#the laugh tale reveal hit me like a fucking truck

[moonpaw]

the final island is called Laugh Tale, so many characters have unique laughs, Nami laughed freely for the first time in years in the company of others after faking it for so long, Genzo wore a pinwheel on his head because it was the only way baby Nami would laugh around him, Usopp saw a girl falling into depression after losing her parents and devoted a year to making up stories just to get her to laugh, Chopper and Robin were both finally given positive attention by someone and copied their laughs for a short while (Chopper's case an adoptive father, Robin's case her first friend outside of archeologists) Robin lost everything when her home burned down and she tried to desperately laugh the pain away but with the same laugh as Saul before he was frozen alive, Luffy kicks Crocodile's ass but not before demanding him to give Vivi back the country because if it was truly her country she would be laughing a lot more, there's a major war going on and everyone around luffy couldn't help but laugh and rally behind him just because he was being himself despite the environment, there was someone called Joyboy 800 years ago and he brought laughter where he went, the main character is so goofy and silly and laughter that even when he's trying to fight seriously he ends up doing goofy shit that makes you or the people around him burst into laughter, one of his main powerups later on derives on how much he laughs and you can't help but laugh at the silliness of it all

it's a comedy, but it has it's dark and serious and heavy moments but every time it reminds you to laugh and be free!! laughter is so important! a tale of laughs!

it's such an important and major theme through the series but it can be missed so easily, it's in your face but it's not

how many people luffy and the straw hats have saved by bringing their smiles back to their faces, to let them laugh to their hearts content

do you see, do you see

sometimes i remember that one piece's main theme is laughter and i kinda choke up about it

[dykeza]

My little Drabble about how my zablrsona found the syndicate.

Achilles heard of the famed Syndicate by word of mouth. Stationed in a small village with orders to be soon departing, he longed to see something that wasn’t the bloodied, half-shattered blade of a fellow soldier.

He made his escape in the early morning, when the night watch had fallen asleep and the day crew was still donning their armor. He scrambled across the moors as fast as his hooves did carry, and stopped only when he saw the camp fade from view.

He traveled for months, forging weapons for wayward souls and selling wares in small fishing towns to pay for his way. He heard from an old man that the Syndicate was covered in snow and hidden from view. He heard from another that it was a cursed temple, with writhing beasts inside.

Finally, after buying a trip across a frozen sea with a pirate captain who tried to tear his eye out at port, he found himself at the bottom of a great mountain. “You’ve got to be kidding.” He muttered, hefting up his pack and fixing his cloak. Well, the secrets aren’t going to wait for him, and so he went.

He scrabbled across cliffs and over fallen boulders, thanking the gods for his cloven hooves. After a few hours of journeying, he stumbled upon a frozen path, lit with soul lanterns.

He followed it until it stopped at a- a fucking stone wall. Amazing, lovely. The great Syndicate was nothing more than a wives tale. Just great.

As he was about to turn and drag himself back to his boring life, a howl sounded upon the cliffs.

A doglike figure approached him through the snow, and held out a pawed hand.

“Hello, traveler! What brings you to the Syndicate?”

He shot his hand out for the other to grab and shake, too in awe to speak.

A hand waved in front of his frozen face, and he startled to attention.

“Oh- uh, yeah, I’m Achilles, pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m here in search of…” he paused, mulling over the thought,”-of Freedom.”

The other cast their head back to laugh, a smile clear on its face. “Why, then you’ve found the right place, Achilles! I’m Ax, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well. Follow me.”

And he did, over back to that stone wall. Ax took a gold ring from their neck and stuck it to a small hole in the wall, indicating him to step back. The wall shook and fell with a loud crash, revealing a large ornate hallway. Warm air hit him like a truck, and he quickly followed Ax down the corridor.

A large wooden door stood on the other side, and a guard hummed a greeting to their higher up. The large doors opened, and revealed a bustling room full of people.

He stepped into the light and smiled.

Yes, he believed this was what he was looking for.

[fallen-gravity]

Fightin’ Back Ch 2

That's why I'm so tough on Dipper. So when the world fights, he fights back

or,

five times Stan helped Dipper recover from a rough encounter with the supernatural, and one time Dipper returned the favor.

~

Here’s Chapter 2: Fight Fighters, this time around!

bit of a content warning for this one: this chapter takes place following Fight Fighters, and I like to think the injuries Dipper sustained are a bit worse than just "get up and walk around fine". Sometimes the need to comfort hurt overrules cartoon logic in my brain.

No hospital scene in this chapter, but lots of conversations regarding chest and rib injuries in this chapter. If you're squeamish to that sort of thing, proceed with caution.

AO3

Maybe the reason Stan recognizes the truck pulling up without even seeing it is because of all the time he’d spent memorizing car types by the sound of their engines back in Colombia. When you’re on the run from a mob boss, it does wonders to differentiate similar looking cars from each other when you’re trying to figure out if the coast is clear when your life depends on it.

He still remembers the pattern of Rico’s car, the way the engine would make quiet tut tut tut tut sounds when he was driving real slow along the path of a dirt road. 

Or maybe he just recognizes this car, since he’s heard it pull up to the Shack parking lot every day since its owner turned sixteen and could finally drive himself, even on the days when he wasn’t scheduled to work. Stan would always try brushing him off with fake annoyance, he’d try sending him home to no avail, but deep down Stan really appreciated that there was someone in town that chose to be in his company for something other than necessity. 

Either way, Stan can recognize Soos’s truck pull up without even getting up from his recliner, and boy does he have a story to tell. He can already picture the stars in Soos’s eyes as he embellishes his tale of how he rescued Mabel from the water tower as it came crashing down, and how the adrenaline from saving his grand-niece’s life cured his fear of heights. He straightens his posture up in his chair, takes a sip from his soda, and waits for the inevitable moment Soos is gonna walk in and sit down on the living room floor like he lives at the pace. 

...but that moment doesn’t come, because Soos never walks through the front door. Stan can hear the muffled sound of Soos talking to Dipper, though he can’t really make out what they’re saying. Soos asks Dipper a question, going by the change in the inflection of his voice, and there’s a long pause before Dipper replies. 

Another long minute passes before the door opens and Dipper walks in by himself. Stan’s about to question him on it, but his mouth closes when he sees that Dipper’s favorite vest is nearly torn to shreds, and his shorts have identical holes in each leg that reveal his scraped knees. Most of his face is blocked off by his pine tree cap, and even the color of that has faded from a pristine white to an unpleasant shade of light brown, caked with dirt and grass stains.

That’s right. The whole reason he’d been hiding out at the arcade all day is because that obnoxious teenage boy with the horrible singing voice had challenged him to a fight over....what, Wendy’s honor, or something? Stan doesn’t know, he usually avoids petty teenage drama like the plague. 

Stan settles for a shrug of his shoulders, and raises his soda can to Dipper as if it were a chalice. “How’d it go, Hercules? You win the girl over, or what?”

Dipper’s laugh is weak in response. He removes his hat to wipe some dirt and crushed leaves from his hair, and it’s when he finally meets his gaze that Stan notices that one of his eyes is swollen and bruised shut. 

“Hah,” Dipper tries for cocky, and it fails miserably when his voice cracks. “You should’ve seen the other-” 

He’s suddenly overcome with an intense coughing fit before he can finish his sentence, keeling over and gripping tightly to his shirt like it’s the only thing keeping his little chest from shattering to pieces. His coughs waver in-between wheezes as his breath hitches like he’s about to start crying from the pain of it all. 

Stan’s up to his feet as soon as he recognizes the motions.  He’d had his fair share of experiencing the same thing Dipper’s going through back in his boxing days. When you fight in an underground ring that once stood as an abandoned speakeasy, your competitors never really followed the standard guidelines of a clean fight. You can only get hit in the chest with a boxing glove underlined with sharp rocks or brass knuckles so many times before you’re bound to crack a rib or two. 

But...there’s no way, right? That Robbie kid that’s always coming into the gift shop to flirt with Wendy looks as though he couldn’t weigh more than a pound heavier than Dipper, and for all his tough guy talk and bleeding heart hoodies he still won’t look Stan directly in the eyes when he addresses him.

“Kid…” Stan takes a knee, and Dipper flinches when Stan gently touches his shoulder. “What happened to you?”

“Oh, you know…” Dipper rolls his eyes, subtly avoiding eye contact with Stan. “Robbie and I were gonna fight, but then we, uh, overheard these two other really tough guys duking it out with each other, and, uh, we didn’t wanna get them in trouble with the police!” He flashes a grin. “So we put our differences aside and...tried to tear them off of each other. But wouldn’t ya know it, these guys thought we were attacking them, see? So, uh, they started beating on us, but uh...we eventually got them to stop so we could explain everything, and we all had a good laugh about it” 

Stan raises a skeptical eyebrow. He’s not sure how the kid’s even related to him, if he’s that bad a liar. He honestly would’ve been more convincing if he’d said he’d given himself the black eye, or just said that Robbie just stuck his foot out and tripped Dipper before walking away. But before Stan can question him again, Dipper’s coughing fit returns, and he drops to his knees, gripping his chest like he was suffering a heart attack. 

Whatever Robbie did to him, he clearly doesn’t want to recount it. For the briefest of moments, Stan’s vision goes red, and the half-full soda can he’d been holding suddenly bursts from the sudden pressure of Stan squeezing it like a stress toy.

...What the fuck? What kind of sick freak thinks it’s funny to beat on some poor kid like he’s a punching bag? And for what? Because he has a silly crush on Wendy that he’s probably never going to act upon? Was he never twelve years old? Did he never go through that phase of crushing on every girl that gave him the time of day? It’s not like Dipper was threatening him, or anything, and even if he had, what kind of coward would Robbie have to be to respond this violently? 

Stan sighs, and the sound of it is gruff and lined with anger. He’ll deal with that kid later.

For now…

He reaches out to place a reassuring hand on Dipper’s shoulder, but catches himself and retracts it to his side. He stands to his feet with a grunt, and awkwardly scratches at the back of his head.

“Y’know, I can...help you out with that”

Dipper stops in his coughing for a moment, if only to ask, “Help me with what?”

“Your chest?” Stan puts his hands to his hips and rolls his shoulder. “You think your Great Uncle Stan got so good at fighting and punching things naturally? I’m flattered, kiddo, but I can recognize a damaged rib when I see one.”

“Damaged?” Dipper whispers in horror, grip on his shirt tightening. 

“Whoa, whoa, easy there” Stan’s back to his knee in an instant, resting a large hand on top of Dipper’s frail arm. “These kinds of things happen all the time, see? They ever tell you how easy it is to break someone’s rib when you’re doing CPR?”

Dipper, who’d started chewing anxiously at the collar of his shirt, spits it out, “Y-yeah, we talked about in health class” 

“See? They just snap easy, is all. All you gotta do is follow a few simple home remedies and you’ll be good as new before you know it.”

Dipper raises an eyebrow. “Grunkle Stan, I’m not sure I trust your definition of a home remedy” 

“Ha!” Stan laughs loudly. “I like you, kid. Nah, home remedy just means you don’t need any doctor to charge you hundreds when he’s just going to tell you things you could’ve figured out yourself.”

He stands again. “Find somewhere comfy to sit, kiddo, you’re gonna be there for a while. I’ll run into the kitchen and grab a few things for you that’ll also help with that black eye of yours, while we’re at it”.

“Okay,” Dipper mumbles, his voice sounding closer and closer to a whimper, and he sits down on Stan’s recliner. Just before Dipper can settle his back against the rest, though, Stan gently reaches behind Dipper’s back and hands him the extra cushion. 

“And, uh, if you start having another coughing fit, which you probably will, try holding this to your chest instead of clawing at your chest with your hands. It’ll hurt a lot less” 

Dipper doesn’t respond with words this time, just with a small smile as he reaches for the remote on the recliner's armrest, and that’s all the response Stan needs. He disappears into the kitchen and opens the fridge to look around for something that could suffice as an ice pack. Stan curses under his breath at himself for not picking up a box of gel packs the last time he was at the store, but chalks it up as a mental note to just buy double what he thinks he needs next time he’s there just in case. 

Stan eyes fall on a half-eaten bag of frozen corn forced closed with a hair tie, and places it on the counter beside him. That should suffice for his chest, since Dipper could just place it between the armrest and himself so he doesn’t even have to bother trying to hold it in place. Humming to himself, Stan continues to rummage through the fridge to find something...softer for Dipper to hold over his black eye. 

He freezes when he comes across the large steak packed away with the other meat cuts. Does he dare live up to the stereotype? He’s not even sure if it was ever proven whether or not using a steak for a black eye even did anything, and he was never able to afford one when he was younger when he needed something to take care of his own black eyes.

As a matter of fact, it’s a miracle he can even afford the steak now. He remembers purchasing it after a particularly good sales week, and how he told himself that it’s for special occasions, and that he’d only buy it just this once, because he knew if they became a regular purchase he’d bankrupt himself before the end of the tourist season. He holds the slowly defrosting package in his hand, weighing his options, when the sound of Dipper laughing weakly at something on the TV rings into the kitchen from the other room.

...Screw it. 

He closes the fridge door, and rips open the plastic packaging surrounding the steak cut. He takes the roll of paper towels off of its stand, and uses it to wrap the bag of frozen corn, and carries the two makeshift ice packs back out to where Dipper’s still sitting in front of the television.

“Uh, bon appetit” He says, offering the two makeshift ice packs to Dipper. He laughs, squishing the cushion against his chest as he takes them.

“I know you’re just trying to help, but I think it’s low even for you to expect me to cook my own dinner after this”, he smirks. “You could’ve at least asked if I even wanted steak and…” he shakes the bundle of paper towel in his hand “...whatever this is.”

“Hardy har har” Stan replies sarcastically, and takes a knee beside the recliner. “Look, I know a lot of these are gonna sound contrasting, but you have to follow my advice very carefully.” He holds up the bundle of paper towels. “This one’s for your chest. All that coughing you’re doing is gonna hurt your rib even more, and in a little while you’re gonna see some bruising. Try to keep this ice pack on the places where the bruising looks the worst. You’re gonna wanna keep it there as long as you can handle it the next couple of days. If it gets too cold, you gotta adjust the paper towels, and if it stops feeling cold at all you have to replace your pack” He scratches at the back of his neck. “Right now that’s corn, because it’s the first thing in the fridge I could find, but I’m sure there are a lot better things in there you could use in case it defrosts”

He holds up the steak. “This one should be pretty obvious. I made sure that frozen bundle for your chest was small so you could use it without holding it, but this one’s another story entirely. This one you’ve got to hold up to your eye, but don’t push on it. Just sort of...squish it up to your face.” He shrugs. “You gotta keep at it until you’re sure the swelling goes down, and then you’re gonna need to switch to a hot compress instead”

Stan just knows that one day, once Dipper's better, he’s going to corner him and ask how he knows all of this medical information. He just knows he is. Better not dwell on that now, and as soon as the kid doesn’t need his immediate attention he can always sneak off so he can think of a good excuse that’ll convince the kid to get off his back about it. 

