walk around this little area.” Syd propped open the door with a chair and held out her arm for Nat to take her elbow. They walked slowly through the deserted corridors to the elevators, past the nurses station, to the vending machines and back again doing a little loop. They paused occasionally for Nat’s contractions, but she didn’t want to stop. 

“Thought you were gonna get bed sores from sittin’ down all day!” A nurse called out as she passed them on their third loop. 

“I ditched the overprotective husband for an hour.” Nat smiled.

“Told you a walk would feel good. I was about to come and get you up anyway. Mind if I have a feel?” She gestured to Nat’s bump, Nat shrugged in agreement as the nurse placed her firm hands on Nat’s stomach. “Feels good, I think baby will be a little more energized after a walk.” She confirmed. “Head back if you feel unwell, I’m not birthing this baby in a corridor though, yeah?” Nat agreed and they carried on walking.

“How’s it feel?” Syd asked.

“Y’know Christmas?” Nat grimaced as they paused again, 

“Uhh yeah?”

“When you have to move fucking everything in your house to make room for a gigantic fucking tree that just sits there for weeks and then you have to get rid of it and put all the furniture back to where it was before?”

“Yeah?”

“Like that.”

“That’s fucked, Nat.” Syd laughed. Her loud laugh in the quiet corridor made Nat laugh until she was doubled over and clinging to Syd. 

“Oww! Fuck, OK no more laughing.”

“Yep, no more. Wanna head back to bed?”

“Yeah, time to take this fucking Christmas tree down.” They giggled as Syd guided Nat back past the elevators and to her room. Back in the room, Nat spotted a yoga ball that had been shoved in a corner, “lemme at that thing.” Syd placed it behind Nat and held it in place with her feet, using her hands to guide Nat to sit on the ball. She bounced gently on the spot,

“Yeah?” “Yeah, feels good.”

“Good. Let’s hope that was a good enough eviction notice.” They talked quietly while Nat bounced on the birthing ball, with Syd explaining the plans for the fall menu and the expected visit from Luca. 

“He’s cute, if I remember correctly?” Nat asked, distracting herself from the pain of another contraction.

“I’ve seen him once on a video call with Marcus, but he’s not bad I guess? Those are getting much closer together by the way.”

“Yeah they are. Is he single?” 

“How the hell should I know, Nat?” Syd laughed, checking the time on her phone against Nat’s contractions.

“I’m just pointing out that you don’t need to live like a nun! It’s still months before we’ll hear anything about the Michelin guide or James Beard. Months is plenty long enough for you to relax a little.”

“Every two minutes. I’m not gonna take my eye off the ball. Not a chance. He’s here for a week, I don’t have the energy to be not-dating someone who lives in Denmark.” 

“It’d be a shame to let that kinda cute pass you by?” Nat giggled, pausing halfway through for a contraction.

“Who’s cute?” Pete asked, coming through the open door, “nice ball.”

“You are, honey. Thanks, Syd found it for me. We’ve been gently encouraging this baby towards the exit and I think -” she held up her hand,

“Deep breath, Nat. It’s gonna pass, just hold on a couple more seconds.” Syd held Nat’s other hand as Pete hovered nervously and Carmy watched from the doorway.

“It’s working.” Nat finished her previous sentence. “It’s close, there’s hardly a break now.”

“I know, very close. I’m gonna call for the nurse, Pete, you wanna help Nat get wherever she’s comfortable?”

“On the ball. Staying here, don’t make me move, Syd?”

“You don’t need to move babe, it’s ok. Pete’s got you now, OK? I’m gonna get your nurse and we’ll see you really soon.” She kissed Nat’s cheek as she got up from the floor and patted Pete’s arm reassuringly. “She wants to move around.” She muttered to Pete in warning before pulling Carmy away from the door and closing it behind them.

“New career?”

“Fuck off,” she laughed, “I need to find a nurse.” She looked both ways down the corridor and headed to the nurses station where she caught the nurse who’d seen them earlier, “It’s go time. Contractions are about a minute and a half apart, she’s on the birthing ball and she wants to stay there.” Syd explained.

“That sounds perfect, I’m on my way. Nice work!” The nurse beamed at her. She and Carmy made their way back to the hard plastic seats and he handed her a breakfast sandwich.

