#score of the year WHEW

[chinchillasorchildren]

Films of 2024: The Brutalist (dir. Brady Corbet)

(4/5)

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Jade Leech - Nightmare Suit Vignette

"Oh my, this is a grave situation"

[Halloween Town – Gate]

Jade: Well, Jack-san tasked us to look into how the Halloween preparations were faring…

???: ――HUH!? You were assigned to make sweets, right? Why are you making clothes!?

Malleus: It seems that trouble is already brewing.

Jade: Oh, my… Malleus-san, we should go see what is happening.

[Halloween Town – Center]

Jade: Mr. Mayor, everyone, it seems like you're in a bit of a pickle…

Mayor: Ah, Jade-kun, Malleus-kun!

Mayor: So, it seems like the instructions weren't clear, so it's causing some delays in preparations…

Mayor: For example, the person in charge of making the "sweets" misheard and started making "suits"…

Mayor: Or, the person making the decorations painted the orange parts black… There are all sorts of trouble here and there…

Malleus: I see. And this was only discovered after speaking with the townsfolk about it.

Jade: This Halloween has many new aspects to work with. I did expect for these sorts of incidents to crop up…

Jade: However, this may take much longer than I thought it would to bring everything back in line.

Mayor: EHH!!? A-A-Are you saying we're in a really bad pinch…?

Jade: Not to worry, we should still be able to recover from this.

[Mayor's face changes to glad]

Mayor: Whew…! Thank goodness～

Jade: …......

Jade: Ah, but…

[Mayor's face changes to sad]

Mayor: EH, WH-WH-WH-WHAT!?

Jade: Ah, no, it's nothing.

[Mayor's face changes to glad]

Mayor: Oh, good～ You scared me for a second.

Jade: Oh, but the time we have remaining is a little worrisome…

[Mayor's face changes to sad]

Mayor: W-WORRISOME!?

Jade: Malleus-san, how much time do we have left to finish preparations?

Malleus: I would say approximately 30 hours.

Jade: Eh!! Oh, this is no good… I cannot believe we "ONLY" have that much time left…

Mayor: S-S-S-So we're really in for it now…

Mayor: SOOOOB! WE WON'T MAKE IT IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEEEEEEN～!

Jade: Oh, my, did my thoughtless comment cause such a tragic look to appear upon your face? …My sincerest apologies.

Jade: There's no need to cry. I'm sure if we work together, we'll be able to pull through.

Malleus: If the preparations aren't completed in time, we would also be at fault for being the ones who spearheaded these plans. We shall lend a hand.

[Mayor's face changes to glad]

Mayor: Eh, y-you'll help me? Thank you, both of you!!

Mayor: I was just about to go speak with each person in town about their individual instructions one by one, just like Jack said to.

Mayor: Will you two join me?

Malleus: Yes, I don't mind at all.

Jade: Neither do I. Let us work together to solve this crisis.

[Mayor leaves]

Malleus: …Leech, you sure seem to always enthusiastically offer to lend a hand.

Jade: Oh, is that how it seems to you, Malleus-san?

Malleus: Heh… Well, I suppose I shouldn't interfere with your affairs. Do as you wish.

[Halloween Town – Alleyway]

[Mayor's face changes to sad]

Mayor: No, no! This musical score doesn't match the current Halloween theme.

Mayor: Goodness me, if you're going to go through the effort to jump out of hiding to scare me when I've come all this way, the least you can do it make sure the music is correct!

Malleus: Hm… It seems as though the musicians were practicing music that we had not planned for.

Jade: This means they will need to start practicing new music starting now.

Jade: Will they even possibly finish in time? I am starting to feel anxious as to whether everything will be perfect for Halloween Day…

Mayor: EEEHHH!!!!

Jade: …Is what I originally thought.

Jade: However, when we passed by the musicians earlier, their musical talent was absolutely superb. I'm sure everything will be fine.

[Mayor's face changes to glad]

Mayor: Y-Yes! Whew, that scared me～ Time to pull ourselves together and head off to the next person!

[Halloween Town – Town Hall]

Halloween Town Resident: Look, Mayor! Don'tcha think this candy wrapper looks good?

Mayor: Oooh…! It looks so fancy! It's perfect for this year's Halloween.

Mayor: I was worried about what to do, since there's been so many problems left and right, but it looks like you guys here are on track!

Malleus: Hm? There's smoke coming from the wrapper.

Jade: Well, that is serious. We should look inside quickly.

Jade: …Hm, it seems it's been made with ingredients foreign to the recipe. This is an utter failure and cannot be consumed.

[Mayor's face changes to sad]

Mayor/Halloween Town Resident: EEEEHHHH!!!?

Jade: Oh my, this is a grave situation. Candy is an absolute must for this Halloween…

Jade: If we cannot eat candy, it will immediately bring down this town's wonderful atmosphere…

Jade: All our expectations for a fun and enjoyable Halloween would come to naught…

Mayor: AAAAH, THIS IS TERRIBLE! IT'S ALL OVERRRRR～～!!

Jade: …And, so that does not happen, I shall lend a hand here.

Jade: Fortunately, I've made this candy before, so I should be able to pick it right up.

[Mayor's face changes to glad]

Mayor: Really!? You're a lifesaver, Jade-kun～!

[Halloween Town – Gate]

[Mayor's face changes to sad]

Jade: We've been able to get many of the town's residents back on track… But it seems that confusion is still running rampant.

Mayor: Urgh, I give up. There's no way a Halloween with this many problems during the planning phase would be able to succeed…

Mayor: I'm going to quit being mayor! Who cares what happens with Halloween!?

Mayor: Jade-kun! While we were making our rounds with everyone, you were very helpful in lending a hand.

Mayor: So, please, become Mayor from this moment on and lead everyone into prosperity. Well then, goodbye…

[Mayor leaves]

Jade: Eh, Mr. Mayor? Just wait a moment, are you truly resigning your position!?

Malleus: …There he goes. He was in such a state of despair that he could not even hear our voices.

Jade: Well… I wasn't expecting him to designate me mayor… A pleasant incident like this rarely comes around twice!

Jade: As such, perhaps I could take this opportunity to craft some new rules and regulations. Do you have any thoughts, Malleus-san?

Malleus: You shouldn't take the joke too far, Leech.

Jade: Fufu, my apologies. It seems I got a little carried away.

Jade: Well now, time to get back to business… We should go and bring him back.

[Graveyard Gate]

Jade: Just where has he gone, I wonder…?

Malleus: …Hm? Leech, I've found him. He's sitting down behind that grave over there.

Jade: Ah, you're right. ―Mr. Mayor!

Mayor: Eh…? Jade-kun, Malleus-kun, why are you here?

Jade: Well, of course, we came for you.

Mayor: I-I won't go back. I don't care about Halloween anymore…

Jade: Are you feeling liable for the fact that the preparations aren't going as planned?

Jade: There's no need for you to fret over this, Mr. Mayor. Please, stand up.

Malleus: Indeed. Just as Leech said, this Halloween has many new aspects for the citizens of this town.

Malleus: It would be no surprise that everyone is confused.

Mayor: You two…

Jade: In addition, the folks of this town tend to hide themselves away in difficult to find places.

Jade: If we were to search for them on our own, it would be monumentally difficult. However, you were able to successfully find your way to every resident.

Jade: That is something that cannot be done without interacting with them on a daily basis. You are a fantastic mayor.

Jade: Please, give us your strength. If we were to make our rounds around the town just by ourselves, we would definitely not meet the deadline.

Mayor: U-Urgh… If you say it like that…

[Mayor's face changes to glad]

Mayor: Uweeeeeh!! Thank you guyssss～～～!! I'll give it my best shot once more!

Jade: I'm pleased you're feeling up to the task again.

Jade: This Halloween is wondrous only because you are a part of it.

Malleus: However, it would be a rather large burden on the mayor to continue to reach out to each towns member individually as we have been doing.

Malleus: Should we not work out a different plan of attack?

Jade: Actually, I did think of a different method to go about things as we were doing our rounds… Would you be willing to listen to my proposal?

Mayor: Of course, let me hear it!

Jade: Now then, I shall explain. First, we should make it so that everyone can see the lists of tasks at any moment.

Jade: Presently, there is a document that lists out what each person should do, but it is only in the hands of Mr. Mayor, here.

Jade: Each of the townsfolk are then given their tasks verbally.

Jade: Then, depending on the memory of each person, the tasks could become inconsistent with what was originally assigned.

Malleus: I see. It does seem to be as you say, Leech.

Mayor: Eh, eh? I-I don't really understand… What do you mean?

Jade: Ah, my apologies. That may have been a little bit of a roundabout explanation. In conclusion…

Jade: What if we were to write down each person's roles and instructions and hand it out to everyone?

Jade: This way, all we would need to do is gather everyone in one place and hand it out. This would save us the trouble of visiting each person individually.

Mayor: But it might take a while to get all the paper ready to hand out to everyone, so maybe we should keep going like we've been doing…

Jade: If you are speaking of how to disseminate the instructions, please, don't fret. Mr. Mayor, may I please see your administrative tablet?

Mayor: Y-Yeah, here you go.

Jade: I'll do this here, then like this… Finally, this needs to be cut up to hand out… There.

Jade: I've finished.

Mayor: EH, ALREADY!?

Malleus: That was skillfully quick.

Jade: Fufu, I find myself tasked with such duties often, so I'm quite used to it.

Mayor: TH-THIS IS AMAZING, JADE-KUN～～～!!

Mayor: We need to call everyone to the Town Hall as quickly as possible! Just wait right here, I'll go grab the car!

Mayor: Town meeting! It's a town meeting!

Jade: We'll be holding a town meeting now. Everyone, please come to the town hall!

Jade: Fufu… I was hoping I would get to ride this car. How fortunate that the opportunity fell into my lap.

[Halloween Town – Center]

Mayor: Alright, that should be enough announcing. I'll head off to the town hall to give everyone their instructions.

Mayor: So then, to the two of you, I say… Thank you so much!

[Mayor leaves]

Jade: This should decrease the amount of confusion during preparations now.

Malleus: I suppose you're quite satisfied, Leech.

Jade: Well, yes, as we were able to successfully complete the task given to us.