Oh, and while he’s on the subject of sneaking off…

“Now listen to this last part, and listen good. This is the most important rule, and if I catch you breaking it I’m driving you to the hospital and leaving you there”.

That came out a lot harsher than he intended, but Dipper’s frantic nod is enough to tell him he got the picture. 

“For the next couple of days, I don’t want to hear a peep about you running around in the woods trying to solve some spooky mystery. I don’t wanna hear you jumping into the passenger side of Soos’s truck, and I don’t want to hear you running into Wendy’s arms even if she suddenly decides she wants to marry you, or something”

Dipper’s face goes beet red. “Uh, actually, that last one-” 

“Doesn’t matter” he cuts him off. “You go running off into those woods and you’re going to make it all worse. Got it?”

Dipper looks hurt, but Stan can tell it’s not him he’s upset at. 

“Yes, Grunkle Stan” he murmurs, and Stan grins as he stands to his feet, ruffling Dipper’s hair.

“Ah, cheer up kid, it’s not gonna be as terrible as you think it is. You get to sleep down here in the recliner instead of walking all the way up those creaky stairs, and I bet if I even mention the idea of a slumber party to your sister she’s gonna bring your whole bedroom down here to keep you company” 

Dipper huffs in quiet laughter. “Yeah, yeah, I guess that doesn’t sound too awful” 

“See?” Stan snaps his fingers. “You’re sounding better already.” There’s a pause, as an idea comes to him, and then, “You think you’d be okay if I stepped out for an hour or so? Your sister should be around here somewhere if you need anything”

Dipper blinks. “You’re leaving so soon after you told me I couldn’t?” 

Stan laughs. “Just gotta run some old man errands, kiddo, I don’t think they’d be up your alley even if you could come with” 

“...Fair enough” Dipper shrugs, and slumps back into his chair. 

~~

Once Stan pulls his car into downtown, it doesn’t take long to find where Robbie had disappeared to. The old car he definitely borrowed from his parents based on the bumper stickers is parked right out in the open in the lot of the arcade, almost as if he was acting like nothing had happened between him and Dipper at all. 

Stan parked his own car beside his, and with a quick glance in one direction he could see that Robbie’s car was empty, which meant he must be inside, and a quick glance to the other direction told him that there weren’t any cops around. 

Perfect. 

Opening his car door as quietly as he can, Stan slips out of the door of his car and crouches as low as he can towards Robbie’s car, lest anyone in the arcade catch onto what he’s doing.  From his suit he pulls a pocket knife, and in one, two, three quick motions he slashes the wheels of the car, leaving only one perfectly intact.  With a grin on his face he slinks back into car and speeds away from the arcade as fast as he can, screaming out the open window that nobody messes with the Pines family and gets off scot-free. 

[redcreekstudios]

Red Creek: Dark Realm Chapter 5: beast with no name

Warning: this story contains, violance, weapons, death, suicide, gore, horror aspects, and other forms of death and horror, talk of spirits religion and the underworld and things manifested in between. if not prepared do not read i wouldnt want anyone to get triggered Clark stood outside the building and heard the church bells ring and as the students left the school and the clouds in the sky bundled up as it started to rain, the little droplets of water hitting the brim of his hat and his back and shoulders, his hand twitched as he looked to the sky and let out a deep breath as he heard a tire screech twords the center of town and he walked over. some guy had his truck parked awkwardly next to the bar in the lot and the sheriffs car was there and he sighed seeing Marcus's car along with Otis's and he walked inside, the room was silent but murmurs left some booths on the outside of the floor and he looked at them as they stood up and left first Mountain man the Becker story now there was some guy at the bar rambling to Otis Marcus and Victor as Owen leaned on the wall at the entrance next to Clark "so...find anything" he said taking a deep breath in of his cigarette and blew out the smoke and looked at the man in the seat "no sheriff i didn't find anything but more of those dumb stories" he said as Owen nodded "ok then i suppose you didnt see a wendigo monster running around?" he said smirking smugly as he put a hand in his pocket still holding onto the cigarette "what? no, what are you talking about" he said watching the man keep rambling as he looked to Clark and then his hand "YOU! you-...you bare the mark...the mark of death...the beast wants you it wants you" Clark was shocked a bit and kept his cool as Owen rolled his eyes "whoa now no need to freak out and what mark?" Clark asked almost utterly confused with all the talk about spirits monsters and a middle realm "y-you dont see it? OUR DEMISE IS NEAR! THE DEATH OF THIS TOWN" he yelled out before Clark noticed something about his eyes his left eye was turning black as was the right one "sir...im going to half to ask you to calm down" he said reaching for his taser as the man had silenced and Owen narrowed his eyes and Otis victor and Marcus watched "this is getting odd lets scram" he said as Marcus led Otis out and vic held his hand on the shotgun below the bar as Owen let out a breath "take him to the station will ya?" he said as he left Clark knelled down and looked at him "sir whats your name?" he asked as he pulled out handcuffs and stood up with him "..." he stayed silent and Clark looked to Victor "take care pal ill be back soon" he said taking the man into his car and taking him into the station and into a cell "he should be fine in there" Owen said sipping on a coffee and handed Clark one "i dont get it...first hank now this guy shows up?" he said as he sipped his coffee "well deputy your guess is better than mine" he said laughing a bit "ill watch him while you investigate" he said as the rain had calmed down to a light mist, Clark walked out of the building under the flagpole of the station and across the street to the parking lot and then the treeline seeing nothing "i know your watching me better just come out than do nothing" he said as he heard a heavy breathing and scratching noise "where are you" he said once more the skittering behind him then in front of him and a shadow like figure appeared from behind his car but more human like with fangs ragged clothing and long fingers and bright white soulless eyes and it made a screeching noise as it lurched at him as Clark stepped back a bit falling back and onto the steps of the station the beast hopping on top of him scratching his face "...kill die kill die kill eat...flesh" the being said before being kicked off and Clark slowly got up holding his gun at him and the being was shifty as its body twitched like an energetic child and the sound of thunder revealed it was some sort of goblin creature slender like and hungry "what the hell are you?" he asked before the creature smiled wide "YOUR DOOM!"

it said as the crack of thunder and lighting struck in the distance as it ran up to him as Clark hesitated to pull the trigger and ran into the woods through the trees the goblin running fast behind him crawling as if it were an animal "you cant run!" it said as it chased

after and it went silent as Clark hid behind a tree and held his breath his heart pounding as he heard it walking around "i can smell your fear...all those monsters and spirits wont laugh at me now will they" he said laughing and it crawled on the side of the tree quietly and down to Clark jumping in front of him holding his throat and pushed Clark down against the tree "NOW DIE YOU LITTLE-" he was cut off by the sound of a loud chunk and some blood left the creatures face as it fell backwards on the ground. Clark looked up catching his breath holding his side and held his gun up as he saw the vivid light of a lantern, and out of the shadows came mountain man "you...saved me?" he said still holding his gun up as the spirit pulled the Hatchet out of the creatures skull "yes...this shouldn't happen however" he said as he put his hand out, Clark was still skeptical but he did help him so he took his hand and got up and coughed "the fuck is that thing?" he said looking down at it "its a lurker" it said as he looked at him "its not of this realm" the spirit said as Clark leaned on the tree "a lurker...? what the fuck does that mean" Clark said sounding angry than before "Clark what if i told you every tale every myth every monster, ghost story where true" he said as some thunder sounded off in the distance "no...no way" he said as he held his side "oh but it is...i am one of those spirits the one they call mountain man is i" he said before holding up the lantern "i am but a humble wayfaring spirit but with some curse" he said looking back at the creature "the book you found...it has the answers to what you want i leave that knowledge with you knowing you'll find a way to do good with it just as i have and the people before and after me" he said as Clark was still confused "wait slow down pal i dont understand it doesn't make sense" he said as the spirit held his hand and took a deep breath "someone opened a gateway to our world letting that thing through use the book and destroy the gateway" he said as he let go "your mark isn't a curse its a sign of hope...use it" he said turning around walking away as Clark winced a bit in pain "WAIT! DONT GO!" he disappeared in the dark as clark slowly slid down the tree and onto the ground falling asleep in the storm.

[retphienix]

I did it :)

So, I cried. That's a given.

Also this might be the most overwhelmingly happy ending in the series so far, you know, if you're used to every entry ending with "KIRYU DIE?????"

Bonus points because this ending DID NOT immediately reveal that he lives! I know my intro here is all unserious and the like but genuinely, that does a lot for making the scene so much more impactful and it worked here even though I know he returns for Y6.

So, I'm gonna do this post like the last big post because there's too many thoughts to expel.

Timestamps as I rewatch so I can share my thoughts. Then a short conclusion because honestly? This game has taken all my words multiple times.

I just want to calmly and happily say my final piece at the end :)

0:39 - Spoiler, this ending SUCKS because it doesn't include a final rhythm battle for Haruka! Now I think I read somewhere that there's a member of that assassin clan she can dance battle as a final challenge but I clearly didn't do that right and missed out and that's beside the point- THERE'S NO RHYTHM GAMEPLAY IN THIS FINALE >:(

9:00 - I EARNED IT, I'M USING IT!

13:00 - Spoiler for later, Shinada doesn't get to say this from what I recall. Instead Baba gets a different wake up call, but that works out :)

17:00 - Not now, but this will come up, I offer to you my johns for what happens in the first boss fight. My eyes were dry as hell so I missed some QTEs which means I didn't get the flashiest stuff to happen. This actually happened at the end of Y4 also but I restarted just to capture good footage- not this time.

17:30 - MOUSE. MOUSE MOUSE, A LITTLE RAT, MOUSE. Love to see it.

19:00 - The audible sigh I let out when they played the same song I've heard like 40 times in my playthrough was palpable. I do dig the song! But there are what? 4 Idol songs? They really needed more or to not saturate their use so much :(

19:40 - I legitimately gasped and went "Oh no... of course it's you!" at Baba's role in this. It added a lot of weight to the way he practically begged Haruka not to show up.

20:50 - So here's the gist. Majima's plan didn't work out, we know that. Majima has a REALLY good line and motivator moment where he says he's following orders now to protect Haruka because she means more to Kiryu than anything (and that's how Majima rolls), Majima then reveals some shit which can be amounted to "I think you've gotten weak and wanted to protect you!!!!" which does ring slightly hollow since we saw Majima at a ridiculously low point earlier. So either his low point was him contemplating Saejima's survival chances, or his low point was sincere (it sure sounded it) and his worry over Saejima being weak was just also happening at the same time. I don't really mind either way to be honest, we beat him up. I fail some QTEs.

33:00 - Baba deciding not to fulfill his orders on his own accord is actually extremely important and good as hell. It shows that all this changed him and gave him the motivation to forge his own path- or rather it began to though he's overwhelmed with doubt. It's extremely good.

33:50 - The fact he intentionally leaves evidence shows how much doubt he has though, he's giving up entirely more than forging his own path, he's just refusing to follow the orders of another but hasn't found the strength to continue on his own. It's really good is all.

38:00 - This was the first cry I had beating the game x.x Shinada is just a phenomenally likeable character, and watching him accept where his life has gone and what it's meant to others is way more touching than I'd assume considering it's a tale of a baseball star.

40:50 - THIS WAS HYPE AS HELL AND LEAD TO MY SECOND CRY. THIS PRISON FAMILY HAS NO RIGHT BEING THIS ENDEARING. Also, more or less, they get to deliver the message Shinada was supposed to lol.

42:50 - THIRD AND BIG AS HELL CRY. SHINADA YOU FOOL, YOU'VE A FOUND FAMILY AFTER-ALL!!! I genuinely adore this moment so much is all. It's such a wonderful payoff for this loveable fool. After all the runnin' away he has a home.

43:36 - I love Shinada so much the silly fuck.

46:00 - I got a laugh out of Akiyama KICKING ASS in the news footage (didn't mention but the first brawl cutscene was rather lacking wasn't it?) and Kiryu just like... punches a guy. It's hilarious to me. Also you best believe- I UNLOCKED IT, I'M USING IT!!!

48:00 - Now this is a, well, it's a bad reveal. Like look, there is a metric ton of good going on in this finale- but the reveal that Aizawa is his son and is evil and is the final boss is just too much zero-build-up-payoff. It's the worst part. It's not like extremely detrimental or anything- like it doesn't take away from the good stuff- but it's just entirely uninteresting and bad. It makes Aizawa's interest in Morinaga bizarre and uninteresting since he got no payoff, he had buildup with Saejima and then in the final scenes he's just like "Yeah, Mori was nice but who gives a fuck I am the one who killed him (I think he said) and I aspire to be strong as fuck because all of YOU IDIOTS have FRIENDS and CHARISMA >:(" and like, who fuckin' cares bud.

52:00 - Now I'll more or less sum up all of Akiyama's payoff here. 1- I unlocked it so I'm gonna use it! 2- He offhandedly says he wants to be a legend in this town, which in Y4 he already was- he was a myth, a city mystery- but of course he means like Kiryu not the loch ness monster. 3- He gets to be a legend by being the only civilian (or person in general) the Omi would bow to. It's kind of not built up at all and is a bit lame, but to be honest Akiyama has a pretty bit part in this entire game. He's kinda just a convenient returning character with motivation to assist Kiryu and a career that allows motivation to get involved through Park. To be blunt, his part in the story is weak. I wish it was stronger. But it's inoffensive and he at least gets something- as minor as it is. Getting to say he's king of the world is something, you know?

56:00 - I will say that the build up of "Oh shit, these are Kanai's men!" and the reveal that "Oh shit! They are WATASE'S men and all the clans who the Tojo were seeking alliances with!" is a good one. Watase is a fine enough character which I bring up only because I was told he was a standout- but he wasn't for me. His scenes are great, his growth with Katsuya is nice, but he's barely in the game and really only exists to be betrayed and then to be like "I'm one of the good yakuza despite being a war-lusting one because being a good yakuza is just complicated enough to allow this overlap" which is interesting for sure, but I don't know. Unless he does stuff in the subsequent games I didn't catch much in this one. Maybe he does- I assume he runs the Omi now!