“Oh my god, this looks insane.” Her eyes lit up as she unwrapped the wax paper. “Did you eat?” She asked through her first mouthful. He nodded,

“Showered, changed, let Pete sleep for maybe 30 minutes and then grabbed food on the way back.” 

“Perfect timing, that baby is, like, literally about to arrive.” “You both seemed pretty calm about it?”

“Just trying to keep her busy, talking about other stuff. I’m not saving you any of this, by the way.” She held up her sandwich.

“Heard, Chef. Talking about Luca?”

“She thinks I should ask him out or something.”

“Or something? What’dyou think about that?” He asked curiously. She finished her sandwich and sat back in the seat.

“I think I’m way too busy.” She shrugged. “I’m shadowing this amazing chef, working all the hours I can, I don’t have any spare time at all.” He smiled bashfully and bumped her with his shoulder.

“Good.”

“Good.” She leaned into him and he scrolled through his phone, showing her the pictures he’d taken of the place he’d brought her breakfast from, the messages he and Richie had exchanged about Nat being in the hospital and the Bear group chat which had a bunch of good luck messages for Natalie and Pete. It wasn’t long before Pete emerged, a blissful smile on his face.

“Well?” Carmy asked, sitting bolt upright.

“It’s a girl,” he grinned, his eyes filling with tears, “a little girl! She’s so tiny, she’s 7lbs exactly, she has so much dark blond hair! And blue eyes,” Syd felt her heart fill with love at just hearing about the baby in the next room. “She arrived about an hour ago. Guys, I’m so in love. She’s just being measured and dressed while Nat takes a shower, give it a few minutes and you can come in.” Pete held out his hand to shake but Carmy, tears making their way down his cheeks, pulled the taller man into a hug. 

"That's amazing, dude. Amazing." He dragged a hand down his face. 

"How's Nat?" Syd asked, 

"She's OK. Exhausted, took a lot longer than we thought. I mean, I called you guys at, like, midnight? You've been here for about 7 hours, I'm so sorry." Pete looked torn between guilt and relief.

"Don't be, we wouldn't have missed it." She reassured him, Carmy nodded in agreement. 

"We'll get some sleep before service, Tina's got prep covered."

"Well, we'll be here most of the day I think. I know Nat wants to go home today though."

"Let us know when you're home and we'll come over with some food." Carmy suggested, Syd couldn't help her tired mind lingering on the consistent use of us and we throughout the exchange. 24 hours without sleep - the majority of it spent on her feet and working - she could feel tiredness creeping into her bones. 

"Yeah, that's great. I'd better get back in there, I'll give you a shout when we're ready for you?" He made his way back to Nat and the baby. Syd dug around in her pocket for change for the coffee machine until a five dollar bill was waved in her eye line. 

"Aha, thanks Carm." She fumbled with the machine to get a drink for each of them and then slumped back in her seat. "What's the plan?"

"Back to mine, if you want? Sleep, and then get to the restaurant just before service. Work through, then ditch the farmer's market and sleep instead tomorrow?"

"Promise?"

"Might need to wake up eventually to make something for Nat and Pete, but otherwise, fuck yes."

"I'm just gonna call my dad. Let him know." She pulled out her phone and hurriedly gave him the basics before he left for work. She was just ending the call as Pete came back for them. She pushed Carmy ahead of her with her hand in the small of his back, sensing his apprehension. She could feel him relax against her once he saw Nat smiling at him through tears, 

"Come meet baby bear," she urged them both as they crept into the room. "This is Mila. Mila, this is Uncle Carmy and Auntie Syd." Syd held her breath as she peered over Carmy's shoulder to see the baby, hand still firmly on his back. "Wanna hold her?"

"You first," Carmy suggested, sidestepping to let her in. 

"No fucking way dude, she's your niece."

"What if I do it wrong?" He hissed. Nat was already holding Mila out to him, prompting him to raise his elbow like this and put his other hand like that. She settled the baby into his arms, "Hi sweet girl," he whispered finally, staring at her with matching stormy blue eyes and dark blond curls. 

"The Berzatto genes are strong, sorry Pete!" Syd smiled, 

"No complaints here, she looks like her mama." 

