#even more so when he finally got out of nola and zeroed in on a beaten up zoro

[general-cyno]

finished skypeia last night and while I have many thoughts abt it this is my shippy rambles account so. one thing I found Interesting is zoro seemingly recalling this bit of an early on conversation luffy had with the group, as soon as robin tells everyone about the bell

Meanwhile, as nami reaches luffy she urges them to leave, since eneru is planning on destroying the whole island. When luffy refuses bc of the golden bell, she assumes he's talking about the gold itself but as he explains, it's not about that. It's about what ringing that bell means for mont blanc cricket and his crew back on jaya.

Then in ch 295 we get a full flashback of the conversation recalled above:

And guess who, even while separated, knew that luffy would insist on ringing the bell and refuse nami's attempt to bring him back bc of the significance it held for luffy to do this, just from what he said back then? Yeah

#zolu #kind of #zoro being connected to luffy's brainwaves will never not be one of my favorite things #also before it all spiraled luffy being calm abt nami robin and chopper's safety bc zoro was with them? peak #even more so when he finally got out of nola and zeroed in on a beaten up zoro #then couldn't even fathom how things could've gotten so bad when zoro was there to take care of everyone. that lvl of faith in zoro? crazy #tp #as for other plot stuff....just know that I spent like 10 chapters straight crying my eyes out esp when noland and kalgara and shandora's #story was told #jay reads op

[teresa-moyocoyotzin]

short recap of my thoughts on 5x09

okay so i was gonna rewatch the whole episode and do a blow-by-blow reaction post but i’m not sure i’ll have time and i kinda wanna focus on watching my fave scenes from the show before tonight. also, everyone else’s reaction posts p. much sum up my thoughts lol 

nonetheless, i just wanted to give my main takeaways on the episode a week later, in case anyone cares where i’m at going into the finale! gonna go over the things i liked first, anyone who wants to just remain positive and not see any salty takes might wanna just stick to reading the first part b/c i definitely rant a bit at the end lmao. we’re still having a fun time tho 😂

THINGS I LOVED

- i mean... i think we know LOL

- obviously. i loved james and teresa’s i love you scenes, and kisses, and OOF THAT SEX SCENE. if someone had told me we were gonna get that scene back in like 2017??? i probably would have started literally floating. i totally respect that people had very specific ideas of what they wanted out of those scenes and could have different feelings about it but NOT ME BABES I AM ECSTATIC!!! i did go into the episode with a ~feeling~ that we were gonna get at least one ILY in the episode, and i just had a feeling it would be james, or at least that he would say it first. i’ve already explained in my meta about the scenes why i think it makes sense that he said it first and why i love it that he did, so i won’t go into that here. but i went in having really no expectations for it other than that it was gonna happen! i was debating about whether it would happen really casually while they’re talking, or in like a big action scene, or really dramatic or what, and what i would prefer, and i came to the conclusion that i would love it no matter what lol, but i was really into the idea of james just. fucking. saying it. while they’re just talking about something really casually. so therefore i was pretty happy with it when we got sort of a mix! they’re talking about teresa’s insane death trap of a plan so there’s that drama of “i don’t want to lose you esp. not before saying ILY” kinda thing, but it’s also just. so simple and sure! and then teresa’s i love you is like the perfect scene for me where one character is super focused on something else (in this case, trying to protect the woman he loves! agh!) and the other is just like.. i love you!!!! SO GOOD

- let’s see, what the hell else happened in this ep?

- oh okay i really liked james and teresa’s vibes this episode, they were so focused on each other and had this very ride-or-die feeling about them like they knew that each of their plans was increasingly stupid and desperate and might not even get them where they wanna go, but they were IN IT TOGETHER no matter what 😭i wish we had gotten a callback to that line but at this point, i’m p. sure they Know they’re in it together, and we do too. so it’s okay. i love that teresa still asks his input and considers his opinions even if she does her own thing anyways haha 

- oh on that note, i LOVED the moment where their plans to kill Kostya aren’t working and Teresa says something like “If I can meet with him in person, I can kill him myself” and James just has this LOOK that just is the epitome of the “I am in love with a women who is DESIGNED TO STRESS ME OUT” meme lol, it made me giggle, v classic QOTS moment 

- oh and of course, I LOVED that scene with devon and james at the end!!!!!!!! i was also confused about how james was showing all his emotions in that scene esp. since he tries to be stoic about his feelings for Teresa around Devon, but now that i’ve read a few people’s thoughts about, it i’m fully on board w the theory that james and teresa already knew this was coming, b/c they’re smart, and b/c james knows devon wouldn’t have let him walk away to save Teresa at the beginning of the season without motivation (like having him in place to kill her when she’s no longer useful to the CIA) and THEREFORE james was sort of “overacting” to make it believable to devon (and the audience lol) that he didn’t know this was coming, didn’t want to do it, but felt like he had to, rather than the fact that they were already plotting a fake death. that makes a lot of sense to me and makes me really love all the layers to that scene. it does give me a little bit of hope that the finale ~teresa’s not really dead~ reveal will be at least a little well executed and not just shoved in at the very end. we shall see though! 

- alright i think that’s what i loved about the episode, if u don’t wanna hear me bitching about the little things then u should probably stop here!! just have to get out some of my saltiness lol 

THINGS I WAS ANNOYED ABOUT

- i’m just gonna get it out of the way, yes, i too was supremely annoyed at the amount of KA and Pote take suburbia; it was all 1000% predictable down to the raccoon and the cookies, and the point could have been accomplished in exactly 1 scene, maybe 2, certainly not like 10 or however many we got. whatever. ugh. 

- okay. OKAY. chicho. we need to talk about chicho. i for one, am not mad that he called pote, my boy was stressed. I AM HOWEVER, mad at the writers for making pote come back after saying he trusted chicho to take care of teresa now. like. it totally devalued THE WHOLE THING!! imo, pote shoulda stayed his ass at home where we had to watch him settle all episode, and chicho should have gotten THE HERO MOMENT HE DESERVED (esp. cuz he’s on first name basis w teresa now??) which ALSO WOULD HAVE MADE THE SCENE WHERE TERESA GIVES CHICHO THE DISTILLERY AND THE BAR SO! MUCH! MORE! MEANINGFUL!!!!! or just made it make sense at all? like .... i’m just so confused by that whole plotline like what was the point? chicho does nothing but call pote and gets T’s whole legacy in NOLA? 

- and don’t even get me started on how it makes ZERO sense that pote would have had to charge in at the last minute to save teresa when JAMES THE SNIPER W AMAZING AIM WHO IS LITERALLY. IN LOVE WITH HER. is standing outside like. ur telling me james and chicho (who again, is supposed to be her #2 after james now) just stood there like “oh hey pote yeah you go ahead we’ll wait here good luck” like WHAT also.. how did pote get past all the guards that made james stay outside? are we meant to believe pote is that sneaky? y’all. it just. doesn’t make sense. this whole plot situation maddens me more than anythings tbh UGH JUST MAKE IT MAKE SENSE 

- oksana’s daughter..... what’s her name again? idk b/c we only MET HER THIS WEEK....okay this amuses me but i’m also annoyed b/c like. there were so many other women who could have taken that spot in the opening sequence... Lil T, Castel, hell even Isabela??? Like idk how they could have done it but they put so much effort into her plot in the first seasons that i really thought she was gonna end up w/ Teresa in the end.. idk that would have been kind cool, Camila’s two “daughters” eventually working their way out of the life together..again idk how they could have realistically done it but i really do wish it had been someone we met before. if it had to be someone new this season, they could have introduced her earlier instead of one of the seemingly dozens of random guys we knew for 1 episode before they died... like.. give her some depth please. is she even gonna be in the finale? honestly she better be after making us listen to pote welcome her into the family... like the family u were supposed to leave so u could have an actual baby pote? the family that’s literally dispersing as we speak? also.. since when did pote love oksana so much anyways? also...... just.. if teresa’s gonna have some sort of daughter figure or whatever she’s supposed to be, wouldn’t it make sense to have her be the one to give the big welcome to the family speech? idk y’all..... i’m amused but also baffled at the sheer lack of planning behind this. did no one realize they needed someone for the opening scene until like. halfway thru the season? did they plan to have it be castel but they couldn’t get her for filming (hence all the weird castel plots?) INQUIRING MINDS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW. it’s whatever tho lol 

- i just hope that what’s-her-name gets a lil bit of plot in the finale esp. since otherwise it might just be pote running around being pissy (i don’t actually think that haha but i am a lil nervous that teresa won’t come back until the last few mins and i’ll have to spend all episode looking at boaz and devon and pote and KA.. i haven’t looked at any spoilers tho so i’m still hopeful! i will probably make a post about my hopes going into the finale a lil later, both realistic and unrealistic :) 

#ik it's all been said before but i just had to get my feelings out before i could move on to the finale #the finale!!! wow.. crazy shit y'all #qots #queen of the south #jeresa #qots 5x09

[anniesocsandgeneralstore]

Your Power Over Me: One - Beginning

Summary: this movie was not that great.....it had so much potential. But I’m going through some sort of weird JGL phase and I really like his character in this. Another cop but at least he’s not a bastard. His character has zero backstory besides loving and living in nola so I’m giving him a FAMILY BITCH. This’ll prolly take place right before the events of the movie. 

Pairing: Frank Shaver x OFC (Michelle Shaver)

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: mega fluffy so wooooo

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Frank pulled up to the house and parked the car on the side of the street. It was late. Later then he said he would be. He definitely missed bedtime by now. Again. Third time this week. At least this time he’d remembered to shoot her a text. He sighed, pulling his hands over his face. He was so tired. He killed the engine but continued to sit there for a moment. 

What he saw tonight was indescribable. Unfathomable. That suspect…What he could do was beyond any normal human. Almost like he had….

Frank shook his head. No. If he thought about it too much it would make that next word a reality. Something that was plausible, tangible, something that wasn’t just on the movie screen or in the pages of a comic book. 

He got out of the car. 

The path that led up to the front porch was lined with purple flowers, freshly planted for the new, colder season. She had told him when she was working in the yard that day what they were. Something that started with an F — he couldn’t remember. His mind had probably been too distracted that day thinking about a case. He’d look it up later. The white paint of the porch was chipped, but the matching siding was pristine. Newly painted over after she finally convinced him that the periwinkle purple that the house was before was rather hideous. She wanted the front door untouched though, a bright turquoise blue. 

The house was dark and quiet when he came in. He kicked off his boots at the door, adding them to the pile of tiny sparkly slip-ons, pink Crocs, and flip-flops with the little elastic strap on the back to keep them on tiny feet better. The living room was speckled here and there by toys. She had probably given up on forcing the issue of cleaning when they were just going to get pulled out the next day anyway. He smiled. He hoped they had a good day — he wished he could’ve asked her about it. 

He stopped in Claudia’s room first. The bedroom had a pink haze, the little machine on her bedside table projecting hearts and unicorns on the ceiling to help her sleep. Claudia had moved into a big-girl bed just a few weeks ago. He thought she still looked so small in it. Wasn’t it just yesterday he could fit her entire body in one arm? Now she was old enough to sleep in a bed with no rails? The crib she had been using before was pushed into the corner of the room, waiting for the newest Shaver to arrive. 

God, he hoped it was another girl. He didn’t know if they could afford to buy all new clothes for a boy. 

Claudia was asleep in the center of the bed. Frank chuckled quietly to himself. Just like her mom. Pillow still at the head of the bed, curled in on her side with the blankets barely covering her legs. Her dark hair just like his in messy double french braids. He sat down quietly at the edge of the bed. He looked at her for a moment. 

When she was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. She came into the world bright blue and not breathing. The first time he saw her he had been so scared. Scared for her life, scared of failing her. And for a long time after, even when the doctors got her breathing and free of the umbilical cord, he only looked at her with fear in his heart. A whole life — his responsibility. But now he only looked at her with love. A love so strong he was sure it would make the wind change directions. Everything he did, he did for her. His little Claudia. 