Malleus: I speak not of the task. Of course, I am speaking of how you were able to draw out the Mayor's "hidden face" just with some cleverly spoken words.

Jade: Ah… I suppose it's no surprise that you noticed.

Jade: And yet, despite that, you did not stop me… I'm sure you were having your own fun as well, Malleus-san.

Malleus: Well, who could say?

Jade: Heh… At any rate, Halloween Town is truly an enjoyable place.

Jade: Whatever could happen next…? I find myself giddy with anticipation, as I cannot possibly predict anything.

Requested by @thelonepearl.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s4 episode 24 thoughts

season FINALE!!! whew, it has been an emotional time these last few months, let me tell you that. i’m wondering how or if this will be wrapped up. 

the episode description makes no mention of scully’s illness, just more aliens. we always end the seasons with aliens. i imagine that this will also be a cliffhanger, so i’m trying to brace myself for that now.

(author's note: there was nothing short of reaching enlightenment that could have prepared me for this, and even if i had ascended to nirvana, i might have been ripped back out by the sheer tragedy of this storyline)

but damn, with a title like gethsemane, i’m expecting even more tears than usual. 

(author's note: yeah)

let us no longer delay. 

we begin with some videos from 1972, including carl sagan! what’s he doing here? well, he’s doing alien things. are you surprised?

the man on the screen is speaking about the probability of contacting aliens. he says it is very high.

and then cut to scully in some very yellow lighting, politely trying to get to a crime scene to do some FBI business!

wait. is that mulder’s couch???

she just needed to make an ID on a body and BRO WHAT. DID SHE FIND MULDER DEAD??? IN HIS OWN APARTMENT?????

HELLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO???!!!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

now she’s in a meeting room with a lot of important people…. 

she’s explaining how she was assigned to the x files four years ago…. and she’s explaining the mulder lore.

“i come here today, four years later, to report on the illegitimacy of agent mulder’s work” <- WOAH WHAT??? betrayal?????

“it is my scientific opinion that he became over the course of these years a victim- a victim of his own false hopes, and in his belief in the biggest of lies” <- that is so sad????!?!??

HELLO??? WHAT??? hey. what’s going on. is that really scully? or is it an alien?

well. they’ve gotten me both hooked and worried. 

is she lying to save him?? is he dead?? is she preserving his reputation in death?? because she said that stuff in the past tense… or maybe he was killed and she will be next if she doesn’t renounce everything???

WHAT IS AFOOT HERE.

scully i just publicly declared you my favorite, you can’t make me take that back…

(author's note: i should have never doubted her <3)

ohhhh fancy, the intro says “believe the lie”

helicopter over the yukon in canada. some guys say the stuff at camp is unbelievable. that's quite a jump in tone from before.

and now they’re marching up the hill, saying they’re very excited etc etc. it looks to be exhausting work. the score is very suspenseful.

they arrive in a cave and shake hands as the newcomers are introduced. and what is in there but…. a frozen alien???

i was hoping it would be a perfectly preserved mammoth :( but okay… whatever… (sadly kicks dirt around)

back to the meeting room with scully!!! she says there have been recent developments on the assumption that aliens exist… mulder was contacted by a man whose “pursuit of this evidence seemed to coincide with his own”, and she says he was duped!!!! fooled by scientific slight of hand!!! 

and she’s here to expose this lie… and to expose his work for what it is….

GIRL, WHAT WENT DOWN???

now a cut to some sort of scully family event!! she’s telling a story about her brother bill. will we finally get to see him!? yes!! here he is!!! like their father, he is also in the navy, and seems to be pretty decorated. 

and he says he sent her a birthday card, to which she says “thanks for remembering this year” LMAOOO get him again for me!!

(why does no one remember her birthday!!! i will cry!!!)

the priest arrives… and scully’s face falls…. why is she sad to see him? and why did he get invited??? i’m stressed. 

father mccue is talking to her about drifting from the church and feeling awkward, but her mom asked him to come tonight. he says turning back to faith is essential in times like this. she says she hasn’t felt a need to draw on faith for strength, that she has some. and she won’t coming running back now.

huh, i wonder if she thinks that “running back” to the church will be admitting defeat. she says she’d be lying to herself and to him if she did that.

maybe she has only lightly been dabbling in god-related affairs since revelations, but not enough to want to return to mass.

but a phone rings… it’s mulder!!!

he says he’s sorry to interrupt her dinner, (so at least there’s some self awareness there) but someone named arlinsky at the smithsonian contacted him about a mountain in canada.

he says she needs to meet him RIGHT AWAY. BRO???????? she looks SO sad when he said that. 

she would do ANYTHING for him. and tbh i see why she wants to expose him now. fuck that. 

she’s assuring him that it’s okay, and he’s trying to apologize, but i’m still mad at him, and scully should be too. and who the hell is this arlinsky guy? apparently he was involved in a ufo photo faking?? but he claims he’s innocent?? THAT is what disrupted her dinner??

he says he won’t tell her what she’s about to see….

he has pictures of an alien frozen in the mountain and she looks deeply unimpressed. girl me too! 

apparently the alien has been in the ice for 200 years. and babcock (arlinsky's colleague) was part of the team that found it.

arlinsky says it’s a very remote location for it to be a hoax, to which mulder once again displays some self awareness with his “well if you’re gonna go, why not go all the way?” but again, not enough to prevent himself from getting in this situation in the first place

arlinsky pulls out the ice core samples from each side of the body, and says he sincerely believes they have a full corpse of an alien. 

but family dinner. i care about that more.

mulder says no one will believe him, and the same people that hid the truth will be asked to authenticate it, so there will be no confirmation either. which is why arlinsky wants him to go and get the body, because he knows it means everything to mulder

ohhhh scully says she has no opinion… “this is your holy grail, mulder, not mine” <- i am glad she is admitting she has no horse in this race

OHHH “proving the existence of alien life is not my last dying wish” <-yeah remind him that you’re literally dying and you can’t waste time because he SEEMS TO HAVE FORGOTTEN!!!!

“this is not some selfish pet project of mine, scully” <- well if it’s for the sake of your sister, but you’re hurting the people around you for it, that is still selfish actually 

woah woah woah i had to write this next part out...

“you already believe, mulder, what difference will it make? i mean, what will proof change for you?”

“if someone could prove to you the existence of god, would it change you?”

“only if it has been disproven”

“then you accept the possibility that belief in god is a lie?” (where are you going with this…? this is a sensitive subject for her!)

“i don’t think about it, actually. and i don’t think it can be proven”

“but what if it could be? wouldn’t that knowledge be worth seeking? or is it easier to go on believing the lie?”

this exchange made me feel frustrated. i wish he would be less ahab-like all of the time. yes, it is a huge deal that someone found an alien. but i see no reason why he couldn't have gone to that meeting by himself. and bringing god into this when he knows that's something very personal to her is a low blow. i get the point he was trying to make about believing the lie and all that, but c'mon man.

mulder honey, i get that this is a big deal to you, but time and place.

she tells him that she cannot go with him, but then he says, well can you just look at the ice core samples please. and she nods her head reluctantly. 

cut back to the big meeting room with scully and other very important people

“what i couldn’t tell agent mulder, what i had only just learned myself, was that the cancer which had been diagnosed in me several months earlier had metastasized. and the doctors told me, short of a miracle, it would continue to aggressively invade my body, advancing faster each day towards the inevitable” <- OH MY GOD??? oh my god. 

but why wouldn't she tell him... did she think that telling him then would interrupt his alien quest?? and she didn't want to do that because she knows how important it is to him? or did she not want him to worry?

because i would have told him!!! i would have said it right then and there!! but she is very different from me...

the fact that she is aware that she has so little time left and STILL left her dinner to go deal with his nonsense… scully, i fear you give too much and need to do things for yourself, please please

back on the mountain, they’re cutting the ice with a chainsaw. feels a bit unscientific, but i mean i guess that’s how you get that stuff done.

one guy is loading a pistol??? saying he doesn’t know the men well. that’s suspicious. i don’t care for it. 

there’s something in the ice. maybe a bubble. or a casting hole!! of liquid poured!! could this be a fake?? but the angle wouldn’t make sense, says one guy. hmm... i'm not sure what to think.

did they put a fake alien all the way up here…? and why is gun guy looking around all shady like…?

back to the core samples in DC. the scientist says he found some hybrid cells in there, not plants nor animals, but chimera, and he wants to get them under a microscope. hmm… can we clone da alien :3

someone walks into the cave in the yukon with a shotgun!!! and kills all of the men!!!!! what the hell!!! is this a real alien then?????

this happens just as others begin the hike up the mountain, including the smithsonian guy arlinsky. and mulder!! i didn’t even recognize him under all those baggy coats and sunglasses. wow. i feel like a fake fan.

someone was supposed to meet them and guide them up the mountain, but there’s no one there, and all the supplies are frozen over. so they begin the hike on their own, following the tracks from the others.

oh! the find someone keeled over in the snow, to which mulder remarks “funny place to take a nap”. again with the inappropriate jokes as a coping mechanism. it’s the guide that was supposed to meet them!! and he was shot and killed!!!

well, the alien is starting to look more authentic as the bodies pile up. 

back at the lab, scully is looking for the scientist, but she doesn’t find him. what she does find is a guy stealing the core sample???

he shoves her down the stairs?????? what the HELL!!!!

see, i thought the alien was a lie at first, but now it’s starting to appear compelling.

mulder and smithsonian guy arlinsky have arrived at the cave, and he pulls out his gun. they find all of the bodies from the crew, and no alien!!! it has been carved out!!!

mulder hypothesizes that perhaps someone was listening to their radio comms and came to hide their alien knowledge, but they hear some groans. and babcock is still alive!!

he says that the alien body wasn’t taken, but that he buried it!! and sure enough, they find it beneath their feet. mulder looks at it with amazement. big moment for a guy like him.

but scully!!! her face is bruised and her pristine lab coat is covered in blood! bill comes in with a change of clothes. and he didn’t tell their mom what happened. 

“i was knocked down a flight of stairs… but i’m okay, luckily”

“you’re not okay, dana” <- OHHHH BILL. please tread carefully.

he says he knows about her cancer and she says mom wasn’t supposed to tell him!!!

she says she doesn’t want sympathy, and he accuses her of thinking she can cure herself. which feels like a terribly low blow.

