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devourable · 1 year

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pls i need to know what the perfect date night would look like for abraham and the delinquents. could be separate for them or a group date~ if you tell me i promise not to bite them anymore 😫

- mazzy 💕

you can bite the delinquents so long as yoou don't mind 4x the bites back 👀 abe,, not so much. i'll do them separately AND together for you 😌

implied nsfw for some of these! the delinquents' and the church boy : date night edition ✨

the delinquent's ideal date 🩶

tbh all of them would try to take you out to commit a crime together,, but like. romantically lol. but if trespassing abandoned properties to eat a candlelit dinner comprised of stolen goods isn't your thing, here's the alternatives!

aaron would watch have a movie marathon with you in his car. he'd set up his laptop and put on whatever you'd wanna see — he's an expert at pirating just about anything lol. he'd either seat you in his lap or you'd lay down together in his backseat, have various snacks scattered throughout the car, and as many blankets and pillows you could want to make yourself comfortable.

don't be surprised when he starts getting antsy halfway through, though — you can expect him to start slithering his hands under your clothes a few hours in, idly nipping at your skin and pulling you a bit closer as he asks if you're alright with giving the movies a break. god bless you if you say yes, because you won't be getting out of that car anytime soon 💕

judas would try harder to impress you. he'd probably take you to a decent restaurant (not quite fancy, but definitely a cut above most), urge you to order whatever you want, and probably have a grand time just watching you enjoy yourself, occasionally asking you questions, taking the time to learn more about you and the things you like — both to strengthen his relationship with you and to have more to work with in the future. his dates are simple, but would change slightly with every one (you mention liking animals? off to the zoo you went! needed a few things? you'd spend the rest of the day at the mall. things like that). unlike aaron, he probably wouldn't make any moves on you — especially not out in public — but if you made a move on him, he wouldn't have any issue finishing up your date at his place!

mattias is partial to things like arcades (he knows all the cheat codes, hacks, and how to break the machines a lil for prizes!), and he'll happily show you all his favorite ones! he'd love winning you tons of prizes to take home and would take the fall after inevitably getting kicked out after the owners discover his serial cheating ways. after that, he'd probably wanna do a picnic somewhere. less of a stereotypical cutesy one with the red and white blanket and cute basket filled with pretty food, moreso one where his jacket would be used as a blanket and the food would be a bunch of snacks from the local 7-11. but he's trying his best, and that's what matters! and you'd still have a great time chatting the night away, stargazing with him and cuddling up in the grass together.

he'd definitely try to initiate something, but the ball's in your court — whether or not something happens is up to you 😌

dominic would definitely try to woo you via impressing you with his family wealth lol. expect to be taken to upscale restaurants, fancy hotels, boat rides, whatever he can get away with bringing you to. if you're easily overwhelmed and don't enjoy the stuffy rich folk activities, he'd take you back to his place and you'd figure something out there. if you didn't get a chance to eat, he'd probably want to cook with you — either teach you to cook if you don't know how, or you could whip something up together if you do. you'd be surprised at how domestic he enjoys being in spite of the front he puts up most of the time, and he seems to glow when he's given the chance to really take care of you.

all together, the boys would probably take you out to go to some sort of fun group activity together. think like an escape room, bowling, indoor amusement parks, fun things with lots of interactive parts that allow them to be in close proximity to you. there'd be a lil bit of everything from everyone involved — judas and mattias would rival a little bit to see who could get the most done or win you the most prizes, aaron would be a bit idle and offer you a place to relax if you got overwhelmed, and dom would be off getting you snacks, drinks, and whatever prize mattie and jude failed to win you. though group outings would be a bit on the rarer side, they'd do their best to make it up to you!

the church boy's ideal date 🤎

abraham would assume his first date would be something at the church — maybe a dance? private bible study? couple prayer session? but he'd be afraid that none of that's good enough for you when you actually start dating. so instead of subjecting you to his religious love language, he'd take you to something a bit less on the nose. something with similar energy but not nearly as oppressive ; think a library or museum date. somewhere nice and quiet where he can enjoy your presence with little distraction or expectations. he'd softly but constantly ask you if you were enjoying yourself, if you liked his choice of venue, if he was good enough, if you liked him,— he'd seek reassurance for a lot of your time spent together, but his sheer desire to please you would be incredibly endearing. he'd make up for it unintentionally by being as attentive to your needs as he could be.

#lovesick | ocs #inbox | anons #🚬 the delinquents #⛪️ abraham atkins #mazzy / darling core #yandere x reader #yandere #yandere boy #yandere x oc #yandere x you #i fell asleep while writing this im so lame

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cats-mayhem · 6 months

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Ein MyStreet isn't a compelling villain to me.

Please note how I said ME in the title. This is just how I feel. You're entitled to your own opinions. Also this isn't the most professional analysis, I am just saying what's on my mind in the moment. Anyway, let's get into it.

OK so basically: Ein had a lot of potential. In the first half of season 1 he was a cute "bad" boy who just wanted to not be the Omega of the school whilst also having a crush on Aphmau. Then Aphmau made him Alpha Male and then he stopped being a character.

It's framed that everything he did with Aphmau was just a ploy to get the position of Alpha but like... He was so genuine so many times? He was blushing and all, he helped her out with the hair dye. He was a good boy who actually had a thing for Aph.

But ok, let's just ignore his characterization up until the twist because ooohhh he's actually really mean and manipulative. Maybe it's because of the power he now has after being bullied for so long but it's SUCH a jarring shift in character for him.

I guess Jessica wanted to make an actual Villain character since Gene and Balto weren't the most threatening and evil but like... They're in high school? They're not gonna be evil masterminds like what she was trying to do with Ein.

Gene and Balto were just bullies and that fit for PDH S1. Ein being evil is to shut down any romantic progression he would have with Aphmau since Kai got character assassinated and was a dick to her on a date (+ Ein's meddling)

All so that Aaron can come "save the day" and beat up Ein and save Aphmau from an evil man that she never figured out was evil. The most Evil things Ein did was pick an Omega without Aph and also ruin her date.

Ein didn't want to be the omega anymore since he was sick of being seen as weak and being bullied and ignored, and the teacher WANTED him to take that title willingly, even after everything he's gone through with it. And he KNOWS that Aph would try and convince him To take it on as well, so that's why he picked one by himself. And the date thing... Yeah idk why he did that maybe he was just jealous idk i forgor.

OH YEAH and he beat the shit out of Kasey so that Katelyn can have a reason to be racist towards werewolves when the Ultima Reveal. Completely forgot about that.

I honestly think PDH S2 had an interesting set up with the love triangle. Kai has Aaron's personality whilst Ein has Aaron's attitude. (Aph & Aaron's romance is awful but i'm just pointing out symbolism).

Ein was also racist towards Humans since he is a werewolf supremacist and he wanted to make Aphmau a werewolf so that she'd be perfect. Also werewolves are a minority that's discriminated against so this character trait is a bit uh... Yikes!

Also I just remembered this but Ein was working with Gene to get close to Aphmau and Gene wanted pictures of Aphmau for some fucking reason?? What was that about. We get no context on this other than 1 scene btw.

So the next time we see Ein is in Emerald Secret! Oh boy, I got some words.

So about 15 years pass since PDH S2 and everyone is an adult in their late 20s. What has Ein been doing in all that time? Obsessing over a girl he met in high school, researching heavily into a folk lore in order to turn her into a werewolf. Also he's been doing illegal potion making and used one of those potions to turn an actual wolf, human, so that he can be the alpha of her wolf pack.

Also he's working with the biggest bad of them all, Micheal! But we don't meet him until Season 6 or something. He also may or may not be mind controlling Ein during Emerald Secret we don't know.

So what else does Ein do this season now that he's the big bad again? Other than the wolf thing, he also brainwashes Aphmau's friends into thinking he's their brother, makes Aphmau obey his every word and love him whilst also despising Aaron.

And makes her attempt to kill Aaron. Despite the fact that he needs Aaron to turn her into a werewolf first, after he denies when he's asked, Ein was like "Ok well. Aph kill him lmao."

He also "dies" in the end by getting mauled by the pack of wolves he made himself Alpha of.

I don't think it takes that much brainpower to see why this is an awful twist (he was also a twist villain btw we didn't know it was him until midway). His motivation is stupid, why are you still obsessed with some girl from high school, you're 28.

Why does he even still have those pictures of her in high school? Like if you're gonna be obsessed with her, at least stalk her so you can get the modern update???