Then he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her warm cheek. God, she got so sweaty at night. 

“I love you, Cloudy,” he whispered, “Sweet dreams.” 

He left her with one final kiss and the door cracked open how he knew she liked it. From the dark hallway, he could see that their bedroom light was on. He sighed. She shouldn’t have waited up for him. But he also knew that he was powerless to stop her. 

Michelle was sitting up on her respectful side of the bed under the covers. Her bright, copper hair was thrown up into a bun at the top of her head. She held a book, about halfway finished, in her hands. An empty mug that once was filled with tea if Frank had to guess sat on her nightstand. She smiled at him when he gingerly opened the door, a soft, tired thing that made him feel even more exhausted than he did before. 

“Hey, baby,” he sighed as he shut the door behind himself. 

“Hi,” Michelle whispered back. She closed her book and set it down beside her empty mug. 

Frank let out a long breath. He might have been in his house for nearing on five minutes, but he didn’t feel like he was home until he saw her. Then the more he looked at her, the more he thought about the things he saw that night; and the more he thought about that the more tired he became. He felt surprising tears prick the backs of his eyes. And she seemed to notice them, those unwanted tears that hadn’t even fallen yet, her face buckling in concern. 

“Frankie?” 

She moved to get up but he held up a hand. He groaned as he pulled at his nose, rubbed at his eyes. Trying to force the tears back and keep his head on his shoulders. He pulled off his badge and gun first, setting them on top of the dresser by the door. Then he stripped himself down to his underwear, leaving his clothes where they lay. He’d pick them up tomorrow. He slid in beside her on top of the covers, laying his head on her chest and placing a hand on her swollen belly. Michelle instantly wrapped him up in her arms, one hand running through his short hair. 

“Rough night?” she asked quietly, giving the top of his head a quick kiss. 

“Yeah,” he sighed. 

“Wanna talk about it?” 

“Not yet.” He pulled her a little closer. “Just talk to me for a little while? At least until the baby cries.” 

Michelle chuckled. “She’s not a baby anymore, Frankie.” 

“She’ll always be my baby girl.” He moved down and pressed a kiss to her stomach. “At least until this one gets here.” 

They had never discussed having a second kid. Both of them were perfectly content with the one — especially for financial reasons. But then Michelle’s period never came, she took a test, and sure enough, she was pregnant again. About five months along now. They were happy, Claudia was ecstatic to be a big sister. But they also had to live with the reality that Frank was an underpaid detective, Michelle worked part-time as a florist, and they lived in only 700 square feet of house. Things were going to be tight until Michelle could go back to work full time and Frank finally got that raise he had been promised. They had made it through worse. They could make it through this. 

“I don’t know — I just have a feeling this one’s a boy.” 

Frank looked up at her with a smirk. “A feeling? A feeling where?” 

“In my…Motherly instinct.” She hit him gently when he laughed. “You cops follow your gut — we mom’s gotta follow our instinct. Millions of years of evolution was not for nothing.” 

“Okay, fine.” He chuckled a few more times before he moved so his head was back on her chest. “How was your day?” 

“It was good. Worked today. Donna says hi by the way. First arrangement of the day was an apology. The client specifically asked for Star of Bethlehem and Ivy. Donna and I are sure he cheated. Then I did an anniversary piece with Eucalyptus, Scabiosa — they’re a dark dark purple flower, I think you’d like them — Sweet Peas, Spirea — “ 

“The guy picked up the car and threw it at us,” Frank suddenly spoke, eyes lost somewhere between the present and the past. 

He was sure that Michelle heard him, but she still asked, “What?” 

“Suspect robbed a pawn shop — we had him cornered in an alley. Then he picked up an abandoned car and threw it at us.” 

“Was anyone hurt?” she asked. 

“No — well, just the suspect. Next minute he was rolling around on the ground screaming his head off. Medical said that nearly every muscle in his body had detached from the bone.” He felt her shudder beneath him. 

“That sounds awful,” she whispered, “Must be some kind of new drug or?” 

“Nobody knows,” he sighed, “Captain didn’t even wanna talk about it when we got back to the station. We’ve been getting…A lot of weird calls lately.” 

Michelle adjusted herself so that she and Frank were laying side by side. Curled on her side and nose to nose with the man she loved. “Just stay safe…That’s all I ask.” 

“You know I do, baby.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. “Anything to come back to you.” 

“You’ve got a power over me, Franklin Shaver.” She smiled, her light brown eyes crinkling at the edges, and he could feel his heart lift in his chest. A weight lifting off of him. “You gonna hold it over me?” 

This, right here, was warmth and light and home. As long as she was there waiting for him, with open arms and a smile, nothing could get him down. No case could be too dark, too dangerous, too bleak. She was his source of power, his energy, his everything. What more could he possibly need than his family? 

“For the rest of our lives, baby.” 

The door creaked open. Frank instantly shot up in bed, that gut feeling taking over him as he shielded Michelle with one arm. But then he saw little Claudia standing in the doorway. Messy braids hanging limp on her shoulders, favorite blanket cradled in her arms, and chubby cheeks red with sleep. Her eyes were barely cracked open as she walked into her parent’s bedroom. 

“Cloudy, baby, what’s wrong?” Michelle asked as Frank visibly relaxed beside her. 

The toddler walked further into the room, to Frank’s side of the bed. She shook her head. “Daddy.” 

“You just want Daddy?” 

Claudia nodded her head and Frank scooped her into his arms. God, she was sweaty. “All right, let’s go back to bed, okay?” 

He moved to get up from the bed but Claudia began to fuss. Whining and kicking at him with her little feet. Frank held her legs down. “Nah-ah. Use your words.” 

“Stay ‘ere with…Daddy.” 

Frank looked over to Michelle. She had her head cocked to one side and a smile on her face. “I think someone missed you today.” 

“I missed you too, baby-girl.” Frank kissed the top of her head and tucked her into bed between him and Michelle. “Let’s go to bed and you can snuggle me all night long.” 

Frank got under the covers and Michelle turned off the light. Claudia burrowed herself into his chest, her favorite blanket tucked between them. Frank looked at Michelle one last time in the darkness. She had let her hair down for the night. Copper tresses hanging well past her shoulders and fanned out across her pillow. 

He had been so tired before. So drained of all energy. But now, laying there with his little girl against his chest and the love of his life beside him, he could feel all that energy coming back. The power he needed to get up in the morning and face another day of crime, cruelty, and corruption in New Orleans.

#project power #project power fic #project power fanfic #project power fanfiction #frank shaver #frank shaver imagine #frank shaver x reader #frank shaver x you #frank shaver x oc #joseph gordon levitt #jgl

[angstymarshmallow]

The Wolf’s Heart; part eight - “marked as yours” N*FW (cal lowell x mc)

[a little note: I decided on a name...eight parts in. It’s cliche but honestly, this is all I have lol. AND NOW i HAVE TO UPDATE THEM ALL.Ahhhh This part was a joy and a pain to work on because it’s been awhile since I’ve written anything like this. If you aren’t comfortable with smut, then pass on this because there’s kind of a lot of that going on with how close they’ve grown to each other - even more so than before and I didn’t know if it was rough or enough or. Plus I’m touching on non-canon material that’s kinda influence in the book I’m writing on the side, you’ll see once you start reading. I’m going to stop babbling, I’m just anxiously going to leave this here. I always appreciate feedback and would love to know what people think!]

[words counted: 8210]

[summary: after rescuing Cal, they’ve finally had a moment to themselves for the talk. The Big One to decide whether or not they’ve got a future in NOLA together]

[part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, part seven] 

The rest of New York City feels very far away in comparison to the weight of Cal’s thoughts as he peers at the city’s skyline down below the nearly twenty story building. Technically, he knows it isn’t - he can jump and leap that in a simple bound and then some, but that wouldn’t change anything.

After he’d met and thank the people that helped Wren to rescue him, he’s been trying to come to terms with the past several hours - days. It’s been that long since he’s seen the outside world and although they’ve only been in the hotel for an hour; he’s itching for a run.

He presses his forehead against the cool surface for a moment. He needs to touch something, to convince himself he’s really here –  really alive and not dreaming up this place. He’s still not a hundred percent sure. He rubs his fingers along the glass, making a slight indent into it.

The bloodsuckers reassured him he could spend the night with Wren here; at least giving them some time to re-group, but all Cal can think about is what looms ahead. It’s not over, not in the slightest. Shaw over-played his hand by contacting Kavinsky, but Cal isn’t out of the woods yet. In his heart, he knows it.

It won’t be over as long as Shaw continues to threaten the livelihood of his pack. And he’ll be coming back home with zero solutions to deal with that colossal problem.

Shit.

The scent of her suddenly fills the room and the wolf in Cal snaps at attention at the diversion. Something in his chest twists, as he whirls around to spot Wren by the door, a hand on her hip and a small smile toying at the corner of her lips.

“A penny for your thoughts?”

He shakes his head, a small smile of his own lifting his cheeks as she crosses the room to stand in front of him. “For you? It’s always free.” Taking both her hands into his, he leans forward until he’s able to bump her forehead. “Have I mentioned how happy I am to see you? I almost can’t believe you’re here and not some kind of fever dream.” He squeezes her hands for emphasis and watches as a faint blush splays across her cheeks in response.

“Are you admitting that you actually dream about me?” Her smile transforms into a teasing smirk.

“Guilty as charged.” He pauses for a moment, swallowing past a sudden lump in his throat. “God, I missed you.” He never thought he’d see her again, and now here she is – standing right in front of him. Does he dare hope? Does he dare believe this really reality?

Her teasing smirk vanishes. Wren presses into him, and those dark eyes of hers’ turn uncharacteristically grows swiftly somber. “I missed you too.”

While remaining eye contact, she drops one of his hands. “You’re never allowed to do that to me again.” As if to drive her point home, she punches him on the shoulder. “I was worried shitless about you.”

“Woah!” He’s more surprised than he is hurt at the gesture and a huge part of him wants to kiss her, but the smarter part of him recognizes the telltale signs of Wren’s temper. His eyes search her face.

“You don’t get to do that to me, not anymore – we’re a team, Cal.” Her mouth snaps shut and then open again as she huffs a breath.

Cal thinks she’s fighting to say more without knowing how to say it. He waits a beat, resting a hand on her arm in support.

“Shit.” She swears again and runs her fingers through her hair. “I need to say this. I need to get this out before I start losing my mind.” She looks completely flustered.

That’s how he knows it’s something important – and the sudden intense look in her eyes definitely confirms that.

Relationship important. And it takes every bit of him not to coddle her to his chest. Every bit of his control not to tell her it’s okay – they don’t have to discuss it now, if she doesn’t want to.

“I love you Cal.” She says the words softly, staring up at him with a look of tenderness strong enough to make it hard for him to swallow. “And when Donny told me you were gone…it was probably one the scariest moments of my life.” She shakes her head, “no I definitely was, because no one at Wolf’s Den knew where you were.” Taking a deep breath, she makes a point of reaching for him as if she still can’t believe it herself that he’s really here either.

“I told myself I’d do anything to have you back, anything to look at you right now and tell you…” she trails off for a moment, her voice trembling with a sudden look of vulnerability in her eyes that makes Cal rest a protective arm around her waist. “And tell you –,” her voice shakes, “how much I love you. And that scares me. It scares the shit out of me, but it scares me more that I almost never got the chance to say it. And I’m not going to keep one foot in the door anymore Cal.”

“What are you saying Wren?” He has to hear her say it. He has to know that there is no going back for her anymore. For either of them. If they’re going to be together again, if she’s going to be apart of his life –

“I want to be your mate. The whole nine yards.” Her voice cracks but she says the words loudly and her eyes never waver from his. “I want to be your only partner – in the pack, in life – in everything. I want it all, but only with you.”