OHHHH MY GOD. wait hold on. hold on.

“what are you doing at work getting knocked down and beaten up? what are you trying to prove? that you’re gonna go out fighting?”

“oh now, come on, bill”

“do you know what mom is going through? why do you think i didn’t tell her when they called?”

“what should i be doing?” (said with great frustration)

“we have a responsibility, not just to ourselves, but to the people in our lives”

“hey, look, just-just because i haven’t bared my soul to you or to father mccue or to god, it doesn’t mean that i’m not responsible to what’s important to me” (this was very defensive and exasperated in tone)

“to what? to who? this guy mulder? well, where is he, dana? where is he through all this?”

well…. i want to defend mulder, to say he doesn’t know, but just because he doesn’t know that her cancer is getting worse doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have been more sensitive. he actually has been very conscientious, which makes this whole alien thing all the more sudden and infuriating!!!

she is stunned into silence as bill looks at her with fury. and she doesn’t say anything more to him beyond “thank you for coming” <-god, what was she supposed to even say?? i get trying to shake her back to reality, but who did that cruelty help??

bill, i get what you were trying to do, but you pissed me off in the way that you did it. do you always show the people you care for that you love them by screaming at them? because if so. not a very effective tactic.

mulder is unboxing the alien, which is now in DC, and he’s trying to thaw it with the smithsonian guy arlinsky and babcock! who is doing better! despite taking a shotgun bullet.

babcock asks if it were a hoax, why would there be 6 men dead over it, which is a good question. 

ewwww, the alien looks so gross….

with the help of another FBI agent, she finds the guy who hurt her!!!! and he’s working for the government!!!! in the pentagon‘s research facility!!! his name is kritschgau. they should not hire people in the government who assault women in stairwells.

mulder and crew are getting x rays and scans of the alien. mulder is wearing a sweater, but i’m still mad at him so i will NOT make note of how cute it is. 

the alien body is gross as hell. they’re filming an autopsy. ohhh he’s cutting the eye membrane off. EWWWW. EWWW.

now the ribs…… ewww ewww ewwww EWW IT CRUNCHES. NASTY. he takes the ribs out and starts looking at the heart and lungs and some other white stuff in the chest. gag.

meanwhile, scully’s casing the joint looking for the dude kritschgau who assaulted her, and she finds him, tracks him down, and nearly hits him with her car!!! she has her gun and is going after him!!!! he is under arrest!!! 

she is NOT messing around. we see a level of scully fury here that is incredibly potent and shown to us infrequently. i enjoy it, but it also makes me sad, because it shows how much stress she is under.

it appears he has slipped away, but she catches him!!!!! yes ma'am!!!!

kritschgau says that if he gets arrested, they’ll kill him. “they” being the same people that gave her cancer!!! how tf does he know about that???”

meanwhile, the alien organs are being weighed.

then cutscene back to the big meeting with scully!!! she’s telling them about how they smuggled the corpse back, saying mulder was ready to believe it was an alien.

but kritschgau convinced her it was otherwise, and not a true alien… he explained how mulder and her had been deceived and used, and that it was part of their plan that led to missy’s death and her illness.

god, how she must have felt hearing that… that everything that had happened to her was a waste, that the only point in her suffering was to advance corruption... it must have been devastating

as mulder leaves the warehouse where the autopsy was occurring, it seems he’s being watched by a guy with a shotgun??? is the shotgun guy going from before after the alien people????

it IS shotgun guy from before!!!! he knows babcock?? and he kills smithsonian guy arlinsky!!!

now who tf is this babcock fellow?!?!?!?!?!?

kritschgau is now sitting in mulder's apartment, explaining the "everything is a lie" story to him. mulder asks why he'd do this now- a fair question- and kritschgau says he came to him because his son is very sick after serving in the gulf war. i suppose if in this universe that is also something that has been covered up by the government, it could spark some disillusionment in the whole process once it impacts him personally.

he says "they" invented mulder, the regression hypnosis, the story of his sister and what they told his dad, and that the alien body was made carefully in a lab. and it would never be carbon dated, it was only for him to see so he would go public with the news and discredit himself.

mulder declares kritschgau to be a liar, but he says the body is already long gone, so he leaves to check. and sure enough, when he goes back to the warehouse, it isn’t there, but arlinsky is dead, as is shotgun guy!!!

again, WHO TF IS BABCOCK??!?!?

the cellular materials were an exact match to what kritschgau described. 

and this brings us to scully and mulder really fighting, really really fighting

“after all i’ve seen and experienced, i refuse to believe it’s not true” “because it’s easier to believe the lie, isn’t it?” <- ohh callback to earlier....

and she reveals that he said she was given this sickness to make him believe… oh my god, if that’s true, and her life is just a prop in their sick game… 

he storms out. 

back to the video from the 70’s we began with. 

mulder is watching it and crying. oh no… the beginning is clicking into place for me…… oh no, i see what is coming…. 

back to the meeting room. she says she went to his apartment that morning to identify a body, and that mulder died of a self-inflicted gunshot 

WHAT THE ABSOLUTE FUCK?????????????????

thus concludes the episode

she’s crying, she’s crying, all i can think about is her crying, what the hell, what the hell….

so he killed himself because he realized he was being used as a pawn and it was his fault scully was dying…

normally i would have more to say. but i’m not gonna lie to you, i don’t. this is just so fucking sad. i don’t even have the words. never in a million years did i see this happening. what the hell???? what the hell?

do i believe this kritschgau guy??? i think he’s probably telling 30% of the truth. but not the whole thing. why would all those men die for a fake alien? i think he’s being deployed as a cover story as mulder gets too close. and i think some of this is engineered, but not as much as he claims.

and i'm willing to bet that "believing the lie" actually refers to scully believing his cover story!!!

man. i’m sorry but i’m just so sad. i have been so sad this whole season!!!! 

mulder…… it was rude of you to interrupt her dinner…… but this was not the answer… 

how is sneaky mulder going to get out of the situation THIS time??? and how is scully going to get out of the hole she's dug by reporting all of their work as fraud?? is bill going to be happy now?? lowkey fuck bill, btw.

wow... this is just painful. and i don't even have to wait months to find out what happens next. had i seen this when it aired live i probably would have entered a state of mourning.

so that's the end, huh? of the season, i mean. just sucker punch after sucker punch. i hope this isn't the tone of everything else moving forward. can i get uhhhh one order of whimsy please. with a side of mutual pining. and a small hurt/comfort, emphasis on the comfort. thank you.

after waiting 24 hours from watching the episode initially, i am still torn between how to proceed next. part of me wants to compile all of my favorite moments from the season like always, but the other part of me wants to begin the next episode right away, just so i can move on from such horrible mental imagery as mulder dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. what a terrible thing i wouldn't even have expected from fanfiction!

but, i can also see that the next episode is a two parter, and to be left on ANOTHER cliffhanger would be horrible- but probably LESS horrible than being left with the sadness of dead mulder, right? i don't know what to do! i am filled with indecision!!!!

:(

at least i can take away some fascinating analysis regarding scully's relationship to catholicism, and her idea that depending on any force outside of herself- be it family, friends, or god- is a sign of weakness. i mean, that is pretty telling about her character. and the fact that she believes this so strongly she tried to hide her cancer getting worse from her brother and succeeded in hiding it from mulder!!! to even voice the truth would make it real. maybe that's why she can't tell them, can't go to mass- because it would mean that the end is really near if she did so. i think it's about both the perceived ideas of weakness ingrained in her by her hardass parents and a refusal to let the situation she has found herself in be registered as real in her own mind. she knows it is. but maybe if she pushes it to the side, she can forget for a while.

wow. that sure is something to think over, and think it over i shall.

[pixeldistractions]

intermission: cleaning out the pipes

You get paid to unclog the toilet, not to ask what clogged it up in the first place. Try not to look. You really don’t want to know what’s in there.

Jordan never went to college himself. Having little experience about what goes on in these college dorms, he just assumed those wild college frat house movies were far-fetched. But then he hears giggles and moans from the room next door, and he wonders how terribly authentic they might be.

Excuse me, you’re doing what?!? With how many boys?!? Quiet little Melissa Fortney from Lakeside Heights? Shy bug girl who had a crush on Beau Jackson and only first learned about sex from Summer Phoenix at the cafeteria lunch table freshman year???

It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it?

“We’re just messing around,” she says. “Nothing serious.”

Also, panties collection! 😱😆☠️

Jordan hurries downstairs to work on the dorm kitchen instead. Surely nobody is having sex in the kitchen. Surely! Right? Surely he can finish his work unnoticed. Right?

While there’s nothing obscene happening in this kitchen, yet, Delphie Deppiesse is utterly awestruck. She’s harmless, no worries. Valedictorian of her high school class and certified kindness ambassador, her thoughts are chaste, mostly. But she is overwhelmed with the desire to give this man everything he needs… except the space to do his work.

“Hi, we really appreciate your work here. Oh, I bet it’s really hard. (Delphie is far too virginal to even snicker over her use of the word “hard.”) Can I get you a cup of coffee? Can I hold your wrench? I’m eighteen now, by the way, in case you were wondering.”

Jordan wasn’t wondering. At all.

“Excuse me, um, don’t step in that puddle. I’m not insured for student deaths, I don’t think.”

Melissa joins Delphie in her admiration party, still smelling of saliva and other unmentionable fluids because she couldn’t have had the time for even a quick shower.

Didn’t you get your fill upstairs? we might ask.

Hardly, she thinks. Those college boys don’t really know what they’re doing. Melissa has a taste for older men. Men who know how to use their hands. Case in point: Hudson.

Somewhere in a far-off land called their fevered girlish imaginations, a scene unfolds:

His shirt, a size too small, pulls tight across his shoulders and biceps. The shirt is missing a few too many buttons. Torn buttons, actually, destroyed in a fit of passion, revealing a peek of chest hair and begging to be torn the whole way down to reveal the endless wonders beneath.

“Mmm, is that a wrench in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?” the girls ask.

And he says, “I couldn’t leave without making sure everybody’s pipes were cleaned.”

“Whew,” Melissa swoons, “I gotta go write something down.”

“Wait,” Delphie says, “Can I read it?”

