#i went to go open her door just now- which is EASILY in visual field from her bed-

[salted15]

you ever just realize something that you've been doing your whole life is confusing in the bordering fucked up kinda way . this sounds more serious than i intend it to . i just logically processed the fact that my mom yells for me and my sister to open her bedroom door slightly so our pets can go in/out while she is in said room and i am left very confused

[brywrites]

Flight Risk X

Summary: An answer to the age old CM question, “who’s flying the plane?” And the story of a pilot and a profiler. Part X: In which a profiler and a pilot find a safe place to land, and in which our story comes to a close.

(Series Masterlist) ( Previous |  Next )

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“It’s a serial poisoning case,” Garcia explains. “And Reid, he got poisoned somehow. He’s at the hospital now and they’re gonna give him an antitoxin but he’s still unconscious. Morgan’s there now but the team really needs him back in the field and I just didn’t know who else to call.”

Y/N swallows past the lump in her throat and says, “Tell me where to go and I’ll be there.”

“Oh my god thank you thank you thank you,” she sighs. “I’m sending you the address now and I’ll make sure they put you on his visitor list.”

When she hangs up Arthur asks, “What’s wrong?”

“Reid’s been poisoned,” she says, and she hates the quiver in her voice. “He’s at the hospital. They need someone to stay with him.”

“I’ll come with you,” he says.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to.”

“You shouldn’t have to do this alone.” Before she can argue he puts cash down on the table to cover their order and is ushering her out the door. The hospital Reid is at is mere feet away from the The Graduate and in that moment she loves that stupid tacky motel with her entire heart.

A nurse leads the two of them to the correct room, where Morgan is waiting outside. “Hey mama,” he says, offering a tired smile. Then, with a polite nod to Arthur, “Captain.”

“Is he okay?” she asks.

“He will be. This unsub is poisoning people using various coffee shops, and Pretty Boy here bought a cup at the most recent target this morning. They just gave him the antitoxin so he should be waking up soon. That stuff does a real number on the body though, so he’ll be feeling pretty bad when he does. But I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you. Just keep us posted, okay?”

“Okay,” she says. Morgan heads out to find the team and she walks into the room. There are two plastic chairs so she and Arthur sit together at the side of the hospital bed where Reid currently lies. He looks a little more pale than usual, though if it weren’t for the IVs and the hospital gown she would think that maybe he was just sleeping. Looking as peaceful as he did the morning she found him asleep on her couch.

“It’s a dangerous job,” Y/N says quietly.

“It is,” Arthur agrees. This is their greatest fear each time they fly away on a case. That one of the agents they transport will wind up hurt or hospitalized or worse. That all their passengers won’t come back to them safe and sound. “I’ve been flying these agents around for fourteen years. Agent Morgan seems to be injured the most, but when Doctor Reid is hurt it always seems to be something extreme. On more than one occasion I didn’t think he would ever set foot on this plane again.”

The words unnerve her. There’s still so much she doesn’t know about Spencer, in spite of all their conversations and meetings and stories.

“It’s not easy to care for people you know will get hurt someday,” he says. “But that hasn’t stopped you from loving him.” Y/N turns to him wide-eyed, her cheeks burning. The captain chuckles. “Please, Y/L/N, I don’t need to be a profiler in order to see what’s happening between the two of you.”

She sighs and turns her gaze to Spencer. “I know you think I’m making a mistake.”

“Not at all.”

“But you kept warning me not to get close to the BAU, and I didn’t listen to you at all.”

“Martin and I always kept to ourselves when we flew together. We did so because the agents were not always interested in talking, and because it was difficult to become friends with people we knew were constantly in danger. One day there was a case in Boston. Six of them died. It felt like we had flown them there like lambs to the slaughter. It has always been easier for me to keep my distance and to do my job. But I can see that it’s different for you.”

She can’t imagine. Six agents. As it currently stands that would be the entire team.

“You need to feel connected to people,” he continues. “Even if it means this job is harder. That’s not a mistake. And in all the years this man has been on my plane, I’ve never seen him smile at someone the way he smiles at you.”

“Coffee.” The words are barely a mumble, but they immediately jolt the two pilots out of their conversation. Spencer shakes his head slightly. “It’s in the coffee beans,” he mutters. He turns his head and he blinks awake with heavy eyes that can’t seem to focus, but she swear he looks at her. “Angel,” he sighs. And then his eyes close once more and his heart rate returns to a slower, steady rhythm. She looks at Arthur, completely befuddled. He simply shrugs, not knowing what to make of that any more than she does.

There is a knock at the door and a doctor in a white coat steps into the room. “Could I speak to one of you for a moment?” she asks. “There’s some paperwork that needs to be filled out if you wouldn’t mind.”

“I can do it,” Y/N says. Arthur promises to keep a good eye on the good Doctor, and so she follows this doctor out into the hallway, glancing back at Spencer one last time as she does so.

----

His head feels fuzzy. Everything is a haze. All he knows for sure is that his body aches all over. Oh. That must be the poison. He remembers when it began to affect him, and suddenly it all made sense. He tried to tell the team but the world went dark before he could explain. It wasn’t just in the coffee, it had to do with the coffee beans. The bags the shops were using to make their coffee. That’s why they couldn’t trace it back to one single location. He needs to tell them, they need to know, but everything is just so hazy. So confusing. For a moment the world doesn’t feel dark – it feels blindingly bright and he has a sense of urgency, a need to be awake. He tries to open his eyes but everything is just light. He turns his head. There is a figure dressed in white. It looks like her. That can’t be right. They’re not speaking these days. It must be angel. He doesn’t believe in such things, but what other explanation is there? It may just be his brain playing visual tricks on him but that trick must be an angel. His angel.

But then his eyes feel so heavy. Sleep would be nice. He slips back into the haze.

Reid isn’t sure how much time has passed when he suddenly jolts out of the fuzzy feeling. He’s asleep but he’s in a bed and everything hurts and he should probably try to open his eyes. With much effort, he does. He blinks at the bright light of the hospital room – he’s been in enough to recognize immediately where he is. If he’s alive, that means they got the antitoxin to him in time. Which means his team has figured out what’s happening, and he can just breathe easy now. Or as easily as his aching lungs will let him.

Someone clears their throat. There’s almost always a member of his team waiting with him, but he’s surprised to turn and see Captain Dobson sitting there beside him. Reid nearly jumps, the heart rate monitor spiking to emphasize his confusion.

“You’re alright, Doctor Reid,” he says. “Everything’s fine. You’re in a hospital. You were poisoned.”

“I know,” he says, his voice raspy. “It was… the poison was in the-”

“Coffee beans?” the captain finishes. “You were saying something about it before you woke up.”

“I must’ve been dreaming then. I remember thinking about the coffee. And I thought I saw an angel. But that doesn’t make any sense.”

But then the door opens and Y/N steps into the room in a white dress and cream-colored cardigan and it absolutely does. “Hi,” he says, sitting up in the bed.

“Hi,” she replies sheepishly.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it,” Arthur says, standing up from his chair. He and Y/N make eye contact briefly before he steps out of the room, closing the door behind him.

After a moment of awkward hesitation, she sits down next to him in one of the plastic chairs. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I made things weird between us.”

“I think we both did,” she says. “But no matter how much I try to pretend that I don’t care about you, when Garcia called me I was so scared.” Her voice shakes. “I thought I might never get to see you again and that the last thing I ever said to you was to leave me alone.”

“I was scared too,” he admits. “I missed you.” He missed every conversation, missed the sound of her laugh, missed the promise of a free weekend meaning he could spend a little more time with her. Even if it would only hurt him in the end, he wanted to see her.

“How did this even happen?” she asks.

“Morgan and I were revisiting the last known locations of the victims. I wanted to get coffee before we drove back to the precinct. The closest place was called Café Coco. I figured it was safe because I watched the barista grind a fresh bag of coffee beans before brewing my cup and she never added anything to it, but before we could even finish giving the profile I was out.”

“Café Coco?” she asks. “I went there this morning.”

“What?” Reid gasps. Panic surges through him, the adrenaline countering the exhaustion he feels. Oh this can’t be good. Did she drink the same coffee? How much did she drink? Is there enough antitoxin in supply? This is it, this is proof that the moment he starts to love someone the universe conspires to strike them down. “We need to tell a doctor, we need to-”

She puts her hand on his. “Spencer, it’s okay. I didn’t get coffee. I ordered tea. For some reason I just... felt like caffeine wasn’t a good idea.” He stares at her and he has absolutely no words. The panic ebbs and gives way to a stunned quiet. Because this is new. This isn’t anything he’s prepared for. Y/N waltzed right through the heart of danger and was unscathed. Maybe, just maybe, the universe has spared her. Maybe this time he gets to be happy after all. Maybe there is still one thing he can love without ruining.

But then he remembers. And his chest aches for a reason that has nothing at all to do with the poison. “It’s not fair,” he says quietly.

“What’s not fair?” she asks.

“I care about you and you’re okay. And that’s never happened before, but it doesn’t matter because you’re leaving.”

“What do you mean?”

“The IRT job,” Reid says. “Your dream job.”

“I didn’t take it.”

“You didn’t?” Now he’s confused. “But why? Y/N, you said it was your dream.”

“I didn’t take it. I mean, I still have to give them an official answer, but I’ve known my decision for a while now. I knew the moment you walked away. I thought a job like that was the only thing I wanted. But lately I’ve started to question that. And when you told me about the people you’ve lost and how much you missed them, I knew for sure. I want to fly,” she insists. “I want to be in the air and in a plane and loving the sky. But I want a home, too.”

Her eyes are shining and the soft smile on her face as she speaks makes all the pain fade when he’s looking at her. “I’ve been flying for a long time. But I’ve never had a place to call home like this before. With Yeeqin and all of our friends. With Arthur. With the BAU. And with you,” she adds. “Even without you, I finally feel like I have a place where I belong, and I don’t want to lose that. My airplane heart has been circling for a long time. I think it’s about time I found a safe place to land.”

“I can be that,” he says without thinking. But he means it. “I can be that, if you’ll let me.”

“Do you want that?” she asks.

“Yes. Very much so. When I realized what was happening to me in the precinct, I was thinking about a lot of things. About the coffee beans and my team and what they needed to figure out. But I thought about you, too. I wasn’t sure what would happen but I was afraid I would never get the chance to tell you that I missed you and that I was wrong. That I felt it too, that I felt so deeply for you. And I still do.”

She laces her fingers through his and he’s never held hands with someone like this before but god does it feel so right. “Flying was my first love,” she tells him. “And I never thought I would find anything that felt as magical as the moment a plane lifts off the ground. But you do. Every time you look at me it’s like that. Like gravity doesn’t matter anymore. Like everything is a little bit lighter.”

While he has never quite fallen in love with flying the same way, Reid knows exactly what she means. Every second he’s with her is like finishing his favorite book. Each time he makes her smile he feels like he’s solved the most important puzzle in history. She’s the first chemical reaction he completed, the first equation he solved. All that and more.

“I think,” he says, “that’s how love is supposed to make you feel.” And maybe it’s too soon and maybe it’s too much but he’s nearly told her once already and he just doesn’t think he can bear to hold the words in his chest any longer. “I love you.”

Her face absolutely lights up. “I love you, too,” she says. And he wants so badly to kiss her but with the mess of the IVs and cannula and monitors he can’t turn to do so he just squeezes her hand a little tighter and they sit there grinning at each other feeling like the luckiest people on the planet.

“So,” she says. “You, um, thought I was an angel?”

A laugh escapes his lips. “Well, yes. But I still kind of think you are.”

---

That evening Arthur grabs both of their bags from the Graduate so that she can wait with Spencer while he’s discharged. The doctors caution that there may be some aftereffects over the next twenty-four hours and send him with medication in the event anything changes during the flight back. The three of them ride over together to the airport to meet the rest of the team and head home. All of their passengers are accounted for. Everything is okay. Even so, she doesn’t let go of his hand the whole ride, and can’t stop from asking him each time he winces if he’s feeling alright.

They arrive at the hangar soon enough. Spencer rubs circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. “I’ll be alright,” he assures her, noticing the worry on her face. “It’s not even two hours. The team will keep an eye on me and we’ll see each other soon.”

“I’ll just get changed and then be ready to prepare for takeoff,” Y/N tells Arthur.

“Actually, that won’t be necessary,” he replies.

“What do you mean?” The captain has always been strict about the Bureau mandated dress code.

“I told you that I need you focused when we’re flying. And I know that your thoughts are elsewhere at the moment, so I called an old friend in Nashville. Sheila will fly as my co-pilot tonight so that you can stay close to him. I think it’s what you both need.”

Despite all of their formalities, Y/N throws her arms around him in a hug. “Thank you,” she says. “Thank you so much.”

“And Y/L/N? About the IRT offer,” he adds. “Malik and I have been talking. He’s retiring this year and there’s a lot of things on our bucket list we have yet to do. I’ve been thinking that perhaps it’s time for me to do the same. Spend some time traveling for enjoyment with my husband rather than crossing the country multiple times a month. And if I were to retire, I would want you to succeed me. If you’d be interested, of course.”

“Really?”

He smiles. “I think you’ve found something good here. And it would be a shame to leave that behind. But I also think it’s time you were promoted – and time I took a page from Martin’s book and enjoyed the time I have with the person I love most.”

“Of course. Yes, yes absolutely.”

“Then it’s settled,” he says, putting his cap on. “I’m glad you didn’t listen to me all those month ago.” He disappears into Geff, and she bounds back over to Spencer.

“Arthur called in a favor,” she says. “So that I could ride home with you, if that’s okay?”

“That is more than okay,” he tells her, grinning. And it’s such a perfect smile that she can’t help herself. She leans in and presses her lips to his and he reciprocates immediately, his hands gently cupping her face and it’s all too brief but all so wonderful and when he pulls away the grin has shifted to dazed, blissful smile that she is certain mirrors the look on her own face.

“Well damn,” Morgan says behind them. “Garcia’s gonna be so mad she wasn’t here to witness that.” Kate elbows him and Spencer turns beet red but the smile never fades.

She’s been in the cabin plenty of times before, but she’s never flown. It’s an incredibly nice interior and they sit side by side in seats that are more comfortable than she’s imagined. Geff speeds down the runway and Spencer holds her hand, her head on his shoulder and his head against hers just like that night on the couch. They lift up into the clear blue air and it’s still so magical and this feeling is still so magical and she doesn’t know how it could possibly get better than this.

---

“Are you ready Doctor?” she asks. “You look a little nervous.”

Reid looks at her. “Y/N, angel, you know I trust you. I’ve just never been in a plane this size before.” After three months, the BAU has taken down the trafficking ring, Kate has taken a leave of absence, and everyone has been given a week off to take a much-needed break. And his girlfriend has convinced him to spend one day of that week in a tiny prop plane with her. She insists that there’s nothing quite like being in the cockpit when the plane takes off, and this is the best way to experience it.

They sit side by side in the small cockpit of the plane, the sky above them a perfect clear blue. She has already run through the preflight checklist, identifying all the valves and instruments she’ll need in a matter of seconds. “It’ll be okay,” she promises, turning the key. “Headset on.” He puts it on as instructed, ensuring that they’ll be able to communicate with one another despite the roar of the engine. She pumps the throttle and the engines and front propeller spring to life.

“Charlie Mike eleven ready for takeoff,” she says into the microphone.

“Charlie Mike, proceed to two,” he hears from the headset.

“Charlie Mike proceeding to two.”

“Winds one ninety at fifteen, Charlie Mike cleared for takeoff.”

“Here we go,” she says with a grin. Reid holds tighter to his seat as she turns the plane down the runway. She puts the break on just at the turn and her hands work away at the switches and instruments faster than he can keep track of. The engine roars louder and the propeller becomes just a blur before them. They advance down the runway faster and faster, her hand on the throttle, and the asphalt is coming to an end, the grass approaching and he braces himself but then she pulls the yoke down and just like that they are up in the air. So smooth it’s hard to believe, as the burden of gravity seems to fall away. He stares out over the window as they go up and up, the horizon stretching out before them, falling open like an invitation. Like magic.

It’s incredible.

He turns to look at Y/N and she wears an awestruck smile, staring straight ahead and while he’s seen her near Geff so many times and he knows how flying works, it is something else entirely to see her in her element like this. And he thinks that she too, is like magic.

Reid can see how she must have fallen in love with this. The lightness and wonder of it all, the way the world looks from up above. The sensation of lift and defying the pull of the earth.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” she asks.

“It is,” he says, though he’s only partly focusing on the view.

She turns to glance at him and the sunlight on her face and the glow of happiness she wears makes her simply radiant. He thinks back to what she said in Nashville all those months ago. It’s true after all – this is what love feels like. With her, it doesn’t feel like falling at all. It’s like liftoff. It’s like soaring. Up in the air above all odds, with nothing but open sky and sunshine and that weightless wonderful sensation.

It makes sense to him now, why J.M. Barrie wrote that the secret to flying was thinking happy thoughts. He’s sure that by now he’s collected enough with her to keep him high for a very long time.

Three months he has let himself love her. Three months and he is happier than ever. Three months and she is still safe. Three months and love doesn’t feel like such a flight risk anymore. Love is a safe place to land.

[Thank you for reading Flight Risk. Please check around your seat for any personal belongings and use caution when opening the overhead bins, for any feelings you stowed there may have shifted during the flight. If you can, we’d be pleased if you take a moment to share your feedback with our pilots on the way out with a ‘like’ ‘reply’ ‘reblog’ or ‘message’. And on behalf the author, and the entire cast of characters on this flight, thank you for joining us. We hope to see you on board again in the future!]

[imagineclaireandjamie]

Shielded: Chapter Six; Spring Watch.

Anonymous said to imagineclaireandjamie:

A hard man is good to find. [Mae West]

--

Jamie woke with a start, the alarm blaring in the background.

The dream had been intense and had left him panting, a sheen of sweat on his skin as he pushed the duvet aside and stood. As always it was light outside, the sunrise half blinding him as the blasts of orange and red permeated the old curtains. Washing the night from his skin, he plunged himself beneath the pounding rivulets of water coming from his power shower, his body temperature receding slightly as the morning wore on.

Fortunately Claire wouldn’t be awake yet and he could slip from the house almost unnoticed. He needed to get a good day of work done, and to forget the memory of his dream before he faced her again. The mere thought brought colour to his cheeks, the heat in his belly reminding him of how incredibly realistic it had been.

Delicate pink skin appeared without his permission and once more he could feel the remnants of it haunting him as he slid his wellies on and closed the door softly behind him. Working in a daze, he prepared his cows for milking, the heat of the morning fading slightly as the clouds rolled in. The animals barely paid him any mind, going about their own business as he fed, watered and tended to them.

She hadn’t snuck into his bed, as she had in his dreams, but she had infiltrated his thoughts and no matter how hard he tried, sporadic jolts of her came unbidden throughout the day as he worked.

She’s married, he told himself, although the argument felt pretty weak in his own mind. In the abstract she was, he could tell that she still thought herself that way despite starting her new life. Without knowing it, she often rubbed her wedding ring finger - though the ring had long since been removed. It was obvious she was struggling with the transition and who could blame her, it had only been a couple of weeks. She was still hesitating on her name whenever he spoke it out loud to her, the subtle twitch betraying her.

But she was beginning to thaw, the shocked reaction he received when he spoke to her growing less and less as time went on (which, secretly, made him smile).

The baby lambs were out in force as he pulled the sandwich from his rucksack - one Claire had made him the night before. He smiled to himself as he perched on the fence, watching his first time mums as they paraded their babies around the perimeter of the field. Food somehow tasted better when someone else had made it for him, the slight differences in style allowing him a great enough change in routine to be noticeable.

She, it seemed, had a penchant for adding multiple salad products on her ham sandwich. Whereas Jamie was always in a rush at 4am, trying to collect his thermos as well as various food items to keep him going for the day, usually he would just throw slices of meat on top of bread without much thought. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and *butter*, however, made all the difference. He even had potato salad on the side and a bag of what looked like homemade crisps.

Before Claire had arrived, John had given Jamie a very brief update as to her situation. Knowing a limited amount, he gauged that the difficulties she’d encountered recently hadn’t really set in yet and, instead, she was going through some sort of nesting, using her time at Lallybroch to cook and clean, ensuring that her mind is actively kept away from thinking about much at all.

His mind needed something similar as the image of her pottering about in his kitchen whilst he was away brought to the fore those visions that had him startled awake this morning before his alarm had even a chance to ring and he shook the picture of her bare skin from his thoughts, turning back to his task list.

The orphaned lambs were thriving now. Most had been ‘adopted’ by other nursing mothers but he still had two rogue ewes who were waiting for collection - Rupert, his nearest (mostly by proximity but also by friendship) neighbour had offered to take them for him but had yet been unable to drive over to collect them. In lieu of this, Jamie had been spending time hand feeding them every day though he worried each time he left them that he might return to something unmentionable.

Luckily, they’d survived another night in the small outhouse and he crawled in between them, the straw poking and prodding him as he settled with the warm milk bottle. The first, the largest of the two, squirmed in excitement, rushing to plonk herself by his side and suckle noisily at the teet.

“Easy now, lass, there’s enough for the both of you.” He soothed, watching as she butted the bottle, falling to her knees as she fed. Sheep were notoriously terrible pets, losing their fear of humans when in contact for too long and he had worried this close contact wouldn’t be good for the ewes, but watching the smaller of the pair sit helplessly in the corner made him think of Claire.

An idea came to him all of a sudden as he moved towards the lone female. He could, if he wanted, take the lamb home that evening and leave her in Claire’s care. Not only would it give the poor wee thing a greater chance, it might give her something else to turn her attention to in the day. There was a large chance he’d lose this one if he didn’t do something drastic.

-- --- --

An odd feeling settled in her stomach from the moment she woke up. Though she couldn’t put her finger on what the issue was, she felt a strange atmosphere hovering around her. Her skin prickled as she got out of the shower and she immediately felt as though there was something she should be remembering but couldn’t quite hold onto the memory.

She’d heard Jamie leave this morning, which was odd in itself. Usually she was fast asleep at dawn, not waking until much later when the house was quiet and she was alone. But she’d been woken this morning by some forgotten thought or dream that she couldn’t picture from the second she’d opened her eyes.

After barely speaking for two weeks, the weekend had been a welcome change.

Conversation had not been forced or odd, Jamie had allowed her time for quiet reflection and had seemed really quite pleased with her suggestions for the upcycling of his old furniture.

She felt useful, finally. A feeling she hadn’t had in some time.

Putting herself to work, she opted for cleaning downstairs for the best part of the morning. There was still a lot of dust residue from the sanding epic they’d had on Saturday, even spending most of Sunday dusting and hoovering hadn’t removed it all, so she pulled the dyson from under the stairs and tried to be as thorough as she could be.

Like cooking, she had never considered herself to be fluent in the art of housewifery. Before...when she had been able, her time had been dedicated to studying. There had been a cleaner for such tasks and, even afterwards, she hadn’t *needed* to be useful in that way. Here, though, there was nobody else to clean, do the dishes or cook and she found that losing herself to each task kept her mind (and body) active.

Sitting with the remnants of her crisps, she decided that was the dish she’d been most proud of since her introduction to the kitchen. She found herself thinking of Jamie and hoped that he was enjoying them too.

Their food deliveries now consisted of a greater variety of produce and she’d been able to add some colour to his lunch - which she had been making every evening and putting into the fridge for him to take when he left in the mornings.

She felt pleased as well as shocked at how easily she had moulded to fit her new life here.

Happy with her efforts, she turned her attention to the bookshelves in the back living room. There were titles dating back hundreds of years. Thick leather covers with yellowed pages sat proudly amongst the newer softback novels. She could tell which books had been read just by glancing at the spines, though there had been fingerprints in the thin layer of dust that had been there only hours before.

They were categorised, it seemed, by the surname of the author, carefully and methodically organised so that each time a new title had been purchased, it had been added in the right spot though there wasn’t room for many more.

His taste was eclectic, from non-fiction books on farming, agriculture, holistic medicines and horticulture to the classics (neatly bound with multiple editions ordered together, oldest first) including Jane Austin, Victor Hugo, Descartes, Melville and Hemingway. Jumbled in were some biographies but she’d assumed those belonged to either his parents or sister as none had been touched for some time.