At first, Cal doesn’t speak. He doesn’t think he can. His entire body remains frozen on the spot as he stares down at her completely – loss for words. Slowly, the enormity of her words start to sink in.

“Uh…Cal?” She wets her lips. “You’re staring at me…and not saying anything.”

He’s never really seen her babble before, Wren isn’t the type. But it’s completely cute how she’s shifting on her feet and tugging on her arm as she suddenly starts rambling, Her eyes drift to the side, “– and it’s kinda freaking me out when I���ve just left my heart out here and I –”

Cal lets out a howl of joy, cutting off the rest of her sentence. He scoops her high inside his arms, grinning from ear-to-ear.

“Ooof. Down boy!” She fastens her legs around waist and her arms by his neck seconds later. “So, I take it – you’re happy…?”

“Happy?” Happy doesn’t even begin to cover how he feels. He chuckles in disbelief before swooping in to capture her slightly parted lips. And kissing her is like icing on the cake - he pours every ounce of his happiness into his kisses. Every ounce of love he can as their mouths meet, over and over again. “I’m beyond happy.” He murmurs against her lips, his ears perking at the sound of her moan. His tongue dart swiftly out to have a taste of her – sliding between half-parted lips.

When he manages to give them some breathing room, she’s smiling at him and there’s so much love in her eyes – that he doesn’t want to wait a second longer. Why should they after everything they’ve been through?

“I want to, tonight. Make you mine, I mean.” He speaks the words in a heated rush without thinking, gauging her reaction. “In every way possible – I want you to be my mate.”

Her eyes widen a little and for a moment Cal fears the worst. Maybe they need a little more time – he’s already gotten his answer.

But then she nods eagerly; her wavy hair shaking at the vigorous motion. “God Cal, yes. Please.”

“Are you sure?” He wants her to be sure, because once it’s done there’s no going back. At least not for him. When wolves mate – they mated for life.

“Yes, I’m sure. I know this is what I want, what I need.” Wren takes a breath and cups his cheek. “There’s no one else but you Cal, not for me. Not anymore.”

The conviction in her voice makes his heart swell with love and pride, because for him there isn’t anyone else either. Without uttering a response, Cal ambles confidently towards the foot of the bed. With a soft growl, he tosses her playfully onto the silken white sheets.

She lands lightly across it, gazing up at him with a look of unadultered hunger and affection in her eyes that makes his throat go dry.

“Well? What do I have to do?” Her brows wrinkle in that adorable way of hers’ when she’s momentarily confused by something. “Is this going to be….some kind of weird- cult shit?”

Cal barks out a laugh. Shaking his head in amusement, he responds. “No, it isn’t. I mean, it’s still magical but.” He stops for a moment, thinking of how little he knows about it. “I don’t even know if it’ll really work because you’re human.”

“Only half-human.” She reminds him, sitting up.

“Half-human.” He agrees, lifting his lips into a smile at the reminder. “But we’ll take it slow and figure it out together?”

“Mmm,” Wren tilts her head to the side, biting her lips in a way that causes a rush of heat towards his groin.

Fuck, she knows what it does to him when she does that.

“What if I don’t want to take it slow?” She slowly starts unbuttoning her shirt, button after button without taking her eyes off of him. “What if I want it rough and fast?” She shrugs the garment off. “What if I want you to make me beg for it?”

“Are you trying to test me?” Because he’s almost at his limit. Already, he’s able to sense the wolf’s patience waning – shivering in anticipation of claiming her completely. She doesn’t realize yet, but she’s playing a dangerous game.

“Maybe.” She smiles coyly at him. “Is it working?”

He watches her strip-tease with half-hooded eyes.

He’s hooked on where her hands travel; between the valley of her supple breasts, down the length of her abs until disappearing between her shapely thighs - wishing it were his fingers instead that draws a low hum of pleasure from her throat.

Damn, it’s definitely working.

Grinning wolfishly at her, Cal captures one of her ankles and with deliberate slowness, hauls her towards the foot of the bed. “I think you already know the answer to that.”

“But I want to hear you say it.” Her eyes challenge him and lips that slightly part invitingly as the bed suddenly dips from the shift of weight.

She doesn’t know what she’s really asking – for him to lose control over the wolf. Even as much as he trusts her, he doesn’t know if he can trust that part of himself not to hurt her, and the last thing he’s ever wanted to do is hurt her.

The room’s been quiet for almost too long.

“I trust you.” She says softly as if reading his thoughts.

Her touch across his cheek settles some of his unease. He nuzzles his face into her palm, inhaling her familiar scent. His pulse skyrockets as she jerks his chin towards her.

“I trust you completely Cal.”

Cal exhales harshly, letting most of his worries drift away from her insistent touch. She trusts him completely. He’s never had anyone trust him like this – not with this part of himself, the part he’s accustomed to having to hide in past relationships. Although she’s come close, more than once this – this is different.

This is giving the wolf complete control. This is letting nature run its course and magic taking the reins of their fate, of their future.

The bed creaks again as Cal presses one knee and then the other on either side of her hips. His left-hand trails across her chest, pausing to run soft circles across nipples.

She sucks in a breath.

Smiling to himself, he drifts his hand a little lower while slowly pushing her back – taking his time to guide her movements, until her naked back lands softly against the silken sheets. His massive frame looms atop her; still hovering and bracing without allowing much of his weight to entrap her completely.

“What are you staring at?” She says after a moment of silence. Her eyes shoot up in question and Cal shakes his head.

“Just admiring how beautiful you are,” his hands frame her face as she breaks out into a smile. God, she’s breathtaking.

“You’re the one to talk.”

When she lifts a hand to tangle in his hair, he stops her. “Mmm.” A low rumble escapes his throat as he grabs her wrist and holds it high within the air. His nails are almost too long to be completely human anymore and they bite into her flesh. “Not tonight, not for this.”

Her eyes light up unexpectedly.

Neither speaks as the bed emits another soft squeak at the shift of weight. Inch by inch disappears between them as Cal lowers himself until his lips skim the base of her neck. “I’m in complete control tonight.”

-

Wren releases another rush of air as she feels Cal’s mouth hovering by one of her most sensitive spots. It takes all her willpower to resist the urge to reach for him, to drag her fingers in his hair and yank him closer. But she has a feeling he won’t let her. Not tonight.

Instead, she fights the temptation with a barely concealed moan and shuts her eyes. She listens to the sound of his breathing, the gentle pressure of his lips as they press a kiss where her pulse flutters in excitement.

Another low rumble fills the air.

His lips travel down the length of her collarbone, its languid pace threatens her heart into palpations as they dip between her breasts and nip her tender flesh.

She shivers.

His sharp teeth graze her nipple – one and then the other, biting gently while her own breathing turns ragged.

“Look at me.”

His voice has always had its edges, raw – honest. Even in its softest moments, there have been parts of it that’s never lost some of what she suspects as the wolf. But hearing him now; there’s almost no hint of that softness left.

When her eyes flutter back open, Wren barely manages to stifle a gasp.

His aren’t their normal colour anymore. They’re a soul-scorching amber glow, the telltale signs of his other half fighting for control.  But he’s not fighting it. He’s letting it happen. And a silent thrill runs through her at the knowledge.

His tongue darts out as he nuzzles the side of his face into her skin. “Mine,” he says the word emphatically, expelling a breath before continuing to lick a path down her body; past her lower abdomen.

And her stomach seizes in anticipation for more.

When his lips find her center, Wren’s back nearly arches off the bed.

“Every part of you is mine.” His hands drop to pull her thighs wider apart from each other. Shooting her a grin, he buries his head in between them and blows a cool breath of air across her clit that causes another shiver to travel along the base of her spine.

“Cal –”

The moment his tongue touches her heat, the rest of her sentence turns into a cry of pleasure.

He isn’t gentle. No. Not this time.

His tongue expertly latches onto her, pushing through tender her folds with a sudden feverous intent that has her fighting to keep still. All she can do is toss her head back and moan as he drives his tongue in and out of her pussy, without pause – without giving her a chance to breathe.

His tongue knows exactly how to drive her wild, how to push her limits of what she can and cannot handle. From its long strokes against her swollen clit, to nipping when she least expects it - it’s almost too intense – too much, to the point where she’s clenching the sheets to keep herself from reaching for him. And when she feels the sharp edge of his teeth placing more pressure on her clit, her mind almost threatens to see stars.

Oh my god.

He’s never been like this before.

Wren sucks in a breath. Her hips shift a little off the bed as he continues his relentless pursuit of her orgasm, sucking her clit – nipping every so often at her most sensitive spot, until finally slipping a finger inside to stretch her.

Oh god.

Wren has to bite down her lip hard as another two digits slip joins in, pushing deeply despite her sudden flinch at their intrusive entrance. With three digits roughly thrusting inside her heat, they spike her heartbeat even higher as the sound of her wet excitement fills the air. Her hands loosen around the sheets. She tries to grip the back of his head, but a moment after touching him – his free hand firmly twists hers’ away and pins it back into place.

He’s going faster now, as if to match the pattern of her own erratic heartbeat still racing inside her chest. His fingers move at a speed so fluid that her legs have started to shake.

“Cal,” she cries out his name as her orgasm hits, like a wave that’s been brewing a storm – it crashes into her with such ferocity that her hips completely leave the bed. She tries to twist away – her sensitivity suddenly too much to keep him between her legs.

But Cal slips his fingers out at the same second and she struggles to move as he laps every bit of her excitement on his tongue. He braces her against the canopy bed to prevent her escape. When he finally pulls back to give her a little breathing room, his amber-coloured eyes watches her in the dim light. “You’re so beautiful.”

Without taking his eyes off her, he sniffs his fingers. “I love your smell.” He takes one finger into his mouth at a time, licking them clean. “Fuck, I love your taste.”

A whimper escapes her throat at the gesture. God, if she didn’t think he could get any hotter before, well – she’s pretty sure she’d combust on the spot any minute now if he stops.

Wren sits up, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close enough to taste herself on his lips. She catches his lower lip between her teeth and bites hard enough to draw blood. He moans low in his throat and the sound makes her stomach flip.

Breaking their kiss, Cal rakes his fingers across her naked back.

It stings. His nails are sharp but there’s a lingering pleasure behind the pain.

“Swear it to me.” A single sharpened nail – long enough to prick her chin lifts her chin up. “Swear that you’re mine and no one else’s underneath the stars tonight.”

There’s no hesitation. He has her – soul, mind and body. “I swear I am yours and yours alone.” She gazes up at him, watching the flecks of gold glow brighter than ever before as he dips his head low and emit another growl.

The words feel right, everything feels right.

Except the moment Wren says them, a stinging sensation from where he’s marked her is suddenly all she can feel, all she can think about despite the living and breathing perfect specimen of a man right in front of her. Whatever endearments of love she’s thought of, quickly evaporates from her mind and she reels her head back in surprise. The pain isn’t just a light stab anymore – it’s more of a pulsing feeling that starts from her back where he’s undoubtedly staked her as his claim, until it ebbs deeply within her core.

She struggles to keep her focus on Cal.

What’s going on –

It’s as though he’s burned her, and any minute now she’ll smell the scent of her own flesh igniting itself as she finches back. Her hands move to quickly find the spot – but he’s faster.

-

Cal captures her hands and pulls them to rest against his hard chest as he lets out a hiss of pain. The mark goes both ways. He doesn’t just feel his pain; he feels hers too – down to the very core of his fucking soul.

Shit, does it always hurt this much for everyone?

Still, he can’t show weakness. It’s not what she needs right now. He can’t show a slither of how much it’s destroying him. She needs him, needs reassurance that she’ll be okay, that mating the right way will work. So, Cal doesn’t allow his gaze to waver. He doesn’t scream every curse word he can think of into existence. He merely bites his tongue against the hot flashes of pain still wracking his entire body.