So the girls run off upstairs to write a smutty fic and post it on Pillowfort where it will become viral for a few hours, and a small corner of the internet will simultaneously pleasure themselves over visions of a rugged blond plumber.

Finally, Jordan is left to finish his work day in peace, slightly scandalized, thinking, “Two-thousand dollars… two-thousand dollars… two-thousand dollars…”

Until Austin emerges from where he was watching, astounded at how thirsty those girls got over some overalls and a tool belt. And how many chicks could he score with a Halloween costume like that!?!

“Dude, can I, like, buy your outfit?” Austin asks. “I’ll give you twenty bucks for it? Twenty bucks! Man, come on!”

The clock strikes five and it’s clean-up time.

Go home, Jordan. We won’t judge you if you want to run.

Next -> // 5.2 start // index

[angel-of-the-moons]

Presence, Presents!

Poe x Fem!Reader

TW/CW: Fluff, some implied sexy times to follow

A/N: When I found out Poe's birthday was today, I had to write this. Especially since my birthday is tomorrow!

(Poe divider by @/saradika-graphics)

Poe had been strutting around like the prettiest convor in the base all day, marching with his chin held high like he owned the place. His confidence was infectious, renewing many tired Rebels as they scurried about their duties for the day.

Right now, Poe was headed back too his (and yours) quarters, his trusty astromech, BB-8 by his side, tweeting and beeping at him incessantly.

"I know, I know, buddy! But hey, today's my special day, and I wanna take a nap in the arms of the most gorgeous gal in the galaxy." Poe grinned down at the rotund droid.

BB-8 chattered in response, shaking his little head around as he swiveled in place for a moment before skittering alongside his human friend once again, almost knocking into Poe when he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Wait, what?" Poe asked dumbfoundedly, staring down at BB-8 with wide eyes.

BB-8 made an exasperated tweet and wheeled along, bumping into the door that led to your room. Your little slice of heaven away from the chaos of war and dogfights.

Poe hastily punched in his passkey and was met with silence. You weren't in there. By the looks of it, you'd been gone a while, possibly since just after he left for his own mission.

His shoulders slouched and he dropped his head back with a loud groan. "Aw, man!"

He dragged his feet behind him, his vigor all but depleted at your absence and dropped onto your bunk with a hefty sigh, falling back onto the headrest.

Only for his head to not meet the soft downy cushion of your pillows, but clang off of something hard and stiff shoved beneath the soft lumps. Poe turned onto his side and moved the first pillow, and he was met with a long, medium-sized crate with a note stuck to the top.

It was in your handwriting;

"Hi! They needed an extra escort on this training run for the rookies. Be back soon, happy birthday, baby! :D"

Poe's heart lurched in his chest as he smiled fondly at your hasty scribbles of love, and opened the metal box to see what was inside. And when his eyes met with the shiny barrel of a new blaster, he gasped aduibly.

The thing wasn't cheap. Brand-new, not even cleaned for the first time, yet. No signs of scoring from previous useage... the blaster was surely expensive. You must have saved up for it for months without telling him.

"Aw, baby..." Poe breathed, his eyes softening as his hands brushed the barrel of the blaster fondly, immediately drawing a picture of you in his mind's eye; what you must have looked like hiding this from him, the giddy little wiggle of your hips as you stowed the present for him away for him to find.

He sighed and walked his new blaster over to his locker, placing it gently down as if it were made of porcelain and not the durable metal and steel alloys used to fabricate it, and pulled out a small holo-disk.

Pushing a button, the image that flickered up first was a still of his mother and father. Young, rash and bold; their eyes alight with the fires of freedom, the same that burned within him, now.

"Made it another year, guys." He murmured to the hologram in his palm, each word making his heart seize a little painfully in his chest.

"Wish you could meet my girl. Mom, you woulda loved her. She's sassy, smart, and she hits like a pissed off bantha. Did I tell you that's how we met? Got into a drunken argument at a cantina after a mission. I swear, as soon as she was done knocking my lights loose and my vision came back... Whew! I thought I was looking at one of those Angels the old-timers used to rag on about..." Poe sighed, smiling softly. BB bumped into his leg affectionately, twittering softly in camaraderie.

His nostalgia and bittersweet talkings were snuffed out when there was a knock at the door. He cleared his throat and set the holodisk down in his locker, closing the door before announcing, "C'mon in!"

The door slid open and in walked Finn, beaming from ear to ear, "Hey, man! Heard it was your birthday today! Rey and I just got back with Chewie and we were all talking about celebrating!"

His dark eyes scanned your quarters, his brow furrowing. "Where's your pilot-in-crime?"

"Oh, she's on an escort for a training op right now." Poe said, rolling his wrist casually. "Not surprised, she loves helping the new rookies."

"Ah, okay, got it..." Finn gave him a bit of a shrewd glance. "So... what do you plan on getting her?"

"...Getting her?" Poe echoed dumbly, earning a shriek from BB-8, who rammed into his shins again and again.

"Poe, for the love of--" Finn groaned at him, hissing as if he were in pain. "Please tell me you remembered your girlfriend's birthday is tomorrow?"

The pilot blinked, like a porg in somebody's torchlight, his eyes vacant as the realization dropped on him; almost no thoughts behind his gorgeous amber gaze as he looked at his friend, mouth agape.

He grabbed Finn's shoulders and shook him, "I FORGOT MY GIRLFRIEND'S BIRTHDAY HELP ME WHAT DO I DO?!"

Finn grabbed Poe's hands and eased his iron grip, "Okay, okay, there's a local market, we can run out, grab her a gift and be back... Rey might be able to help us pick it out. Maybe if we're fast, we can get it done before your girl gets back from the training run?"

"YES PLEASE!"

"Okay, c'mon, let's go!" Finn said, leading him out by the hand.

"Man... I can't believe you forgot your girlfriend's birthday was the day after yours..."

He felt horrible. Downright nasty, filthy, horrendous. He felt like the worst boyfriend in the universe--how could he forget your birthday? When it was literally the day after his?

He'd been beating himself up over it since they returned from the market; had he really had his head so far up his own ass that he... ugh.

He shook the water free of his dark curls as he stepped out of the refresher, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist, looking like a depressed, drowned womp-rat.

His fingers hit the button and the door slid open, and he went rigid when his eyes landed on you; dressed in your orange pilot's jumpsuit and your helmet tucked against your side as you held the little brown box with the pink ribbon tied around it--a little touch done by Finn, actually--and you turned to grin widely at him.

"Sorry I was gone! One of the escorts got sick and couldn't fly wingman so I offered myself up for it." You chuckled, setting your bulky helmet down on a rickety old chair by the desk that was in much of the same condition.

You lightly shake the box in your hand when you turn to look at him, "And what's this, eh, flyboy?"

Poe grabbed the towel with one hand to keep it around his waist as you two began to hop around each other; just barely keeping your gift out of his reach.

"Hey!" Poe retorted. "No! That's for tomorrow, you minx!"

You cackled mischievously and finally relented, amused by your boyfriend's almost-naked pleading, handing him your wrapped present and letting him stuff it inside of your locker for safekeeping.

You tilt your head and smile wryly at him. "You forgot didn't you."

He twitched and cringed, "....No? Well, what I mean was--well, you see... it's more like... and, uh..." His shoulders dropped as he looked guiltily at you. "...BB-8 told you, didn't he."

"BB-8 told me." You nod with a grin.

"Ah, hell, that little mech is on my last hair!" Poe stomped, glaring at the locked door to your quarters.

You giggle and kick off your boots with a sigh before unbuckling your vest and dropping it onto the floor; tugging your gloves off with your teeth and then leaning up to give Poe a kiss to his damp cheek.

"It's the thought that counts, hon."

"Yeah, but..." Poe groaned. "You got me that blaster, and... I got you some dumb trinket from the market. And no... I won't tell you what it is, even if I'm not proud of it."

Your eyes softened and you slipped your arms around his midsection, your thumbs tracing the dimples low on his back as you brush your nose to his.

"I don't want some expensive thing, baby." You tell him, "I'm happy if we can just spend time together..."

"I know, but I..."

You silence Poe with a kiss to his slightly chapped lips; "Hush. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll love it. 'Cause I love you, you kriffin' dork."

Poe wrapped his arms around you and pressed his forehead to yours, finally giving you a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. "Love you too, you cranky ass nexu."

You tilt your head back with a laugh as Poe waggles his eyebrows, his hand dropping to his towel suggestively.

"Y'know... you can always unwrap another present that I'm always carryin' for you..." He hinted playfully.

"Finn and the others can wait a bit."

[cobra-wives]

so it's common knowledge that the sekai taikai is big enough to where winners/participants could get sponsors/national recognition...

does this mean the competitors get treated like sports celebrities? because i want - no, i NEED an in universe fandom for the sekai taikai. there HAS to be a national following for each team.

the iron dragons HAVE to be huge online for all the championship wins they've scored under their bag - i mean come on, who isn't looking at sensei wolf and tweeting about him like he's yuzuru hanyu and this is the grand prix final - and people are shipping zara and axel like they're a power couple. oh wait - NEW AMERICAN TEAM? the previous years, they've kinda sucked: HOLY SHIT, THAT GUY HAS A GIANT MOHAWK. it's almost- no, it IS hideous. oh my god, aren't they that one dojo off the r/asklosangeles reddit? the one with the school fight? shit, these kids are scrappy, i hear their local tournaments are fuckin huge. miyagi-do? oh my god, there's lore for the japan team from like... 30-40 years ago. ever heard of a miyagi? how did his goju ryu end up being taught by two old white americans... and why are they lowkey bickering like a married couple? whew, that new girl from the korean team (who is NOT korean) is pretty good. we oughta interview her. HOLY SHIT, IS KARATE YUZURU HANYU RIPPING HIS SHIRT OFF?

[problemduetest4life]

Ooh, can I request three please?

AHHH YES YOU CAN

tw: waterboarding/torture/real war crimes

So Three is made up of a lot of scenes that were originally written for All the cookie wrappers, and the empty cups of tea, but didn't make it into the posted chapters. I think with some doctoring the Rhemann POV's could be their own one-shot, so I'll give you a segment from one of those :)

~

“Shoot, the napkins,” Amber said, jumping back up. As she rummaged around in the kitchen, Rhemann flipped through channels for a sitcom to play in the background while they ate. He paused on a news channel.