Her fingers ran over the spines, stopping to hover over the drawing and painting books she’d first read when learning to doodle on the post-it notes in the first few weeks. She didn’t stop until she reached a relatively new title that she hadn’t noticed before. There was ruffling on the edge, a clear sign of frequent use, and some damage to the corners. Pulling it from the shelves, she settled into the comfy armchair, her cup of tea now cool enough to drink, and began to read.

It was modern, eloquently written with intricate plot weaving from the moment she turned the first page. The front cover clearly denoted that of a romance but there was intrigue and art as well as carefully homegrown characters. Before she’d had time to digest the prose, the front door opened and closed and she blinked. The clock on the desk ticked loudly and she noticed that hours had passed without her knowing.

Placing the book back on the shelf, she decided to leave it where it was for the time being and come back for it before bed. Though the visuals she’d imagined for herself stayed with her as she stretched and went in search of Jamie.

A loud noise caught her attention and she burst out laughing as she walked into the kitchen to find him wrestling with a small lamb.

“A new friend?” She said, her shock fading quickly.

“Ah; lass, I need ye!” His words were breathless, his cheeks a vibrant pink from the exertion of keeping the lamb from darting off and wrecking the joint. “I have a challenge for you, if you’re up for it!?”

[real-jaune-isms]

RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 3 Review & Rundown

Oh boy oh boy, this sure was a heck of a time wasn’t it? Not quite as panic inducing and chaotic as last week with the Hound playing fetch with Oscar’s body, but I still felt a great deal of dread and unease as things took a turn for the negative. Hopefully I can properly explain how.

We begin on a black screen as Ruby pants and groans in a way that made me worry I had put on the wrong video. But no, she’s just winded from riding the tube up to Atlas, and we see her stagger out to see the rest of the group awaiting her. Nora is being painfully held by the ear for what she did to Weiss last episode, but she defends herself by saying it was the kind of thing you only get to do once in a lifetime so she should be happy about it. Blake is the last one to pop out of the tube, and she seems to have had a real bad time coming up. Hair a mess, a little of balance, out of breath, she has good reason to want to NEVER do this again. May asks Penny for directions through the base, though she calls her “robo-girl” when she does it which isn’t the greatest nickname. Penny does a 3D scan of the base and pulls up a map for reference, or something cool and digital to that effect, its more of a visual thing than something you can explain. She gives a rapid series of perfect directions, much to everyone but Ruby’s wide eyed amazement. Ruby is just smugly impressed that her gal pal can do this sort of cool thing. Penny also takes this chance to assert that she would much prefer being called by her actual name. Ruby gives a smug “heh” that May is getting told off, to which May scoffs. Kdin herself has commented that this was meant to only be indignation at being chided for the nickname, not any annoyance at Penny being insistent on what she is called. Personal identity is something May understands well, and she does call her Penny from that point on. So it’s nothing to go insulting or slandering May over.

May puts up her invisibility bubble, and they head off. We see them standing around in an elevator waiting to reach their floor, a very relatable bit of comedy, before taking a few hesitant steps back as it stops on an early floor and two soldiers get in. These two are outside the bubble so they can’t see our girls, but it’s still a tense situation. They get to their floor and sneak around the soldiers while they’re busy talking about how creepy Salem’s horde waiting in the air is, and Nora plays a little prank by hitting every elevator button on the way out. The soldiers are so confused and annoyed! Reaching a door with a security checkpoint, Penny pops one of her fingertips off to reveal a USB insert that she plugs into the terminal to use Pietro’s credentials without his hand print. Ruby is quite impressed by this cool new tool, as would be expected of the weapons buff. May asks which way to turn, and Penny informs them that next they will need to go directly through the central command room. There are a lot of people crowded together and walking around, and May’s Semblance is not equipped for that kind of navigation. Fortunately, we get an answer in the form of what I’d like to call the Pennydex. She explains, with a fun cartoony visual, that Ruby’s Semblance allows her to do much more than just move fast, she actually breaks down to a molecular level so her mass can be negated and she can move faster. So, as we saw briefly in episode 1 of Volumes 4 and 6 with Nora and Weiss respectively, she can do the same to other people and transport a group since the mass of a whole group wouldn’t matter if they’re all just flying molecules. TLDR: We were misinterpreting Ruby’s Semblance the whole time and she can use it to get them through the crowded room easily. And judging from Ruby’s look of shock and confusion, she’s been misinterpreting her Semblance too. Harriet did say that her power is unlike anything she’s ever seen before back in V7... Blake continues to be the funniest member of the group by pointing out how Penny knew this was possible before Ruby did, and all Ruby can do is remind her (and us) that Penny also figured out Blake’s faunus identity before Ruby had. Not exactly painting yourself in the brightest light if your only rebuttal is further proof you’re not that perceptive... 

With the opening of a door we shift scenes to Ironwood explaining himself for being tardy to... whatever it is he’s doing, and blaming it on how busy today has been. Meaning he’s probably killed someone else offscreen. The only thing that pisses me off more than that idea is whom he’s talking to: Watts, working for Ironwood to try and hack Penny under threat of execution from two armed guards. Point all the guns you want, Jimbo, this WILL backfire on you in a tremendous way. As quickly illustrated in a podcast about this episode by an IT professional, it is VERY bad business to hire a malicious hacker who has made no efforts to prove his stance with your security or what he will do with his skills has changed. If you can’t understand the jargon on his screen, he will use your ignorance to stab you in the back and turn this in his favor. But it is at least fortunate for Ironwood that Watts is here, because he points out that Pietro’s credentials are in use within the compound and it’s a little uncertain if the general would have noticed that without someone there checking the system. Naturally, as the paranoid man he is, Ironwood declares a security breach and a code red lockdown, authorization to use lethal force granted. Hey, I said this was fortunate for Ironwood, not for our heroes! The girls are of course panicked and worried, Penny checking the systems to see the tubes have been sealed too so they can’t leave how they came in. May is ready to swipe an airship for them so they can bail immediately, but Penny is resolute that the mission can still be achieved. Nora gets a good idea on how to make this work, and we see May sneak into the control room while cloaked to trip a guy walking by with a cup of coffee. His mug, labeled #1 Dad Dud, flies through the air and the hot coffee spills on a coworker’s computer and lap. This poor guy Bill who just wanted to drink some good bean juice, gets screamed at by another employee while the victim of the spill runs screaming out of the room to change pants. Bill is apparently notorious for not heeding the sign they have pinned up to say no food or drinks in the control room, and while the angry guy lists off his misdemeanors Ruby swoops up the rest of her friends and zooms through the room towards their destination while everyone is occupied with Bill. There’s a theory Bill is actually Velvet’s father Will Scarletina, since according to Before the Dawn he does work in Atlas, but considering the kind of guy Bill seems to be I would kinda hope otherwise. He microwaved salmon, for Christ’s sake! Unforgiveable!

The girls, minus May who went elsewhere to get a ship for their departure, emerge from Ruby’s petal blur safe and sound... except Blake. Penny, Weiss, and Nora have all been carried by Ruby before and are used to it, but this is Blake’s first time traveling Air Rose. So while the others look very proud of a triumphant Ruby, Blake is panicked and trying to steady herself. We next see them walking along an ominous looking bridgeway to a door with an electrified field in front of it. Penny does her USB insert thing to take down the electric barrier and unlock the door, and the others ready themselves to fight whoever might be on the other side. Instead, they find an empty room with several terminal pillars, a couple chairs, and one central interface computer that Penny will be using. After the door closes, Nora notes that the electricity started up again. Penny sits down at the terminal, and after taking a moment to breath and prepare herself notifies Pietro over whatever comms they use that she’s ready to start. It’s cute that she calls him dad, reminds me that yeah they are a family. What’s much less cute is that Pietro then remotely takes control of Penny from all the way at Amity so he can use her to perform the complicated process they need to make the launch plan work. The size of her irises and pupils changes, as does the color of her irises from green to yellow. Makes me very wary of the fact that her eyes were briefly red in the intro... especially since Watts is on the job to try and hack into her. Knowing her being remotely controlled is already possible in how she is programmed is TERRIFYING. Ruby is understandably a bit confused and taken aback by Pietro’s voice coming from Penny. “Penny” starts the complicated task as Ruby watches and probably has no idea what she’s looking at, and we cut over to Nora as she looks around the room. She passes by Weiss and Blake, and Blake is the one to voice her concern for Yang’s group. Makes sense she’s so concerned, she’s an only child worried by the fact that Ruby and Yang butted heads like that. Weiss is a sister so she knows what it’s like for siblings to fight like this, she knows it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other less or are on opposite sides. They just have different ideas about what’s right. Clearly she’s drawing from her own feelings on going against Winter at the end of Volume 7. Nora also tries to reassure Blake by talking about how strong and talented Jaune and Yang are and how much Oscar has grown as a fighter. Blake and Yang both seem impressed and reassured by this appraisal, while we the audience know this is very far from the current truth, since Oscar has been stolen away and Yang was unable to protect him. But what is also noteworthy is that she said nothing about Ren. She notices her own gap in information and tries to offer something but... she has no idea what Ren is right now. She hates feeling like she’s losing him, like she has less and less of an understanding who he is than ever before despite the years they’ve spent together, and she’s unsure if she should blame him or herself for this. This time Blake is the one with sage advice pulled from her own bittersweet experiences. When you’ve been at someone’s side for as long as they have, your identities become intertwined and you can lose track of what is really you vs what is a part of them mixed in. It’s important to keep a firm grip on who you are, to be your own person outside of that other person. Clearly, this is a warning to not make the mistakes she did with Adam, for Nora to not blind herself with obsession and attachment to this partner she trusts so much. They don’t say this flat out, but we can read between the lines. It’s a very nice moment from Blake, but it only worries Nora more. She’s had Ren in her life for so long, she really doesn’t know who she is as an individual. That’s a bit sad to think about, but Weiss tries to look on the bright side and says this can be an opportunity for Nora to do some self discovery and find who Nora Valkyrie truly is on her own. All Nora can think of to define herself though... is the value of her strength and her destructive capability. That’s all people expect of her, and she is finally getting a chance to prove herself beyond that.

Before Blake or Weiss have a chance to reassure her, they hear some promising beeps from the computer and rejoin Ruby and Penny. Pietro explains through Penny that he’s cloned the imprint of Ironwood’s computer signature onto Penny, so when they run the launch sequence for Amity the system will connect to her to get clearance instead of going all the way to this terminal to get it from the General. She finally returns to being herself, and says she’ll be sure to rejoin her friends once the launch is done so she can help finish the evacuations, buuuut Pietro has a different idea. He wants her to stay on the tower with him and Maria, but Penny wants to be here and help her friends who need her. Ruby does her best to be diplomatic about this, but she has to agree with Pietro. If Ironwood was right about the tower being unreachable by Salem’s forces then it will be the safest place for the Winter Maiden powers until Salem is beaten or leaves. So maybe Penny should stay there, at least for now? Weiss agrees, while Blake tries to change the subject and say they should head to the hangar and GTFO. Penny unlocks the door while lamenting how often folks are having to do things they would rather not. Appropriately enough, the Ace Ops are waiting on the other side looking for a fight our girls would probably rather not be having. With all the authority of a neighbor at your door to ask for their vacuum back, Harriet insists they’ll be bringing Penny “home” now. RNBW are quick to draw their weapons in defense, and it becomes a verbal spar instead. Surprisingly, it’s Vine who steps up with the speech to convince Penny. And just like the General, its full of negging and gaslighting to make her think she only thought she’s been doing what’s right but really she needs to do what Ironwood says. That she’s not protecting people unless she’s getting the relic for Ironwood. Which is, of course, bullshit because 60% of the people are in Mantle and the General has expressly stated he wants to abandon them to die in favor of keeping his already well fortified 40% up in Atlas safe. Penny tries to defend herself and her position on things with Mantle, but Hare and Elm have a pretty damn backwards way of remembering the end of Volume 7 because they call Penny ungrateful and blame her for Winter being in critical condition. Let’s try to imagine how that dramatic climax would have gone without Penny being there, hm? Winter wouldn’t have been able to get through the arctic vortex Fria was creating without dying of sheer cold, Cinder would have burned through with rage or spite or just been closer when Fria finally collapsed and died. Penny saved Winter’s life twofold and delayed Cinder long enough for Ruby to come in and make the Fall Maiden panic and leave. Get bent, bootlickers...

Marrow and Harriet try to rapidfire good cop bad cop Penny into backing down and surrendering her access of the vault to them, but Ruby uses actual logic and says boosting Atlas into the sky won’t stop Salem, it will only harm more people and delay the inevitable. Or at least, she tries to but hot tempered Hare yaps at her to shut up or she’ll get arrested just like Qrow. Threatening Ruby is more than Penny is willing to allow, and she takes the clear bait to step out of the server room only for Harriet to close the door behind her and leave the other girls trapped behind solid steel and deadly electric current. Penny uses her Maiden powers and her sword array to put up a good fight, but it’s still 4 vs 1 and their teamwork starts to overwhelm her, especially when Marrow uses his trump card Semblance to immobilize her for Vine to put cuffs on her. Meanwhile Weiss tries to use her Summon Knight to break down the door and even the odds, but the electric field is too much. She and Ruby lament how unfair this is and hope Penny can last a little while, but we are seeing how poorly that goes. Nora decides she has to step up for the clutch play, repeating the only 2 things she thinks she can do. “Be strong, and hit stuff...” So she jabs Magnhild into the power source on one side of the door and starts absorbing all the electricity into her body, screaming like Goku going Super Saiyan 3. And the analogy fits, because lightning runs across her skin in cool jagged bolts of pink and her hair stands on end. With a swing and a scream, she bashes the doors in and knocks the Ace Ops back a bit before they can cuff Penny. But all things must come with a cost, and this blows through all her Aura and she passes out with a momentary glassly look in her eyes. Not only that, the pink faded but the lightning patterns are still on her skin as an extensive set of scars consistent with the Lichtenberg figure observed on people actually struck by lightning. In terms of predictions for future consequences, serious electrocution like this has been documented to result in paralysis to some limbs, brain damage or memory loss, and sometimes even blindness. I worry those last two could be possible, since she was already having a hard time determining who she was without Ren so now she might completely forget who she is altogether, or she might lose her sight completely. I don’t know if RT would dare to do that, but we do have Yang’s arm as an example of their willingness for consequences... Regardless, the heroes are now down a woman but they’re still ready to fight for their friend. 

Ironwood bitches and moans about losing the chance for the odds to be stacked in his favor since he can’t win this encounter otherwise, but Watts has a new plan for the Ace Ops. Harriet doesn’t like the new orders, but Marrow is ready and willing to obey. Elm quickly swipes RWB over the edge of the walkway before they can do much to fight back against the already winded Atlesians, and by the time Ruby can scoop up her teammates with her Semblance (thank goodness she learned to do that today), the damage is done. Harriet maneuvers behind Penny and yanks one of her swords out of her back with a heart wrenching pluck of the connecting string. Like pulling off a butterfly’s wing... especially since in this world weapons are supposed to be like an extension of your soul. With the sword yoinked their job is done here and they all bail, though Marrow has a remorseful look back at the teens as if he knows he’s trapped on the wrong side. Guess we know why he agreed to this plan so quickly, it was a grab and go rather than a total takedown of their former friends. Blake is the first to point out how incredibly sus this behavior was, but they don’t have time to fully ruminate on the situation because they’ve also done what they came to do and they need to GTFO. Carrying Nora, they meet May in the hangar where her jaunty greeting is cut short by the sight of the ginger girl’s injuries. They need to get her somewhere safe, so they violently bust out through the doors. While in the open air, Penny says her goodbyes and they reveal the ship can be a convertible so she can fly away. Ruby and Penny share a tender but deep hug, and Ruby promises they’ll see each other soon. I just worry when they do it will be on opposite sides of the battlefield, and this worry is not helped by the final scene. The Ace Ops deliver Penny’s sword to a satisfied Ironwood, though Harriet would have been happier taking all of those meddling kids down. Watts cryptically implies that with a piece of Penny’s tech they can make her join them, and anyone who doesn’t trust him immediately knows by “them” he means Salem. And that’s the worrisome note we end on this week. Will next week be better? With the element of future knowledge/ the curse of this review being a week or so late I can say NOPE.

[oohfluffy]

TIHM Ch.4 | BBH

Group: EXO

Member: Byun Baekhyun

Theme: Angst | Fluff | Rated M | University!AU | Football!AU

Word Count: 2,782

chapter 4

"Stop eating! Cheer with me!"

You rolled your eyes as you took another bite from your corndog, ignoring your best friend's complaints. The crowd has calmed down a bit and was all settled down on their seats as the game started. It has been 30 minutes since then, and you were not really paying that much attention. 

A certain 04 guy kept on glancing this way though.

"Those foxes won't be able to catch up, I'm telling you." Jiwon smirked as she sat back down next to you with her glow sticks in her hands. "Let me have some."

You sighed before letting her get some of your fries. You looked up at the field and saw how they run around like dogs. You cringed as you saw how hard they bump on to each other, almost bouncing off for a good meter away. You watched as number 61 passed the ball to someone from an almost 10 meter distance, making you gasp in awe. 

That was a strong pass.

What surprised you more was when the receiver didn't even budge when he grabbed the ball, as if it was nothing. He just continued running away from the opponents, swift and quick as a thief. The crowd suddenly started to shout louder, making you look around in shock. 

"BYUN BAEKHYUN! BYUN BAEKHYUN!" They chanted like a mantra as the number 04 guy, who seems to be Byun Baekhyun, pushed his way from the annoying foxes blocking his way from the field goal.

"He seems to be really popular, huh?" You mumbled at your best friend, who was grinning widely beside you.

"Well, he's the quarterback. Suho might be the cap, but Baekhyun is the game manager." She proudly said, waving her glow sticks as the crowd roared in victory. "WHOOO! ANOTHER FIELD GOAL, YAAAS!"

When an hour passed, you stood up from your seat, wanting to have a break from this noisy crowd. Jiwon was on the railings, not running out of energy as she screamed with the other girls. You didn't bother disturbing her and went down the bleachers. You looked at your watch and saw that it was past 8pm. 

"I'll just go to the restroom." You muttered as you held on to your bottle of water that Jiwon has bought along your food. 

You trudged your way to the restroom located at the side of the field. You can still see the game continuing from here, seeing how bright the glow sticks on the bleachers. Most of the professors were present as well, surprisingly. They were even shouting with the crowd with proud grins. 

You looked back at the field and nodded in agreement. Well, you admit those wolves are impressive. With your water bottle swinging in your hand, you entered the dim-lit girls' restroom, squinting your eyes at the blinking fluorescent light on the ceiling. 

It seems that they haven't changed the lighting here yet. 

Pushing the scary thoughts aside, you quickly entered a cubicle and did your business. You were consciously tapping your bottle on your knee, when the light stopped blinking. You sighed in relief as you stood up and—

"Holy..." You cursed under your breath as you zipped your pants up before raising your hand to locate the cubicle door. The light went out with a quiet thump, awakening those scary thoughts you just had earlier. "No, no. Calm down."

When you got to grab the lock, you opened it in a blink and hesitated.

It's too dark. You won't be able to get out of here. Just like before. In the dark—

"Damn." You scolded yourself for thinking those kinds of things in this situation. You gathered all your courage to open the door and get out quick. When you got to open the door, you carefully went out with your hands in front of you. You can still visualize where was the way to the door, so it won't be that hard, right?

With your heart pounding against your chest, you walked forward with long strides. When your hand hit on the wooden door, you let out a deep relieved sigh. You grabbed the door knob and turned it—

"FUCK!"

"THE HELL!"

Your heart must have stopped thumping as light entered the dark restroom, and a scared-looking puppy looked back at you. You noticed how sweat trickled on the sides of his face, down to his neck. His grayish hair was wet, and his uniform dirty. He probably took a short break, seeing that the game was still on going.

"What were you doing in that..." The number 04 guy looked back at the dark restroom behind you with a cringing expression. "...haunted-looking restroom?"

You instantly remembered you were still inside, and quickly moved out of the room, shutting the door behind you with a slam. You feel like your heart was left inside that dark abyss.

"The light suddenly went out, I didn't get to get out easily. It was too dark." You calmly explained despite the perturbation you felt earlier until now. You let out a breath.

"You okay?"

You blinked your eyes in surprise, darting your gaze up at him. 

"Y-Yeah." You tried smiling at him as he seemed so worried. "I-It's just I was surprised."

"Your hands are shaking." Baekhyun furrowed his brows as he reached for your hands. They were indeed slightly shaking. Under his touch, your skin warmed in comfort. "You must be really frightened back there, hmm?"

As he caressed your hands, your cheeks flushed at the scenario. All the scary thoughts of the past were easily wiped out by a mere touch of his smooth skin on yours. You quickly snatched back your hands from his hold, his eyes showing shock and hurt at the same time.

"I-I'm sorry—" You cut him off as you looked away.

"I'm fine. Thanks." 

Without another word, you walked away from him, leaving him with his concerned but interested eyes following you.

You didn't mean to offend him. It's just that, the sparks you felt along the collision of your skins surprised you.

"Where have you been?! I thought you left me." Jiwon welcomed your comeback with a pout, her glow sticks on her sides. "But then I realized that you still have an unfinished snack in the paper bag, so I knew you'd be back." She grinned as she pointed at your seat, where your paper bag with a half corndog left sat. 

"You know me so well." You grinned weakly as you sat next to her, noticing your almost empty water bottle. You forgot to refill it at the water fountain near the restroom. You suddenly remembered your nerve-wracking  experience in that restroom.

And your encounter with the quarterback.

"You alright, Jin-ah? Want water?" 

You looked at your best friend, who was staring at you with worried eyes. You smiled and gratefully took her bottled water. 

"Thank you. I just forgot to refill mine." You said before taking a gulp from her water bottle. She must have been slightly convinced as she saw your bottle, but her eyes didn't let go of your distracted gaze.

"Are you sure? You seem out of it."

At times like this, you don't know if you should be thankful that Jiwon is such an observant friend. Whenever something's wrong, she'll know it in no time. She looks after you like a mother would. 

But sometimes, you just don't want to dig that past back. You just want to keep it in yourself.

You nodded enthusiastically, which probably too fake and not you, before looking at the field. You saw that 04 got back into the game, skipping his way into the field.

"I'm alright."

I'm not.

—

That Friday night ended with the Eve Academy's win as expected.

Jiwon talked endlessly about the game as you both went home, that you felt guilty not being able to contribute much enthusiasm in the whole conversation. Just a few nods and commentaries said.

Until Monday came, everyone was still buzzing in excitement as they talked about the game. You already heard enough from Jiwon, what more in campus? You begrudgingly closed your locker door before securely hugging your book for the second period. 

"Only a subject left before lunch, my peaceful time of day." You mumbled to yourself as you turned on a corner towards the stairs. 

You were looking ahead the hallway of the second floor, relieved at the minimal noise from the people around you. It was more chaotic on the first floor as everyone chats loudly near the lockers area—

"Oof!"

You almost dropped your approximately 50 thousand won book as this huge and irritating force catch you off guard. Fortunately, your fast muscle response didn't disappoint you. You planted your other palm that wasn't holding your book on the nearest wall, balancing yourself as a tall person's well-built body hit the floor.

"ARGH!" He whined as he met the floor with a wince.

"Hey! Stop roughhousing in the hallways, Park and Byun!" A familiar stern voice rang through the walls, making you look back at the small crowd beside you. They were walking from the adjacent hallway you were walking from earlier. This guy on the floor looks familiar as well.

"It was Baek! He pushed me all of a sudden!" The poor floor guy complained, his back flat on the ground. He accusingly pointed his finger to the culprit. "YAH! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"Hey. I'm sorry about that. Are you alright?" A soft and gentle voice took you back to earth, big comforting eyes staring back at you. You stepped back from the wall before looking at the incoming group. "They're too playful, but they mean no harm."

"I-It's fine. I'm okay." You looked down at the wincing guy, who got help from another tall guy with sharp features. "I think he should be the one you should ask. He fell quite hard."

"Oh." The guy in front of you glanced at his friend with indifferent eyes. "He's fine. He should be used to falling on the ground. Football requires being friends with the earth, you know?"

You tilt your head in confusion as you processed his words. Before you could come into conclusion, a cheery voice pulled you back.

"HEY! You're that early bird fangirl!"

Your eyes widened in recognition as you see their familiar faces and hear their familiar voices. The cat-like smile of the loud guy overwhelmed you. However, because of his loud announcement, the other nine guys with him, including the one on the floor and the one in front of you, looked at you.