This is what it means to be mated.

He endures the scorching fire within his blood. It’ll be gone soon enough. He only has to wait for it to pass. The wolf yelps but doesn’t falter either.

Minutes passes until he hisses at its impatience.

He wants to claim what’s rightfully his now that they’ve started. And he’ll let the wolf – only after allowing her proper time to adjust to all this. This is after all, new for them both even if his instincts are making it hard to keep his focus.

When his mate finally stops shaking, Cal draws his attention back to her lips; back to the curves of her well-toned body. When she starts trembling again – it isn’t because of pain. No, it’s with a new kind of feeling. Need. Painful need. He can almost taste it; her desire to mate - her sex quivering with the undeniable urge to join him.

It practically has him salivating.

He swallows it back.

“Cal, Cal I need you.” The words seem to tumble out, even surprising her. And her eyes flicker from their usual dark brown to nearly an identical colour.

And holy fuck does he need her. He needs to be inside her so fucking much that there aren’t any words to describe it. He can scarcely even breathe at how irresistible she suddenly seems in front of him – more than she’s ever been before; with her half-bruised lips from their kisses, tousled dark hair around her shoulders and dilated pupils of faint-amber. He’s completely aware of her pheromones warping the atmosphere around them. This is deeper than just lust, and love. It’s like a primal urge just to bend her over and fuck her senseless.

Claim her. Claim her.

Resting his palms on either side of her waist, he yanks her forward until the tip of his cock lightly teases the entrance of her mound.

When she moans, his cock twitches at the sound. “Beg for it.”

“Ah – what?” She pants, eyes clouded.

“Beg.”

He’d have to thank the universe later for the little self-control he’s had left to speak, but for right now – all he can concentrate on is the heat radiating off of her, off of him. And the heady look of lust on his mate’s face. But he’ll wait, he’ll wait as long he has to.

“You’re serious?”

“Beg.” The word comes out as a growl.

“I want you to fuck me Cal.” She drawls out the words, tilting her chin up – meeting his gaze head-on. “I need you to fuck me, so…so fucking bad. Please Cal. Make me yours.”

And it’s all the begging he needs.

Uttering a growl, Cal guides his length inside her - one inch at a time.

At first, Wren can’t speak. She bites down on her lower lip.

A familiar rush of pleasure fills him as her fingernails dig into his broad shoulders. What’s left of his self of control finally snaps as he hikes her legs around his lean waist and increasingly buries more of himself inside her sloppiningly wet heat.

He doesn’t spare more than few seconds for her to adjust once he’s down to the hilt, before he drives his hips forward. The bed creaks loudly at the motion and her own cry of pleasure encourages his burning need to fuck her – to really fuck her.

He recedes out of her slick entrance and then slams into her.

She digs her nails harder into his skin and fingers that have begun to feel more like claws press intimately into his flesh.

It’s enough to draw blood.

He slams into her again. And again. And again. Each time he does, her breath hitches until he can barely hear her over the loud smacking of their bodies - crashing into one another with frenzied urgency.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

The word echoes inside his head like an infinite loop that only seems to grow stronger each time he thrusts his entire cock deep within her. It isn’t just about how much he loves her, it’s about the constant need to stretch her as much as he can, to fill her completely with his seed and hear her scream his name to the universe.

His hips jerk with such ferocity that she topples back and he goes with her, pounding with enough roughness for the board to splinter as the headboard clatters heavily against the wall. It doesn’t deter him. His goal is single-minded; solely on making her shatter beneath him and when she thinks she’s had enough – he’d do all over again.

Her own momentum can’t keep up and quite quickly, Cal’s thrust become wild and erratic enough to send Wren over the edge. He feels her inner walls tighten around his shaft and he expels a harsh breath as her entire body convulses all at once.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” She continues to let out a string of curses as she throws her head back, eyes stinging with something close to tears as she shudders again.

God, even watching her come apart does something crazy to him. It makes his heart race, makes the wolf inside him puff in satisfaction that he’s able to satisfy his mate so completely. But he’s far from finished, in fact he’s famished for more.  And it isn’t until the tremors stop that he flips her over, guiding her closer to the center of the bed as the wolf snaps his impatience.

She doesn’t need to ask; his desire for her must work both ways too. Something in her body seems to respond automatically to his urges, and she shoots him a mischievous grin over her shoulder, before offering her smooth back to him.

She’s so sexy.

There’s his mark there too. Spirals that twirl together to make an insignia matching the one undoubtedly on his shoulder where’s marked him as her own. He stifles a groan at the sight and nudges her forward with a jerk of his hips, until she’s balanced on all fours. Her palms dig into the sheets, tearing the fabric as he sinks into her again.

Fuck. She’s exquisite. She’s perfect. She’s his.

His thrusts are jerky, uncontrolled. There’s no stopping him, not when he’s so close. He can’t help but be rough, nails raking angry marks across her thighs and hips as he keeps thrusting maddeningly fast into her. Here inside the safety of this room - he’s not just Cal anymore and she’s not just Wren either. This is bigger than the both of them and he surrenders himself to the passion, surrenders himself to the pain.

He presses his chest into her back, inhaling their sweaty mix. More. More.  He’s desperate to find his release – desperate to fill her completely with his come. He nicks the nape of her neck again with his sharpened teeth, biting down hard as she cries out his name.

Her hands grip the headboard as his pacing grows more erratic, more fevered until the bed shakes from the sheer intensity of their fucking. 

Without thinking, one of his hands finds the supple arch of her throat. He can almost hear it. Her pulse flutter in excitement when his grip tightens. He feels the exact moment when she let’s go. Her body convulses into intense shudders that fuels his orgasm. Uttering a string of curses as burrows his face into the crook of her neck as his body starts to shake, emptying himself inside her until he’s completely spent.

When he’s finally able to move again, Cal rolls over and takes her with him. She tucks herself at his side as he stares happily at the ceiling.

God, that was…..there’s really no way he can describe it

He listens to the sound of their heartbeats. They’re both still keyed to speak.

Woah. Is it like this for everyone?

“Wow.” Wren breaks the silence first, grinning up at him. There are flashes of exhaustion within her eyes when he peers at her. He’s worried he’s broken her for a moment until she threads her fingers through his chest hair and lets out a contented sigh.

“I know.” He blows stray strands of his now matted and wet hair away from his face, before staring back down at her. She’s never looked quite so messy and tired before. He likes the look on her.

“You were really holding out on me, huh?” She has the galls to arch her eyebrows at him and he laughs at the gesture.

“Maybe.” He tries to play it off, but his cheeks give him away. They always do. “I just…I never wanted to risk hurting you.” He runs his fingers through his hair, glancing bashfully at anywhere except directly at her.

“Uh huh. I’m not so breakable Cal.” He feels her fingers, still coated with sweat turn his chin. “But if you weren’t convinced before, maybe this will convince you now.” She presses a soft kiss to his jaw.

There’s still a faint amber-light to her eyes when she pulls back, and seeing it makes him so damn happy. He breaks out into a wide grin. “No, I can be as rough as I want now.” His words drop an octave, husky enough for her eyes to slide meaningfully down his hip.

Wren whistles. “God, I really thought you had stamina before but now.” She traces hand across his naked hip and the touch makes the tip of his shaft twitch. “Now, I definitely know what stamina is, I still feel like I could maybe go for another round or two.”

A low rumble escapes his throat. “I can’t help it. It’s what you do to me, and it’s the wolf that’s never truly sated.” He captures her hand and kisses her wrist before giving it a gentle squeeze. “But that can wait. When’s the last time you slept?”

Wren avoids his eyes. “Maybe a day or two.” She winces. “To be fair though, I was trying to find you.”

“I’m not going to argue with that. I just want you to take care of yourself, and I’m honestly beat.” He exhales sharply, closing his eyes for a moment and then stares back up at the ceiling. In all his wildest dreams – he didn’t think today would have ended the way it did and he flinches at the memory of being trapped.

If it wasn’t for her – he didn’t think he would have survived.

Wren scoots closer. Her warmth is a welcoming presence that breaks the prison of memories still flooding the gates of his mind. “I’m really glad you’re all in one piece, I can only imagine what that asshole put you through.”

Cal is hyperaware of her uncertainty. Even if she doesn’t ask – he can still feel it. Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it? And maybe one day, he will. However, for now – he’s perfectly fine with shoving the memories as far back as he can keep them. He won’t let them ruin everything tonight.

“It doesn’t matter.” Dropping a kiss by her brow, he sighs. “I’m here – you’re here, that’s what matters.”

“Mm.”

“Is that you letting this go without me having to ask?” He almost has to do a double-take.

“Hey! I let things go sometimes!”

He snorts.

“Okay – well,” she huffs out a breath. “Stubbornness runs in my blood but I’m not stupid enough not to see you’ve been through a lot.” She hesitates. “I can feel it radiating off of you in waves, and we don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready.”

“Good.” He sighs in relief. God, he loves her for it. “I love you,” he whispers, shutting his eyes close.

“I love you too.” He feels her sharp teeth graze his side, “now shut up and let us get some sleep.”

-

Everything hurts.

Her arms, her legs – every part of her body seems to be completely worn out as the events of last night comes rushing back to her- as vivid as if she’s still there herself. The fight with Kavinsky. Finding Cal. Mating. Her cheeks colour at the latest memory. Last night had been intense, however it doesn’t take long for her mind to switch gears.

There’s too much going on at one time for it not to.

Even worse, Wren’s entire body aches as if she’s been hit by a truck and suffering the worst parts of a hungover because of it. The slightest flicker of movements she takes to sit up in bed causes an after-effect and she flinches at the stabs of pain. There’s no getting rid of it.

It isn’t the room. The room is blissfully quiet. It’s everything outside the room. Her hearing is better than it���s ever been before; picking up things she didn’t think possible. The whispers out in the hall from the people she’s only just met, suddenly sounds more like shouting.

“Do you think they’re going to get up anytime soon?” Harlow’s voice sounds filled of concern.

A snort sounding as if it belongs to Lily. “After hearing them last night – not likely.”

“Man. They were so loud.”

“You’re the one to talk Jax. You and Harlow have been waay louder in the past –”

Hissing, Wren clutches her temples as she tries to drone them out – desperate for silence. It’s no use. She can’t drone them out. They’re all she can focus on.

Shit.

Her eyes prick with tears as she takes a deep breath; her nose abruptly picking up the musky scents of sweat and sex mingled all into one. She realizes with a jolt – her senses haven’t just gotten better – they’re damned-well oversensitive to her current environment. And she hates it.

Crying out in pain, Wren rocks back and forth until strong arms suddenly encircle her. She’s cocooned into his hard chest and more aware than ever of his body heat, pressing intimately into her as she feels his breath by her ear.

“Sssh, it’s okay. Just focus on me. Focus on my voice.” His voice which by the way – sounded incredibly smooth. “Tune everything else out.”

Taking a ragged breath, Wren tries to concentrate on Cal and Cal alone.

Minutes pass as they remained locked like this; with Cal humming into her ear and Wren trying desperately to keep her attention solely on him. It’s difficult. She’s never had to fight quite like this to remain focus before, but eventually the voices in the hall become a dull ache that’s moved to the back of her brain.

Oh, thank god.

Twisting inside Cal’s arms, she gives him a smile short of nothing but her relief. “You have no idea how much I needed that.”

“I think I do,” his frown creases his brow as he lifts his fingers to rub her temples. “I was a pup once.”

The gesture helps to soothe her and she releases another sigh, leaning into his hands. “Please tell me this gets better, or at least easier.” Letting out a string of curses, she closes his eyes and forces her attention on his breathing.

He laughs.

She winces.

“Sorry.” At least he sounds apologetic about it. “It doesn’t; you’ll just be able to handle it better. You’ll adjust your attention on the things you want to focus on.” He smiles a little to himself, “but this is kinda cute in a way.”