"She's gorgeous," Syd brushed her index finger against Mila's tiny hand and the baby opened her fist to grip the finger. "Same blue eyes as you," she said to Carmy. After a few minutes, he handed the baby to her and she took in the mess of curls and sleepy eyes, "so do all Berzatto's look the same when they're born?" Nat smiled softly, 

"From what I remember of our three baby pictures, yeah."

"Well if it helps, you all grow up pretty cute too. How're you feeling?" 

"Tired, I swear when we called Carmen she was about to arrive. Then everything just stopped for so long, thank you for waiting."

"Of course. Hopefully they'll let you go home later."

"God I hope so, I'd rather do this from my own fucking bed." Nat sighed. Mila grew restless in Syd's arms so she passed her back to Nat. "She'll need feeding again I think."

"We'll leave you guys to it, let you get some rest." Carmy kissed Nat's cheek. "I'll call you later."

~~~~~

[10hourshift]

More oc posting bc I can :P

Now introducing: Reese's family

Renata is her mother, and also the school's academic coordinator.

Both Rosario and Ramiro are Reese's second cousins. Ramiro was in the same class as Reese for a while, but they never really got along. Rosario is two years younger than the other two, so he hasn't had the time to get closer to Reese. As their families don't really interact beyond the holidays and all that.

Personality n story ig

Renata:

Renata is a very goal oriented person. She is always working on a different project and never seems to take a break, but, despite all this she doesn't get too overwhelmed with what she does, she always gives her all to anything she does, and at the same time expects everyone to keep up to this standard, which sometimes makes her look too demanding to others.

Right now her main focus is to adapt the school to be more art focused. A big sudden change that has taken a lot for the school staff.

Ramiro:

Ramiro is quite literally just a guy. He doesn't hold any strong opinion on anything or anyone and always looks like he's bored and would rather go home, he doesn't have any hobbies or aspirations in life and has a tendency to half-ass the things he does. It makes you wonder if that's really all there is to him.

As he entered his last year he realized he hasn't completed his school service hours. After asking Renata for help, he got a job as a library assistant, he basically takes care of the place in the afternoon for a few hours a week. The job is easy but really tedious bc he doesn't really do anything. Lmao

Rosario

The last of the three (yay) but he was actually the first one I made from a long time ago lel. Anyways, he's like the total opposite of his brother. He's positive, motivated, and always full of energy, he likes to help others and never expect anything in return. These traits sometimes make him look naive and stupid, and he has been bullied at some point because of this, but that has never gotten through him, as he is very resilient.

As of now, Rosario is training for a national boxing competition. He is feeling really good about this, as he has worked hard for this. Also, he is representing the school, so this has made him again some popularity even if he's still in first year.

Fun facts I couldn't fit back there:

-These are these guys birthdays (picked from their saint days)

Renata 21/05

Ramiro 11/03

Rosario 07/10

- Rosario has been bullied for his girl name, he sticks to it though, bc he assures it gives him strength.

- speaking of strength, Rosario has more resistance to pain than the normal person, and more strength.

- also, Rosario is a character adapted from another personal project of mine lol.

- if you haven't connected the dots, Ramiro is supposed to be him, though I made him a student bc ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

- Renata n Reese are straight up ocs for this lol.

-finally, they all have a condition where their hair lightens after time. I don't really know why I made it but here it's how it works

[crockettmarcel]

a six pack of beers and an apology

wc: 1511

sarah reese & crockett marcel

The car pulls up across the street a little after six pm, the time announced by the portable radio on the table next to Sarah. She’s not sure what the host is talking about — she stopped listening not long after the show started — so instead she focuses her attention on the car. It’s a sporty looking blue one, something she can’t identify, and for a few minutes, it just sits opposite her house. No one gets in or out. It’s too far away for her to make out who’s inside, so she takes another drag of her cigarette and waits for some movement.

Eventually, the driver’s side door opens, and a tall, dark-haired figure appears. She recognises him immediately, and she considers going back inside and pretending she’s not home. He’s seen her though, she’s certain, which means there’s no way out of whatever is about to happen. She stubs out her cigarette on the little red ashtray next to the radio.