"Uh." You tried forming words in your mouth, but nothing seems to come out. Being the center of attention like this is totally not your thing. Especially they were boys. Who the hell won't freak out?

"Oh! Are you a freshman?" The captain, whom you recognized with his stern voice but soft features, asked nicely. "You must be really lucky, huh?"

"Yeah! Managing to watch us practice alone, and bumping into us all!" 

You looked around the group, feeling uncomfortable with the attention you were getting, until your gaze fell to him. His cute slanted eyes lit up with mischief and amusement as they met yours, his thin pinkish lips pulled up into a smile.

"I-I'm sorry if you misunderstood me, but I'm not really a fan." You managed to find your voice as you looked away from a certain boy's stare. "But you guys played really well. Congrats on your win." You mentally face-palmed yourself as you realized you blabbered too much. 

Are we being too feeling close? They must think I'm very talkative and a desperate secret fan—

"Is that so?" The cat guy pouted, but then smiled. "Thank you still for watching! That meant a lot already for us."

Your eyes widened a bit with surprise. Everyone was smiling gratefully. Even him.

"Y-You're welcome." You looked away before looking at your watch. "I-I need to go. Uh, my class will start in 5." You backed away with an awkward smile.

"Oh, sorry to keep you. See you around!"

You bowed slightly before turning your back at them. Your mind was fuzzy and all you can think about was if that really happened, if you really just talked to so many people at once. 

People who didn't look at you with disgust and judging stares.

Your eyes welled up a bit as your lips formed a small smile. 

"What a friendly bunch." You whispered to yourself as you shook your head.

—

♫ Ch. 5

[homespork-review]

Homespork Act 3: Insane Mindscrew Haymakers (Part 2)

CHEL: Rose finds a transportaliser platform in the centre of the lab.

FAILURE ARTIST: The sylladex misadventures come to something this time. Jasper’s corpse lands on the pad.

CHEL: The dead cat vanishes; Rose assumes it was vapourised but we know better, though we don’t see where it went. She finds an unlocked hub and plugs in, noticing another ominous countdown on the wall, with only three minutes left till the lab will be “UNESTABLISHED”.

Years in the future again, PM beheads the worm creature, which turns out to be a robot. The bunker landed on its side so PM stands on a pile of mailboxes to press the button, which causes more robot worms to emerge from beneath the bunker, pushing it upright, and a propeller to emerge from the top and carry it away.

Dave’s strife with Bro continues, getting more and more ridiculous and animesque, until Dave ends up plummeting down the stairwell. In a realistic work, this could quite easily break his neck, but here we just get some comical flailing and a SBaHJ IT KEEPS HAPPENING macro. Again, Dave looks more angry than afraid.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 8

FAILURE ARTIST: I think Hussie said the Bro slicing the Abscond box is symbolic of the trap of child abuse and shows this guardian fight isn’t like the others but it is still an animesque fight that ends with a fucking meme.

CHEL: Yeah, he seems to be expecting us to pick up on these details which don’t mean anything until he actually explains them, which would be fine and in fact clever if they didn’t conflict so strongly with what’s actually noticeably shown. If he wanted us to take it seriously, he’d have done better not to put the Abscond button there at all.

Rose finds, in the lab, a console showing SBurb sessions in the northeastern US where her home is located, monitoring the time to impact of their respective meteors. There is a large cluster of already-landed ones around her house, with a much, much bigger one centred directly on the lab, with an even bigger one centred on the house. She zooms out, and finds the second-biggest upcoming impact in the world is heading for Texas, while one bigger by an order of magnitude will later land in the middle of the Pacific. "Oh look, up in the sky/ It's a hole about the size of Texas..."

"Circus Contraption - Hot Potato" (Watch on YouTube)

Checking on John’s house, Rose finds it overrun by imps, the building shaking violently. Investigating this, she finds the ogre fight; John is at least getting a few blows in now, but they’re still not doing much good. Nannasprite is able to provide support with eye beams, but the ogres are still standing, and Rose’s attempt to drop a fridge on one is useless too. Nannasprite’s teleportation proves more useful, allowing John to take a flying leap out of a hovering oven to strike with greater force and allowing her to drop a full avalanche of household appliances on the ogre. With Rose’s assistance providing him a platform to bounce off again, John strikes the final blow on one ogre, exploding it into grist pieces bigger than himself, and Nannasprite and John occupy the other ogre until Rose drops the alchemiter on it.

FAILURE ARTIST: Seeing a fight like this not long after the Bro and Dave fight makes it hard for me to take the serious one seriously. John should be dead.

CHEL: John has a backup healer and Dave doesn’t, but yeah, cartoon physics prevail here.

Rose checks in, explaining that Dave’s not connected yet, but that she’s determined that activating the cruxtruder does not actually cause the meteor to strike. John levels up to BOY-SKYLARK and collects tons of grist and boondollars, although he still doesn’t know what those actually do.

You can't wait to find out what amazing items this new supply of grist will be just barely insufficient to produce.

Hehehe. We’ve all been there.

John sees that more grist fell down to the platform below, including one huge piece stuck in the hole leading into Dad’s room.

One of those big SOUR GRAPE ELECTRIC HOLOCAUST FRUIT GUSHERS is jammed in the hole in the platform. CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 9

Yes, because Holocaust references are a perfect way to describe candy flavours. Technically “holocaust” can refer to, I quote from dictionary.com, “a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire”, and I’m guessing it’s a parody of all the flavour names with words like “explosion” in them, but, especially when it’s not obviously uncapitalised, that’s very much not what the immediate association of the term is!

FAILURE ARTIST: John asks Nanna why she doesn’t just throw him up to the gate and she says it’s important he build up himself. Though later we do see a character that just jumps up to the gate.

Then we switch to a mysterious castle all in purple. Dad is fighting some imps with shaving cream. A new yet somehow familiar character wearing harlequin clothes watches with disgust both Dad and John on strange window screens.

We cut away yet again to Peregrine Mendicant. PM is still stuck in the mobile station with a letter addressed to David Brinner. There was a real person who went by the alias Doctor Brinner on his Portland-area radio show where he played a mad scientist. Dr. David Brinner is also a comic Hussie made before Homestuck. I’ve never read it myself. I didn’t even know it existed until I googled David Brinner.

Anyway, PM refuses to open this letter and gives stirring speeches that sound like they come from a movie (Kevin Costner’s Postman?) but I don’t think they do.

BRIGHT: PM believes very strongly in the purpose of mail delivery as the bedrock of civilisation. It comes across as funny, but not as mocking.

FAILURE ARTIST: PM then turns to the terminal. Jade appears on a screen shrouded in green static. PM finds Jade familiar. Unfortunately, before PM can converse with Jade, the terminal explodes.

Cut back again to Rose in the lab. There’s lots of cutesy pink little girl stuff down there that Rose decides to ignore. Why is it down there? Did Mom expect Rose to live there one day?

CHEL: I thought it was supposed to signal that Mom was living down there herself.

FAILURE ARTIST: Anyway, Rose also finds a mutant cat.

We cut away again to John contemplating going into his father’s bedroom through a hole in the roof. He decides to do it.

Cut to a fireplace with a portrait of Jade above it. It looks similar to Nanna’s shrine, minus the urn. But Jade isn’t dead, is she? She scampers right into the room the next panel. She arms herself with a huge rifle and tries to sneak across the room. However, her Grandpa appears, shadowed by the huge fire that suddenly lit up in the fireplace. She tries to run away only to fall asleep.

We cut to Dave’s final round - or rather, Jade fighting her Grandpa. Who, in another surprise, is a taxidermed corpse.

She talks to him like he’s alive, though after it, she says he was easier to deal with when he was alive. This disturbing state of affairs is never treated seriously.

CHEL: This, more than anything else, is why we set up the ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY count. Horrible as Bro would be by any realistic standards, at least Dave’s guardian is obviously living and Dave is not merrily talking away to a dead person. We later find out that Jade was the one who taxidermied Grandpa, while she was barely more than a toddler. Not only was she actually able to do this to professional standards, at an age when she shouldn’t have been handling sharp objects at all, but she displays no trauma from it, nor from having had to raise herself. And yet we’re supposed to take Dave’s issues seriously, and to a much lesser extent Rose’s, with no real indication that they’re any different.

TIER: It's one thing when an author's intended depiction of “an abusive household” for the most part flies over people's heads due to the absurdity of the whole situation when it initially got presented, that happens sometimes! Especially when one factors in Bro's total screen time, how he generally ticks the boxes for “absurd but really cool” guy visually, and how late in the game this knowledge was spelled out. It all comes together to make the whole Strider situation kinda come out of left field to judge people for finding the absurd situation funny.

But when it's sitting right next to the arguably worse scenario (stuffed.dead.guardian.) and the latter pretty much never gets brought up while the former gets a big ol’ spotlight shining down on it, yeah that's what the folks call Fucking Weird and in my personal opinion, suspect Ò_Ó.

CHEL: While I can’t really state one way or the other at this point, I do think it’s worth considering a reason that has already been brought up by a non-Homestucker; in the scenarios we’re not supposed to take seriously, the children are girls. I doubt this was even slightly what Hussie intended, but it certainly explains a lot about the fandom’s reactions. The more likely scenario regarding the canon explanation is probably that the ones we’re not supposed to take seriously are not Hussie’s self-insert.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 9

BRIGHT: Not to mention, Jade grew up on an island in the middle of the ocean, physically isolated from any other people and with only an animal for company. There are known cases of children who grew up in similar circumstances in real life. Suffice to say, it generally does not end well.

You could argue that Jade is pretending her Grandpa is alive because she’s lonely and needs the company, but this is in no way implied by the text.

At any rate, Jade informs her grandfather that the rifle she has is perfectly adequate for killing things and she doesn’t need his oversized blunderbuss.

CHEL: To be strictly fair, we do later find out she had some contact with other people, but not in a way which I feel would be a substitute for having a living human parent in the “real” world.

FAILURE ARTIST: With Jade out the door, we go again to PM. They are fine except for some cartoon burn marks and a fire on their hood. The metal snake saves their precious mailbox.

BRIGHT: It earns PM’s affection for doing so.

Back at the lab, Rose utterly fails to ignore the four-eyed mutant kitten. She carries it over to a peculiar machine that turns out to be another Appearifier. This one is locked onto her cat, Jaspers, nine years ago. Not only was he alive, but the younger Rose was holding a psychotherapy session with him.

Rose attempts to appearify Jaspers, but since this would cause a time paradox, the machine leaves Jaspers in place and instead produces a ‘Paradox Clone’, which swiftly collapses into green slime. The machine next to the appearifier sucks up the paradox sludge, analyses its genetic sequence, and spits out another cat, rather more mutated than the last, in a process referred to as ‘Ectobiology’.

CHEL: John’s screen name, we remind you, is “ectoBiologist”, so it seems he heard of the concept somewhere, perhaps?

BRIGHT: On the appearifier’s screen, Jaspers reveals a stunning secret to young Rose, and is appearified to an unknown location before he can clarify anything. Two weeks later, his corpse reappeared. Oddly, the appearifier can’t see his whereabouts for the intervening period.

It can, however, see where his body went when it landed on the pad earlier! Rose appearifies the corpse and hightails it out of the lab, using the transportaliser to make her escape before the meteor can hit.

FAILURE ARTIST: If you click on the pink horseshoe that appears at the end of the Rose: Fast Forward To Now flash, there’s a little animation of Rose enjoying Maplehoof. I guess she’s making up for the loss of her precious Jaspers.

BRIGHT: We make a brief detour back to Jade, who’s searching for Becquerel. Two new things about Jade’s mysterious abilities: One, Becquerel is invisible to them. Two, this is unusual enough that it used to disturb her. Becquerel appears briefly in the background, and there’s clearly something strange about him…

CHEL: Additionally, it was clearly his face that was carved on the pumpkin we saw earlier, and he looks canine but it’s hard to make out details at this point...

BRIGHT: But before we can find out more, the comic jumps back to John.

Now in his Dad’s room, John is struck by an unwelcome discovery — there aren’t any clowns. Not on posters, no figurines. His father’s briefcase, rather than being full of the tools of a street performer, holds only boring papers and spreadsheets. In fact, the room is pretty boring...like his Dad is just a normal businessman?

"[S] John: Examine your dad's room." (Watch on YouTube)

FAILURE ARTIST: I wish more had been made of Bing “Douchebag” Crosby in this comic but that’s just me being an old movie nerd.

BRIGHT: While John attempts to recover from the BSOD this causes, his father breaks out of a jail cell armed with a safe. This is watched with displeasure by another black figure in brightly-coloured clothing, whose name is not Spades Slick. (He likes the ring of that, though.) No, he’s Archagent Jack Noir, and he oversees the affairs of a dark kingdom through three fenestrated walls.

CHEL: He usually has a fourth one but it got stolen.

FAILURE ARTIST: Those fingers typing the name Spades Slick are a suspicious color...

BRIGHT: He also despises the jester outfits everyone has been forced to wear, and refuses to don his comical hat until the Queen hijacks his fenestrated wall and orders him to wear it. The wall cuts back to Dad, who has now disarmed an especially burly-looking agent and is punching him in the head.

CHEL: Jack Noir makes mention of his carapace at this point; I don’t remember if his species is also referred to as “carapaces” in the comic but that’s the name the fandom knows them by. Guess we’ll see if they are as we go on.

BRIGHT: Meanwhile, John opens some birthday presents he found in his Dad’s room! He gets some Fruit Gushers, a very dapper suit, and best of all, an Array Fetch Modus, which lets him retrieve an item from any card in his deck! Of course, this would be too straightforward, so he combines it with his other Fetch Modii until he gets something properly inconvenient.

FAILURE ARTIST: How much do Modii cost and does everyone in this universe have one?

CHEL: The implication is tech like this is how Skaianet made its money, but since we never really see anyone who’s not involved somehow with the game, we don’t really get a good sense of the company being part of the world, so we don’t know. If I had to guess, though, I’d think getting the sylladex in the first place costs a big lump sum and then the various fetch modii cost much smaller amounts, sort of like apps on a phone or programs on a computer.

When prompted, John closely examines the Fruit Gushers box, this flavour being “MASSIVE TROPICAL BRAIN HEMORRHAGE”. Tasty…? John thinks so. However, in the corner of the box is a small, easily-missed logo…

THE HEINOUS BATTERWITCH HAS HER GNARLED CLAWS IN EVERYTHING.

After the destruction of his planet, the disappearance of his father, the appearance of his ghost grandma, and fighting numerous monsters, THIS is what finally sends John over the edge into a full-out meltdown, despite the onscreen caption declaring that THIS IS STUPID.

FAILURE ARTIST: I actually have a box of Fruit Gushers signed by Andrew Hussie.

CHEL: Back on the island, Jade, accompanied by dramatic music, attempts to retrieve a blue package from the ruins, but just as she reaches it, Becquerel appears between her and it, and we snap right back into STRIFE!

"[S] Jade: Retrieve package." (Watch on YouTube)

Becquerel, as we can now see clearly, is an enormous white dog, lacking facial features of any kind and emitting crackling green lightning - worthy of the description “devilbeast”, I think. Jade aims her rifle at his head and takes multiple shots, but none hit. The first heats up and melts into nothingness. When the second is fired Becquerel turns into green fire and next frame he and Jade are both riding on the now-enormous bullet which carries them across the lagoon to the other side of the island. Becquerel teleports the third bullet into space and himself and Jade to the top of the frog building, and he teleports himself out of the way of the fourth, the background flashing through several different locations. Finally, Jade shoots a bullet in the opposite direction with the instruction GO FETCH!, which Bec does, giving Jade time to grab the package. She rewards Bec for fetching with the irradiated steak and announces that he is a GOOD DOG, BEST FRIEND. After dancing around in celebration, she very abruptly falls asleep again, and Bec scoops her up on his back, takes her back to bed, and tucks her in.

FAILURE ARTIST: The music in Jade: Retrieve Package

is another replacement. Currently it’s An Unbreakable Union by Robert Blake but originally it was Mutiny by Bill Bolin. The original is very retro science fiction and the replacement is safari.

CHEL: For the record, real dogs are not horses and are not built to carry people like that, even very small children can damage a large dog’s back by riding it, but given Bec’s abilities, I don’t think that applies to him.

Rose comes out the other side of the transportaliser, she and the cat having both kept their atoms unmingled, and discovers she’s back in the house, in the room she thought was her mother’s bedroom. It seems the cutesy pink bed and stuff in the lab was in fact her mother’s bedroom, and this room is a well-stocked bar.

You decide not to be especially melodramatic about this revelation.

Good idea, Rose; there isn’t time, as the lab is promptly unestablished by a meteor, sending flaming debris flying through the window. The booze-filled room is especially endangered by this, so Rose decides to flee.

John punches some more cards and complains that he’s the one doing the work while Rose is just messing around on her computer, while Jade dreams and little red lights on her bedposts glow. A metal cabinet in the corner of her room has similar red lights on top, and it bursts open, revealing a Jade-shaped robot.

Sudden cut to a mysterious copy of Jade’s bedroom, except with pink walls, in which Jade stands, wearing a golden dress. Back in her real room, the DREAMBOT stands in the same position. The gold-clad Jade is, we find, a depiction of Jade in her dream. Dream Jade tries to get into bed, but complains of a heavy weight pressing down on her, as the robot is copying her actions and is now lying on top of the real sleeping Jade. Instead, she decides to fly, which of course she can do since it’s a dream (and the robot has jet propulsion).

The dream room also contains the blue package, addressed to “GG” from “GT”. This isn’t John’s current handle, but she knows it’s from John, and that she must deliver it to somewhere else without opening it.

Flashback to the previous winter. In a shot of John’s window, we see his calendar and the edges of some of his posters. The calendar is marked with smiley faces in party hats in green, red, and purple, marking Jade, Dave, and Rose’s birthdays, but more noticeably, there are creepy faces with jester hats and huge teeth scrawled on the wall and posters. I didn’t notice it until just now, but there are some purple lines on the arm of one of the poster characters which might just be part of a drawn-on clown outfit but from this vantage point look like self-harm scars. Brr. Ominous.

John at this point in time is going by “ghostyTrickster” on Pesterchum, hence the “GT” nametag on the package. He’s chatting to Jade about having sent off everyone’s birthday gifts, and how he hopes Jade’s will “help you solve those problems you’ve been having lately”. John is embarrassed to realise it will take much longer than he thought for the package to reach Jade’s island, but she assures him it will arrive “exactly when it needs to”.

BRIGHT: With the reveal of John’s previous handle, and from the characters in the Trollslum, we also get the theme of the handle initials being the letters of DNA. (GCAT.)

FAILURE ARTIST: Jade complains about “trolls” and we have the first time this beloved and perhaps overshadowing species is named. However, John calls the “trolls” the r-slur so that’s another point.

CLOCKWORK PROBLEMATYKKS: 10

CHEL: Also, the trolls are why he changed his handle, in an attempt to avoid them bothering him.

FAILURE ARTIST: We go back to current day. John is peeved at the graffiti on his posters. He thinks it’s the imps. However, we just saw it was there months before. What is going on, hmmm?

Rose decides to name the cat Vodka Mutini. She then talks with John. Rose wonders where Dave is and John figures that Bro is kicking his ass. Considering that this ass-kicking is later treated as serious abuse, this is a callous thing for a friend to say.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 10

CHEL: I’d also say that counts as HURRY UP AND DO NOTHING. There’s not much an internet friend can do about someone’s abusive situation on the other side of the country but they could at least support Dave and tell him to call the police, if it is supposed to be that bad. Or at least, you know, be worried. Then again, Dave might not have told them what the ass-kicking entails, but Rose knows about his brother’s websites, and given that we know Bro made at least one film in which Dave was involved and may or may not have been on camera, and the film certainly would show the state the apartment was in…

HURRY UP AND DO NOTHING: 4

FAILURE ARTIST: Anyway, when John complains about his posters being defaced, Rose says they always looked that way. John naturally freaks out at this creepy revelation.

We cut to WV. They are trying to get down from the mobile station without sacrificing the MAYORAL SASH. While working the Appearifier, they get John’s present with an envelope addressed to “Mister Mayor”. After WV gets more cable, they rappel down the mobile station with the package under their arm.

Meanwhile, a figure in yellow caution tape watches WV through a sniper rifle. This is Aimless Renegade, a wonderful but forgotten character.

We go back to John and Rose. John discusses the mystery of the defaced posters while he futzes around with the Alchemiter. Rose thinks that John had blocked out the memory of defacing the posters and the revelation that his father isn’t who he thought he was unblocked his memory. She thinks maybe his father thought he was interested in clowns because John drew clowns everywhere. Yet John also wrote “LAME KID”? Maybe Dad should have taken John to therapy.

CHEL: “Lame kid” with arrows pointing down at his bed, to be exact, among other insults, and the clown faces don’t look like the product of someone who liked clowns at all!

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 11 HURRY UP AND DO NOTHING: 5

Yet Dad Egbert is supposed to be the good parent of the group, so here we go with a new count:

RELATIONSHIP GOALS?: 1

This one’s primarily for romantic relationships, but other relationship fumbles apply too.

Rose thinks that the drawings are the result of John trying to express something subconscious, possibly a repressed past memory. John changes the subject to the upward building process; Rose complains that chimneys weren’t meant to bear such a weight, and considers switching to walls now they can get grist more easily, but she’s running out of time as the house proper is now on fire. John blames Dave, so I think we can assume that either they don’t know his brother forces him into swordfights or they don’t think it’s a problem. Which one is hard to determine.

FAILURE ARTIST: We cut to Jade playing a bass solo so advanced it doesn’t have a bass line. Another Bolin replacement. We find out Dream Jade is in a castle on a planet that’s a gold copy of the one Jack Noir and co are on. While flying around, she sees an inhabitant that looks familiar. CHEL: This is what I was referring to when I said Jade did have some contact with people; she is able to contact the carapaces in her dreams. However, the carapaces are, as we’ve seen from WV and company, somewhat childlike in behaviour, living in a society that’s nothing like Earth’s, biologically not the same as humans so they couldn’t easily advise her if she got ill or injured, and they don’t appear to be able or willing to speak, at least not most of the time and/or in a way the humans could understand, not to mention they would have no way to physically assist her in the waking world so she’d still have to raise herself from a very young age. Hence, why I don’t think they’re a substitute for an actual human parent.

[flipomatic]

Internship Chapter 13: Day 9 - Emira

First Chapter Previous Chapter

_________________________________________________________

Another day, another trip to the Illusion Coven. Emira had already gone with Jen to a job that morning, where they again aided the oracle coven. This time it was with setting up a long term solution for providing fog during fortune readings. After eating lunch, they had a different job on the schedule.

When they got back to the coven, Emira met with Jen in her office. They talked briefly about the job for the afternoon. It was going to be different than usual.

Jen said she had received a job request, which she had to go talk to the coven leader about before they could leave. She instructed Emira to wait for her in the lobby and that she’d be there soon.

This led to Emira lurking in the lobby, with only the secretary for company. After a few minutes of silent waiting, she went over to speak with him; she had a question he could probably answer.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Emira led with that, not wanting to interrupt if he was busy. He’d been writing something in a notebook.

The secretary looked up with his usual professional smile, still holding his pen as he replied. “Of course, what can I help you with?”

“How often do coven witches get job requests?” Since Jen got one today, the topic was a point of curiosity for Emira.

“An excellent question.” The secretary put down his pen, then brought his hands together. “Only the top performing coven members get job requests, including Jennifer.” The coven leader did say that Jen was one of their best witches, though Emira hadn’t seen much evidence of that yet. Of course, she hadn’t been watching carefully. “She receives a few requests a month from her fans.”

“She has fans?” Emira had trouble believing that witches who did contract work could build a fan base. It didn’t seem like a consistent way to get attention.

“Oh yes, quite a few of them.” The secretary nodded a few times, insistently. “She gets requests for performance magic; the other covens love her.”

That was interesting. The jobs Emira had gone on with Jen so far were all performance jobs, but they hadn’t been requests. It seemed like the coven assigned her jobs that played to her strengths, or at least put her in roles that she was known for.

Before Emira had a chance to respond, the employee door opened and Jen emerged. She was carrying her palisman staff.

“Ready to go?” Jen asked as she neared Emira and the secretary.

“Yup.” Emira stepped back from the desk. “Thanks for answering.” She said to the secretary. He waved in return.