She shoots him a glare that would make lesser men flinch and scramble to get away. But to Cal, it only serves to make his smile grow wider. “How the hell is any of this cute?”

“You just –” he shakes his head, “kinda remind me of Donny when he was a pup. He was pretty much oversensitive to almost everything for a while when he hit fourteen.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”  She grumbles. Besides, Donny was a child when he’d reach peak werewolf physiology – she’s a grown ass woman, and all she wants to do is curl into a ball and disappear underneath all these sheets.

He drops his fingers and plants a kiss by her temple. “It wasn’t supposed to.”

“You’re the worst.”

“I thought Donny was the worst.” He quips back.

“No, he comes a close second now…” She hesitates, expelling a short sigh as her eyes flutter back open to stare at him. “He misses you too.”

Cal’s jaw tightens. “I can’t believe I left him alone like that.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” She interjects before he’s able to place anymore blame on himself. She knows how easy it is for him to spiral when it comes to Donny. Mumbling softly, she bumps his forehead in comfort. “You didn’t know any of this was going to happen.”

“Still, I was careless.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “If I hadn’t come to New York alone – .”

“But you did. You were cocky and dumb enough to think Kavinsky hadn’t told Shaw.” She isn’t going to sugarcoat the mess they’re in to make him feel better. They always tell each other the hard-truths, and the hard-truth is – Cal fucked up and things could have gone a lot worse if they hadn’t found him. But, she doesn’t want to focus on that. They’re here, they’re together - that’s what matters. 

“And whatever comes next, I’m with you.” She tries to make a joke, “for a better or worse right?”

When Cal suddenly pulls away, Wren eyes narrow into almost slits.

He looks…guilty. She can almost feel it, it’s starting to practically envelop the room. “Hey,” she turns completely, ignoring the twinges of pain from the sudden motion of her legs shifting to rest on either sides of his waist. “I wanted this, and you have nothing to feel guilty about.” She bumps his forehead affectionately; the way he does to get her attention. “I love you, and I’m sure…it’ll get better.” She gives him a smile, “it’s like you said – it takes time.”

Cal watches her a moment longer before expelling a deep sigh.

“C’mon, you’re pulling down the mood.”

“Oh?” The corner of his lips twitch as Wren rakes him with a once over – lingering on the lower half of his body, before slowly trailing up again. “And what exactly is the mood?”

“The mood is - I’m very aware of what’s going on down here. Right now.” She nudges her hips forward by an inch as she says it. It’s enough to brush the tip of his cock and almost reflexively, he lets out a loud hiss.

Grinning, Wren does it again – only this time, his hands come up to splay across her back. She can almost taste his desire on her tongue the moment she leans forward and captures his lips. It’s so potent that it fills the room. She isn’t having any troubling focusing on him anymore – he’s all she can think about.

Wren bites down hard and she’s rewarded with a growl as his fingers rake a path down her back “And I for one, want to take full advantage of this.” Her stomach is already curling in anticipation for him as he kisses her roughly on the lips.

His chocolate brown eyes flash with sudden heat just as the palm of her hand pushes him back. She shifts her position to straddle him as he lands comfortably atop of their sheets.

“You know we’ll have to leave this room eventually.” His hands drift towards her hips, staring momentarily down at the marks he’s left from last night.

She sneaks a glance at them as well, and then back up at him as she slowly lowers herself onto his throbbing member. “Maybe, but for now - I’m suddenly feeling ravenous.”

He shifts hips hip with enough subtle force for her to moan at the sudden friction.

God, how is it that he feels so good? So right. Everything always does with him and it’s a wonder it’s taken her this long to realize he’s the only person that belongs in her heart. The only person that has her completely.

She entwines their fingers together as she begins to move her hips forward back and in earnest, dictating their space to a much slower rhythm than last night. All her senses are very aware of all of him, the way his muscles tense and bunch together, the way his eyes can’t seem to take themselves off of her – down to the slight intakes of breath he takes as his eyes transition into that scorching hot amber.

When he tries to move his hips faster, her fingers dig into his palms. “Let me.” Her words are husky, but Cal wordlessly arches a brow before he slows down and Wren hides her grin. He’s giving her complete control of their pleasure.

She rolls her hips – remaining steady eye contact with Cal as his gaze turns smoldering.

“Fuck, you’re killing me here Wren.” He drops her hands to grip her waist.

“Good.” She can feel his impatience budding again, the wolf in her is basking in every minute of it. But he hasn’t tried anything again yet. Smirking, she rolls her hip again – biting down on her lip to stop herself from moaning at how good he feels.

Cal swears, his nails turning sharp as they dig into her sides. His breath is almost ragged, and his cheeks are heavily flushed when she finally starts to pick up speed. “Oh god, you feel so fucking good.” The rest of his words turns into a cry of pleasure when she squeezes herself around his length.

“Mm, you like that?’

His response is in the way he thrusts his hips to meet hers’ – with wild abandon, and suddenly her little game of keeping control is forgotten.

Her hips match him pace for pace and it doesn’t take much longer for the bed to start creaking again.

His hands grip her tighter as she brings her hips up and then down on him again, keeping a loose hand clenched around the bed sheets for gripping as their pleasure comes altogether. And the passion that builds between them is bigger than just her - it’s hers and his blissfully jumbled into one.

She can’t think, she can’t breathe. There’s only just the primal urge to keep up with his thrusts, to reach the peak of how much she ca handle and a natural surrender of all her inhibitions as their gazes stay completely on each other.

When they scale to the very top, they ride it out going down to the bottom together. Collapsing into each other’s arms, endearments of I-love-yous as they tumble into the sheets, yanking them around each other like a cocoon as their bodies still slicked with heat and love bask in the aftermath of their love.

-

By the time they’ve left their room, it’s shy past five in the afternoon.

Maybe if Wren hadn’t just the best morning in her life, she’d care a lot more. But right now, the only concern Wren has is how much she wants to stuff her face with any food they can find as she leads Cal towards the kitchen of the hotel room.

They both freeze just in time to notice their other companions clearing out. There’s a bunch of small suitcases by the door and they’re all dressed in fresh clothes of slacks and shirts - smelling distinctively of vanilla bodywash.

Six pairs of eyes remain rooted to their spot.

At first – no one says anything. It’s quiet enough for a pin to comically drop.

Wren jerks her chin up, daring anyone to say anything.

Lily is the first to break the awkward silence, furrowing her brows before letting out an expletive. “Shit, it’s about damn time. We were starting to think you two were never going to leave.” She places a hand on her hip. “Check out time was like three hours ago.”

Cal clears his throat; his cheeks abruptly turning more than a shade darker thank his skin as Wren mutters a stiff apology. Okay, so she definitely gets where they’re coming from. Not only did they miss out on karaoke – they’ve been pretty MIA in general and this morning - that’s mostly been her fault. “Sorry guys, we’ll uh – pay the difference.”

“It’s fine, Adrian has already taken care of it.” Harlow responds quickly, elbowing Lily sharply in the side. “What I think my friend meant to say is, we thought we wouldn’t get the chance to say goodbye.” She smiles, “it was a pleasure meeting you both despite the circumstances.”

Wren takes a few hesitant footsteps further into the common area, almost dragging Cal behind her. “I think that’s supposed to be my line. Seriously – thank you for all your help, and for putting up with us last night.” She adds before thinking better of it, “I would have probably still been searching the rest of New York for him.”

“Thank you for rescuing me.” Cal squeezes Wren’s hand as he regards the vampires with a slight nod.

Adrian inclines his head. “You’re quite welcome.” He reaches for the door and then pauses to peer back at them. “Would you mind passing down a message to Nik –” he gestures to them both with a flick of wrist, “tell him we’re even.”

“You bet.”

“Good. Well, I believe we’ve all gotten what we came here for.” Kamilah wastes no time to say goodbye; already stepping past the threshold of the door to find the elevator.

“Hey bloodsuckers,” Cal speaks up before they can all leave. Wren arches one critical eyebrow and he bites his bottom lip before adding. “Uh - if you’re ever in NOLA – look us up. You think it’s crazy over here? This has got nothin’ on us.”

Wren snorts in agreement. They’ve got no idea just how crazy it is up there.

Harlow and Jax share a look. “We’ll keep that in mind. Don’t forget to lock up before heading to the lobby.” With a parting smile, Harlow follows the rest of them out.

As the door slams shut again, Wren waits a few beats for their footsteps to fade before turning to Cal. “I like them.”

“I guess they’re alright, for bloodsuckers at least.”

She smacks his shoulder.

“Ah!” Chuckling, he snatches her hand before she’s able to punch him a second time and kisses the inside of her wrist. “I’m kidding, they’re alright – for anyone.”

“Good.” A crooked smile flits across her face, then falters into a frown as her stomach growls. “Okay, seriously – I’m really starving. What is up with that?”

He shoots her a bemused smile. “We did burn a lot of calories in that room.”

Another playful smack on his shoulder.

“But it’s also a wolf thing.”

“Ugh, figures.” Rolling her eyes, she snorts. “We should check-out and grab something on the way to the airport then. Ooh,” her eyes abruptly lit-up at a sudden idea. “Maybe this room came with a complimentary breakfast. Adrian seems like the type.”

-

The ride back to the airport is short but Cal feels tense about it the entire drive. Now that he’s going back without a plan, the enormity of what’s awaiting him in NOLA rests uneasily on his shoulders.

After Wren fills him in on how much he’s missed – he’s honestly just a bunch of knots and for the first time since becoming alpha; he doesn’t know where he stands with his pack. It was reckless for him to leave and foolish too. Wren’s been right to mock his choice.

Sighing, he closes his eyes for a moment and rakes his fingers through his hair. What the hell is he supposed to do now?

“Hey,” he hears the reassurance in her voice before he opens them back to shift his attention to her.

“I won’t lie to you and say it’ll be okay, because when I left – it wasn’t okay.” Wren takes a deep breath, reaching for his hand to give it a comforting squeeze. “But I’m here for you – and,” she visibly swallows, “for the pack. Whatever comes next, we’ll face it together.”

Cal nods once, forcing a smile as he squeezes her hand back. “I hope you’re right.” He has a feeling if he doesn’t find a solution, soon there won’t be any pack left to protect.

-

#cal x mc #cal lowell #cal x mc fanfiction #n*fw #choices fanfiction #cal x mc fanfic #nightbound #cal lowell fanfiction #cal x wren #cal lowell x wren howell #choices stories you play #choices #playchoices fanfiction #nightbound: cal lowell #long post #they are all so long now - they can probably make a book #part eight #The Wolf's Heart #*cringe* #I'm going to slink away now #out of existence #i'm so nervous bye #i just love them together #and there isn't even a lot of plot going on here #just smut #and love #adrian raines #jax matsuo #kamilah sayeed #lily spencer

[theyearoftheking]

Book Fourteen: Pet Sematary

“Sometimes people have to do things that just seem right. They seem right in their hearts, I mean. And if they do those things and then end up not feeling right, full of questions and sort of like they got indigestion, only inside their heads instead of their guts, they think they made a mistake...”

“Death is a mystery, and burial is a secret...”

So, it’s official guys: the world has become a Stephen King novel. We’re dealing with a worldwide pandemic like The Stand, and we’re all quarantined like The Shining. It’s kinda bizarre. 

So how did yours truly deal with the news of the impending apocalypse? 

I packed my bags and headed to New Orleans with my pals.

No, I wasn’t one of the people taking advantage of $30 flights a week out... we had booked this trip months ago, and the warnings were not as dire even early last week. But I will say, if the world is ending, I want to be in NOLA when it happens. Frosty drink, po boy... mama will be feeling no pain. 