The man gets something out of the trunk of the car, a box, then looks both ways before crossing the street. They make eye contact as he reaches the sidewalk, but Sarah can’t maintain it. She reaches for her pack of cigarettes.

Shaking hands, numb from the cold air, struggle with the lighter. She should have gone inside half an hour ago.

“I thought you quit.” He’s on the porch when the cigarette finally lights, disappointment radiating off him.

“Crockett.” She takes him in for a moment. His hair is longer now, and he’s no longer clean-shaven, but he’s got that same brown bomber jacket he used to wear when they were together. The box from his car is a six pack of beer. “I thought you quit.

“This is for you.”

He holds it out to her, and when she makes no effort to take it from him, he sets it down next to her. The swing moves a little under the sudden new weight, and she steadies it with her feet. The wood of the porch is old and rough against her socks, but she never remembers to put shoes on before coming out.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk.”

She opens the box and pulls out a bottle. “It’s been a year. What is there to talk about?”

There’s no bottle opener out here, but that has never stopped Sarah before. One of her best party tricks since her freshman year of college — aside from her ability to name the capital of any country given to her — is her ability to open bottles with her teeth, often met with gasps and winces from those who have never seen it before.

Crockett’s face stays neutral as she spits the cap into her hand and takes a swig.

“I came to apologise. If you’ll let me.”

Sarah laughs. “Can we go inside?”

Crockett clearly wasn’t expecting this. His mouth hangs open slightly, as if he was about to speak, but lost the words somewhere on the way from his brain. Still, he picks up the box of beer and lets Sarah lead him inside. The radio is still playing when he shuts the door behind him.

“You can put those down wherever,” she says, leading by example as she tosses the cigarette packet and lighter on the coffee table.

The house looks the same as he remembers it, if a little messier, and for a moment, he studies the space around him. The couches are new, but look well-worn, and he thinks back to her brief but intense thrifting phase. Perhaps it had had a round two at some point. There are new plants dotted around too, and they look better taken care of than Sarah does. From where he’s standing by the front door, he can see the kitchen, and once he’s finished taking in all the changes that have occurred in the last three years, he puts the box down on the floor and lets his eyes settle on Sarah’s face.

Out on the porch, he’d thought it was just the evening light that was making her look different. Even now though, lit up by the warm glow of various lamps, Sarah’s still pale. She looks worn out. Her cheekbones almost poke through her skin, and the dark circles under her eyes seem to weigh her down.

He wants to ask her what happened, how long things have been like this, but she rarely talked about her feelings when they were together. There’s no way she’ll tell him anything now.

He sets the box down next to the small couch.

“Can I get you something to drink? I’ve got water, coffee…” She lets her voice trail off as she makes her way into the kitchen. Crockett watches, unmoving, as she sets her beer down on the counter, then opens the fridge and peers inside. “Yeah, water and coffee.”

She used to love orange juice.

“I’m good, thanks.” He can only imagine how dire the inside of that fridge is.

“Right.”

For a moment, they pause, neither sure how to navigate this new dynamic. Crockett initiated this, so he should be the one calling the shots and showing Sarah how to behave, but when she glances over her shoulder at him, he appears more like a deer in the headlights, startled and unsure what to do next. Was it even his idea to come here?

After what feels like an eternity of standing in limbo, Sarah takes pity on him and makes the first move. She goes back to the living room, leaving her bottle of beer in the kitchen, and takes a seat on the bigger sofa. Crockett follows.

There’s easily enough space for both of them, and he can feel Sarah’s eyes on him as he tries to figure out what to do. Did she choose the bigger couch so he’d sit further away from her? But then why not take the armchair if she didn’t want to be next to him? If he sits right up close to her, it might seem weird when the couch is so big, but if he sits at the other end, what if that’s not what she wanted?

“You can sit down, you know.”

The lump in his throat is the size of a boulder. One of those beers would help it go down more easily, he’s sure.

But, unlike Sarah, when he said he was quitting, he meant it. He hasn’t had a drop of alcohol in almost a year, not even in food, and he’s not starting now, in the familiar-unfamiliar living room of his ex-girlfriend’s house. If he was going to relapse, it would be more dramatic, more climactic than this.