Jen continued past them and Emira turned to follow. The went outside and mounted the palisman staff, setting off to fly to the job.

“We’re headed to an Abomination Coven event.” Jen started to brief her on the job as they took off. Emira had a sinking feeling in her gut when she heard it was the Abomination Coven. “It’s a request for fireworks.” Jen turned her head to look back at Emira. “I was supposed to go alone, but how can you shadow me without actually shadowing me?” Jen laughed at her own statement, shaking her head. “No way. Besides, I think you’ll like the spell I’ve prepared.”

So Emira almost got out of having to attend today. She would’ve greatly enjoyed not having to go, especially with the chance that her mother would be there, but it wasn’t going to benefit her to complain. If it hadn’t been the Abomination Coven, Emira would’ve appreciated Jen bringing her.

Bonesborough passed by below them as they flew overhead. So far they didn’t show any sign of descending.

“Where is it?” Emira asked, trying not to give any of her unease away.

“It’s outdoors, at a field on the other side of town.” Jen pointed off to right, designating something in the distance. Made sense that fireworks would be outside. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Emira looked to see if she could spot their destination, but it wasn’t visible yet.

That changed after a few minutes, as they left the edge of Bonesborough. They passed over a small forest. Emira could see a large number of what looked to be tables, all set up in a large field. There were witches moving around between them and sitting at them. On one side of the field, a large stage like structure was set up.

On the stage, easily identifiable to Emira even from this distance, was the light green hair belonging to Odalia Blight. Her mother, as she suspected, was leading this event. What were the odds that Emira could avoid being spotted by her? Slim to none, she suspected.

Jen brought the staff down on the edge of the field, where they hopped off onto the ground. Emira’s legs were getting better at the transition, since she was flying more often.

Up on stage, Emira’s mother was testing a magic microphone. There was a flurry of activity around the field, with some seats at the tables already filled. More witches were arriving, filing into their seats.

A witch on the ground level, one who seemed to be in a hurry, approached the pair. “Jennifer, thank you so much for accepting our request.” She was carrying a clipboard, following the trend in previous covens.

“I am honored to fulfill your request.” Jen said diplomatically.

“I see you brought Ms. Blight with you as well. We’ll set up an extra chair for her.” She waved another witch over and repeated the last part as a command.

“Wonderful.” Jen smiled sincerely. Emira didn’t agree that it was wonderful.

“The fireworks are after the last speech; I’ll signal when it’s time.” The witch pointed to one of the nearby tables. A few witches were already seated there. “Your seats are at that table. The ceremony will be starting soon.”

She scurried away without waiting for a response, going to help a witch on the other side of the field.

Jen and Emira walked over to the assigned table, where a different witch was quickly adding another chair. That was likely to accommodate Emira’s late attendance. The two sat down, settling in to wait for the event to start.

Jen took a piece of paper out of her pocket, and had laid flat on the table while they waited. Emira glanced over at it, curious, but couldn’t see it well while maintaining discretion. It looked like some kind of spell schematics. Jen was adding something with a pen, muttering to herself as she did, before scratching another part out.

Many of the witches at the table were staring at Emira, likely recognizing her as the coven head’s daughter. She ignored them; she was here as part of the Illusion Coven today, not Odalia’s daughter.

They had to wait a while, but the event soon started. Her mother took the stage to introduce the event. It turned out this was to commemorate the abomination wrestling season, which had just ended that week. Amity had mentioned going to see final match.

After her mother, a few others came up to speak. Emira was quite bored as they droned on about the good sportsmanship shown, the new strategies used, and the success of the new champion.

Jen didn’t look bored; she was still engrossed in her paper.

After a long hour of speeches and cheers, it was finally time for Jen to go on. Emira’s mother was speaking again, wrapping up the event. Up near the stage, the witch who assigned them the table flashed a thumbs up. Jen rose from her seat, walking out to an open portion of the field without a word.

Emira almost didn’t watch. She hadn’t watched yet, not in the whole week since they met. Things were different today though. Jen brought her along when she didn’t have to, made an exception for her, just so she could see this magic. She wasn’t so ungrateful not to recognize that.

Today, Emira watched.

Jen stopped out in a large empty spot of the field, waiting for exactly the right moment to begin. When Emira’s mother finished her speech, that was her cue.

She started casting spells, drawing large spell circles quickly. So quickly Emira couldn’t keep track of the spells. She could only watch the effects as balls of fire shot into the sky.

When they reached above the crowd’s heads, Jen added another spell, or set of spells Emira couldn’t tell, that caused them to explode in a burst of color.

It was beautiful, amazing. Emira’s jaw dropped at the display; she had never seen anything like it before. It wasn’t just the visuals that impressed her, but the spell work too. Each step of the fireworks had different spells weaved in, ones that flowed fluidly to the next set without so much as a waver.

Each step also had far more layers than Emira could maintain at a time. Jen seemed to cast more than one of them with each spell circle; Emira wasn’t sure how she did that. The technique was crazy, not even her illusion teacher had done that.

Emira watched the display with wide eyes, mind racing.

On the other side of the field, having come down from the stage to enjoy the show, her mother was watching as well. But she wasn’t watching the fireworks, no, she was watching her eldest daughter.

Emira didn’t notice, as she was engrossed in the magic show.

As the last fireworks exploded in the sky, Emira thought she had underestimated Jen. After the coven leader had been so disappointing, she had dismissed Jen as being the same. How wrong she had been, she’d been missing out.

She wondered if she could cast a simplified version of the spell. There were a few layers in the explosion part that Emira recognized. The base spell would be the toughest individual part, but then layering it all with the right timing would be even harder.

Now she knew why Jen had that piece of paper.

After the last spell fizzled out, the watching crowd burst out cheering. Emira joined them in clapping loudly. Jen took a bow, and then walked back towards the table as the applause dwindled.

“What do you think?” Jen asked, a small smile on her face.

Emira felt like she had to pick her jaw up off the table to respond. “Amazing.”

Jen shook her head as she sat back down at the table, but she did look pleased. “All in a day’s work.” She said, putting her hands together on the table.

Emira disagreed, but didn’t pursue the topic.

Soon the pair flew away from the event, heading back towards the coven.

While they flew, Emira ran through the different layers of the spell in her mind, trying to pinpoint each one and how they fit together.

She just had to try the spell.

Next Chapter

[ezmodo]

Mom’s Workshop

Ruby sat at her workbench, enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon. The house was silent save for the booming bass of Grimmplosion’s latest single blasting out of the headphones that rested around her neck, the noise drowning out the happy panting of the corgi beneath her feet. The family pet luxuriated under the attention, Ruby rubbing her feet up and down the dog’s velvety belly along with each riff, playing the corgi like an electric guitar. She was still in her PJs (it was a PJs sort of day), consisting of a supremely comfy, if ratty, old shirt and equally worn pajama pants.

Crescent Rose lay disassembled before her, each part resting at its designated spot. It didn’t need maintenance - she had given her baby a thorough cleaning after returning from her mission three days ago - but it helped her visualize future upgrades. She flipped through the weapons magazine on her lap, coming back to the page she had dogeared earlier that showcased hard-light dust. She could tinker up a way to surround and reinforce her main blade to provide extra piercing power to counter the thick hide of a Goliath or maybe install a mechanism at the base of the pole that could sprout a second scythe blade to surprise human opponents! Hard-light dust was so dang cool! And so dang expensive. Too expensive for now. Maybe she could call up Weiss and ask for an early Nondescript Winter Holiday present…

The dog beneath her suddenly stirred, rolling to its feet as it stared past Ruby to the door behind her. Looking back towards the door, Ruby clicked her headphones off and listened.

tmp tmp tmp tmp tmp

Ruby smiled to herself. Somebody was finally up.

tmp tmp tmp tmP TMP TMp tmp tmp tmp

The sound of little feet went zooming past the workshop and faded as they padded further down the hall.

“Drei.”

The corgi looked up at Ruby, its entire backside wagging in anticipation.

“Fetch.”

The dog shot off like a rocket and squeezed out through the cracked door to chase down her target. Ruby placed the magazine and headphones on the table before standing to stretch. She only had to wait a moment before she could hear giggling off in the house and soon enough the tmp tmp tmp of feet approached the workshop.

Drei pushed the door the rest of the way open as the dog barged in, giving a single bark as she sat proudly at Ruby’s feet. Ruby knelt down to give the dog a scratch behind the ears in reward as the boss of the house herself came to a stop in the doorway.

Primrose Arc stood just beyond the door rubbing the last bit of sleep from her silver eyes. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a loose knot on top of her head for her nap, some bits that came loose sticking out at odd angles. She was, like her mom, still in her pajamas from the night before, a purple top and bottom Yang had gotten her that barely fit the four-year-old. ‘I Can Sleep All Day. What’s YOUR Semblance?’ it read, something that always made Ruby grin. It probably was time to retire the set, even though Prim loved everything her aunt got her - she was growing like a weed. She could practically hear Jaune correcting her in her head; like a flower he would say in that cheesy yet completely serious way that only a doting dad could that would leave the rest of the room cringing.

“Have a good nap?” Ruby asked.

“Mmhm,” the girl mumbled back. She tugged the shirt down, trying to stretch the too small shirt down to cover her stomach. Whenever she stood straight the cloth would come up, exposing her belly button.

She lingered there by the door, distracting herself by messing with her shirt but kept sneaking glances up at Ruby. The workshop was off limits to her, after all, ever since Prim had snuck in and nearly cut herself on Crescent Rose. Jaune had freaked out a tad much about that in Ruby’s opinion, but it’s not like that rule applied if Ruby or Jaune were in the room.

“C’mere sweetie,” Ruby said, extending her arms out to her daughter.

Prim crossed the room in an instant, clambering into her mother’s arms to hook her chin over Ruby’s shoulder. Ruby stood in one fluid motion, bringing the girl up with her as Drei settled down on the floor for a nap of her own.

Ruby noticed something - someone - missing. “Where’s Pete?” Ruby asked. The girl took the stuffed bunny with her everywhere. It was a hand-me-down, the very one Jaune had as a boy that his mother had patched up for her granddaughter. Ruby was surprised she still had the thing. Would she end up being that crazy?

“Daddy still needed him,” she said, nuzzling further into her mother’s neck.

Go ahead and mark her down as crazy. Prim had both of her parents wrapped around her finger and neither cared. Ruby kissed the girl on the cheek and began to sway in place as she held her daughter.

Jaune must have fallen for Prim’s naptime trap. First she asks for a story. Then, a song. And for the finishing blow, she asks you in the sweetest voice imaginable to lie with her until she falls asleep. Before you know it you wake up three hours later and you’re half falling out of her tiny bed with a serious crick in your neck. Prim would usually still be there, waking up early but playing quietly by herself or fiddling with her parent’s scroll. It was scary how a girl so little could already navigate the device as well as her mom and dad.

“That was very sweet of you,” Ruby told her. “Daddy needs all the rest he can get for his big mission tomorrow.”

“Mission?” the girl asked, tightening her arms around Ruby’s neck. “Daddy’s turn?”

“Yup,” Ruby replied, “Daddy’s turn this time. It’s a reeeaaaaal short one though.”

---

Even before Primrose was born, Ruby and Jaune knew that they both couldn’t keep going on missions together full time. Though they had a near endless line of grandparents and aunts ready and willing (some aggressively so) to look after Prim while they were out on missions, it would be unfair to their daughter to leave her without her parents for the majority of the year. And if one of them stayed home with Prim while the other was out on a mission they’d be effectively cutting their income in half. They’d built up a nice nest egg over the years but between buying a home on Patch and Prim’s birth they’d be running dry in no time with only one of them getting paid at any given time.

Jaune confessed that he had been thinking about teaching for a while now, back when they spent most of their time out on missions together, only coming home to their crummy little apartment for the occasional recharge. He had even spoken with her father and Ren, who had started teaching himself at Haven years ago, about it without her knowing. It seemed like the perfect fit - they’d have a stable home for their daughter, be able to live comfortably financially, and Ruby would be able to dial down the number of missions she had to take on so she could be home more. They’d even have a couple months out of the year when school wasn’t in session where Jaune would be able to go on the occasional mission with Ruby. Not to mention the sweet, sweet benefits that the teaching staffs of huntsman academies got to enjoy. With the second salary and the dirt cheap healthcare, they’d finally be able to start adding to their family.

Leading up to and following Prim’s birth, Jaune worked towards getting his teaching license. Academics were never his strong suit but those days he rarely went long without a book in his hand, Prim often occupying his free arm. With Ren and her dad’s old study guides and Ruby’s surprise pop quizzes keeping him sharp, the written exam didn’t even slow him down.

Huntsman experience he had in spades, easily meeting standard mission requirements. The necessary teaching hours came easily too. He bounced back and forth between Signal and Beacon to observe and assist with classes and before long was escorting Beacon teams out on their school-directed missions. He earned his teaching license before Prim’s first birthday.

But there were no open positions at Signal or even at Beacon. Headmistress Goodwitch’s glowing endorsement brought offers from several other academies on other continents, none of which they would take. Patch was their home and they planned on keeping it that way.

For the next three years they kept doing exactly what they had tried to plan against - they took turns out in the field. When Ruby was away, Jaune was home. Thankfully, when Jaune was home he had opportunities to visit Beacon for work. Glynda Goodwitch, the scourge of their short time at Beacon, had become their savior, practically inventing temporary positions and jobs for Jaune to work around the academy to further beef up his resume and earn lien on the side. Goodwitch herself would watch Prim when Jaune was working at Beacon - the headmistress adored the girl and showed a tenderness that Ruby didn’t know a woman as tough as her could possess. Naturally, Beacon’s headmistress walking around campus with a blonde baby and meeting regularly with an equally blond temp teacher led to all sorts of embarrassing rumors that made Jaune the butt of many a joke once word reached their friends.

Her dad kept assuring her that once a spot opened, Jaune was guaranteed a teaching job at Signal. The current combat teacher, a hardened old lump of a woman, was the closest in age to retirement but showed no signs of stopping. She could still swing her staff for hours on end, busting the backsides of any student who thought they could give “grandma” a run for her money.

It was frustrating. They were getting by just fine but Ruby wanted more than ‘getting by.’ It felt like she only saw Jaune in passing, only ever in the house at the same time for a few days at most before one of them had to head out on another mission. She wanted her daughter to have the normal childhood she deserved and she wanted to give her a little brother or sister, maybe more. But with not enough money in the bank, especially not enough for her to stop working entirely if she were pregnant, they had no choice but to hold their current course.

But the end was in sight. The combat crone finally decided her time teaching the future huntsmen of Remnant was over and now she could spend her twilight years relaxing by traveling Remnant...with some Faunus dude young enough to be her grandson, according to her dad. Good going, granny.

So finally, finally, Jaune would get her spot. Tomorrow he’d board the bullhead to Argus to spend a week at Sanctum for a final assessment. He’d take the role of a full professor - teaching classes, grading papers, counseling students, the whole shebang, all while being observed by a third party. They had gone with Sanctum because it was a school he’d never visited before and they didn’t want to give the impression that he’d gotten the job at Signal based off family connections. Not that it mattered, really. Goodwitch said it was mostly formality at this point and, even if it weren’t, Ruby knew Jaune would pass with flying colors.

Professor Arc would soon be born and more Arcs would follow.

---

Ruby hummed happily as she shared an impromptu dance around the workshop with her daughter. In a week’s time things would be settled. She wondered if Prim would understand - as far as her daughter was concerned, Daddy already was a teacher.

Prim was fully awake now, sitting up taller in her mother’s arms. Ruby could feel her head turn this way and that depending on which way she danced and realized just what the girl was looking at. Ruby came to a stop in front of the workbench and watched as Prim shifted in her arms to get a better look at the disassembled Crescent Rose.

She’d worked on Crescent Rose in front of Prim before and it was hard to miss how enraptured the girl was with the process, asking an endless string of childish questions. Ruby couldn’t help the pride that bubbled up in her chest. Her daughter was on the road to becoming a weapon nerd.

“Wanna help Mommy put Crescent Rose back together?”

“I can?” the girl asked, eyes still glued to the weapon.

“Yup. But,” Ruby said, turning the girl to make sure they were looking each other in the eye. “You can only touch when I say you can. Okay?”

“Kay!” she exclaimed excitedly, rocking back and forth in her mother’s arms.

Laughing, Ruby nudged the chair closer to the table and set her daughter down, letting her stand on the seat. Prim immediately leaned forward, placing her hands on the table to get a better look. Her eyes darted from part to part, never able to stay still for long.

Ruby took her place next to Prim and placed a steadying hand on the girl’s back.

“Okay,” Ruby said, taking the upper receiver and bringing it closer for the girl to see. “What’s this?”

“The…” Prim paused, wracking her tiny brain for the made up word Ruby had taught her before. “Thingamabob!”

Ruby sucked air dramatically through her teeth in an exaggerated wince. “Oooo, so close! This is the thingamajig! This part over here is the thingamabob…”

Jaune slept most of the afternoon away while mother and daughter rebuilt Crescent Rose. One day Ruby would teach her the real names for each part and watch Prim put it back together again without help. Ruby might even, if Prim decided to follow her mother’s footsteps even further, help her build a weapon of her own. Or maybe she’d change her mind somewhere along the way and pick up some other calling, possibly something Ruby didn’t know the first thing about. 

Ruby couldn’t wait to find out.

[tastefullynefarious]

Torment never looked so goddamn fine

Chapter 2 / 10 - Billy Idol - Rebel Yell

Sooooo, i was very disappointed that most of the songs in Billy inspired playlists are post 85, so I’m adding one per chapter, a little song that could have actually plaid in the background as the story unfolds.

Word count: 4,134 

Warnings: 18+, I have no shame!, Should have proof read this one more time, shameless smut in case I wasn’t clear

Last night a little dancer came dancin' to my door

Last night a little angel came pumping on the floor

She said, come on baby, I got a license for love

And if it expires, pray help from above

Because

In the midnight hour she cried, more, more, more

With a rebel yell she cried, more, more, more

In the midnight hour, babe, more, more, more

With a rebel yell, more, more, more

More, more, more

There was lots of shouting. Screaming actually, long pain-filled howls mixed with curses in a language she didn't yet fully understand. The scalpel was small, but she didn't need much to make them crumble beneath her power. She barely needed anything at all, the minuscule knife and the drawn blood were nothing more than visual aids. That was the beauty of the human brain, you could trick it into believing anything if determined enough, people did it to themselves often without even realizing. But she, oh she could do so much more.

Pain was a funny thing. It lifted some up, made them fight harder, while completely shattering the spirits of others. It was fuel, and its consequences were up to the mentality of whoever it was inflicted upon. But no matter who you were and how strong you thought yourself, there was a threshold, a limit of suffering the brain could handle before it sent signals to the heart to stop. And she could play with that limit as she saw fit, like a dial to turn up and down, making the smallest of cuts feel like the insides were being torn open or a bullet wound like a mere pinch. She could bring the prisoners from the depths of hell to the sweet bliss of nothingness with just her mind and they would spill all their secrets in broken shouts, in that rigid language, needless blood on her hands. And she would hear them long after she was sent back to her little square room and she would see their faces when she closed her eyes.

Sandy woke up in the midnight hour, cold sweat covering her entire body, the screams still rang in her ears. It took her several minutes to distinguish reality from dream, her body shaking uncontrollably. She was not in that room anymore, and she'll be damned if she ever went back. That was the whole reason she came to Hawkins after all.

She hopped in the shower, letting the steaming water soothe away some of the aches in her body and the itch under the skin of her left wrist. She scrubbed the spot relentlessly to no avail, before the pain made her stop. But pain was not a problem to her, never had been; she could just make it stop. Her eyes stared a hole into her wrist, the cover up tattoo faded just enough to make out the original underneath in bold black - 007. The tears came out of nowhere, the shame followed soon after.

How was she still so weak? So easily brought down by things so far in her past? It was pathetic. She punched the hard tile wall, shock spreading through her bones like ink on paper, but she didn't turn the dial down. Sometimes it was good to just feel the burning ache. Sometimes feeling nothing scared her more than the soreness of bruised bones and split open skin.

Sleep wasn't going to come again that night, not between her recurring nightmares and the new problems that arose. She was in her car in moments, hair still dripping wet and an oversized shirt haphazardly thrown on. Driving usually helped calm her nerves, but it was doing little in that moment. Coming to Hawkins must have been a mistake after all. It only brought more questions and none of the sweet release she had dreamed of.

She found the quarry easily despite not particularly looking for it, but it was a good a spot as any to ponder and make sense of her raging thoughts. She was tired. She had expected the nightmares not to fully disappear, but honestly she was hoping they would have at least changed to the new horrors she was exposed to. Apparently childhood trauma was stronger than finding out there was another dimension filled with mind controlling monsters and human eating dogs. It hadn't helped at all to find out that Dr. Brenner - papa - was killed by one of the creatures from the so called Upside Down. She felt somehow cheated. She hadn't particularly wanted to kill him herself, add more blood to her already dripping hands, but she wished she could have seen it, even if just to make sure the fucker had actually bitten the proverbial dust.

Passing her hand through her hair she spotted the blood on the sleeve and recalled the previous day and meeting police chief Hopper. Joining him in the tunnels beneath the pumpkin field, more or less with his knowledge and consent, and then the vines and the creature that attacked them. She was so accustomed to use her powers to get out of anything, but apparently those things - demodogs - felt pain differently. Or perhaps it was because of the hive mind. The pain was not dealt directly to the 'main' brain so it affected the host less. She let out an exasperated sigh, head resting backwards on the seat. It was insane, all of it!

Finding out about El had also been heartbreaking on its own, even if she never got to meet the girl before she had ran away. Hopper didn't, couldn't, understand what is was like to spend your life in a little square room and then being offered a glimpse of the world beyond. It was only a matter of time before the poor girl went to explore the glorious outside with all the restrictions he was putting up. His concern was understandable, his method not so much.

Eleven. There had been four more attempts after her. Four children kidnapped and their families destroyed. She didn't dare wonder too long on what those poor souls had been though, lest she'd be reminded of her own torment. But now that El was gone, Sandy thought her next move would be to find the girl, and maybe even the other three, if they were still alive. She knew for a fact that all the ones before her were long gone, but she hadn't been aware of the ones after. The MKUltra program hadn't died when she burned down the last lab, just redesigned itself. And apparently moved from torturing Soviet spies to opening portals to deadly dimensions of horrors. Fun!

She pressed her head to the steering wheel, exhaling slowly and closing her eyes. Which was a horrendous mistake. She jerked up the second after, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest. It was so dark and quiet, almost too quiet. Was that normal silence or the dead stillness that foretold of evils lurking just out of sight, the calm before the storm? Her drumming heart was the only sound for the longest time, so loud she was sure it could be heard all the way to the fucking Upside Down. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a flash of light darted at the edge of her vision.

It turned out to be a car, a blue Camaro in fact. She watched Billy park the car right beside hers and give her a small nod, not opening the window or giving any sign he was going to move from his seat. If anything, he looked like he wanted to be left alone, which was pretty obvious by the choice of place and time.

There was a moment of calmness, his presence there, the normality he brought, chasing away the shadows in her head. But as soon as he turned off the headlights and they were plunged in a seemingly deeper darkness than before, her eyes started again to frantically search for threats behind the treeline. She kept looking his way as well, wondering if he would send her away if she jumped in the passenger seat of his Camaro or be up to relieve some tension with her. She didn't want to be alone, it was selfish, she knew. But at the same time, he didn't seem like the kind of guy to mind a meaningless one time fling. How many girls he must have charmed with that car alone, not to mention that ass?

When she spied that he was having trouble with his lighter Sandy didn't think twice as she opened the door and slipped into his car in one fast, fluid motion, like the night air could have been toxic. She passed him her own lighter as an excuse, but the small smile on his lips and raised brow showed he saw right through her tough girl act.

"Scared of the dark, are we?" He took the lighter nevertheless and she was happy he was letting her stay, even if it was for a little while.

"Of what could be lurking in it." He gave her a weird look, like he had been expecting more of her, despite not knowing anything about her, probably not even her name if Max hadn't told him. "Don't laugh, there had been some weird animal attacks in this stupid town."