And now I’m back home, drinking lemon water and trying to heal my liver after all the damage that was done last week. Oh, in the midst of all the debauchery, I managed to finish two Steve books. The first one was Pet Sematary; which was kind of ironic, considering one of our NOLA adventures was a cemetery tour. Here for your viewing pleasure is Nicholas Cage’s future place of burial. Rich people, am I right?

But while at the cemetery, we met a few charming Constant Readers from Bangor! They mentioned seeing Steve just a few weeks ago at the grocery store. It’s a good thing I don’t live in Bangor, I would have less than zero chill. But our new friends from Maine were lovely to talk to. 

On the surface, Pet Sematary is the story of the Creed family moving to Ludlow, Maine. Louis got a new job working at the university medical center, and his wife Rachel is down for the adventure. They have two kids, the precocious Ellie, and baby Gage (ugh. Even that name); and their cat Churchill. Upon their arrival in Ludlow, they meet their new neighbors: Jud and Norma Crandall. The Crandalls are a little older, but take to the Creed crew right away. 

Ludlow seems like a nice place. According to Jud, rabies seems like the biggest issue plaguing the entire state of Maine. “Lots of rabies in Maine now. There was a big old St. Bernard went rabid downstate a couple of years ago and killed four people. That was a hell of a thing...”

My post-it note for this page reads, “Cujo, bitches!” 

One afternoon, Jud takes the family on a hike, and shows them the old pet sematary right near their property. Later on at home, Rachel loses her shit. She doesn’t think children should be exposed to death, and it leads to a big ass fight. Louis is a doctor, and doesn’t think children should be sheltered from death. If they’re old enough to understand how babies are made, they’re old enough to understand how death works. But Rachel has some PTSD over the childhood death of her sister Zelda, and she’s never dealt with it. So her strategy is to brush the entire topic under the rug. At one point she tells Louis, “There’s nothing natural about death. Nothing. You as a doctor should know that.” 

Rachel, girl. Death is just about as natural as it gets. 

Thanksgiving rolls around, and Rachel takes the kids to see her asshole parents in Chicago, leaving Louis at home... where Churchill the cat ends up smooshed by an eighteen wheeler. Jud decides to take Louis on a little adventure, and shows him the burial ground behind the pet sematary, where whatever you bury comes back to life. 

I know. It’s a reallllly bad idea. Have these people not seen Practical Magic? Do they not understand how bringing back the dead never works out? Ugh. Idiots. 

Sidenote: if you haven’t seen Practical Magic, take advantage of quarantine time and go watch it. It’s late 1990′s Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and it’s basically the story of me and my sister. Kind of, but not really. 

So, Churchill comes back, but smellier and creepier; and it has Louis wondering why he brought him back from the dead in the first place. Even Ellie isn’t digging the new Church, and tells Louis she thinks she’ll be okay when he dies for good. So, mission accomplished? We’ll just refer to that as the weirdest damn parenting hack ever. 

Life continues on, until the horrible day when Gage is playing outside with Louis, and also gets smooshed by an eighteen wheeler. It’s a horrible tragedy, and the family is broken. Rachel is inconsolable, Ellie clutches a Polaroid of her and Gage, and Louis can’t make sense of the tragedy. But you already know what he’s thinking...

After the funeral, he sends Rachel and Ellie back to Chicago with Rachel’s (still) asshole parents; and begins the arduous process of burying Gage at the burial grounds. He knows better... he saw first hand what happened to Church after his resurrection. But he’s undeterred. He had visions of Gage becoming an Olympic swimmer, and will stop at nothing to bring his son back. 

Spoiler: it’s a shit show. Gage comes back from the burial grounds, swipes a knife from Louis’s doctor bag and kills Jud with it. He didn’t just come back a little smelly, or a little different... he came back as a Chucky doll. Back when Chucky was evil, before he became a comedic foil. 

Meanwhile in Chicago, Ellie is losing her shit, and having horrible premonitions that things are going terribly wrong in Ludlow. She finally convinces Rachel to go back home. Rachel knows something is wrong, but has no idea what Louis is really up to. I’m guaranteeing, “digging up dead son’s body, hauling it across town in the car, lugging it up to the burial ground, and waiting for him to come back to life” wasn’t in her top ten concerns.

 As she’s driving, she is trying her damnedest to stay awake, and sees a sign for one of our favorite towns in Maine, “Jerusalem’s Lot, she thought randomly, what an odd name. Not a pleasant name, for some reason... Come and sleep in Jerusalem.” 

Rachel gets home, and makes her way over to Jud’s house, where she finds his dead body, and is then killed by Gage, pretending to be her crazy, dead sister. Louis is forced to kill Gage, and then he buries Rachel up on the burial ground as well. The final lines of the book are, “A cold hand fell on Louis’s shoulder. Rachel’s voice was grating, full of dirt. Darling, it said.”

Meh. A mediocre ending to a decent book. I was curious why Louis brought Rachel back to life... he saw how terribly wrong it went with both Church and Gage... was he waiting for Rachel to kill him? Was he hoping that since he buried her sooner than Gage, she’d be more of a “normal zombie?” Unclear. 

But one thing is clear: I need to read The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs. It’s been referenced at least a million times up until this point, and I have no excuses now that I’m living the quarantined life. 

While the book was fine, I did think the topic of handling death with children was still relevant. It’s about as controversial a topic as it gets. Do we discuss it with children, or give them the line about pets/grandparents/old people moving to a farm and living there forever? How do we explain the afterlife? Where do people go when they die? A lot of times, adults don’t have good answers to these questions, and they don’t know how to communicate this uncertainty to children. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting children know adults don’t have all the answers. We don’t know what happens when someone dies, and won’t know until we die ourselves. In my experience, kids kinda like knowing you don’t have all the answers either, but you’ll be there as a sounding board, and a safe place for them to confide their fears. Honest conversations like this could have been helpful for Rachel, and prevented this whole story from happening in the first place. Maybe? 

I don’t know. 

We did have one Dark Tower reference, “No more did he walk like a gunslinger; now his walk was the slow, careful walk of the convalescent...” 

And later on, Ellie thinks Church smells like, “ka-ka...” I can’t imagine it was ka for Church to get smooshed by a truck and brought back to life, but who the hell knows. I guess we all have a foggy, but bigger purpose. 

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 14

Total Dark Tower References: 10

Book Grade: C+

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

Different Seasons: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

The Dead Zone: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

Danse Macabre: B-

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Christine: D

Next up is Cycle of the Werewolf, which I have some thoughts about...

Until next time, Long Days and Pleasant Nights,

Rebecca

#petsematary #stephenking #constant readers #death #new orleans #nola #po boy #coronavirus

[cryptid-killjoy]

New Year Announcements and Shit that’s Happening / Changes

Yensid will make the final Magisterium announcement that no new students shall be enrolled here after this year’s graduating class. Everyone saw this coming. It will not be shutting down in it’s entirety. It will phase out since it has a day care and foster system it has to deal with. But, even Mr. Kenny will be on the job search soon. A large memo will go out entailing the structured organization of a remodeled magic education system moving out of Nola. He would decide that Nola was not a fit environment conducive for molding young minds like this. There was too much divisiveness here with Halloween Town / Ground Zero for the Coven/Voodoo War, History too raw, and will also announce plans for magic education around the globe connected with a network of witches in a more underground and hidden capacity. This is an announcement that the human world would not have public access to. It is of course possible to get rumors and whispers of it. But, Yensid decides it is abundantly clear humans and witches alike are not ready for this type of multi-magical-utopia. He’s leaving Oogie’s school in the open as the main target if humans do rebel and uprise. Though Delta has done no harm with Maleficent back, he’s taking no chances and made the decision now. Nola is not the place to stockpile the world’s most special children. 

The Horned King’s Kids will consider this a success on their part. They were sent there to infiltrate and apparently they did a good job? lol. That happened. That said all of those boys are done playing students. All will pull out of the student world after this graduating season. The two left aren’t happy the other two got to quit. So, they’re on their way out and will be discussing where their life will be going next soon. Silas included as Jenner is going to have to show face in the real world eventually after being in Hell with Pierre. I’m getting there. Still developing where that should go. He is owned by Hell on his contract to immortalize Hades so I’m using the excuse he was delayed by who owns his soul. Some things in his world are actually out of his control. 

Koda uses this as a reason not go back to school after Christmas. He was college level. He’s leaving the dorms and moving back home for now until he finds an apartment of his own and figures out what he wants to do with his life next. He’ll probably start hanging out with Will a lot more and the music because going to a normal university is not going to feel appealing to a guy like him and finishing out one more semester when he can’t get a magic degree now feels useless. So, his face might end up at Funky Town’s doors more often. 

Professor Dana the Cherub is literally going to shrink down tiny like a baby size creature with wing and live in the Forbidden Forest with all the Fauns behind the Magisterium as part of the weirdness there. Come the end of this school year it will not be forbidden as with no school, no students, there’s no one to forbid. 

Captain Hook has gotten the Jolly Roger back upright and afloat in pirate’s cove. The insides are a shambles still. But, that was what he came to tell Will on Christmas. Didn’t quite get there yet. Want to note that now. Might do a time jump on that or narrate forward on that scene. The pirates are back in action. They’re just in a bloody broken up ship. But, it’s afloat damn it. 

 Spade - Tell me your opinion on aging her into Taylor Momsen so she’s more mommy-like in appearance with the rock star feel? Maybe she had a growth spurt and developed? I wanted to use Sabrina cuz witch stuff but then when I realized she was going to be Oogie’s kid I thought oh man what about Taylor? I know we used her for Ursula a million years ago, but really as if she was ever relevant. It’s just a thought. Maybe not. Hit me up. 

Zero - He’s quitting school. Dr Frankenstein told him he didn’t have to go anymore since he’d repeated his senior year quite enough times. He only did it this time for Pierre and as much as he was enjoying drama class he’s pulling out realizing Ronno will be back. He doesn’t want to put himself in that situation. It’s just uncomfortable. Willem however gave him the idea of community theater so he intends to go check that out. He’ll be going back home as soon “Leo” gets to his own home and makes that interview. But, it won’t stop him from spending a hella lot of time in Funky Town. Zero’s one of those people that are never going to be required to work or earn his keep. Vic will always keep him. So, he’s always going to be looking to fill his time. 

Eeyore - Speaking of Victor, when it comes Eeyore, he’s not going to be letting him go any time soon. The fact he’s different from the others, not just in the inability to fly even with pixie dust, but the aging being different, Victor realizing this is why he can’t fly, too burdened with heavy adult feelings a young person shouldn’t have to carry, he’s using him as a control subject. So, Eeyore’s pretty fucked. So, picture Piglet sitting around with the other lost boys in the Neverswamps a nervous wreck all the time again right after he’d gained his nerves and got all brave not know what to do without Eeyore there. Not like he’s a lost boy. But, he’s starting to feel pretty lost now. 

River and Summer’s house will be done so they won’t have to stay at Chip’s anymore. 

Chip - Aviation school starts

Mazzie - Knows Pleasure Island better than anyone, lived there for years, and knows the Magic Man’s habits and routines, but recently has been being more attentive paying attention to the smaller details. She’s taking notes on everything leaving no stone unturned on what he does, how he fuels it, how he keeps it going, she’s learning it all, slowly but surely in sneakiest Honest John’s fly old fox ways may have ever paid off all while doing what she’s told. 

Nottingham Country Club - After all these years as businesses sometimes do, for economic reasons, is closing down. It really wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but it is Maid Marian’s family and part of Robin’s delusions. Though he does understand in some part a little more about himself than he used to it could still impact things for both them in time as this plays out and his main play ground for taunting is just gone. 

Sassy & Bruno - Also, don’t remember if I ever looked this up before, if I ever put this into play before I just freaking forget, cuz so many characters at this point, so many pets, but looked up how long lamas live. 15-20 years. Gonna say Sassy has passed to the great Machu Picchu in the sky if I haven’t already. Maybe I have. But, Sassy and Bruno both are really pushing it. So, Bruno’s probably gotta go soon too. Actually, just say he passed just after New Year. They have the new dogs. They were expecting it. Get the hits out of the way. He passed in the night flopped peacefully cozy in his sweater all wrapped in blankets on the couch happy dappy. 