He sits next to Sarah on the big couch.

“You said you wanted to apologise.”

“I did. I do.”

“Why now?”

It’s a repeat of her question from outside, and he still doesn’t have an answer he can give her. How does he tell her that the guilt has been eating away at him all this time, or that he’s never stopped missing her?

“It felt right.”

She scoffs. “I’m sure it would have felt right a year ago, too.”

“It would. I don’t- I don’t know why I didn’t try back then. I should have. I’m sorry.”

“That’s it? You’re sorry for not trying?”

She’d moved closer to him when he first sat down, but now she pulls away, pressing her body into the arm of the couch. He doesn’t try to close the gap.

“I’m sorry for everything. I betrayed you and hurt you in the worst way, and there’s no excuse for it. If you can’t forgive me, I get it, but I want you to know that I’m not that guy anymore. I’m embarrassed that I ever was.”

He pauses, thoughts jumbled up and almost incomprehensible despite the hours he spent perfecting this at home, and uses the moment to study Sarah. She’s looking at him, expression softer than it has been since he arrived, and there’s something that looks like it might be understanding behind her eyes. The gap between them is smaller now, and he reaches across it to take her hand. She doesn’t pull away.

“I ruined the best thing in my life that night, Sarah. You were the best thing in my life, and I’m sorry I made you feel like anything less than that.” I love you.

“It’s okay. We’re okay.”

Crockett can’t quite believe what he’s hearing. Just like that? He eyes her for a second, waiting for the laugh, the sarcastic comment, something that says she was joking, but there’s nothing.

“Are you sure?”

“Certain.” She squeezes his hand, her grip deceptively strong, and for the first time since he pulled out of the liquor store car park, the thoughts about the beer are little more than a subtle buzzing in the back of his mind. He survived the urges, and he survived coming here. Sarah’s smiling at him.

He’ll be okay. He squeezes her hand back. They’ll be okay.

[rhysandshiftingthespectrum]

Introductory Post

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

Hello, shifter. I’m Rhysand (pronounced Reese-Sund), also known as Rhys (pronounced Reese). I’m a Neurodivergent, Queer, and Nonhuman Reality Shifter. Come along on my journey with me, let’s see how many bonds we can make along the way. :]

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

About Me (Neurodivergency)

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

I’m undiagnosed AuDHD (Autism + ADHD), PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and Pure O OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) (trying to get these diagnosed ASAP), medically recognized SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder)(also trying to get this diagnosed ASAP), and diagnosed MDD (Major Depressive Disorder) and GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder). Probably have PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) and/or PME (Premenstrual Exacerbation), and hoping to get that diagnosed ASAP as well.

I also have undiagnosed ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder), APD (Auditory Processing Disorder), and a majority of other “smaller” related things to my main neurodivergencies and mental illnesses (mainly things related to my AuDHD and OCD).

I don’t yet feel confident to label myself as disabled (because I don’t want to intrude on the disabled community or mislabel myself as such), but I probably am, due to my severe executive dysfunction, and several other things.

I’m in therapy, and I adore my therapist, even though they call me out constantly. (Keeping their name, pronouns, and terms secret for privacy reasons.)

Tone tags are appreciated when talking to me, since I am tired of guessing what people actually mean. If you aren’t sure what some are, how to use them, or what they mean, just ask me and I’ll give you some answers. Or look it up yourself! :]

My Special Interests Are: Wings Of Fire, Harry Potter, Neurodivergency and Disabilities as a whole, and Dragons in general.

My Current Hyperfixation(s): Nothing, and I’m in need of fucking dopamine.

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

About Me (Reality Shifting)

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

I’ve been aware of the shifting community since around 2020 or 2021. I discovered it from Tiktok, and did my own research into it immediately. Unfortunately, there wasn’t that many good resources, so my understanding of it was very simple, and my mindset was very poor. I tried shifting for a while at first, but then took a huge break from it, only trying every now and then, until early 2024. Now, with the help of shiftblr, I’ve been able to grow my knowledge of it and get motivation and mindset changes. I’ve also shifted to a parallel reality since joining shiftblr. I now attempt to shift actively (every night), and usually get a fair amount of symptoms. I am debating on permashifting to my Better CR DR right now.