Also, his werewolf supremacy is played up big time here to the point it makes you question why he wasn't obsessing over Aaron like Xavier was. Maybe Jessica didn't wanna repeat motivation? But Ein & Xavier are very different characters, you could make it work.

He was just a mess of a villain once you think about his motivation for 2 seconds. And then he shows up in When Angels Fall!! This one is shorter I promise.

So in WAF Ein uses another illegal potion to make werewolves (who were in hiding since the Government is taking every single one of them and interrogating them because they might be some ancient folklore beast). And makes them all obey his every word and call him Alpha.

It's confirmed that after High School, werewolf packs and Alphas don't matter in the real world so it's weird that he was obsessed with it in Emerald Secret.

Anyway after that, he kidnaps Aphmau to hold Aaron ransom and when he gets his werewolf ears back (Aaron took them away in ES) he kills Aphmau because he was being mind controlled by Micheal.

And then Aaron and Ein fight on a bridge, Aaron kills his mind controlled friends, and then kills Ein. So let's talk about it.

the thing with this is that... It just shows that Ein COULD'VE been written well if he was mind controlled by Micheal with the illegal potions. Since Micheal had 100% access to Ein at any time and Ein played a major role in Micheal's plan to trauma trigger Aaron.

And honestly it would've made Ein a much more compelling character if he just... Didn't have control over his actions. One theme with the main group is that they decide what to do with their lives and how to move forward.

But that wouldn't apply to someone who was controlled, now, would it? And since we know that the person under the effects of a forever potion still have a conscious, and can see all the acts that they don't have control over, it would've made Ein a tragic villain.

And if he was mind controlled by Micheal during Emerald Secret it would explain why Ein was obessed with Aphmau despite it being so weird. Because guess what, Ein & Aphmau are half siblings! So that re-contextualizes every interaction they ever had.

I think that Ein should've had an actual character instead of being a cartoon villain like Micheal was. Ein is the only character to have so much DIRECT action towards the main cast. Why would you make him so messy and one dimensional?

And the whole Mind Control thing is something that can be easily done. Ein uses forever potions to make people Obey Him, and since Micheal doesn't have enough power to mind control Ein 24/7, him using a potion like that on Ein would make so much sense.

Since Ein is shown to be decent at potion making and magic by the time we meet him. Micheal is the only one who could've taught him all of that. And the thing is: IT'S CANNON ONLY IN WAH. They met before ES but it's left so vague on what their relationship was that you could say Ein did everything in Emerald Secret by his own volition and you'd be right since nothing is confirmed.

If Jessica wanted to make this a serious story, WHY WOULD YOU STOP AT THE MOST RELEVANT VILLAIN??? He's literally related to Aphmau and was apart of the experimentation in some way but we don't know because he's not a character enough for him to be lore relevant other than him being a plot device. I'm so upset on the way Jessica wrote him since he could've been so much more than he actually was.

I wanna add something: The mind controlled by Micheal thing is only one possibility with his character. You can do a whole lot of other things. The reason why I focused on the mind-control thing is that it's an easy cop-out Jessica could do in order to make Ein an actual character.

Jessica isn't the best writer and loves tropes & cop-outs so it very well could've been done in story. But instead she let Ein be vague as hell and also tying him so closely into the lore.

I just want Ein to be a coherent character with understandable motivations behind his actions. There is no excuse for him to be this important and yet so messily written.

And now he's dead. RIP Ein MyStreet. You could've been one of the greatest.

#MyStreet #Aphmau #Aphmau MyStreet #Ein MyStreet

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mr-laveau · 1 year

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"You are a breath of fresh air in my life just by virtue of being unapologetically yourself."

-Lasko Moore

"Oh I can be very pleasant, just not usually with you."

-Aaron

Allow me to be that bitch, and share with the class ANOTHER totally-not-a-self-indulgent poly Lasko/Aaron listener OC, Carter Wilde, a.k.a [Casanova], the bratty telepath.

*Just pretend I actually knew how to spell Casanova above when I first made this.

The Deets:

Carter (he/him) is a human born telepath and currently, a professor* at D.A.M.N for Advanced Telepathy Studies, Fire Elemental Magic 101, Intro to Warding, Electro Magic II and Basics of Illusory Magic.

*he used to be a part-time sub and worked with Aaron before he changed career paths and started working full-time for the academy

Carter is Afro-American/desi and grew up in Chicago before moving to Dahlia for work while getting his teaching license. Was working with Aaron before he got a full position at DAMN but as far as Aaron knew then, Carter's teaching some accounting/management classes at a college.

Very much the professor with a fun but unorthodox way of teaching*–he once made his class write up and direct a short film to teach them how to consider different variables in manipulating their illusions properly with magic like they did when making their films. His time with Aaron taught him to be more relaxed about his students.

*Damien "strongly disliked" his ass for a while because he didn't like his methods, and Carter fed into it to mess with him before he arranged a separate syllabus plan for Damien to tackle while the class did their thing. They get along now but Carter will sometimes subtly remind Damien about the MANY "nicknames" he overheard Damien calling him during class.

Did not handle inversion well, his magic was a bitch to maintain inside the ward and everyone's thoughts didn't make the situation any better. Had to tell Aaron about his magical status a little bit after since keeping it all in didn't make things better and it was the only way to really explain what happened then after he initially told Aaron he'd been handling a trip out of the city. The conversation pretty sad but they made it and wrangler Lasko after his Aftershock vid w FL for a group care session. They're all in therapy :)

"Could you tell this was the first cutie design?"*.

*This isn't a lie, this was the first Cutie design and Carter was initially going to be a journalist who worked with Sama and dared Geordi, however I scrapped it and moved onto another design I liked. This was also the first Smartass design but as Lexi can attest, I found something else I liked.

Met Lasko when he first started subbing for Intro to Warding (very early in the timeline). Their dynamic fits the non-canon listener dynamic he seems to have with them in BAs/HBWs/HBSs. Carter loves to tease him just to poke a reaction out of him but is entirely sweet about taking care of Lasko otherwise since he doesn't often do it for himself. Will often drop in before Lasko's classes to give him sweets/gum/mints.

Very much the personification of "crackhead" energy outside of work. Aaron keeps him on a leash but will act on the first devious-not-so-devious thought that crosses his mind. To his benefit, Carter does know how to restrain himself for the sake of not pushing buttons, but more often than not will poke at people just for fun.

Will sometimes read Aaron's thoughts just to peek at what annoys him that day in order to turn it around and get him to laugh. It works despite how much Aaron thinks it doesn't.

Aaron and Lasko are also dating each other in addition to dating Carter. Aaron was initially rough around the edges when it came to interacting with Lasko and getting to know him but with a good conversation, they both managed to work things out between them. Now they both take turns making sure Carter doesn't burn something down on a whim.

That's all folks!🧡

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ewzzy · 1 year

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I haven't made a real list, but since I spend all my time reading comics here's a top ten for 2022. (no particular order) First up is Kyle Starks' I Hate This Place. Kyle is always the best and a couple inheriting a farm only to find out it's haunted by ghosts/aliens/demons/cyptids/everything is a great hook.

Next up is the new Amazing Spider-Man series that brings back writer Zeb Wells and artist John Romita Jr. They're two of the best to ever do Spider-Man and as they tend to do they drag him through the mud along the way.

Adjacent to Spider-Man is Jed Mackay doing more Black Cat stories. He's writing the Moon Knight, Black Cat, and Dr Strange series and has proven to be one of the best and most prolific writers in the Marvel bullpen. Here's a bit from Mary Jane & Black Cat: Beyond.

Too bad for Jed but this was the year Chip Zdarsky hit homer after home with so many great series. Daredevil, Stillwater, Public Domain, and two Batman series that are all comic of the year level. It's been crazy watching the comedy guy known for Sex Criminals become the most prized writer at the big two. Nobody but Chip gets to write Batman and work for Marvel at the same time.

I've been going on and on about writers but the recent Poison Ivy series is all about artist Marcio Takara. I normally wouldn't give a series like this a chance but it's a beautiful horror comic where a lot of folks get torn apart by fungal spores.

I also wouldn't have touched a Harley Quinn series but Riley Rossmo's art will get me to read anything. He just started a new Robin series where Tim Drake is living in a boat house and working as a private eye. So far so good!