Maleficent’s banishment curse from the fae realm - She has now gone into Delta’s old room and tried to walk through the tree portal to see if she go completely through to her home since her resurrection - I’m giving it to her. It worked. Her death broke the curse. Her resurrection gave her a new life. She could go home to the fae world if she wanted and have absolutely nothing to do with this world at all and anything Delta set up for her here entrapping this city in case they turned on her with her return. Delta has everyone in a mousetrap and Maleficent could just walk away. Delta sees too she could save it for smoking gun for later. She could use it for any reason. She holds the power whether the city knows it or not. But, for right now Maleficent seems content with spending much missed time with her daughter. Delta’s teaching her things like how to make an Instagram. As Maleficent is opened up to seeing the world outside the castle though her mind is going to stew more, especially seeing Oogie, hearing town politics, news about the Magisterium, and HTH on her feed. She’ll be taking in a lot more than what Delta feeds her. Though she’ll be tempted to just go home which was always her goal all those years ago, not power as everyone thought, she won’t leave for good until she confronts and sees 4 people again. Oogie Boogie, Chernabog, The Evil Queen Grimhilde, and The Horned King.  

#shit that's happening #head canon #new shit

[xandriaxmonjeau-blog]

was that ( olivia wilde)? no, it’s just ( xandria monjeau). they are the ( 33) year old ( witch ). i heard they’re (charismatic and intelligent) but also ( manipulative and vengeful). rumor has it they ( haven’t ) pledged allegiance to the hollow. i must warn you, neutrality is not an option.

⚜ So as promised, a proper intro for Xandria Monjeau! ⚜

She’s a pretty powerful witch from Paris, France and she also happens to be the current Head Regent of The Levesque Covens which form the 8 family witch covens of Paris & the 4 family witch covens of Marseille, Strasbourg, Bordeaux and Manosque.(yep, the last place we all saw elijah in the S4 finale ;))

Her real name is actually Antoinette Labeau, but that is currently a secret from everyone here including her status as a French Regent Witch.

She's the slightly older half-sister of Kaleb Westphall, which is actually a very highly wc of mine for her XD I'll have to keep her family history a lil vague for now incase anyone picks up Kaleb in the future, but the main gist of what I have now is thatt, she's from a very old-standing,   powerful & very wealthy Witch family with the surname of Labeau in Paris. The Labeau family coven, is a part of this large & powerful ring of French witch covens called "The Levesque Covens". 

Her dad had an affair with Kaleb's mom, which resulted in Kaleb and despite circumstances, somehow, those two kinda grow up very close to each other, having no other siblings and she cared for him greatly & loved him sm as if he was her full-blood brother and vice versa i think on kaleb's part. So you can imagine how utterly devastated she was when she learned of his horrible death in the hands of Finn and inadvertently due to the doings of the  whole Mikaelson family. So her foremost rage and hatred is on Finn, and Kol and Esther ofc, the latter two for using Kaleb's body and dragging him into this mess of stuff in the first place.So her main point of her masterplan for vengeance and revenge is Kol, Esther and Finn as her top 3 targets respectively. And then seeing as the Mikaelson's have done nothing but make things worse for so many innocent families in the past due to many different reasons/circumstances, she's probably now trying to harness a plan to get rid of the whole lot of them if possible.

She was originally a pretty decently powerful witch with a positive, quite compassionate and bright outlook on life, besides some other traits, and a pretty normal character with no big aims/ plans at being evil, but Kaleb's death and the circumstances surrounding it, was what changed her almost completely to a worse side she never knew really existed much in the 1st place and she became rather dark,  a lil twisted as her main outlook on life now is to bring hellish suffering & pain on those who have wronged Kaleb in order to avenge him & she also became a v highly ambitious woman.

For the past 9 years eversince his death, she's worked over-zealously hard at honing all of her witch skills to the best of her abilities, mastering  as many powers and learning many useful stuff and even turning into some dark magic for assistance. By now, she has earned her way as being a highly respected and rightful regent leader of The Levesque Covens.

 Eversince Kaleb’s death , she had established  secret connections in NOLA who has been keeping tabs on the Mikaelson's doings and reporting to her very often. Thus, they told her about the Hollow shit that went down with the Mikaelsons and they spied Elijah, going to the clearing in the woods with Marcel and eavesdropped on Elijah's compulsion plan. So after she got the news abt that, she delightedly considered that to be her big break at finally executing her vengeance plan and perfectly vulnerable Elijah at that time was her perfect way in to worm her way into the Mikaelsons. So she sorta told her connections to knock him out with a very powerful spell and thus she kidnapped him over to Manosque, France  and perfected a whole scenario of him waking up in a ditch or something, so she "found him" and saved that poor amnesiac man. And ofc according to J’s backstory for ‘Elliot Monjeau’  -He had things with the E.M on it so she called him Elliot, told him he grew up in the country, that his parents were vineyard owners who died when he had an accident. He hit his head and had a brain injury, hence the memory loss and soon after he died, with vampire blood in his system cos a vampire got to him immediately after the accident while he was still half-alive but fatally injured. ;)

But then, this is when shit gt more intense and wicked on her part,  Xandria also at the same time, placed a very heavy dark hex on that poor vulnerable Elijah and fed him a big fat lie which was that he was her "husband" and they have a "son" (okie, so the boy is actually Kaleb's kid which was born after he died and the birth mom died at chidbirth too, so Xandria ofc v lovingly took him in and adopted him as her own son, and nvr told anyone else outside, her immediate family members that he was actually her half-nephew). She then placed a few fake memories of him falling in love with her, them having a 8 year old kid and they are pretty moderately rich family living in Manosque. She was careful to only PLACED A FEW FAKE MEMORIES, so that her story would tally with him having amnesia as a result from that "accident". Thus, over the past 3 years, ‘Elliot’  tried to "reconnect with his wife" but the most he got, was just caring about her a lot since she seemed to be a warm, nice and outgoing and good person & 'seemed to have a hella lot of patience for putting up with him not really remembering her much' And he ofc doesn't romantically love her as his heart will forever be with Hayley, his soulmate. But he does fall a little for the innocent "son" of his, who Xandria is also manipulating ever since having Elijah, as she also placed a powerful spell on that poor kid and altered his memories to include Elijah as his 'dad". Xandria really loves the boy and would die for him(so he’s her most vulnerable spot rn) , but eh, as u can see her brain is a lil twisted now due to being blinded with rage, hatred and vengeance for Kaleb, so she'll stop at nothing to succeed in her plans. Hence, her wrong mistake of tampering with the kid's memories *facepalm*.

Some months ago "being the hopelessy devoted loving wife" that she is, she suggested that "Elliot" do a renewal of marriage vows with her so as to maybe re-spark his "romantic feelings for her". He agreed cos he felt kinda guilty that he can't really remember his "loving family" that well. Thru that legal ceremony, she secretly and craftily placed a v dark binding spell, that links his life with hers in a way that if she dies, Elijah would too and with no hope of being resurrected. Oh and she lets him roam about to play his fav hobby of being a pianist and travel a bit here and there for small periods of time once in a while, as being "the supportive wife" she wants ‘Elliot’ to go find himself again and enjoy himself. (but she ofc has a spy or two following him in secret wherever he goes) So that's how he landed up in NOLA all these past few weeks without her at first.

And she has now arrived a lil too late, as his memories are back and he is "Elliot" no longer, so her gig is up in front of Elijah, who will ofc be demanding a furious explanation, but she'll just manipulatively smile and tell him of the linking spell behind their legal marriage ceremony, so he is legally her husband and ofc, he wouldn't want to dissapoint "their son"who misses his "dad" very much" and YES, DIS BITCH, DID BRING THE POOR BOY ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE xD

Elijah up till now, has no zero clue on her real identity as Regent Witch of the Levesque Covens or that her real name is actually Antoinette Labeau.so ofc he doesn't knw what her evil motives and reasons are for messing with him and his brain for the past 3 years. For the past 3 years, all  she told him that she was a normal half-human, half witch named Xandria who became a “Monjeau” when she married him (Elliot) &  who doesn't really like to tap into her witch heritage and is leading a normal human life with her son.

But now since Elijah is back to his former & real  identity, she will now be going around still called “Xandria Monjeau” and if she meets his family members or his friends, and if she ever has to leak her full name to them, she's going to just wickedly, calmly and charmingly tell them what she is telling Elijah rn, that she "oh she had a huge crush on him all this while and she needed a father for her dear sweet lil boy who wanted a dad and Elijah seemed like the perfect candidate and plus didn't she provide him with a happy, carefree and  normal life while he was living with them? oh and husband dearest can't divorce her cos of the son who still believes that Elijah is his dad and he wouldn't want to cause a massive heartbreak to the innocent , warm and purely loving boy who he had grown to somewhat love after all these 3 years ryt?” It’ll be up to J on whether he tells his family members of her linking spell whereby if she dies, he dies too XD.

So Elijah and maybe the rest of his closed ones might think she's some psycho manipulative witch bitch and maybe he doesn't really buy her current story, but she  ain’t ever gonna budge in revealing her true identity and real reasons for doing all this to him. Oh and atm, Hayley is going to be kept in the dark on Xandria’s wife connection to Elijah and her adopted ‘son’‘s, Samuel, nicknamed Sam for short, attachment to Elijah, for as long as possible. Xandria’s probably gonna humor Elijah’s demand that their marriage be kept a secret from Hayley, as she has him truly binded in a fix with her now, so this is no problem for her & thus she’s gonna try to make her presence scarce from Hayley in Nola, but who knows how long that will last aka how long before she amusedly can’t resist this temptation to annoy Hayley with this fact?:P

She currently hasn’t pledged any allegiance to Inadu (yet, but who know how desperate she might be to defeat the Mikaelsons in the much later future?:P)  She currently prefers to work on her own and be her own boss with the help of her own witch covens cos she's def not the kind to bow down/follow the lead of anyone right nowXD She's gonna slowly bid her time in NOLA to learn more angles on how to defeat the Mikalesons and to gather more resources for the perfect chances to attack her targets( Esther, Kol and Finn are her no.1 targets on her hit list of revenge plans)  when the time is right. XD Damn she's so evil and a lil messed up rn :P

So “Xandria Monjeau” is also currently presenting herself as slightly rich, pretty impulsive witch from France besides the other stuff I said earlier. And she’s also intelligent &  can be very charming, witty, friendly, nice, generous( not really genuine friendliness & niceness tbhXD), and at the same time, secretly very scheming, crafty and manipulative. The only genuine love she has atm is only for innocent, happy, warm and good-hearted 8 year old Samuel/ Sam.

So anyway, that’s the very lengthy deets on her and I apologize for the long read to anyone who can withstand reading this whole thing till the end. xoxo! To anyone else I haven’t had the chance to IM yet, if you would like to plot anything with Xandria just like this post or hmu! ;) <3

#macabre:intro #plotting call too?:)

[40countdown]

This is it! The Final Episode! The Last Installment! The Swan Song of the Blog! I’m 40 as hell already! (01-14-18)

Original Goals 

Looking back at the goals I laid out in the first post for this blog… I didn’t do bad.

Body Goals:

My weight is where is should be.. Weigh in 158.5  

The 2 inches off the waist didn’t happen. Ha! The waist is as trashy as it was but probably no worse.. since I never measured with tape I have to judge based on which pants I can or can not button and how uncomfortable it is to put a sock on.. which still tends to fluctuate after a few good or bad weeks.. but I’d say I’m right about where I started.