Billy just stared at her for another second before turning to look ahead and taking one long drag from his cigar. He was tired and didn't have the energy to mock her for the childlike fear or her disheveled look. He had hoped she would have left after he returned the lighter, but the girl took a cigar out of his pack as well and was now smoking besides him in an odd, but comforting silence. If he was completely honest with himself, he hadn't wanted to be alone, not after Neil's outburst and the pain in his ribs, but he had nowhere to run to, no friends to confide in and no one to tell him it will all be over soon, he just had to finish high-school. One more fucking year! In Cali at least he had his surfing and some 'friends' he could always count on to drink the pain away with without having to explain himself.

He eyed the girl again, trying to get his mind off of his home life. What was her deal? And more importantly, was she wearing no pants? His eyes trailed her exposed legs. They were barely visible in the moonlight, but the nasty looking burn mark on her thigh was standing out like a sore thumb. He had hoped he would have seen her in school, but Tommy H and Carol knew of no one with her description. It didn't help that he didn't even know her damn name. His brows furrowed, who was this stranger sitting in his car?

"Are you ever going to tell me your name?"

"Ask me nicely and maybe I will."

"It's only fair, you know mine."

"Ah, you're no fun..."

"I'm plenty of fun!"

"I bet you are." It was a half mock, half praise, the little smirk on her lips as she blew the smoke away as sinful as the glint in her eyes when she winked. It brought out his more flirtatious nature, the momentary anger turning into lust.

"Fine, don't tell me, doll." She scoffed, something between surprise and irritation, but she kept the playful demeanor, the smile never leaving her lips.

"Do I look like a doll to you?"

"It's all I got if you're not giving me your name." He raised his shoulders, the corners of his lips lifting into a smirk. He was quite proud of the nickname he gave the mystery girl. "Besides, it's on your registration plate, doll." He used it again, in hopes he'd make her give up her name. But the effect had been nothing of the sorts, her eves lighting up with mischief, eyebrows raised. He felt like she was in on some joke he had no clue about.

"Ah, so with just one 'L'?"

"Does it matter? It sounds all the same."

"But it doesn't mean the same!" She turned in her seat to fully face him, one leg carefully tucked beneath her. His eyes were drawn again to that burn mark, but her gleeful voice brought his attention back to her face. "Dol, D-O-L, is a unit measurement for pain. They use these instruments, dolorimeters - I know, funny name - to find out a person's pain sensitivity level when they apply steady pressure, or heat, or electrical stimulation to some areas of the body. Or even when they pop out a joint or break a bone. Crazy what scientist are doing these days."

Billy blinked a few times, slowly making sense of her word vomit. What the actual fuck? What kind of teenager knew these kind of things? And more importantly who on earth was so into it? He grimaced when his thoughts took him back to his father. Neil would have a field day with one of those dolori-something pain inducing instruments.

"You're weird."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She gave him a shit eating grin and for a moment he thought she was just messing with him. It was all an attempt at some lame joke, finding her there in the middle of the night, no pants, alone and flinching every time a sound came from outside the car, talking about torture devices. But her expression softened for a brief moment, the glee completely draining from her eyes before she turned her head to check the trees for what must have been the tenth time since she got in his Camaro. The question formed on his lips before he could decide if he even wanted to know or not.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Probably the same as you." She paused, and for a moment it didn't seem like she was going to continue. When she did though, her voice came out as more of a whisper. "Running away from my problems mostly. Trying to figure out what to do next. Things like that." Billy couldn't stop staring at her. Barely clothed, hair a wet mess. The little scar on her upper lip and burned flesh on her thigh. Skittish, her eyes checking for a threat to jump out of the trees. Was she in some kind of trouble? All he knew about her was the was 'just passing through'. His breath caught in his throat when he noticed the dark rusty spots on her sleeve, the evidence piecing itself together in his head like a tragic puzzle, one he knew so well. Someone had done all that to her.

"So what brought you to Hawkins from beautiful Florida?"

"What brought you here from sunny California?" His initial concern was dimming, the girl's evasive responses getting old and tiring. He was curious, sure, but he wasn't going to pry if she wasn't comfortable to tell him. He knew how crucial it was to hide the truth, to keep it all in, buried as far from the light of day. All it ever brought was pity or judgement, none pleasant to experience.

"You don't give straight answers, do you?" She poked her tongue out at him in a childish manner before turning back to look at the forest. There was just no winning with this girl. He wasn't sure why the next words left his mouth, but he felt the blood boiling in his veins with each syllable, his fingers curling tightly around the steering wheel as if bracing for an impact. "I'm here instead of on a beach, because of my shitty dad and his wonderful new family." That seemed to get her attention though, her head snapping back to him. She seemed to weight her reply carefully, before finally speaking.

"I'm just passing through. Might actually leave sooner than expected…" He was surprised she changed the subject. Most people would have asked him to elaborate or worse, insist his life couldn't be so bad, give a motivational, positivity dripping monlogue, as if they knew anything about him. But she brought the discussion back to her and it kept his mind off the fact that sooner or later he had to head back to his own home, if he could even call it that anymore. Maybe Neil, Susan and Max would all be happier if he just… disappeared, packed up a bag and head out into the world.

"Going back home?"

"Don't actually have a home, I guess." His brows furrowed, jaw clenching slightly. Again with the evasive half answers. How could she not have a home? Was she an orphan? But even so, she would have been put in the system. Had she ran away? Was it like his 'home', a place where he went to sleep and eat, but with little else of the qualities usually attached to the word?

Sandy watched him as the frown took over his pretty boy face. She could see the cogs working in his brain trying to piece together the meaning and implication of her last sentence, and perhaps even preparing to bombard her with questions. But how could she ever explain she was born in a lab and raised by a crazy scientist who made her torture people for information? And what was it with his sudden interest in her non existent home? She turned to look at him straight in the eyes for the first time that night. She stared long and hard into his blues and reached with her mind and felt the pain he was hiding just beneath the surface. Her eyes fell to his torso, hand sticking out to graze the tender spot hidden by his shirt. He flinched, but she knew the pain never hit him from that little touch, nor when she flung her leg over unceremoniously to straddle him. Good thing she forgot to put on pants when she left.

"You want to talk shitty pasts or fuck till we forget our problems? Dealers choice." But she already knew the answer, his hands burning on her cold skin, trailing up her thighs. If she surprised him with her sudden move, he didn't show it. Perhaps he didn't really care, her desperate need for a distraction mirrored by his own. Meaningless sex was always a great way to keep our mind off pressing matters. He seemed to know that well, perhaps they were not so different.

Their lips met in a furry, neither sure who closed the space between them first and neither caring. They kissed, hard and desperate, just like she liked it, the sheer force leaving her lips throbbing. Sandy's hands puled his shirt out of his jeans hasty, the need to feel his skin against hers paramount to her very existence and broke the kiss for the briefest moment as it came over his head. Had it really been that long since she'd been with anybody? She couldn't remember, not with Billy's hands squeegeeing her ass and pulling her closer to him, grinding up towards her. She wasted little time, taking off her own shirt, the size of it allowing her to leave to buttoned up, before bringing her mouth back to his, her hands snaking around his neck and chests pressed together. His hands roamed on her back, fingertips digging in her skin, occasionally stopping to feel the length of a scar or another.

He was so wonderfully warm she melted into him, moaning into the kiss as she slowly started grinding into him. She felt him smirking, lips never parting further than to allow him to leave a trail of soppy kisses on her jawline and down her neck. One of his hands wound tight in the hair at the base of her neck, as his teeth sunk in the flesh just beside her pulse and Sand found herself smiling.

"Shit, stop with the teasing!" But he said nothing, only letting out a huff of acknowledgement, his plump lips still attached to that sweet spot where the neck met the shoulder. His other hand, once done with exploring, found one of her breasts. She let out a straggled moan, the air caught in her throat. She was dizzy, his warmth seeping into her her, intoxicating like a new drug. And to think he'd barely touched her. She wet her lower lip with her tongue, the thought of what was to come maddening. In her drunken state she almost begged. Almost. Two could play that game and she wasn't know to be fair.

The button and zipper of his jeans flew open before he realized. Billy gasped when her hand pressed none too gently over his dick, rubbing it through the soft fabric of his boxers. A part of him relished in the small pleasures of teasing her raw. The other part made him lift his hips when she struggled to push his jeans and boxers aside. His head flew backwards hitting the headrest as her fingers wrapped tightly around his freed cock, thumb pressing into the tip to smudge some of the precum. She pumped him with a steady, merciless grip, but it was her expression that made him give in, eyes dark with lust and a grin that knew she was going to get exactly what she wanted out of him.

He gripped her wrist and pinned it to her lower back while his other hand pushed her black panties aside, not bothering to fully take them off. She lifted herself just enough, shuddering when his fingers made a straight line from her collarbone all the way between her folds. Her hands resting on his shoulders for support. She was dripping wet, not that he was surprised. He slipped into her fast with one powerful thrust, sheeting his dick completely. She arched her back with a lewd moan, like a coil falling back to place. Billy rested his forehead above her breast, the heat and tightness of her pussy making his head spin.

"Fuck."

"Me." Her breath was hot on his ear, the hairs on his neck standing. "Hard!" She needn't say it twice. Both his hands found her waist to guide her, but the vixen knew what she was doing, her body undulating in time with his violent thrusts. He found he couldn't quite take his eyes off of her, the moonlight emphasizing all the right places. The curve of her neck as her head lolled back, lips parted, the little scar almost invisible if he didn't already know where to look. Her breasts bouncing in a hypnotic rhythm, nipples perky as they occasionally grazed his chest in the cramped space. And that sweet mage of his cock disappearing into her, her vulgar moans and slapping skin the only sounds filling the car.

Sandy tried to keep her eyes open, the image of Billy's taunt muscles and fully blown eyes imprinted on her retinas, but failed miserably when his fingers wrapped around her neck. She relished in the feelings instead, her skin tingling wherever his caressed, fondled or dug into. She cursed his jeans for only being lowered to his thighs, precious territory left unexplored. The steering wheel was pressing hard into her back, the ache in perfect contrast to the pleasure shooting up from between her thighs as Billy rammed into her viciously. She came hard, pure bliss passing through her in wave after wave making her quiver uncontrollably. Strong arms encased around her, grounding her in reality, as he somehow picked up the pace, his rhythm erratic. He spilled into her while she was still coming down her high, his head buried into the crook of her neck. They stood there for a moment longer, breaths ragged and bodies slick with sweat, her fingers twisting his damp hair around.

Sandy was the first to speak.

"Well hot damn, should have jumped you in that paring lot." He chuckled against her skin, the vibrations pleasant to her still sensitive body.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, doll." The corners of her mouth twisted into a sly smile and she untangled herself from him, his hands lingering on her until the last second. She regarded the completely fogged windows as she found her shirt and put it back on, but she couldn't bring herself to worry about the world outside that Camaro. Not yet at lest. She turned toward him, his almost sheepish expression endearing.

"I'll be in town for a coupe more days. Motel 6, room 13. Don't be a stranger." She pushed the door open and stepped into to cool night air, but passed him a final wink before getting into her own car. "Oh and, you can call me Sandy."

[captainpikeachu]

am i still emotionally compromised by the latest episode? yes, yes i am

but the next week promo analysis must go on, we must still be brave, be bold, and be courageous, just as our beloved Captain Pike was and still is

so onwards to the beginning of a two part finale of this amazing season 2!

the promo starts with a voiceover from Saru: “there is a battle coming...”

Sarek seems to have been meditating on the beach??? And then he opens his eyes as if he saw something? 

Or perhaps this field he’s in is the vision? Is he seeing something through Michael’s eyes?

Saru continues in his voiceover: “...the odds are not in our favor...”

Michael is looking out the window at a ship, I can only assume that this is Michael on The Enterprise looking out to The Discovery, maybe like a one last goodbye to this ship that has been her home for the last year or so, maybe this is right before they have to destroy the ship

look at this though!!!! Discovery and Enterprise together!! yessssss!!!!!!

yeah the Enterprise design is updated but it is still very recognizable

Michael’s voiceover starts here: “Captain Pike has always had faith that we’d play a part in some grand design...”

we see Pike walking through the halls as people are packing up and moving stuff, it’s clear that what Pike went through on Boreth still is weighing on him, there is a warmth that is missing that he usually always has even in tense situations

Nhan is also here, directing people on where to go, my guess is this is when everyone is moving from Discovery to Enterprise

Pike: “all of you will face your destinies with bravery and honor” - says the man who did indeed just face his own destiny with bravery and honor, again, there is an ever so subtle change in body language in Anson Mount’s acting, Pike moves with a tiredness that wasn’t there before

Pike is in his yellow uniform, so my assumption is that this is taking place on Enterprise’s bridge, not Discovery’s, though that could also be wrong

Spock in this scene I believe is still on the Discovery, right outside the window behind him is part of the Enterprise but I think this is part of that shot of Discovery and Enterprise side by side

Michael looks intense and concentrated, probably ready to kick some ass!

Georgiou is on the bridge and back in black leather, again, I can’t tell if this is Discovery’s bridge or Enterprise, but I assume this is the same scene we see of Pike talking about everyone’s destinies

I am curious to see what part Georgiou will play and if somehow her own destiny may come into play as it was hinted when she talked to Gabrielle Burnham that Gabrielle seemed sure that Georgiou would sacrifice and do good things

then we have Michael’s voiceover return: “...I wish I had his certainty...”

Michael and Tyler having more intense emotional hugging moments, I’m sure there will be all the feels, it’s always feels with these two, just killing me with the feels

Discovery and Enterprise together again!!!! god i just love how cool they look beside each other!!!!

Number One: “9 more enemy vessels have just dropped out of warp”

THERE ARE RED HANDRAILS

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY TO SEE HAND RAILS

especially after i have been screaming all season about why Discovery doesn’t have hand rails given how many times Pike has yeeted himself out of his chair

now of course these red handrails are more in line with Kirk’s Enterprise bridge a decade in the future during TOS time than they do of the black handrails that was seen in The Cage which is set 3 years before Disco season 2 events, but still, a change in coloring of the handrails is the least concerning thing, one can easily assume that they just had a paint change since they were out on repairs anyways

this design is obviously more modernized to fit in line with the visuals on Discovery, but it’s very recognizable again as the Enterprise bridge, it’s just slightly bigger - it’s a bigger screen, more space on the bridge for people to move, and the screens are more fancy - but this is all still very much Enterprise, just updated to fit with modern sensibilities 

Saru: “prepare for battle!”

here we see Saru in the captain’s chair, I assume this takes place on the Discovery, which means Pike is commanding Enterprise and Saru has taken command of Discovery as the two ships work together to deal with the battle against Control

we do also catch Nhan in the corner of this shot, which is interesting that an Enterprise crew member didn’t go back to her ship and is on the Discovery

Tilly is back!! and she looks very concerned, as she should be given all the drama that’s been happening, poor thing!

Michael looks like she’s hatching some plans! uh oh!

behind Michael is an Enterprise crew member in gold uniform, so she is on the Enterprise, also the red doors behind here we last saw when she was on the Enterprise to enter Spock’s room

Enterprise firing off their weapons at someone, I assume this takes place during the battle that Enterprise and Discovery will have with Control

damn she looks sooooooo good, look at this beauty of a ship!

Pike: “it’s time...”

he is saying this to Michael who is just a bit off screen, you can see a glimpse of her hair as we come into this scene in the promo, and everyone is still on the Discovery at the moment obviously since we see Detmer and Owo behind Pike in this scene still at their stations

i believe Pike is saying “it’s time” either because it’s time to fight Control, or it’s time for him to formally leave the Discovery to return to Enterprise to command them for this battle, this could be him officially handing command back to Saru?

now this next episode is suppose to the first of a two parter season finale, and the title is “Such Sweet Sorrow”, part of that parting is such sweet sorrow phrase, but I don’t think Pike is gonna exit at this moment before the last episode, I think the parting is about the crew saying goodbye to Discovery since the whole thing is about they have to leave the ship, so this moment in the promo can be a bit of a misdirect at play to make us think a certain way

again with the way these promos are cut and how they shift things around, it’s hard to pinpoint what moments go in what sequence

now the most interesting bit of this screenshot though, is the fact that behind Pike on the view screen, we see the name Xahea, you might remember that name from the Short Treks episode Runaway when Tilly encounters Po, who was a Xahean royal princess who ran off when she was suppose to be crowned Queen - it looks like here, something is happening to the planet? or perhaps a signal appears over Xahea and thus leading the Discovery there?

the inclusion of Xahea means that this is the second time that Discovery has directly referenced one of the four Short Treks episodes - we saw them link Saru’s Short Treks story to this season, and now Tilly’s Short Treks episode looks to be coming into play - add that onto the mountains of theories about how Discovery may get sent into the future and that somehow is linked to Calypso, the only Short Treks that we may not have a link to this season is the Harry Mudd one, unless you count time crystals as linking to Mudd since the first time we saw a time crystal in Discovery was because of Mudd last season

now, the writers and cast and crew have hyped it up that the ending of this story arc is suppose to be unexpected and game-changing and answer questions that people have always asked about Discovery’s place in canon, some of it could be your typical promotional hype machine, but given how this show has a tendency to sometimes throw curveballs and be unexpected, I can believe that the writers could throw out something totally unexpected and in a way, i really do want to be surprised, though that does make the analysis a little harder LOL

we’re at the beginning of the end of the line though, hard to believe that it’s just gone by so quickly already, it feels like we’ve barely begun to be honest!

well, we still gotta boldly go, so off we are to Episode 13 and yes, parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

[hirohamadugh]

THE ENHANCED

 Part 1 | Part 2! | Part 3 | Visual of Issac

Suddenly, everything was happening at once. The capsule doors slid open to reveal Issac to the world, and to reveal the world to Issac. His eyes flew open as he urgently gasped his first breaths, ripped out of his peaceful stasis and thrust into being. Chris and Liv caught Issac’s body as he stumbled out of the chamber in a gangly and uncoordinated way, well-versed in the symptoms of sudden life before.

“Breathe,” Liv coerced, as the boy was still sucking in air frantically and posed himself the risk of hyperventilation. He’d only been alive for less than a minute, and it had already been so overwhelming that he passed out. She tore her gaze away from her newest creature, making eye contact with Chris to obtain his attention. “Lower him to the ground. Let the overstimulation pass before we try to teach him anything.”

The two gently dropped Issac’s body until he laid flat on his back, breaths finally starting to teeter into the heavy-but-unthreatening phase. He may have been a newborn, but Issac was no infant: all subjects of the Living Immunity Vectors program were born as fully formed young adults.

“Help me dress him,” the blonde woman ordered, tossing a pair of gray joggers to her assistant as she wrestled the boy into a perfectly color-matched crewneck with the Sycorax double-stranded helix logo embossed on the chest. Kneeling beside him on the ground now, Liv began checking over his physical attributes to see if anything had gone obviously wrong in the altered genetic coding, but was pleased to find no anomalies. Chris was silent once he’d finished his part as well, staring at the boy whose eyes dazedly opened and began to search every little aspect of the room. Looking between the two men, it was clear they were related somehow, but not to any great length. They had the same physical build, hair texture, and facial structure, but that seemed to be where the similarities stopped. Chris’s complexion was much fairer than Issac’s, Issac’s eye color was brown vs. Chris’s hazel, the older boy’s hair was blonder and shorter… The list went on and on, and the more Chris stared, the more differences he noticed.

“Issac,” Liv spoke, very eager to see if her latest trials proved a success or not.  “Can you understand me?”

The tanned boy just stared blankly back at her as she spoke, a lack of concentration obvious as his attention easily sidetracked to the control panels quietly beeping and flashing as always. “Issac!”

When he failed once again to respond, Liv rolled her eyes, annoyed that her hope had been squashed. “Whatever,” she huffed, very rapidly losing interest now that he was just another in vitro case study, no better than her last improvement. “Chris, carry him to his room with Hailey and prep the first coordinated movement lesson for in an hour. I want Elliot keeping an eye on him to ensure he doesn’t enter a state of panic, and to let me know if there’s any sort of worry whatsoever.”

“Wait, what do you mean my room with me?”

Both Liv and Chris froze, as the boy who was born less than five minutes ago just asked a fully functional and correct syntax sentence in a language he was never taught. Their gazes bore deep into Issac’s soul, as he propped himself up into a sitting position. “What??” He asked, knitting his eyebrows down in confusion on why they were looking at him as if he were a ghost.

“Hailey,” Chris said, making the connection.

“Yes??”

“Of course he would respond to Hailey!! It worked!” The blonde woman hugged her assistant out of glee, while Issac pushed himself off the ground and up into a standing position.

“Is there something I’m missing here, Ms. Amara?”

Liv was near tears, and turned to place her hands on Issac’s shoulders in an almost loving way. “You’re not Hailey,” she breathed out quietly, which was met with a face of extreme confusion from the newborn. “You’re Issac. You’ll understand soon enough.” The tender moment over, she turned to her assistant: “Make sure his acclimatization finds him well, will you? Get him caught up on everything she’s learned since upload so they can be taught together. I want his baseline vitals recorded tonight as well. I’m going to go record this in his file.”

Chris took the other male’s forearm and began to redirect him towards the living quarters. Somewhere deep inside himself, Issac knew where he was going, but he couldn’t quite visualize it completely. “What does she mean, I’m Issac?”

The blonde man smiled sympathetically, stealing a glance over as he continued to walk. “You probably don’t have complete access to all your memories yet. Hailey,” Issac’s head instinctively popped up at the girl’s name, still failing to dissociate her from himself, “She’s the one who was born before you. She’s a couple months old now. She’s learned how to walk, how to talk, how to behave in general, some basic biology concepts…” Chris trailed off, before stopping and putting his hand on Issac’s shoulder. “It’s taken her all this time just to learn that, you know? Despite the fact we all learn incredibly fast for humans, it still takes a long while.” He touched his own temple, a small gesture for any normal-grown adult, but incredibly advanced of a social nuance for someone who’s less than 2 years old like himself.  “She allowed us to extract, replicate, and upload her consciousness into you so we didn’t have to waste all that time and energy teaching you the basics.” Chris turned and began his brisk pace once more, leading the other boy around a bend as he continued to explain. “Maybe you’ll get them all, maybe you won’t, but the fact you’re talking and walking and understanding… That’s all really promising.”

           Issac stared at his hands as he listened to the older boy, fixated on the minor details. While what Chris was explaining sounded ridiculous, he did have a sense of Déjà vu while the assistant had been describing it. In addition, his fingers were thicker than he remembered them being, plus his body was more boxy in general; this would add up if Chris was telling the truth, and he really was a new person in a new body. “So my memories… aren’t mine?”

           “Not exactly. But from here on out they are!” Chris smiled oh-so-cheerily as he dexterously input his biometrics on the reader that disabled the semi-transparent gate into what would become Issac’s new home. Inside he saw a girl sitting on her bed, she was wearing the exact same outfit as he and reading from a tablet. Issac instantly recognized her. That’s me. I mean Hailey. I guess not me.

           As soon as the cell was disabled, the girl’s attention immediately fixated on the two men, and she smiled slightly. Jumping down from her bed, Hailey tossed the tech haphazardly onto it and walked right up to her new roommate, as everyone but Chris lived in pairs. “So, you’re Issac,” she stated matter-of-factly, tilting her head slightly in examination of the new boy’s facial features.

           “So I’ve been told,” he replied, having a minor out-of-body experience due to seeing what he thought was himself standing and talking right in front of him. “Thought I was you, but I’m not.”

           Hailey cracked a small laugh, and her smile instinctively made him show one in return. “So I see the uploading-thing worked! Very exciting…” She pursed her lips, kicking one foot lightly before refocusing on Chris. “And… Very sorry for all those involved that there will now be two of me!”

           The blonde boy chuckled, and Issac didn’t fully understand why, but nevertheless he felt the need to do the same as if he got the joke. “Should make it easy to get along,” Chris mentioned, before crossing the room to the other, neatly made bed that lay opposite of Hailey’s. “Issac, this is your bed, your wardrobe is,”

           “Over there,” Issac interrupted, pointing to the sliding door that conjoined he and Hailey’s closets, which were both unsurprisingly filled with more grey outfits like the ones they wore. “I’m remembering,” he stated bluntly, walking to the back of the room where the restricted-access CPU and medical recording instruments were set up. “Ms. Amara said she needed my vitals, right? Are you taking them, or is…” Issac pinched the bridge of his nose, tongue peeking out from the corner of his mouth as he desperately tried to grasp at a taunting memory of Hailey’s morning check-ins for the name of the man who performed them.