1:00:00 - I kinda summed it up but yeah. Here's the final boss, Aizawa, a character we were mislead on and who's motivation is empty as fuck. It's, whatever. It's not the good part of the ending. The good part is everything prior and directly after. Like his entire deal is anti-silver-spoon talking points but also he includes being charismatic or capable as silver spoon-isms??? He pretty much just wants to be leader because he's strong. He'd arguably be more interesting if he just said it that way.

1:11:00 - The lyrics to Dream are anything but subtle and I love them and I love Haruka. Sliding this in here- Majima gets no payoff >:( Park's dream is accomplished in seeing her star on the stage, but no Majima moment? No sight of him accepting her loss? Lame.

1:14:00 - I genuinely LOVE that Aizawa focuses in on Kiryu's gunshot wound. He still accepts it as a fair fight because Kiryu presents it as one, but even then he pays mind to it as you'd expect someone wanting to fight at their strongest would- he wants to fight Kiryu at his best and he's accepting this because Kiryu presents as his best even when wounded- it's pretty cool. Fight happens. It's fine stuff, flashy and fun. Still maybe the weakest final boss yet because he has no build up. I'd be the first to admit without looking it up I can't list every final boss thus far, but like, Nishi was built up, Mine was built up, Goda was built up, I just, in this moment, don't recall having a big "WHO THE FUCK, THIS MEANS NOTHING?" fight in yakuza and this is certainly one of those.

1:25:00 - I cried AGAIN. Haruka just hit me with a truck of emotion here is all.

1:41:15 - This is a beautifully shot, emotional, and tragic looking ending. Heck, at 1:43:00 I initially thought he was being awoken in a hospital bed and I was like "Heh, there's the old Kiryu dies fakeout!" but no! They hammer home, they go for broke, they give a TRAGIC AS FUCK bitter ending on top of an ending that's like 99% happy as fuck in terms of offering everyone involved hope for the future. This was a good end :)

So then, some overall thoughts I maybe didn't get out- I mean there's no way this post touches everything but I want to at least try to because I like sharin' the experience and what I got out of it.

The fighting styles were mighty uneven as far as strengths or fun factor. To be blunt,

Kiryu has an overpowered counter attack and heat mode and since heat mode is underwhelming as hell that means he has JUST a counter attack- his strikes don't really hit all that well considering the improvements other characters saw this time around, so he's a bit one note here.

Saejima feel even meatier than before, nothing particularly 'stands out' but the fact that he has super armor as long as he has heat is a pretty big factor in making him feel good to use.

Akiyama got the short end of the straw this time around. His new gimmick is the launch combos and they are... well... less than shit at least from what I could feel during gameplay. They don't hurt much, they burn heat like crazy, and they can MISS, all while being a move that targets just one enemy- has no counter to blocking or armor- and provides no armor in turn.

Despite not losing anything, he kinda got screwed.

(I'm lead to believe Akiyama is invulnerable during his aerial combos which my blurb in my finale post complained felt worthless and cited that as a reason.

If so then I was wrong but I still hold all my other complaints towards it, just not the 'it has no armor or invuln' bit assuming that's true.)

Shinada wins out for being unique and being a weapon oriented character that actually does well with weapons. Weapons have always been something I pretty much ignore in Yakuza and the series itself has always desperately tried to make them interesting with things like weapon skills, Kamiya works, and the like. But other than the god weapons like the golden gun weapons just never felt good to manage.

Using them, sure, that's fine, but managing them? Durability and skills and limited movesets and all that? Nah. But Shinada really does a lot to make them less shit! His innate abilities that raise durability a metric ton REALLY make weapons feel better to use with him- and his unique movesets with weapons are pretty damn good (mostly. The pipe/'normal one hander pole size object' moveset is worthless as heck, it regularly misses).

He's fun.

===

Revelations were a miss this time around for me. Since you couldn't have seen them if you tried on my blog let it be known- I ONLY got the quest related revelations for each character- which is to say- ONE rev per character.

Revelations in 5 are weapon based, and not just 'bat or pole or gun' or whatever- they are DISPOSABLE TEMPORARY weapon based.

What you are supposed to do is go to the specific place on the map where that one revelation weapon spawns, hope like hell you find an enemy, and wail on them like crazy. If you use a weapon x amount of times then you'll get a revelation according to the internet. This is beyond ridiculous and means a normal playthrough will get none of these, while a focused one will be bored out of their mind GRINDING to get these.

I did not bother.

===

Now.

Yakuza 5.

This might be my favorite Yakuza overall.

I still think 0 is probably the best overall for most people, it has the best style, it has from what I've experienced the best gameplay, it's story is tear jerking and exciting and fun.

But as a yakuza game overall, I really have to give it to 5 personally. Because 0 tried to work within its bounds- it made itself a great entry point to the series or a great addition to Yakuza 1 / Kiwami as background.

But 5 is building on 4 previous games and it does so fucking phenomenally.

There's something to be said about a later entry in a series gaining extra payoff thanks to multiple entries of build up and character depth and 5 fucking does it.

I just. It explores the motivation of some fan-favorites so well, it expands characters so fucking well, I know I've harped on about it but just Saejima- man! Saejima goes from a run of the mill "Decent" character to a fully fledged and explored entity! And I LOVE him!

And no he's not the only shining spot, like hell he is, but he's such a posterchild for what 5 does right in my eyes- take something that's already good and breath some life into it. Also I adore it's laser focus on a singular theme and all the ways it wanted to explore it.

Like. I think Kiwami and Zero take the cake for the most fun I've had " 'playing' Yakuza so far, but 5 takes the cake for the most fun I've had 'in general' like gameplay and me just thinking about it because there's so much to think on.

More time will tell as I compartmentalize my thoughts and perhaps forget some details as one does, but right this moment- this might be my favorite Yakuza game.

I love it.

Also, woot! I beat Y5 before Monhun Rise came out :D Now I can start that game without putting a story on hold!

...

Except I also told my sister that I'd start Omori after Y5. So I guess alongside monhun I'll be playing through a game with a hefty and wonderfully done story. Which is what I didn't want to do with Y5.

I just can't win, lol.

[letterboxd]

Making Waves.

“I live in Florida, my cat’s in the movie. It is incredibly personal.” Waves writer and director Trey Edward Shults opens up about his filmmaking process, reveals the movies that made him fall in love with cinema, and gushes about fellow A24 alum Robert Eggers.

Trey Edward Shults doesn’t want to spoil Waves. We don’t want to spoil Waves either. To even begin to describe its unconventional structure would be a spoiler. We’ve said too much already. Just know it’s a sweeping melodrama that solidifies Shults as one of the defining American voices of the decade.

The coming-of-age family drama centers on brother Tyler (Shults regular and breakout star Kelvin Harrison Jr., pictured above) and sister Emily (Taylor Russell), their relationships and struggles with each other, their parents (Sterling K. Brown and Renée Elise Goldsberry), and first loves (Alexa Demie and Lucas Hedges). This is Shults’ third collaboration with A24 after his DIY debut Krisha (set in the same family house as Waves, and similarly playful with its aspect ratio), and the polarizing horror It Came At Night.

While its structure hasn’t worked for everyone, Waves has captured the enthusiasm of many Letterboxd members in a profound way. “This is the coming-of-age movie to end coming-of-age,” writes ActionTomasello. “The less you know of it, the better it is going into this one.” It’s been added to the popular ‘You’re not the same person once the film has finished’ list, and the film’s soundtrack, collected into this Spotify playlist by Letterboxd member Ella, is one of the most-mentioned contributing factors to its success. Writes Nick: “A soundtrack that’s meant for a specific group of people that I’m a part of. It feels too perfect how someone made a film filled with songs from Kanye, Frank Ocean, Radiohead and many others. It feels like one long, sad, fucked-up music video.”

But no Letterboxd review currently beats Jack’s heartfelt letter to Shults: “Your film has moved me to better myself, to love, and to meet my emotions head on. Thank you.” (He also put it in his top five of all time.)

We caught up with Shults to learn how Waves was conceived and executed, and investigate which films have hit him the hardest.

Taylor Russel as Emily in ‘Waves’.

You often draw your films from your personal experiences and you’ve described Waves as autobiographical. Can you go into some detail about which life experiences fed into this film? Trey Edward Shults: Where to start? In broad strokes, I was a wrestler and tore my shoulder in the same way as Tyler. The relationships between Tyler and Alexis and also Emily and Luke are inspired by my girlfriend and [me] in the good moments, bad moments, and everything in between. Their parents are inspired by my parents. I live in Florida, my cat’s in the movie. It is incredibly personal, but I had a huge collaboration with Kelvin, and then as more actors came on it got more collaborative, so it really started from this personal place and grew out of that.

How do you reconcile your relationship to your own suffering with the fact it’s become your livelihood and commodity? It’s very strange. When we recreated events in Missouri I think that was the furthest I’ve ever gone. That shoot was an all-consuming dread and I broke down, it was very hard. I would question: “Is this healthy? Is this right?”, but I came out the other side happy I did it. It was cathartic. My mom and my step-dad are therapists and I would be a total mess without them, though I’m not in therapy right now. Working through these movies is a bit of therapy.

I’m trying to make personal things that I hope connect with other people, especially this movie. Going through life and getting to the other side of it and having perspective informed me a lot. Whether it’s just tonally or pacing-wise, I wanted the film to spiritually feel that way.

The film’s photography is remarkable, especially the first act, when you have your fullest frame. Can you take us inside how you executed some of those spinning 360-degree shots? For the car shots we took out the middle console of the truck and put a slider that went from the backseat to the front. Basically, the dolly grip and I were crammed down hiding behind the car seats and the grip pushed the camera from the back to the front. Drew [Daniels, the director of photography] was in the car behind us with a remote, so he’s operating the spinning and I have a monitor in the back. That way I could talk to the kids in the car and I also had a walkie so I could talk to Drew.

A lot of the dynamic camera stuff was a case-by-case scenario, sometimes it was just running behind our steadicam operator or just hiding and letting them go and play. We wanted the camera to be purely motivated by where our main character’s emotional state of mind was, so it’s all coming from them, but then we also wanted to figure out the technical shit and make it feel to the actors that the camera disappeared and we’re not even there. So it was an interesting balance getting there. It’s a second skin for us and we know exactly what we’re after visually, but let’s disappear and let the kids play and we’ll adapt to them.

Since our name is ‘Letterboxd’, I feel obligated to ask you an aspect-ratio question. Can you share with us how you built this intuition to change at will—did you have films you saw that you feel did this well? That’s a good question, because this one really felt like it was building off what I did with Krisha and pushing it further. I do remember The Grand Budapest Hotel came out right before I started Krisha and it had the three aspect ratios to separate [its] time periods, which was really cool to me. I think I got really excited about using aspect ratio to echo the character’s state of mind. That was the goal with that, especially for Tyler’s trajectory.

The soundtrack is getting some acclaim. Do you have any songs you wanted to fit in but couldn’t find the room, or couldn’t clear the rights for? I realized there were so many songs I wanted in it, but the movie told you what works. If you tried to force it on, it didn’t work. It started with the writing and it worked its way organically. The final soundtrack is pretty close to what was in the script though I think a few changed along the way. We got incredibly lucky that we got everything we wanted. I don’t know how we did it. It was a long process and our last song didn’t even clear until after Telluride and Toronto.

Trey Edward Shults and Sterling K. Brown on the set of ‘Waves’. / Photo: Monica Lek

There are shades of Chungking Express, Magnolia and Moonlight in the film’s DNA. What were some other films you watched or recommended to your cast and crew as preparation? Funny thing is we didn’t do a lot of movie-watching for preparation. Drew and I lived in the same house so we’d always have a movie on. We were watching The Story of Film a lot—the giant anthology series and study of the history of cinema, incredible. What we watched would totally range, it could be things like Ordinary People and Raging Bull, to The Tree of Life and I Am Cuba, to Boogie Nights and Punch-Drunk Love. We would take inspiration from anything, even a film like Yi Yi. It’s a completely different cinematic approach.

Yi Yi might just be the best film about family, so it’s a good start (Lulu Wang also mentioned it in our recent chat with her about The Farewell). That’s the thing exactly: even though Waves is made in such a different way, I think spiritually they’re sprawling tales of family. That’s one of my favorite movies. For the cast, we didn’t actually talk about movies that much. It was more about Florida, music and the character dynamics and all that good stuff.

Which movie scene makes you cry the hardest? One that just popped in my head is Dancer in the Dark. When Björk escapes in her head doing these musical numbers and it leads to the end, to the most devastating thing possible, it broke me. That movie’s rough, man. That’s not one I could watch and have good cries or something. I can’t rewatch it because it’s utterly traumatizing. I was probably crying for hours after it, I felt dead.

Which film makes you laugh the hardest? The most recent film that made me laugh the hardest is What We Do in the Shadows. I saw it for the first time on an airplane sitting next to a stranger and I think they thought something was wrong with me. Then I got home to Florida and showed it to my girlfriend, and her brother came home and we watched it again. It never got old.

Who was the most relatable coming-of-age film character for you? It’s hard because when I was a teen I was obsessed with sports and then it was music. I’m trying to think who I related to the most. Man, I don’t know. Nothing is coming to mind. Shocking.

What film do you wish you made? I’ll go with There Will Be Blood. It’s the first film that popped in my head.

What mind-fuck movies changed you for life and why? There were three that I saw pretty close together at a young age: Boogie Nights, A Clockwork Orange and Raging Bull. I had a digital cable box in my room, so I would sneak and watch a lot of things that my parents didn’t know I was watching. They just rocked my world. Until that point it was all Aliens and Terminator and every big action movie, so then when I saw those films it was like “this is what movies can be! What the hell is this?”.

I remember with Raging Bull I didn’t actually enjoy it. I was like, “This isn’t Rocky but I can’t stop watching.” It’s like a trainwreck and I’m fascinated but I don’t know if I like it, then I was obsessed with it and it’s one of my favorite movies now. Boogie Nights and A Clockwork Orange felt like a bigger vision was at work. It wasn’t just something made out in the ether, it was a specific singular vision and I cannot stop looking at it.

Sterling K. Brown in ‘Waves’.

What’s the most overlooked movie from A24? Shoot, I wish I could look at the catalogue right now. I’m just gonna go with The Spectacular Now because I just watched it again on the airplane and I thought it was really beautiful. It’s a good one, man.

Lastly, it’s time for best-of-decade lists. What’s the greatest film of the 2010s? When we interviewed Robert Eggers, Waves was his first choice. Shut up, come on! Oh my god, Rob’s the best. I will say that The Lighthouse is my favorite film of the year, without a doubt. I’m obsessed with it. I could gush about him for hours. He’s not just one of the greatest young filmmakers, he’s one of the great filmmakers working now. Honestly though, for my decade number one I gotta go with The Tree of Life. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time so I would put that at number one, and then The Lighthouse is close to it.