“The American people remain shocked by the events of Abu Ghraib four years later...”

Amber walked back into the room. Rhemann took the napkins from her, eyes still locked on the screen.

“Abuse of the detainees by American soldiers has us reconsidering what counts as torture,” the interviewer spoke.

“Oh, I can’t listen to this,” Amber said, reaching for the remote.

“Methods such as sleep deprivation, starvation, waterboarding...”

Waterboarding, Rhemann thought. Amber changed the channel to one playing old reruns and settled down into to couch cushions.

“You should be proud!” Amber said. “The kids did great. I mean, I wasn’t worried since it was Michigan, but I know you don’t like to jinx it so I kept that to myself. Jeremy scoring within the first minute of game, though? Whew, what an opening. I can’t imagine the energy in the stadium, especially with the freshmen there. Did they have a good time?”

“Yeah, they loved it,” Rhemann replied softly, trying his best to pay attention to his wife but in the back of his mind, he heard the reporter speak again. Torture. Waterboarding.

Rhemann remembered it now only because it was impossible to forget. It had been years since reports or torture had been painted across every newspaper, tabloid and magazine. Every channel, every radio station, blared the horrific atrocities done by the U.S. military.

When Lisinski had report Jean’s behavior at the pool and what sparse explanation Jean had offered, Rhemann had drawn his own conclusions. Back in his high school basketball days, his old coach would make the team jog laps in a pool. It was a part of their conditioning, but it was also threatened after poor performances. What else could water as a correctional tool mean?

When Rhemann had heard that there was no pool on Edgar Allen’s campus, dread began to churn in his gut. At the time he had shrugged it off. There was no point to imagining awful possibilities when the truth was locked down inside one stubborn backliner. Now, the puzzle pieces were falling into place all on their own and the picture they exposed was terrifying.

Still, it was too awful to truly believe. It was impossible

Sixteen years old and a college freshman. Nineteen and all alone, shipped across the country. Jean was not a war prisoner. He was just a kid.

Contrition, coach.

~

A lot of this is based off Nora saying Riko found out what waterboarding was through the news. In the early 2000's, Abu Ghraib was probably the most talked about cases of torture in the media, so I assumed that's what she was referencing. Sorry that this is so dark, you can see why I didn't include it in the main fic ahhh

[na19love]

Whew, this tweet 🔥🔥! Couldn't have said it better

https://twitter.com/Canellelabelle/status/1779980685362553146?t=XtrS-9z_CLvR6bR9Bu3_dg&s=19

"So, after Meghan apologised in UK High court for "forgetting" that she leaked information to Omid scabies via Jason Knauf, in order to write Finding Freedom and attack the RF; today The Telegraph reveals that Harry had to apologise in Court after he "emailed confidential information to Johnny Mercer, the veterans MP concerning his security claim against the Home office"🔥

This is interesting because this is the same MP who has been singing the praise of Harry's military service and the same MP who is helping him with his bid to return invictus to the UK. So was Harry expecting a gov MP to go against the UK government decision regarding his security or pull strings on the inside?🤔

You see my dears, Lies travel faster than the truth, but the Thruth always comes out at the end and brings shame with it🔥

All the bad press Harry and meghan get is absolutely justified: They always end up doing worse than what they are accused of.

H&M have spent the past 6 years lying ad nauseam about William and KP;

Lying that he is in bed with the press; lying that he leaks about them. Yet it is them who are continuously exposed by journalists as having a whatsapp group chat; with the same british press they publicly complain about; in order to leak info to them🤡

It is them BOTH who have been outed in the court of law as liars and leakers🤡

It is them who are on record violating the RF privacy and giving interview to the press🤡

It is their supporters who were exposed in the press as a cyberbullying group doxxing and harrassing people as well as pushing death threats against the wales family and their supporters🤡

Quite simply Everything they accused William of doing to them is actually everything they did and continue to do to HIM, his wife and their family🔥

The proofs are out there in every book they wrote and ghost wrote, in their projects, court cases and well documented bots orchestrated campaign they lead nonstop on William and His family.

Now we know clearly that the leaks and bullies in KP were always Harry and meg which is exactly why William threw them both out.

This Man has never defended himself againt their lies, slander or defamation of character because he knew Time is on his side and the Truth is on his side🔥.

The Ones who cried wolves on every public platform to attract sympathy and play victim were all along, the actual wolves trying to gaslight the world into believing their actual targets was the wolves.

But Prince William is not one of H&M numerous victims. He is a Lion at heart. He never announces himself. He simply strikes and scores because the Lion is King☕️"

[female-buckets]

To ur question about girlblogging. The answer is toxic yuri. that moment btwn carrington and her ex whew

Yes you're so right. Girlbloggers need to learn that the WNBA is a fountain of toxic yuri

Nai and Lyss are entertaining every time they match up

Dewanna broke her ex-wife's scoring record and then threw up a heart sign to the camera

And then there's this...

Wings official team account promoted Arike's engagement to Lala one year after Arike and Satou broke up

Wow! Life comes at ya fast

I miss Satou and Arike together but I'll just have to get over it 😔

[chameli]

have i been living under a rock or? because i’ve missed most of copa américa even though my team (colombia) is going to the finals and the loml james rodriguez is back in action. smfh.

on another note, how has it been TEN whole years since the most iconic world cup ever? where has the time gone?! i never cared for futbol/soccer, but that summer, i couldn’t avoid it. the games were playing everywhere, even at work.

my (ex) boyfriend was colombian, so that’s how i started supporting their national team. i remember falling in love with james because he was just SO cute and an amazing player. i watched every game of colombia faithfully and was fully on the hype train. i still have my team jerseys and giant poster of james, lol.

after the world cup was over, james was everywhere and i was loving it. there was a giant photo of him at the soccer store in the mall, which is where we watched glimpses of the germany vs brazil match, which was SO funny because all the brazil fans were literally crying and by the time we finished shopping and walked out of the mall, germany had scored 7 goals…just like that. i was feeling schadenfreude for what happened during the colombia vs brazil match so idc lol.

it was such a magical summer—the atmosphere and energy. i never thought watching a sport would make me that happy. the adrenaline rush, whew.

i still can’t believe i’ve supported colombia nt/james for a decade now. it’s been a rollercoaster but i’m so glad he’s doing well again, just like that wonderful june in 2014 when i first saw him and immediately had heart eyes. time flies and i feel so old 😭

[dwtsfun]

Dancing with the Stars Season 5 Week 10: Rewatch

So we are at the end of the season. I really don't want this to end, but we gotta finish it up. Each couple has a redemption dance and the freestyle. Once the final 2 is revealed, they do their favorite dance of the season. So let's just get this started.

Redemption Round

Mel and Maks- Cha-cha (Judges' Score=28, My Score=9)- This was a great cha-cha. Mel's technique was perfect. However, I did mark them down because (and I'm about to step into my Len bag here) I felt like there was too much messing about. The first 15 seconds of the dance was nothing and truly not necessary. The end, while great, should've been cha-cha material and not a redo of the butterfly from the previous season with Laila. And the running in the middle to transition from chorus to verse, only added to the problem. Maks should've kept either the end or the beginning. Doing both was too much.

Marie and Jonathan- Samba (Judges' Score=24, My Score=8)- So the dance wasn't bad. It was pretty nice actually. But, it felt underrehearsed. The technique was all over the place. The entertainment factor was amazing. But her technique just wasn't up to par.

Helio and Julianne- Jive (Judges' Score=25, My Score=8)- I'm sorry but this was a mess. Helio made quite a few mistakes, something that he never does. His feet were hideous. He was off time in some spots. The performance was cool. He definitely entertained everyone. But the technique was lacking.

Freestyle Round

Mel and Maks (Judges' Score=27, My Score=8)- This routine SUCKED. Maks sucks at choreographing these things. That shit was dreadful. The lifts were great. But it didn't flow and she was way better than that routine.

Marie and Jonathan (Judges' Score=22, My Score=7)- Whew. This round was bad. This dance was bizarre. And outside of that, it was just bad. I understand why they did it but it just didn't work at all in my opinion. The lifts were good though.

Helio and Julianne (Judges' Score=29, My Score=9)- These two saved this round. Cuz this was going left real fast. The routine was engaging. It was energetic. It was charismatic. It was fun. Helio knocked it out of the park. There was a messed up dismount on one of the lifts toward the end when Julianne came through his legs. Otherwise, it was great.

My Rankings and Scores Out of 60:

1 Mel and Maks- 54 (28 for cha-cha, 26 for freestyle) 2 Helio and Julianne-53 (24 for jive, 29 for freestyle) 3 Marie and Jonathan- 46 (24 for samba, 22 for freestyle)

So on the Tuesday show, Marie came in third and did not get a chance to do her favorite dance for a score. She had an incredible journey and even though it ended on a very strange and bizarre note, you can never take away how good Marie was and the performer that she showed us she was every single week.

Favorite Dance

Mel and Maks- Mambo (Judges' Score=30, My Score=10)- I love this dance. And I truly think it was better the second time around. It was tighter. It was bigger. It had more energy. A flawless routine. Loved it!

Helio and Julianne- Quickstep (Judges' Score=30, My Score=10)- I am so glad that they 1) did this dance again and 2) didn't change a thing about it. It's such a classic and a crowd pleaser and I truly loved it. What both Helio and Mel did this season has been incredible.

My Rankings and Scores Out of 90:

1 Mel and Maks- 84 (54 from night 1, 30 for mambo) 2 Helio and Julianne- 83 (53 from night 1, 30 for quickstep)

So as we all know, Helio and Julianne won. And just like I said earlier on in the season, anybody in that top 7 could've realistically won. This was an incredible and highly competitive season. I cannot think of any other season that was nearly this strong. And it wasn't just the celebs themselves. The pros were killing it week after week. It was honestly an amazing season. I really miss having seasons like this. Like even thinking about the way the past 7 seasons have gone, we really lost so much. Even going back 10 years. This show jumped the shark in season 18 and things have never been the same. It really does make me sad. So that was season 5. Let me know y'all thoughts and I will talk to you all soon. Maybe a quick season 6 rewatch before the summer ends?