           “Elliot?” Hailey offered, pleased to see he was already remembering details from her life.

           “Yes!” Issac exclaimed, to which Chris nodded.

           “I’ll go get him to take your baseline stats. Be right back.” The blonde man walked out of the room, and thanks to the floor sensors detecting his biosignature leaving, the honeycomb-esque field was secured once more, keeping the two subjects where they were supposed to be.

           “How are you feeling?” Hailey broke the silence between them, walking over to where Issac was inspecting the sphygmomanometer cuff. “I can remember it was… Scary, when I was born. Not knowing where or what anything is. Just seeing Ms. Amara and Chris staring down at me, like I was a circus monkey and they wanted me to do a trick or something.”

           “It was very strange to see things you’ve never seen before… Yet remember them.” Issac turned to look at her, noticing she must’ve been pretty buff to look so strong despite all their loose clothing.

           “I know,” she confessed, shoving her hands in her pockets due to not knowing what to do with them. “I was one of the failed attempts to do this to. They tried with Gabriel, the guy born before me, tried uploading him to me, but I only ever got small bits and pieces, so it was hard with a sense of both familiarity and newness to get adjusted.” She averted her gaze for a moment, feigning to check if the older boys had returned. “Chris was the first one of us ever, although sorry if I’m just repeating what you already recall. I wonder what it was like for him.” She refocused on the new boy, pressing her lips together slightly in thought. “He was never really like the rest of us, though. He’s always been allowed upstairs.”

           “And what’s upstairs?” Issac asked, genetic predisposition to curiosity and answering questions making themselves prominent.

           “The world,” Hailey replied, a small and almost sad smile across her face. “If we work hard enough and prove ourselves like he has, we can start actually working for Sycorax up there too.” She fiddled with her umber colored braid to avoid overthinking the possibilities, knowing very well she was way ahead of herself in thinking about those kinds of things. “It’s a biology place, though, so we need to get really good at that first before anything happens. Do you remember anything I’ve learned about biology?”

           “I know that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.”

           Hailey let out a breathy laugh, shaking her head just a bit at his first jumped-to fact. “You’ll do fine, I’m sure of it. I’m glad you were at least able to be the protégé that I was not!”

           “Not to sound rude, since I’ve had probably a whole 35 minutes of socialization practice-so bear with me, but why do you care?” Issac mirrored the pose she had taken earlier, with his hands in his own pockets now. “Why do you want me to succeed? Why me?”

           The girl looked away, afraid to open up Pandora’s box of voids she was trying to fill. “You… After they asked me about possibly doing the upload, I peeked into your ongoing file and cross-compared it to my own. You and I share 72.18% of our DNA.” Hailey looked at him now, and he could see the sense of hope and longing in her eyes. “Look,” she said, bending over to the restricted database beside them and shutting off the monitor, leaving just a reflective black screen staring back at them. “Do you see how much we look alike?”

           Leaning over to peer into the haphazard mirror as well, Issac saw it. He and Hailey had the same exact eyes, the same hair color, the same complexion, it was almost uncanny. He had a slightly more robust stature, she had a teensy bit thinner eyebrows, but besides minor details the two looked like they were copied and pasted onto each other. “The closest relatedness of anyone else of the enhanced is Elliot and Faye, and even that is only about 54%. The rest of us range from mid 20s to early 40s.” She placed her hand atop his on the back of the chair, her dark eyes piercing him with a sense of utter care and a bit sense of self as well. “Issac, I care because… well, you’re the closest thing to a brother I will ever have. And there’s nothing more important to me than my family.”

[dontreadthistrashgarbage]

Pt. 4

A.C.E had been armed with their self cams and set free to roam with Minseok, Charlie and Guerin. Charlie was in her uniform and acted as the guide. Throughout the tour of the zoo a few Choice recognized A.C.E and got selfies but nothing of note happened besides Seyoon attempting to communicate telepathically with a Gambian pouched rat after Guerin compared the two visually. He failed and settled for a selfie instead.

Minseok drove all of them back to Beat Interactive in the company van. They spent the drive looking through the selfies and videos that had been taken.

"Jun, I don't remember you taking this picture." Guerin said innocuously, "You look so good though." She handed the phone to Donghun next to her.

"You've never looked better." Donghun grinned, passing the phone along to Chan as Byeongkwan peered from behind with Charlie. The three just laughed before handing the phone to Seyoon. A broad smile erupted across his face as Jun leaned over, confused.

A toadhead lizard on the screen gazed back from the photo. Jun's expression blanked and he turned to stare out of the window as Guerin finally lost her cool and guffawed loudly with Donghun from in front.

"I can see the resemblance." Charlie giggled. Jun's head whipped around to stare in disbelief, "No no in a good way, it's cute!" She defended, covering her face to hide the smile that wouldn't leave.

Jun's head lolled back onto the headrest and he groaned as the van came to a stop. Minseok turned back from the drivers seat, ignoring the chaos of the seven adults and rolled his eyes.

"I've got to grab some work so if you guys want a ride back to the dorm just hang out a bit. Charlie, Guerin, you two are good from here?" He asked.

"Hyung!" Jun's head popped up, "You'd make women walk home on their own?"

"Normally I'd be worried but considering certain company," Minseok gestured obviously toward Guerin, "I'm not sure what help I would be."

Guerin laughed, "We'll be fine, I can take Charlie home and go from there."

"Don't you live in opposite directions?" Chan asked, concerned.

"Yeah but-" Guerin was interrupted.

"That's silly, Jun why don't you walk Charlie home." Donghun suggested.

"Seyoon, you should walk Guerin. We have some work to do but let's just meet up back at the dorm." Byeongkwan added with a shrug. Guerin froze, not wanting to protest since she knew Charlie would love being walked home by Jun but for some reason nervous about being alone with Seyoon. [For some reason, maybe cause he is too attractive for you to function] her evil inner voice called her out.

"That sounds fine." Jun had perked up, looking at Charlie with a smile, who smiled back at him for a moment before looking shyly to the ground. Guerin glanced at Seyoon who was watching Byeongkwan with an indecipherable blank expression. Minseok rolled his eyes again, "Whatever you want, just cover up and call if there's trouble."

Everyone traipsed out of the van and went their separate ways. Guerin had gone with a natural makeup look to avoid standing out again, sticking with a plain black mask and ball cap. Seyoon was still made up from the filming but had slid on a hooded jacket and wore the usual mask.

It was only a fifteen minute bus ride and walk back to Guerin's apartment and it was busy enough that they blended in easily with the crowds of other commuters. They passed the time talking about the zoo with Guerin sharing insights from her past experience with the field. Seyoon was curious but didn't ask for more details.

As they approached her apartment building Guerin glanced up and froze, Seyoon one step slower, looked back at her. She was squinting at the entranceway of a figure leaning against her building next to the door. Seyoon followed her gaze, eyes landing on the still form, head down and hands in pockets. Instinctively he stepped in front of Guerin until he heard her speak.

"Seungbin?" She asked in disbelief. Hearing his name the boy looked up from under his hat, eyes red and puffy. Guerin moved past Seyoon who followed her automatically. As soon as Seungbin looked at Guerin his eyes filled with tears and he walked quickly to meet her, hugging her tightly and crying.

"Noonaaaa." He whimpered through tears. Guerin hugged him back for a moment before pulling back and looking around quickly.

"Oh little one let's get inside so we can talk okay?" She asked, a slight edge of concern to her voice. Seyoon didn't even consider leaving and the three of them went inside. Guerin settled her guests in the living room, brought over bottles of water for everyone then sat down next to the youngest member of HEET. Seyoon was still watching impassively as Guerin put her arm around the hiccuping Seungbin.

"Honey what are you doing here? Are you okay?" She asked him, dabbing at his face with tissues she had brought over. Seungbin tucked his face into her shoulder.

"I missed you Noona. We haven't seen you since the police station." His eyes continued to leak tears onto her shirt and she gave up on the tissue just hugging him and looking a bit misty eyed herself.

"Oh sweetie I know. That was really scary wasn't it?" He nodded into her shoulder, sniffling again. "And you've probably heard of some of the stuff people have been saying haven't you?" She leaned her head against the top of his, making eye contact with Seyoon and wincing. He gestured to show he was okay.

Seungbin pulled back from Guerin, "Those people aren't right! They're spreading lies! And the company won't let us say anything, they're just letting them say those bad things about you!" He said, frustrated and teary. Guerin was touched that he was so moved on her behalf, and also kicking herself for not predicting how much the boys would be by the sudden changes, especially with a lack of information. She turned to face him, crossing her legs under her and taking his hands.

"You're the sweetest, Seungbinnie. I'm so sorry you weren't given more information." She bounced his hands, "I don't know how much I can tell you as far as details go, but I do think I can tell you we aren't doing nothing. For legal reasons we can't share too many details until the prosecution is done with their investigation and we wrap up the case." Seungbin looked up cautiously.

"Does that mean when everything is done you can be our manager again?"

"As of right now me not being a manager is only supposed to be temporary." Guerin said with a small smile and nod. "But part of the reason that I can't be your manager right now is we are concerned someone might try to target me in a misdirected attempt to protect HEET." Seungbin looked upset and opened his mouth to speak but Guerin shook her head, "The most important thing to me is that you boys are safe and taken care of, even if it means I can't be the one to do it."

She let go of his hands, wiping his tears with her thumbs then fixing his hair and pinching his cheeks, which he made an unconvincing effort to pull away from. She giggled and tickled his neck which made him laugh and cringe away, but after a moment he frowned again.

"Noona, does that really mean we can't see you at all? I know all of us miss you, even if they don't all say it like me."

"I don't know. But why don't you let me ask Han Jisoo if maybe we can meet up sometimes inside the company? Would that be okay?" Guerin suggested. Seungbin looked thoughtful then nodded slowly. "Good boy." She patted his head adoringly and he leaned into it with a small smile. "Now I dont know how you got here but let me call the company and get your manager to pick you up okay?"

Seumgbin scowled "Temporary manager." He said with a pout.

"Hey, be nice. Woojin is nice and trying his best. It's not his fault, okay?" Guerin said, tapping his forehead lightly. Seungbin sighed and nodded again.

"Alright, I'll be right back." Guerin excused herself and left to make the call, leaving Seyoon and Seungbin alone. Seungbin took a drink from his water bottle and looked at the still quiet Seyoon who was focusing silently on the coffee table in front of him as he pondered what he had just witnessed. Guerin had looked... well when she was being reassuring and playful it had made his heart race. She was very good at her job and took good care of those around her. He was impressed. Well, maybe not just impressed...

Before he could travel down that train of thought much longer Seungbin spoke up, "Sorry Hyung... did I... interrupt... were you two on a date?"

Seyoon jumped, eyes wide he looked at Seungbin. "Oh, no! A.C.E had a schedule at the zoo with Charlie and Guerin tagged along."

Seungbin frowned, "I'm jealous. You get to spend time with Noona." He paused and crunched the bottle, "You're not trying to steal her as a manager are you? I think I'd prefer if you were dating."

Seyoon choked on the sip of water he had taken and coughed, trying to think of a response. He was saved by Guerin returning.

"Seyoon please don't die in my apartment, I don't think that would look good for my record." She joked, patting him on the back lightly before moving back to Seungbin.

"Young man, you didn't tell anyone you were leaving." Seungbin looked chastised.

"I knew they would try and stop me."

"Everyone was very worried, with everything that's gone on. I told Woojin I'd scold you." She raised her eyebrows, "I don't think the adults are blameless here but will you promise me that in the future you'll tell someone you trust where you are?" Seungbin nodded quietly.

"Okay, I trust you to be safer next time." She ruffled his hair lovingly. "Woojin is coming to pick you up. He also said that for now you can all use his phone to contact me when you want to chat okay? So please don't give him a hard time anymore, he is doing his best and he wants you all to do well."

The three of them spent the time talking about the trip to the zoo, Seungbin making Guerin promise to take them too, before Woojin came to the door for Seungbin. He hugged Guerin tightly before leaving and she kissed the top of his head affectionately before ushering him out. He stopped one more time looking back at Seyoon as though he wanted to say something, then looked to Guerin, sighed, said goodbye and left with his frazzled looking new manager.

"Did you two fight?" Guerin asked, closing the door behind them.

Seyoon shrugged sheepishly, "He's worried about losing you, and you got the spend the day with A.C.E." he selectively shared.

"I see." She nodded, unusually quiet now that Seungbin was gone. She headed back to the living room and collapsed on the couch with a sigh. Seyoon followed awkwardly, not sure if he was also expected to leave and very aware that it was just the two of them in Guerin's apartment. Sitting on the couch next to her he pressed his fingertips together and leaned forward before speaking.

"So... are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied automatically.

"Noona..." Seyoon said disbelievingly, turning his head to look at her with an expression matching his tone.

Guerin smiled wanly, "Sorry, it's a habit." She sighed and sat up a bit straighter, "I know I can share it's just... gaaaah." She kicked her legs in frustration, "It's hard." Her eyes met Seyoons again and the unconvincing smile returned, "I'm sad." Her eyed welled with tears and she put her arm across her eyes, "I'm so sad. I feel so bad. I was so caught up in everything that I didn't realize how HEET must feel too. I actually agreed that it would be better for them to not know the details of everything."

As Guerin spoke Seyoon tentatively reached his hand to hers, hesitated, then took it gently, soothingly giving it a squeeze and rubbing his thumb against her skin. She twitched at the contact but then squeezed his hand back, "It's so dumb, I know they go on their fan cafe, the vlive and official sns to check comments. I should have known they'd be bothered and upset."

He waited a moment to make sure she was done, grabbed a couple tissues with his free hand, then tugged lightly on her hand, "Sit up."

Guerin peeked at him from under her arm, eyes red and face streaked with tears. She pulled her mask back up then went along with him. He raised an eyebrow and gave a classic Seyoon smirk before pulling it down right away, when she started to protest he just put the tissue in her mouth and reached for another.

"No d- pppbbbtt! what the hell?" She laughed in shock, pulling the tissue out of her mouth.

"You don't have to hide your face." He responded simply, turning back to her to Dan her face, "I can't wipe your tears if it's all covered anyway."

She stared at him in disbelief before laughing again, shoving his hand away and taking the tissue from him, swiping at her own face, "You're such a weirdo."

"You're the one eating tissues." He countered with a mischievous grin.

"Oh you little-" she grabbed the box of tissues and moved as if to hit him with it. He laughed and raised his hands to block her, finally dropping his hold on her since he had reached out. She tsked at him and dropped the box, "I can't hurt you, you need your pretty face to make a living."

He shot finger hearts at her and she fell back, clutching her heart, "No stop, it's too cute! Aaahhh..."

"I win." He stated proudly with a wink.

"Enough enough, I'm weak and fragile right now." Guerin protested, sitting up again straining as though she was out of energy.

"Noona..." Seyoon began, pausing to take her hand again. She looked down at it and back up at him, surprised and confused. What was he doing this for? This prolonged contact with him was pleasant but torturous at the same time. Was he just being comforting, is this what he is like with everyone? Her thoughts raced right along with her heartrate.

"You did your best. Even if things didn't turn out perfect, they'll be okay now. And next time you have more information to make a better decision. Don't be so hard on yourself. You did good." He squeezed her hand once more then reached up to pet her head reassuringly. She flinched when he reached up initially but as his hand lingered for a moment she leaned her head into the affectionate pat, eyes closed with a satisfied smile.

"Thanks Seyoonie." She mumbled. As her eyes opened their gazes met again and the intimacy of the contact struck them like an embarrassing memory from a decade ago while you're trying to sleep. Guerin sat up straighter and pulled away while Seyoon dropped his hand and faced forward again.

"Ah, I've kept you late. You probably need to head back." Guerin stood up abruptly.

"Oh... oh yeah, probably." Seyoon said sounding noncommittal. He stood more slowly and Guerin led the way to the door.

"Thanks for walking me home, and... thanks for hearing me out again." She smiled, embarrassed, looking down as she opened the door and leaned against it.

"You can talk to me any time." He shrugged. "Unless it's about your weird tissue eating habit I dont want to hear about that." Guerin let out a scoff at the wrong moment as he managed to poke another tissue into her mouth, "Bye!" He turned and trotted down the stairs quickly as she spat the tissue out again.

"WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS!" she laugh yelled after him before remembering neighbors existed and shut up, closing her door quietly.

"You've never been to karaoke?" Jun asked Charlie in disbelief.

She shrugged as they walked next to each other toward her apartment, "I'm no singer, and it's different in the states. Most places are just in front of a whole bar and not private rooms..." she trailed off.

"You should try it though! It's fun! Even people that aren't good at singing can have fun with karaoke with the right friends." Jun turned so he was walking sideways to face her.

"Easy for you to say, you have an incredible voice." She protested.

"You think I'm a good singer?" He beamed from under his mask proudly, now walking backwards slightly in front of her.

"You're a professional singer of course you sound amazing. And dancing-" she stopped herself, not wanting to admit to perusing a few fancams she had watched since they had met.

"Dancing?" His eyebrows raised and his eyes glinted, "You've seen me dancing? When?"

"I- yeah. I mean... yeah there's... you just had a comeback and I liked your music so-" Charlie stammered as she cast around for the words that wouldn't be awkward, but his focused gaze on her and his smile even when it was hidden had her distracted. Fortunately an obstacle gave her the subject change she needed.

"Watch out!" She cried out in English, grabbing his arm and yanking him toward her. By walking backwards he had almost backed into a streetlight. His startled expression was easy to see as he recovered from the sudden interruption. He looked at the offending street lamp, then down to Charlie and decided that given the proximity between them her rescue had significantly decreased, maybe it wasn't so offensive afterall.

Her eyes met his for a moment before she blushed and looked away, "Sorry... you should watch where you're going though."

"You saved me!" He cooed and moved to stand next to her, closer than before.

"Yeah and I shouldn't have to, you're a grown man." She tsked at him, trying to play it cool but very aware at how his closeness as they walked meant their hands kept idly bumping each others.

"That's true. I am a grown man." He said simply. The implication of his statement made her pulse race and her blush linger and she could only hope he didn't notice.

He did notice. But he was nice enough to not say anything about it.

"Sooo... My members and I were thinking of going to karaoke later this week. You should come experience it." He tried for casual, "Maybe Guerin can come too if it would make you feel better." He added as she hesitated.

"...Yeah. It could be fun." She agreed, trying not to give away how eager she was to be making future plans with him. She giggled as he bounced happily beside her, a big grin on his face, "But I am not going to promise to sing, I'll just listen to you professionals."

"I won't make you do anything you don't want to!" He promised, grinning. Their hands brushed against each others again.

[mldrgrl]

In Another Life 7/7

by: mldrgrl Rating: PG-13 (at the most) Summary: See Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6

On Monday, Mulder went to work with a bucket of cleaning supplies and starting clearing and somewhat organizing the files in the basement.  The storage room was actually fairly large, and once he’d sorted some things out, moved boxes, and got rid of a lot of excess junk, he had a lot of room to work with.  It took nearly all week, and by the time he was finished, it had started to dawn on him that instead of bringing the files upstairs, he might as well just move his office where the files were.

He got approval from AD Skinner, who looked at him like he was crazy, but still signed off on his requisition for a desk.  The deliverymen thought it had been a mistake and called him several times to confirm the desk was being brought to the basement?  Are you sure?

After he was settled, he was actually pleased with the space.  Sure, it was a basement, but he had a nice skylight and two rooms.  He’d found a few boxes of old equipment which still worked and though someone else found useless, he set it up in the secondary room that had once gated off whatever someone felt was important enough to gate off in storage.  He now had his own slide projector, lightboard, and a large magnifier that clamped onto a table.

What took him the most time, and would continue to take weeks or months, was classifying and cataloging the x-files into something that might be easily referenced.  He’d started out with general categories, but the more he found, the more he’d had to break those into smaller subgenres.  It wasn’t enough to label a pile PARANORMAL, he had to then separate sets of files into HAUNTINGS, POLTERGEISTS, ECTOPLASM, and PSYCHICS.  

The missing persons stack is the one that really bothered him.  There were hundreds of accounts of people just vanishing off the face of the earth.  At least a dozen of these files, eye witnesses reported seeing strange lights in the sky the night someone vanished.  He separated those files into a group he tentatively labeled ALIEN ABDUCTION.

Even though he poured all of his energy into the x-files, every night Mulder went home, he played Scully’s message on his answering machine until he had it memorized.  Sometimes he would pick up his phone and dial part of her number before hanging up.

******

Mulder’s in depth review of his alien abduction and UFO sightings files turned out to be extremely valuable in the first two cases he was assigned as x-files.  The first was investigating reports from a space program employee on possible sabotage of recent launches.  What he found was an astronaut haunted by his previous missions and his belief that an alien entity had possessed him.  The sabotage was his way of protecting other astronauts from suffering the same fate.  Mulder suspected PTSD and ordered him into immediate psychiatric care.

“You believe him?” Skinner asked, when he filed his report.

“It doesn’t matter whether I believe him,” Mulder answered.  “It matters that he believes.”

And that was his philosophy going into his next case.  A man claiming to be a multiple abductee was arrested sneaking into a crash site of a military test flight.  Everything Mulder had read about in his files encompassed this one man, Max Fenig.  He was so thorough in his story that he almost had Mulder convinced it was true.  When Mulder started a deep dive into Fenig’s life, trying to corroborate his account of events, the jittery guy vanished without a trace.  Only this time, it was Mulder who could attest to seeing strange lights in the sky the night Max Fenig disappeared.

“Is this really how you want to spend your time?” Skinner asked.  “Chasing lights in the sky?”

“Sometimes it’s the journey that’s the reward,” Mulder answered.

“Holly has your new file.  No little green men in it, I’m afraid.”

“Grey.”

“Hm?”

“You said green.  A Reticulan’s skin tone is actually grey.  Allegedly due to iron depletion in the Reticulan Galaxy.”

Skinner’s eyes twitched behind his glasses and he started at Mulder.  Mulder gave him a slight smile.

“Makes you wonder what liver and onions goes for on Reticula, doesn’t it, Sir?” Mulder asked.

“Go get your file, Agent Mulder.”

******

Mulder gets two more cases in before everything shuts down for Christmas and New Years.  Both cases bring him back to Quantico, where the halls feel empty to him without Scully there.  He knocks on her door, ‘shave and a haircut,’ but no one answers.  It’s not like he expected to find her there, but his heart still pounded with a nervous, quick-flutter of anticipation.

One of the cases, in addition to forcing him to deal with a childhood fear of fire, also put him in contact with a classmate from Oxford.  He hadn’t known Inspector Phoebe Green very well in school, mostly because she was a year ahead of him and they didn’t travel in the same social circles, but universities are like small worlds, and he certainly knew of her.  She apparently knew of him as well and asked for his assistance on a matter in Boston, where she was acting as security for a British ambassador.  

Inspector Green made no secret of the fact she was interested in Mulder, and let him know she’d had a crush on him in school.  They attempted a date, which consisted of an awkward dinner at his hotel that was interrupted by a fire alarm, and when it turned out she happened to be sleeping with her married boss, amongst a variety of other men, it was just as well that Mulder was too preoccupied with daydreams of Scully to care very much.

On Christmas Eve, Mulder headed to The Headless Woman for a drink before heading home.  The place was packed, something of an agent hangout, and by the looks of it, they all had the same idea.  He tossed one back with a guy he used to work with in VCU and they played a game of catch up.  He showed Mulder a picture of his daughter, told him his wife was expecting next month, which reminded him that he needed to call Samantha.

After parting ways with his old friend, Mulder took a seat at the bar to finish his beer and order one more.  He caught AD Skinner’s eye when he sat down, and his boss nodded and then approached, taking the seat next to Mulder.

“Sir,” Mulder said.  “Happy holidays.”

“You as well, Agent.”

“Can I buy you one?”

“It’s on me, actually.”  Skinner flashed two fingers at the bartender.

“Thanks.”

“I’m glad I caught you in here, actually.  I just spoke to the British Ambassador regarding your arsonist case.”

“Did the Marsden’s get back to England alright?”

“As far as I know.  They’re requesting we extradite L’Ively to stand trial in England.”

“We’d only have him for attempted murder here.  They can pin six murders on him back in jolly old England.”

“Attempted murder of a federal agent.”

“The burns are minor.”  Mulder shrugged and took a sip of his fresh beer.

“According to Inspector Green, you ran into a burning house.”

“There were kids upstairs.”