‘Waves’ is distributed by A24 and is playing in select US cinemas now. Photos courtesy A24.

[awake-not-today]

NamKook The Gifted Hands / Psychometry AU:

Detective Kim Namjoon is investigating the case of a child disappearance. When the child’s body is found, Namjoon finds himself trailing a murderer.

During his investigation he remembers a run in he’d had with a graffiti artist one night, and the artwork he’d done depicting the scene in which the child’s body was found.

The graffiti which had been painted a month before the discovery of the child’s body.

Jeon Jungkook is a small time graffiti artist with a secret, the power to see the memories of any living thing he touches. He hides himself away from the world, ashamed of who he is, that is until he’s thrown head first into a murder investigation and becomes the prime suspect.

 Part two of ?

<<<<

Fic starts under the cut

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Four weeks.

It had been four of the longest weeks of Kim Namjoon’s life, and nothing. The girl had disappeared without a trace. No CCTV. No evidence. No witnesses. Not a single person knew where this little girl had gone. Not one god damn person even remembered seeing her that day. All he knew was that she walked out of her preschool onto the playground and she vanished into thin air.

The frequent calls from her mother were painful. The wailing and screaming as she broke down again and again when Namjoon explained that he had nothing. It was like being stuck in his own personal Groundhog Day, reliving her agony over and over. He didn’t understand it. How could someone just disappear? Especially someone so young. And why did Namjoon feel like he was the only person that cared?

Day and night he’d pounded the pavement, knocking on doors, handing out flyers, searching high and low. He must have interviewed the entire neighbourhood at least three times, asking the same questions only to receive the same answers. It was frustrating, upsetting. Someone had to know something. Four year old girls don’t just run away from home.

The possibility of her going to a family member or family friend was off the cards too. As Namjoon investigated further he’d discovered that the woman and her daughter didn’t have anyone else. The woman would drop her daughter at preschool, go to work, pick her daughter up at the end of the day from the playground, and take her along to her next job. They had no other family, and their neighbours barely knew them past a greeting. It made the investigation all the more difficult, leaving Namjoon with no leads at all.

Even Hoseok had tried to help, hanging fliers on lampposts, handing them out from his food truck. But nothing. Not one single measly shred of evidence could be found. It was beyond frustrating. But Namjoon wouldn’t give up. Not yet. Not when he knew that someone somewhere had to know something, not when this little girl was out there alone.

Flopping back in his seat, Namjoon looked at the clock. 9:15pm. He groaned, pushing his hair back from his forehead, and readying the footage he’d gotten from nearby stores to be played again, when he heard a quiet voice behind him.

“Namjoon hyung?”

“Hmm?” Namjoon turned, finding one of the junior detectives standing behind him with a mug of coffee. He held it out, allowing Namjoon to take it from him with a smile. “Thanks, Taehyung.”

“Can I help?” Taehyung offered, stepping a little closer. Namjoon eyed him warily, watching as the young man gestured to the open case file, and waited for the punchline. Nobody wanted to help Namjoon. Nobody wanted to work with him. The precinct joke, that’s all he was to these people. He’d been begging for help for weeks. Namjoon looked up at Taehyung again and nodded a little, pushing out a chair for him to take a seat. “I’ve been following your case. It doesn’t seem right that there wasn’t more men put on this.”

“Yeah, well. Commissioner decided missing kids don’t matter as much as publicity apparently.” Taehyung flinched a little at the bitterness in Namjoon’s tone, causing Namjoon to smile weakly in apology. Seokjin had tried to free up some other men, even just one person. The commissioner wouldn’t have it, insisting everyone work on the drugs case. “Sorry. I guess I’m just exhausted. Everyone has been working on the bust case, and I’ve been running this one by myself.”

“When was the last time you went home, Joon?” The question caught him off guard and Namjoon thought for a moment, sipping the coffee he’d been given. He furrowed his brow, laughing a little. “When was the last time you had a real night’s sleep?”

“I’m not sure? Maybe five days ago? Going home I mean. I can’t remember the last time I slept.” Taehyung frowned, concerned.

“Go home, hyung.” Taehyung’s voice was gentle, his hand reaching out to take the mug from Namjoon’s grasp. “I’ll watch the tapes again, okay? You need to sleep.”

“I’m fine, Taehyung.”

“Go home, or I’ll call chief Seokjin.” Namjoon wasn’t sure, worrying his lip as he looked over the file spread out over his desk. Taehyung rolled his eyes and stood, pulling Namjoon to his feet unsteadily. “I’ll call you if I find anything, alright? You need to look at everything again with fresh eyes.”

“Okay.” Namjoon sighed, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Taehyung was right, of course. Namjoon wouldn’t be any use at all if he made himself sick. He tugged on his tie, loosening it up, and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “I’ll go grab a couple hours sleep and freshen up. Everything I have is there. If you find anything, anything, you call me immediately. Got it?”

“I’ll call. Go on home.” Taehyung waved him off with a smile, settling back in his seat and setting the first video to play. Namjoon watched him for a second and turned, heading out to get some rest.

Hoseok was out when Namjoon slouched into the apartment, tossing his jacket onto the counter as he kicked off his shoes. Taking off his tie and shirt, he wandered through to his bedroom and collapsed onto his bed, out for the count almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Someone pummelling their fist on his apartment door awoke him some hours later, breaking him from a nightmare that had left him in a cool sweat. He turned, glancing at the clock on his bedside, realizing he’d been asleep almost ten hours. The incessant banging continued, and from somewhere in the apartment Namjoon heard Hoseok grumbling, house slippers shuffling against the hardwood floors.

“Namjoon, hyung!” A voice called out hurriedly a few seconds later, Hoseok protesting at the volume. Namjoon gathered himself and got up, rubbing his eyes and scratching his head as he made his way to the front door. “Namjoon!”

“Taehyung?” The young detective looked frantic as Namjoon approached him, Hoseok stepping back out of the way. “What are you doing here? I thought I said call me if-“

“I tried calling, hyung! I’ve been calling for the past hour!” Taehyung was only getting louder, making both Namjoon and Hoseok flinch. Taehyung took a breath, closing his eyes. “Someone reported that they found a body, hyung. They found a little girl.”

Namjoon had never moved so fast in his life, grabbing his jacket to throw on over his undershirt. He knew how he looked, dishevelled, exhausted, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. He grabbed his shoes, darting out the door in just his socks with Taehyung hot on his heels. “Did you bring a car?”

“Yeah.” Taehyung gripped his sleeve as the left the apartment block, dragging Namjoon to where he’d parked a borrowed police cruiser.

“Where?” Namjoon asked, pulling on his shoes as Taehyung drove them to the crime scene. Taehyung didn’t want to answer, knowing how fucking devastated Namjoon would be. He’d spent every day there, searching and asking questions. “Taehyung, where is she?”

“The playground.” Tae’s voice was barely above a whisper, almost as if Namjoon would shatter if he spoke any louder. “Some high school kids were hanging out last night, drinking and smoking. You know how it is. One of them went to take a piss and he found her body.”

“The playground?” Namjoon nodded then, sitting back and bring his hand up to his mouth to chew his thumbnail. The playground. The one she’d disappeared from. She’d been right under his nose all along. Or right under his feet. It made him nauseous.

There was already an enormous crowd around the crime scene tape as Namjoon jumped out of the car. He pushed through, yelling to the uniformed officers to try to disperse them, or at the very least hold them back. He jumped over the tape and stumbled forward, each step falling heavier than the last as he approached the other detectives circled around what he could only assume was the body.

“You’re late, Namjoon.” Namjoon turned his head, only just managing to stop himself from groaning in annoyance as his eyes fell on that oh so familiar, and down right irritating smirk. Namjoon ignored him, crouching down and reaching out for the sheet covering the girl. He knew exactly what that comment meant. He was too late to save the girl.

“Sir, you can’t do that.” One of the forensics officers told him as they stopped his hand. Namjoon shook his head, removing the fingers of the officer from his arm, and reaching out again.

“I’m the detective in charge of this case.”

Swallowing hard, Namjoon lifted the sheet with shaking fingers, revealing the tiny feet and legs of the young victim. He could have cried, tears threatening to fall down his face as he looked at just how small she was, but he shook himself. Professional, Namjoon. Keep it professional. He moved his gaze to her ankle, looking for a tell tale mark.

“Does your daughter have any identifying marks? A birthmark maybe?”

“She has a burn on her right ankle.”

There it was. The ugly scarring on her tiny ankle, unique to her only from a long forgotten accident. This was her. This was the girl who’d consumed his every waking hour for the past four weeks. This was the girl he’d been searching for. A whole month of hope, of sleepless nights and internal praying, had led to this. A whole month of knocking on doors and asking a million questions, walking the streets with a photograph, had led to the worst possible outcome. Here she was.

Dead.

Namjoon lowered the sheet again, his stomach sinking as he did. How was he going to tell her mother? How was he supposed to explain that her daughter wasn’t coming home? Namjoon had told her that she’d be fine, that he’d find her baby and bring her home. He’d lied to her, and now he had to crush her with the weight of the knowledge that her baby girl was gone.

Or maybe he wouldn’t have to tell her at all.

A shriek rang out around them, one of absolute torment and devastation. It seemed to silence everything, and everyone. The only sound being the sobs and screams of a heartbroken woman. Namjoon knew that voice all too well, he’d heard those wails of agony every single day for the past month. It was fucking harrowing. He got to his feet, stepping away as uniformed officers held the woman back, until she collapsed into the sand of the playground and wept loudly, desperately. It was too much for Namjoon, and he turned to find Taehyung watching him carefully.

“Come on, hyung. They’ve got it covered here.” Taehyung placed a hand on Namjoon’s shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. “I’ll take you back to the station.“

Tag list: @yoongi-bearr @triheartedhero @doriadoo

[livingdeadgirlslife-blog]

Leatherface Vs. Victor Crowley

It’s late summer, near the border of Texas and Louisiana... Two sisters, Mary, Lisa and Mary’s boyfriend Austin are all three headed to Louisiana for summer break from college. “Hey girls you like scary shit? I got a tale that will scare the shit outta ya.” Austin says. They stare at one another and Mary says, “Don't be fucking stupid, you know I don't like that shit.” Austin and Lisa both laugh and Lisa says, “Aww is my big sis scared?” The two start bickering for a moment, then Austin interrupts them.. “My mamaw told me about a man named Victor Crowley, he was born in the bayou out of wedlock. So his daddy’s wife cursed him and he was all disfigured, well that wasn’t all... It was so bad his momma died of fright from the sight of him. His own daddy killed him with a hatchet and everything! Well supposedly he murders people who wander to far in the swamps...” Silence... Mary and Lisa look at one another... Austin then let’s out a loud howl of laughter, “You should look at the two of y’all’s faces, too easy! Bet y’all don’t know anything more scarier then that?!” Austin says pleased of himself... Lisa then looks at Mary and says, “Yes we do but, it’s not about some boogeyman, this shit is as real as it gets. There’s a old butchery or meat packing plant, it’s said a woman gave birth right there on the floor causing the child to contract a flesh eating disorder. She quit after that... But it gets worse, some believe the boy is responsible for what was found in the back of a freezer. Four skinned bodies what looked like they were ate on, they closed it to investigate but no one has ever seen the woman or her family.”

“Thats fucked up.” Austin says looking at the gas hand on his truck,  “Shit!! Were almost out of gas, hopefully there’s a station close!” They continue down the road where they see a sign, they pull in to the old run down quick mart. Mary say’s, “Oh my god! Is this thing even in business?” They all get out of the truck and then head inside. They see a clerk behind the counter, a very pale and frail looking man, with dirt coveralls on. “Alright girls, gas and drinks and then were outta here.” A bells rings as they enter, “Howdy! This here is a full service station and my name is Choptop! Look’n to fill her up?” Austin nods with a half grin as the man walks out, they browse the store grabbing snacks and drinks. Choptop then walks back in and begins questioning them about their U-Haul and where they were headed. Austin ignores his questions and pulls out his wallet, the girl’s finish laying the stuff on the counter and Lisa asks, “What’s that building across the road?” Choptop smiles and laughs and tells her it used to be a butchery... Then out of no where a door swings open from behind Choptop, and the loud sound of a chainsaw erupts the station. Lisa, and Austin ran outside to the car and Austin screams, “Let’s get the fuck outta here!!!” They all ran toward the door and made it outside. Lisa hears Mary’s scream, come from inside the station. “NO we can’t leave her, Mary is still in there!” Austin and Lisa both run back toward the station, before they reached the doors Leatherface charged out the door running toward them with his chainsaw over his head! “Lisa get the fuck in!!” They both got inside, and sped off... Lisa screaming and crying looks into her rear view mirror and sees Leatherface staring them down as they drove away without Mary... 

“We left her! We have to fucking go back Austin, that is my sister!!” Lisa screams. Austin is panting and in shock, “Mary needs us to get help. We can't fucking help her! We need a phone, we need the cops. We have been driving for hours it seems, and we haven’t seen one fucking car or payphone. I don't even know where we are fucking at anymore!” Lisa starts panicking again, and sees it... Lights. “Speed up, there is a car behind us, what if it’s them?!” Austin gives a sigh of relief and begins to slow down, “Calm down Lisa, we’re miles ahead and at least 2-3 hours hours away from them. I have to stop and ask for directions so we can get Mary help.” He forced a smile at Lisa, trying to give her hope. Austin stops the car  and gets out, and says.. “Everything will be fine, I’ll be back.” Lisa tries to observe the truck in the rear view mirror, she sees Austin walking up to it closer and closer. Maybe everything will be okay, she thought to herself, these people will help us get ahold of authorities and my sister will be alri-... Austin let out a scream and that is when she saw Choptop step out of the truck, making eye contact and smiling at her through the car mirror. Leatherface stepped out from the back of the truck, he revved up his chainsaw and jabbed it through Austin’s abdomen. Lisa hurried to the drivers seat, shaking and screaming. The sound of the chainsaw disappeared, she looked into the mirror at him. His face looked familiar... As she looked closer she realized it was the face of her sister... Mary... She felt her body go cold, and numb. The car wouldn’t start, she began screaming and ran out of the car, down the road and finally made her was into the swamp. As she was running she heard the sound of the chainsaw getting closer and closer... She is breathing so hard and then her face hits the ground and she is buried in the tall grass. She realizes she tripped over a sign that reads “Honey Island Swamp”. She knew the name sounded familiar, but the loss of Mary and Austin, and the fear of Leatherface flooded her mind. Everything is silent. Maybe she out run him, she thinks to herself... Then she sees him... Not Leatherface, but a different man. A man so terrifying, she felt her whole body go stiff. It was Victor Crowley... Then the sound of the chainsaw grows closer and closer. “Where’d that hog bitch go!? Get that bitch Leatherface, get that bitch!” Lisa stays where she is, because none of them can see her, and she is too scared to move. Victor Crowley doesn’t move, he waits. Leatherface stares at Victor as he starts to rev up his chainsaw again. “Get a load of this hatchet faced fuck Leatherface!” Choptop laughs. Leatherface runs toward Victor Crowley with his chainsaw and misses. Victor is fast, and swings his hatchet into Leatherface’s arm and rips it completely off. Leatherface screams and howls in agony, as blood starts spraying out of his shoulder. Choptop begins screaming, “Peel that pig and slice him thic-”. Suddenly Choptop got the hatchet between the eyes. Leatherface is pissed and begins screaming, he starts spinning like a maniac with his chainsaw in his one hand. Leatherface ended up hitting Victor in the chest with his saw. Victor let’s out a loud growl, he takes his hatchet and cuts midway through Leatherface’s other arm and rips it off completely with his bare hands. Leatherface dips to his knees and is moaning like a wild animal, and looks up into Victor’s face. Victor Crowley takes the flesh of skin the used to be Mary’s face off of him. Revealing the monster underneath the mask. Victor picks up the chainsaw and rams it into his face, until there was no longer a face or a head for the matter.