[uncontrolledfission]

Little life update, this is a study blog after all!

As you will all know, I’m a further maths student, and because of that, I’m taking A Level Maths this year. The reason I haven’t been posting as much lately is because of exactly that—revising maths has been at the forefront of my mind.

I do AQA. Paper 1 was absolutely amazing and honestly it really was a sorry excuse for a paper 1. There have been some real doozies of paper 1s in the past so we were prepared for an absolute train wreck but everyone came out absolutely elated! It was great.

My class shortly dug out an unofficial mark scheme produced by students, and the cohort of Further Mathematicians used it to see how we were doing. We were all very, very happy.

Paper 2 came along and we were yet again prepared for the worst. People generally do worse on mechanics because a lot of people don’t like it. We were expecting an awful paper but this was genuinely okay. The mechanics was actually lovely and the pure was definitely boring—in the sense that the maths was very caveman-like, not in the easy and primal sense—but also quite annoying. They gave us a very random proof that I definitely got wrong because I didn’t fully understand it. Once I left the exam hall, the divine energies of the Universe itself created the most eye-opening apparition of the true solution that humanity has ever experienced and honestly I couldn’t even be mad anymore, I was so tired that I just called it a day and went home.

Today, my class found an unofficial mark scheme. Yet again we verified our answers. I’m okay with how paper 2 went, it wasn’t OUTSTANDING but it’s also in a region of scores I can’t really bash.

Paper 3 is coming up soon! Now we’re really expecting an absolute train wreck for this paper. A lot of the calculus-related topics that normally came up every other year have not come up this year. Optimisation. Harder trigonometry and the reciprocal trig functions. Connected rates of change. Coordinate geometry. Quadratics and the discriminant. Integrating rational functions. Stats is always very predictable but whew the pure is looking scary.

I’ll update again once paper 3 is over, that’s next Thursday, but yeah!

To any fellow Further Mathematicians or Year Thirteens taking maths this year, good luck! We’ve got this 💓

[parcferm3]

Like all the youtubers who aren't using AI to write their scripts and are just pumping out regurgitated articles ganked from google, I've had a few hours to process this morning's news and have allowed it to digest past the 'called it' and 'love to see him back, hate to see how it played out' kneejerk reactions, and to be honest, I'm perhaps a bit less WTF than I was at six this morning when I walked into the kitchen and made my partner spit coffee onto the kitchen blind.

So Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo, Daniel.

DRDRDRDRDRhmmmmmm right then.

That was quick. I was definitely in the camp that it would happen over the summer break for a few reasons, not just because of the extremely unsubtle vibes that the Red Bull camp have been throwing out all over their social media, but also because it made sense.

Do I think it's not great that DR's got a drive in an objectively even worse way than he lost his at McLaren seat? Yes. Do I think the way Nyck de Vries has been spoken about publicly by his own team is pretty damn terrible and probably hasn't helped with his confidence? Of course. It was a clear case of buyer's regret that's made everyone look pretty terrible and has probably left poor Nyck de Vries feeling not unlike DR last year.

Do I think it's a good business decision from two not-quite-separate constructors who both exist only as moving billboards, and know a good marketing dynamic when they see it? Uh. Yuh.

Why not Liam Lawson? Well... apart from not having the immediate hype and recognition of DR, I think he's destined for that seat next year. For once, Red Bull isn't going to do what they did with de Vries and almost everybody else (hopefully) and set the guy up to fail. There's a reason he wasn't in the car at the start of the season, they're biding their time until he's ready. Let him finish out the Super Formula season. It makes sense to give him a full pre-season program before putting him in the car, and they've got nothing to lose and potentially a whole lot to gain, by giving the seat to Ricciardo.

Nothing to lose:

Daniel Ricciardo is, if nothing else, a safe bet, and a benchmark for Yuki Tsunoda and for the car itself. Is there a possibility that he tanks? Sure. Maybe the brakes in the AT are even less suited to his driving style than the Mclaren's and all the lockups, prangs, and off-track shenanigans we've seen this year are down to the car more than they are the drivers, however. Even Daniel on a bad day is probably better than Nyck on a good one, and that's not me slating Nyck, that's just experience.

So Alpha Tauri gets an experienced driver who's already on the payroll to compare Yuki against, who at worst won't score points and crash the car on occasion (which is a nett 0 swap) and at best, will score points, demonstrate what the car is capable of, and potentially get them above Alpha Romeo in the constructor's championship by the time the summer break rolls around. Heck, if he does great, maybe even beyond Haas and Williams. The reality is somewhere in between, but at the moment all it would take is for a 6th and a 10th at the Hungaroring for AT to draw level with Alpha Romeo, should AR have another zero points scoring weekend (which is not outside of the realms of possibility, considering AR has only scored in 4/10 of the grands prix actually run this year), and if it's a 6th and an 8th, that pushes them level with Haas and Williams (again, provided neither score points).

A whole lot to gain? Really?

I'm going to say it. I'm gonna. It's coming. Here it comes oh my god what is it what is it?

Sergio Perez is gonna retire at the end of this year.

It's out there. There it is. I said it. Whew.

Why do I think this? IDK folks, it's just the vibes.

Vibes, along with things like Christian Horner's joke about Perez 'making babies' at Silverstone this past weekend, which definitely pushed this theory along a bit. Not necessarily in a 'he's made rumblings about more kids' kind of way (although like, sure, possibly, whatever), but a 'is this a hint that family is on the guy's mind a lot more' kind of way. And Checo himself has said 'as long as I'm enjoying it' which he just... really doesn't seem like he is at the moment.

And the, y'know. It's a loan. Very specific there on your press release, Red Bull.

But then some part of me thinks this was always sort of at least part of the plan right from when DR was announced as third driver in the first place. Nothing set in stone, but paths being laid out and options being put on the table not just for Red Bull as a whole, but also for Perez.

(Sidenote, I actually don't think de Vries was pushed two races out from the summer break, I think he asked to go so he didn't have to endure any more of toll that the RB meat grinder was taking on him. Please set me free, I'll even leave without you paying me out for the rest of the season I just want to get out of here good lord. But that's a whole 'nother story and again, just vibes.)

Every. Single. Interview. With Daniel Ricciardo, he's made it very clear he intends to be in that Red Bull seat next year. I'm not digging through the bin for all the ticket stubs, you've read them already.

Once DR's got a few races under his belt and has (optomistically) proven that he's capable of getting a few points in what we currently assume is the worst car on the grid, they'll give Checo the green light to chuck it in.

The thing about Ricciardo, is he's a known entity. He's been Max's team mate before and understands the dynamic. He wasn't prepared to be number two last time, but this time rather than a young talented upstart coming in to usurp his position in what's already his team, he's coming in with his eyes wide open, a focus on team results rather than individual. He'll know his job is to be the classic wingman a la Barrichello/Bottas/Webber etc etc because it's obvious and it'd be stupid to think otherwise, because Max really is just that good.

And as much as I root for Yuki, I just don't see him in that second seat right now. They want a solid, steady, reliable presence, who won't collapse under the pressure of being Max Verstappen's teammate, and at the moment, the best person for that job is probably Daniel Ricciardo.

[lordwisteria]

writing patterns tag game

Thank you for the tag @chejuu!! This is so fun!!!

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

With the shrill shriek of a whistle, the first game of Grant’s senior year ended, the score a devastating 6-30. [Stupid Games and Stupid Prizes]

Growing up, Dick’s favorite place in the world was a cabin his parents liked to rent for family holidays. [snapshots]

Dick gritted his teeth against the noise. [road trip blues]

The silver and chrome diner gleamed in the strong evening light, looking like something out of a postcard. [pauses in the conversation]

Watching Bats hover around the new kid sent something ugly tearing through Jason’s stomach. [The Promised Tomorrow]

John and Mary meet under the big top. What happens next? If you’re looking for the ending you know, try A. [Happy Endings]

Riko is seven years old the first time he meets his older brother. [do not blame the body]

Slade closed the doors to his private chamber, finally alone. [Feeling Throne]

“Are you alright, Jay?” Dick’s voice, thin and trembling as it always was nowadays, was not enough to steal Jason’s attention from their narrow window, but when he laid one hand over the other boy’s, Jason started violently. [old ends and holy writ]

“B!” [flipped too many times]

Whew ok. I don't see much of a commonality lmfao but also I've stared at all of this way too long. It is funny, seeing as I really only consider myself a Dick fan/writer, the majority of these are not from Dick's POV (we'll also ignore the one aftg fic lol). I like writing about how much Dick changes people's lives as much as fics about him I guess?

tagging:@dustorangeheartssnowman, @blackbeanbao, @unicorncoalition because I am curious!! (no pressure ofc)

[simulation-machine]

I love literally every single townie from the Realm of Magic game pack, even if the world was waaaay too small and the builds were trash. The Charm family is no different. I have played and replayed and had these characters pop up as important side characters in so many saves. So in this I’ll talk about what I usually do with them, and what I’m doing differently (if anything). If reading lots of words is not your jam, feel free to skip since it’s allll head-canon from here. Minerva: Look, she’s old af. She’s gonna die. I try to give her at least one grandchild before she officially bites it, and the first girl Emilia and Darrel have gets named after her. She’s still gonna die and the first girl will be named for her, but this time she’s going to be an absolute jerk. She’s going to be strict with both of her children, pushing them to do better, and she’s going to be really unimpressed with poor Emilia, who is new to magic and doesn’t come from an illustrious family. Then she dies and everyone is at first like “WHEW okay thank god” but then quickly devolves into aimless chaos without somebody always yelling at them to do stuff.  Gemma: For some reason, even though Darrel is older she gets listed right after her mom. Anyways, Gemma is gay. Before we got werewolves she got with Darling Walsh. Once we got the wolves, she got with Rory Oaklow every time because Rory is hot. They usually just adopt kids once they hit the Adult life stage, but this time they’ll probably have two science babies to see which occult genes win out. They live in Moonwood Mill because Gemma doesn’t like being in the Charm estate after her mom dies. Darrel: Maxis has done few sims dirtier than they did Darrel. And look, I am totally chill with goofy looking sims, I really am. But I’m supposed to believe that he somehow scored cutie-patootie Emilia and looked like that? I mean I guess Emilia isn’t a shallow girl but come on now. So he got a makeover that still kept some crucial features (lips, jawline, chin, cheeks, purple eyes). He even still got a big nose. He just looks less yikes to me because his eyes got switched up and his nose is less wtf. People can fight me on this, that’s fine. He was inspired by my mental image of High Lord of the Spring Court Tamlin from ACOTAR. ANYWAYS. Before I just decided to change his appearance (which I was opposed to do despite haaaaating his face), he used to die after ensuring at least one normal looking kid, usually from overcharge after dueling with L. Faba. That’s all he did. Now that he’s prettier, he gets to live on. Emilia: Initially, she bugged me. Her only flaw is clumsiness and she’s set up to be this try-hard in a fancy family of magical prowess, influence, and wealth. But then I gave her and Darrel a troubled and passionate relationship. After his mother’s death, he got addicted to dueling as a way to cope and was not paying attention to his magical charge. He and Emilia fought over it a bunch. Finally he promised to stop and does better, they have a kid (or another kid if they already had one), and then he starts sneaking out at night to duel again. He gets killed by L. Faba, and Emilia goes through a deep depression that takes her years to recover from. After that, she and Simeon Silversweater hook up and he becomes a step-dad. She has more kids with him. What will change is that Darrel isn’t going to die, and I might find a way to make Minerva live a bit longer to be more of a thorn in her DiL’s side. Idk.