“You need to think about getting a partner, Agent Mulder.”

“There’s only one person that qualifies, Sir, and she’s unavailable.”

“You’re referring to Agent Scully, I take it?”

“I am.”

“I see.”

“And in the interim?  Should I let you get yourself killed?”

“Like I said, the burns are minor.”

“Luck runs out eventually.  You need someone to watch your back.”

“I know.  But, I happen to think she’s worth waiting for.”

“If you don’t get yourself killed in the meantime.  Do you even know if she would want to take this on?  She’s a pathologist, not a field agent.”

“Something tells me she would.”

Skinner sighed and downed a generous swig of his beer.  He pushed off the barstool and opened his wallet, taking out a few bills and tossing them onto the bartop.  He looked like he wanted to say more, but he put his wallet away and rested his hand on Mulder’s shoulder for a moment.

“I need to get home to my wife,” he said.  “Enjoy the holidays.”

“I didn’t know you were married.”

“20 years.”

“Happy holidays to you and your wife.”

“See you in the new year, Agent.”

******

Mulder’s favorite piece of equipment, by far, was his slide projector.  He liked standing in front of magnified images in the half-dark, focusing on details might normally be lost to the naked eye.  It helped him put information together and visual a crime scene better.  And it was just fun to click through each image.  He even enjoyed the click and shuffle sound the projector made when he changed slides.

It was just after New Years and he was sorting his slides on his lightboard, numbering and marking them to drop into the carrel.  There was a knock on his door, which was unusual.  Someone must be lost, he thought.

“Nobody down here but the FBI’s most unwanted,” he called, without even looking up from his slides.

He was sure whoever it was on the other side would go away, but the door opened, and he heard the tap of high heels approach.  He looked up and felt his cheeks burn with the pull of a suppressed grin.

“You lost?” he asked.

“No,” Scully answered.  “I’ve been assigned to work with you.”

“Who did you tick off to get stuck with this detail, Scully?”

“Actually, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Well, isn’t it nice to suddenly be so highly regarded.”

“I’ve always regarded you highly, Agent Mulder.”

“Likewise, Scully.”  He didn’t stop the smile from spreading this time.

A moment passed where they gazed at one another in silence and then Scully turned her head slightly to inspect the room.  She walked it slowly, touching his equipment with her fingertips, leaning closer to get a better look at the photos he’d tacked to a corkboard.  She looked up at the skylight and then turned back around to face him.

“Well, I’d say you moved up in the world,” she said.  “But, that’s not really the case.”

“It’s still the nicest office I’ve ever had.”

“It’s a little small.”

“Well, don’t worry, I’m sure we can squeeze another desk down here, maybe put them face to face and we can play a nice game of Battleship.”

Scully chuckled.  She looked past his shoulder at the poster behind his desk and moved closer to it.  It was of a blurry UFO in flight with the words I WANT TO BELIEVE underneath.

“That’s interesting,” she said.

“I found it in a head shop on Avenue M,” he answered.  “Seemed appropriate for the new digs.”

“I like it.”

He had a million questions for her.  How was she?  What had she been doing the past two months?  Did she really want this job?  Was she still with Daniel?  Did everyone eat the pumpkin pie after he’d stormed out?  She turned away from him like she knew what he was thinking and inspected the second cork board next to his poster.

“You know,” he said.  “I was told I’d have final say on who they assigned down here.”

“Would you like to see my resume?” she murmured, fingering the corner of the Jersey devil tacked to the lower left side of the board.

“How about a test?”

“I was always pretty good at pop quizzes.”

“I bet you were,” he answered, loading the carrel on top of the projector.  “Could you kill the lights?”

Scully crossed in front of the light of the projector, creating a silhouette of herself on the screen.  When the room was dark, Mulder dropped the first slide.  It was a photo of a young girl.  He clicked his remote to move to the next slide, a photo of a young man.

“Elizabeth Hawley and James Summers,” he said.  “Both 19.  Two days ago, they were reported missing from Jackson University.  One year ago, another couple went missing from Duke University.  One week later, they found the bodies of both students.”

As he spoke, he shuffled through a few more slides from the Duke University murders.  Photos of the bodies, the crime scene, a newspaper headline.

“The Duke kids were kept alive,” he continued.  “Tortured throughout their seven day ordeal, before they were killed.”

“You think we’re looking for a serial killer or a copycat?” she asked.

“No arrests were ever made.  Police believed it to be a one-time offender at the time.  It now appears it may be a serial.”

“If he holds true to form, that only gives us five days to find these students.”

“Pretty grim deadline.”

“I’ll say.”

“Well, here’s another grim deadline.”  Mulder handed Scully a file before he clicked to another photo of a death row inmate.  “In one week, Luther Lee Boggs will take a seat in the North Carolina gas chamber.”

Scully looked up briefly at the slide and then perused the file in her hand in the light from the projector.  Her head was bent over and the spotlight caught her cheek in a way that made her look ethereal.  Mulder swallowed, losing his train of thought.

“How is he related?” Scully finally asked, lifting her head.

“Uh, he claims to have information relating to the kidnapping,” Mulder said, touching his wrist.  “He described Hawley's bracelet down to the last detail, information that only family members could have known.”

“I don’t understand.  Is he the killer?”

“Not likely.  He’s been in prison for the last seven years.  My profile actually put him there.”

“Maybe he’s orchestrating the killings from the inside.”

“He claims to have obtained this information through psychic transmission.”

“Psychic transmission?”  Scully closed the file in her hands and crossed her arms.  She raised her brows at Mulder in the habit he’d grown accustomed to.

“Do I detect a hint of skepticism?”

“No, I can’t imagine why you’d think that.”

“If it’s any consolation, I don’t believe it either.”

“Really?”

Mulder shrugged.  “Boggs has been in the chamber before. He was actually strapped to the chair before receiving an executive stay.  He claims that this experience activated in him the ability to channel spirits and demons.”

“That’s what you don’t believe.”

“There are scores of x-files on psychic ability.  I have to believe there’s some truth there, even if it can’t be proved.  But, not in this case.  Not Boggs.”

“And I take it you’ve read all those files.”

“I did.”  Mulder waved his hand towards the filing cabinets in the shadows behind him.  “They’re all there, in alphabetical order if you want to take a look.”

“That might prove helpful.  So, if you believe in the phenomenon, why not Boggs?”

Mulder raised his finger and brushed past Scully to turn the lights back on.  He took the file she’d closed from under her arm and flipped the pages until he found the one he wanted.  He folded the page back and gave the file back to Scully.

“At the age of six, Luther Boggs slaughtered every pet animal in his housing project,” she read out loud.  “When he was 30, he strangled five family members over Thanksgiving dinner and then sat down to watch the fourth quarter of the Detroit-Green Bay game.  Some killers are projects of society.  Some act out past abuses.  Boggs kills because he likes it.  This is from your profile?”

“It is.  Boggs has read it and he believes I'm the only one who truly understands what he is.  Anyway, I leave for Raleigh this afternoon.  But...”

“But?”

“I only put in a travel req for one ticket.  We’ll have to grab another TRA.”

“Do I have the job then?”

“You have the job.”

Scully smiled a little and looked down at her feet for a moment.  “I should tell you, so you’re aware, I left Daniel.  I’ve filed for divorce.”

Mulder opened his mouth, but hesitated to say anything.  He was glad, but he couldn’t tell her that.  “I’m sorry, Scully.”

“I’m not.”  She looked up at him and gave a swift shake of her head.  “It needed to be done.”

“Still though.”

She stared up at him with a passive smile.  Her eyes held his and he found it impossible to look away.  The air between them felt thick.  He wished the lights were still off so he could see her in the glow of the projector again.  He wondered if her cheek was as soft as it looked and he reached up to touch it.

“I am sorry,” he said, softly.  

“And I’m not,” she said again, reaching up to put her hand over Mulder’s.

���I told myself it would be enough to just see you again, to work with you, and nothing more.”

“You tend to believe some pretty fantastic things.”

“This is probably the only time I’ll ever say this, but I hope you prove me wrong.”

“I think I’ll make proving you wrong a part of my job description.”

“I don’t want to be a rebound for you, Scully.  So, whatever time you need, whatever space-”

“If you need time and space, Mulder, that’s alright with me, but I don’t.  I didn’t leave Daniel for you, I left him for me.  You were right.  It’s something that I needed to do.  And what I want now is to be with someone who likes who I am.”

“Oh, I definitely like who you are.  A lot.  A lot, a lot, a lot.”

She smiled and pressed her cheek a little more firmly into his hand.  He pressed his lips together and swallowed.  He wanted to kiss her, but she had a way of throwing his confidence off-kilter.  It probably wasn’t the time or place, either.  They were at work, they had a case to solve.  They had to be able to focus and if his lips were introduced to hers, he knew he wouldn’t be able to think.

“I guess we better get to the airport,” he said.

“I guess so.”

He nodded and started to pull his hand away.

“There is just one more thing though,” she said, reaching up to curl her hand over the back of his neck.  She pulled his head down and tipped her face up to press her lips to his.  Their mouths moved open to each other at the same time, no coaxing or hesitation.  Both her arms went around his neck and his around her back.  She had to arch and he had to bend so that their bodies pressed flush against each other.

For however long it lasted, too long and not long enough, Mulder felt the whimper she gave vibrate from her chest to his.  It made him gasp and their mouths broke apart, but they stayed locked together, her forehead pressed to his cheek and her breath on his jaw.

“Sorry if that was unprofessional,” she breathed.  “But, I had to.”

“I won’t be filing a complaint with HR any time soon.”

They both took a few more moments to breathe and then relaxed their holds on each other in increments.  Scully finally stepped back and immediately he felt the loss of her.  She ran her finger along the bottom of her lip where her lipstick had smudged, which he knew she’d have to fix before they left, but he also kind of didn’t want her to.  And then she was reaching up and rubbing her thumb against the corner of his mouth and he couldn’t keep the stupid grin off his face.

“Do you think Blevins had this in mind when he assigned you down here?” he asked.

“Blevins didn’t assign me, AD Skinner did.”

“Skinner?”

“He called me yesterday.  Asked me to meet with him when I returned from my leave.”

“If you need more time.”

“I do not need more time.  I had to get some things sorted out, but I am back where I want to be.”

“It isn’t pathology.”

“My place is here with you now.  On the x-files.  Where I choose to be.”

“Raleigh, then?”

“After you.”

“Got your Dramamine?”

“I think I’ll be okay.”

“I should call the airline.  Ask them if they can book us seats together.”

“If they can’t, I’ll just ask the person in the middle to switch.  I’ll tell them I need to sit with my partner.”

“Wait.”  Mulder stopped just before they went through the door and went back to his filing cabinet.  He searched for a file labeled DC-X-167512 - VISIONARY ENCOUNTERS WITH THE DEAD and took it out, along with a few files behind it.  He gave them to Scully.  “Some light reading for the plane.”

“This is going to be a hell of an adventure.”

“Sometimes the journey is the reward, so some wise woman once said.”

“Sounds like you know a lot of wise women.”

“I guess I’m just pretty damn lucky in this life.”

“Come on, Mulder.  Take me to Raleigh.”

The End

[n7archangel]

Pirate Queen - Ch. 1: Better Luck Next Time

This is a “small” project of mine settled in a Mass Effect AU in which FShepard is a space pirate.  I got no beta readers (feel free to pm me, if you are interested), and I’m not a native english speaker, so pls be gentle with me.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Whoa, easy there, Vakarian! Couple more shots like this one, and you'll actually convince me that you’ve finally learned how to aim properly!”, A familiar female voice rang in his coms. 

The mockery was followed by roaring laughter from across the battlefield as Garrus popped the heatsink of his sniper rifle. This had to be one of the worst days in the past 5 years of his career in the Turian military. And considering all the crap he’d been through, it was telling. 

He’s been trailing this Eclipse smugglers ship for days now. An annoying game of patience - Slowly following the marker, trying to stay out of range of their radars. They could’ve engaged them in open space and shot them down, but he needed both the ship and its cargo undamaged. It was his only lead. 

According to the data his team acquired, the smugglers had established an outpost on a small planet in the Castellus System. It was a bold move to try and get a foothold in the middle of the Inner Council Space, but apparently it was worth the risk. Garrus’ found out that the bastards had been smuggling weapons, mods and drugs onto the Citadel for months right under the noses of the Fleet and C-Sec.  

He crouched down behind a big container, a barrage of bullets flying over his head. It was almost hilarious that those bullets didn’t even belong to the smugglers. No, they were dead. He’d seen their bodies scattered all over the base, as he and his team rushed through the hallways and corridors towards the cargo bay. If they hadn’t been a bunch of cut throats and murderers, he would’ve actually pitied them. 

They stood no chance against Archangel and her pirate crew. And it was that very crew that was now showering him and his men with bullets.

“Your trash talk has seen better days, Archangel!” Garrus yelled back at her, taking a glance at the battlefield from behind the container. He cursed under his breath, frustrated by what was happening in front of him. After clearing out the entire base of anything that wasn’t nailed down, the pirates were withdrawing to their last remaining shuttle, covering their retreat with a blaze of gunfire and biotic explosions. And there was nothing he could do about it.

It was his own damn fault. He should’ve acted faster, attacked earlier, and brought a bigger ground team with him. But now all he could do was to watch them get away. 

“Vakarian, sir, they are...!” He heard in his coms. 

“I see that! Go for the shuttle engines! Don’t let them take off!” Garrus roared, took aim and shot. Once. Twice. But it was too late. The bullets of his rifle ricocheted, bouncing off the kinetic shields. 

A wave of loud laughter and cursing rolled over the battlefield as the pirate shuttle lifted in the air. 

It was then that he saw her. Archangel. The self-proclaimed Pirate Queen.

She was standing at the edge of the shuttle interior, holding on to the upper door, her long tattered cloak waving in the wind. It was only her. Her two crew members had already disappeared inside. The pirate wasn’t shooting any more, nor was she trying to take cover. She just looked. At him. 

It was a rare occasion to see her in person. Protected by the mass effect field of the shuttle, she took off her helmet and let her red fringe fall down her black armour. For a few moments, they just stared at each other, while bullets flew around him, fired by his teammates in a vain attempt to shoot her down.

Then Archangel made a sassy tongue-in-cheek salute and disappeared behind the closed shuttle doors. 

The engines of the vehicle roared, boosting it to high speed and sending out a hot force wave that hurled several crates and boxes that were standing nearby towards Garrus’ and his team.  

He threw himself to the side, barely evading one of the bigger containers that would’ve easily knocked him down. As he got back up, his coms went utterly silent. None of the men on his ground team dared to speak. 

Garrus slowly took a look around the smoking and rampaged base. There was not a single surface that was not riddled with bullets, boxes and furniture were thrown over and scattered all over the place. Some of them were torn open, their contents spilled on the floor. In the far corner of the hangar, something stinking was burning. It was a mess. An utterly silent one. After the hellish noise of a firefight, the silence that had descended upon him now was absolute.  

His ground team began to slowly come around their covers, their guns lowered or holstered, their shoulders slumped. Garrus wanted to scream, if only to break this infuriating silence. But he managed to suppress the urge, if only barely, thanks to his fathers voice ringing in the back of his mind. It was unbecoming of a commanding officer to lose his temper. Instead, Garrus walked over to one of the terminals and sent in a searching algorithm from his omnitool into the system. 

No matter how badly things went, there was still work to be done. 

“Search the base”, he ordered, trying his damnedest to control his raging subvocals. “Check for survivors. See if you find any leftover contraband. Scan their systems for information. Move.” 

“Major!” he heard an exhausted, but very enthusiastic male voice coming from behind. “The Aurus has a visual with The Normandy! She’s currently in orbit and on the intercept course with the shuttle. We could open fire...” 

“No!” Garrus cut him off and turned around, a bit too harshly than intended. Corporal Albus, new blood on his team, stood in front of him saluting. Bright-eyed and tense like a spring, still almost a kid, but ready to instantly carry out any order with eagerness thrumming in his subvocals. He was way too zealous for how damn proficient he was with explosives.

“No”, Garrus repeated, with slightly less irritation in his voice and vocals. “The Normandy is none of your concern. You have your orders. Search the base.” 

He returned his attention back to the terminal, catching the last glimpse of the saluting corporal with the corner of his eyes. Leaned against the console, waiting for the searching program to find something useful, he took a deep calming breath. The first one since he’d set a foot into this damn smuggler base. 

His fingers slowly unclenched. The surge of adrenaline and anger subsided and got replaced by a powerless feeling of frustration. 

Another escape. Another missed chance. Another botched mission. Watching her casually get away with the contraband made his blood boil. For more than half a year he’d been chasing her across the Council Space. And every time he’d got close enough to get her in his sights, she managed to slip away like a ghost. 

Archangel. 

The human woman that annoyed the living shit out of him and roughly every bloody criminal organization within the Council Space. One day, she simply appeared out of nowhere and began to systematically attack anyone who wasn’t playing by her rules.  

“Major, we’ve found several weapon stashes in the east wing”, a female voice ringed in his coms. 

“Good, get everything useful to the extraction point. We’ll sort it out on the Aurus”, Garrus replied. The female voice said something else along the lines of ‘yes, sir, will do, sir’ he didn’t really listen to. His eyes were fixed on the control panel. He watched the code fly by, spitting out names, coordinates of locations and details on cargo. They got lucky. The system wasn’t scrapped. 

But Garrus’ thoughts were wandering. 

Back when he first got assigned to the 6th Citadel Fleet under general Adrien Victus, he didn’t know just who Archangel really was. Sure, he’d heard a thing or two from other Citadel Patrols or pissed off mercs that ended up in their custody. But those were isolated cases that resembled wild tales of drunk soldiers on shore leave. They made it sound like Archangel was some kind of elusive vigilante with incredible resources and extremely advanced tech at their disposal, almost all-powerful. Some said they were actually a Spectre, other that they were part of some undercover order or organization that had discovered secret prothean technology. Others even claimed Archangel actually was the last Prothean that had awoken from a 50,000-year long cryo sleep and decided to bring order to the chaotic galaxy. People went head over heels trying to surpass each other with nonsense. 

And then there were stories about her ship that sounded even more absurd. The Normandy they called it, apparently named after some place on the human homeworld. They said it was a ghost ship that could turn invisible at will. That it had a mind of its own. It would resist any tracking attempt and overload or flood enemies systems with junk data no matter how well protected they were.  

For Garrus, all those stories weren’t worth more than a dry chuckle. Until he got the orders from the High Command to hunt down Archangel and retrieve her ship, that is.    

He sighed. 

“Vesper?”

“Sir?” the same female voice chimed, a bit more enthusiastically this time. 

“Give me a connection to the Aurus. It looks like the data was left unscathed, I’ll send everything I got here up for analysis.”

Another ‘yes, sir!’ followed, while Garrus was tipping a number of commands on his omnitool. Once the transfer was complete, he scrapped the console clean and fried the system. The control panel went up in a burst of sparks and electric charges, its monitors blinking desperately several times and eventually going dark. 

He looked at it grimly for a few more seconds, as if blaming the now dead system for everything that went wrong today. Then turned on his heels and made his way past the scattered crates towards the exit of the cargo bay. 

The coms slowly started coming back to life. His team was talking about their findings, coordinating who was searching which part of the base, and communicating other kinds of information. At some point, occasional banter began sipping through.

The long walk back to the extraction point felt like it took forever. The corridors and hallways of the merc base seemed to be way longer than he remembered them from less than half an hour ago, when he was rushing through them with his team. But then again, there was no need to hurry now. Archangel was gone, and Garrus was certainly not looking forward to returning to his ship to write a report on the mission. So maybe he was just dragging his feet.  

“Major, we’re done with the search. We’ve secured 4 crates that contain contraband weapons  and 1 with weapon mods. There… There was also a big shipment of red sand, but…  It...uh...it was set on fire. Along with the storehouse…  and half of the base. Presumably by Archangel”, a deep male voice rumbled over the coms. The beginning of his report sounded rather confident, but then he stumbled. 

“And there... are no survivors among the mercenaries”, he added after clearing his throat. 

“Understood, Silas. I’m on my way to the extraction point. Meet everyone there”, Garrus replied, stepping over a merc corpse, as he made his way through a familiar corridor. Of course. She never let anyone live. Spirits have mercy on you, if you were stupid enough to get on her bad side. He’d seen the aftermath of her battles with mercs and slavers plenty of times to know that things tended to turn very gruesome very quickly when Archangel was around. 

She was a force to be reckoned with. 

As if to prove that, a large window that came up on his left showed the aftermath of her visit. About 100 meters away, a large prefab building stood out between all the smaller ones that made up the base. It was engulfed in flames. The fire was tall and had a distinct green shade to it, whether due to the mixture of gases in the planet's atmosphere or the chemical substances inside, Garrus wasn’t sure. He stopped for a few moments, taking in the eerie view as something inside the storehouse exploded, shattering the remaining windows. 

Garrus’ eyes went wandering. Just like Silas had warned him, the fire had spread over to adjacent buildings, slowly eating away on them. Red, greenish flames were lazily crawling across the painted walls and roofs of the prefabs, dipping through broken windows and dancing inside the rooms. Occasionally, there was a more or less loud crashing sound that interrupted the utter silence. The fire alarms were dead, just like the extinguishing system. Both diligently disabled in advance.   

Stepping over another corpse, Salarian by the looks of it, Garrus continued his way towards the extraction point. All frustration aside, he had to figure out their next steps. Most of those steps depended on what the analysis of the data he’d recovered would give out, but he was sure that if nothing else they’d at least find plenty of useful intel. Cargo logs and serial numbers should get them enough leads to figure out where the mercs were getting their weapon and mod supplies from. 

And hopefully more. 

Right from the beginning Garrus has had the feeling that something about the base felt off. He could not put his finger on it, but there were too many questions he had no logical answers to. With a bit of luck, the intel he could extract from the system would provide him with those answers. 

The shuttle had already arrived to pick them up, as he stepped out of the base and approached the extraction point. His ground team, consisting of 4 other Turians, was already there waiting for their CO.  

“At ease”, Garrus dismissively waved his hand as Vesper and Albus both jumped up from one of the crates to salute him. Silas and the last squad member, Galla, didn’t bother moving. They’d been with their Major long enough to know that all the formal shenanigans and regulations of the military tended to annoy him more than anything. The new kids would get it soon enough.   

Garrus let his eyes sweep over what little spoils they were able to retrieve. 5 crates. He suppressed a sigh and made sure that his subvocals didn’t give away his frustration. It wasn’t good, but it was a start. He could work with that. 

“Load this onto the shuttle. We’re done here”, he said, grabbing the handles of the closest crate. Several more or less enthusiastic ‘Yes sir!’s followed as Silas and Albus both helped him to carry it over towards the shuttle, where Galla and Vesper took it from them and dragged it into the corner. 

After a few trips back and forth, the Turians all boarded the vehicle, the doors sealed with a loud hiss, and they took off. Away from the ground and towards the planet's orbit, where their ship was waiting. 

Garrus fell into one of the seats as his team occupied others around him. He watched the smuggler base below them rapidly shrinking until it was no longer visible. For a moment, he actually considered nuking the damn thing with an orbital strike once they were back on the Aurus. Just for the hell of it. But eventually decided against it. Instead, he took a quick glance at his team, who was now relaxing from the combat and talking about how they ‘almost landed a hit on Archangel’.   

And just like after every encounter with her, none of them had as much as a scratch on them.

[thedivinefish]

TGIWednesday and receiving unexpected windfalls!

TGIWednesday News

Wowza...time change, full moon, stock market roller coaster ride and a Friday the 13th  happening ALL this week. Panicked?  Don’t care? ... We’ll all be fine.  Regardless of your attitude, know that we are here with you as a support and way-shower. In spite of uncertain economic times there are so many blessings and things to be thankful for.  Our new audio MP3 release Windfall is a prime example because there are so many different ways to receive a Windfall.... unexpected mail box money; just found out about a job promotion; a child getting engaged or expecting a baby; a doctors report that came back all clear; a house sale that went through on one side or the other; receiving free tickets or unexpected invitations. A Windfall could be called an unexpected bonus or a happy coincidence...a piece of unexpected good fortune and it can take many forms, not just money.

TGIWednesday Download

~ A DOWNLOAD FOR RECEIVING UNEXPECTED WINDFALLS  ~ I believe think, know and feel that life can present me with Windfalls of prosperity, abundance and favor. I am ready, willing and able to accept my blessing when I hear or read this now. I know, when, where, how and why to be open to a happy coincidence now and always. I am asking in all languages and throughout all time lines and so it is.

Windfall MP3 On Sale Today!

Having recorded 3 audios to support increasing your abundance, we cleared some very core and outlying issues, but Spirit did not let me stop there and gave me another missing piece over the last few months with our new Windfall MP3. And we're now ready to release the new audio & pay attention because folks, including myself, have seen odd occurrences in our favor that could not otherwise be explained. This new recording is the 4th in our series and it's different in that it is loaded with dozens of unique one-line clearings that together will serve to create and amplify a strong morphogenic field of prosperity. It's all about disentangling, reintegrating, transforming and synchronizing energetic patterns on a cellular and quantum level to open the door to your natural state of abundance and inviting in a windfall and NOT just for money, it includes increases in multiple forms! I myself experienced a windfall of new clients and opportunities coming to me for high profile interview summits as well as a sudden and steady increase in my credit score report in the past 6 months.  Sharing the picture on the right is just a fun visual way to show with you how magical this can be. 

- Aug (710) Started writing Windfall 

- Dec (804) Recorded the audio

- Jan/Feb (816/823) Sent to test group

Each time I did something with the Audio MP3 my credit score jumped. I did not buy a new vehicle, take out loans or pay off anything. Sometimes abundance can come to you in ways other than money!

The testimonials and success stories coming in from early listeners are always a thrill and I'm excited to get an email from YOU like the one's I've already received below:

"Just got done listening to the new "Windfall" mp3 and I was not disappointed.  The word tracks conjure the perfect symphony of what's needed to light up the human DNA and create a resonance with abundance.  Each time I listen to it I can feel any negative blocks or obstacles shifting out in real time....that's how powerful it is.   Also, I just won $20 on a scratch off immediately after I listened to it for the first time, so there's that!"  - Justin A. / Florida "I happily received this email today, perhaps listening to your mp3 produced this? --- 'In Jan 2019, you didn’t cash our check for $543.32. So we’re sending you a replacement. If you find the old one under a bed, tear it up.' - Clementine C.

"The mp3 shifted my energy within seconds; I felt energy running through my meridians and the heaviness in my body and brain lift.  I continued to layer the recording, listening to it everyday, sometimes focusing, sometimes in the background and the following windfalls showed up: I got a new client and an old client who had been taking time off came back, and I won a $3000 contest!"  - Paula / Seattle "Jimmy clears, deletes, rescinds, switches every imaginable and unimaginable issue. I NEVER win on lottery or scratch off tickets. After listening to Windfall a couple of times I went out and bought tickets and doubled my money. " - Rocky / Florida

MyBeliefWorks™ for Amplifying the Field to Co-Create a Financial Windfall

Get 30 minutes and over 100 clearings! Price goes up to $57 after launch week

Buy Now for $44

**ATTENTION** When you get access to your download, it will come to you in PDF format ONLY (you are NOT missing a file) The AUDIO MP3 link will be playable from the top of page 1 of the PDF! (right-click to save). This should ease the access for both desktop & mobile users to now open both pdf & audio on one download link.

PS. I often mention the value in "layering" these audios and that's the benefit of having multiple themed and grouped clearings to focus on separate aspects and word tracks that all work together when layered. So that's why this Abundance series has multiple parts and why we're also making the original 3-mp3 set available at a special price here as well.

LIVE Appearances - Free Healing

LIVE THIS THURSDAY March 12th at 5pm EDT/2pm PDT  Wisdom of the Ancients with Ian Shelley  2020 Clearing Your Vision and Third Eye to See the Best is Yet to Come - Register Here!  

Thurs. April 9th Soul Talk with Patty Malek - Register Here Wed. May 13th The Alara Canfield Show  - Register Here

LIVE Monday March 16th at 4pm EDT/1 pm PDT  I will once again be joining the You Wealth Revolution with Darius Barazandeh as a guest speaker. We will discuss  Breaking Through Your Hidden Plateaus to Progress - Register Here!

Fish Food 

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish: 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations

MARCH 11th "Today I will make decisions and stick with them.  I will follow my hunches and purse that which raises my feelings of 'something isn't right' or 'I had better double check and be sure'.  I believe that people, places, and things often show up for a reason and I will seize this day and make it my own."

From the Fish Box

"The easy and simple way of "fishing" does intrigue me.  I took a class from a woman, who in her process of reading, told us that we could break or tear up a contract with something we wanted to clear and that would do it. I did not feel that at all. I did think it was simplistic and that maybe it worked for her but it sure didn't resonate with me. So the intrigue I have with what you do, is surprising. Having been engaged with you on the phone, and feeling the energy of the clearing stuff out of the way, was visceral and I definitely felt it. Much more satisfying!  ​I know there is discernment and depth to your work although the application may seem and appear simple.  I want this to feel as if I can easily apply it for whatever comes up.....setting confusion and remembering techniques and verbiage aside. Thank you again for your help and support." - Mary S.

The Jimmy Mack Healing Radio Show

EVERY TUESDAY at 9pm EDT / 6pm PDT CALL (206) 806-9965 https://www.freeconferencecall.com/wall/goldylocksproductions

Click Here for Previous Weeks' Show and a full archive of past guests & replays.

Yesterday's Show - Special Guest Jeremy Riden  Intuitive Life Coach https://www.facebook.com/JeremyRiden/

March 17th  Special Guest Gosia Lorenz  The Joy of Living Facilitator https://www.facebook.com/quantumtransformations/

March 24th Special Guest Ayla Murray  Psychic, Intuitive, Astrologist, Tarot Reader https://www.facebook.com/harmonicperspective/

March 31st Special Guest Rev Debbie  Our resident trans medium communications with your loved ones in spirit.  Visit her Facebook page

The Jimmy Mack Healing Show is LIVE on Tuesday Nights at 9pm EDT  If you want to Listen in only, go to this website: https://www.freeconferencecall.com/wall/goldylocksproductions OR If you want to call in & ask a question CALL (206) 806-9965 No need to press #1, just dial in and you'll be in the queue. If the Call in Number above doesn’t seem to work, please use this back up Call in Number: (425) 535-9149 when prompted, enter 206.806.9965 followed by #  International Callers, click the link below for the International call in list for your country.  If you're using the Free Conference Call App, it automatically re-routes the best call In number for you.  Please unblock your phone number if you wish to speak with Jimmy and or his guest host. Blocked, Restricted and Private Callers are not brought on air.

Sessions at the Tampa Office 

EVERY FRIDAY AT KODAWARI YOGA STUDIOS TAMPA

I'm scheduling 15 and 30 minute appointments at Kodawari Yoga Studios from 10am-2pm EVERY FRIDAY. *IMPT! You must call Kodawari directly to schedule times and dates with them AND pay them directly at the front desk prior to your appointment UPCOMING DATES 

March 13th March 20th  March 27th April 3rd (skipping April 10th) April 17th April 24th  Call Kodawari's front desk directly to schedule (813) 773-4017 and pay at the concierge desk PRIOR  to your appointment - 15 minutes 38$ or 30 minutes 68$. 3965 Henderson Blvd Suite C Tampa (813) 773-4017 http://www.kodawariyoga.com/

SEE ME AT SWANN HOLISTIC HEALTH *SPECIAL DATE*  FRIDAY APRIL 10th 10-5pm (no Kodawari that day) I’ll be offering sessions at Dr. Charla Tempone’s office at Swann Holistic Health Solutions at: NEW LOCATION! 403 S. Habana Ave. Tampa, FL 33609 Just south of Azeele next to Skin Savvy  Please call their office directly at (813) 873-7773 in order to get on the schedule for 15-minutes 38$ / 30-minutes 68$ http://www.ctholisticsolutions.com

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

Your name will be added to a special VIP Prayer list where Jimmy will use his intelligent computer software, src4you which runs 24/7, to delete the negative and increase the strength of the positive creating a higher probability of favorable outcomes for you.  

In addition, throughout the full 30-days, Jimmy will be dialing into your energetic signature each day upon rising and make certain that you are a clear yes, unclear to no and running forward before you start your day. He is doing the heavy lifting for you around 3am NY time while most of you are asleep in order to smooth out your way and increase your most favorable life outcomes.

The 30-day service is now being offered exclusively  and you also have the option of selecting an ongoing subscription ($95/month) which is managed through PayPal only.

Upon written email request, for each new order we offer a one-time email analysis via the intelligent healing software that Jimmy uses on your behalf.  Most clients have had amazing results and outcomes!

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers. *NOTE if the MDP Service was purchased via a special telesummit or radio show offer, prayers will be limited to BUYER ONLY - and will not include family members or pets.

You can run this monthly and stop at any time after the 30 days is up, you will have the opportunity to renew and update your list each month but are under no obligation. I believe you will experience magical transformations and make progress every day! 

Sign Up for 30-Days - $99

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Go deep sea "fishing" with Jimmy!

Level 1 is open to ANYONE at anytime! All Mastery Students:  Check your email & Login to view all the newly upgraded content including new books and audios!    

"Jimmy's My Liquid Fish Change Made Simple program is AMAZING!!! He gives you not only videos so you can see the changes within people, but also the books he's written as well! On top of that he's provided all the links and visuals you need so ANY type of learner can do it!!  I appreciated having it to download in a PDF so I can go back to it any time, plus the books and ACTUAL healing sessions so you see, know and understand the whole process even better!!Highly recommend to ANYONE looking to change and make not only their life... but everyone's around them better as well!!" - E.J. / Florida

The Certificate of Mastery Program includes 2 best-selling ebooks and 2 clearing audios plus written & video instructions, AND one-on-one time with Jimmy ALL for about the cost of a single 1-hr session! This online course is for anyone who is familiar with OR new to "fishing" and is ready to dive into the deep end & get results that are beyond the ordinary! It includes The Tackle Box & The Dowser's Handbook ebooks PLUS 2 MP3s "Clearing Dark Energies" & "Increasing Your Intuition" to help clear, strengthen and prepare your energy field for optimal “fishing” results.  This is a work-at-your-own-pace curriculum that will TEACH & CLEAR you at the same time! In under 2wks you will be finished with the program and ready to fish on your own with greater results! Level II offers Practitioner Certification for those who qualify.

LEARN MORE HERE

For those who aren't familiar, here's the list of the MyBeliefWorks™ audio library. 

Find a topic that addresses your issue(s), click on the link to read more. We had a lot of help downloading & channeling these over the years & they keep getting better. Don't forget... you can share these with you immediate friends and family.

Abundance Abuse Addiction Body Scan: Head to Toe Daily GPS Reset Dark Energies/Fears Decision Making Diet & Exercise Education & Learning Family & Relatives The Gold Coin Healing Physical Body Healing Mental Stress Holiday Stress

Increasing Intuition IRS & Tax Time Love & Romance Money Mindset Moving Forward Pain Relief Pet Healing Sales & Success Improving Sex Improving Sleep Traveling w/Ease Work & Career Weight Loss Windfall Youth & Vitality

TGIFunny

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Jimmy Mack | Appointments Skype: Jimmy.Mack55 Clearwater Florida USA Book a 15 minute session Book a 30 minute session  Book a 60 minute session  ​ ​​Transformational Healing of Body, Mind​ & Spirit, People, Places, Pets & Situations!​ ​ Download the My Liquid Fish® Starter Kit (*Updated May 2019) Audio MP3 Downloads​ and books​ to improve your life! Get Certified in ​My Liquid Fish® Change Made Simple® Watch Free Videos on YouTube Weekly Radio Show Archives  Shop for ​Supplements ​ http://www.jimmymackhealingshop.com  www.jimmymackhealing.com Copyright ©1998-2020 All Rights Reserved  

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.smbeconnected.com  

Stay connected!

  Our mailing address is: Clearwater Florida 33756 USA

[divinefishingtips]

TGIWednesday and receiving unexpected windfalls!

TGIWednesday News

Wowza...time change, full moon, stock market roller coaster ride and a Friday the 13th  happening ALL this week. Panicked?  Don’t care? ... We’ll all be fine.  Regardless of your attitude, know that we are here with you as a support and way-shower. In spite of uncertain economic times there are so many blessings and things to be thankful for.  Our new audio MP3 release Windfall is a prime example because there are so many different ways to receive a Windfall.... unexpected mail box money; just found out about a job promotion; a child getting engaged or expecting a baby; a doctors report that came back all clear; a house sale that went through on one side or the other; receiving free tickets or unexpected invitations. A Windfall could be called an unexpected bonus or a happy coincidence...a piece of unexpected good fortune and it can take many forms, not just money.

TGIWednesday Download

~ A DOWNLOAD FOR RECEIVING UNEXPECTED WINDFALLS  ~ I believe think, know and feel that life can present me with Windfalls of prosperity, abundance and favor. I am ready, willing and able to accept my blessing when I hear or read this now. I know, when, where, how and why to be open to a happy coincidence now and always. I am asking in all languages and throughout all time lines and so it is.

Windfall MP3 On Sale Today!

Having recorded 3 audios to support increasing your abundance, we cleared some very core and outlying issues, but Spirit did not let me stop there and gave me another missing piece over the last few months with our new Windfall MP3. And we're now ready to release the new audio & pay attention because folks, including myself, have seen odd occurrences in our favor that could not otherwise be explained. This new recording is the 4th in our series and it's different in that it is loaded with dozens of unique one-line clearings that together will serve to create and amplify a strong morphogenic field of prosperity. It's all about disentangling, reintegrating, transforming and synchronizing energetic patterns on a cellular and quantum level to open the door to your natural state of abundance and inviting in a windfall and NOT just for money, it includes increases in multiple forms! I myself experienced a windfall of new clients and opportunities coming to me for high profile interview summits as well as a sudden and steady increase in my credit score report in the past 6 months.  Sharing the picture on the right is just a fun visual way to show with you how magical this can be. 

- Aug (710) Started writing Windfall 

- Dec (804) Recorded the audio

- Jan/Feb (816/823) Sent to test group

Each time I did something with the Audio MP3 my credit score jumped. I did not buy a new vehicle, take out loans or pay off anything. Sometimes abundance can come to you in ways other than money!

The testimonials and success stories coming in from early listeners are always a thrill and I'm excited to get an email from YOU like the one's I've already received below:

"Just got done listening to the new "Windfall" mp3 and I was not disappointed.  The word tracks conjure the perfect symphony of what's needed to light up the human DNA and create a resonance with abundance.  Each time I listen to it I can feel any negative blocks or obstacles shifting out in real time....that's how powerful it is.   Also, I just won $20 on a scratch off immediately after I listened to it for the first time, so there's that!"  - Justin A. / Florida "I happily received this email today, perhaps listening to your mp3 produced this? --- 'In Jan 2019, you didn’t cash our check for $543.32. So we’re sending you a replacement. If you find the old one under a bed, tear it up.' - Clementine C.

"The mp3 shifted my energy within seconds; I felt energy running through my meridians and the heaviness in my body and brain lift.  I continued to layer the recording, listening to it everyday, sometimes focusing, sometimes in the background and the following windfalls showed up: I got a new client and an old client who had been taking time off came back, and I won a $3000 contest!"  - Paula / Seattle "Jimmy clears, deletes, rescinds, switches every imaginable and unimaginable issue. I NEVER win on lottery or scratch off tickets. After listening to Windfall a couple of times I went out and bought tickets and doubled my money. " - Rocky / Florida

MyBeliefWorks™ for Amplifying the Field to Co-Create a Financial Windfall

Get 30 minutes and over 100 clearings! Price goes up to $57 after launch week

Buy Now for $44

**ATTENTION** When you get access to your download, it will come to you in PDF format ONLY (you are NOT missing a file) The AUDIO MP3 link will be playable from the top of page 1 of the PDF! (right-click to save). This should ease the access for both desktop & mobile users to now open both pdf & audio on one download link.

PS. I often mention the value in "layering" these audios and that's the benefit of having multiple themed and grouped clearings to focus on separate aspects and word tracks that all work together when layered. So that's why this Abundance series has multiple parts and why we're also making the original 3-mp3 set available at a special price here as well.

LIVE Appearances - Free Healing

LIVE THIS THURSDAY March 12th at 5pm EDT/2pm PDT  Wisdom of the Ancients with Ian Shelley  2020 Clearing Your Vision and Third Eye to See the Best is Yet to Come - Register Here!  

Thurs. April 9th Soul Talk with Patty Malek - Register Here Wed. May 13th The Alara Canfield Show  - Register Here

LIVE Monday March 16th at 4pm EDT/1 pm PDT  I will once again be joining the You Wealth Revolution with Darius Barazandeh as a guest speaker. We will discuss  Breaking Through Your Hidden Plateaus to Progress - Register Here!

Fish Food 

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish: 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations

MARCH 11th "Today I will make decisions and stick with them.  I will follow my hunches and purse that which raises my feelings of 'something isn't right' or 'I had better double check and be sure'.  I believe that people, places, and things often show up for a reason and I will seize this day and make it my own."

From the Fish Box

"The easy and simple way of "fishing" does intrigue me.  I took a class from a woman, who in her process of reading, told us that we could break or tear up a contract with something we wanted to clear and that would do it. I did not feel that at all. I did think it was simplistic and that maybe it worked for her but it sure didn't resonate with me. So the intrigue I have with what you do, is surprising. Having been engaged with you on the phone, and feeling the energy of the clearing stuff out of the way, was visceral and I definitely felt it. Much more satisfying!  ​I know there is discernment and depth to your work although the application may seem and appear simple.  I want this to feel as if I can easily apply it for whatever comes up.....setting confusion and remembering techniques and verbiage aside. Thank you again for your help and support." - Mary S.

The Jimmy Mack Healing Radio Show

EVERY TUESDAY at 9pm EDT / 6pm PDT CALL (206) 806-9965 https://www.freeconferencecall.com/wall/goldylocksproductions

Click Here for Previous Weeks' Show and a full archive of past guests & replays.

Yesterday's Show - Special Guest Jeremy Riden  Intuitive Life Coach https://www.facebook.com/JeremyRiden/

March 17th  Special Guest Gosia Lorenz  The Joy of Living Facilitator https://www.facebook.com/quantumtransformations/

March 24th Special Guest Ayla Murray  Psychic, Intuitive, Astrologist, Tarot Reader https://www.facebook.com/harmonicperspective/

March 31st Special Guest Rev Debbie  Our resident trans medium communications with your loved ones in spirit.  Visit her Facebook page

The Jimmy Mack Healing Show is LIVE on Tuesday Nights at 9pm EDT  If you want to Listen in only, go to this website: https://www.freeconferencecall.com/wall/goldylocksproductions OR If you want to call in & ask a question CALL (206) 806-9965 No need to press #1, just dial in and you'll be in the queue. If the Call in Number above doesn’t seem to work, please use this back up Call in Number: (425) 535-9149 when prompted, enter 206.806.9965 followed by #  International Callers, click the link below for the International call in list for your country.  If you're using the Free Conference Call App, it automatically re-routes the best call In number for you.  Please unblock your phone number if you wish to speak with Jimmy and or his guest host. Blocked, Restricted and Private Callers are not brought on air.

Sessions at the Tampa Office 

EVERY FRIDAY AT KODAWARI YOGA STUDIOS TAMPA

I'm scheduling 15 and 30 minute appointments at Kodawari Yoga Studios from 10am-2pm EVERY FRIDAY. *IMPT! You must call Kodawari directly to schedule times and dates with them AND pay them directly at the front desk prior to your appointment UPCOMING DATES 

March 13th March 20th  March 27th April 3rd (skipping April 10th) April 17th April 24th  Call Kodawari's front desk directly to schedule (813) 773-4017 and pay at the concierge desk PRIOR  to your appointment - 15 minutes 38$ or 30 minutes 68$. 3965 Henderson Blvd Suite C Tampa (813) 773-4017 http://www.kodawariyoga.com/

SEE ME AT SWANN HOLISTIC HEALTH *SPECIAL DATE*  FRIDAY APRIL 10th 10-5pm (no Kodawari that day) I’ll be offering sessions at Dr. Charla Tempone’s office at Swann Holistic Health Solutions at: NEW LOCATION! 403 S. Habana Ave. Tampa, FL 33609 Just south of Azeele next to Skin Savvy  Please call their office directly at (813) 873-7773 in order to get on the schedule for 15-minutes 38$ / 30-minutes 68$ http://www.ctholisticsolutions.com

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

Your name will be added to a special VIP Prayer list where Jimmy will use his intelligent computer software, src4you which runs 24/7, to delete the negative and increase the strength of the positive creating a higher probability of favorable outcomes for you.  

In addition, throughout the full 30-days, Jimmy will be dialing into your energetic signature each day upon rising and make certain that you are a clear yes, unclear to no and running forward before you start your day. He is doing the heavy lifting for you around 3am NY time while most of you are asleep in order to smooth out your way and increase your most favorable life outcomes.

The 30-day service is now being offered exclusively  and you also have the option of selecting an ongoing subscription ($95/month) which is managed through PayPal only.

Upon written email request, for each new order we offer a one-time email analysis via the intelligent healing software that Jimmy uses on your behalf.  Most clients have had amazing results and outcomes!

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers. *NOTE if the MDP Service was purchased via a special telesummit or radio show offer, prayers will be limited to BUYER ONLY - and will not include family members or pets.

You can run this monthly and stop at any time after the 30 days is up, you will have the opportunity to renew and update your list each month but are under no obligation. I believe you will experience magical transformations and make progress every day! 

Sign Up for 30-Days - $99

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Go deep sea "fishing" with Jimmy!

Level 1 is open to ANYONE at anytime! All Mastery Students:  Check your email & Login to view all the newly upgraded content including new books and audios!    

"Jimmy's My Liquid Fish Change Made Simple program is AMAZING!!! He gives you not only videos so you can see the changes within people, but also the books he's written as well! On top of that he's provided all the links and visuals you need so ANY type of learner can do it!!  I appreciated having it to download in a PDF so I can go back to it any time, plus the books and ACTUAL healing sessions so you see, know and understand the whole process even better!!Highly recommend to ANYONE looking to change and make not only their life... but everyone's around them better as well!!" - E.J. / Florida

The Certificate of Mastery Program includes 2 best-selling ebooks and 2 clearing audios plus written & video instructions, AND one-on-one time with Jimmy ALL for about the cost of a single 1-hr session! This online course is for anyone who is familiar with OR new to "fishing" and is ready to dive into the deep end & get results that are beyond the ordinary! It includes The Tackle Box & The Dowser's Handbook ebooks PLUS 2 MP3s "Clearing Dark Energies" & "Increasing Your Intuition" to help clear, strengthen and prepare your energy field for optimal “fishing” results.  This is a work-at-your-own-pace curriculum that will TEACH & CLEAR you at the same time! In under 2wks you will be finished with the program and ready to fish on your own with greater results! Level II offers Practitioner Certification for those who qualify.

LEARN MORE HERE

For those who aren't familiar, here's the list of the MyBeliefWorks™ audio library. 

Find a topic that addresses your issue(s), click on the link to read more. We had a lot of help downloading & channeling these over the years & they keep getting better. Don't forget... you can share these with you immediate friends and family.

Abundance Abuse Addiction Body Scan: Head to Toe Daily GPS Reset Dark Energies/Fears Decision Making Diet & Exercise Education & Learning Family & Relatives The Gold Coin Healing Physical Body Healing Mental Stress Holiday Stress

Increasing Intuition IRS & Tax Time Love & Romance Money Mindset Moving Forward Pain Relief Pet Healing Sales & Success Improving Sex Improving Sleep Traveling w/Ease Work & Career Weight Loss Windfall Youth & Vitality

TGIFunny

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Jimmy Mack | Appointments Skype: Jimmy.Mack55 Clearwater Florida USA Book a 15 minute session Book a 30 minute session  Book a 60 minute session  ​ ​​Transformational Healing of Body, Mind​ & Spirit, People, Places, Pets & Situations!​ ​ Download the My Liquid Fish® Starter Kit (*Updated May 2019) Audio MP3 Downloads​ and books​ to improve your life! Get Certified in ​My Liquid Fish® Change Made Simple® Watch Free Videos on YouTube Weekly Radio Show Archives  Shop for ​Supplements ​ http://www.jimmymackhealingshop.com  www.jimmymackhealing.com Copyright ©1998-2020 All Rights Reserved  

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  Our mailing address is: Clearwater Florida 33756 USA