I don't care about the Eternals or Avengers and keeping up with the X-Men is exhausting but the A.X.E. Judgement Day event was great. Basically the superheroes create a new god and it decides to judge everyone on earth individually. If it does the math and we're mostly bad the earth goes bye bye. Captain America is the first to get a thumbs down and everyone collectively goes "oh so we're fucked right?" Then when the Eternals wake up some old war machines one reads the whole internet and becomes the secret admirer of a single human writer.

As I said X-Men is exhausting, but it was worth it to get all the jokes in X-Men '92 House of XCII which retells the last few years of X-Men comics as if they were adapted to the 90s cartoon.

A much clearer X-Men comic was Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird. He was the first X-Man to die for the cause and now that mutants can be resurrected he's back and not sure he wants to be a part of it anymore. It's co-written by trans native-american pro wrestler Nyla Rose and I was expecting very little but it's great.

Guess this is my last one. I have been shocked by how good the Punisher: King of Killers series is. Writer Jason Aaron and artists Jeus Saiz & Paul Azaceta bounce between two art styles & times. The present where Frank Castle is worshipped as history's greatest killer by ninja assassin cult, The Hand, and the past where we discover he first killed at age 10 and how his family dying was never what made him the Punisher. It's also an allegory about how The Punisher isn't cool and you shouldn't like him and anyone who would use his skull logo unironically is dumb.

Sorry TMNT Armageddon Game, One-Star Squadron, Superman The Warworld Saga, X-Terminators, My Bad, Billionaire Island: Cult of Dogs, World's Finest, and everyone else from this year but I've run out of time and space. Look forward to Spider-Man/X-Men Dark Web on next year's list alongside both of Ryan North's new comics Secret Invasion and Fantastic Four.

#comics #comic books #spider-man #x-men #punisher #batman #poison ivy #harley quinn #black cat #I hate this place

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masterwords · 2 years

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the silence drowns (part six)

Summary: Morgan interrupts Foyet in Hotch's apartment. Now Hotch is staying with Jessica and things are not good.

Warnings: stab wounds, vomit, pain, depression, anxiety, medication

Pairings: Hotch/Morgan

Words: 3.4k

Notes: We're still in some softer times. Dark but soft. Sorry for the lack of updates, I hit a fork in the road and took some time to decide where to take this...wrote a fuck ton of other things in the meantime, now back to finish out the last couple of chapters. Here we go!

Chapter List

Read on AO3: The Silence Drowns

Jessica had always been fascinated by her father's card tricks. Sleight of hand, now you see it now you don't. As a child she would sit in his store and watch him play with his cards in the back room for hours on slow days, at least until she was old enough to head down to her grandfather's barber shop and play with the shears. She wanted to know all the old folks tricks, unlike Haley who had her sights set on boys and theatre. You wouldn't catch Jessica at school one minute longer than she had to be.

She loved when they did it with cards, but with people it wasn't as appealing. Especially her people.

“What do you mean witness protection?” She scowled at her mother's feeble explanation that didn't hold much water. It felt flimsy. She was supposed to just believe that some serial killer let himself into Aaron's apartment and was able to get the best of him and that subsequently put Haley and Jack in danger? And what about Aaron, still in the hospital?

Oh, that too... "Before they took her, Haley wanted me to ask if he could stay with you. He won't ask, you know he won't dear but his apartment is a crime scene, you know, and it'll need to be fixed.”

She didn't know what any of that meant, it just kept getting worse. It was almost comical, the layers her mother was adding. “Stay with me? What am I supposed to do with him?” Instant regret. She heard her mother's sharp intake of breath, outraged that those words would come out of her daughter's mouth. “I'm sorry mom, that isn't what I meant. I have to work, I'm not a nurse...”

“They'll tell you everything you need to know at discharge, sweetheart. He doesn't need a nurse, he needs a friend.”

Her mother was over the top on the sweet and syrupy, a trick she knew meant her father was on the rampage. She always took it upon herself to try and even him out. “Isn't there anyone else?”

No, the answer was no. His team all had excuses and yeah, so they made sense and really, they were just colleagues anyway, they had no real obligations to him. Neither did she, of course, not really...she was his ex-wife's sister on paper, less than no obligation. But it really wasn't that simple, they were friends, he was her brother no "in law" about it. There wasn't much she wouldn't do for him but there was something that wasn't sitting right, something upsetting her as she mulled it over. It took her a minute to get there, to parse out what she was so bothered by and then it hit her. Where the hell was Derek? So, their relationship or whatever it they called it was new, yeah, but it wasn't like they hadn't known each other for years. She knew about them, of course she did, and he wasn't returning her calls.

“Haley tells me that he was there, too,” her mother continued, as if she wasn't deep inside the well of her mind turning over every little nightmare scenario that having Aaron living with her would turn up. “They might just need some time to work through things. It's temporary, honey, and your father and I will help as much as we can.”

Yeah, sure, she'd heard that before. When she was talked into taking in Haley and Jack during the divorce, they'd made their promises, but they rarely showed up to help with Jack while Haley hunted for jobs and homes. It was lucky for them all when Aaron came to terms with the fact that the divorce was really happening whether he liked it or not and caved, got himself a place and gave Haley the house. It wasn't that they were bad house guests but Jessica hadn't ever parented a toddler before and was suddenly thrown in up to her eyeballs. Her fridge was taken over, her spare bedroom, soon her entire house was plastic toys and tiny piles of laundry and string cheese and goldfish crackers. Then there was the problem of Haley and her secret lover, the one she'd had long before filing for divorce and Jessica really hated keeping secrets and that one was a doozy. She loved them dearly and was glad to see them go.

“Okay, okay. Fine. I'll talk to my boss.” The option to work from home had just opened up and as appealing as staying in her pajamas all day might have been, she'd turned it down because if she didn't leave her home for her job she might never leave at all. She enjoyed the solitude of living on her own, of being alone.

Waking up in the hospital day after day was starting to make him twitchy. That and his complete inability to move on his own, no matter how strong they said he was getting or how they fanned the flames of his ego. “You're looking healthier today,” his favorite nurse would say, but she said it in a voice that told him she was lying through her teeth. He hadn't eaten in days; they were pushing nutrients through his IV and threatening further intervention. It wasn't that he hadn't tried, it just never seemed to sit. It tasted good, that sip of grape juice (that he'd wished was cranberry, but grape had more sugar, and his blood sugar was dangerously low) was like sweet nectar against his tongue and he'd scrunched his nose and taken two more small sips thinking he was in the clear before it hit him. It always started with the cramping, a pain in his chest, and then he would be sick. Dry heaving, coughing, choking and crying, a vicious cycle he saved for only his favorite nurses.

“You look like shit,” Jessica announced, her purse clutched to her chest as she entered his room. It smelled awful, he'd just been sick, she could see it in the ashy pallor of his cheeks. The room smelled like bleach and something bilious and sour. “I guess I'm here to bust you out, roomie.”

He couldn't look at her, kept his cheek flat against the pillow, foggy eyes trained on the IV pole still sitting beside the bed. He'd been up, had taken a few timid steps on his own before the sick came. All he'd wanted was to make it to the window, to peer through the blinds at the cars on the street. "No one's watching you sweetie," one nurse told him when she opened the blinds all the way to let in some sun, but he'd begged her to shut them, keep them closed. Swore he'd seen Foyet in a lab coat wandering the halls but couldn't prove it of course so he kept that one quiet.

“You don't have to,” he started, and she let out a barking laugh, the kind that echoed through the quiet hospital. She covered her mouth, eyes wide, and relished the moment he startled and looked at her. The first time their eyes met.

“No, of course not, you're absolutely capable of doing it on your own. I forgot. How silly of me.”

“Not what I meant,” he whispered, but it was done. She'd already signed the papers, gone through the discharge instructions with two nurses and a doctor, had the wheelchair primed and ready. He was too easy to help out of the bed and get into the chair, didn't put up a fight just draped himself around her shoulders and let her maneuver him and fold him however she wanted. They'd already shared his drastic weight loss with her, but knowing and seeing were very different and god he was too easy to push down that hall and out into the parking lot, she couldn't get past it. He slumped over in the chair and played with the bandage around his hand where the IV catheter had been placed, it was sore and the bruising was deep, peeking out from beneath the bandages. He'd torn it out a number of times, they'd mentioned, and she couldn't even pretend to be surprised.