[realmackross]

PARTIES: @highoctanegem, @realmackross TIME: A week or so after the Barbie Nightmare Sleepover SUMMARY: Mack has food delivered to her house only to meet her mortal enemy, Jade, instead. WARNINGS: Unsanitary tw (for the mess not cleaned up from the sleepover); infidelity tw (implied by Jade)

Jade was still new to the whole food delivery business. It had been a no-brainer as soon as she came to town, a quick way to earn some money while having the time and freedom at her disposal to dedicate to the completion of her actual mission. (Blegh). But it was kinda cool, cause all this traveling was helping her get to know Wicked’s Rest a little better. Today’s order, for example, was sending her to a place in town she had yet to explore: World End’s Isle. 

As new as she was to her job, Jade was positive she would never ever see a house like the one she was approaching again. Whew. It was like, an actual mansion. Like some business or real estate mogul was shacked up inside, freshly off their third divorce, but ready and looking for wife number 4 to dot on.

And Jade was so, so willing to step up and take them off the market. So even before she reached the gates, she made it her mission to score an invitation to go inside. No matter what. She would flirt a little (a lot), flatter whoever she needed, and see where that got her. 

It turned out to be way simpler than she expected. 

Jade had predicted guards at the entrance, an assistant to pick up the food and go, something like that. Rich people things. Not that it would have stopped her, of course. She would’ve twirled her hair, bat her eyelashes, and it would’ve been fine. None of those scenarios materialized. Instead, everything was managed remotely. She couldn’t complain, it made everything super easy.

She parked outside and removed her helmet, fixing her curls with one hand before extracting the package from the delivery box. The gates opened just as she was strutting towards them. She grinned excitedly, feeling super important. Oh, they must’ve had cameras around. Duh. Jade slipped inside without a second thought, making the short walk to the main door. 

Jade stood there, glancing down at her phone for some final details (she didn’t wanna mess up another order), taking a quick picture of it, then rapped her knuckles against the big fancy door. Would anyone inside that big house hear her? She decided to push the doorbell button too, just in case. “Hi! I have your UberEats? It’s… for” she reached for the bottom of the bag, reading the name scribbled on it. “Mackenzie?”

—

Since the sleepover incident, Mackenzie had quit showing her face around town. It was just easier to go off and do her own thing alone without the possibility of being questioned by so many people. And to make matters worse the paranoia that someone from the failed gettogether would leak that she was a zombie had been ingraining itself down into her brain a little deeper with each passing day. It’s why keeping up appearances was everything and that included a useless food order from UberEats.

Hearing the doorbell,  Mack checked the Ring camera on her phone to make sure it wasn’t anyone she knew. The person didn’t look familiar to her, so she assumed it was safe. Pushing the talk button on the app, she spoke, “Uh, yeah. That’s me. I’ll be right there.” Despite not wanting to do much of anything, she did still manage to keep the smell of death and decay at bay. If she wanted to appear human, she knew she had to no matter how hard it might have been to even want to get up out of bed.

Mackenzie walked to the door and took a moment to gather herself. If it was one thing she was good at, it was putting on a show. She had been doing it for most of her life. Opening the door, the twenty-five year old had a smile on her face, “Hey, come on inside.” She turned around and walked back somewhat into the entrance of the house still decorated in pink from the Barbie Nightmare Sleepover that had taken place over a week ago, “Sorry about the place. Had a few friends over, and it got a little out of hand.”

—

Jade’s mouth dropped at the first glimpse of what waited for her inside. The explosion of pink momentarily diverted the attention from the woman in front of her. ���Woah, it’s like Barbie threw up in here!” she chuckled, looking up in awe. She’d never been too much of a pink girl, but she had to admit this whole Barbie renaissance had her rethinking all that. Barbie could totally be a vampire slayer, couldn’t she?

She didn’t think twice when the invitation came and she strolled inside, the paper bag with Mackenzie’s order safely tucked in her arms. (Did the woman not care about her order? Usually people were like vultures when it came to picking up an order) (In fact, she loved snapping the most unflattering pic possible of that moment). When Jade finally got a good look at the woman, intending to ask where to leave the order, something clicked. Oh. Shoot. She’d seen her before. A lot, actually. A few Instagram filters give or take, and that woman looked identical to the girl Brody dumped her for. (She was mature enough now to admit it had been a bit of an obsession at the time) (A tiny one, totes. But enough to know she wasn’t mistaking her for someone else). 

Mackenzie…yup. That tracked. Wasn't she an aspiring actress or something? She had been the last time Jade stalked her, at least. So why would she leave sunny L.A for this dumpster town? That she had to know. Was Brody still in the picture? Jade was way too nosy not to get to the end of that mystery. 

And her failed fling wouldn’t stand in the way of getting a tour of the manor, either. Nope. Jade could be a big girl about it. In spirit. Physically, not so much. She hadn’t thought about the guy in years, anyway. “This looks amazing. I mean, all kinds of messy and dirty but… you know what I mean” she dared stepping further inside, eyes flicking everywhere. “If it’s not like…totally annoying and imposing, I’d love a little tour of the place. You must love to show it off, right?” she flashed a dazzling grin. Go for the ego, that’s right.

—

The delivery driver did have a point. It did look like a hot pink mess. One that was a stark reminder of everything that had happened. And also everything that Mackenzie had wanted to forget. She was going to have to clean it up soon. Her house couldn’t stay decked out in pink forever, especially considering all the negative connotations it held now. And if anyone from the sleepover had decided to visit, what would they have thought? “Yeah, sorry about that. Just haven’t had the energy to clean. You know how those ragers can be.” It was a bullshit excuse, but whatever. Mackenzie wasn’t feeling today or any day for that matter, at the moment.

“So, uh, how much of a tip do I owe you?” Everything that had happened was distracting her from the driver and even from the picture she had taken for the app. Instead, the zombie padded back towards the kitchen to put her now acquired food on the counter and grab her phone, so she could pull the UberEats app back up. It really didn’t matter if the meal had been cold or not. It’s not like she could really enjoy it anyways, and she’d probably throw it in the microwave and then douse it with so much hot sauce that anyone else wouldn’t be able to eat it.

Mackenzie walked back to the entrance, where the woman was standing. Looking up, she narrowed her eyes for a brief moment. A wave of nostalgia washed over her, but she couldn’t remember why, “Do I know you from somewhere?” She rushed through as many memories and names as she could, but the question about a tour distracted her, “Uh, I don’t know. It’s really wrecked from the party…” Why was she wanting to see Mackenzie’s house? Though her face looked familiar, she didn’t know this person.

—

Jade had been so distracted by the pink mess and the enormity of the house, (and the fact she had a blast from the past standing in front of her) that she almost missed the light buzzing underneath her skin. She blinked slowly, going silent for a moment only to confirm she wasn’t going crazy. Nope. Her senses were tingling in front of Mack. Not in the telltale way she associated with vampires, but in some type of undead way. Right? “Oh, no need to apologize” she blurted out, forcing a grin. “I totally know things can get super wild. You wake up like… dead the day after, am I right” she chuckled, tilting her head innocently. It was just a joke really, but would it be fun to get a reaction? Absolutely. “Did you have lots of fun?” 

“Oh. Pft, don’t you worry about that” Normally, she’d never wave off a tip, but if Jade wanted to learn more, buy herself more time, she had to appear extra nice and accommodating. She twirled a finger around the room. “This is like… perfect payment. It’s the fanciest place I’ve seen in this town. In my life maybe” and okay, maybe she didn’t want to miss the tip. “But I mean, I would accept whatever you have on you” she shrugged, “or the little tour, you know…I do have to get back soon so I wouldn’t waste your time too long”. Jade had already accepted another order but they could wait. So what if her ratings went down a little more? This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

When Mackenzie wandered off to the kitchen Jade contemplated what flavor of undead she might be in front of. No vampire, because duh, she’d feel that one. Zombie felt…unlikely too, considering she’d just delivered normal food to her, and not, you know, a brain burger. So by the time Mack returned, she was solidly on camp mare or fury. However, something about that felt off too. The vibes, or whatever. The other woman’s question pulled her out of her thoughts. Oh, so she did remember her then? (Duh, she was pretty memorable). Did she feel bad about stealing her man? (That was so reductive, actually. Why put two women against each other?) (But young Jade was still scorned, apparently). “Huh. You know what… you look a little familiar,” she squinted, pretending she hadn’t clocked her minutes ago. “Could be. Why would I… Oh! so…Any chance you lived somewhere in California a few years ago?”

—

Mackenzie’s mind felt like a jumbled up mess. So much had happened just recently with the sleepover and her secret getting out to a fairly large group of people that she was really just wanting to be left alone. But it was the dead comment that caught her attention and sent a jolt of panic through her corpse. Play it cool, Mackenzie. Play it cool. There was no way this woman could know she was dead right? Surely someone from the sleepover hadn’t opened their mouth already, “Right. Post-party sleeps are honestly some of the best. You’ve danced and drank, until your body says no more...And yeah, it was fun.” She had hoped she had diverted enough to get the woman onto something else.