Lisa knew it was time to get the hell out of there, the sound of the chainsaw that was still inside of Leatherface’s head drowned out the sound of her running away. She didn’t make it out with Mary or Austin but she made it out with her life.

The End.  

[lexiseigneur]

Chapter eleven: Joshua

Everything was burning. For the first time in her life, she was acutely aware of the individual fibers of her muscles. One by one, they were catching fire. When she looked, she was astonished that her skin was not smoldering. Sweat soaked her clothes and the bedsheets. This had been a mistake. Lexi glanced up at the IV bags. They were both empty. She laughed and choked on the agony this had triggered in her throat. Too late, you coward. Lexi ripped the needles from her arms, rolled into a fetal position and let the fire burn through her. Was that how he had felt, a year ago, before coming back to her? Maybe the change was not as painful for normal Strigoi because their brains were quickly taken over by the worms. Lexi found herself envying the mindless parasites.

 15 months ago  

The research station lied hidden amongst trees. Inside the wooden walls, people had once briefly sojourned in their quest for scientific data. A dirt road was the only avenue back to civilization. Not that there was much of a civilization to return to. Insanity had spread through the country and the scientists had found themselves stranded. Unable to fly back to Europe, they had returned to the cabin to await news that normalcy had returned. Such news had never come. They had been cut out from the rest of the world. Soon, they had run out of provisions.

“I will just try to get some info and buy some food. Hopefully, when I come back, we will have a flight booked to get out of this mess.”

The man spoke, slightly hunched under the low ceiling. He wiped his rimless glasses on his shirt.

“Schmitt and Helen never came back. Maybe I should come along.” Said Lexi, her stomach churning from anguish and hunger.

“Emily should stay and do you really want her to be left alone with them?” Said Stephan very lowly.

‘Them’ referred to the other three members of their team. It had just come to Stephan and Lexi’s attention that they had hidden food away. They did not plan to share what little was left. Their colleague, Emily, was pregnant and increasingly unwell but that had not factored into their decision.

“No, I don’t. Please be careful.”

With a heavy heart, she kissed him goodbye. The jeep disappeared between the trees and that would be the last time she had seen Stephan as himself. A day later, Emily was getting worse and Lexi ended up pilfering the food cache in the dead of night to feed her friend.

“You should have some as well…” Whispered the pregnant woman while handing half of her protein bar. Lexi took it, bit a small piece and forced her friend to eat the rest. The next morning, an angry bearded man burst into the women’s bedroom.

“Did you take my food, you bitch?”

“Yeah, I did you selfish fuck. What are you going to do about it?”

Lexi stood, a kitchen knife in her fist. She pointed it at his chest. Emily was crying behind her and those sounds were like needles in her heart. The woman knew that her colleagues were fundamentally non-violent but desperation changed people. She, on the other hand, had learned very early that she was good at threatening others. The trick was simply to mean it. At that very moment, had the man taken another step forward, she would have stabbed him without an ounce of remorse.

“You’re fucking crazy! Stay away from us!” Said the man and he slammed the door shut.

Relieved, Lexi hugged her friend until her crying subsided. Stephan had not come back yet. They spent another night and day in that small bedroom alone. Surviving on the protein bars and nuts that Lexi had stolen. Then the sun set again and everything changed.

Lexi had not heard a car coming so when the front door of the cabin opened in the middle of the night, she jumped to her feet. Whoever that was, she was not going to meet them. People with good intentions rarely entered occupied houses without notice and while everyone slept. Lexi did not sleep though, not with Stephan gone.

Rapid footsteps echoed and the three colleagues sleeping in the main room down the hallway awoke. When the bearded man screamed, Lexi’s stomach dropped. Emily was no longer asleep and struggled to her feet. Her belly was still small but starvation was hard on her body.

“What is happening?” She whispered and grabbed her friend’s arm.

“Go open the window and see if you can climb out.”

Emily looked like she had asked her to detach her own leg.

“I can’t…”

Furniture crashing and the other two colleagues screaming convinced her. Lexi cracked the bedroom door open and looked. By the light of the small fireplace, three pale figures stood over the scientists. One was particularly tall and familiar. Stephan’s mouth gaped wide open and an arm-like appendage protruded from it. It was holding their colleague by the neck who had lost consciousness. Her former lover’s eyes were dark and his skin paler than any living human could be. Lexi dry-heaved in horror. The thing glared in her direction and hissed. A strange membrane briefly covered his eyes and retracted. Terrified, she closed the door and placed a chair against the handle. Emily had just managed to climb out and was staring with wide eyes through the window. More agile than her friend, Lexi jumped out and landed on the grass below. The kitchen knife was in her pocket.

“Run as fast as you can.” She told the distraught woman.

Emily did not argue further. As quickly as her condition allowed, she followed Lexi through the trees. The women startled when a screech pierced the night. Eventually, Emily fatigued but Lexi could not leave her behind so she matched her pace.

Eerie sounds, wild and animalistic, were getting closer. The friends reached the poorly lit asphalt road just as the thing that used to be Stephan caught up to them. In the forest behind, the other creatures were close. The long legs had given it an edge in catching up with its preys. The hard ground made their escape quicker but gave the same advantage to the predator. Knowing it would soon catch up to them, they turned to face it. The women scrambled out of the way of the appendage that shot out its throat. The stinger had been directed at Lexi and the woman slashed at it with the knife. The blood splatter flew away from her and landed across Emily’s cheeks. The pregnant women dropped to her knees and raked at her face frantically.

“No!” Screamed Lexi and she dropped the knife to drag her friend away.

The thing’s eyes widened in surprise and its demeanor changed. It stood straight and the incessant muscles spasms ceased. Then it let out a roar. The rapid tip tap of shoes smacking the road was upon them. Three creatures now towered over them and their eyes were fixated on Emily. Lexi tried to shield her but frantic, they pushed her violently out of the way and started tearing into the pregnant women. As her friend’s body was splayed open, Lexi could not scream. She pulled inside her mind and reached for a door that had remained unused for a very long time. Lexi fled. Within a few minutes, footsteps followed.

In the distance, two lights danced over the road and gave her hope. A car was coming. The woman ran faster than she ever had because death was gaining on her. The car screeched to a halt as her legs began to falter.

Blinded by the lights, she did not immediately understand what was happening. Gunshots hurt her ears and she was roughly grabbed and tossed to the side of the road. She rolled once onto sharp stones and pain pierced her back. Out of the light beams, she saw an older man, maybe in his sixties, shooting at the things. He killed two but the one that had once been Stephan rushed him. Quicker than Lexi had expected, he swung a machete and stabbed under the chin. The metal tip appeared on top of the thing’ skull. Thick pearly liquid sprayed on the old man’s hand. Her savior dropped his weapon and wiped at his hand madly. He swore loudly and his face contorted in anger. Moved by rage, he kicked the dead creature several times and retrieved his weapon. Then he put his face in his wrinkled hands and breathed loudly. Lexi stared and approached. He noticed.

“No! Don’t get close to the blood!”

The asphalt was covered in white slime and now that she was closer she saw thin worms dancing in it. They curled on themselves in a pattern that reminded her of pictures of the Ebola virus.

“What…is…happening?” She asked, still catching her breath.

“Get in the truck!” He said gruffly.

His eyes were glassy as if repressing tears. Lexi obeyed immediately. This man had to know more. They drove away and Lexi did not look as they passed her friend’s corpse.

“Are you hurt? Did they cut you?” He asked and peered anxiously at her body.

“No, they did not cut me.”

Her back still ached but the creatures had not caused that pain. The man nodded for a long moment.

“Well, they got me so you gonna have to listen close here. I don’t have much time.”

Lexi listened as they drove through the night. She learned that New York had been hit by a nuclear weapon and that others had exploded all over the world. Having just seen one, she did not bother to argue when he explained what Strigoi were. He also told her what they wanted and what they feared. Silver and light. Finally, he revealed why she should not touch their blood.

“The worms get inside you and in a day or so you turn into one of them.”

This was insane.

“Is there anything we can do to stop them?”

The old man had a mirthless laugh.

“Lady…they’ve won. We’re all done for.”

Taken aback she remained quiet as he continued his tale.

“I used to be an engineer for the army and there is a place I helped build…this is where I was headed.”

He glanced at the back seat and Lexi followed his gaze.

“Where we were headed.”

In the back, a pet transport box was tightly secured in place by a seat belt. Large golden eyes stared from between the bars.

“Where is the army? Aren’t they stopping this?”

He shook his head.

“Stop this! Get it through your head that no help is coming! I’ve told you: they won!”

“Why were you going there, to that place you built?”

“I was going to survive. But that’s not gonna happen. You can still make it though. Get that bag there and take out the binder.”

Lexi obeyed because the man was growing more panicked with each passing moment.

“What is this?”

It was red and titled ‘R-5876’. When she opened it, it was full of schematics and meticulous descriptions of some kind of building.

“It’s a bunker. We’re almost there now. You’re gonna get in there and live. I have two requests though.”

Her stomach was twisting at his words. The man was going to leave her alone in that strange place.

“What are they?” Her voice had lost some of its steadiness.

“Take care of my Jules. She is old but she is a good girl.”

Lexi nodded and waited for the second request. It only came after they finished driving down a dirt road. There he parked by a concrete building barely bigger than a shed and hidden by thick pine trees.

“Bury my body and when her time comes, bury Jules with me.”

Lexi’s mouth dropped open and she did not react when he took the binder off her hands and ripped out an envelope taped inside the cover.

“That’s the access code for the door and the elevator.”

Then he undid his seatbelt and took a deep breath.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Lexi.”

“I’m Joshua. Good luck, Lexi.” He took her hand and shook it. His skin was thick and rough.

Then he got out and walked off the road onto a grassy field. There he took the Beretta from his belt, pressed it against his temple and shot. Lexi remained frozen in place for a long time. She was unable to process everything that had happened in the span of two hours. A loud meow pulled her out of her trance. Shaking and nauseated, she took the transport box and the envelope and walked to her new home.

Almost a month later, no one had come, just as Joshua had predicted. Obsessively, Lexi had read and reread the contents of the binder. The bunker was rather empty except the bare minimum required for survival. The best-equipped room was by far the sickbay, with medicine, basic surgical tools, and testing equipment. Soon, the rations would disappear and she would have to venture out.

Sleep eluded her since her arrival. That first day she had perused through all of Joshua’s belongings. She had discovered a glass bottle containing cyanide pills that had made her cry for several hours. The old man had died because of her and was reaching out from beyond the grave to invite her to join. Even his cat resented her. For not being Joshua. The animal glared at her constantly from a distance and only approached briefly when offered food.

The night exactly thirty days after her arrival, the memories rushed her mind cruelly. Jules entered her room screaming to high heavens. Surprised, Lexi wiped the tears from her face and called the pet. For the first time, she approached without food baiting her. The large tabby cat lied on her pillow and purred. Their noses almost touched. As Lexi relaxed, the cat moved and snuggled against her neck. The woman fell asleep to her purring and to the sound of her minuscule heart.

When Jules died in her sleep a year later, she buried her next to the old man’s grave. Grieving, Lexi had removed drawings of the animal from her walls. After that, the cyanide pill became a permanent fixture next to her keyboard.

When had she become prey for Stephan? At what moment had he stopped being a person? The pain was declining. Now the only remaining burn was her throat. It was overwhelming. Lexi moved. A foot, slowly, and the other. The lights were off but that had little impact on her vision. The constant glow of the monitors in the next room provided her with all the illumination she required.

In the kitchen, her shaky hands returned to the familiar task of preparing a bag of blood. It warmed in the bain-marie and even through the plastic, there was the scent of copper. The burn intensified so she stopped thinking of it as such. It was thirst. Because she was still a person, she took a large glass from a cupboard. The blood was thick and the smell salty and metallic. I am still Lexi. She focused on that thought as she drank. It was disgusting. Exactly like the few times, her nose had bled and the blood had poured in her throat from the inside. But the thirst was subsiding so she gulped on. I am still Lexi. The glass tinkered in the aluminum sink. Just like that, all the pain was gone.

The woman had no idea how long it had been since she had forced the needles into her arms. The stink of dried sweat was offensive to her sensitive nose. Carefully, she peeled the dirty clothes from her skin and entered the bathroom naked.

At least, water running on her body still felt good. When she skirted liquid soap on her hand, she retched at the intense chemical smell. Using it was deeply unpleasant and even after rinsing it off, its scent clung to her. Her towel was not quite as soft as she remembered. Stop avoiding it. It was pointless and deluded to avert her gaze from the mirror and even from her own arms and legs. Anxiously, she looked at her specular image.

Her arms were pure white but she could discern very faint darker veins under her skin. I am still Lexi. This person in the mirror was not a stranger, it was her because she still very much resembled herself. Despite the white skin and the lines running down her forehead and across her cheeks.

She was still everything that made her Lexi. Her cheekbones were only slightly more prominent and the overall shape of her face was the same. Her nose and lips were the same. She focused on her eyes and sighed in relief at finding the familiar hazel color. Would that change? It did not matter, at this very moment she was happy to see them. A nictitating membrane briefly covered them. Lexi shuddered.

Timidly, she caressed her neck. The skin was flushed from the blood she had just consumed and that revolted her. Quinlan’s skin there had been textured, with an elaborate pattern similar to a piece of jewelry. Hers still appeared smooth but this would likely change soon.

She forced herself not to cry as she grabbed hair and pulled. It held on. The dark waves were securely attached to her. That would most likely fall in the next days. It also did not matter.

Under the strands, her ears were pointed and the holes running on their lengths seemed to have partially closed. Her teeth were still white but the gums were a dark grey as was her tongue. An indentation divided the muscular appendage. It was so long she could easily lick the tip of her nose. Lexi focused on the new organ she knew lied within. It rattled very lowly. I am still Lexi. She opened her mouth wide and forced her tongue out. Even though it seemed to have reached its end she felt like she could still pull further. So she did.

It parted and the small claws appeared. Too small. Lexi frowned. The newly formed stinger was barely the length of her arm and thinner than Quinlan’s. It contracted back and fit snugly inside her neck. Well, she did not have data on the matter so it was foolish to assume that she would be identical to the Dhampir. She was a first. And it had been her choice. Lexi had remade herself. However short-lived that body would be. She knew nothing of the long-term consequences of her transformation, nor did she care. At that moment, Lexi considered herself already dead. All she wanted was knowing that the nightmare was over before she exhaled for the last time.

CHAPTER 12: The gift

Her clothes were all uncomfortable. It was unnatural to have fabric hanging off of her like most her shirts did. Walking around naked appeared like the right thing to do since cold did not affect her any longer. But that was inside the bunker and outside there was sun and rain. She put on her tightest tank top and jeans. They were snug enough that she could pretend they were another layer of her skin. The earrings shined on the nightstand. She selected the steel ornaments and put them on. Two loops and two thuds on each side. It hurt to pierce the skin that had grown over, but at least it did not bleed. Until the end, she would look like herself as much as possible.

She packed light since she did not have the benefit of a vehicle. A change of clothes, a map, her gun, a machete, food and his scent. A cooler filled to the brim with blood bags. She hesitated but still took the small bottle of suicide pills. Just in case. 

The only place which still held Quinlan’s perfume was his bedroom. It was a little acidic, like lemons with a sweet finish. The Dhampir took the pillowcase and put it in her bag. With the intention of this being the last time, she walked through the compound. In the gym, the sandbag dangled, mocking. Lexi braced her new body and punched it. With a crack, the chain holding it snapped. The bag flew across the room and exploded against the farthest wall. Lexi smirked as she stared at its contents. Not sand, just a random assortment of rags. 

Her stomach grumbled. What? Confused she rubbed her core and returned to the kitchen she had just visited. There were protein bars on the counter. She unwrapped one and bit into it gingerly. The taste was too intense and took her by surprise. She spat it out. Her stomach was still complaining. This time, knowing what to expect she finished the sweet brick. More than that, she enjoyed it.

 The orange light did not feel as dim as before. It tickled her skin disagreably. She wanted sunglasses and a hood. Plastic melted at her feet and the acrid stink wafted away at each burst of wind. All that she had used to change was burning. Even her bedsheets were now ashes. The computer containing the sample pictures and a year worth of recordings she left behind after formatting its memory. She did the same with the video surveillance memory in the control room. From the moment she had arrived a year prior to the moment she left, the files were gone.

She ran to the nearest town. It was like slowing down the flow of time. It was freedom. She laughed loudly at the wind ruffling her hair. Exhilarating. There she found better clothes. A form-fitting long sleeve shirt, black cotton pants and a knee-length wool coat with a large satin-lined hood. 

Now that most practical issues stemming from her new nature were solved, she could move on to the real problem. For the first time since she had ceased to be human, she focused on Quinlan. 

Where would this idiot go? Her nose in the wind identified a myriad of scents but not his. What was his plan? That was easy, finding the Master. But she had no means of finding the Master either. Anger was rising again. Snarls and growls made her throat vibrate uncontrollably. Stopping them was disagreeable. Like preventing oneself from yawning or sneezing. How long had it taken for Quinlan to control his Strigoi voice? He still failed often. She roared in frustration. WHERE ARE YOU? 

Lexi gasped.

Inside her mind, close to the small dark room, something had clicked open. If her psyche was a house, and the cramped dark room the basement filled with monsters, then that click was the front door. She existed inside that discovered country. Lexi shut her eyes and swayed in the wind as she focused on the new space. The physical world vanished around her. She was floating in nothingness. Far, extremely far, there was a white beacon. Lexi scrunched up her face in concentration. She reached like she would with her hand. The perception of herself in that space was just as pale and shiny as the beacon. It was so far but she stretched as much as she could. There it was, a cocoon of pure white light. When she touched it, it pushed back. Quinlan. She panicked and tried to grab it. It kicked her off and she snapped back to the physical world. Found you. 

Her new instincts were screaming that this was her dear one. Strigoi were mentally connected to those they had loved and also to one another. Now she was certain that Dhampir were as well. Her grin was vicious. 

Lexi was going to beat Quinlan into a bloody pulp because she hated him for all that he had done. But after, she would stitch him back together. Because she loved him.

 Sunglasses had not been difficult to find but she quickly understood why Quinlan’s were more akin to goggles. The light was brutal to her eyes. The once revered midday sun hung in the sky like a nightmare and she waited through it under cover. 

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Lexi laughed at that thought. She had no reason to fear, for she was now the evil in the shadow. When the light turned tolerable again she walked on. Every few hours, she retreated into her mind and found the beacon. Lexi was not religious but to her, this was clearly his soul. It showed her the way and she was getting closer. 

Since her rebirth, she had preferred human food but blood enabled her to run. Not the ineffectual human run, but the blur of a speeding Dhampir. 

Nighttime had turned into a blessing. It was the only time she could remove her glasses and see. The diffuse moonlight was soft on her new eyes. In the obscurity, she flew like an owl. Fast and quiet. 

“No! Please! Noooo!”

Lexi skidded to a stop. Copper and sweat were carried by the wind. The Dhampir woman looked around. It was a highway, deserted because most humans were not stupid enough to brave the curfew. She followed the screams and the scent of fresh blood. The scene upon which she stumbled filled her with rage. 

“Shut your face, you stupid bitch.”

The man punched a smaller figure down. Another thin and tall yanked a bag out of the hands of the crumbled woman. The puncher had a knife that he was waving dangerously close to their victim and…yes, her daughter. She was crying but quiet. Children had to learn quickly that being noisy meant being dead. Those were common thieves. It was so petty and stupid. They were making the world even worse than it already was. The Dhampir growled loudly. Four pair of eyes tried to pierce the darkness to locate the source of the noise. The thin man pointed his flashlight in her direction but she avoided it easily. Now she was behind them, facing their victims. In that instant, Lexi had decided that she would give them the mercy of a quick and painless death. It was more than what those brutes deserved. Later, she would take the time to ponder whether she had the right to make herself judge, jury, and executioner. 

“Have you ever walked in the valley of the shadow of death?” 

She asked and her voice was just as low as she remembered but with an underlying rumbling so familiar to her ears. Before they could turn around she kicked the knee of the armed one and as he fell, grabbed his head and twisted. There was a loud snap. His body hit the ground only after she took the second by the throat and slammed his head on the asphalt. The skull cracked and he died instantly. The flashlight rolled away and shut down. Lexi could see the woman and child clearly but they could not.

“What’s happening?” Whimpered the woman.

Her nose was bleeding and so did a cut on her lip. They were both skinny and smelled of unwashed bodies and disease. That scene was horribly familiar to Lexi. That woman reminded her of her mother.

“Are you alone?” Asked Lexi.

The eyes focused on her but could not see.

“Did you kill them?” Said the woman.

“Yes.”

The corners of her lips lifted.

“Good.”

Lexi smiled and approached. This woman was definitely not her mother.

“I’m going to help you.” She said and crouched in front of them.

“Why?”

“Because I can.”

Joshua had not had any other motive either. The woman frowned and held her daughter closer. 

“Do you know how to garden? How to care for plants?”

It took a long moment for her to finally answer.

“I…had a small garden…when…in the before.”

“Do you have a map?”

She shook her head.

“No…”

“It’s ok, I have one.”

Lexi took the thick book from her backpack. It fell open at the right page, the spine had been shaped by use. The small pencil she kept inside rolled and she caught it before it could hit the ground. 

“I have a bunker with food, medicine, and a garden.”

The woman squinted, unbelieving.

“There is power, running water and everything you need to be safe.”

Lexi explained as much as possible and wrote down clear instructions and a map of the area above the compound. She circled the code for the elevator three times. The eyes were still unseeing but later she would be able to examine the notes.

“In the kitchen, in the large black freezer, there are bags…there is nothing you can eat in there and you do not require the space. Just leave it be. Never open it.” 

The woman nodded. She was smart enough to understand when something could not be argued.

“In the desk with the monitors, you’ll find a red binder called ‘R-5876’. Read it. All of it. It will keep you alive.”

Lexi flipped through the pages until she found the one of their current location.

“You will follow the road that I am marking because it stays far from Strigoi.”

The little girl plunged her face into her mother’s shoulder. 

“Here you will find gas. here and there food. Sleep in your car, and make good use of the midday light.”

All the places she could remember that were remotely useful, she marked. Once she was satisfied, she slid the pencil on the page marking the bunker’s location and put the book in the woman’s hands.

“What’s your name?” Lexi asked.

“Laura. My daughter is Emma.”

A small Emma. The name was close enough to Emily’s that her throat tightened slightly. 

“I’m Lexi.”

Laura nodded again 

“Why are you helping us? Why are you leaving that place?”

Lexi considered her words carefully. No sane person would leave such a haven voluntarily.

“I don’t want my garden to die but there is someone I need to find. Consider this me hiring you for a housesitting gig.”

Laura snorted. It was all she could manage as laughing was a pleasure long forgotten.

“One day I might come back. I really hope that I will find you there. Safe.”

“I hope you find who you are looking for.”

Lexi stood then helped both of them up.

“I will. Maybe you’ll meet him. But I warn you, he is kind of an asshole.”

Emma gasped at the profanity and both women laughed.

“What’s his name?” Said Laura.

“Quinlan.”

“That’s a weird name.” Blurted out the little girl.

“Well, everything about him is weird.”

Lexi walked them to the car that once belonged to the two men. Those who she had found guilty of resembling her father.

“Good luck.” Said the Dhampir.

She watched them drive away. With all her heart she wished them well. Then she ran toward the white light in her mind. For all the Lauras and Emmas of the world, she flew through the night.

[fashiontrendin-blog]

33 People Share Their Most Memorable One-Night Stands

http://fashion-trendin.com/33-people-share-their-most-memorable-one-night-stands/

33 People Share Their Most Memorable One-Night Stands

You know those special summer evenings out with friends where you all stay out a little later than you originally intended, and maybe order one more round of Aperol Spritzes and hummus with pita bread for the table than you thought you would, and all of a sudden everyone is feeling warm and loose and in the mood to faux-whisper the tales of their most thrilling (or embarrassing or weird or funny) romantic encounters?

That’s what it feels like to read the below round-up of quotes from a whole bunch of people who generously recounted the stories of their most memorable one-night stands to Man Repeller. Scroll down to soak them up like that last bite of olive oil-drenched pita. Prepare to laugh, cringe and empathize — and add your own in the comment section if you have one.

“A couple of years ago I went on a family vacation to Cabo, had a three-day romance with a local volunteer firefighter and ended it by hooking up in a fire truck on the last night. I’ll never look at a fire truck the same.”

Peach, 25

“I was 21 and didn’t want to be a virgin anymore so I went on Tinder and had my first and only one night stand. It was great.”

Rosa, 24

“It was 2002. I heard some friends talking about how one of the New York Mets just left the bar, so in my slightly inebriated state, I decided to go see if he was cute. He had just hailed a cab and was about to get in. I said, ‘Leaving already?’ and he said, ‘Should I?’ We hung out at the bar together for an hour or so, then went back to my place. He had an amazing body and it was the perfect first one night stand.”

Nicole, 38

“When we got back to my place, he took off his jeans to reveal boxers that looked like tiny denim hotpants. I was slightly shocked but went with it anyway.”

Annie, 26

“Danish cornfields, a boy named Mathias, 12 beers apiece, up all night at a communal living compound. Unabashed sexy times within earshot of LOTS of disgruntled Scandinavians. Oh — and there was a sauna.”

Hannah, 25

“I was at a friend’s birthday party, and while happy to be there celebrating my friend, I was not having a great time. Everyone at the party was dancing to EDM music. I hate dancing. While outside trying to avoid the dance floor, I struck up conversation with a very handsome guy and we immediately hit it off. He laughed when I told him about my disdain for dancing and swore he’d get me to dance eventually. Later when the party died down, he walked me home. We stopped at a park near my apartment and he pulled out his phone. I thought he was going to take a photo, but nope, he put on “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Toploader. He grabbed my hand and taught me to dance (real rom-com stuff… think spinning me around and dipping me backwards) in the park, in the moonlight. We only made out a little bit, and I still hate dancing, but it definitely made for a good story and a memorable ‘one-night stand.’”

Emma, 19

“I was 17 and it was New Year’s Eve. We smoked weed in his bed until everything became funny. Someone had spilled gummy bears on his comforter, and we kept feeding each other and cracking up. Feeding quickly turned to making out. Driving home the next morning, I kept finding gummy bears that were stuck to my arms and neck.”

Hallie, 25

“It was 2013 and I was trekking the previously unexplored Shilheipung Hills in Manipur, India with a guy. We went up with nothing but a makeshift axe, a rope and water. We reached the top by sundown after a lot of sweat, dirt, him dragging me, carrying me on his back, etc. But the kiss we shared was beautiful and so was everything else that followed. He left to work for the Navy some days later. To this day, we meet up once or twice every year for really good one-night stands, no strings attached.”

Eve, 23

“I forgot my shoes at the guy’s place and walked in socks through the streets of London at 6 a.m.”

Phillipa, 20

“I French-kissed with a total stranger in Budapest at the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest and watched the sunrise. I later ditched him after he proposed to have sex behind a motorcycle.”

Louise, 21

“I had just ended a 10-year relationship and I was ready to have my first one-night stand at my best friend’s wedding. I met a guy that night, brought him home and a year later we were married. Now we’re at six years and counting!”

Cristine, 34

“I lost my virginity in high school during a one-night stand (I wanted it that way). The next day in school we had to read the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet together in front of the whole class. I wanted to faint.”

Mel, 24

“I was in college and it was a pajama party, so naturally I was wearing a onesie with ducks all over it. This guy I thought was so hot started talking to me and we hit it off. He took me to the roof where we gazed at the stars together and drank Natty Lights. He was a great kisser and it was amazing sex, but we never talked again after that. Honestly I mostly am just proud that I successfully picked up a guy wearing duck onesie pajamas.”

Anne, 23

“I was 18 and had just moved to San Francisco. I was just beginning my medical transition. I was feeling lonely, so I met up with a guy who had been messaging me on a dating app. It was a bit awkward. We tried finding food both of us could eat. For me, vegan, and him, gluten-free. We ended up settling on a burger place. We started talking and I could feel an attraction. I was really into him. We went back to his place for some honestly mediocre sex haha. I asked after if there was a place nearby to grab a coffee and he offered to make me one. We sat and snuggled for a bit and decided go try to find fireworks (it was the Fourth of July). We ended up in Dolores park. We sat down and ended up kissing and cuddling, hardly able to wait to get back to his place again.

This experience meant a lot for me at a time of my life where I thought being trans meant I would have to sacrifice true romantic encounters and simply cope with being fetishized and reduced to my trans identity. It also showed me that there were men who would walk down the street with me, holding my hand, somewhat unaffected by the toxic masculinity that can be fatal for us trans folk. It shaped my expectations for how I wanted to be treated by men and gave me hope that I will actually be able to find someone who respects me and my identity eventually.”

Tommy, 19

“When I was 19, I had sex with this Australian rugby player on the bathroom sink/basement couch of an NYC hostel. His name was James. He would ask, ‘Do you like this/do you want to do this?” before trying anything, which was totally not the consent-norm of the time, and which my young feminist self found very sexy. We had to keep going up to the hostel front desk for condoms in what was likely the most conspicuous manner. I have thought of the night fondly ever since.”

Britt, 29

“He tried to give me a fish from his fish tank.”

Emma, 20

“I saw this guy at a bar who was cute, alone and seemed non-threatening, so I approached. I asked him why he looked so lonely, which prompted a laugh. We drank, danced, laughed, and made out with each other through the rest of the night. I went home with him and we had great sex. A week later I found out I had chlamydia (most likely from him). When I told him, he was surprisingly relaxed — we both went to the doctor and we were both prescribed meds. After our doctor business, he asked me to come over and watch some Netflix with him, and we genuinely bonded over our temporary STD. We hit it off. It’s been nearly three years now and we’re still seeing each other. He’s one of my best friends.”

Emily, 22

“I met a stranger in a bookstore in Rome and went back to his place where he bent me over a rooftop balcony overlooking the Coliseum and fucked my brains out.”

Muzunga, 41

“We met on Instagram. When I visited LA, we kept trying to meet up, but it wasn’t working out, so I wrote it off. But then she called me after her shift ended at 10 p.m. We met up at a bar lined with wooden planks à la a ship from 1900s; it was filled with rainbow Christmas lights and locals, the scent of the close-by Santa Monica Pier strong. When she walked in, I noticed that her eyes were yellow. Two Pacificos with lime later, we took a cab to another bar, our shoulders close to, but not touching — in the way they do when two people are interested, but unsure. We picked songs from the juke box while she touched my back. I leaned forward off of my stool and kissed her while John Martyn sang into an empty Venice bar. We made our way to her house, a classic bungalow like the ones in Eve Babitz’s books; spent 15 drunk minutes on the floor of her living room trying to calm her dog from this 2 a.m. intruder. I don’t remember how we got to her room. How I got undressed. If my bra stayed on. Hers did not. She called me ‘baby’ while we had passionate, overdue sex. Afterwards, her dog slept between our legs. Two hours later, I called a car from her bed, watching through hungover eyelids as her chest rose and fell. I took the car to the airport and flew home to Utah.”

Ruby, 26

“He was the lead singer in a college band. I had a very serious boyfriend at the time who was 1,500 miles away. I went to the see the band and he sang most of his songs directly to me. Afterwards, he invited me for drinks and we went back to his place. We had sex for seven hours and watched the sun come up. Before I left I licked him from his ankle to his neck as my goodbye. I gave him a fake number. It was the only time I have ever cheated. It was worth it.”

Maria, 38

“It was in Israel when I was visiting the country with friends over winter break from college. I was staying in a hotel and went to a bar with my girls, where I met someone who was a soldier in the special forces unit. He was four years older (I was 18 at the time), and we ended up having sex in my hotel’s supply closet. I never saw him again, and I like it that way.”

Jackie, 19

“I was 19 and in Paris. I met a Parisian in a bar, who whisked me to his apartment on his Vespa. I spent the night and woke up to an empty bed. He had gone to the bakery downstairs to get me warm pain au chocolat. It sounds fake but I swear this happened to me.”

Gabrielle, 22

“I was my friend’s maid of honor, and one of the groomsmen and I were the only two single people in the wedding party. We also had immediate chemistry. We flirted through the entire rehearsal dinner and then were inseparable at the wedding. We both got drunk. He helped me take one million bobby pins out of my hair. We hooked up in his hotel room. I dipped out early in the morning and we’ve literally never spoken again. I still have the bobby pins, though.”

Ellen, 27

“Philadelphia. Tiny Airbnb. Pizza first, then the hookup. Sex toys involved. Showered afterwards. What a night.”

Kelly, 22

“It was Halloween and I was dressed as Björk (the swan dress). I went home with a guy and it turns out it was his parents’ house. I didn’t have a change of clothes and we ended up eating breakfast together (me wearing the swan dress).”

Lily, 26

“I spent one night in Venice, visiting a cute Italian guy from my internship who spoke zero English. It got hot and heavy quickly, so I wanted to refresh myself with a glass of juice. I didn’t know how to ask for juice so I said ‘limone,’ thinking maybe I would get some lemonade. I did not. He brought me a full lemon, cut in half, and proceeded to squeeze lemon juice all over my body and lick it off. It felt AMAZING, but now I tell people my trip to Venice was ‘totally lemons.’”

June, 34

“I was working as a server and had spent the whole night flirting with a very handsome man 10 years my senior, who was visiting Toronto for the weekend. At the end of the night he asked me for a pack of matches. When I gave him the matches he told me he’d only take them if my number was written inside. He texted me that night to make plans. A few days later we met for a late afternoon drink and ended up hitting it off so well that he booked a 5-star hotel room for the night. We drank champagne in the bathtub, ate Chinese food naked on the patio and had some of the best sex of my life!”

Natalie, 26

“He smelled really nice and kept telling me how much he loved my body all night. When we were done we ordered late night take out and streamed Final Destination 2.”

Giselle, 20

“I had sex with a woman for the first time over Pride weekend after meeting her at a bar and I’m gay as fuck now!”

Julia, 24

“He was cute. But I woke up early and en route to the bathroom discovered that literally the only books on his bookshelf were the collected works of Dan Brown. I immediately left his apartment.”

Kara, 27

“We met at a California Tortilla where he helped me select a hot sauce from the hot sauce wall. After we slept together, we discovered his ex was hooking up with my ex.”

Neanor, 27

“I met her during the pregame, a friend of a friend. We talked about feminism. She had glitter spread over her freckles. As a fledgling queer, it was one of those, ‘do I want to date her or be her?’ conundrums. We danced together on and off throughout the night, but I couldn’t get a definitive read on it. At what point do you go from friendly to flirting?… ‘Want to get out of here?’ she giggled into my ear. We got our coats from the coat check, I checked in with the rest of my friends, and we made a hasty exit. She stumbled a bit on the stairs but didn’t fall. ‘Alright I’ll take you home,’ I joked. ‘No,’ she insisted, ‘I’m taking you home!’”

Fatima, 20

“He was great and super fun, until he whispered, ‘You taste like root vegetables, specifically carrots and turnips’ into my ear. I had to stop things right there because I couldn’t catch my breath from laughing so hard.”

Paige, 22

Collage by Louisiana Mei Gelpi.

[momscookingthebooks]

Chapter Reveal

Title: Twenty-Two

Series: Nashville Assassins 11.5

Genre: Sports Romance - Hockey

Author: Toni Aleo

Publication Date: May 22, 2017

Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34818243-twenty-two

 #ChapterReveal #TwentyTwo #ToniAleo #ComingSoon #Assassins 

Synopsis:

When Lucas Brooks was traded to the Nashville Assassins over a decade ago, he was a brash, brawling hothead without an anchor. Well, four kids and a smokin' hot wife will weigh you down real fast, but Lucas wouldn't change a minute of his happily ever after. During an epic, end-of-season quest for the Cup, changes appear on the horizon, and suddenly, there's a plot twist in Lucas's fairy tale.

Pre-order exclusively via iBooks: hyperurl.co/6yzzl5

Chapter 1

The Brooks Family

“I want to watch SpongeBob!”

“No! Ariel!”

“Yeah! Mermaid! I wanna watch Ariel!”

Lucas Brooks covered his face with his hands before he yelled from his bedroom, “There are nine TVs in this house! Separate!”

“But she has the popcorn!”

“And he has the milk!”

“Daddy, I want to be with Asher!”

“Why are they eating popcorn at seven a.m.?”

Groaning, he looked over at his wife, who was cuddled deep into the bed, her dark brown hair covering her face as her thick, plump lips pursed out toward him. He almost leaned over and kissed her, but he was exhausted. “I don’t know. Where is Aiden?”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s the point of having an older kid if he isn’t going to care for the crazy little ones?”

“I don’t think that’s why we had them so far apart.”

Lucas scoffed. “Says you.”

Fallon giggled as she scooted over toward him, cuddling into his shoulder. Both of them knew the real reason for the big age gap between their children, though they never talked about it anymore. In their eyes, they did this on purpose and, really, it didn’t matter because they were happy.

“Mom! Asher won’t give me some milk!”

“Stella backwashes!”

“Mommy! I’m thirsty! Can I have some sweet tea?”

“Daddy, I want tea!”

“What in the hell?” Lucas muttered, staring at the ceiling as Fallon continued to giggle.

“Why are they up so early? The game was late.”

“Who knows? I’m exhausted.”

“So am I,” Lucas groaned, and he was. He felt the pain all over his body from the big win over St. Louis that advanced the Assassins to the second round. His whole body was aching. He wasn’t like his young self that bounced back after a hard-fought game. No, Lucas Brooks needed a good week after a game like the one the night before. It had gone into overtime, and the Blues had been playing desperate hockey. But by the grace of God, Jensen Monroe didn’t let any in, and Vaughn Johansson scored the winning goal. Vaughn had wanted to make his night even better since he had just proposed to his girlfriend and found out she was pregnant. So last night’s win was a biggie for everyone. Though, Lucas wished he had a solid month to recuperate before the next one. But he didn’t. He only had a few days of rest before the second round started.

“But, really, where is Aiden?”

“I have no clue.”

“Text him.”

“That means I have to move,” he complained, and she rolled her eyes before throwing her arm behind her to find her phone. Bringing it to her face, she dialed their son’s number, putting the call on speaker.

“Hello?”

Lucas closed his eyes. Aiden’s manly voice still was like a punch to the gut. His baby was growing, fast, and it was killing him slowly. “Baby, where are you?”

Aiden let out an exasperated breath. “Out front, where I always am. Where are you?”

Fallon looked to Lucas as he looked back at her. “Excuse me?”

“Oh my God, Mom, did you forget I had training for summer league this morning?”

Throwing the blankets off, she sat up. “Not at all. I’m running late.”

“You forgot!”

Lucas laughed as Fallon shot daggers from her eyes. “I did not! I’m coming.”

“If you would let me drive, this wouldn’t be a problem,” Aiden reminded her.

“If you cut your hair, maybe we’d buy you a car,” Lucas called out, and Aiden laughed.

“You’re just jealous I have hair!”

“Hush it, both of you. I’m coming,” she said, hanging up the phone and throwing on some sweat pants. “I can’t believe I forgot.”

“I can’t believe he went after not getting home until midnight last night.” She shot Lucas a deadpan expression. “Okay, I can. I would have.”

“Exactly. He’s his daddy’s son.”

Lucas grinned. “He is.” Then he glared, running his hands along his thinning hair. “I have good hair, right?”

She laughed. “Yes, baby, lots of great hair.”

“He has more.”

“He’s going through puberty.”

He raised a brow. “I think he’s past that.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know if we can wait till his birthday to give him a car, Lucas,” she said, pulling her hair up as she glanced back at him.

“That’s all you, babe. I told you to give him mine, and I’ll go get a new truck.”

“He wants a sports car.”

“And I don’t give two fucks. That kid isn’t going to be driving a better car than what I had. He can have a nice Ford and be happy, or he can walk—if his momma would let him.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re overprotective as hell.”

“I am not.”

“You are.”

She glared. “But he is a good kid, Lucas.”

“The best, and he’ll be happy with my Ford.”

“Ugh, okay,” she groaned before leaning down and kissing his lips. He savored her for a moment, grabbing her butt.

“Can we make him wait a bit longer to be picked up?”

She chuckled, desire flashing in her eyes. “I doubt you can move.”

He looked sad. “I can’t.”

She laughed as she kissed him again. “Can we give the car to him today?”

“Tomorrow.”

Her brows rose. “Why tomorrow?”

“Because I can’t move, and I have to go buy a new car for me.”

She laughed, smacking his chest, which made him wince. “I’ll be back.”

“Be careful,” he called as she headed out of the room just as Emery ran right into her.

Picking up their youngest, Fallon kissed her loudly on the lips.

“Be good.”

“Me?” Emery asked.

“You.”

“Why?”

“Because you want cake at sissy’s birthday, don’t you?”

“Oh! I’ll be good!”

Fallon rolled her eyes, placing their daughter on her feet before waving back at Lucas.

Emery ran to him, jumping on the bed and breaking his bones further. He groaned out as Emery cuddled into him, and he closed his eyes. “Daddy.”

“Yes, love?”

“I love you.”

He smiled into her hair, kissing her temple as his arms came around her, holding her tight. He’d never known he could love any child as much as he loved Aiden. Lucas could still recall the first moment he saw his son. Outside of Fallon’s house, begging her for a chance to reconnect after seven years of separation, but then Aiden walked out, and Lucas knew. Aiden was his son, and boy, did he fall in love. Head over heels for the kid. Lucas never thought any kid could come close to his love for Aiden, but then Asher came.

His spunky, dry-humored little geek. The kid was always on his computer, always busy making something, and damn smart. Asher was great on the ice, though Lucas didn’t think he’d go far with it. He was too obsessed with computers and rebuilding them. His first love wasn’t the ice; it was making things tick. But Lucas was proud nonetheless, especially considering the fact that Aiden’s drive to make it to the NHL was enough for the whole family.

In all reality, Lucas had been set with two great boys. But then, by the grace of God, came Stella. His little diva. She looked just like Fallon, breathtakingly stunning with big brown eyes and thick brown hair. She had her momma’s looks, and God help him, her mouth too. Those two went at it daily, mostly about clothes and hair, but his little girl had his heart, and of course, he was wrapped around her finger.