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

About Me (Queer Identity)

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

I’m a Genderfluid Genderflux Non-Binary TransGuy. I experience a lot of genders within that label, so I can’t say them all here. Been feeling agender with a dash of masculine for quite a bit now, though.

I use any pronouns except for She/Her. My main pronouns are He/They/It/Xe/Ze/Ne, and I also very much love nounself and emojiself pronouns. I like 🌙/🌙’s/🌙self a lot, and any other emojiself ones.

I’m comfy with Masculine, Neutral, Thing, Creature/Critter, Fey, Hylian, and Dragon terms.

I’m AroAce, Aromantic and Myrsexual (Neuroasexual, Nebulasexual, Requiesexual, Rosesexual, Dreadsexual, Placiosexual, and Merosexual), and I’m Homoalterous, Omniqueerplatonic, Panexteramo, Pansensual, and Panaesthetic.

I’m Ambiamorous with no preference.

I’m also a Lesboy and T4T.

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

About Me (Nonhumanity)

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

I’m a Polytherian, Otherkin, Otherlink, Otherfix, Otherhearted, and Fictionflicker nonhuman.

My Theriotypes are: Wolf (Vancouver Coastal Sea Wolf), Fox (Red Fox), Lynx (Canada Lynx), Snow Leopard, Norwegian Forest Cat, and Nurse Shark..

My Kintypes are: Fiction (Dark Fey, Forest Type, from the Maleficent movies), Dragon (SilkWing/SeaWing hybrid), Dragon (Night-Light Fury Hybrid), and Raccoon.

My Linktypes are: Owl (Snowy or Barn) and Sable.

My Fictionflicker types have been: An OC Species of mine (Orphinki) and Hylian.

My hearttypes are: Whale Shark.

I’ve been awakened since around April of 2024. My Dark Fey kintype is probably because of a past life, although I don’t really have any solid memories of it, more just a great sense of things that were from that life. The rest of my nonhumanity is likely due to my neurodivergency. I don’t experience many shifts, but when I have, they have been partial shifts. I experience a lot of species dysphoria and species envy, though.

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

About Me (Other)

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

I’m a minor (16).

I’m taken by my lovely boyfriend ( @thesunnishboy ) and I am not looking for any more partners. (He’s also a reality shifter!)

I’m Agnostic, a bit spiritual, and am very respectful of others’ religions.

I’m celiac, and have a dairy intolerance, so fun for me (sarcasm).

I stand very much with Palestine.

I swear loads, so beware of that.

I have one older sibling (She/Her), who is also queer and a master shifter. She can shift literally whenever she wants to. She has the mindset all shifters dream of.

I love asks, so never ever feel afraid to send one!

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

Frequent Anons:

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

First Anon - 🧈

Second Anon - 🥀

Third Anon - 🐝

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

Links

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

DR Masterlist.

List Of Shifting Symptoms.

Notion DR Script Templates.

My Queer Labels.

My Card.

My Carrd.

@rhyswiththeshiftingzone - My other shifting account. (Pretty active.)

@rhysthedarkforestfey - My Dark Fey Otherkin account. (Not very active.)

@rhysthenonhuman - My Nonhuman account. (Not very active.)

@themanirealityshifter - My random/shifting account. (Not very active.)

@neurodivergentshiftingcultureis - My Neurodivergent Shifting Culture ask blog.

@toomuchdivergentformyneuro - My Neurodivergent account. (Active.)

@rhysandtheangelofthesunandmoon - My Greek Gods DR account. (Active.)

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

DNI List

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸

Any queerphobes (including those against intersex, mspec lesbians and gays, lesboys, turigirls, gaybians, etc., just basically any contradictory label, radqueers, TERFs, and SWERFs), racists, sexists, proshippers, those who romanticize age-regressors and pet-regressors, ableists (including those who demonize personality disorders), those who romanticize any sort of mental illness, neurodivergency, and disability, anti-shifters, those against permashifters, respawners, and race-changers, those against endogenic/non-traumagenic/etc. or mixed origins or unknown origins systems, those against Palestine, those who’s blogs are Christian or God/Jesus Christ themed heavy (nothing against y’all, just have trauma with it), those who directly send NSFW stuff towards me, those who can’t respect boundaries, JK Rowling supporters, and just about anybody else that makes me uncomfortable. I will block freely.

𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸𖥸