Breaking — City Newcomers Caught Failing to Break into the Senobium. No breaking and entering occurred, officially, due to the aforementioned failing, but they arrested them anyway…

IT’S BLACK HISTORY MONTH!!! Kudos to the Tumblr @bfpnola community (sorry Instagram!) for helping me to create this post. I want BFP to be as interactive as possible and y’all have made this a dream come true! 

Anyhow, I recently rediscovered a picture of the Black Panthers, Yellow Peril, and the Brown Berets protesting together against the arrest of Huey Newton. Maybe I was being too emotional but it moved me to tears to see people from so many backgrounds, so many struggles, come together to fight white supremacy. With those same ideals in mind, I stumbled upon so many other community-based liberation organizations that had been forgotten to time. Some were snuffed out by the government and others broke apart due to differing views on various subjects. Regardless, these organizations were and still are powerful. They held the nation in the palms of their hands. We deserve to learn about all they did for BIPOC in this country, all they did for marginalized communities in general!

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Community-Based Liberation - 1960s to Now by @bfpnola 

BLACK PANTHER PARTY (Simplified)

The Black Panther Party, originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale to challenge police brutality against the Black community. Functioning as a community-based political organization and neighborhood watch, the Black Panthers saw capitalism as the root cause of racial injustice and poverty in the United States. In response, they established free health clinics, an accredited elementary school, and fed 10,000 kids daily through their own free breakfast programs. The Black Panther Party also fought for education and treatment of sickle cell anemia, tuberculosis, and later HIV/AIDS.

Unfortunately though, their message of socialism and Black nationalism made them the target of a secret FBI counterintelligence program called COINTELPRO, which would eventually lead to the organization's decline. Even the FBI’s first director, J. Edgar Hoover, believed that the Black Panther Party was, “One of the greatest threats to the nation’s internal security."

In the top left, a picture of Huey Newton’s mugshot. He grimaces at the camera with a full afro and tired expression. Below is a photo of a woman with a large afro and a leather jacket in a woven chair, a gun in one hand and a staff in the other. She has black sunglasses on, looking powerfully towards the camera. Below is another photo, a line of male Black Panthers protesting, each wearing a suit with a Black Panther Party brooch and beret.

YELLOW PERIL (Simplified)

The phrase "Yellow Peril" actually refers to the racist Western fear during the 1800s of East Asian peoples being a threat to American ideals such as democracy and Christianity. The phrase was reclaimed by some as a form of empowerment during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Specifically, students at San Francisco State University and University of California Berkeley formed the “Third World Liberation Front,” a coalition of SFSU’s Black Student Union, the Mexican American Student Confederation, the Asian-American Political Alliance, and the Native American Student Alliance. The goal of the Third World Liberation Front was to establish a BIPOC-focused academic curriculum.

"Yellow Peril" was also used by former Black Panther Party officer Richard Aoki, the only Asian American to hold leadership in the Black Panthers. Despite its usage in such powerful moments, varying perspectives are still held on the phrase "Yellow Peril." It isn't all-inclusive of all Asian Americans and not every Asian feels comfortable identifying as "yellow," a slur still used to demonize them to this day.

In the top left, a photo of an Asian American “Yellow Peril” protester holding his ground. To the center right, a photo of two “Yellow Peril” men holding painted signs. One sign reads “Set Huey Free” and the other sign reads “Yellow Peril Supports Black Power.” They both wear sunglasses, leisurely leaning on an old model of a car.

BROWN BERETS (Simplified)

Formed by high school students in 1966, Young Chicanos For Community Action were created in response to Mexican American police brutality, inadequate public schools and education, health care, job opportunities, political representation, and the Vietnam War. Their berets, taking inspiration from the uniforms of the Black Panther Party, gained them the nickname "Brown Berets." The Brown Berets were anti-racism, anti-fascism, anti-capitalism, and anti-war, actively protesting against the murders and abuses of the Los Angeles' Sheriff Department.

Their activism helped to inspire the Chicano Movement, or El Movimiento, a political and social movement to combat structural racism and to empower the Mexican American community. (Alternatively, "Xicano" is used to acknowledge Indigenous ancestry or "Chicanx" for gender-inclusivity.) Both the Brown Berets and the Chicano Movement relied on the concept of Aztlán, all the annexed Mexican territories in the U.S. that the Chicanos felt they had a legal and primordial right to own. Unfortunately though, the Brown Berets were eventually infiltrated by COINTELPRO, the same FBI organization that targeted the Black Panthers. While they still exist to this day, they don't hold the same platform they once used to because of this infiltration.

In the top left, a photo of a young, female Brown Beret with ammunition strapped diagonally across her chest both to the left and right. She stares intently at the camera with Chicano liberation posters in the background. Two more photos are below. One photo is of a group of male Brown Berets sitting on the doorsteps of a building, each holding a serious expression. One man in the back of the photo holds a rifle, standing above them all. The second photo is of a protest with a female Brown Beret leading the fight for justice, her fist raised to the air.

YOUNG LORDS (Simplified)

The Young Lords were a Chicago street gang-turned-national political and social organization that fought for the liberation and justice of Puerto Ricans, Latinx, and colonized peoples (including Black, Asian, and Indigenous Americans). Because of this mission statement, the organization had not only Puerto Rican members but those of Dominican, Cuban, Panamanian, Mexican, and even African descent as well. Founded in 1968 by José “Cha Cha” Jiménez, it all started with a battle against gentrification in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. From there, Cha Cha and his crew provided street clean-ups, breakfast for students, clothing donations, health testing, political education, and even walked students to and from school, all at no cost.

Soon, the Young Lords' anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-capitalist, and anti-misogyny ideologies gained popularity in New York, which had the largest Puerto Rican population in the country at the time. The New York Young Lords later broke off and identified as the Young Lord Party.

Overall, the Young Lords were a powerful group and their legacy lives on in current-day organizations like Mijente.

In the top left, a photo of Cha Cha with a cigarette in his mouth, a beret on his head, adorned with pins. Two more photos are below to the right. One is of the time the Young Lords placed the Puerto Rican flag on the Statue of Liberty’s forehead. The other is of various Young Lords marching through the streets, mainly female members, fighting for justice.

AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT (Simplified)

The American Indian Movement was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 by Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, Eddie Benton Banai, and George Mitchell to fight for Indigenous economic independence, revitalization of traditional culture, protection of legal rights, autonomy over tribal areas, and land restoration. One of their most notable protests took place from November 1969 to June 1971. AIM occupied the abandoned federal penitentiary Alcatraz, asserting all out-of-use federal land was to be returned to the Natives who once occupied it. Later in 1972, AIM formed the Trail of Broken Treaties, a protest that called for the restoration of tribes’ treaty-making authority, the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and investment in jobs, housing, and education.

Sadly, AIM was targeted by COINTELPRO, the same FBI organization that targeted the Black Panthers and the Brown Berets. Fortunately though, AIM still exists to this day. The American Indian Movement was just one of many groups within the Red Power Movement, a social movement led by Native American youth to demand self-determination for Native Americans in the United States.

In the top left, a photo of Native American protesters wearing traditional headdresses/war bonnets typically worn by male leaders of the American Plains Indians Nations. Bellow is another photo of several Indigenous leaders within AIM signing papers.

RAINBOW COALITION (Simplified)

The Rainbow Coalition was an alliance formed by Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party in 1969 with William "Preacherman" Fesperman of the Young Patriots Organization and José "Cha Cha" Jiménez, founder of the Young Lords. (The Young Patriots Organization supported young, working-class white migrants.) Later, the coalition included other socialist organizations, some considered radical at the time, such as the Lincoln Park Poor People's Coalition, the Students for a Democratic Society, the Brown Berets, the American Indian Movement, the Red Guard Party, and Rising Up Angry.

Together, the Rainbow Coalition fought against poverty, corruption, police brutality, and substandard housing, showed up at each others' protests, and even brokered treaties to end crime and gang violence. The FBI sought to dismantle them at any cost because the coalition threatened the very foundation of the United States: structural and systemic oppression. But in a surprising twist, the Rainbow Coalition was overshadowed by Reverend Jesse Jackson's politically moderate non-profit, Rainbow/PUSH, which held similar ideals of inter-racial unity. There is little to no information left on the original coalition.

In the top left, a photo of Fred Hampton with several microphones in front of him, likely speaking to a crowd. Below to the right are two photos. One is of Fred Hampton announcing the Rainbow Coalition with the leaders of the Young Patriots Organization and the Young Lords standing behind him. The other photo is of two children, one presumably white and the other Black, eating a free meal provided by the Rainbow Coalition.

INTERSECTIONALITY (Simplified)

Black Panther Party • Yellow Peril • Brown Berets • Young Lords • American Indian Movement • Rainbow Coalition 

The first clear connection is that all of these organizations were inspired by the Black Panther Party and the Black Power movement, even down to some of their outfits. Not only this, but they were also heavily inspired by socialism & the autonomy it provided.

More importantly though, their partnerships were founded on the principles of Black-Brown-Yellow-Red unity. Black-Brown-Yellow-Red unity is a political ideology developed by Black scholars and activists for Black, Mexican and Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous Americans to unite against white supremacy, colonialism, capitalism, and European perceptions of masculinity and beauty. Especially in the modern-day, Black-Brown unity has been brought into the forefront with the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the disparities it reveals amongst these communities.

To summarize, these organizations prove that community-based liberation and unity are not only an integral part of BIPOC history but American history as a whole. Our history is your history. Always has been, Always will be.

In the top left, a digital painting of a yellow tiger and a black panther swirling in the shape of a ying yang symbol, symbolic of the support between Yellow Peril and the Black Panther Party. Artwork by Seattle-based artist Monyee Chau. Below are two more photos. The first photo is of a Brown Beret and a Black Panther standing and protesting together. The second photo is of two Black Panthers protesting with a young Brown Beret in the center. They look off into the distance.

The next slide shows the Black Panthers, Yellow Peril, and the Brown Berets protesting the arrest of Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, on the steps of a court. On the top step, two Brown Berets stand on either side of a Black Panther, each looking center towards their Black Panther counterpart. On the bottom steps are Yellow Peril protesters with “Free Huey” signs. The caption reads, “The Black Panthers, Yellow Peril, and the Brown Berets protesting the arrest of Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party. The inspiration for this entire post.”

SOURCES

History.com: Black Panthers

New York Historical Society: Black Panthers: Art & History

Chicago Sun Times: The Killing of Fred Hampton

Asian Americans Writers Workshop: Yellow Peril: 19th-Century Scapegoating

BGSU Gallery: Asian Immigration: Yellow Peril

Asia Media International: ‘YELLOW PERIL SUPPORTS BLACK POWER’: RECLAIMING THE WORD ‘YELLOW’

Teen Vogue: The Brown Berets, as Explained by Founding Member Dr. David Sanchez

Albany.edu Scholars Archive: Cointelpro

Remezcla: 5 Things History Books Won’t Tell You About the Young Lords’ Activism

14East: 50 Years Later: Lessons in Activism from the Young Lords of Lincoln Park

Young Lords Party 13-Point Program and Platform

Black Power UNC: The Rainbow Coalition - A Time to Fear

Jacobin: The Panthers and the Patriots

South Side Weekly: Fifty Years of Fred Hampton’s Rainbow Coalition

Britannica: American Indian Movement

AIM Interpretive Center: History of AIM

National Geographic: The radical history of the Red Power movement's fight for Native American sovereignty

Ramon Ramirez Literature Review: Black/Brown Unity and Coalition Building

Georgia State University: Building Black-Brown Coalitions in the Southeast

i’ll make this feel like home

ole miss rafe x reader

rafe moves to starkville

my followers: we want pike jj!

me: no <3

warnings: cursing, drinking, very little editing

You’d stopped going home for the summer the summer after your sophomore year, and when you graduated, your parents made the drive to Starkville with the rest of your stuff to help you move and get situated in your new apartment.

“Where’s Rafe?” your dad asked, stretched out on the couch after all the furniture was moved in.

You hummed, straightening the flag you’d hung on the wall, “Still in Oxford, his lease runs out in a few weeks.”

He grimaced at Oxford and sighed, “Well, when he finally escapes, where’s he moving to?”

“Aspen Heights.”

Your dad whistled lowly, “Fancy place, huh?”

“Yeah, he liked the in-complex gym.”

“Is he going to need help moving in?” your mom asked, sitting down next to your dad.

“Don’t think so, I think some of his frat buddies were going to help him.”

They both nodded and your dad stood, stretching out, “Alright, let’s hit Little Dooey and then your mom and I will head on home.”

“I’m good,” you told them, “gonna finish hanging up all my stuff and then order some pizza probably.”

Your dad gave you a look, “We’re paying, come eat good food please.”

You rolled your eyes but started to pull your shoes on, not one to argue with free food.

-

“Hey, baby,” Rafe yelled into the phone and you flinched, pulling it away from your ear for a second.

“Hey, Cameron. Whatcha doing?”

“Me and the boys are finishing up here, were thinking about going to get drinks. Do you have any bar recommendations here?”

You pouted and paused the show you were watching on TV, stretching your legs out across the couch before answering, “I kind of wanted to show you new places, not so you can go infiltrate them with your Ole Miss buddies.”

“You can come,” he offered and you could hear a loud chorus of groans in the background.

“No,” you declined with a sigh, “don’t want to infringe on your last bit of guy time. Just go to Mugshots or something.”

“Babe,” he whined, “we have one of those in Oxford.”

“Mhmm,” you replied, “you took me there on a date once.”

Rafe snorted, “Point taken. We’ll just Yelp some bars or something.”

Later that night, you opened a snapchat from Rafe asking what you were up to, and in the corner of the screen, you could see a Mugshots menu. Grinning, you sent back a picture of the TV screen.

-

A few weeks before school started, Rafe and you had orientation. Your group made plans to head to a bar after the last day, and Rafe with a few of the students in his program met you there. Four shots in, you leaned heavily into Rafe’s side and smiled dopily at him, “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Hey, bub, how was day three?”

“Good, we got to tour all the labs and stuff, and we got our reading list for the semester.”

“Big classes?” he asked.

“Oh yeah, lots of new faces,” you nodded seriously before straightening up, “but I did recognize some from my classes in undergrad.”

“Oh yeah? Glad you have a familiar face!”

You nodded, humming, before asking, “Oh, how was your day?”

“We toured the library,” he made a face, “and then talked about the curriculum as a whole, what was expected of us and all that fun stuff.”

“Do you think you’re going to like it?” you asked.

“I think so, yeah.”

“I don’t,” you trailed off, “I don’t want you to regret choosing Mississippi State and regret me.”

His eyebrows furrowed and he bent down, face coming in close to yours, “What are you talking about?”

You shrugged, cheeks burning, and looked away, “I don’t know. I just feel like you miss your friends and I don’t want you to be miserable.”

Rafe tilted your chin up, “I could never be miserable with you.”

“Promise?” you asked weakly, holding up your pinky.

“Promise,” he answered solemnly, linking pinkies, “now, let’s drink tonight, no reason to be thinking about sad things when we just made it through orientation.”

“Let’s go,” you cheered, pulling away, “Round five on me!”

And that was the last thing you remembered until you woke up the next day, mouth dry and head aching. Rafe was pressed against your back, arm wrapped loosely around your waist. Looking around, you recognized that you were in your bed, and slowly climbed out, trying not to disturb him.

The clock on the stove in the kitchen read 11:00, and you filled a cup with water to start rehydrating. Not even 20 minutes later, Rafe trudged out, rubbing his eyes tiredly before pushing his glasses up his nose, and pulled the fridge open. He scanned a few seconds before letting the door close, “You have no food.”

“Yeah,” your voice cracked, “I gotta go grocery shopping soon.”

“What the fuck are we supposed to eat?”

You shrugged, taking another sip of water, and then brightened, “Wait, actually, I want to take you to Starkville Café.”

“You drive,” was his only answer.

In no time the two of you were walking out the door, teeth and hair brushed, but pretty much nothing else looking presentable. You downed two Advil and cranked up the car, pulling out your hangover sunglasses to wear on the drive there.

While it wasn’t a game weekend, Starkville Café still had it’s normal line on the sidewalk. “Spot,” Rafe called out and you slammed on the brakes, pulling into the one open parking spot on the street.

He got on the list, and the two of you stood outside to wait. It was hot and there wasn’t much shade left. Rafe was leaned against the wall, and you stood in front of him, forehead pressed into his chest. One of his arms draped loosely over your shoulders, and you shut your eyes, basking in the quiet moment.

Humming, Rafe pressed a kiss to your temple stroked his other hand up and down one of your arms. You swore you could’ve fallen asleep, eyes fluttering, until a worker stepped out and called, “Rafe, party of two,” several times.

The restaurant was loud when the two of you sat down, and Rafe looked around curiously at all the strange décor on the walls. You covered your laugh with a cough at his mildly disturbed look, “Get the chocolate milk, it’s unmatched.”

You already knew what you wanted, and it didn’t take long for Rafe to figure out his order. When the waitress had dropped off your drinks and picked up the menus, Rafe leaned forward onto his elbow and nudged your foot with his under the table.

“Anything you want to get off your chest?” he asked you, face earnest.

“No,” you squinted at him, confused.

“Last night you mentioned that you were worried I would regret my decision to move here with you.”

Inhaling sharply, you felt your cheeks heat up, “I didn’t, I mean, I don’t want you to.”

“I don’t.”

“Good.”

Rafe nodded, “Good. I just need you to know that I was looking at this program already, before you and I even got together.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. I wasn’t interested in leaving the South and MSU had a European tract. And I’ll find friends here too, sure I miss some of my frat brothers, but I’ll get settled here. Plus, I want to be with you.”

“I believe you, I just don’t want you to be here out of obligation. Obviously, I love it here, but it’s not for everyone.”

Rafe snorted, “I will say it’s going to be a bit of adjustment going down to just one movie theatre.”

Your jaw dropped at his teasing words just as the waitress sat his food down in front of him, “I cannot believe you’re still harping on that.”

Cutting a piece of his pancake, he smirked, “Can you really not?”

“It wasn’t cute the first time and it’s still not cute now.”

“The fact that we’re currently dating says otherwise.”

You rolled your eyes and muttered, “Whatever,” turning your focus toward your food. After a few seconds you felt Rafe kick you again under the table.

“In case it’s not clear, I’ll gladly go to only one movie theatre with you.”

“Nerd,” you told him, trying to hide a smile.

“Only for you.”

im tired so I can’t think of a threat but if you read this and you’re not @angelwiththeblue-box ue-box then I’ll cut off your uvula and make you drown in your own blood

Anthony was just stepping out of the Sanctum when he got the call on his glasses. They buzzed gently against his face as his sister's name flashed right in front of his eyes, reminding him that his sister was the only person connected to his spectacles. And she only called him for one thing. "I will thank every god in the multiverse if you tell me right now that you're not in prison again," Anthony whispered with a seething rage as he answered the call, his fingers flexing on a stress ball.

Her overly long silence wasn't comforting. I'm in prison again.

Not knowing whether to scream or break things, Anthony just inhaled sharply as his stress ball popped. "Frigga, I'm about to go on a date! With Atreo! Remember, the Greek god of a man that I'm somehow dating?"

I remember.

"Is there at least not anyone there who's going to immediately kill you? Can you wait a night? Please?"

There was a huff from the other end. You're going to leave your sister in prison for a night to have sex with a mortal?

"Well he doesn't make me break him out of space prison!!" Frigga was right of course. He had to help her. And normally he didn't mind it, it was cracking codes and breaking laws, two of his favorite things, but Atreo was... hot. And Anthony was gay. It was unfair. But like the message of every single Fast and the Furious movie, family came first. "Fine. I'll help. But you owe me big time."

Okay okay, I owe you I owe you, just help me get out of here.

So with the gay side of his mind screaming at him to go hook up with a man carved out of stone, he teleported into his lab and plopped down into his swivel chair with a huff, then letting it roll him over to his main computer. "What prison are you at?" He started up the monitor and tossed his destroyed stress ball over his shoulder.

The Xandarian one.

Anthony groaned. "Again? Stop going to Xandar! They know you're a war criminal!"

It was just a little treason, don't be such a bitch.

"It's not the crimes, it's the fact that you keep going to the places where you know you'll be arrested. I'm a felon on at least 12 planets, but at least I'm smart enough to avoid them," Anthony pointed out, tapping the correct coordinates into the computer before dragging out the 3D model of the building and spinning it around in his hands. "But I guess it's better than one we've never broken out of before. Even though you'll probably be locked up twice as much and have three times as many guards making sure you don't get out. Fun. Really really fun." Anthony double tapped the side of his glasses to increase the volume on her end. "Where are you right now?"

I'm in line for my mugshot. My wrists are locked together with power dampers and there's a guard ready to taser me if I take a wrong step, but besides that I'm pretty free. So I was able to tap the piece with my shoulder and they just think I'm crazy talking to myself. Same place as last time.

The young scientist increased the size of the hologram prison until he spotted the room she was talking about and he then pulled it out before pushing it back into the computer. The camera footage from that room immediately popped up. Due to Frigga being arrested so frequently, he had already programmed the entire hologram with the codes needed to access both their camera and security system. It just made the whole process a lot simpler. "Alright I'm in." Anthony rolled forward in the chair and squinted at the monitor, increasing the picture with two outstretched fingers until he could zoom in on where his sister stood waiting for her mugshot to be taken next. "Oh my god, you put up another fight didn't you?"

...Maybe.

With a groan Anthony leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You may be powerful Frigga, but you, with your wrists and neck locked, and your powers suppressed, and four Xandarian guards surrounding you, you absolutely will not win in any situation." And it was obvious she didn't win that time either. A black ring was around her eye with blood dripping down her philtrum and her chin, as well as what appeared to be another bruise on her left cheekbone.

Says the guy with more scars to mark his battles than me.

She was right. She was. But that didn't mean he liked it. "This isn't about my problems right now, this is about yours," Anthony pointed out. "Focus on listening to directions. I don't want you to get hit again." Even though she was messing up his date, that's not how he wanted to get revenge on her. He already had a better plan that was calming his anger just from knowing they'd be even in the end.

You're not breaking me out now?

"Surrounded by guards and other unstable patients and chained up to your ass? I'm not stupid. Just trust me, I know what I'm doing."

A sigh came from her end. Fine. But I need to get a new prison breakout guy. My current one's too slow.

Anthony laughed back. If he was suffering emotionally, then she could too. It was only fair. "I'm the best in the business honey, don't underestimate me. And I don't make you pay me. Calculating the exact price of a hacker-if we ignore the fact that they would have to be available for you at any time since you get arrested way more than the average person-with the amount of times I've helped you out, including now, that adds up to about... $14,191. And we're poor."

Fuck you.

"Fuck you too, I'm out of fourteen hundred dollars and a date. Now just pretend to be obedient for the next 20 minutes and I'll get you out."

I still hate you.

"I hate you too."

The siblings fell into silence as Frigga's arm was grabbed and she was then pushed onto the platform, right in front of the electronic height measurer that all mugshots had for some reason. In her flat shoes she rose up to the marking of 6' 1". Which did annoy Anthony a bit, as he sort of received the short end of the stick when it came to tall genetics, but he swallowed his jealousy and listened to what the officers had to say while she was scanned and her pictures were taken. ACAB might be true, but they did have some pretty interesting banter.

She's back again? one guard, who Anthony nicknamed 'Terry' on the spot, commented with a hint of sarcasm.

Yep, the other guard, nicknamed 'Jake', responded with a small *pop* on the 'p'. The bounty's big on her, I'm surprised she wasn't handed over sooner.

Well she's escaped out of here thrice, so she's obviously got some tricks up her sleeves.

Jake let out a low whistle. Three times? That's gotta be a record.

It is. She just... slips through our fingers every single time. I don't know how she does it. Maybe with an accomplice or something, something that our camera's can't detect, maybe a brother or a parent or a friend, but there's no way they'll get through this a fourth time.

The two space cops laughed and assumedly bumped their fists together based on the small popping noise that came from the other end. Anthony only smirked and then tuned out their annoying voices when it moved to annoying prison stuff to then jot down the information typed out on the wall where she stood, describing her ethnicity, criminal background (there was a lot of that), special powers, descriptive marks, etc etc. He didn't look up when she was told to turn to her side.

You're paying attention, right? I can hear you writing something, Frigga suddenly interrupted.

"I have to record all the information they have on you to figure out if it can possibly be exploited. I'm organized Frigga, and anything can be important."

Frigga just groaned. Just get me out.

"Patience... is a virtue."

Patience can kiss my ass.

"You can kiss your ass goodbye if you don't shut up and follow the guards; I can see them looking at you." Although it was mostly to shut her up, he technically was telling the truth, as one of the guards broke out from the group to grab Frigga's bicep and pull her away from the mugshot space. Normal prisoners moved on their own with guards nearby, but three time escapists were snatched and moved on their own. Which Frigga wasn't used to, nor did she like. If Anthony wasn't there to bargain with her for her peace she definitely would have put up another fight and made practically everything ten times harder for herself. "I'll lead your escape plan in the direction of killing that guard," he offered as a reward if she stayed calm. A pretty useful tactic that both of them used on each other whenever something that they weren't good at was involved and needed to be done.

And it worked as usual. Frigga just huffed and pushed her shoulders back in order to hold her head high as she was walked toward where she would be temporarily staying, knowing she'd get to slaughter the person manhandling her in the end. Anthony followed them through the different rooms along the different security cameras.

More and more shackles were added as they went. A muzzle slapped on that thankfully still let her speak, new and bigger handcuffs, legs chained together to be dragged along the floor, and a full on torso restraint, all with Frigga looking more and more annoyed. It was actually pretty funny. Not that Anthony would say that aloud since he knew she'd just get (rightfully) mad. Although he had clicked record a minute prior and planned to laugh his ass off in front of her later. Once no one's life (but his) was in danger.

Eventually there were enough chains on her and she had reached her single containment facility, so while one guard lifted her up from the ground, the other opened the door for her to be thrown inside like a sack of potatoes before they then slammed it shut. At that Anthony had to laugh audibly at.

Oh fuck off.

"You didn't- they just- they just fucking threw you-" Anthony struggled out, wheezing through the words due to how hard he was laughing. It was so fucking funny. "You should have seen yourselffff."

Get me out of prison quicker so I can kill you quicker.

Anthony had to take another minute or two to stop laughing before he could actually get to work. "Alright, could you describe your surroundings? I have no quick way of getting in there."

Fine. I'm in a small, most likely vibranium room, about four feet by ten feet by... 12 feet. There are some sort of magnets in the back that connect to the chains' padlocks, so as soon as I was tossed in they snapped together, so now I'm hung up kinda like Jesus Christ on the cross. The room besides the door is bare.

"Any cracks above or below the door?"

Not a thing. They really don't want me to get out of here.

"But you will. Could you describe your chains to me? I didn't get a good look when I was watching you before."

The links are about three inches across, the metal an inch thick, and the cuffs are as heavy as Jeff, being almost four inches up and one and a half inches thick. They cover most of my forearms. The color is... a dark gray with a little hint of navy blue. Uh, I should paint this scene. I think I could really piss some Christians off with it because no joke, I'm exactly positioned like Jesus was in the El Greco pai-

Silence followed for a few seconds. Anthony was planning on telling her to focus once her sentence was done and comment on her mention of Jeff, their childhood 15 pound cat, but the end of it never came. So he just zoomed in on the door and increased the volume on her side once more. "Frigga? Come in Frigga."

There wasn't even silence on the other end. Static started to come through. "What the-" Anthony's work didn't produce static. His inventions and creations didn't create static. Ever. "Frigga tell me this is a joke, what's going on?" There had been no movement at the door, and as he was forced to take Frigga's word about the room's layout, there was no other entrance to it. "Frigga. Come on."

The only reason he was snapped out of the repeated cycle of him adjusting his glasses and repeating his sister's name was because his other senses perked up and he caught the feeling of a presence behind him. A certainly unfamiliar one. But before he could even turn or react, he was snatched from behind and his whole world went black.

~~

Frigga was being manhandled again when she woke up. "Ugh, did you dickheads knock me out again?" she hissed as she twisted in her shackles, surprised to be out of her personal prison with no warning, but still angered. "I was thinking about painting, asshole." She was struck in the face (as expected) for her rudeness. At least Anthony didn't scold her for it. Could you do your best to not piss everyone off while you're vulnerable? That would be great, is what he always said. As your doctor I have to tell you that it's a stupid ass thing to do. But he said nothing.

In fact there was no sound at all from Anthony. Not even breathing. Just static...

Wait. "What's your name?" the guard holding her up by her biceps demanded before she could properly think about where her brother was. "Who are you?"

"Who am I? You guys have arrested me four times! In fact I should be asking you that, are you a new hire or something? I didn't see you the last time I was here."

The guard brought his arm back to hit her again, but that time the other one stopped him. "Her sleeve is torn. She's telling the truth; she has been arrested multiple times."

"Then explain why she isn't in the system!"

"I can't. But she's not lying, so you shouldn't hit her. Let's just bring her to the mugshot area, get a photo, and then put her in the hardcore containment facility so we can figure this stuff out on our own," he bargained with the more unstable guard.

The guard did agree after a bit more negotiating, and soon enough Frigga was brought back to the mugshot area and positioned on it. It didn't look like the same one she was in just minutes earlier. Well, it looked... similar? Yet... outdated. Like the old system they used to use. She didn't say anything aloud, as she knew that would just get her hit again, but she tried to imprint the oddities in her mind as best she could. Dammit why did Anthony get Dad's photographic memory?! she mentally hissed as details vanished from her brain almost seconds after. Why do I have to be forgetful?

"Turn."

"Yeah yeah, I know I know," Frigga grumbled, reluctantly doing as told and then eyeing the information they were presenting about her on the screen. Some of it was from the identifying marks and tears on her clothing, like her escapist status and such, but most of it had come from the special type of scanner that The Kyln owned that could identify everything from hidden objects on the body down to a being's DNA. Hers was correctly listed as 50% Terran, 50% Jotunn. Her ear piece wasn't recognized just like Anthony had designed. But, in an odd turn of events, none of her powers were listed as they usually were. Not one.

After the scan was done, leaving both the guards and the young demi-god with more questions than answers, Frigga was grabbed by the bicep and led over to a containment facility. Not her usual single one, but a seemingly group one with approximately 13 more people inside. Only a few had handcuffs. And no chains were added to her, leaving her completely open spare her wrists, which was a ridiculous oversight on their part. (There had been a lot of weird oversights on their part by then.) At least it would be an easy break out. "Anthony, are you there?"

No answer.

Frigga bent her arms and reached over to press into the ear piece in case it accidentally got turned off when she was passed out. She said her brother's name again, ignoring the looks she got from other hardened criminals inside. "If you're fucking with me you are so dead when I get home."

"Hey crazy, stop talking to yourself, some of us are trying to nap here."

The familiar voice made Frigga stop in her action and turn toward it. "Rocket?" The other guardians also laying down looked up at the call of his name. "What- what are you all doing here? You're supposed to be in New Asgard."

They all looked extremely confused. "What? Look, lady, I don't know who the hell you are or what New Asgard is," Rocket continued, reluctantly pushing up to his paws and rubbing out the flat spot in his fur, "so I guess I'd prefer for you to talk to 'Anthony' because what you're doing now is creeping me out even more."

"Okay- no. I'm not the crazy one here. Everyone and everything has been weird, and now you guys too? Come on, this isn't fair."

"Hey, isn't New Asgard that place where Thor was living before he joined us?" Quill questioned as he too sat up.

Rocket only groaned. "Great, let's get more people in on this conversation. Peter, please don't enable her, she's obviously lost her head."

"What do you mean she lost her head, her head's right there on her shoulders!" Drax chimed in, getting up and gently shaking her back and forth with a grip on her shoulder to show that her head was really on there.

Frigga was used to Drax's typical maneuvering and his deafness to sarcasm, so him moving her back and forth was the least of her worries at that point. It was the others. "Mantis, come on, you remember me, right?" Frigga said in exasperation, being the only one in the room who was completely lost making her a bit worked up. Especially since she didn't have Anthony in her ear. He was always with her when she was arrested; in one way or another.

Mantis seemed to sense this and walked over to press her open palm to her revealed bicep. "You feel... desperate."

"Well I am desperate because I'm the only sane one here but you're all looking at me as if I'm the crazy one. Rocket, Quill, Drax, Mantis... Groot! Come on, you all know me," she went on, just waiting and practically praying that one of them would grin and tell her it was just a stupid joke. But that didn't happen. In fact the only change in their expressions was Groot looking up and murmuring something about it being too loud for him to play his game. "Oh come on!" With a huff she plopped down on the floor and rested her head against the wall's cool steel, bending her elbows again to cover her eyes with her hands and hoping that it would all just disappear. But, as one might guess, that didn't happen, and in fact she felt someone move over and sit next to her. Most likely out of pity.

It was Quill, of course. "What's your name?"

Maybe they were hit with some memory loss thing. Maybe there was a reasonable explanation. So Frigga opened her eyes and turned her head toward him. "Frigga."

His eyes widened a bit and Frigga got a little too excited. "Do you finally recognize me?"

"No- sorry, but that's just this- guy that I know's mother's name. Frigga," he gently explained with a slight blush and a nervous scratch at the back of his head.

The movements were a little confusing at first, but then Frigga realized that they were coming from the mention of Thor, and didn't have to do with her at all. But why would he act like that? Thor and he had been dating for decades. Since before she and her brother were born. She and baby Anthony were at their wedding. He was in a little blue tux and she in a little green dre- wait a fucking second. "Quill... What year is it?"

"What do you mean? It's 2024. What else would it be?"

Frigga gasped and jumped to her feet. It all clicked at once. Why the guards didn't know her. Why all the technology and architecture seemed older and outdated. Why her own uncle and the guardians didn't recognize her. She hadn't even been born yet. But the only question still there was... how? And also, why? But in order to have a prayer at answering those questions, she had to get back to Earth where she knew the Avengers as well as her parents would be. Although they technically weren't her parents yet. God are they even dating yet? It didn't matter. She just needed to get there and hope that Anthony was there too. The only problem (besides every other problem that she had) was that she had never escaped a prison without him before. They could only do it with each other. It seemed like a major roadblock... until she glanced over at the raccoon.

"Hey, Rocket, could you remind me again of how many prison's you've broken out of?"

Rocket, who had clearly been trying to ignore them but was just accepting his fate as his name was called once more, turned toward them with crossed arms. "About 24. What's it to ya?"

A small smile spread over Frigga's face. "And how many times out of here?"

"Just the one."

"Great. If you bring me to Earth, I'll help you get out."

He scoffed as if that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "And why would I need your help out of here?"

"Because I've escaped here three times myself. And, you don't have Gamora, nor is Groot an adult as he was last time. Earth isn't even that far from here, just a few jumps, so why not pad your escape with me- a demi-god by the way -and just take me there in return?" she bargained, getting more and more calm and excited as her thoughts clicked together. Sure, everything was still weird, but at least she was able to get a grip on her situation.

Based on his extremely annoyed expression, Rocket knew that she was right and that they could use the help, yet was extremely reluctant to admit it. "Demi-god? We already got a half celestial, I don't think we need any more half- things," he tried to point out.

But Quill was on her side. "No, no, I think we should hear her out. Especially since I don't even have the powers of a half celestial anymore. If she's escaped from here three times then she could really be a big help for us. They've changed a lot of things since we were last here, and we're in a new area. And, although I'm not sure how she knows about Gamora and Groot, she's right about that too."

Rocket snarled as Frigga smirked and raised her arms up at him in a shrug. "The man's got a point."

"That man is also an idiot. But fine. You can join us, and we'll bring you to Earth."

Frigga grinned wider as Rocket moved closer and removed what seemed to be some sort of bobby pin from the back of his head, making her cuffs fall off in under a minute. She rubbed her sore wrists and thanked him. "We should probably pick up Thor from Earth anywhere, I'm pretty sure he's still there with the Avengers," Quill pointed out as he joined them and glanced at the red rings on her skin. "Why were those so tight?"

"Well, due to my powers they need to restrict me so I don't just slaughter them all and escape like that, and they usually do that with overly tight power dampers," she explained to him as she continued to try to get the blood flowing normally back into her hands. "You get used to it. Especially since they get steadily tighter and tighter due to the guards' fear in me increasing every time. I killed a bunch last time so the chains applied doubled. Until I woke up in 2024 of course, but I'm ignoring that for now."

Quill very obviously had no idea what she was talking about, but as he wasn't one to judge with making sense he just smiled at her. "Good, you can do it again."

"After this stunt? Fuck yeah I'm going it again."

<finish prison scene and go to anthony>

Stephen had no idea why he was being called to Avengers Tower. Except for the occasional meeting that he was forced to attend that he usually managed to escape early from, he had never been asked to go to their living and working quarters. So he couldn't imagine what the problem was. "What's the situation and how can I get out of it quicker?" was the first thing that fell out of his mouth once he stepped out of the portal. He was met with the stares of all six Avengers and Loki. Great. "What the hell happened?"

"We found a kid."

Definitely not what Stephen expected Tony to say. "What?!"

"Okay that was a shitty explanation. Just look." The group parted to reveal a body rested on their couch with handcuffs around his unconscious wrists. The only indicator that he was alive was the small rise and fall of his chest. He looked young, easily 18, with dark brown hair that slightly fell over his forehead, and glasses over eyes of a hidden color. Stephen noticed most of all was that he had two thick scars on the dorsal side of his hands; one for each. "We found him in our meeting room. There's no identifying items on him, and his fingerprints aren't in the database, so we have basically no idea who he is."

"So what can I do?" Stephen questioned.

"Ask Loki. He's the one who requested you."

Only then did Stephen look up to lock eyes with his fellow sorcerer. One that he had never really gotten along with. "You?"

"To be fair I didn't request you, I just said it would be useful to have another magic user here. John Doe here has magic practically radiating off of him," Loki tried to explain without making it seem like he wanted Stephen there, hints of forced annoyance and real nervousness leaking through. The 'John Doe' reference was imprinted in the sorcerer supreme's mind without a clear reason. Since when does he know Midgardian terms? "Can't you sense it?"

Stephen could. There was a large amount of power coming from him. "It's a multitude of different types. I can't even distinguish them; they're all so mixed up."

Loki agreed. "I was planning on picking through his memories, but due to the mixture of magic and power, I thought it'd be more safe if I waited for you to hold him down if anything goes wrong." An uncomfortable amount of silence passed between the two, unknown whether to continue genuinely or be sarcastic and snarky. "Not that I think you're capable of it, but you're sort of better than nothing."

There it was. The Avengers looked around at each other as they were described as 'nothing', the sorcerers forgetting about anything that wasn't the other, as usual. "You're very kind, Loki," Stephen drawled out with a sarcastic smile.

"I am, aren't I?" With that he jumped over the couch and kneeled down next to the body, gingerly going to place his fingers on his forehead.

But just as they brushed his skin the entire tower shook lightly and made everyone look up. FRIDAY spoke up to fill them in. The Guardians have arrived, sir. And they have a guest on board.

"Well that was quick," Thor murmured under his breath. "They're getting better at escaping."

"Were they in prison again?" Bruce questioned.

Thor nodded back. "I'll go greet them, you guys stay here and figure out his identity." With a small wave the god of thunder then left the room, and all other attendants watched until he left the room and then they all turned back toward the boy on the couch. Except- oh. Fuck.

"Where did he go?" Loki whispered.

"I'm right here."

The entire group swiveled to see the boy formerly laying on the couch sitting in a chair behind them all, his legs and arms crossed tightly, handcuffs done, and a stern expression on his face. "And I'd like to know what the hell is going on."

"You're the one who somehow got into our tower, why don't you explain it to us?" Clint shot back.

The boy only looked at him with a face void of all amusement. And with eyes that were a colored a blood red.

Twenty Three.

I always assume that if you go on a private jet then you don’t need to go through security but boy am I wrong, I just feel like they see I have a record and then they do extra searches, but it only happens sometimes, hopefully I can go through this smoothly. Staring at the paparazzi from afar, I don’t get how they know she was coming, was it set up or do they just wait around and then see if they can find someone famous, imagine if something kicks off now while I got searched, they will take all the pictures of it “Miss Rihanna, come here beautiful” the lady said to her, she seems so nice but I got a feeling I am going to have the white guy that looks like a dickhead “just walk through here for me please beautiful” how many times is she going to say beautiful “Robyn will have no issues, she breezes by” Mel said behind me “clearly” I mumbled “sir!” the white guy of course shouted me, taking in a deep breath “walking through here please” nodding my head “stand to the side of me, arms out” putting my arms out, they ain’t going to find anything on me anyways, I am not that stupid. I don’t even have cigarettes on me, I be scared like that. I just don’t want that headache for me or for Robyn “here” he waved me over, stepping out of the machine. Robyn is already done “step here sir” slowly walking over to him “arms out, do you have anything you shouldn’t” I mean he knows damn well I went in the machine “nope” lifting my arms “legs apart” this gives me war flashbacks to jail, this is just painful. He started to pat my leg “I ain’t got anything, you know that” I know he does “we need to do these checks, with your criminal background” rolling my eyes, I will need to accept this because it will always happen for me.

Walking back over to Robyn with my trey of stuff “was you enjoying the hand movements that much?” Mel chuckled “yeah, he enjoyed touching my balls” placing the tray at the side of Robyn “I could have gone back to Texas and not have this issue” I know Robyn is side eyeing me “I wish they locked you up now” I snorted laughing “I bet there is some real thug dudes, were there some real big niggas there? I need a thug” Mel is crazy “so you want a murderer?” putting my sneakers on “murder this pussy yes, did you ever you know? I mean men there are horny” I can’t believe we having the conversation in the middle of the airport “why does everyone like to ask that, no I didn’t and it didn’t happen to me either” shaking my head “you would make a pretty bitch too” Mel is stupid “no wonder he doesn’t want to come with us anywhere when you be asking him things like that” Robyn spoke up, took her time “well I am just asking, can’t help it” Robyn grabbed my other sneaker for me “awww look at wifey prepping your sneaker, why don’t you dress him?” I chuckled “when are you proposing Chris?” I groaned out “woman!” I spat “can we drop Mel off in the ocean or something, you want marriage already?” shaking my head.

Laid out on the bed that was made for me, this is dope though but I am tired “do you think I am wifey material?” Robyn asked, that was random of her, but this is coming from the fact I was telling Mel to shut up “why are you asking me this?” I would like to know why she is saying this now “because I am asking, do you think I am? Would you marry me” rubbing my chin smiling “I don’t think I can afford you yet, don’t play me like that stupid” I wish she wouldn’t “men don’t think I am, they find me sexually pleasing and want to fuck me but that is it. But wife material? You think that is me?” she is so difficult “I see you being in my life long time, see what issues you caused. Robyn ignore Mel, marriage is a big thing. It doesn’t mean I don’t want too, just that we need to just take time with things like that” I swear to god, now she wants me to start proposing “but one day?” nodding my head “one day, when I can afford you” I grinned, I can’t afford Rihanna. No way in hell I can afford her, she is out of my reach right now. I need to hold my own “when can you afford me? I am priceless” I groaned out “when I can go back to Texas and do some things, now please” women, I swear I wouldn’t accept this bullshit from anyone, she lucky. Robyn just gets a hold of one thing and then doesn’t let it go.

I was going to go to sleep but Barry and TJ both facetimed me, they are in the same apartment but on different phones on facetime “you look so annoyed, you not missing us?” shaking my head “y’all niggas are weird but yeah, I will be in New York for a while but then I will be back. I know my son’s miss me with their whole heart” TJ looks a mess “is Tina there?” shaking my head “no why?” TJ squinted his eyes “you’re lying show me! Tell Tina I miss her mouth” I snorted laughing “nigga shut the fuck up, Tina ain’t here and I am not saying that to anyone” I am glad I have my headphones in “show us!” he shouted, flipping the camera and then showing the jet, aiming the camera at Robyn and Mel “that is it” TJ looks disappointed “is Mel single?” Barry asked and I shook my head “I am not having you dating these women just to be dicks. I am not having it” I will refuse “what the fuck!? Help a nigga out, she fine as hell” I will not help Barry “I don’t care, I will refuse to help. Do it yourself” Barry groaned out “you dumb but get Rihanna to help us, get her to wear our clothing line? Do something for us, she can get Drake to wear it! Nigga” they on this again “I am not that type of guy, we can do it on our own can we not?” TJ chuckled “then post something! You got fanpages, yo. I showed Barry, there is a page called ChrisBreezy right, it’s a fanpage of you, and they have these random pictures of you, you need to post about it then! You so damn lazy” TJ got a point “I really do though?” that is interesting “yes, check it out. I follow it, you got pussy. If you and Robyn don’t be, then you will get others” I chuckled “that ain’t happening but I will check that shit out, I ain’t even notice it” girls really like me like that “they made your mugshot into some sexual shit, I died laughing” I snorted laughing.

I am impressed, Robyn has a apartment I never knew of until now and this shit is amazing “damn” I said to myself “holy shit, Chris. You made it through the tour and is still with my sister” Rorrey came over to me, dapping him “I was close, good seeing you. Are you staying here too?” I am amazed but this place “yes I am boss, good that you came out. You and I can go out. Spend some brother in law time together in the club, watch a little sport together, mingle” nodding my head “I am doing for that” Robyn came into my eye view “can I borrow my boyfriend, thank you” Rorrey laughed moving back “follow me to the bedroom, give you the tour” follow behind Robyn “I didn’t know you had this? You never mentioned it?” she could have said “I know, but I want to be close to you. So I got this and I got the home in California. So this is our bedroom, we. Well I have the biggest room here of course, own bathroom and all that but I do need to go. I think my baby is coming quicker then qw thought” looking around the room “cool, are you going to be ok? If you need me, to talk too then call me. I can’t believe you are actually doing this, like you are so strong” she shrugged “it’s nothing, I am here for Noella, it’s not about me. But thank you, for being here and don’t listen to my brother he is stupid” I chuckled “I got you, call me when the baby comes” wrapping my arms around Robyn “I love you Chris, thank you” rubbing her back “I love you more” pressing a kiss to the top of her head, she is so strong for doing this.

“We are free!” Rorrey shouted “Chris, come here. This is my cousin Teejay, Teejay this is Robyn’ boyfriend. He is a good man, he puts up with Robyn, so he is good” walking towards both Rorrey and TeeJay “hey” shaking his hand “good meeting you, auntie spoke on you. She say you a bad boy, all the tattoos” letting an oh “I mean, I wouldn’t say I am a bad boy but I get caught up in the wrong thing I guess” Rorrey held out a Corona bottle out to me “no thank you, I don’t like beer like that. Robyn and I can the rest of you, you all like beer a lot” they drink a lot of it I can see “you weak, you need to get into it, but how about we go out. I think we need to take you out, shall we cousin?” Robyn did state don’t listen to my brother he is stupid, but then if I don’t I will be sat here alone, that would be stupid “what you thinking?” I wonder where he wants to go, I mean I am not with Robyn so I can relax “forty forty club, I can get us some VIP space. Robyn name comes in handy then” I chuckled “I get what you mean, cool. I will get changed and then we can go” turning around “also don’t tell Robyn, she told me to keep you inside, she thinks you’re her pet. Women!” of course Robyn told him that I can’t.

I haven’t been to a club in a while, it’s weird in a good way. I mis this vibe actually and this nigga got us VIP, I am liking this. And I swear I saw Ja Rule here, I loved him. This shit is so surreal “I don’t get why my sister doesn’t want you out, like I would like you do anything? I am here with you” Rorrey said in my ear “and also none of these girls compare to your sister, I got the diamond, these are just cubic zirconia” Rorrey busted out laughing, bopping my head to the music “good, good. This is why I fucks with you; I know you a good guy” Rorrey got all his weight on me “I didn’t expect him to be here” Rorrey moved away from me “who?” I questioned, he pointed across from us. I can barely see actually “Rakim, aye! Nigga!” he started shouting, that nigga gripped Robyn’ butt. I ain’t forget and I don’t care who the hell he is and what entourage he got right now, putting my hand up “leave him there, he touched your sister like that bro” is he stupid “oh that was a joke? Robyn said it was” of course she is going to tell him that, he doesn’t even know that his sister went through a miscarriage “I don’t fuck with that” downing my drink seeing that pussy ass motherfucker, this nigga looks like a girl. He is small as fuck too, what the fuck was Robyn doing with him. I am pissed, he shouldn’t have touched my girl the way he did either.

I have been texting Robyn while in the club, I admitted to her where I am. I ain’t no liar either, but I think I am about ready to go since that female ass came. Looking down at Robyn’ text.

Twin: Poppa! What did I say about listening to my brother! Long as you are having fun and don’t come back late. Noella is still trying to give birth so it’s a long night! Send help

Robyn is strong as fuck, to be in that kind of environment knowing what you went through but she is there. I can only imagine how bored she is, she is a good woman.

Chris: I will but to be honest shit just turned wack!! I rather be with you

Pressing send on the message and locking my phone “I am going to the bathroom” I said to Rorrey, I think he heard what I said. He just nodded his head at me, not sure if that was to the song or me. Stuffing my phone in my pocket, pushing my way through the crowd. I mean I am not going to do anything to him because Robyn wouldn’t be happy if I did but just to walk by him annoys me, I want to punch him and wipe that smile from his face. Taking in a sharp breath, walking by him and his hooligan peers just doing the post, I know Robyn and I know he isn’t her type. That is me, I am her type. She loves a nigga like me, that is on period but let me just go to the toilet and do my thing “oh sorry” this girl just hugged me as we hit into each other, not sure if it was intentional because I wasn’t looking “it’s cool” I rather she didn’t touch me, she bit her bottom lip as I broke away from her. New York girls really don’t care at all “you not got a number!” she shouted, looking behind “I don’t do mobiles sorry but search for me on Rihanna’ Instagram” I winked at her, she gasped staring at me that I even said that.

It’s like Rakim is being in my face today, I stepped out of the bathroom and he is right that with that stupid smile “oh shit, you’re Rihanna’ new nigga” he pointed at me, this nigga is not funny “you’re the nigga she left” I pointed back “oh you got jokes” he said laughing “I do” I mumbled “Robyn mothering you huh, she got to hold your hand through this shit you get what I mean? She has to feed you? She your mother” licking my lips trying to not act out, that is not me now “say that without a bodyguard though” I said “you don’t want to fuck with a Harlem nigga country boy” I chuckled nodding my head “whatever, you a funny dude” holding my hand out to him “likewise to you, I am joking with you” Rakim said it was a joke but he bitter because I said Robyn left him, Rakim placed his hand in mine like a truce but I don’t do that type of shit over here. I was going to pull him toward me and headbutt him, but I stopped myself stepping back, he walked by me to go to the toilets. Walking off and looked behind me, he went into the bathroom without his bodyguard. Patting my pockets, acting like I forgot something. Turning back around and went into the toilets, there is that dumb nigga “you don’t know about these country niggas though” Rakim turned around as he zipped his pants up “you-” before he could even speak I punched him “you don’t touch my girl again” Rakim came at me and pushed me back but I gripped him back and shoved him back into the stall “it was a fucking joke, you don’t know who you fucking with! Dumb nigga” punching him again as he was on the floor. I turned away from him and made a quick break for it, I am not waiting around. I won’t be waiting for his people or any of that mob of his, turning off and making my way out of the club, all I know is that he should never touch my girl like that again.

It was a whole process to get back into Robyn’ apartment, I have no code or key for this place and I had to get the doorman to do it for me and he did eventually, which took him half hour “Chris!? What the fuck” oh Rorrey is back, looking behind me on the couch “you attacked Rocky, why!? He came at me” I can’t really say why “nigga he touched your sister like that, he touched my girl that way too, I don’t fuck with that” getting gup from the couch “Chris, I get it, but the police know. He gave your name in, I tried to calm it down, but you need to just give yourself in. He snitched because he knows you got a record” I should have known “fuck it, let them come and get me” I shrugged “it’s better if you just give yourself in, for my sister’ sake. He snitched, he is a fucking snitch we know that” I really couldn’t care less, walking off to the bedroom.

He’s still uploading. He’s at 21 videos right now. I’m gunna stop with the full pics and just upload a pic of the videos I’m summarizing. 

BTW, you can find mirrors of the videos here.

PART 6 - Videos #11 & #12

one more

- He’s going to talk fast because he has to be somewhere. He needs to tell us things about Sarah so we could understand her more. This was protected by the NDA, but she broke it. She admitted to selling her own prescriptions. He told her if she continued he couldn’t have a relationship with her anymore. She said she tried cocaine. He thought that was crazy but looked past it. - They were in a weird zone where they were all together when she was an adult, then they weren’t because Kai didn’t want to. Sarah would get around it by having Greg lay next to her when they were in a room together and she would ask him to choke her. He says she would seem to get off on that. He keeps mentioning she was 18 1/2. - One time he and Sarah moved furniture together because she’s a strong woman. She got out of the passenger seat and sat in the middle where there was no seat. She put her head in his lap and faced his crotch. He says he didn’t know what to do and it was really weird. He has no idea why she did that. - He says she was acting like Greg was a bad person for not making out with her in the theater. He just wanted to watch Aladdin. That made him feel crappy and didn’t want to do things with her. - After they broke up, Greg slept in the garage because he was afraid she’d kill him because of her hostility. If you like her she’s you best buddy, but if you reject her she wants you dead. He says she told him she had BPD. She called her pills speed. She would be on and off the pills. He was scared for her condition. He was dead to her. Kai was happy they were on the same page. - He felt bad for rejecting Sarah so he offered to take her out to eat food. On the way home, Sarah accused Kai of smoking marijuana. He called Kai and Kai said he hotboxed, he was in the same room. Sarah unsuccessfully tried to ruin their relationship.  - When he took Sarah to the airport she cried and they hugged. She got his shirt all moist. He said sorry it didn’t work out but I do love you. I’m sorry this can’t be a thing. She said she just wanted to know what it was like to have a boyfriend. That triggered him because she wasn’t supposed to be there for him.  - He didn’t believe the person that told him Sarah said she would kill herself because she was in love with him, but things mashed up later on and it became a reality that she was only for Greg and only used Kai to get to him. - He says if Kai does go forward with leaving, he’s just going to be with a love doll. He plans on never dating or marrying again. Everyone who is mad at him right now, he broke up with them for lying, committing crimes and cheating. If they really had a problem with him they should have talked to him or dumped him. Nobody’s perfect. - People keep talking about kids, but there are no kids. There’s no crazy ring. All the events are encompassing and there are many witnesses. His family, their nanny, people he worked with. This because a crazy circus because he didn’t talk because Kai threatened to leave. The truth will set you free. - It’s not a crime to reject someone until they turn 18 1/2 and then not reject them anymore when they’re perusing you. He’s not legally related to this person in any way. - He’s been unfair to Kai and Kai is paying for his bad decision and he’s sorry.

just questions

- He has questions for Mr. Hansen. He tells Chris Hansen to answer these questions live. - “Where do you get your numbers?” He dated Billie when she was 19. He dated Sarah when she was 18 1/2. He dated Shiloh when she was 17 1/2 to 18 1/2. These were all legal. These are the only real relationships Chris covered on his show. Chris used to be someone who go after people who hurt children, like 12 year olds. With Greg, you’re talking about him dating a 17 1/2 year old when he was 24 (he was 25) and he broke up with her for cheating and having someone else’s baby. She was well within the legal range since she was Canadian and Greg was from Washington. She never crossed borders. When she was 18 they went to Washington.  - “What crack are you smoking?” This is the most bizarre and dumb thing he’s ever seen in his life. A 60 year old man obsessing over someone online who did nothing wrong. - Chris Hansen thought it was appropriate to show up at Greg’s house. One of the most psychotic things Greg’s ever seen in his life. Chris and six grown men, one of which went to court last year for sexual assault. You can see this if you look up that man. Why is Chris working with that man? - “What are you doing with all this money?” Chris can’t be paying the victims because that’s a conflict of interest. Greg says according to the news Chris Hansen is over $60,000 in dept to American Express and he was evicted from his home last year from a million dollar house. Chris is dating a woman 30 or 20 years younger than him. Chris likes to pretend he’s against an older men taking advantage of younger women, yet according to the news that’s what he is.  - “What is with your cameo?” Chris will tell anyone they’re a predator for $50. Where’s your integrity? You’re making a joke of your whole career. - Didn’t Chris lose his career because he showed up to someone’s house and they ended their life? Then he shows up at Greg’s house with his family inside “you disgusting freak.” According to the news, Chris’ show was sued and lost $100 million. What kind of nut job goes from one man ending his life and thinking he should still goes to people houses? Some people think Chris is a murderer. Who knows what that guy was going to do with what he was doing online. He didn’t show up at the house and he didn’t try to sleep with a minor of a young age, then he ended his life because of Chris. Instead of changing his career field to doing something where he doesn’t end people’s lives, he show up at Greg’s house and ignore three no trespassing signs. When you’re within 50 feet of those you’re trespassing. It’s a crime that could put you in jail for 90 days. “Didn’t think about that, did you?” Chris was in Greg’s driveway and the no trespassing signs were in the background. “What kind of moron ignored no trespassing signs?” - Says Chris is 60 years old and who knows why his wife left him. Chris isn’t an open book when he like to point fingers at everyone else. Chris got put in jail and there is a mugshot of him online. Chris told someone he’d pay them back and never did so they called the police. - Greg’s wondering all the money Chris Hansen is making off of victims is going. The victims are total frauds and clout chasers, he’s only ever dated three of them. Most of these people he’s never met. Chris is so stupid he never ran a background check to see if these people are clout chasers. What’s insane about Hansen is someone who is on his show who never met Greg is added to the list of accusers. - “What are people accusing me of? Sexual assault you said? When?” It makes no sense. Chris and his career are a joke. Chris is in dept up to his eyeballs and he’s using these people to make money to save whatever his career was. “Getting people to kill themselves job?” - Remember when Chris went to a state where entrapment wasn’t legal and he entrapped a bunch of people and they got to go free? Chris helped those people go free. Now they’re going to be super paranoid about being caught. Chris screwed up. Chris is the best friend of these guys perusing 12 year olds. You helped 20 people who are interested in children to get away with their crimes and he made someone end their own life. Greg can’t imagine what it’s like to be such a failure. - Greg is 34 so he has a good chance to get his life together. Chris is twice his age and this is his life? Chris is one of the biggest jokes Greg has ever seen in his life. - Greg didn’t answer the door for Chris because he has a family and when a creepy old man shows up to the house with a bunch of other creepy dudes dressed in dark colors, he doesn’t answer the door. He calls the police like a normal human being. - Chris would rather hang out with people who were taken to court for sex crimes. Chris fired Vince and Vince used Chris’ facebook and website to out him for allegedly paying someone to dox Greg. Chris seems like one of the most corrupt hypocritical people Greg has ever encountered. It’s amazing Chris is so old, you’d think he would have learned by now. - Greg offered Chris an opportunity to pay him $350,000 to go on his show. That fee is now $600,000 because Chris is the most pathetic disgrace of a journalist Greg has ever seen in his life. - The problem with Chris is he doesn’t know what journalistic integrity is. There is a thing called bias and leading questions. Greg was told that since Sarah was watching Greg since she was 12, that means she was somehow groomed since she was 12 when she was never groomed at all. - Chris doesn’t care about facts. Chris doesn’t care that Sarah tried to marry someone so they could get that green card, which isn’t legal, or that she admitted to doing cocaine or selling drugs. Chris doesn’t care Sarah repeatedly made statements about a laptop that make no sense because the laptop never belonged to Greg. The last person who it was used by doesn’t even live in this house. Additionally, the chain of command was the worst thing ever. It was allegedly sent to the police, then back to Sarah, then sent to Chris, then sent back to Sarah, and now it’s with the police again. That’s not even evidence. Wasn’t his laptop, last person who used it wasn’t Kai or himself, then it was sold to Sarah, then they passed it around. It’s bizarre Chris thinks something like that would hold up anywhere. Kai doesn’t even like porn. Greg never once caught Kai looking at anything. They base your whole case on a laptop that is dirtier and less credible than your career. - He doesn’t see where Chris is going with this. Chris can keep talking to people with no evidence, it’s a free country. He’s sitting here watching an old joke pretending to be a journalist and he’s watching people take him seriously and he’s wondering when the normal face will ware away and people will see the clown paint underneath. - If Chris could answer all those questions Greg would appreciate it. Greg thinks Chris should talk about how Chris’ whole life is in shambles and the only thing he has going for him is a bullshit case against a Youtuber and the worst thing Greg did was fuck an 18 year old. “Yikes bro.” - More videos coming. Wanted to give a shout out to the creepiest mother fucker to show up on his doorstep. How creepy is that for someone to fly across the country for someone to call the cops on you and the cops wait for you to leave?  - We’ll see what happens with the no trespassing thing because Chris and his whole crew did and that’s illegal. All y'all might be going to jail. That a real crime. You get arrested for REAL crimes. Greg doesn’t get arrested because he’s a former US Air Force cop.  - Greg doesn’t know what Chris is, but now you know who Greg is. He isn’t willing to lie down and take Chris’ horseshit so he could get more ad revenue and donations from people who have no clue what’s actually going on.  - “Just a little heads up.” Billie: dumped her because she lied and did illegal drugs. Shiloh: dumped her because she cheated on him and got pregnant with someone else’s baby. Sarah: Kicked her out of his life because she went crazy on him and he was uncomfortable with the illegal activities she was taking part in. Asks if there’s anyone else. Says Chris said there was 12. Greg says that’s a shitty case. Three people he broke up with over 8 years. “The fuck?”

“The Faceless Ones” gets a facelift

Back in 2011 when I was first getting into Doctor Who, I managed to track down the Loose Cannon Reconstructions of the missing Doctor Who episodes. For those, like myself, who did not grow up on Doctor Who, classic Doctor Who can be a bit of an adjustment. The editing is slower. The dialogue is closer to theatre than television, and there is so much padding. That being said, over time I grew to love classic Doctor Who and rewatch it more than I do the new series. Regardless, the reconstructions have always been a bit of a slog to get through.

Watching a reconstruction is tedious, even with good writing. The fleeting moments where some fan shot a four-second clip pointed at the television are like small oases of movement in the desert of static imagery. Despite the valiant efforts of some truly talented fans, nothing will ever beat the real thing. So whenever a new animated remake of a missing Doctor Who episode is announced, I get excited. The opportunity to see these static images once more brought to life with movement is always good news. Except maybe when that announcement is "Fury From the Deep," when clearly "The Evil of the Daleks," is next in line, but that’s a gripe for another review.

For my review of "The Macra Terror," I watched the colour version of the story. However, this time around, I decided to stick with the classic black and white, which I found I much prefer as it feels appropriate to the storyline. I almost feel like the colour versions are an attempt to rope a younger audience into watching something old. As these animated reconstructions go, I feel as though the animation has gotten increasingly better. However, I can’t exactly say that this time. I will go into it further but suffice it to say, I feel as though some corners were cut. That isn’t to say that there aren’t moments of brilliance. For instance, the inclusion of the mugshots of both the Roger Delgado and Sacha Dhawan Masters into the background was a clever little easter egg.

"The Faceless Ones," is a bit of an odd story from beginning to end. Frankly, it’s overly long and a bit clunky, but at its heart is a mystery that keeps you wrapt with anticipation. It starts with the Doctor and his three companions- Jamie, Polly, and Ben landing the TARDIS at Gatwick airport. It’s a strange bit of storytelling from the outset as the primary source of conflict comes from the fact that the Doctor and his friends are trespassing where they shouldn’t be. The Doctor basically says "Cheese it, the fuzz!" and they scatter, running away from the police. The true point of this sequence is to split the group up. While running from the police, a strange group of mystrerious men load the TARDIS onto a flatbed and drive it away. Polly wanders into a building with a chameleon logo, where she witnesses the ray gun murder of a nosy inspector. Now the story has focus, we now have a mystery.

The Doctor and his pals go in and out of states of capture at the hands of airport security with such regularity that it begins to become laughable. Having no passports, the Commandant wants to keep the Doctor and Jamie for questioning, but the Doctor insists they look for the body of the man Polly saw murdered. The airport’s Commandant fills the role of the insufferable prick trope just long enough to draw the proceedings out into a proper six-episode runtime. I understand the need for a character’s refusal to believe in aliens as a reasonable reaction, but it becomes repetitive after three or so episodes. Luckily, the man actually proves to be rather useful further down the line, which is a nice break from the usual trajectory of such characters in Doctor Who which is usually one that leads to their and/or others’ demise. He does eventually acquiesce and go looking for the body, but they find nothing.

We learn that the man murdered was an inspector by the name of "Gascoigne." The men responsible for his death, Spencer and Blade, believe he may have been sent by the parents of one or more missing people. There are a few pieces to the puzzle early on. We’re shown a collection of postcards, over which Gascoigne was murdered. There also is the case of this strange organisation- Chameleon Tours and their collection of unused foreign stamps. We know the two things play in together, but how exactly is unknown. All the while, Ben seems to bumble from scene to scene with not a lot to do other than save people at the last moment, which seems to be all he’s ever really good for. As final stories for companions go, "The Faceless Ones," does a great job making a case for the departure of both Ben and Polly. As opposed to going out on a high, Ben and Polly’s own uselessness is highlighted here as they almost seem like an afterthought.

This is made even more painfully obvious when the brand new character of Samantha Briggs is given more prominence and agency within her first scene than Ben or Polly get in the entire serial. We learn that Chameleon Tours is some sort of front for a shady bunch of aliens that replace people by taking over their identities. Polly, having been kidnapped is replaced by a body double, pitting her against the Doctor and Jamie. Acting as though she’s never seen the two, she goes off to work at her new job as a receptionist for Chameleon Tours. This is where we meet Samantha, a young girl from Liverpool searching for her lost brother. All she had to go on was a postcard from her brother sent from Rome. Polly’s double benefits in no way by helping her learn the truth, so Samantha’s enquiries are deflected.

Around this time, Inspector Gascoigne’s partner, Inspector Crossland, has gone looking for him which leads him to the Commandant. He informs him that he’s there investigating his missing partner and looking into the activities of Chameleon Tours. Throughout this bit of the story, I honestly couldn’t tell you what Ben is up to. He’s a fart in the wind as far as the story is concerned. Other than being sent off to investigate, there is very little for him to do. The fact is, this is the Doctor and Jamie show at this point. The Doctor once again tries to plead with the Commandant, and once again runs away feigning a bomb with a bouncy ball. Jamie goes off to eavesdrop in the waiting area outside Chameleon Tours, which is where he overhears Samantha talking to fake Polly.

All the while, the baddies have a mole in the air traffic control room in the form of Meadows, a man replaced by a chameleon body double early on in the story. Because of this, they know the Doctor is a threat. While Jamie and Samantha flirt and compare notes, the Doctor heads back to the Chameleon Tours hangar to seek out Ben and further answers. There he discovers a penlike device which was used earlier to kidnap Polly. The Doctor pockets the device and continues his investigation. It is at this moment when the Doctor discovers the original Meadows in a crate, unresponsive, but seemingly alive. Spencer watches the Doctors activities over CCTV and draws him into a room which he proceeds to fill with cold gas. After a struggle, the Doctor plugs the gas nozzles with rags and covers the camera with his oversized coat. Upon arriving, Spencer finds the Doctor, seemingly unconscious, that is, until the Doctor springs awake and sprays Spencer in the face with the pen device and makes a break for it.

Jamie and Samantha have pieced together by now that Chameleon Tours give their young passengers pre-stamped postcards ahead of their flights. Their claim is to save the travellers time by posting the postcards for them, but in actuality, this is to dupe their families into believing they made it to their destinations. It’s a rather sinister plot which still leaves quite a few unanswered questions. Namely- if the passengers don’t arrive at their destinations, where do they end up? It’s enough for Crossland to consider a lead which he brings to the Commandant’s attention, but they’re afraid to tip their hand too much. If they halt the Chameleon Tours flight to Zurich, they may never find the answers or evidence they’re looking for.

The Doctor finally wins the Commandant over to his side by showing him the pen device can freeze fake Meadows’ tea instantly. At first, I thought the Doctor was antagonising Meadows, but it turns out, he simply didn’t recognise his face from the catatonic man in the crate earlier. It’s funny to imagine this, as modern Doctor Who would never allow such a lapse in the Doctor’s memory, but it’s part of why I love the Second Doctor so much. You can buy that this man is simultaneously the smartest man in the room, while also believing he would forget such an important face. There’s a sort of effortless absent-minded brilliance to Troughton’s performance that I just find utterly charming. The point is driven home by a small little one-off line where the Doctor asks Meadows if they have met before. Villains are left to wonder just how much the Doctor knows, up until he’s standing over their smouldering corpse muttering "Oh crumbs."

After the Doctor’s display, and Crossland’s encouragement, the Commandant gives the Doctor free reign of the airport for twelve hours to investigate. At this point, Jamie and Samantha arrive with the envelope of postcards giving Crossland enough cause to go question Blade. The Doctor, Jamie, and Samantha head off to look into the room where the Doctor was gassed. However, as the Doctor is leaving, Meadows plants a device on his back. Crossland finds Blade aboard a flight but discovers the plane is not a normal plane at all. After serving the passengers food and drinks, the stewardess seals them behind a giant vault door. I got a kick out of this bit as the animators were clearly having fun designing hip '60s inspired passengers on the plane. In fact, some of the background character designs throughout most of this serial range from inspired to questionable. Either way, it was nice to seem them at least trying, for the most part. The plane disembarks with Crossland aboard. Blade encourages Crossland to watch on a screen as the passengers vanish into thin air.

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Jamie, and Samantha go back to the hangar to try and find the command centre of the Chameleons. While searching, they discover a monitor showing a live feed from the room where Meadows was copied into fake Meadows. However, before they can go search for the room, the device on the Doctor’s back is activated, knocking him to the ground. Spencer emerges and renders them unconscious with another pen device. Upon waking up, our three heroes have discovered themselves unable to move, and in the path of a laser, very slowly creeping toward them, or at least Jamie or maybe Samantha. Either way, someone is going to die if they don’t work fast enough. This is such a cute moment in the episode as it’s like something from a bad James Bond film or Austin Powers. The villain leaves the heroes unattended while a laser slowly inches toward them. Classic.

It’s moments like these that really make me sad the episode is missing as I would have loved to see the faces Patrick Troughton pulled while struggling to move. Jamie and Samantha are able to move just enough for Jamie to use Samantha’s compact mirror to deflect the laser back at itself. Having destroyed the machine, the trio is suddenly very much not paralysed as they all stand up, good as new. Adorable. It’s a great little slice of campy goodness that is pure genre inspired fun. I’m all about it. All the while, Blade informs his director that he has an "original," in the form of Crossland for him to possess.

The Doctor and his friends find the conversion room where the airport medic, Nurse Pinto, is helping convert another Chameleon. The conversion involves attaching what looks like a Wiimote to each subjects’ forearm and transferring the biological information of the human victim to the Chameleon. After some adjusting, they’re able to talk like a human and even recall the memories of their original. In this case, it’s Jenkins, one of the immigration officers at the airport. I rather liked a small detail here that Jenkins still lived with his parents. Call me crazy, but it was a bit of character building that made you feel for a guy. Classic Doctor Who is full of those moments if you know where to look for them.

The Doctor and Jamie pretend to be a doctor and patient as to throw Pinto off their scent. But even if she believes their story, she’s still not going to allow them into the X-ray room where she performs her vile conversions. Jenkins and Spencer watch from a monitor, angry that their enemy has once again escaped his fate. But they let the Doctor leave as they have bigger plans and will let him come to them in his own time. Upon returning to the control tower, the Doctor learns that Crossland has been unheard from in quite some time.

At about this time, the crew of the control tower really begins to take shape. The secretary, a woman named Jean just kind of comes out of leftfield as MVP. First, she drops the bomb that not a single airport has reported ever receiving passengers from a Chameleon Tours flight. And then even further, allows herself to act as a decoy long enough for the Doctor to go root around in the X-ray room. Jamie goes off to find Samantha who has bought a ticket on the next Chameleon Tours flight in an attempt to take the investigation of her missing brother into her own hands. It seemed a bit weird to me that she would do this, seeing as they were already uncovering a huge chunk of the mystery at this point, but I guess the writers needed a reason to thrust Jamie into the action as he pockets Samantha’s ticket and goes in her place. That is, before stealing a rather saucy kiss from the precocious lass. Seriously, why was she never a companion? Samantha was awesome. Samantha 2020.

The Doctor finds two of the Wiimotes and completely misses the original Nurse Pinto propped up in a closet behind him. Once again, the brilliant imbecile misses the biggest clue right under his nose. Hoping to call Meadows out, the Doctor returns to the control tower again. But he’s not there. This is one of the most frustrating elements of this story- the constant back and forth between locations is enough to give you whiplash. On top of that, there is the constant cycle of capture and escape, capture and escape, capture and escape, that really bogs this story down. I wish it could have been more streamlined because as you may guess, they end up back in the X-ray room shortly after. Agh! Pick a fucking location and stick with it! Honestly, it’s writing like this that loses me the most and is why I couldn’t tell you where Ben is at this point in the story. Seriously, where is Ben? I don’t even care anymore.

Jamie gets taken onto Samantha’s flight in her stead. Only when the food and beverages are served, Jamie is off to be sick in the loo. He was referring to aeroplanes as giant metal beasties in the first episode, and now he’s flying in one. The dude may be made of sterner stuff, but even the best of us get airsick. Due to this, Jamie doesn’t disappear like the other passengers. Must be something to do with the food and drink, huh?  Having realised Jamie took her ticket, Samantha becomes irate, but the receptionist guides her to Jenkins who of course pulls a ray gun on her. Another ray gun. Another capture. Woof.

The control tower tails the Rome flight with Jamie aboard with a small fighter jet, which honestly is a little weird. Did they just happen to have this fighter jet and pilot on hand? Is this a thing airports usually have? I honestly don’t know. Either way, the sequence doesn’t make much sense other than maybe they had some stock footage of a jet they kind of thought was cool. It’s funny then that the footage should now be missing and thus needs to be recreated by a computer years later. What was probably ten minutes of film splicing back in the '60s is now hours of rendering. These CGI plane shots are honestly one of the few times where the animation is more impressive than live action. So kudos to the animation department as those shots are genuinely cool.

Despite their cool rendering, the fighter jet is no match for Blade’s lasers as it is quickly shot out of the sky. It is just around this point that the Chameleon flight must have also crashed as it too disappeared off the radar. However, the Doctor believes that as opposed to going down, the plane actually went up- into space.  Of course, the Commandant gives this theory zero credence. But the Doctor is absolutely correct as we see the plane’s wings fold back like a rocket ship and thrust higher and higher into the sky until it approaches a large black satellite orbiting Earth. This is once again one of those moments where I am cursing the lack of footage as I would relish the ability to see the models built for this sequence. I will say however, this is, once again, a crowning moment for the animation department.

Now aboard the satellite and unaffected by the plane’s vanishing trick, Jamie discovers drawers full of what appear to be small people lying unconscious. At this point, the plot still hasn’t really come fully together, so seeing tiny people in drawers is just mind-boggling. You think you have some idea as to how or why these bodysnatchers are doing what they’re doing and the story throws us this brain bender. Hats off to the writers because I challenge anyone to say they saw this bit coming ahead of time. As it turns out the passengers didn’t vanish, so much as they were shrunk down into tiny people. The reason why? Because the satellite wasn’t big enough. Which actually makes a lot of sense in some ways. Terry Pratchett once wrote that a gnome character of his was the richest man in Ankh-Morpork, by ratio. If his resources stretch further, then a dollar buys him more than it would a full-sized man. Brilliant.

After discovering the jet pilot was electrocuted (by lasers somehow), the Commandant is beginning to soften to the idea that the Doctor is onto something with his spacemen theory. After confronting Meadows with the Wiimotes, our MVP Jean stops his ass with a rolling chair. Seriously, I love Jean. Jean 2020. At this point, Meadows just kind of becomes their bitch and totally spills the beans about their plans. How their planet faced a catastrophe and how they needed new bodies, new faces. He even gives up the satellite position and the fact that they have some 50,000 young people on board, ready for conversion. He even leads them to where the real Nurse Pinto is being held. I think if they’d have broken out the thumbscrews he would have copped to kidnapping the Lindbergh baby. What a chump.

Around this time in the story, the animation begins to take a serious nosedive. Nurse Pinto kills a policeman with a ray gun, and I swear to God that the policeman has a partner that looks exactly like him. Now, I know this is a story about body doubles, but reusing the same character design on two separate human characters in the same scene is just lazy. I thought at first that perhaps the actors in the original version were twins. But then, later on, you see two of the same faced cops in a scene together again! So it’s not just twins, it’s triplets, evidently. And they all grew up to be coppers on the same beat. Sorry animators, but you’re nicked!

Shortly after, the link between Nurse Pinto and her original is broken and fake Nurse Pinto turns into a pile of clothing and some sort of amniotic fluid. Her water just broke in the worst way possible. I’ve said it before, but part of me wishes they would improve upon some of the foley in moments like these. Mark Ayres does a great job mixing and remastering what was already there, but would some sound effects be completely out of line? Some squidgy squashy mess would have gone a long way to sell this moment. I figure a seasoned Doctor Who pro like Ayres would really be able to deliver such a thing. Also, if you ever get curious to know what Mark Ayres looks like, I’ll save you a google search and just say- he looks exactly how you picture a guy named Mark Ayres to look. Just a little fun fact there.

The real Nurse Pinto and the Doctor decide to pretend to be chameleons at this point so they can infiltrate the satellite. However, Spencer’s not having it as he’s onto them, but he allows it because he has plans to take turn the Doctor into an original for yet another Chameleon. Upon arriving on the satellite, the Doctor discovers Jamie has been turned into a Chameleon as well, which is rather funny as the Doctor laments the loss of Jamie’s charming Scottish accent. Those two, I swear. It’s as Frank Rossitano from 30 Rock once said "I’m not gay gay. I’m just gay for Jamie." Before they can turn the Doctor into one of their ilk, the Doctor destroys their machine buying the Commandant down on the ground some time to find the originals the Chameleons were linked to.

All the while, the Doctor is sowing seeds of doubt among the Chameleons that their director, in the form of Crossland, only cares for himself. That he wouldn’t care if he endangered them into becoming puddles themselves. He drives the point home by bluffing that they have found the locations of the originals. It’s a gambit that actually seems to work as Spencer and his men begin to question their director. The Commandant, on the ground level, is still plugging away, trying to save the day from his end. I kind of love the Commandant for following through with the Doctor’s bluff, and with such gusto. As I said, he really comes into his own by the end of the story. It’s kind of a shame that the guy never got a name. In the same vein as Counter Measures, I could see him, Jean, and maybe even Crossland in their own spin off adventures. They’re really a great group of one-off characters. Nurse Pinto and Samantha can come too.

It’s rather weird to me that the Chameleons opted to hide the originals as opposed to just taking them with them in the first place. After Samantha and Jean discover 25 cars registered to Chameleon Tours, they set off to search the car park. We find out that the catatonic originals have been stowed away in the cars to slowly die while the conversions complete. This may seem like a really dumb place to stash a body, but it’s not exactly unheard of. The airport of the city I’m from actually missed a truck containing the body of a man for eight months. Either way, it’s an odd little plot hole that exists mainly to give the Doctor something to hold onto and create dissent within the ranks. There is literally no reason not to take the bodies until the process is done. But ok.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the great stool pigeon that is Meadows, grows a pair and escapes from his guards. This is where the animation gets really ropey. I don’t know if it’s because the black and white versions are a 4:3 aspect ratio as compared to the 16:9 ratio of the colour versions, but as Meadows wrestles free, his body proportions are comically incorrect. His arms look about several inches too short, and they are positioned in such a way that the shoulders are set far too high. My guess is that the animators originally made this scene for the widescreen ratio, and merely squashed the image, thus shortening the arms for the black and white version. As opposed to, you know, bending the elbows. He tries to subdue Samantha but eats pavement. Slow clap for Meadows. Meadows 2016.

To prove they aren’t bluffing, the Commandant removes the link on Jenkins arm which turns him into a puddle aboard the satellite. This sends the Chameleons into a frenzy and they shoot their director, killing fake Jamie in the process. The Doctor negotiates with the remaining Chameleons to return all of the missing people and even agrees to help them find a cure for the catastrophe that set them on this path in the first place. After finding Crossland stuffed in a locker like a high schooler, he and Jamie go back home.

Down on the ground level, Jamie parts ways with Samantha, which is really kind of sad considering what a great character she turned out to be. What's even worse is that with Ben and Polly up and deciding to stay in 1966 London for basically the most boring of reasons, there was definitely a vacant spot for her to fill in the TARDIS. I would have really liked to see her as I instantly identified with her plight to find her brother. My family has experienced the disappearance of a loved one, and I know exactly how that feels to not know whether someone you love is alive or dead. They absolutely nailed that part of her character, and it was great to see it portrayed accurately. She could have been great. Instead, she stays behind and Jamie continues onward with the Doctor. However, the episode ends on a note of mystery- the TARDIS appears to be missing! Hopefully one day I’ll be able to follow up on that mystery with yet another animation to review, but until then, you’ll just have to wait! That is unless you already know.

All in all, the Faceless Ones is a pretty cool story with some rather lousy execution. There are quite a lot of moments that work to its benefit, but it’s marred by it’s bloated runtime. This story could have easily been told in four parts, and I feel as though it was a perfect candidate to be edited down into a single movie à la "Planet of Fire," or "Terror of the Vervoids." The strongest elements are the characters. And another bit of praise is that it was a slight departure from the base in peril episodes that dominated the Second Doctor Era. I do rather like Brian Hodgson’s score as it was genuinely creepy at parts. It evokes memories in me of the Woodsmen in Twin Peaks dancing to the impossibly slowed sounds of Beethoven’s "Moonlight Sonata."  

Regardless of any ropey bits of animation, I absolutely admire the work and craft of the animators involved. The character likenesses were an improvement upon "The Macra Terror," (especially Polly). There are points where you know the production team had to invent shots from thin air to fill the gaps that existing tele-snaps and sound simply weren’t illustrating. There’s a lot of creativity involved that evokes a lot of the same spirit of the original series. There’s also those really fun opportunities to retroactively tie the old series to the new. Such as the Dhawan Master, or yet another Magpie Electricals reference. Although they are far from my favourite companions, it’s also nice to finally see Ben and Polly’s send off in proper motion. As always, it’s the next best thing to the original.

Tips for Interview Season

Congratulations on your invitation to interview at the residency programs of your dreams! The time period between submitting your ERAS and awaiting your first invitation to interview is nerve wrecking.  You might get bombarded with a couple rejection letters in the first few days (some programs even make errors by sending their rejection letters 3-4 times…like okay okay I get it it’s not you…it’s me…haha but don’t get discouraged your perfect match is still out there).  But what do you do before this time period? Here are some tips below:

1. ERAS photo – This is most likely your first business headshot ever. Or at least it was for me. Go to a photo studio like J.C. Penny (they have affordable Group On deals for $20 and under for a couple headshots) or grab a friend with a decent camera and some good lighting. Photo should show a welcoming smile (this is not a mugshot or a passport photo).  Attire should be simple, no distracting patterns or jewelry.  Think grays, blues, blacks, and calm pastels.  For men I’ve noticed a tie is a must. For women a blouse or a button up is fine, no cleavage.  Wear your hair how you will wear it during interviews because they will use the photo to reference you. Hair up or down is fine just keep it neat. I wore my hair in braids/twists and wore it loose and to the side.  Background of the photo should be a neutral color, try to avoid white. 2. Interview attire – Focusing on the ladies for this one, fellas interview attire is pretty standard across the board (business suit and business shoes). Aim to get about 3 outfits to cycle between especially for those weeks you have multiple interviews.  Pants suits and skirt suits or a dress and a blazer are the go-to outfits.  If opting for a dress or skirt length should at least be to the knees when sitting and wear nude/black stockings. Colors you should aim for a navy blue, gray, black and I even saw a candidate in a really nice forest green pant suit.  The idea is to get neutral colors and offset it with a nice pop of color that isn’t too distracting.  Limit the jewelry to simple pieces (stud earring and a simple necklace is fine, avoid bangles and bracelets that make noise).  Comfortable shoes are a must, I bought a 1.5inch closed toed-pumps and half way through interview season I resorted to just wearing my business everyday flats I wear on my clinical rotations from Clarks (got a lot of compliments too…I’m just like this old thang?). Just like your ERAS photo, wear your hair up or down is fine, just keep it neat.  Nice companies to buy clothing from are Ann Taylor Loft, Express, Banana Republic, Macy’s, Gap etc. You can bring a leather portfolio or a simple black leather tote (small to medium) to store a note pad, pen and a bottle of water and any other essentials like your wallet. For outerwear, a nice pea coat or trench coat pairs well with business attire.  Don’t over think it, most of the program directors I encountered have said they don’t really care about your attire so don’t break the bank on your medical school income (non-existent) but just put yourself together nicely.

3. Work on your elevator pitch. School?  Hometown? What is your passion within medicine? Why do you want the field you’re applying to? What are you looking for in a residency program (all the curriculums look generally the same due to AAMC requirements but what additional factors are important to you – is it location? Close to home? On-call hours? Specific elective opportunities? Why would they want you? Having a concise statement to answer all of these questions in a minute or less in a way that doesn’t sound scripted will prepare you for interviews as well as networking opportunities outside of your interviews. 4. Homework to do before your interview: Know the resident profiles of the residency – read about their values, experiences and interests to see how you’d fit in.  Re-read your personal statement if it might have been a while since you read it.  Re-read your CV you submitted on ERAS to make sure you remember every activity or research you inclluded in case it is a conversation piece. Do some research on the faculty and the program director that will be interviewing you (think of it as the equivalence to some light facebook stalking…you wouldn’t reiterate all their accolades but it’s nice to know to causally drop in a conversation when you have nothing to talk about so you can get them talking about theirselves) 5. What do they ask you on interviews? Anything …really. The most common questions I was asked in every interview were: Tell me about yourself. Why do you want to be a ____doctor? Why our program? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your career plans for after residency?  Beyond these questions it was really casual conversation.  The number one question you are guaranteed to be asked a million times are: Do YoU hAvE aNy QuEsTiOnS fOr Me? …you might want to say no but please don’t.  Before your interview you should review the program’s website and make note of things you’d like to ask questions about.  If you think you know there is everything to know about this program you can restate facts about the program you love and ask them to elaborate further or just simply try your best to form a question…it shows interest (they say it’s okay if you don’t have any but please try to have 1 or 2).  You are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you. 6. How will your interview day be structured? Most programs send you an itinerary the week or a few days before the interview telling you how long each portion is and with whom.  If they don’t, you can request it politely but you still might not get it until the day of the interview (which sucks because you can’t do your research on your interviewers but it’s okay). On average interviews can range from 15minutes-30 minutes per interview and you can get anywhere from 3-5 or more of those per day.  Interview day is long but you will get used to it. At some point there will be a tour of the hospital given by a resident (this is where comfy shoes come in handy).  After a while you’ll be over seeing another hospital because let’s be honest every ICU looks the same for the most part but your job is to stay tuned in and again…ask questions because the hospital tour is an interview just like everything else during the day.  Be friendly and get to know the other candidates, you might make friendships that last beyond interview day and who knows you might end up at the same program.  The programs are also taking note of how you interact with people and whether or not you’re a good fit for their program. 7. So its October/November and I still haven’t heard from the program of my dreams rejecting me or inviting me to an interview. Or maybe I haven’t heard from any programs at all? Here’s where a polite letter of intent comes in handy. Some programs use filters to help them sift through the thousands of applications they get. You might have been lost by the filter. Send a letter of intent and make it as personalized as possible to the programs you haven’t heard from stating why you think you’d be a great fit for their program and what you love about their program and if they would review your application for an interview.  Late November, I haven’t heard back from one of the programs I desired and I sent them an email and was offered an interview a few days later. So I can say it definitely is worth doing. 8. Expenses.  Interview season is expensive. You may need to take out extra in your student loans than you do usually. Things that will cost you extra money are the ERAS application fee which increases the more programs you apply to, gas for your car for interviews you drive to,  Uber/Lyft or other rideshare, air fare for interviews you may have to fly to, hotels for overnight stays that aren’t covered by the residency program (I lucked out because Family Medicine programs on average love to wine and dine us and reserved nice hotels for me to stay in free of charge ).  My entire interview season costed me about $6,000.  The AAMC estimates that for students the range is anywhere from $3,000-$7,000.  It varies depending on how many interviews are local or how many programs you applied to.  Sooo much money I know…but if it makes you feel better you get free lunch on interview day and even a three course dinner if you opt to go to the “optional” pre-interview social the night before (Take advantage). You might also be visiting a new town or city, if you can explore the area a bit before going home it’s a nice mini trip and way to see if you could imagine yourself living there for the next 3+ years. 9. Pre-interview dinner – is it optional? It is but if you can go, I’d say go.  It’s a nice chance to get to know some of the residents outside of work without the faculty around. You also get to eat like a king on someone else’s dime. They won’t scrutinize you for not going but it does look nice if you went. If you do go, don’t just sit there and eat, please be social because although the residents say its casual…your impressions do matter. 10. Cancelling interviews. If you have been blessed with a decent amount of interviews and you can confidently say you are at a comfortable amount with all the programs you desire going to scheduled then by all means cancel.  Cancel as early as you can so it leaves room for other applicants who may have wanted to interview there to accept the offer.  Generally, 1 week to a month in advance is preferred.  Be polite when doing so because it does reflect on your school. 10 interviews scheduled is the average comfort zone (so they say).  I was paranoid and went on way more interviews beyond that because I wanted to be sure of my choice in the end.  I’m happy I did that because if I were to cancel interviews without going to see the program in person I’m sure I’d miss out.  On that same note, don’t be afraid to reject interview offers from places you know you absolutely would not want to end up (this may happen if you applied broadly just to have some options) – only do this if you have a decent amount of interviews scheduled. 11. What do I do after interview day? Most programs will say do not reach out with a thank you note. If they don’t say this you are free to send a thank you note if you wish. I did not send any thank you notes and I don’t believe it negatively affected me.  Interview season is very busy for the program coordinators scheduling interviews…they don’t need to read my generic thank you note/email that I will be sending to every program.  However, if I did have a question that wasn’t answered on interview day I would go ahead and reach out. 12. How do I make my Rank Order List? Only rank programs you interviewed at because only those programs have a chance at ranking you.  Only rank programs you would like to end up at. Rank them in the order of YOUR preference not how you think they might like you.  Go with your gut. I advise you send  a letter of intent as you make your Rank List to the program directors of perhaps your top 5 programs.  I sent a letter to my number one program telling them I will be ranking them number 1.  To programs #2-5 I told them I was ranking them highly.  You might not get any response (that’s okay), Match rules say programs can’t tell you they’re ranking you and they can’t ask you if you’re ranking them but there aren’t any rules against you volunteering the information.  Be careful of wording, I would NOT tell my number 2 program that I am ranking them number 2 (no one wants to hear that).  Make sure to tell them what you love about their program as well and why you’d be a great fit. 13. How will I know if I will match? You don’t. You may have feelings. Programs might tell you they think you’d be a great fit. You might get a post card or a letter from programs or a phone call follow up. They might hint and nudge and wink at you. With all this being said…you still don’t know for sure what the outcome of Match Day will be.  All you can do is hope, pray and have faith that the feelings you got from those interactions are genuine.

Red Gold - Chapter 2

Genre: Urban Fantasy Subgenre: Mystery Rating: 13+ Warnings: Blood, Violence, Magic Systems that make No Sense

My wallet wasn’t pleased to open itself up for all the supplies I needed, but the feeling of cleaning up the space was priceless. My place, I had to remind myself every time I opened the door to sweep out another pile of leaves. My house, I repeated when I whacked at all the spider webs in the corner. I didn’t know if I would ever call it a home, but it sure looked homey when it was finally clear of the rest of nature’s garbage. Quaint. Cozy. Maybe the ad hadn’t been all that wrong at all. 

The main living area was certainly the definition of it. It was small, but the hardwood floors and large windows opened up the space. The hole in the ceiling was almost charming when the counters of the kitchenette against the far wall were scrubbed free of all their dust and grime. The sink had a clog but at least the water worked, and the fridge was already decorated with some grain Polaroid photos of trees I had found cleaning the bathroom. Only the bedroom was left to turn into something livable - for humans, not just for squirrels, that was. I leaned against the brook handle with a sigh directed at the door. Maybe my wish to rid the room of squirrels had cleaned it up, too. I wasn’t ready to find out just yet, and pulled out my phone instead. “Hi, honey!” I hadn’t even put the phone to my ear yet, and I waited another moment for my mom’s hello before even thinking of answering. “Hi, Mom. Dad,” I added, when I heard his quieter grumble in the background. “We didn’t think we’d hear from you so soon. Did everything go alright?” “It went,” I told her, and I leaned the broom against the wall when she scoffed. If I’d wanted to procrastinate going into the bedroom, this would do it. “Did it go well, I think you mother is asking,” my dad said. “It did.” A similar buzz of silence followed while my parents waited for the details. I wasn’t sure where to begin. The weird but probably kind landlord wouldn’t have been the best start. My mom wouldn’t have liked driving all the way back here to pick me up, but I was sure she would if she thought I was in kind of danger. Which I wasn’t. Yet. I tried to imagine what Wren would be doing right now. If I was a normal middle aged man, I would be making dinner or watching the news, not plotting the murder of a college student. “Honey?” “It went great. The room-” I started without really thinking. “-is…” I turned in a quick circle and struggled to come up with something while I stared at the kitchenette. “…is a little smaller than I expected.” “I’m sure you’ll make the most of it,” my dad said, and I started to relax. Too soon. “Or you could wish it bigger,” my mom suggested with a laugh. I almost didn’t want to answer her. “That’s not how that works.” “Oh, I know, honey, I was just teasing-” I pulled the phone away from ear at the loud grumble of the phone. My dad’s low voice took over once it settled. “You don’t have to listen to your mom. She’s just worried about you being so far away but we know you’ll be fine. You’re bed is on the way along with the rest of your things.” “I wish you won’t forget to call us sometimes!” I groaned and was almost pleased to hear my dad give his own drawn out sigh. “Don’t worry,” I told him, and despite the frustration I couldn’t help but smiling a little. “I won’t let her get to me. I have too much cleaning still left to do.” He muttered something about leaving me too it, and, for a brief moment I was glad to hear silence from the other end of the phone. That was, until I picked up the broom again and remembered why I had bothered to make the call in the first place. Insensitive jokes aside, the conversation with my parents had done its job - I’d been successfully distracted from the fact that I’d cleaned most of my new living space. I stared the door to the bedroom down and the knots on the wood stared back at me. I tightened my hold on the broomstick. Sweeping. I was just sweeping. It was a totally normal thing to do, I told myself. He lungful of resolved air I took in to bolster my confidence was knocked out of me by a series of coughs as dust and debris jumped into the air at the swing of the door. I waved my hand in front of my face and blinked back the tears from my irritated eyes. “I wish-” I started and I clamped my mouth shut hard enough to draw blood. I wish this would stop happening. I dragged my watery eyes to the closet. The doors were still open, the shelves were still empty, and the hangers were still bare. The floorboards were dusty with rotted leaves like the rest of the cabin, but the thin layer was undisturbed despite the angry squirrels I’d startled earlier in the day. The whole nest was missing, really. Every single stick was gone, every stray clump of fur, disappeared. Like it hadn’t even existed in the first place. Which was what had happened, really. I’d wished it. No more squirrels to run about the bedroom just as I’d wanted it. I clenched my jaw and swept out the closet before I worked on the rest of the room. It had always been like this, ever since I could, probably, talk. Whatever I said, as luck would have it, would come true. At least, that was what I called it. Luck. Some of the things I asked for were realistic, like the few times I wished to find the last piece of cake in the fridge before anyone else could get to it. Other times, the odds of getting what I wanted were astronomically low - but they happened. So long as I asked for it. There were other rules, too, that I’d learned as I grew up. Others could benefit, too, so long as they were close enough to me. It didn’t matter if I knew them or not, as long as I heard them, they’d get what they wished for. I could even wish for something to happen to someone far away and it would happen every. Single. Time. I don’t remember there ever being a time my luck had failed. It was scary to think about sometimes. And definitely weird. But mostly scary. And it was scariest when others started to notice. For being so weird, I never had a hard time in school. I wasn’t bullied, no, it was the exact opposite. Despite my best efforts to be the quiet, shy, and very normal kid in high school, I was popular. Not enough to win any kind of student body award or cliched prom date invitations, thankfully, but I had a wide circle of friends and plans for nearly every weekend penciled in for weeks in advance. But popular enough for everyone to know who I was and… and what I could do. At first it was just a series of coincidences. Someone would leave their wallet at home and after a sighed I wish I’d remembered it, they’d find it in their pocket a moment later. When we went shopping there was always a muttered I wish I could get these directed at new shoes or pants and, one even after another, we’d either find enough money for it or be given them. All lottery tickets became winning ones, all raffles were won, and bingos were called. The trouble we got into should have put us in the hospital but we always came home for dinner unscathed. It was like magic, and it was easy to get lost in. My friends and I used it innocently enough, at the start. We got into the movies for free and wished our grades up. We got double the snacks out vending machines. Then lottery tickets we found on the side of the road turned into scratch tickets we bought in the store and those turned into real betting. I wasn’t interested in it but I was always encouraged to join my friends at the casinos we were, luckily, never caught at. Which is why I was supposed to be there, I guess. But then one of my friends called me in the middle of the night with a plan that sounded more thought out than a crazy sleep deprived idea. It was still a stupid plan, of course, but he’d thought it out. And the only piece of his puzzle he needed was me. I thought if I said yes I could try to talk him out of the plan and put a stop to his crazy scheme. I was lucky, sure, but there was no way I was lucky enough to get anyone through a bank robbery. I was though. At least, lucky enough. No one knew two high school kids had booked it out of a bank with maybe a thousand dollars in their backpacks until the next morning. My luck never left me, but I hadn’t wished for my friend to remain lucky. I didn’t see him again for a few days, and when I eventually did, it was his mugshot on the news. There was no mention of an accomplice. I’d sworn off my powers - or whatever they were - after that. I stopped hanging out with my friends, though I think they stopped hanging out with me around the same time as the robbery. I stopped wishing for things until, eventually, I started to think that maybe I’d just been crazy. I could never forget what happened that night at the bank, but with time and distance I could at least pretend it unfolded like something normal. Normal. That’s what I was trying to be. College was normal. If I kept my head down and my feet in line, the same thing couldn’t happen again. I wouldn’t let it. No one would see me as a lucky charm to keep in hand and do with as they pleased. I would just be the quiet kid I’d always wanted to be. Moving all the way across the state felt like it’d helped a little. I hoped Monday, the start of the new school year, would help even more.

Worth the Wait 2/2

13 Days of HQ Halloween pt2

October 1 - Witches AO3

October 2 - Witches pt2 AO3

13 years later…

Kuroo stepped into his office and resisted the urge to walk back out.  It was a disaster and he had only himself to blame for not putting things back after he was done.  Instead he just continually piled books, scrolls, and various papers on top of the previous used ones.  Now it was about three layers deep and would most likely take him the better part of the day cleaning and reorganizing everything to be put back where it rightly belonged.  He thought of, and quickly discarded, the idea of making one of the younger members do the clean up.  Who knew where things would end up and while nothing on his desk was cursed or could cause harm, he knew it was his luck that one of the junior members would end up with something oozing or pussing that he would then have to take care of.

Kuroo tossed his jacket over his chair, the only thing kept free of clutter in his office.  Even his couch and the table in front of it was covered with various things he would also have to sort through.

The family had warned him several times that he would be tested when he fully accepted the role of head of his family.  It was something all new bosses experienced and something that needed to be handled with delicate care, but also swiftly.  Hence the various piles of research.  He knew this unrest had to be handled in a precise way.  It needed to be harsh, he needed to make sure no one tried to test him again but it couldn’t err on the side of cruel otherwise the other families and even his own people might think him too drunk with his own power and not suited for his position.

Mostly he needed to handle it alone.  He still had the backup of his family and they did help where they could, but he needed to be the one to discover who was causing the unrest and he was the one who needed to personally handle it.  It wasn’t easy, despite being thought of as cats, Nekoma didn’t enjoy playing with people.  Not physically anyways.  Kuroo didn’t like killing but his hope was that no one would test him further.

Kuroo had been pushed off into his quarters after everything had been handled yesterday.  He had taken a long shower and fallen into a restless sleep.  Now he would have to deal with the aftermath and his families constant hovering.

Kuroo was placing an old grimoire back into the glass case bookshelf.  He put his more rare volumes in there, or the ones that he didn’t want falling into the wrong hands.  The case was spelled to open only to him and would enact a rather wicked curse to anyone with sticky fingers.  It was as he was closing the case that the door to his study swung open and a disgruntled teen with two-toned hair strode in carrying a tray.

“Someone actually managed to wake you up before noon?”  Kuroo asked with genuine amusement.

“Yaku wanted me to remind you that you have a meeting at two.”  Kozume put the tray down on top of the desk with no regard to the order Kuroo had been trying to make of things.  It wasn’t a surprise truly.

Kozume Kenma was over three hundred years old and was forever stuck looking like a gangly teenager.  It was one of Nekoma best kept secrets, their centuries old warlock.  Kuroo hadn’t known this when he was younger, he had been an awkward and painfully shy child growing up.  Kozume had been a soothing presence that Kuroo could relax around.  He taught Kuroo and shielded him from harm.

No one or nothing could make Kozume do anything he didn’t want to do, and everyone in Nekoma was smart enough not to ever force him to do anything.  Why he stuck around when all he wanted to do was stay curled up in his tower, sleeping the day away was a mystery.  Kuroo believed Kozume just liked them, it was why he brought Kuroo food under the guise that Yaku had sent him.

“What are these?”  Kuroo asked, noticing the files beneath the tray that Kozume had also dumped on his desk.  He pulled them out and flipped through the first few.

“Contenders.”  Kozume answered, earning a questioning look from Kuroo.  “We all picked someone we thought you’d like.  There’s a big pool going on for the winner.”  Kuroo pulled a face as Kozume laughed, walking out of the room looking quite smug.  Kuroo opened the bottom drawer of his desk and dropped the files inside before snapping it closed.

Nekoma was always run by pairs, though it didn’t have to be a romantic pair it usually turned out that way.  Kuroo was no longer in his twenties and for the past year his family had been pushing more and more “suitors” on him.  It’s not as if Kuroo outright dismissed the idea but there was no connection with any of the people he had met.  He might have grown out of his shell, shed his shy exterior but a part of him would forever remain that awkward boy who hid behind his mother's legs.  When he spoke to those potential suitors he felt as if he had to wear a mask the entire time.  He had to be charming and likable, engaging but on guard.  He couldn’t relax around any of them.

After the family meeting where all things were discussed, big and small, and a meal was shared between them Kuroo went back to his office to finish cleaning.  He burned the things he wasn’t keeping and put everything back into its rightful place.  It was tedious and time consuming but it was also nice to shut off his brain for a little bit and complete menial tasks.

Kuroo sat on his chair behind his desk, surveying the newly cleaned room and ruefully thinking about how it would become messy again by the end of the week.  But no matter where he tried to place his thoughts he couldn’t help but be curious about the files stashed away in his bottom drawer.

With a loud sigh that no one was around to hear, Kuroo pulled out the files and placed them on his desk with caution he knew he didn’t need.  The truth of the matter was, his family loved him as he loved them.  He knew there were other covens who did not function as theirs did, as an extended family who cared and looked out for each other no matter what.  With some of the bigger covens that was an impossibility.  Yet his family wanted Kuroo happy and they would have done their research and taken their time to only suggest true candidates, no matter what their teasing suggested otherwise.

Kuroo went through the files one by one.  He could see the merits in each and could pick out which family member suggested what person.  Oikawa Tooru’s file gave Kuroo pause.  The other boss had propositioned Kuroo before.  Oikawa had no interest in romance and even less in sex, he regarded Kuroo as an equal who could help his family gain more power.  It was true, Kuroo and Oikawa would make quite the power couple but Kuroo knew it wasn’t a possibility.  Kuroo would always be on edge, forced to keep his guard up because Oikawa was as sharp as he was pretty.

The last file had Kuroo inhaling quickly before glancing around as if someone could have snuck into his office to witness his moment of panic.

As much as Kuroo would like to say that he didn’t harbor feelings for his teenage crush, he knew that for the lie it was.  Sawamura Daichi was the person Kuroo measured all others against.  He was positive it would have been easier to move on from the other man if he wasn’t so present, so readily available to Kuroo whenever he needed him.

Kuroo remembered the vague idea he had as a teenager, thinking Sawamura would grow to be even handsomer.  He had been right and it had been an understatement.  Kuroo had seen some leaders be eaten alive by the role they acquired, they became shallow and pale forms of their past self.  Yet Sawamura seemed to thrive under pressure, he had taken a broken family and made them whole again, was bringing them up to their former glory.

The picture in the file was a mugshot taken on Sawamura’s twenty-second birthday.  He looked displeased and embarrassed.  The mugshot and fingerprints were mysteriously misplaced after Sawamura spent exactly twelve minutes in a jail cell before being released.  Nekoma had gotten ahold of copies before Karasuno had managed to destroy them.  There were paragraphs of private information, as there had been in all the files.  Most Kuroo had already known about Sawamura and he looked forward to teasing the man about being caught by the police even if it was nearly a decade prior.

Kuroo’s hand was already reaching out to grab his phone, knowing Sawamura would pick up despite the late hour.  Sawamura always picked up on the second ring and unless he was in a public setting, his voice held a hint of warmth that had Kuroo relaxing no matter what situation he was in.

Kuroo knew they had broken up for the right reasons.  They had been little more than kids with the responsibility of their families weighing them down.  They needed time to grow, to become secure in themselves and their families.  If they had tried to hold on there was no telling the damage they could of done to themselves, to each other.  But they were no longer children.  Sawamura had been firmly seated at the apex of his family for thirteen years and Kuroo had just reinforced his own hold.

The phone was pressed against Kuroo’s ear before he had even really thought it through.  It rang twice before it clicked on and Kuroo could hear only chaos in the background for a short moment.

“Hello Kuroo,” Sawamura’s voice had deepened over the years, it made the static pick up on Kuroo’s phone and settled warmly in his chest whenever he heard it.  “How can I help you?”  There was a whoosh of air followed quickly by a scream.

“Not interrupting anything important, am I?”  Kuroo asked, stretching out his legs underneath his table.  Sawamura had grown into a man who rarely showed his true emotions but Kuroo had always been able to read him.  If Sawamura had been truly worried about his situation he would have answered completely differently.

“Depends on why you’re calling me.”  Sawamura teased Kuroo back, his next sentence lost as the noise increased.

“Well you seem busy now, so how about we discuss it tomorrow?  Say over dinner, at that new place you like in Shinjuku.”  There was a moment of quiet and Kuroo felt his heart beat faster inside his chest.

“I’d like that.”  Sawamura’s voice was soft, almost too quiet to hear over the battle going on around him but Kuroo had been straining to hear anything.  “I’ll pick you up at 6?”

“Perfect.”  Kuroo eased back into his seat, picking up all but one of the files and tossing them into the trash.  There was an increase of noise and Sawamura snapped out a quick order.  “I’ll leave you to handle things on your end.  Please be careful, I don’t want our first date to be in a hospital.”  Kuroo smiled at Sawamura’s laugh before they both hung up.  He pressed his hand over Sawamura’s file, the only one he had left on his desk.  It was the only logical choice after all.

Playing Dangerous (Officer Peterson-Oneshot)

A/N: Inspired by Adam Driver as Officer Peterson and Lana Del Rey's unreleased song, Playing Dangerous (x) (I also incorporated some of the lyrics into this oneshot)

Since I saw that photo of Adam as Officer Peterson, I couldn’t help but write a really smutty fic about him, gosh!

So here it is! :D Being a new stan of Adam Driver, here’s my first take on writing a oneshot/fanfic that does not contain Tom Hiddleston, for once hahaha :P

P.S. I own none of the images I used above.

Warning: it’s smut so it’s rated E (Explicit) or R-18 (that’s the our rating here in the Philippines for things explicit)

Summary: [Y/N] has been arrested for arson; will the Officer Peterson lock her up, or will he hook up with her?

The last nights had been rough for Officer Peterson. Sleepless, yes, but it was all worth it as he had holed up perps that had been terrorizing the town.

As he arrived on his desk, Officer Sumner placed a file in front of him,

"Look at this one, Peterson. A [Your full name] was arrested for arson, said she burned down her ex-boyfriend's place."

For a moment, Peterson stared at the mugshot of the suspect, and he had to admit, the girl looked interesting.

Why is it, when it comes to female perps, they had to be good-looking? He thought to himself.

He looked up at Sumner, "Ooh, that's one case of a crazy ex-girlfriend."

"She's up for interrogation, would you mind filling in? I have to get home, my wife's going to kick me out if I get home late again."

Peterson wanted to pass, this one's always making excuses just to get away from work and he's always the one to cover up for all the hard work.

He adjusted his glasses and sighed, "Okay. I'll do it."

"Thanks, man." Sumner tapped Peterson's shoulder.

Asshole. Peterson thought as he nodded at him.

When he was left alone with the file, he turned the pages of the report, reading [Y/N]'s background.

He found that there was nothing much to read about, and she's most likely to get out of detention because there's not enough evidence. Though, lab tests came out and her hands seemed to be stained with kerosene.

What to do with this one?

----

[Y/N] sat patiently in front of the cold steel table in front of her where her hands were cuffed into.

The thin fabric of her silk nightgown was not enough to keep her warm. [Y/N] already asked for a blanket or anything but two hours later, yet still nothing. She felt like she had been already judged even though the evidence is insufficient.

After a few seconds, [Y/N] heard the door open. She didn't wanted to see who it was; it's probably another cop who's going to milk out the answers from her until she confess to the crime.

But when she looked up, she saw an officer she haven't seen before. His name plate read 'Peterson' and his glasses seemed to be matching with his last name.

"Ms. [Your last name], I'm Officer Peterson." 

[Y/N] felt enticed when she heard his voice, she thought he would sound like some nerdy police officer who's got penchant on creeping on young girls that comes his way. Instead, she only heard what archangels might sound like; strong, stoic, and dangerously ethereal.

Finally, she relaxed as Peterson sat across the table, his glasses once glinting on the LED lights of the room.

"First off, I will ask you where you were last night." He asked, but he didn't looked up to meet her gaze.

[Y/N] tapped the table with her index finger, her sharp fingernail making noise. Peterson waited for an answer, then he lifted up his eyes. Their eyes met and he was startled on how attractive this perp can be.

She was wearing a silk nightgown in old rose, and it mostly revealed her figure. Her hair was disheveled but it only made her look more seductive.

"[Your first name]. You can call me that, officer." She casually replied.

Peterson only nodded in response, he needed to look away before he could lose his cool with her eyeing him like that.

[Y/N] shifted in her seat, "So... Last night, I was at home. I was getting ready to get into bed when they arrested me."

He nodded, then he looked down into her file, asking again, "But you haven't been to your ex-boyfriend's?"

A soft chuckle escaped [Y/N]'s lips, "I pass by sometimes, his house is a few blocks away from mine. But I've been a good girl, officer; ask my neighbors, they'll tell you I was at home last night."

Peterson wanted to bite his lip when [Y/N] said she'd been a good girl. But he immediately held that thought and instead asked,

"The lab results came and they found traces of kerosene from your hands. Care to explain that?" He pointed at her hands that were palms down on the table; his tone this time was harsh and loud, it thundered all over the room. The smirk on [Y/N]'s face disappeared, Peterson can see that she was threatened.

"The house was already on fire, officer. I saw it from my room when the flames got high. There's no way I could be there when I was on my bedroom."

She looked away, her flirty tone was gone. Peterson wished he could ask her other things, but she was a suspect, and he's a cop.

He also did notice that she felt cold, her nipples could be seen through the fabric of her top.

"I'm sorry if I've risen my voice. Are you okay?" Peterson then removed his glasses, revealing his dreamy brown eyes to her.

"I'm little shaken, but I'm fine, thanks for asking." She replied, her eyes meeting his for a second.

For a moment, they became both quiet. And also at that time, they took their time on observing each other.

Peterson thought that [Y/N] shouldn't be arrested for arson, she should be arrested for being so damned succulent.

No. Stop thinking about that. You have to get a grip, Peterson. It's just your lack of sleep that's causing this heat. His nagging impure thoughts pestered him, as if internally chastising himself would be enough.

Meanwhile, [Y/N] noticed that Officer Peterson's eyes aren't just dreamy, they were also very expressive. As if they contain his very soul and it was exposed to her directly, it was obscene.

Then, he saw that she's been wincing in pain because of the tight handcuffs sticking to the skin of her wrists.

"Do we really have to put these tight handcuffs on?" [Y/N] mewled.

His instincts to free her of her bondage kicked off, instead of the idea that she needs to be cuffed because she is a suspect.

Peterson stood and went to her side and took the keys from his belt. He finally took the cuffs off of her, the spot where the metal had touched her skin was red. [Y/N] hissed as she tried to rub the pain down, when Peterson spoke up,

"Here, let me."

His large hands engulfed her wrists and it didn’t felt hurting anymore as Peterson gently massaged them. 

Peterson knew what he was doing might get him suspended, but that harmless woman in front of him looked like she needed help, not a jail cell.

"Better?" He said after letting go of her wrists.

[Y/N] showed off her smirk again and said, "The cop car is better. At least it had heating on."

He smiled at her, then he found himself sitting on the table, facing her.

"You can still ask me anything you want. Anything." Her mellifluous voice seemed to be beckoning him, his mind screamed at him to get back on his spot, yet his heart shouted to stay there so he can be near [Y/N].

Peterson only came up with one question, and yes, it is not related to [Y/N]'s case.

"How come a woman like you is still single?"

[Y/N]'s lips stretched into a beautiful smile. Her smile was too infectious, Peterson also had a smile on his face.

"I have no answer for that. How about you? Do you have a girl? I don't see a ring on your finger." [Y/N] then reached out for Peterson's ring finger.

He felt electrified when he felt her fingertips touch his skin. As if she'd just cast a powerful spell upon her, there would be nothing that could break it.

"I don't." He answered tentatively.

[Y/N] leaned forward, her eyes looking up at him, "That's interesting. Have you ever thought of dating a perpetrator?"

Peterson couldn't help but snigger, while [Y/N] chuckled softly.

When they both calmed down, [Y/N] slowly stood up, not letting her eyes off of Peterson. She slid the chair away and stood closely in front of him. Her hands found their place on Peterson's thighs, then she shoved it open and wedged herself between his legs.

Peterson knew he needed do stop [Y/N]; knew what she was into, but every inch of his being denied his rational thoughts and he let his unspoken desire speak for itself.

He knew no one else would be coming around and they have the interrogation all for themselves.

Peterson shuddered as she squeezed his thighs, sending a wave of heat that spread all over his body, then finally settling down on his groin.

"I'm cold, Officer Peterson. I want your hands on me." She whispered to him, while her eyes burned with intoxicating malevolence.

That was all she needed to say to him, and Peterson was willing to do anything that she asked of him.

His hands found her neck, until it wrapped around it, even engulfing her nape. Slowly, he pulled her closer, their eyes never looking away from another, until--

"We can't do this! It's so wrong." Peterson hissed and he leaned away a little from [Y/N].

This time, she grabbed his tensed shoulders and made him face her.

"It's not. We're doing nothing wrong, officer." [Y/N] leaned in to whisper those words into Peterson's ear.

Peterson closed his eyes the moment her whispers turned to little kisses touching his neck and ear.

He hissed again, "You're just doing this so you could get away."

[Y/N] raised an eyebrow, "You think I'm doing this so you could free me? Honey, I'm doing this because I want to."

Her hands were once more in his thighs, caressing and finding its way to open the zipper of his slacks.

[Y/N] can see that she's making it difficult for him, and she loved the effect of it. He's trying to hold back, that was the only thing that annoyed her. Who knew this interrogation would turn into a steamy encounter?

"They shouldn't have sent their hottest officer to interrogate me... Because I haven't been able to control myself the minute you entered this room." [Y/N] said, her hands now trying unbutton Peterson's uniform.

She was surprised when Peterson grabbed her left hand and she heard something click and lock. Peterson had placed back the handcuffs on, only this time, the other end of the cuff is on Peterson's right wrist.

He lifted the handcuffs, making her left hand dangle in front of each other, "Just in case you try to run away."

[Y/N] gasped softly but Peterson took her in for a surprise. He grasped the hair on the back of her head, pulled her in and made their lips crash on to each other.

At first it was just a simple kiss, but Peterson intruded her lips with his tongue. He needs to know what she taste like, he need to feel what's beyond her plush soft lips; to also feel how scrumptious her own mouth can be. And he was not disappointed, because she tasted and felt like heaven.

[Y/N] let out a quiet moan in between Peterson's kisses. He was divine, not your average kisser, but with every kiss, his hand's grip on her hair tighten, stirring her cravings, turning it to ferocious desire.

Fuck, I want this man's cock inside me. Right now. Were [Y/N]'s only thoughts.

Her hands wandered, and finally had won on unbuckling his belt and zipping down Peterson's slacks.

He pulled her away in the middle of their kiss as he saw that she's trying to grab his cock underneath his boxers.

"Nu-uh--" He kept her hands off, to which she protested with a soft snarl and her nose crinkling, "You said you've been a good girl... Prove it to me. Get down on your knees."

A daring smile appeared on her face as she slowly knelt down on the cold floor. Due to [Y/N]'s excitement to finally let out his cock, she got hit on the face with his erection when she quickly pulled down his boxers.

Her eyes widened as she gulped back, Peterson was bigger than she expected and she doubted if she will be able to fit his monstrous cock inside her mouth.

[Y/N] looked up to Peterson's face, and he said, "Oh, cock got your tongue?" He quipped.

She bit her bottom lip, it was a challenge she is more than willing to accept.

[Y/N] first licked the tip of his cock, tasting the precum that leaked out because of their making out earlier.

She let the tip be wrapped around the pad of her tongue, then sucking it slightly. Peterson let out a shaky breath as [Y/N] started pleasuring him that way. But he let a loud moan when she took him by surprise and she now swallowed in his cock, up to the shaft.

[Y/N] was not successful on swallowing his cock up to the base, unless she wanted to gag  and choke on his large length.

"Fuck yeah. Do that again." He muttered, and she did what she was told.

[Y/N]'s bobbed as she sucked his cock, while making her tongue swirl around it. Peterson's mind was in a disarray, his heart raced as [Y/N]'s technique sent him over the edge. He was now sitting on the table, his legs spread wide--as if that would help him.

If she kept on, I might cum on her mouth. He thought as she now used her hand and mouth on sucking his dick.

Once more, she tried to swallow him whole, and she succeeded without gagging. Peterson then pulled her head away, making a popping sound when his cock got out of her mouth.

"Don't want to cum early. I still need to pound that cunt of yours." He winked at her.

Then, he stood up, exchanging places with [Y/N]. He pushed her torso down into the table and brought her ass up.

He lifted up the laced hem of her nightgown and revealed her panties were soaked wet. He touched the wet line on her crotch, pleased that he caused that. He wanted to tease her more, he wanted her to scream with ecstasy into the four corners of the interrogation room.

Finally, [Y/N] felt her panties come off, but leaving it on on her knees. She felt his face close in to her sex, his breath warm then cold on her wet slit.

It was the least she expected it, she felt Peterson's tongue touch her as ass then his two fingers dip inside her slick pussy.

“Fuck--!" [Y/N] shouted, only to have her shout turn into the loudest moan she ever had.

He continued eating her ass as his long fingers crooked inside her pussy, massaging her G-spot that made her hips buckle on the table.

The burning fire of pleasure had just consumed her whole body. Her womb pulsed every time Peterson's fingers moved inside.

"I can't take it anymore--" then a muffled squeal came out of her, "Just fuck me now!" She protested.

He stopped after he heard that, he withdrew his fingers from her pussy that had been overflowing now.  Peterson then gently nibbled her butt-cheeks, leaving red marks on its trail.

Slowly, he stood up and she looked over her shoulder. She noticed his cock was poised up, as if ready to enter her cunt anytime.

"What did you say? Come on, I didn't heard it the last time." His deep voice ordered her, and [Y/N] did not dared disobey him.

“Fuck me..." She whispered, then she grabbed her ass, as if opening herself wide for him.

"I thought you were a good girl. You have to do better than that." He shook his head, his uncuffed hand stroking his cock, making the foreskin rub his shaft.

She adjusted her head so she could see him better, then, she begged, "Please, officer. Fuck me. Pound me hard with your cock."

"Yes. You are a good girl."

Without any warning, he slid in his cock into her wet and warm slit.

Peterson hissed with intense pleasure, his eyes closed as [Y/N]'s pussy felt like the most exquisite thing in the world.

He started moving his hips slowly, he needed her first to adjust to his cock. Then, he took her cuffed hand with his, then twisted her arm that settled on her back.

Like a rein, he held on to [Y/N]'s arm as he pounded her cunt hard and fast, their skin smacked to each other with every thrust that Peterson made.

[Y/N]'s eyes rolled up because of how good his cock felt inside her, hitting the spot and filling her up.

"Officer, oh, don't stop please..." [Y/N] moaned.

Peterson bit his lip, she felt good too. Too good, he might not last long enough.

"Your pussy is the best, [Y/N]." Peterson groaned through gritted teeth.

With every thrust he made, Peterson felt the walls of her cunt tighten; choking up his cock, as if welcoming him wholeheartedly. He was sure he will be hellbent on pounding her, for [Y/N] had just awaken his ravening desire that he had so carefully hidden and controlled.

The silky fabric of her nightgown felt the same texture as her skin as he settled his cuffed hand on her lower back. [Y/N] was not like any other hook-ups he had before, she was tempting from the start and she would never have any idea that she had set him on fire.

He kept his fast pace, and after a few moments, he felt the exhilarating telltale of his orgasm.

"[Y/N], I'm gonna cum. Fuck, I'm gonna cum inside you..." He whispered quickly, his eyes were closed as it felt too good.

"Cum inside me, please... Fill me up, Peterson!" [Y/N] shouted.

For a split second, Peterson felt the gurgling pleasurable pain have its release. He came with a very loud groan, his fingernails digging into [Y/N]'s buttocks.

When he pulled his cock out of her, his semen followed, dripping from her cunt. Peterson stared at her behind for a long while. He felt a little lightheaded for a second, his head throbbed and the muscles on his back and buttocks were sore.

Still... Fucking worth it.

"Officer?" [Y/N] spoke up.

She shifted in her seat then waved her cuffed hands because Officer Peterson had just zoned out.

"Officer Peterson? Hello?" She called out.

There, Peterson snapped out of his fantasy. He was a little bit startled when he heard her voice and the rattle of the handcuffs.

[Y/N] looked down to her nightgown and her revealing cleavage. She inhaled through her nose, then rolled her eyes,

"Right. You got distracted." She pointed at herself.

His eyes widened and he held out his hand, waving it, "No! No, it wasn't like that. I-I..."

She raised an eyebrow at him, but he blushed, and there she confirmed it.

"Can't blame you, though. You distracted me too." She teased him.

Suddenly, another officer bursts in the room, with a frantic look on his face.

"Peterson! The perps started eating each other!" He shouted.

Peterson stood up, "Like literally--?"

"Fuck, man! Literally!"

He looked back at [Y/N], and there was no trace of fear on her face; a little bit fascinated which astonished him.

"We have to get out of here!" The other officer screamed as they heard people clamoring outside.

Peterson first took the handcuffs off of [Y/N].

"Let's go, [Y/N]." He took her hand and he led her outside the interrogation room.

Peterson really enjoyed his fantasy, although he doesn't know if he can handle this situation yet. However, reality might suck, but at least he won't be alone.

Old glee spoof liveblogs

Yuè [glee spoof 4] so yeah i decided to watch all of simgm's glee stuff (glee spoof, glee minisodes, gleedo) and i am at spoof 4

Yuè Oh this one has no captions Yuè MICHAEL IS HERE!!!! Yuè "THE FUCKING AUDITORIUM FINN" Yuè I've been singing the Obsession with Finn song at the top of.mylungs today cause what a jam Yuè IT IS MY BOY BLAAAAAAAAINE Yuè there were a lot of guest stars Yuè GO EMMA Yuè TATER TOTS Yuè "Nice mugshot Mercedes"

Yuè [glee spoof 5] time for rachel's nose job

Yuè ah.. no captions Yuè "but we'll pretend that never happened cause we're good at doing that with storylines" Yuè YOOO WILLIAM IS HERE FOR SAM Yuè AND ALSO SCOTT (I think that was the name of the actor before Kyle) AS PUCK Yuè glee did Wannabe in an episode but it wasn't the same because Brother's riffs weren't in there Yuè "is that all you ever do?" TRUTH Yuè I love it when Hemo smiles in the background Yuè thanks Emma for slamming Will and his "teaching" Yuè "what in the fuckity fuck fuck was that shit??" Yuè nickname one: lemon drop Yuè I love this part Yuè "where did that piano come from?" Yuè SORRY SIMGM BUT CHECK PLEASE JUST GOT UPDATED I NEED T READ IT Yuè okay okay I am going to continue cause it hasn't blown up yet so I can't blog about omgcp yet Yuè I don't like Santana faking the sexual harassment claim tho Yuè ZOOMBA Yuè thanks simgm for pointing out the double standards between male and female characters Yuè "a sad attempt of giving me a storyline" Yuè damm Sister did great job on the performances Yuè "Nice choir Mercedes"

Yuè [glee spoof 6] WHERE'S MA CROWN? Yuè "isn't that what you did" "yeah but.. I'm Finn" Yuè "THAT'S WHY YOU BETTER ROLL" Yuè "I can't believe we're stupid enough to believe that" Yuè "wow... misjudged that one" Yuè thanks simgm for pointing out so many plot holes Yuè "you can't fight the power of Brittana" Yuè I FORGOT ABOUT JESSE FALLING DOWN THE STAIRS Yuè I can't believe Michael did Jesse and Kurt's voice Yuè *voices Yuè YES YES YES THE BLAINE SONG IS STILL MY JAM WHY ISN'T IT ON THEIR SPOTIFY? ?? Yuè "yeah if you're gonna fight at least hit each other" Yuè THIS S.MY FAVORITE PART OF ALL OF GLEE SPOOFS GO FOR IT KURT Yuè nickname two: sugary plumb pie Yuè THIS ENTIRE EPISODE IS WONDERFUL Yuè "ONE MORE TIME" Yuè "Nice poem Mercedes"

Yuè [glee spoof 7] This is over 30 minutes long that's what I call dedication

Yuè " half of the stuff that happens to us makes no damn sense" Yuè I still can't believe Boss built the entire New York set herself Yuè "I HAVE BIG PLANS" fuuuuck I should wear my I have big plans t-shirt Yuè well Quinn.. Cats is back on Broadway now aka Rachel was just 6 years early Yuè "it's no time for logic Kurt" Yuè SAVE THE HORSES Yuè "I regret nothing" I love the glee spoof Artie Yuè I just love the entire glee spoof Yuè "I HAVE BIG PLANS" Yuè I am just in constant amazement of the New York set Yuè I'm now wearing the Big Plans t-shirt just around the time Quinn goes crazy about her big plans Yuè Oh god after six years I finally get the "Bootay" thing Yuè "well this could've been a lo-" Yuè "shut the fuck up Finn" Yuè I remember Boss saying Michael worked really hard on the song Yuè Boss sounds so much like Lea it's unreal maybe Boss should be on Elsie Fest this year Yuè why doesn't the Sims 4 have spiral staircases yet? Yuè "you know you're probably gonna change your mind by the end of the episode, right?" Yuè "PLANS! Big ones!" Yuè "Okay first of all: breath mints. You needs on" Yuè Brittany is the only sane one here Yuè quite frankly. . Sunshine beating Rachel up is more believable than Rachel's sudden change of heart Yuè "I'm Finn" Yuè "that might change by the end of the episode though" true true true Yuè SMACK THAT Yuè I like this song more than Pretending but honestly I just really don't like Pretending Yuè there's so many great music in this episode Yuè I actually used to have Simgm music on my phone including this song Yuè the part with Santana and Rachel is my favourite Yuè nickname 3: pancakes Yuè nickname 4: gingerbread dough sprinkled lightly toasted graham cracker bunny" Yuè "who got tad more songs than me" "WHAT?" Yuè aaaah my Brittana shipping heart Yuè "NOW MARCH MOTHERFUCKER" Yuè "oh and. ... Tater tots" Yuè woah Brianna voiced both Terri and Sunshine?

Yuè [glee spoof 8] (Jim Cantiello voice) SEASON 3. The season where we appreciate Tina.

Yuè JUDGING YOU WRITERS Yuè "I don't have any (smile)" Yuè "We appreciate you!" Yuè "cinnamon toast" "Finn!" Yuè nickname 5: Pop Tart Yuè honestly Blaine should've just fucked stayed at Dalton Yuè what happened to Dianna's dog? Yuè "... than Kurt dropped Mercedes" oH SHIT Yuè THIS IS THE START OF UNICORN Yuè nickname 6: Candy Cane Yuè GOD BLESS THE BLAINE SONG AND BOSS'S BROTHER'S VOICE Yuè "I didn't do it" Yuè ah the angry student is back Yuè Oh wait is this where Jordan started voicing Sue? Yuè "Because they don't know what else to do with my character" Yuè good thing that glee spoof continues the hair jokes Yuè "We appreciate you!" Yuè this song was also on my phone Yuè I think I had Breakout, Tonight, Blaine song, Faith, Gotta Be Love With You and another one on my phone Yuè OH THE CELL BLOCK TANGO Yuè watching this really makes me want to play the Sims 2 again but... I have a storyline on the Sims 4 aka a fifth generation family Yuè QUINN FALLING GETS ME EVERY TIME Yuè name of Beth 1: Carol Yuè "holy crap I can't believe I'm actually saying meaningful lines" Yuè nadiacreek actually made a ranking of parents in glee and she put Shelby on it twice Yuè good for Beth and bad for Rachel Yuè "IHBBP. I have big baby plans!" Yuè "Damn, you Brittana"

Yuè [glee spoof 9] and we appreciate Tina Yuè Oh I love this song Yuè "Asian" "Asian F" "stereotype" "stop doing glee club" "no" "I'm glad we talked this out" Yuè BRITT IN A MONKEY SUIT Yuè name of Beth 2 and 3: Susan, Mary Yuè name of Beth 4: Jessica Yuè THEY SAY THAT LIFE IS TATER TOT AR R Y OU FOR REAL?? Yuè RORY UM IRISH Yuè I love the cast list Yuè and I also love Mercedes's riffs Yuè was Nathan actually Irish? I don't think do cause he was in one of those chats Yuè "I was told you are too" True Yuè "We apprecia-" "Shut the fuck up" Yuè "COURAGE" Yuè I actually wanted the courage t-shirt before I got the I have big plans one Yuè Oh man I miss the old crack days of jokes of Finn telling Blainers to sit down Yuè AND THERE IS BRIANNA AS SUGAR MOTTA Yuè "what the f-" Yuè "H-" "stop you're embarrassing yourself" Yuè I LOVE THAT FINN SMILE Yuè "Told you"

Yuè [glee spoof 10] that time a parody handled Santana's coming out story better than the actual show

Yuè I love the warning Yuè "I've been working in keeping my eyebrows still" Yuè "I think I'll go wax my lasagna" is one of my favourite lines ever Yuè OH B OY SEBASTIAN Yuè nickname 7???: snuggle toes Yuè a background sim is wearing a fez I love it Yuè FUCKING HELL THE VEGAN THING Yuè "Tina what the fuck" "Bitch" Yuè Y'ALL IT IS TIME FOR THE CELL BLOCK TANGO THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE Yuè also who the hell did these sometimes inaccurate captions? Yuè kudos to Boss for all these dialogues Yuè "Found out he couldn't handle BIG PLANS" Yuè damm I'm still in awe bc f the Cell Block Tango Yuè "we're here to save Rachel's virginity" Yuè nickname 8: Watermelon Lips Yuè KLAINE DID WATERMELON BEFORE IT WAS COOL Yuè I've drawn so many Stop the violence things Yuè Lauren is creepin Yuè GO SIMGM GO SIMGM GO SIMGM YES YES YES THANKS FOR THIS SCENE Yuè I love the big camera and also them saying the storyline is stupid Yuè also we needed more of Brittany supporting Santana during this come on fuck off glee Yuè I HAD TOTALLY FORGOTTEN ABUT TIS SONG Yuè Quinn is just smiling while Santana is beating the living shit out of Finn Yuè "Can't say I didn't warn you" Yuè FINN SINGING WHILE DRUNK AND NAKED IS MY FAVE Hannah sebbbbb Yuè Hannah: did you watch simgm ????????

Yuè [glee spoof 11] time for simgm to do it right

Yuè it is true tho bc Santana suddenly got suspended for violence and I'm like... FIGGINS HAVE YOU SEEN WHAT THESE KIDS DO ON A DAILY BASIS? Yuè Man the actual episode was such bullshit Yuè "then we're all in the wrong club" Yuè Brittany saying the truth Yuè the entire Quick storyline is so weird Yuè "CHEESEBURGER" Yuè tbh this song is as boring as the song they actually sung on glee so congrats simgm Yuè I'll never get why Santana was so offended by Klaine singing Perfect to her in support bc they know how hard it is in a straight world Yuè whereas the straight dude who outed her sang a boring ass unnecessary song and Santana was crying because she was so ///moved/// Yuè "unions and ass????" Yuè nickname 9: Dolphin Nose? Yuè "I'M KURT BITCH" Yuè Brittana should've sung in the actual glee sigh glee this was such a disappointment Yuè BRITTANA DANCING THE SMUSSLE Yuè honestly suspending Rachel was the best that could have happened because it gave us a killer Rachel free setlist Yuè "Do you people know math???" Yuè "Not completely. I have big plans" "there she goes again" Yuè ZISES Yuè "and clap like a seal" Yuè "It's random and out of character" Yuè glee and its writers suck at romance Yuè "QUINN HEEL" Yuè THIS IS THE SONG THAT WAS ALSO ON MY PHONE Yuè "I can still remember when I was 18. and here I am at 17, a woman"

Yuè [glee spoof 12] there weren't any songs in it

Yuè NVM I WAS WATCHING EPISODE 13 THERE ARE SONGS IN EP 12 Yuè "oh you know me and my big plans" Yuè "we hold hands, ran into Kurt and Blaine, and I moved two weeks later" Yuè unfortunately the old channel doesn't have captions Yuè "allow me to show you my excitement. ..... " I actually use that quote in real life Yuè why can't Shue do anything by himself Yuè "it always freaks me out when he decides to actually teach" Yuè I love these moments Yuè "my cat will eat you alive" Yuè I just remember how uncomfortable it was to watch Finchel suck face on glee like they didn't even look like loving kisses it was full open mouth on open mouth and making out Yuè "you would know all about announcing things wouldn't you" Yuè I also liked this song Yuè "no I only do that in cars" Yuè nickname 10: chocolate turle Yuè *turtle Yuè to quote Darren Criss: "it's cool I'm back" Yuè after taking a break to help dad wth dinner I'm gonna end this episode Yuè Oh the slushie Yuè "do my eyebrows look okay?" Yuè "that building was already on fire when I got there" Yuè "what happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom" Yuè "aren't we supposed to be rehearsing" "DO WE EVEN KNOW HOW TO DO THAT?" Yuè GAY PIRATE Yuè "oh wow we actually accomplished something" I love Quinn s snark in these spoofs Yuè so much snark Yuè "oh sh-" Yuè WAIT JORDAN ALSO VOICED GRANT?

Yuè [glee spoof 13] Finn doesn't know how to wash his balls

Yuè really.. Will and Emma suck at their jobs Yuè BLACK SUE Yuè "by the way I'm having a baby" Yuè Mercedes was actually the only one in canon that handled differently when she cheated Yuè "where do I sign to get you fired?" Yuè there were no songs in this ep... Yuè Oh yeah Boss voiced Sugar cause Brianna was ill Yuè poor Puck Yuè ZISES Yuè "sure let's go with that" Yuè "okay who the fuck is this guy?" Quinn once again spilling the truth Yuè "FINN YOU SON OF A-" Yuè "my girlfriend my girlfriend politics and Latino Brittany is my girlfriend equal rights if I wanna kiss my girlfriend I can rainbow flag" Yuè nickname 11: crayola monkey Yuè wait isn't this Scott's last episode?

Yuè [glee spoof 14] what a nice episode title

Yuè "I'm sorry we don't speak bitch" Yuè "and you make a two dollar hoe look classy" Yuè Sam is wearing simgm merch Yuè "I don't here Finchel when Finchel speaks" same Yuè respect for simgm to not make fun of the suicide storyline Yuè I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE TEY PUT A STARKID REFERENCE IN HETR Yuè "MY CAT IS PART OF THE CIA" Yuè in which the girls are fucking sensible Yuè I love the glee version of No Scrub but man what a jam is this Yuè "you suck at motivational speeches" Yuè "do you feel the 'I don't give a fuck' I'm throwing in your direction" Yuè I ASKED FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THEY GAVE ME A WHEELCHAIR Yuè "I have-" "give it a rest Quinn" Yuè "he didn't call me a nickname today" "OH SHIT SON" Yuè "since five seconds ago" Yuè THESE PARTS BETWEEN SIBLING OH GOD Yuè damn Quinn is being inspirational Yuè duck bless this song Yuè AH BRITT Yuè "If there was a chair to kick right now I would" Yuè well well well simgm Yuè nice song

Yuè [glee spoof 15] at this point Boss and Co were so done they put 4 episodes in one spoof

Yuè True about Damian and the glee project thing Yuè waot there are no captions Yuè Mr Schue is such a dick Yuè ah... Quinn's face Yuè for real tho in 4 eps Santana changed her opinion on college too many times Yuè "this got disturbing really fast" Yuè UNIQUE Yuè "knock knock" "who's there?" "go away" Yuè THE WAY RACHEL'S FACE JUST FELL Yuè ZISES IS IN THE CHOIR ROOM Yuè the Quoe boner thing was so gross Yuè I also use "and I wanna go to college" in real life to basically say WTF Yuè fuck Chandler Yuè Oh jesus Yuè btw welcome Kyle to the cast Yuè "I can do that now. I see you're dressed as Lea Michele today" Yuè SANTANA VISION Yuè "dinosaurs" "shut the fuck up Mike"

Yuè [glee spoof 16] this is the end

Yuè throwback to the first ep Yuè Rachel is a selfish as Yuè *ass Yuè and Tina is right Yuè THE BODY SWAP Yuè nickname 12 kinda: winky fairy Yuè ahhh I'm getting all emotional Yuè TATER TOOOOOOOOOOOOTS Yuè another throwback because they're all wearing the outfits they wore in the first spoof Yuè "good luck with that" Yuè EVEN ZISES WAS HERE Yuè the unicorn magic!! Yuè "my big plans are-" (title song) Yuè ... and it's over AGAIN

Yuè [glee spoof minisodes and others]

Yuè mini 1Glee Spoof Minisode 1 | Kurt's Problem with Blaine Yuè this is the video that led me to Simgm because of Michael's awesome voice work Yuè nickname 1: cutiepiedumplingsugartwinkledove Yuè I love that nickname Yuè nickname 2: kurtsie wurtsie Yuè mini 2Glee Spoof Minisode 2 | Santana Exposes All Yuè TATER TOTS YEAAAAAH Yuè "Penises and Winecoolers: a dangerous combination" Yuè "you've been a bad girl Santana" oh lord Yuè mini 3Glee Spoof Minisode 3 | Fondue for Two Yuè wait Yuè this isn't minisode 3 Yuè this is the other Fondue for Two mini Yuè okay in other words minisode 3 has disappeared so let's just move to Yuè mini 4Glee Spoof Minisode 4 |The Glee Cast Discover the Gl... Yuè this s where it gets real Yuè "SAVE THE HORSES" Yuè this is the first time the actual sim "actors" were in a video Yuè "am I really that tall?" "YES!" Yuè mini 5Glee Spoof Minisode 5 | Quinn's Summer Before Senior... Yuè I actually ripped the audio off of this one and put it on my phone so that I could listen t it Yuè "you have too many messages fr me to count" Yuè "BLAINE HOW MANY TMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO SING DURING-" Yuè quinn's face when Finn tries to order a pizza Yuè "..." "that must've been Tina leaving a message" Yuè mini 6Glee Spoof Minisode 6 | The Glee Club Gets Tested Yuè "you know I'm gonna flunk" Yuè Oh Santana Yuè "cow ass no. 5?" Yuè "you're all fucking crazy" "we didn't need a test to tell us that" Yuè mini 7 for realGlee Spoof Minisode 7 | Fondue for Two Part 2 Yuè "do you enjoy being a lesbian?" Yuè nickname 3: puffy-bear Yuè again.. oh Santana Yuè "you do like tossing things" "yeah like..." "my girlfriend out of the closet" Yuè mini 8Glee Spoof Minisode 8 | Brainstorming with the Creat... Yuè RIB is at it again Yuè "is Obama available?" if only Yuè Ian does no shit Yuè hey it's a Zises Yuè I love the Sim cast Yuè "what the fuck did I just read" after the IKAG script is gold Yuè mini 9Glee Spoof Minisode 9 | The Glee Cast Auditions Yuè Sim cast is back wohoo Yuè "my name is-" "you've got the part" Yuè "no way that's HELLA cool!" Yuè mini 10Glee Spoof Minisode 10 | To Catch a Pedo Will Yuè you know that's also HELLA cool? Yuè more of Brianna as sugar Yuè "Because my boyfriend is super awesome" Yuè Sue knocking Schue down always gets me Yuè mini 11Glee Spoof Minisode 11 | Favorite Moments Yuè TIME FOR SENTIMENT Yuè I agree with Michael. "Where's ma crown?" is my favourite part as well Yuè the Christmas crap festGlee Spoof Christmas Special | Holly Jolly Crap Fest Yuè honestly I haven't seen this one in ages Yuè "this Irish dude" Yuè "????????????????" Yuè this was very weird tbh Yuè they never released that song Yuè comic conGlee Cast Comic Con Spoof Yuè I thought it was very cool that actual viewers could send in audio questions Yuè fucking mcgustin Yuè never forget mcgustin Yuè save horses and coffee 2k17 Yuè Oh shit Lea's laugh Yuè LEA Yuè go for it Darren Yuè sneak peek Behind the Scenes of Glee Spoofs Yuè this is like one minute long but it points out so many glee flaws it's hilarious Yuè "I asked for development and they gave me a wheelchair" Yuè btw I am watching all the little glee spoofs and other bts stuff but I'm not gonna live blog them

100% The Father (Dylan Rhodes)

“Imagine…”: Dylan realizing he is your father.

 “(Y/N) (Y/L/N),” an agent with curly black hair and scruffy facial hair. “So, what is your ‘magical ability’?”

 You smirked at the agent as you balanced the metal chair on its back two legs. With your arms crossed and shoes on the table, you had made yourself at home. “I do it all. I’m all four of my fellow Horsemen in one body.”

 “I find that hard to believe,” the agent mumbled under his breath.

 The woman with him made a clicking sound with her tongue. She extended her hand. “Alma Dray,” she introduced herself. “Dylan Rhodes,” she gestured toward the man. You shook her hand, eyeing up Agent Rhodes as he took a seat.

 “So, exactly what was your role in the bank robbery?” Dylan questioned, sliding your manila folder across the table. Catching it beneath your hand, you slammed the chair to the ground, a loud echo ringing through the small room.

 “Not much. I mean, as far as I understand, the French guy just put on the helmet,” you demonstrated the motion for the two agents’ understanding, “pushed the button, and poof! Money everywhere.” A grin spread across your face as you recalled the ever-so-clear memory.

 “Don’t be a smartass,” the annoyed agent squinted. You rolled your eyes, opening your file to a picture of yourself. The mugshot you were forced to take when you arrived stared back at you. You swallowed, not believing that you would never be able to check ‘no’ on applications that asked, “Do you have a criminal background?”

 “Hey,” Dylan’s voice yelled, his fingers snapping in your face. Your head shot up, his eyes meeting yours. “Stay with us, huh?”

 “Um, sure,” you mumbled, pushing the folder his way. “W-What exactly do you have in there?”

 Dylan raised an eyebrow at you. Amusement pulled at the corner of his lips. “Oh, a little of this. A little of that.”

 “If you are wondering how much we know about you,” Alma confirmed your thoughts, “we know just about everything.”

 “Everything?” You echoed, refolding your arms across your chest.

 “From the accidental fire in the chemistry lab in high school to the deadbeat of a father-“

 “Step-father,” you reminded him through gritted teeth. “Emphasis on the step.”

 Dylan nodded. “Understandable annoyance in your voice. I noticed there isn’t a father listed on your birth certificate. How come?”

 You shrugged. “My mom always said she didn’t want people to make fun of her. She said something about him being a magician, always rambling on about how he could escape any trick with ease.” You laughed, the irony settling in. “Imagine her shock when I started to practice magic.”

 Alma smiled at you, a twinkle in her eye reminding you of your mother. Dylan, on the other hand, had rested his chin on the palm of his hand, studying you. “What year were you born in again?”

 “1992.” You scrunched your eyebrows at him.

 “And your mother’s maiden name is what again?”

 “The same as my last name. She never changed it, even when she married.” Dylan stood from the table frantically. “What does any of this have to do with the bank robbery?”

 “I-It doesn’t,” Dylan told you, his fingers combing through his hair. He moved his head from side to side a few times before closing his eyes, breathing deeply, and settling back down on his chair. “So, you have no idea who your father is?”

 “Nope,” you said, popping the ‘p’. “All I know is what I told you, and that he was 20 when he and my mom had their short fling in New Orleans. He was gone before she could even tell him she was pregnant.”

 Dylan folded his hands, his forehead settling on them as he breathed. “Miss (Y/L/N), you’re free to go,” he mumbled.

 “That’s it?” you questioned, eyes wide in surprise.

 Dylan nodded as Alma fumbled with her French words, possibly swearing. You shrugged, standing to make your getaway.

 ~~

 “Oh, my God!” Merritt exclaimed. “I did not see that coming. That’s impossible!”

 “No way,” Jack muttered beside you.

 “That was actually, uh, pretty good,” Danny admitted.

 “Thank you,” FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes smiled. “(Y/N)?”

 “Um, uh, y-yeah?” you stuttered, not sure if you were even speaking out loud.

 “I know who your father is,” he smiled at you, stepping closer.

 “Really?” you shouted your surprise, excitement and ear running through your veins.

 He nodded, taking your hands in his. “I’m sorry I didn’t know before.”

 You furrowed your eyebrows. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not your job to worry about my past.”

 Dylan chuckled lightly. “No, (Y/N). I’m sorry I didn’t know back then, back when I woke up after one amazing night with your mom.”

 Your eyes grew in shock, mouth falling open to speak. All that came out was a mix of unfinished words. You looked at your fellow Horsemen, them blurry from the tears forming in your eyes. Henley’s hands had covered her mouth, keeping her own sobs under control. “You-You’re my…”

 Dylan nodded. “I had no idea until you said that your mother describing your father as a “magician” during the interrogation. That he always said he could escape anything. As if this all doesn’t sound crazy enough, I took a DNA sample of yours. Um, there was a hair on the table in the interrogation room when you left. I sent it with one of my own. I am 100% your father.”

 “Actually, it’s more like 50% because her mo-“ Merritt interjected, trying to break the awkwardness, but he received a hit in the stomach from Jack.

 You laughed, your tears of happiness mixing with the choking sound that erupted from your lungs. You weren’t sure what to do, so you decided on the only thing that you ever wanted to do; you hugged your father.

 Dylan, after receiving a blow to his stomach by your surprise attack, closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around you and settling his head on top of yours.

 “I always imagined hugging my father one day,” you mumbled against his chest.

 Dylan’s body shook with his laughter. “I never imagined hugging my daughter but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 Again you choked out a sob. Dylan held you at arms length, allowing you to dry your eyes. He stared at you carefully, like he was studying you for a test that he had the next morning. “Wow. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it sooner. You look exactly like your mom,” Dylan smiled, pulling you back into a hug and pressing his lips into the top of your hair.

The Carolinas Raptor Center...and a moral question.

So next weekend I am going to the Carolinas Raptor Center outside of Charlotte NC. Nearer to Huntsville actually. What do they do there? Glad you asked. From their site:

Carolina Raptor Center: Conserve. Educate. Inspire.

Mission Statement: Carolina Raptor Center is dedicated to the conservation of raptors. 

As a charitable 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, CRC relies on public financial support to fulfill our mission goals that include environmental education, the rehabilitation of injured and orphaned raptors, and environmental stewardship. Carolina Raptor Center is currently celebrating the 40th year since the first patient, a Broad-winged Hawk, was brought to Dr. Dick Brown in the basement of the biology building at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

So most of their focus is on rehabilitation of injured raptors (and there are a lot of birds in that category you wouldn't normally think of. ) to release back into the wild. Birds that cannot be released post injury are kept onsite and used in educational programs. Lots of environmental education for school kids. Plus they have really fun events there at the center where they bring out some of the birds and do lectures on habitat, food sources, and the like. A good place to spend some time with your kids.

But twice a year they close the center down for the morning on Saturday and Sunday and invite local photographers (and some folks who are just genuinely interested) to come and take pictures of some of the residents. They call it PhotoWILD

Owls and eagles and hawks, OH MY! These birds are ready for their close-up.

Amateur and professional photographers alike will enjoy this professional photo shoot featuring Carolina Raptor Center's resident raptors. Each day highlights over 20 different raptors in unique settings each day. The morning starts with an early-bird breakfast at 7:30 a.m., followed by six, thirty-minute sessions, including a free-flight rotation with some of our flight show superstars.

They place perches around two or three open areas and rotate a variety of the raptors around the perches on half-hour schedules. It makes for some interesting activity as some of the birds are just as docile and happy to be sitting around with a bunch of folks taking pictures and talking and some..well..

A beautiful example of the American Kestrel. Indigenous to NC, but I have never gotten anywhere NEAR as close to one as this guy. Wanna see why I was able to?

Because he was quite happily sitting on the glove of his handler. They are terribly skittish birds and this one took the better part of 30 minutes before he would sit on the perch, rather than on the glove, without just being as agitated and fidgety as all heck.

Notice what I did not do here. Edit out the jesses from his legs. Could I? Sure. I am fairly proficient with Photoshop (See Monday Mugshot Makeovers). But I don't want to try and pass this off as a 'wild' bird. I have shots of Kestrels in my portfolio from the wild. Just not this close up. And that is what produces the moral question.

I have talked before about how most of the INCREDIBLE shots of birds you see in magazines like Audubon, Bird Fancy, even titles like NAT GEO and such are shots that are taken over bait, drip water attractants, and even completely fabricated perches with fresh foliage and suet or seed added directly before photos to make sure they look 'just right'. There are folks out there that make big money, like $350k plus a year, doing workshops where they setup such and have 6-8 deep pocketed semi-pros (or straight up working professionals) come out and shoot dozens of species. One of my favorites is one where the ad states you walk 40 yards from the back porch of the luxurious bed and breakfast, to the blind they have setup over a small pond that had perches customized to the 3 or 4 types of birds they are hoping to shoot that morning. Of course they get the pictures, the birds are likely sitting on the porch going "HEY...where are the fat guys with the cameras? We are ready for breakfast damnit!"

Now these birds are a bit different. They litterally are tied to what they are sitting on. Most of them could not really fly away, but they could flap about and likely hurt themselves again. Or get far enough away they could not be recaptured and maybe starve or end up trying to eat something off the highway. Which is how a lot of these guys wound up here in the first place.

The first time I went I was amazed at how close we could get. I had my 300mm with me so could stay a good bit away and still frame in tight on the birds. But there was a younger guy there who actually complained to one of the staff because unlike years before, they were asking the photoghraphers to stay at least 8 feet from the birds at all times. Some, like the very skitterish Kestrel, even a bit more. He said that the was not made aware of these limitations and he did not bring adequate lenses to have to be so far away. WHAT?!?

When he moseyed off, I stopped the volunteer and told her that he was full of shit and that it was HIS responsibility to have the equipement he needed and moreover, the most important thing was the safety and comfort of the raptors. She thanked me and said that she had never had anyone complain before but that she would certainly mention his viewpoint to the head staffers.

I caught up with the 'pro' that had complained and asked him if he really felt that the staff should allow us closer, even if it made the bird uneasy. That is when he dropped his cards.

"I edit these slightly and sell them as wild captured images to stock companies. They don't want captive bird images and they want images that are as close as possible."

I have to admit, I started laughing. Why? Because I had spent the weekend before on Jordan Lake, in cold temps, shooting photo after photo of Bald Eagles that were FAR on the other side of what my 300mm f2.8 lens, even with a 2x Teleconverter, could adequately capture for what I would have even thought of putting on a blog. Much less selling to Stock. And this clown was going to sell his Photoshopped shots of jessed birds for stock images? And was COMPLAINING about it? After I saw that he sort of realized he was being an ass I asked him if he had longer glass (I recall his having a 80-200 mm zoom on his DX body so decent reach) why didn't he just bring it along incase and he admitted that he didn't own such, but rented when he needed it.  

I let it go. I wasn't going to change this kids mind. But hopefully I made him think a bit. 

Made me think though. Should I post these images? Should I put in big capital letters "CAPTIVE BIRD" so it is clear. Should I care? My favorite photo from the day was...

See that lil Hoot sitting there just as casual as can be. If he could talk, he would have the same voice as the Ant in the old Ant and the Aardvark cartoons.

This owl was shy and kept turning her back to us. When the handler talked to it and encouraged it to turn around and be pretty, it made a sound just like a cat when you are talking all silly to them. 'mewh' 

This is a mature Auger's Hawk. Or Auger's Buzzard. Depend on how you want to sell it. The next weekend after I took this, the Auger that the Seattle Seahawks football team uses for their mascot flew away from its handler and landed on a fans head in the stands. This one was making gouges in the telephone pole it was perched on as it tried to get the leash off. Saw at least a hundred stories about them after the football game event. Would a stock photo of this one with the jesses photoshopped out sold for a stock image. Maybe.

But here is the one that really is close. This is a Eurasian Eagle Owl. We don't have them here. But jeez, this is a huge bird and some of the shots of it in flight between the perches are incredible. Could I photoshop out the lead?

Sure. Light colored, mixed in with leaves and such. No problem. Did I? Nope. I did this instead.

Better angle on this Barn Owl. Colors were nicer and the bokeh of the background worked. So I removed the tether on this one instead. Wrong? Maybe. Have I sold a print of it? Nope. Wouldn't unless someone wanted one after I told them it was altered and then I would give the money to the Raptor Center. 

So I am going back. I have my 600mm this time so I can stand even further away and still get crazy close up shots of the birds. And I actually have an idea for a 'posed' shot to do during the flight session if I can talk the handlers into doing it. If I do, it will be awesome. And it will be honestly presented as staged. I guess that is where I draw the line. Disclosure. I have no need to hide or lie about a photo since I have no intent of 'getting rich' from this. Nope, it ain't the camera. It is the image at the end that we hang our name and thereby reputation on.