“You ready to use those legs?” she asked and he grumbled, placed his hands flat on the handles of the chair and pushed himself upward right along with her while the nurse held the chair in place. She held him there around the waist a minute, it was almost a hug, and he sagged against her. It was a brief moment of quiet before the nurse bid them farewell, taking the chair back toward the double doors. That was it, now she was taking him and they just let her walk out with a man freshly stabbed, foggy on pain medication and in need of around the clock care with nothing more than a few sheets of paper and some well wishes. They were relieved, she could see it in their eyes...yes, he was polite and he was sweet (for the most part) but the constant vigilance for a return visit by the serial killer was taking its toll on the hospital and they were glad to release him, make it someone else's problem.

Make it her problem. She'd thought about it for two days after her mother's phone call, while she discussed having him stay with her landlord (the last thing she needed was to be in violation of her lease and put them both out on the street, her landlord lived three doors down and kept his eye on every little thing in the building) and making sure that the building's security cameras were all functioning. She researched security systems, considered getting a dog, and tried endlessly to call Derek. Each message she left him was more and more aggravated, until she finally just called him a coward and hung up. Maybe not the right thing to do but she'd cross that bridge later.

She was on her own, and she watched the way he wilted against the window with his hands tucked in between his thighs, just staring listlessly at the scenery blur past them. He was still on the good stuff, the stuff they pumped right into his thirsty veins...soon he'd find that the pills would be hard to swallow, they wouldn't do the job as well or even at all, and they burned coming back up. She'd been warned about withdrawals, they'd kept his dosing low, but it could still get bad and not to panic, it would pass. That seemed to be the gist of most of it...don't panic, it'll pass. Ride it out.

Call if you need anything, but please don't call. You'll be fine.

“Home sweet home,” she said, holding the whole of his weight against her. Her arm wrapped uncomfortably around his waist, hand resting against the protrusion of his hip bones and the way his pants sagged too low told her that this whole not eating thing the doctors mentioned might have been going on a little longer than a week. “You want something to drink?”

She dropped her purse on the ground beside the door and got him to the couch, it took some effort to get him comfortable enough to leave for any length of time. He'd been lying in a bed for a week, barely propped up with pillows, no effort and no pull. His stomach muscles were shot, useless. She had no idea what he looked like under that t-shirt, but the bulging gauze and cotton pads worried her. He looked like a scraggly teddy bear with the last of its stuffing pouring out. Without waiting for an answer, she poured them each a glass of iced tea and handed one to him. He regarded it strangely, balancing it on the top of his thigh like the weight of it was too much, and made a sour face. “Not thirsty.”

“Like hell you aren't. Listen, I lived with your son for three months and I learned a few tricks mister. Three sips, that's an order, or you'll have pureed broccoli for dinner all week. I know how you feel about broccoli.”

He might not have been able to lift his glass for any length of time, and the tea definitely burned going down his raw throat at first, but he took his three sips and managed to keep them down. He even, mindlessly, caved and had a few more while she told him about her job and her boss and how she'd be working from home so he wouldn't be able to have any of his famous parties. He said no more than two or three words the entire time, but something about listening to her talk was soothing, he felt calmer than he had in a week. The iced tea, after a while, felt good as is slipped cool through him.

“Have you heard from Derek?” he asked in a quiet moment, blinking lazily. Too tired to stay upright and awake much longer, but he needed an answer, and everyone seemed to be avoiding it. He was going mad, fearing the worst. If no one knew then what if Foyet had gotten him? Tell him anything, that Derek wanted some space, that Derek was leaving the team and definitely leaving him, he could handle that but the thought of Foyet touching him...he couldn't bear it. She just scrunched her nose and shook her head.

“No, but I'm sure he'll turn up soon. Don't worry about it. If I saw what he saw I might disappear for a while too.” It was a lie, and she knew it, but the desperation in Aaron's eyes told her it was the right thing to say. No way she'd disappear like some card in her father's hand, up a sleeve, under the table, into the middle of the deck. The thing was, she didn't think Derek was the kind of guy who did that either.

“Listen, it's getting late I have work in the morning. You definitely need your beauty rest. You've let yourself go. What do you say we try to get some sleep and do this all again tomorrow?”

He stared owlishly at her, half-awake and already feeling the familiar knots of fear at the lengthening shadows that would very soon engulf the entire apartment. A home that he was wholly unfamiliar with. She got her apartment locked up, blinds closed and curtains drawn. For some reason she wanted to do it all right in front of him, make a show of locking windows and the door, leaving just a small amount of lights on so there was a clear path from the bedroom to the bathroom to the kitchen. Her guest room was now her office, she'd had to make room for her things behind a door that locked which left she and Aaron bunking in the same bedroom, though she'd splurged on a good air mattress that she hoped wouldn't leave her on the carpet by morning.

That part, it turned out, didn't matter. Aaron never gave her the chance. He would never admit to needing anything, but every whimper or groan made her shoot upright, listening to see if he needed help. A slow trip to the bathroom, turning over onto one side and then the other, the pillow between his knees needed adjusting or the one supporting his chest was bunched up. She had to continually fix the blankets he somehow managed to get tangled in. It was never quiet.

Once he was comfortable, that was when the complaining started.

“This is your apartment,” he whispered into the thick black of the room just as her eyes had slipped shut. “You should be in your own bed.”

“Oh and what, you want to sleep on the air mattress?”

Silence. He knew very well that he couldn't get down and up like that, it was useless to try and argue even for him. He was barely lucid, exhausted and foggy but he fumbled with something to back up the feeling of guilt that ate at him knowing she was on the floor and he was in her bed. She'd been well prepared for that anyway, and wasn't having it. She gave him his medications on a timer, the whole pile of them, and helped him sip his water. Up and down all night was what she'd expected, had prepared herself for. She could try to sleep in two hour intervals, except she'd overlooked two things.

First, that she was scared too. There was a serial killer stalking him, and he'd managed his way into Aaron's apartment, taken him down. That was no easy feat. Aaron carried weapons, he locked all of his doors and looked over his shoulders, he was skilled in ways Jessica couldn't imagine, and it stood to reason that he would be well aware of Aaron's movements since leaving the hospital. Had probably followed them here. He knew who Haley and Jack were, but what about her? Nothing she could do for it now; she'd agreed to let him stay and she would have to take her chances. He was worth the risk.

The second thing she overlooked was the crying. None of the doctors or nurses had prepared her for it. How what he'd been through would peek through at strange times, mostly she would find in the middle of the night when he was exhausted and pushing against the medications that were attempting to force him into sleep. In the dark she could hear him stifling small shuddering breaths. It wasn't entirely unlike him, for all his tough guy scowls she'd always known him to be a cry baby. He couldn't watch Old Yeller without making an excuse to leave at the end, and you could forget about him even sitting through A Night to Remember. She'd always known how easy his tears fell, it was something endearing and sweet about him, but this was different and unsettling. She could withstand a lot, was pretty damn tough, but she couldn't fall asleep with that going on, so it was up and into the bed beside him in a final huff of resignation. Maybe it was all a game he was playing, some way to ensure she didn't get any use out of her very expensive air mattress, but there wasn't any way around it. She curled beneath the blankets beside him like kids at sleepaway camp in a scary, creaky old cabin scared of the night creatures. She was afraid to touch him, but she pushed in as close as she could and rested her head on the pillow beside him, her nose so close to his ear.

“You want to tell me what's keeping you up?”

He stared through the inky black up at the ceiling, blinked sleepy and slow. In the silvery moonlight his profile was sharp, all harsh lines as he lay rigid beside her. His chest barely moved with each shallow breath. Something buzzed in her head: pneumonia, he needs to breathe deep, or he'll end up with pneumonia. She didn't think she needed to bother him this one night, though, he was already in tears and that was sure to make it worse. It sounded like a problem for tomorrow. “No.”

“Okay. Will you tell me?”

That was a different question, and one she thought she'd have more luck with. Sometimes it was all in how you phrased things with him, always a lawyer, always seeking a loophole. She'd learned. A small sigh escaped his barely parted lips.

“Where is Derek?” His voice was chilled, hoarse, and he choked on a sob before it ripped through his aching chest. It would split him open; he knew it. She touched him then, put her hand on his cheek, fingertips drifting back into his hair. It was slick, maybe sweat, maybe just that it hadn't been washed in a week. He was still unable to take showers, another problem for tomorrow. She felt safe there, with her fingers trailing back into his messy hair. There was nothing to hurt, no bandages to disrupt or stitches and staples to accidentally catch or pull.

“I'll find him. After work tomorrow, okay?” I'll hunt him down, that's what she meant.

She closed her eyes and kept rubbing gently at his temple until they both nearly fell asleep. Whatever sleep they did get was thin, wispy, fraught with timers going off for medications and sips of water and more tears that came with no questions and no explanation.

<- Previous Chapter | Next Chapter ->

#aaron hotchner #derek morgan #jessica brooks #hotchgan #mortch #criminal minds #george foyet #foyet aftermath #hotch whump

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alterrune · 2 years

Note

Operation Prowling Spider

Mission 1

Briefing: Zulu Security Corp. is currently guarding a club, a large club. This club is meant to be a mix of a casino and a cabaret club. Zulu Security Corp. has set up their vaults there. Your objective is to steal the money from the vault. But that’s only 1 part of it. You’ll also have to go undercover and gain some sort of info on the officers. The Zulu Security Corp. officers are currently having a fun time there, so this is where you guys will have to go undercover. Spark up some sort of conversation with them, but don’t blow your cover. To know what will perfectly fit in as your disguised, I’ll be looking through your resume to know what job we will give you 5. Let’s see here…

Henry, according to your resume, you used to work as a bartender in Florida, so you should fit right in.

Ellie, you’ll fit in as a hostess. Being a hostess mostly involves you to talk to the customer. As long as you keep t he customer happy, specifically the officer, you might get some good intel out of them.

Alter, considering on how skilled you are in combat, we can get you in as a security guard.

Violet, you make yourself the dealer in the casino. This one mostly involves passing out cards, chips, etc. Maybe if you make bets towards the officers, they should be able to give you something that will work as intel.

Kyle, you’re an artist, and the club is hosting an art show. Make some art that will grab the audiences and maybe even the guards attention, and everyone else should be able to sneak into restricted areas.

Complication’s:

Weapon Scanners: The area’s got weapon scanners, walking into them will raise the alarm if you have a weapon.

Bloodless: Keep it clean this time. No kills on this mission.

Stealth Only: Raise the alarm, and you’re pulling out.

Reinforced Doors: All the doors in here have been reinforced. Everything is going to be harder to breach and access, and the locks here are going to be difficult to pick.

2 Hours: We've got a reservation at a nice restaurant after this. A really, really nice restaurant. We booked this months ago. Wrap this up quick so we don't miss it.

CHAPTER 2, ACT 2 - INSECURE SECURITY

(We arrive at the location. With our "identification" known, we make it in with ease. I quickly show up on stage with some artwork that Adam made for the occasion. I clear my throat and do my best french accent.)

Hello zere! I am Jauques LeBistro! I am here to give you zee finest artworks here...

(Someone shouts out "Hey! What's with the fake accent?" Luckily, thanks to Aaron, I have a voice changer automatically at the ready, so my voice is a bit deeper than it normally is, which means they don't recognize it.)

Wow. Party pooper, much, folks? (laughter from the audience) Fine, yeah, the accent's fake, but my name sure as hell isn't. My parents were born in France, so I'm stuck with the name I have. (laughter) And I am here to display some of my artwork! Lemme just go get it.

(I quickly run backstage. The satchel stationed there has some ready-to-go artwork from Adam, who signed my "name" on it to make sure they looked legit. I quickly tap my earpiece to call up Violet, when suddenly a security guard grabs my shoulder.)

Hey, pal, I think you dropped something.

(He winks at me! It's Alter! What he gave me was another satchel filled with more artwork.)

No need to thank me. (By the way, Ellie and Henry have some info they would like to tell you when you get the chance.) Enjoy the rest of your day, Jauques.

(He walks off, and I grab an artwork and place it upon an easel board. Someone speaks up and says "Hey, I thought this was an art GALLERY.")

Oh, no. Just looking at artwork is pretty boring. But having the chance to own it isn't! This isn't just an art display show, this is an art display AUCTION! Take it away, my auctioneering partner!

(Nicholas Cross, Alter's older brother, shows up in a tuxedo and a light blonde wig. He also has a voice changer on him, which gives him the perfect auctioneer voice. As he does the auction, I quickly head backstage.)

That oughta buy me some time. Now, time to chip in with Henry and Ellie.

(I activate my earpiece.)

Henry? Ellie? Alter said you guys would have some good intel.

Yeah, the guys gave us some great intel.

Believe it or not, the vault is completely unguarded, staff-wise. However, there are laser tripwires and other hazards to watch out for, though. You got Alter's older brother to auction the artwork, right?

Yeah. He's still on the first piece, he started at a bid of $100, it's currently at $1000. Oop, nevermind, just went to $1100 now.

Great. These guys said we were done our shift for the event. All we need is Violet and we can take the money and run.

You guys rang?

Violet? I thought you were still at the casino tables?

I may have slipped a little something into their drinks while they were distracted. Let's just say they'll be stuck on the potty for the rest of the event.

Great. Let's head to the vault. Alter's waiting for us there.

(We all head to the Vault, with "Security Guard" Alter ushering us in.)

Watch this.

(Alter tosses a few Grow and Shrink chips onto the piles of gold bars in the vault, which causes them all to shrink to a much smaller size. He then whips out an old-fashioned U-shaped magnet and all the shrunken gold bars stick to the magnet, which is positioned in a way so that the bars won't trip the lasers.)

Still have a few of those leftover from the Dogobo Jungle Temple raid. Now, let's get you all back to where you should be.

(Alter formally escorts all of us back to our designated spots. I arrive just in time to see the last artwork piece to be auctioned off.)

Well, I'm afraid that's all the time I have for today folks. Plus, I'm all outta artwork. Don't worry, though, I'll be back when I've painted more easels. (ahem) Au revoir, mes amis!

(We leave the building. When we're a safe enough distance away, we call up Aaron to teleport us away with all the gold bars still shrunken and attached to the magnet, which Aaron does without any delay.)

Achievement Unlocked: "Should've Gone For Silver" (added to the stock set)

CHAPTER 2, ACT 2 COMPLETE

DISPLAYING ACT EPILOUGE:

(The next morning, Laurence Burnway is shown opening his safe, only to find it completely emptied out.)

WHAT?! Where's all the gold I stashed in here?

(He sees a note, which he picks up and reads.)

-----------

Hey, Laurence.

We decided to take out a small loan from your bank. We hope you don't mind. By the way, we're not paying it back.

With love,

🔺Alterrune🔺

💜Violet Wolfsbane💜

🔵Henry Stickmin🔵

💕Ellie Rose💕

✍🏼Kyle Gibbons✍🏼

-----------

"The fucking ColorStreak Battalion..."

(Laurence rips the note in half, then stomps on it in anger.)

"They could fucking be ANYWHERE with that gold by now. Fuck it, I'll have to just ask my superiors for another loan. Considering how those CrapShoot Bastards took all of it without me even noticing, though, I doubt they'll be happy with me, let alone willing to give me another loan when I ALREADY lost the one they gave me..."

END OF ACT EPILOUGE

#altering the outcome #ask irl!alterrune #ask the ato cast #the colorstreak battalion #operation: prowling spider #mission one successful!

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queen-of-my-goofball-army · 3 years

Text

"In order to gain something or learn something, maybe you have to sacrifice something or hurt something, no matter how depressing that might be." (Kakeru Manabe, Fruits Basket.)

So I stupidly thought that today was tomorrow's edit until I realized that I technically was reading the Fruits Basket manga during season one and watching that other show at the same time. So technically I met Manabe first and we are going in chronological order here. That one will be tomorrow but for today let's talk Manabe folks!

Kakeru Manabe, the vice president of the student counsel, is Yuki's best friend, not that Yuki himself will ever admit that to his face. He's one of those characters where I just fell for him instantly, hook, line and sinker. The minute I saw his goofy face waking up from a nap and yelling about aliens in the dub, with Aaron Dismuke as his voice, that only made things worse. I love the way that Aaron voices Kakeru bringing both the seriousness that this character has and the utter troll chaos that he embodies as well as a voice actor. I remember being absolutely terrified of who was going to voice Kakeru because he isn't your typical goofball. There are multiple layers to being this character beyond just the sheer happy goofball (because this is Fruits Basket okay everyone has trauma).

Beyond voice there is so much more to love about Kakeru. I love that he was kind enough to Yuki but also pushed him further than anybody else ever had in order to make him a better person. He's one of those people where once you have been chosen as a friend good luck getting rid of him because he's a clinger. He's also an amazing older brother who is just doing his best with the situation that he was given with Machi. He's just trying to relate to her and get her out of her tight knit shell. Without him I don't think that Yuchi would have ever happened as quickly as it did.

Some people aren't big fans of Kakeru because of the way that he eventually treats Tohru but I've always seen that as more character development for him. He learns that it wasn't Tohru's fault nor was it anybody's that Komaki dad died in that same car accident. He learns that it was nobody's fault and that it was just an awful turn of events that led to that awful situation. I learned to love this emotional side of his character and that even though he makes mistakes he still comes out on top with a smile, a laugh, and a joke at the worst of times. Even if sometimes it's a joke at Yuki's expense.

Through reading the entire manga and watching the anime I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Kakeru Manabe is my number one husbando in Fruits Basket. I love everything about him from the first moment that I read about him in the manga. Getting to see his official character design I fell in love with his beautiful personality. He always makes me laugh but also get emotional whenever on the rare occasion he was serious. His relationships with other characters all throughout the entire show made me engaged in his arc. I loved his teasing relationship with Komaki as well (despite my envy of her LMAO I had never been so jealous of a fictional character in my life.) He just is... everything to me. Through every laugh that I had at his ridiculous nature he never failed to light me up from inside.

#fruits basket #kakeru manabe #husbandos #my favorite characters

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

Text

OK, March 8

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Bruce Springsteen

Page 1: Big Pic -- as part of Coach's latest campaign Jennifer Lopez posed with a supersized pink version of their new Pillow Tabby purse

Page 2: Contents

Page 3: Contents

Page 4: Chris Harrison gone for good? The Bachelor host's future with the show remains uncertain after his controversial interview with Rachel Lindsay

Page 6: Since the start of his career Justin Timberlake has endured his fair share of scandals but after welcoming his second son with wife Jessica Biel over the summer and celebrating his 40th birthday, he is confessing that he feels immense guilt about the past and he won't be making the same mistakes in the future -- Justin's done some soul-searching and accepts that he's wronged a lot of people over the years with his own terrible mistakes and he says he's still a work in progress, but step one has been to stand up and admit he's hurt too many women -- in addition to a boozy night out with his Palmer costar Alisha Wainwright in 2019 and his part in the now-infamous Nipplegate incident with Janet Jackson at the 2004 Super Bowl, Justin recently came under fire again due to the documentary Framing Britney Spears which showed him exploiting his breakup from Britney Spears to help his solo career -- Justin's learned from his mistakes and has a lot more sensitivity about the impact of his actions on other people and that's the big difference between the Justin of today and his old, immature self and that self-awareness was evident in an emotional statement that he posted apologizing to both Britney and Janet for the errors in his ways -- his words drew praise from his wife Jessica who says he's come a long way as a husband, a father and more importantly, a human being

Page 7: Wendy Williams is on the prowl for a new man and he's got to be husband material and she is ready for a serious commitment -- Wendy's been staying up until all hours of the night checking out guys online and on exclusive dating apps and she wants someone age-appropriate, fun, kind, independent and of course has no history of cheating -- she's feeling very optimistic and even buying new perfume and clothes and jewelry for all the dates she hopes to have once lockdown lifts

* Texas native Matthew McConaughey is seriously considering throwing his hat in the ring to become the state's next governor -- he's been putting out feelers to see if he's got sufficient support and if enough donors are willing to write checks, he'd mount an aggressive run in 2022 -- he's already gotten the thumbs-up from his wife Camila Alves and their three kids -- at this point, he needs to see an actual path to winning because he's not interested in just making a protest statement; don't be fooled by his aw-shucks attitude, Matthew means business

* Now that Keeping Up With the Kardashians is coming to an end, the hunt is on for a new family to replace the clan and one reality pro is poised to nab the prize: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna -- there's already been talk about Lisa picking up the torch and her family is camera ready, consisting of husband Harry Hamlin, and their daughters Delilah Hamlin who's dating Love Island's Eyal Booker and Amelia Hamlin who's dating Scott Disick

Page 8: Things keep going from bad to worse for Armie Hammer -- he was forced to drop out of his upcoming movie Shotgun Wedding with Jennifer Lopez after direct messages he allegedly sent to women in which he described himself as a cannibal and detailed disturbing sexual fantasies were leaked online -- Armie was also fired by his talent agency WME and now the disgraced star may get cut from his new film Next Goal Wins which has already been shot -- he's radioactive and everybody knows it and his completed but unreleased work is getting a second look as studios want to do damage control, and that includes another of his finished projects Death on the Nile where his part could end up on the cutting room floor -- he's a pariah now and it's hard to see how he's ever going to come back from this

* Jennifer Aniston has always had a spiritual side but these days she is taking things to a whole new plane -- Jen has surrounded herself with psychics and has been doing Goddess Circles with the same group of close friends for 30 years, but now she's taking courses to learn to heal herself and be her own guru -- BFF Courteney Cox has been a big influence and Jen's learned a lot from Courteney, who's had a long-term interest in mediums, astrologists and horoscopes, and she's trying to fuse it all together into her own brand of spirituality -- Jen's had a lot of time alone, which has only deepened her questions about the universe and how she can make the most of her life and she's determined to find the answers

* Princess Eugenie is over the moon after welcoming her first child, a baby boy with businessman husband Jack Brooksbank but now the new mom is torn about taking time out from her royal responsibilities -- Eugenie would love to take a long break from everything and focus solely on raising her son however she knows deep down how much she's needed, especially since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are showing no signs of coming back -- as she weighs her options, Eugenie is looking to her multi-tasking cousin-in-law Duchess Kate for some inspiration because she's impressed by how Kate is able to juggle her official duties while raising three young kids

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- stars captivate in enchanting puff-sleeve numbers -- Bel Powley, Aubrey Plaza, Lupita Nyong'o

Page 11: Kaitlyn Dever, Lucy Boynton, Margaret Qualley

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Hilary Swank vs. Madeline Brewer, Bella Hadid vs. Devon Windsor, Alison Brie vs. Dua Lipa

Page 14: News in Photos -- Tayshia Adams and her fiance Zac Clark felt on top of the world when the visited the Empire State Building together

Page 15: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend were inseparable while out and about in Beverly Hills, Bill Murray and NFL player Larry Fitzgerald Jr. were among the many stars to shoot their shot during a charity golf tournament in Pebble Beach, Rita Ora performing on an episode of the U.K. show Dancing on Ice in Hertfordshire

Page 16: At the Australian Open Serena Williams came out on top during the fourth round, Bachelorette alum Jordan Kimball and fiancee Christina Creedon couldn't wait until they got home to enjoy Candy Pop popcorn's new Peanut M&M's flavor from Sam's Club in Houston, Heidi Montag spent the day hitting the slopes at Lake Tahoe

Page 17: Hailey Bieber starring in Beyonce's new Ivy Park x Adidas collection

Page 18: Brody Jenner had a blast snow tubing while shooting the second season of The Hills: New Beginnings in Lake Tahoe, Avril Lavigne stepped out with her new boyfriend Mod Sun for a romantic dinner in West Hollywood

Page 20: Justin Bieber looked like he'd just hopped out of bed in a sweater and checkered fleece pants in L.A., Robin Thicke in front of a piano in L.A.

Page 21: Steve Martin doubled up on face coverings on the set of his new project Only Murders in the Building in NYC, Michelle Obama on her new show Waffles + Michi, Cardi B spoiled herself with high-end goods during a day of shopping on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills

Page 22: Brooke Burke romancing with boyfriend Scott Rigsby on Valentine's Day, Lucy Hale accessorized her look with her newest rescue pup Ethel in L.A., Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon masked up for a snowy outing in NYC

Page 24: For Galentine's Day Vanessa Lachey snacked on macarons and sipped on wine in L.A.

Page 25: Bella Hadid alongside models Mayowa Nicholas and Heejung Park in Michael Kors' new campaign for the Spring 2021 collection, Hugh Grant stepped out for some fresh hair in London, Sofia Vergara kept it casual during a visit to a pal's house in Beverly Hills

Page 26: Inside My Home -- Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley's Rocky Mountain retreat

Page 28: Marriage isn't easy especially during a global health crisis but for Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard divorce is not an option -- Kristen said she and Dax at the start of the pandemic were at a point in their marriage where they definitely needed a little therapy brush-up and every couple of years they're being very antagonistic towards each other and they don't want that so they go back to therapy and figure out how they can serve their team goal better and it's been incredibly helpful and even in the toughest times they always have each other's back and they're committed to being each other's biggest support systems -- while their relationship may never be perfect, they're happy and love each other and that's what matters most

Page 29: Now that Tom Brady has won his seventh Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he has set his sights on the next prize: baby No. 3 with wife Gisele Bundchen -- they've been telling friends they hope to make an announcement by summer at the latest and Tom and Gisele have been super loved-up since leaving Boston and moving to Florida after the QB signed on with the Bucs and the change of scenery has worked wonders on their love life and put them in baby-making mode -- the duo, who recently bought a $17 million spread on Miami's exclusive Indian Creek Island, plan to build a luxury mansion there complete with a nursery and they hope to be all settled in when the new arrival comes -- they've never felt healthier or been happier

* Aaron Rodgers looked positively giddy when he revealed he had a fiancee, Shailene Woodley at the NFL Honors, but the QB is dreading the next step: bringing her home to meet his parents because it's no secret that Aaron's been estranged from them for years and the last thing he wants is for Shailene to get caught up in the drama -- Shailene wants Aaron to clear the air with his folks, but he's not ready to do that and he doesn't want to bring Shailene into a toxic environment

* It's only been two years since Miranda Lambert married Brendan McLoughlin but she's already itching for some alone time -- she's headed to Texas in April for her first concert in over a year and she's told Brendan he shouldn't come because it will be all work and no play but she really wants to get away from him for a while and after the pair's recent road trip together, Miranda is desperate for some space -- sometimes Miranda feels like she's living with a baby because Brendan whines and complains about life on her farm

Page 30: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's romance is heating up fast, so much so that she's practically handed over the keys to her Calabasas estate and she loves having Travis sleep over and sometimes he'll stay the whole weekend -- he gets along famously with her children and Travis has been a friend of the family for years, so the kids have pretty much known him their whole lives and they'll do fun stuff together like hiking or playing video games and Travis loves making breakfast and showing off his pancake-flipping skills --Travis is spending so much time at Kourt's place that he's moved a bunch of his stuff in to make it easier for his kids Landon and Alabama with ex Shanna Moakler to visit him there -- everyone's convinced they'll be living together full-time before you know it

* Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were met with a flurry of well-wishes after they revealed they're expecting baby No. 2 -- the couple decided to wait until Meghan was safely into her second trimester to share the news and they only told a handful of family members before the public and they wanted to cherish this secret for as long as they could -- Harry and Meghan have been nesting at their Montecito mansion and have been busy prepping the nursery and making sure it's eco-friendly with energy-efficient lighting and they're keeping it as plastic-free as possible

* Love Bites -- Clare Crawley and Dale Moss reunited, Kit Harington and Rose Leslie welcomed a baby boy, Paris Hilton and Carter Reum engaged

Page 32: Cover Story -- Bruce Springsteen's private world -- he's an open book in his songs, but here's Bruce's untold story of his struggles with depression and regret -- he still has dark thoughts from time to time but therapy and medication have helped a great deal

Page 36: Stars' Cheating Confessions -- sometimes all you can do is beg for forgiveness; these celebs have all had to plead their case -- Donny and Debbie Osmond, Jude Law and Sienna Miller, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith

Page 37: David Letterman and Regina Lasko, Dean McDermott and Tori Spelling, Kevin Hart and Eniko Parrish

Page 40: Interview -- Elizabeth Olsen -- the Avengers star dishes about getting witchy again for Marvel's mind-bending WandaVision

Page 42: Golden Girls -- how these Golden Globes nominees get their award-worthy figures -- Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Lily Collins

Page 43: Kaley Cuoco, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Seyfried

Page 44: Aadila Dosani's vegan recipe for Chickpea and Potato Soup

Page 46: Style Week -- Ashley Graham is the new global brand ambassador for self-tanning label St. Tropez

Page 48: What's Hot Right Now -- create a naturally gorgeous, flushed look with fashion designer Jason Wu's namesake makeup collection

Page 49: Haute hippie retro jeans -- take a trip back to the '70s with Revice Denim's ultra-cool capsule, Los Angeles Lovers -- Delilah Belle Hamlin

Page 50: Flower Power -- floral prints are spring's hottest trend -- rock the pretty blooms for a fresh, boho-chic look -- Kaia Gerber

Page 52: DIY Blowout -- these foolproof finds deliver impeccable hair right at home -- Drew Barrymore

Page 54: Entertainment

Page 55: Q&A with Mary Fitzgerald of Selling Sunset

Page 58: Buzz -- after months of playing it coy, these celebs confirmed their relationships on Valentine's Day -- Scott Disick and Amelia Hamlin

Page 59: Vanessa Hudgens and Cole Tucker, Sharna Burgess and Brian Austin Green, Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker, Kendall Jenner and Devin Booker

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Halsey on not conforming to conventional beauty standards, Anderson Cooper on coparenting with his ex, Ashley Graham on the importance of self-care, Kate Winslet on feeling like a fish out of water in Hollywood

Page 61: Tom Holland on the plot of the next Spider-Man flick, Mila Kunis joking about keeping her family entertained during quarantine, Drew Barrymore when asked if she's ever been skinny-dipping, Madelaine Petsch on playing a teen in Clare at 16

Page 62: Horoscope -- Pisces Lupita Nyong'o turned 38 on March 1

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Riz Ahmed

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allanpaulvin · 6 years

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HIT YOUR HOME RUN Hey, good morning to you and yours. You do know that it's morning, don't you? At least here on the East coast, the sun is shining; clocks are ticking and informing us that it's now 9:41 on Monday, 11/27/17. Gee whiz, I'm seven months away from celebrating the seventy-second anniversary of my arrival, here on earth. Wow, seventy-two years old. That's old, isn't it? Some of you might consider me over the hill, scatter-brained, old and awkward, in need of a Home-Health Aide, etc. Well, let me inform you that my brain still functions, maybe a bit slower than in past years, my heart beats melodically, and I'm still capable of placing one foot after another and much more. On the other hand, my: memory sucks, balance isn't great, and my ability to sing and dance has diminished. Regardless, of all these maladies, I march on to my place in Pretoria. I've now put more than 160 well-spelled words to paper. This word count is focused on yours truly. It's now time question your time here in the world that surrounds us. How be you? Are you sorry that the long holiday weekend is now over? Now you've got to direct your efforts to reality. Stuff like cooking, cleaning, food shopping, etc. I'm sure you're aware that these are necessary and appropriate. Rather than continue to question you about your daily life, let's move on to today's edition of, "Al's Diatribes." Our subject is: "HIT YOUR HOME RUN." When we arrive at our local "Baseball Diamond," we need to: - make sure we keep our eyes on the ball as it approaches home plate - ensure that our sunshades are clean and that we can see the outfield fence - decide if we want to mimic the hitting habits of folks like Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider - run proudly once the ball disappears into the bleachers - make sure that everyone knows of your accomplishments - begin to prepare your speech for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Cooperstown, New York - accept, when offered to have your name emblazoned on your home town's "Walk of Fame." - not get self-involved in our wonderfulness - remember that if you "don't succeed, try, try again." - understand that failure is just a stop sign - make sure that you remember the immortal words, that, "if you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it." My aging brain just shut down. So I can no longer create thoughtfully composed prose, today. Be strong, stay in shape, and remember to keep your eye on the ball as it gets closer to your home plate. Make it a great day!

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

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Star, March 8

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: George Clooney vs. Brad Pitt -- the fight that ended their friendship

Page 1: Scott Disick's mid-life makeover -- some guys buy a convertible but Scott already has a garage full of fancy rides, so what else to do when you're edging close to 40, split from the mom of your three kids and are already dating a 19-year-old model? Well, bleach your hair platinum, of course!

Page 2: Contents, Leighton Meester and Adam Brody celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary with a couple's surf session

Page 3: Star Shots -- John Legend wore an eye-catching sweater to a photoshoot in West Hollywood, Anya Taylor-Joy stunned in a crimson gown on the set of an untitled David O. Russell-directed period film, Jason Sudeikis grabbed a bite during a break from filming Ted Lasso's second season in London

Page 4: After hosting countless rose ceremonies over nearly two decades of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Chris Harrison is now in the hot seat himself and facing backlash for defending current Bachelor frontrunner Rachael Kirkconnell who's been accused of racist behavior -- the next day, Chris apologized and said he was stepping aside as host of the dating reality series but the damage was done as Rachel Lindsay who is the first Black lead in the franchise's history revealed she won't renew her Bachelor contract and current Bachelor Matt James supported her -- as for Chris, the fallout continues as Crest are considering pulling down ads featuring him but with critics calling for his ouster Chris wants his job back and no one at ABC wants to see him replaced but those conversations are happening

Page 5: Miley Cyrus has an idea how to help Britney Spears in her legal battle to replace dad Jamie Spears as her conservator -- Miley is hoping she and Britney can record a classic song together like an anthem like Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves or Enough Is Enough and she's hoping to get Britney on board but that may be a challenge with the legal restrictions in place

* Mom-of-eight Kate Gosselin didn't get what she was asking for on her house in Pennsylvania -- it's upsetting that she got less than she paid for it but her hand was forced; it costs a lot to keep up a house like that on 20-plus acres and with years of roughhousing, it needs a lot of work -- with twins Mady and Cara already in college and the sextuplets growing up, Kate hopes to jump-start her career and she's dying to leave Pennsylvania and head to Hollywood

* Paris Hilton's boyfriend of just over a year Carter Reum dropped to one knee on a gorgeous private beach and offered Paris his heart and a sparkler from Cartier and she said yes -- close family was on hand to celebrate the couple who have been friends for 15 years and the party went on well into the evening -- now Paris is already making wedding plans for something simple and elegant with a gorgeous dinner and the couple is ready to start a family sooner rather than later and she's hinted she's already started IVF and if she gets pregnant they'll just push up the wedding

Page 6: Ryan Gosling needed some time off after 2018's moon-landing biopic First Man because he really became Neil Armstrong during the six months of shooting and he was absolutely drained after finishing it and he spent the next two years with wife Eva Mendes being a full-time dad to their two young kids -- now he's back and with three movies lined up, he's looking at a $75 million paycheck this year -- in addition to The Gray Man, he's gearing up for a Wolfman update and another space adventure called Project Hail Mary -- he wants to be a popcorn-movie star and he's going full-blown buff-and-shirtless action hero

* Allen v. Farrow is a new investigation into 1992 allegations about Woody Allen by his adopted daughter Dylan Farrow and her mother Mia Farrow that digs up damning new evidence against the director -- one harrowing home video shows the then-7-year-old Dylan saying her dad touched her privates and later a doorman and a building manager and a maid at Allen's NYC residence raise questions about when Woody began his shocking relationship with Mia's teen daughter Soon-Yi -- Mia also expresses fear in the doc, saying she worries that when the documentary comes out he'll be on the attack again and he'll do whatever he has to do to save himself

* Star Spots the Stars -- Julia Roberts, Joe Jonas, Luann de Lesseps, Christina Aguilera, Kaia Gerber, Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae Young

Page 8: Star Shots -- With balloons and a box of chocolate in hand lifestyle expert Gretta Monahan arrived at The View, Melissa Gorga snacked on a huge box of sweets between Zoom interviews to promote the 11 season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Vanessa Lachey prepared to host a Galentine's Day celebration with macarons and wine

Page 10: Jenna Dewan making a plant-based meal, Selling Sunset's Christine Quinn and her husband Christian Richard sipped juice bar drinks while running errands in Beverly Hills, Hugh Grant stopped to tend to his laces while out for a walk in Chelsea in West London, Carrie Underwood prepped for her daily workout session in pieces from her Calia fitness apparel line

Page 12: After a stop at the Kidding Around children's store Bradley Cooper had his hands full walking with his daughter Lea in NYC, Sofia Vergara chic in a blowout and patterned top in Beverly Hills, Justin Bieber looked comfy in a message tee and pajama bottoms in L.A.

Page 13: Thandie Newton looked tense while Chris Pine hit the ground running as the two filmed the spy thriller All the Old Knives in London, Jon Bernthal braved the frigid water while Gretchen Mol bundled up on the set of American Gigolo in L.A.

Page 14: Think Pink -- Jennifer Lopez hoisted an oversized customized bubble-gum hued Coach satchel in a promo shot in NYC, Cardi B slipped on neon sneakers from her Reebok collaboration to shop on Rodeo Drive in L.A., Hilary Duff showing off a peek of her growing baby bump on the set of Younger in NYC

Page 16: In town to film The Hills: New Beginnings with their castmates Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag played in the snow with their son Gunner in Lake Tahoe

Page 17: Mandy Moore and husband Taylor Goldsmith celebrated their last Valentine's Day before parenthood with a romantic stroll in Pasadena, Michelle Obama on her new children's show Waffles + Mochi

Page 18: Chris Meloni and Mariska Hargitay in NYC, hiding her locks in a cute newsboy cap Brooke Burke grabbed dinner at Nobu in Malibu, Krysten Ritter brought her son Bruce to meet some farm animals at the Gentle Barn in Santa Clarita

Page 20: Normal or Not? Farrah Abraham suffered a serious wardrobe malfunction while hitting the sand in Malibu -- not normal, Nikki Reed gushing over her therapy chicken -- normal, Property Brothers' Drew Scott booty bumpin' with wife Linda Phan -- not normal, Lucy Hale lovingly held onto her new dog Ethel while fueling up her ride in L.A. -- normal

Page 22: Fashion -- stars in pastel frocks -- Heidi Klum, Sophia Bush, Chrissy Teigen

Page 23: Rihanna, Kirsten Dunst

Page 26: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are having sexy slumber parties at Kourtney's $8.5 million Calabasas pad and they are spending so much time together and she loves having him sleep over and he'll stay the whole weekend -- Travis who has lived nearby in the gated community for years is already making himself at home and not only has he moved a bunch of stuff into Kourtney's property but she leaves him to chill out and enjoy his space if she has to run errands -- even if it seems the couple is moving and moving in fast, their respective broods are on board with the new arrangement and Kourtney's kids Mason, Penelope and Reign love having Travis around and meanwhile the door is always open for Travis' kids Alabama and Landon, and Travis and Kourtney do a lot of fun stuff with their kids together -- there's already speculation that the move-in will be permanent because Kourtney knows a good thing when she sees it and Travis checks all the boxes

Page 27: Meeting the in-laws might be a little complicated for newly engaged Shailene Woodley and Aaron Rodgers because the Green Bay Packers QB is famously estranged from his Chico, California-based family -- in 2016 Aaron's younger brother Jordan Rodgers exposed the rift while competing on The Bachelorette and at the time, fans blamed Aaron's then-girlfriend Olivia Munn for turning him Hollywood but the trouble continued after their 2017 split -- now that he's with Shailene, Aaron doesn't want to bring her into that toxic atmosphere but Shailene who once called her own folks super f**ked up is not deterred and she is encouraging Aaron to let bygones be bygones but he's not ready

* Melissa and Joe Gorga's marriage troubles will play out on the new season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey but their issues are even worse behind the scenes and they've been butting heads as Melissa's career continues to skyrocket so she's distracted with work and doesn't have time for Joe and he feels neglected and he isn't one to hold back -- it doesn't help that the Envy boutique owner was rumored to be getting close to another man -- the couple is trying to work out their issues for the sake of their three kids but Melissa may be done

Page 28: Cover Story -- George Clooney and Brad Pitt: The Breaking Point -- fights, jealousy and other women -- the former besties had a major falling out and now mutual friend Sandra Bullock is desperate to reunite them -- George and Brad have barely spoken in eight years and they've definitely gone their separate ways and Brad's ex-wife Angelina Jolie played a big part in the demise of their friendship because Angie felt George took Brad away from her and their kids -- Amal Clooney found Angie unbearable and that was kind of the point of no return for Brad and George -- George is struggling to regain his luster as a director while Brad is out there winning Oscars

Page 32: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Interview Shockers -- as they prep for baby number two, Harry and Meghan announce a no-holds-barred interview, leaving the palace on edge

Page 34: Celebs in Wheel Trouble -- don't drink (or drug) and drive; these stars got caught making some very bad decisions -- Bruce Springsteen, mug shots of Justin Bieber

Page 35: Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn, Lindsay Lohan, Michael Phelps, Khloe Kardashian, Henry Thomas, Heather Locklear, Jesse Luken, Mel Gibson

Page 36: Beauty -- curl care -- strengthen every type of wave and coil with cool new miracle workers

Page 48: Parting Shot -- Bill Murray teamed up with NFL player Larry Fitzgerald for the AT&T Every Shot Counts Charity Challenge in Pebble Beach -- despite landing in third place, Bill and Larry made a great pair, earning an impressive $209,000 for local charities

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