That was it...until Emery came. She was a complete surprise, but in a way, she was the missing piece in their lives. Their family had been off-balance and needed her quirky little brand of badass. While Emery favored both Fallon and him physically, she had his demeanor with Fallon’s mouth. It was a bad combination because while she was ruining your life, she was making you feel right about it. Unlike her sister, Emery didn’t care about hair or clothes. She cared about being a fairy princess, which, for an almost four-year-old, he figured was logical.

But she was daddy’s princess.

Holding his sweet baby, he couldn’t help the grin on his lips, though he was aching in spots he hadn’t even thought he could ache. He had taken a hard hit into the boards, coming down and slamming his head on the ice. Thank God for a helmet because his brain would have been scrambled eggs if not. But he was feeling every bit of it now. Though, he couldn’t think of that. All he could think about was how much his life had changed. He used to be a lonely bachelor, living life in the fast lane and enjoying the NHL. But when he moved to Nashville, everything changed. Fallon happened. And now, Lucas couldn’t imagine his life without her and their kids. Between playing and being his kids’ biggest fan, he didn’t see any other point to life.

Oh, yeah, and loving Fallon.

But that came naturally.

That woman was his world.

Everything was great in the Brooks household. Now, if only his body could stop hurting and aching, things would be grand. Oh, and if his kids could stop growing. And he needed the Assassins to bring home the Cup.

Yup, then Lucas Brooks would be a happy man.

“I love you too, love bug.”

“Can I still have cake if I’m bad?”

“What did Momma say?”

She pouted. “Do you love cake, Daddy?”

“I do.”

“Me too.”

He smiled, kissing her head. “I know, love bug.”

“Can we watch Ariel?” She sat up, her eyes wide and gray like his. She had Fallon’s lips, though, and the shape of her face. Her hair was in pigtails with big pink bows in them that he was sure Stella had put in. “Please. You’re my favorite daddy.”

“I’m your only daddy.”

She nodded. “And my favorite.”

He smiled. “Do I have to move?”

She thought that over. “No.”

“Then, yes.”

***

Pulling up in front of Aiden’s private school, Fallon hit the brakes, slamming forward as she looked over to where Aiden was standing, shaking his head. Gone was her baby, replaced by a hormone-driven monster with long hair. Actually, he was the greatest kid in the world and she loved him more than anything, but God, she hated his hair. He looked like a damn fool, especially with that stupid man bun. But boy was he handsome. Just like his daddy, he had a strong bone structure, thick, dark brows, and dark gray eyes. He was beautiful, and if she didn’t know he was a good kid, she’d lock him up.

Opening the back, he threw in his bag. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, honey.”

“Hey, Aiden.”

Fallon about broke her neck trying to see who was calling her son’s name. She saw a pair of girls standing beside the stairs in what she felt were too short skirts. Sure, they were cheerleading skirts, but still. Fallon glared as Aiden turned, tipping his chin at them. “Hey.”

“Are you going to the dance on Friday?”

“Probably not, I’ve got a game.”

One of them puckered her lips. “Can’t you come after?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll let you know. Have a good practice.”

“Okay, I’ll save you a dance.”

When he flashed her a grin, his dimples shining in all their precious glory, Fallon shook her head.

There was Lucas Brooks reincarnated.

“Cool. See ya.”

Closing the back, Aiden walked around, and she swore he had grown another inch or so.

Opening the door, he climbed in and looked over at her. “You know, being the oldest, I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be forgotten. Emery is.”

Fallon glared. “Shut up. I’m exhausted. It was a late night. How did you even get here?”

“Brayden’s mom drove me, like you asked her to at practice.”

Fallon paused as she moved the shifter of her van into Drive. “I did, didn’t I?”

“You did,” he said dryly, throwing his legs up on the dash as he started to play on his phone.

“Hmm. Hey, at least I got that far,” she decided, hitting the gas.

“Thank God.”

“Practice was good?”

“Great. Coach is happy with me.”

“Good.”

“Heard Bellevue is looking at me.”

Fallon glanced over at him. “From whom?”

“Coach.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, he said I should talk to my counselor.”

“For what?”

“I have enough credits to graduate this summer and start over there if I wanted.”

Fallon’s heart stopped. “You just turned seventeen.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want that?”

“Yeah,” he laughed, looking over at her. “Mom, I want to go to college so I can go into the draft. The Sinclair brothers all went to Bellevue. I need that exposure before I enter the draft.”

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Too much. This was her baby. Her firstborn and he was ready to go.

He was itching for the NHL. He wanted to play like his father. He wanted to live his hockey dreams, and all she wanted was for him to go back to fighting hippogriffs. “Talk to your father about this. You’re making my head hurt.”

Aiden laughed. “Mom, I’m getting older. I’m practically a m—”

“Shut your dirty mouth, Aiden James Brooks.”

He laughed harder as she turned down the main road. “Where we going?”

“Audrey’s.”

“Why?”

“I gotta get some donuts she made for your father for winning last night, and then I gotta approve the cake she’s making for Stella’s birthday next weekend.”

“Do I have to go to that?”

She flashed him a dirty look. “You mean your sister’s birthday?”

“Yeah.”

“Of course you do. You’re the damn crab, Sebastian.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No,” she said simply. “I hope the costume fits.”

“Oh my God.”

“I even hired a photographer. So when you’re in the NHL and they need those pictures of you growing up, I’ll have that one.”

“You’re horrible.”

“I try.”

He scoffed, and she grinned over at him before pulling onto the road that held Audrey Jane’s. “So, who were those girls?”

“Addy and Melissa.”

“Your fans?”

“Everyone is my fan,” he said, waggling his eyebrows, and she laughed. “I’m practically a hockey-playing god, Mom.”

“All right, pump the brakes there, mister. You’re no Vaughn Johansson.”

Aiden laughed. “JoJo is amazing.”

“He is, but he’s cocky as all hell,” she said simply, pulling into Audrey Jane’s and

parking beside her baby sister’s car. Getting out, they went inside just as Fallon’s niece, Penelope, hollered out, “Welcome to Audrey Jane’s!”

Fallon beamed as Aiden ran after Penny, gobbling her up and tickling her before Audrey came out of the back, a grin on her face. “Hey.”

“Hey, you,” Fallon said, kissing the back of Penny’s head.

“You’re here early.”

“Yeah, I forgot to pick my kid up after practice, so here I am. Where is Philippe?”

“With Tate. He didn’t want to come in.”

Fallon nodded. “How’s Tate feeling?”

Audrey exhaled loudly since the subject of her husband, the Assassins’ starting goalie, Tate Odder, was a touchy one. He had a serious groin injury and had had surgery about two months ago, but he still wasn’t recuperating from it well. An infection had spread and knocked him down some more, long after the doctors had assumed he would be back on the ice. So it was easy to say the Odder family was very tense. “Lots of pain, but I guess he’s getting better. He doesn’t talk about it. He mainly asks me to make cupcakes. He’s pissed he missed last night.

Thank God Jensen did great.”

“Right?” Fallon agreed with a nod. “Well, hopefully, he’ll be up and at it soon.”

“I don’t know, Fal, I just don’t know.”

“What does that mean?” Aiden asked. “Uncle Tate’s okay, isn’t he?”

Audrey faked a grin. “Of course. Come here. You want a cupcake?”

Aiden laughed. “You know, I’m seventeen, you can’t distract me— Whoa, are those cookie dough?”

Audrey smiled happily at Fallon as she shook her head, and Aiden took the cupcake.

“Come on, I’ll show you the cake for Stella, and your donuts are right there.”

Aiden looked at the donuts. “Can I have one?”

“Save one for your dad.”

“Okay,” he said with a mouthful as she followed Audrey to the back.

“Kid has a tapeworm, I swear. He’s always eating.”

Audrey laughed. “He’s always been an eater. It’s not fair.”

“Agreed.”

As Fallon followed her into the kitchen, Audrey looked back at her sister. “I think he might have to retire.”

“Who? What? Tate?” Fallon’s eyes widened. “Never.”

“Yeah, he is grief-stricken about it and things are bad, but he can’t seem to get better. I don’t know. I told him he needs to decide.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, it’s not good. We’re fighting a lot, and he’s withdrawn because he feels like a failure. Shit’s so bad, he started to go see Wren Lemiere, the team’s therapist.”

“Good for him,” Fallon said, exhaling hard. “I hate that for him, though.”

Audrey nodded as she turned on her computer. “Me too. At least you don’t have to worry about that. Lucas’s got at least nine more years in him.”

Fallon shot her sister a wry smile. “He creaks when he walks. I’m waiting for him to tell me he’s done.”

“He won’t.”

“I know, which makes me nervous.”

“Yeah, but you know, Lucas would be okay. Tate...he’s not, and I just want my happy husband back. I’m worried he won’t be happy without hockey.”

“No, he has you guys. He loves you three. So much.”

“I know he does, and he is the best father ever. Sucky in the husband department right now, but I get it. We’ll be okay.”

“You will,” she said, wrapping her arms around her sister. “Don’t worry.”

“Thanks.” Audrey hugged Fallon back as the computer came on. “Okay, so here it is. The best Ariel cake for my niece.”

Fallon grinned as she took in the perfect seven tiers of Ariel-themed cake. “She’ll flip her shit.”

“That’s my goal.”

“It’s perfect.”

“Awesome,” she said, shutting her computer lid. “I’ll be over next Saturday morning to set everything up.”

“Cool.” Fallon leaned her hip to the counter as she met her sister’s gaze. Audrey had changed so much over the years. She used to be obsessed with her weight. Now, she stayed healthy, even if she was rounder than she used to be. Kids would do that, though. One thing was for sure. Even with all the shit going on, Audrey had a grin on her face that Tate and the kids had put there. Her sister was complete, and like she’d said, she would be okay. Fallon just knew it.

But Fallon was pretty sure she was going to have her own mini heart attack. “Aiden told me his coach said he could probably graduate early and that Bellevue might want him.”

Audrey’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you say?”

“For him to talk to his father!”

Audrey laughed. “Fallon.”

“What?”

“It would be great.”

“He’s a baby.”

“He’s seventeen. He’s a great kid. Smart and talented as hell.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think I want him to do it.”

“If it’s going to be what’s best for his career, then he has to, you know?”

Biting her lip, Fallon nodded. “We’ll see what my husband says. If he can even move.”

Audrey smiled. “He’s sore today?”

“Yes, bless him. I don’t know if he’ll make through the whole series in one piece.”

“He is old now.”

“He isn’t a spring chicken, for sure.” Fallon grinned. “Except in the bedroom.”

“Ew!”

Fallow snorted as Audrey shook her head and then smiled. “I think they’re going to go the whole way. I feel it.”

Fallon nodded. “I do too. Rumor is, Elli was in the locker room crying last night. She’s so emotional.”

“Think she’s pregnant again?”

Fallon laughed. “Lord, I hope not!”

“Right? She’s already so damn busy.”

“I know.” Fallon shook her head. “Are you going to Lucy’s baby shower next Sunday?”

“Did you not check the group?”

Fallon just looked at her. “Obviously not, Audrey.”

“It’s been postponed until further notice.”

“Why?”

“Because of the play-offs.”

“That’s dumb. Why plan it around the play-offs, then?”

“I don’t have an answer for that, but they called me asking to hold off on the cake.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Which is good ’cause I can focus on Stella’s cake.”

“This is true. Ariel needs all your attention anyway.”

Audrey grinned as she leaned into her sister. “You know, you can come by more.”

“Same for you. Or come to the winery, and I’ll get you drunk.”

Audrey beamed. “That’s a plan.”

“Mom! Let’s go! Penny is going to make me fat.”

Penny’s giggles met them in the kitchen, and Fallon laughed. “Kid couldn’t get fat if he tried.”

“Right?” Audrey asked, shaking her head. “And what’s up with his hair?”

“I don’t know. I want to cut it, but he won’t let me.”

Audrey laughed as they went out of the kitchen to find Penny feeding Aiden cookie after cookie. “Mom,” he whined, and Fallon laughed.

“Hey, boogey butt—”

“Audrey!” Aiden complained, and they all laughed since he hated his nickname. “I told you about calling me that.”

She feigned hurt. “You are my baby, and I will call you that if I want. Even when you’re a big, hotshot hockey player, I’ll be in the stands hollering, ‘That’s my boogey butt!’”

“Mom,” he groaned, and Fallon just kept laughing.

“Anyway, if I throw gum in your hair, will you let me cut it?”

He glared. “Stay away from me.”

“It’s so long. And dirty,” Audrey said, coming toward him, and when Fallon saw the scissors in her hand, she tried to stifle her laughter.

“I washed it like ten minutes ago!” he said, slowly stepping back from his aunt.

“It’s ugly. Let me cut it.” She went for the bun, but he deked around her, running to Fallon and hiding behind her. Which was pointless since he was practically seven times her size.

“Leave me alone! Mom! Tell her to leave me alone.”

“We’re leaving.” Picking up the donuts...well, the three that were left, Fallon shook her head. “Bye, Penny loaf,” she called to Penelope.

“Bye, Auntie!”

“Bye,” Audrey sang. “I’ll get you later, Aiden James.”

Going outside, Aiden looked over at Fallon. “You won’t let her cut my hair, right?”

“I mean, if she gets to you before I do, I’m sorry for ya.”

“I look amazing!”

“You look like a damn fool,” she said, opening the door. “But I love you.”

He shot her an exasperated look. “Do I really have to be Sebastian next weekend?”

“No,” she laughed, shaking her head. “Asher is Sebastian. You’re Flounder.”

“Mom!”

With a grin on her lips, she got in the car.

But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t worried about Aiden.

Or Tate.

Or even her dinosaur of a husband at home, who might or might not make it through the play-offs.

About the Author:

My name is Toni Aleo and I’m a total dork.

I am a wife, mother of two and a bulldog, and also a hopeless romantic.

I am the biggest Shea Weber fan ever, and can be found during hockey season with my nose pressed against the Bridgestone Arena’s glass, watching my Nashville Predators play!

When my nose isn’t pressed against the glass, I enjoy going to my husband and son’s hockey games, my daughter’s dance competition, hanging with my best friends, taking pictures, scrapbooking, and reading the latest romance novel.

I have a slight Disney and Harry Potter obsession, I love things that sparkle, I love the color pink, I might have been a Disney Princess in a past life… probably Belle.

… and did I mention I love hockey?

Author Links:

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Web: http://tonialeo.com/

Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5255580.Toni_Aleo

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Toni-Aleo/e/B005SSZGTY