Mack had been around people like this before. Someone wanting something from her. Trying to compliment her and kiss her ass. She was definitely planning on tipping, but she still wasn’t keen on showing off her house to some random stranger, “No, I insist on tipping. I know coming out to Harborside is a bit of a drive, so…” Looking back down at her phone, she thumbed her way back into the app and the order where she could leave a tip. “There. That should cover your gas out here, and then some.” She plastered on a smile as she closed the app and looked back up at the woman standing in front of her.

The interaction between the two had held so much awkwardness, at least in Mackenzie’s mind, that she really just wanted the other woman to leave and rather soon, “Uh, yeah. I’m originally from there. Decided to move out here for a bit of break, you know? It’s a little slower than the hustle and bustle of Hollywood.” It still didn’t ring a bell for the zombie though, of who this woman actually was. She had come across so many people in California between her co-workers and fans alone that she couldn’t really recall who Jade was. “I’m really sorry, though. I still don’t know who you are. But hey, I really appreciate you bringing my food for me.” She knew she was being rude, but she had just wanted this strange woman out of her house, before it led to something worse.

Moving back towards the front door, Mackenzie stood by it hoping that Jade would get the picture and leave.

—

Jade kept her eyes narrowed, a taunting smile playing on her lips. Mackenzie’s reaction was super predictable, all things considered. The spidey sense didn’t lie. Even if she wasn’t a vampire, she was something, as evidenced by her reaction to a really innocuous comment. Jade would play it off though, offering her assistance (the slaying type) only if she deemed Mack a lost cause. She could still joke about annoying hangovers and parties or whatever. “Yup! Been there, done that. My body isn’t taking it as well as it used to these days, unfort. Consequences of growing old, I guess” she scrunched up her nose delighted, “But you’re way younger, so I’m glad you had fun, cause this decoration totally deserved an amazing party!”

She ran a hand through her hair, her posture relaxed as she listened to the other woman assure she would be tipped. And like, she wasn’t gonna say no to that, even if the obvious resistance to showing her the mansion was a little frustrating. Jade couldn’t imagine having such a nice place and not wanting to show it off. But not everyone was as fun as she was, sadly. That was a given. “Perfect! That's totally nice of you. I appreciate that, like… so much” She nodded, her words genuine though Jade made little effort to glance at Mackenzie. “Sure, the gas. But the views more than makeup for it!” Her eyes were still dancing around the room. Taking on both the Barbie deco and the places the pink didn’t touch. 

“Oh!” Jade perked up as confirmation came that they did come from the same place. Not the same, but well… their pasts had intersected at some point. Via Brody. “That’s so cool that you did Hollywood! This would be like, the last place I’d come to chill after being among the stars”. Mackenzie, or Mack really, that’s how she’d known her before, didn’t act the way most celebrities did. Didn’t fall for the ego boost or the personal questions someone in the spotlight would’ve loved answering. It was weird, and she wondered if her little secret (the undead one) might have something to do with her evasiveness. “No problem. My name is Jade, I think you can see that in the app, can’t you?” Or did she mean she didn’t know her know her. That made more sense. The funny thing was, she probably knew more about Mackenzie than people in Wicked’s Rest did. “I’m going, no worries. Are you alright, though? For realsies? Like obviously I’m here just for the food but, what kinda girly would I be if I didn’t worry? I watched Barbie, you know… I’m super inspired by it. Women supporting women”.

She sauntered toward the exit, pretending to be ready to leave her house. (As if). But Jade was approaching the door when she turned, inching closer to Mackenzie than she had all evening. She lifted her index finger, as if she were reminiscing something. “I think… I figured it out” she smirked, basking in the way her skin thrummed with their proximity. More than anything, smug with the knowledge she had over Mackenzie. “Does the name Brody ring any bells?” of course it did, she didn’t need confirmation, she prodded further. “How is he, by the way? Would love to catch up with him”  

—

Mackenzie listened as Jade went on about various things. Clearly the woman couldn’t take a hint, but the young actress wasn’t going to be rude. Even though she was trying to lay low and figure out her life, she still didn’t want to tarnish her reputation by being rude to the person who had delivered her food. Instead, she kept a friendly smile plastered on her tired face and nodded in agreement, interjecting her thoughts every now and then to seem interested in the conversation, “I’m totes fine. You don’t have to worry about me at all. But thank you for checking. And I agree. Barbie did such a good job with spreading the women supporting women message, which was one of my favorite things about it.”

The closer Jade got to the door, the more excited Mackenzie had become. It was getting ridiculous at this point, and she was just hoping and praying she would finally leave. But what Jade said next and the smirk on her face revealed that the food delivery had never just been the intention. And as soon as she heard his name, it was like something in Mackenzie had changed. An anger had started to well up in her and more so, the monster that lay just beneath the surface, “Okay, you need to leave. Get out of my house right now.” The forced, but warm smile that had been on her face was no longer apparent. Instead, it was something of hurt and disgust, “I don’t know who you think you are, but you need to go.” At this point, Mackenzie’s posture had changed to something more threatening.

—

So Mack wanted to play dumb. Ugh, it was such an obvious, uninspired choice, Jade thought. And like… Coming from anybody else? She would’ve been a fan. Yes queen, gaslight. Fully in support. Playing dumb was a favorite move of hers too. But now, when it mattered to her? She was so not vibing with it. She pursed her lips, resisting the eye-roll. “Huh… really?” her chin tilted upward, both to appear taller than she was and to pretend she was trying to recall the situation again. “That’s super weird…” licking her lips, she waved her phone in front of Mack’s face. “So if I spent a little time stalking social media, I totally wouldn’t find pictures of you two together?” Honestly? She probably didn’t need to stalk social media for them. She could like, open her photo app and scroll down a couple of years. She was sure she saved some, with the intention of confronting Brody. But alas, that never happened. (Meaning, she met someone cuter the following week).

Brody. Who, for what she was gathering… might not even be part of Mack’s life anymore. It made this a little more boring for Jade, but she could still have some fun with it. “What happened, did someone steal him from you?” she tilted her head curiously, but the mischievous glint in her eyes gave away the punchline before it even left her lips. “I’d say that sucks… but you know what Tay Swift says about Karma”. Who knew, maybe she could be the bigger person and like… bond with Mack over Brody screwing both of them. She could so be the bigger person here. Again, she watched Barbie, girl power!

Mack did not have the same idea though, and her resolve not to engage with Jade’s bait slowly faltered. She liked it, this was way more fun than playing dumb. And she knew how to counteract too. “Easy there…” she cooed, stepping into Mack’s personal bubble, her relaxed grin morphing into something more calculated. “I really don’t think you wanna get snappy with me. Considering…I already figured out your secret” Her gaze dropped to the woman’s chest, (not for gay reasons) (well, she could multitask) but to signal Mack’s missing heartbeat. “And not the Brody thing… though your reaction tells me all I wanted to know about that too”.  

It was a little annoying she wasn’t going to get a Barbie house tour after all, but Jade knew the right amount of menace she needed to be at any particular moment. And she was pretty much at the limit here. She hadn’t exactly come prepared to get rid of a feral undead. As long as she remained in control, Mack wouldn’t have to know that tiny detail. “I’ll do you a solid, babe. Since you like… tipped super well and all. I am a grateful woman. So I’m leaving, and your pretty head stays intact. How do you like that? I think you’re winning here,” she feigned a sweet smile, walking backward to the door, in case Mack decided to show her claws at the last second. Normally, she wouldn’t use her duty to threaten anyone. Normally. She wasn’t like, against a good catfight (at least in the past) (these days she was like, such a feminist) but this was different. This felt… it didn’t sit well with her. Weaponizing undead suffering to taunt them, but whatever. Maybe Mack should’ve thought twice before stealing her boyfriend all those years ago, right? Yeah! What about Jade’s suffering, huh? She was petty, she could still hold the grudge. (Sue her!) 

She definitely didn’t want to stay and wait for Mack to disagree with her offer and choose to throw hands instead, so like… time to go. She raised her hand and wiggled her fingers as one last provoking gesture, before she yeeted herself out the door. 

—

At this point, Mackenzie had refused to give into anything Jade was saying despite how angry she was starting to get. So much so that her eyes were starting to get that glaze, you know the one, and any functioning brain matter was starting to go feral. Words were going in one ear and out the other. If she kept flapping her gums, she wouldn’t get to enjoy that generous tip Mackenzie had left earlier. But Mack would get a much better meal than the now ice cold $10 take out she had ordered that had cost more like $50 by the time she had tipped.

As Jade continued to berate and prod her about Brody, Mackenzie kept her eyes trained on the shorter woman following her every move, including the brunette looking down at her…boobs? Why is she looking at my boobs? They are nice boobs, but I thought this was about Brody? Shit. Focus, Mackenzie. If the delivery driver had been trying to hint at anything else, besides having a crush on her, it had gone straight over Mackenzie’s head. Approaching feral zombie mode seemed to do that, take and splice through any current functioning brain cells, until they were unrecognizable, and it seemed like Mackenzie was starting to learn that strong emotions could affect her state-of-mind much like getting injured could. Just in a more controllable way.

“…I think you’re winning here,” Those were the words, accompanied by Jade’s motion towards the door that Mackenzie had picked up on, “And I think you’d better never come back.” Her teeth were gritted as she watched the woman get one final provocation in before leaving. And when Jade was finally gone, Mackenzie could feel her entire body relax, including the nails that had dug into the palms of her hands finally releasing from her skin.

Feeling threatened in her own home in Wicked’s Rest had been a first, and something Mackenzie didn’t appreciate. She had expected it in California. Hell, it had even happened in California, but not here. And that was taking into consideration that she had recently died here, after Cass had accidentally sent her careening over the upstairs balcony. But today a line had been crossed. If Jade wanted a bitch-off, she was going to get a bitch-off. No one made Mackenzie Ross feel threatened in her safe-space. Not today and not ever again. But first, food was in order, and not that processed crap that reminded her of the shitty, delivery driver who’s tip she was revoking. No, this was Grade A Human and with every bite, she was going to imagine she was taking a little nibble off of a screaming Jade.