(this is from today at the gym when I registered for a thing... :D) 

The elbow miraculously healed.. the pain is gone but last week I noticed it was radiating heat like a nuclear reactor so.. I might wanna get it checked out.. or maybe I just have a hot laser in my elbow from the spider bite. #superpowers

We all know that I pissed away any chance of being “11 months smoke free” a long time ago, but I recommitted to ruining that goal this past week during vacation/birthday celebrations when I torched 2 full packs of Marlboro Reds. I really do think the 2 Tough Mudders I’ve signed up for will help keep me from reaching for the reds in my weaker moments.

Blood pressure has not been checked but I’d be surprised if it’s great after the birthday week vacation I’ve had of all night bars and all day food closing out with a delicious “brisket burnt ends” sandwich from The Joint.

Career Goals:

Documentary is not finished, but it is much closer and I’m more fired up about it than ever! This one is gonna hit like a Bruce Lee kick, y’all. I aim to complete and submit to festivals by the end of March and that is still absolutely manageable with my much lighter spring semester schedule.

Longer term job offer.. I got that since I got the full time job offer this past August which I’ve accepted. I also did get accepted to an MFA Screenwriting program, but I declined to go in favor of the job and the chance to actually finish the film.

Feature film script.. I know exactly what I want to write next but.. that goal seems insanely over ambitious looking back.. I definitely assumed everything would go much faster with the doc than it did, but.. I’ll say now that by this time next year I fully expect to have achieved that goal. Can’t wait to write again!

Heart/Mind Goals:

I aimed at 7000 minutes and 20mins/day average.. The phone won’t tell me how many minutes unless I sit and add up each day.. but it does say 21 mins/day avg for the year, which is crazy! I touched on what I feel like I get out of meditation a few times earlier so I won’t yammer on rewording the same thoughts, but it feels good to know I’ve been able to take a small step in the direction I think is good for me. I want to do much longer sits this year.

Elliptical/Sauna.. 

I’m sure I also averaged 20/mins in the sauna for the year but the elliptical I walked away from in favor of shorter runs on the treadmill so.. I sorta traded that and my phone doesn’t track the treadmill so.. you’ll have to take my word that I feel I probably did also get that average. I was in the gym a LOT this year. Ha!

Fed My Head:

I aimed at 12 audiobooks and I did 17. I would love to do even more but editing requires the focus of all the faculties I possess.

I certainly however did not “read more than 10 books.” I read chunks of a lot of books mostly relating to preparing film syllabi and keeping my head in the film problem solving space. But I just finished of Year of Magical Thinking, given to me by my dad after my friend Palma died. It’s a tough read b/c of what the author went through, and not at all what I expected from the title, but I would recommend it for anyone who cares about people :)  

A Very Special THANK YOU to Scott McCarthy 

Owner of Balance Strength and Fitness Center www.balancefitnesstraining.com

Scott voluntarily gave me a 4 day workout routine. He tailored it to my situation, a slowly healing elbow and someone who can’t spend 3 hours in the gym everyday.. and while my food and beer habits probably prevented me from losing the belly flab, I definitely gained noticeable muscle in my arms, chest and legs. So, I’m certainly stronger than I’ve ever been and in a pretty well rounded way. Without Scott’s workout plan I’m sure that I would’ve waffled from one thing to the next w/o seeing any results, but with it, I had just the right amount of workout 4 days a week and I was able to push myself each time I walked into the gym. And it was great to know that I had a map from someone who looks like the Incredible Hulk and has been training people for 20 years. He just moved into a new place and upgraded the gym that he owns. He also knows a ton about nutrition and will happily call bullshit on a lot of fads that come through, but he’ll tell you exactly why it’s bullshit. Much Respect! Scott! I owe you some video work, brother! Let’s coordinate and we’ll put some cool spots together for the gym. If you (dear reader) are in the Delaware area and want to get real about training stop reading this and drive directly to his gym… unless it’s really late. Then just go FIRST THING TOMORROW!

Final Thoughts..

I want to thank every single person who read this thing even once and especially those of you who shot me a little word of encouragement or a book suggestion along the way privately or publicly. I truly do believe as an experiment it was successful even if all the goals weren’t met b/c I did have the idea of being held accountable for my actions in mind probably more than you’d imagine. And while it didn’t keep every cheeseburger or cigarette out of my face, it did get me to meditate on weeks where I might not have at all. And the fact that I mediated a few times or ate healthier a few times to be able to report that I had done so doesn’t make me feel like I’m somehow a fake. I was as honest as I could be about everything I did and in the case of food, exercise and mediation in service of the audience.. I still get the benefit of each thing even if it isn’t coming from some pure unpolluted source of willpower. I think there’s a bit of horseshit in most ideas that swirl around purity anyway, so.. I’m good with using the blog in the way that I did.

I’m also glad to be done. Ha! I’m happy that I stuck with it for the full year, but.. I’m looking forward to returning to keeping my shameful failures quiet like everyone else online. When I get time I will probably go back and read through the entire year and there’s a chance I might gain some personal insights from that, so I look forward to doing that. And after a borderline belligerent 10 days in New Orleans to celebrate the fact that I’m still standing at 40, I’m also looking forward to getting back to regular exercise (which I did none of in Nola even tho I brought the running shoes :D) as well as returning to eating more like an athlete in training than an idiot with a death wish. I did yoga Thursday and got back in the gym for the first full workout of the new year today - one week after getting back from vacation.

Goals for 2019:

Heart/Mind

Some kind of dinner with people once or twice a month Keep a daily food and exercise journal Mediate 30mins/day Listen to 20 Books Read 5 Books

Career

Get the film sold at a festival Finish a feature screenplay and get lead cast attached  

Body

Zero Cigarettes Lose most of the belly flab - I just signed up for an 8 week fitness challenge at my gym :) Maintain Gym routine (4-6 days/week weights, 2-3 mile runs 1-2 days/week) Keep doing yoga once a week Keep an eye on Blood Pressure

Food

Take probiotic stomach supplements for a year.  Beef no more than once a week (taper down to once a month by end of year) Quit fast food. AKA - quit being gross, AKA quit using my organs as an industrial sludge filter    

Eat more good for your gut stuff in general (straight copying my cousin on his cabbage soup/quinoa moves)  

Booze

Alcohol limited to dinner with friends and 1 glass of wine with dinner (I did this wine w/ dinner thing for a stretch of time in the past. It worked and I like it). Not drinking makes it a lot easier to quit smoking as well - I once quit both for 9 months.. I did the one glass of wine/night all last week. It worked. And I’m cutting beer completely for the next 8 weeks so as to get fucking shredded to maximum and win $750 from this god damn fitness challenge.

I think a big part of why some people find it hard to finish writing books.. or anything is b/c they don’t feel like the end is good enough.. and maybe this end is lacking. I put off writing it for a couple weeks b/c I wanted to make it special in some way.. I wanted it to feel like an amazing ending.. but done is better than perfect and I am now done. I love y’all! I really do! Thanks for all the support!

And remember.. “when things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. ‘Cause if you lose your head and you give up.. then you neither live nor win. That’s just the way it is.” - (fictional character) Josey Wales  

Get Mean in 2019 ;)

[killingdoll]

Warnings: spoilers galore, careless language, maybe inappropriate jokes

I watched the season premiere on Saturday and since then had been debating with myself whether to write a review for this spectacular opening of a new season. You see, last season I wrote a review for each episode and though it certainly had its fun, it was a bit tiring as well. Scratch it, much tiring. And being the lazy ass I am, I don’t really want to relive that ‘pain’. Still, my affection for this show is running strong and the newest episode definitely deserves some attention, so here is my thoughts (or rant):

Ooh, New Orleans. How I miss thy sights. How long has it been? 10 months?

Never realized I actually miss Vincent’s voice. Love the way the episode begins with his voice over on Nola scenes. My friend who watched with me thought his cadence was “poetic”, to use her word.

So, they indeed have an anniversary for the fall of the Mikaelsons. Nola residents sure have a weird way to ‘pay respect’ to the founders of their city.

Even better, a special event is held annually so that ‘tourists’ can witness the suffering of Klaus Mikaelson. What kind of tourists? Those with fangs, of course (and fancy cars that usually have a fresh, bleeding human corpse as accessory).

This vampire looks familiar somehow. Oh, I remember her. Sofya. The one-episode guest star in the previous season. I did remark that she kinda looked like Bex; maybe someone heard that and decided to change her look. Now she’s a brunette. Her profession remains unchanged however.

  And now she’s working for Marcel and maybe hooking up with him. Beware, Marcellus, for Bex is coming back to town and she can be intensely jelly.

On the other hand I don’t think we’re in need of a love-triangle subplot.

But if they’re going that way then I guess it just have to roll with it.

Oh Klaus. And his Fifty Shades in Chains. Who knows? It may be the title of the next instalment of the Fifty Shades of… Whatever.

He even has a collar! Damn Marcel is kinky. Just not sexy-kinky.

And that’s about 5 minutes into the season premiere perhaps?

Hayley sure has a night cozy house in the middle of nowhere. I wonder how she got it, by compulsion or the Mikaelsons’ money.

Guess not all the money has gone to Caroline Salvatore’s school. Ha-ha. (I’m being sarcastic btw.)

Yeah, the romantic-but-morbid-but-still-romantic scene in the trailer.

Look, look. Hope’s big girl now and she’s wearing that magic-restraining bracelet in the second season. Nice come back.

That means she hasn’t used magic once in 5 years? Hope she’ll get the hang of it quickly when the bracelet’s taken off because Auntie Freya’s gonna teach her a lot of badass shit.

Mary! Dear old same Mary who’s still salty with the Mikaelsons after all these years. Please don’t spread your saltiness to the little girl; they’re her family who all love her.

… which is what Hayley is quick to reinforce. Hayley f*cking Mikaelson.

Determined Hayley is the best Hayley. Glad last season she finally picked a side.

Josh… Not sure how I feel about thee… I mean thee are nice and all but…

Hah, my guess is right!!! Marcel has removed Papa Tunde’s blade from Klaus.

So, Klaus is like Marcel’s secret counselor or something?

Alistair Dupence(?). Did I get his last name right? Oh well, whatever. Just another item in Klaus’s never-ending list of enemies.

… who barges in the city and starts making demands. Hello, upgraded Original there. What makes you think he won’t play dirty and bite you somewhere nobody sees (double entendre very much intended).

His accent is more memorable than his person actually.

Srsly, after 5 years and he hasn’t found Hayley and Hope and the slumbering Mikaelsons? C’mon she hasn’t even left the country! Aren’t your resources a failure? I guess Hayley’s really good at covering her track and laying low but still…

And he throws the gauntlet! Wonderful. Mano a mano. Man to man… except put Klaus in chains and starve him beforehand pretty please?

That Hayley and Hope’s hug though.

Hayley’s in a black dress. OK, I’m so used to seeing her in shirts, jeans, leather jacket and boots that this new look is… startling. Looks very good on her though. Don’t get me wrong, but she can wear that dress at both a funeral and a nightclub.

I have a feeling she dresses to attract her prey’s attention…

… who is Keelin, a wolf. Is this the bisexual wolf I’ve heard rumors about?

Hayley doesn’t waste a second, doesn’t she? After five years she’s become very vigilant.

Let’s see… dimly lit, pretty dirty place: check, bondage: check, crazy contraption that’s likely to cause pain: check and check. I wonder why this place reminds me so much of Saw.

But Hayley doesn’t want to play; she’s in for business…

… which is gathering Keelin’s venom and waking sleeping beauty Freya up.

That Hayley and Freya’s hug.

I guess Freya’s so accustomed to this sleeping-for-years-and-then-up-and-walking shit she doesn’t waste a moment for her stiff, lethargic muscles to flex and goes straight to work. That’s big sis for ya!

Hayley VS Alistair’s lackeys. Hayley: 1, Alistair’s lackeys: 00000000 (can I add the zeros to infinity??)

Her f*cking wolf form though. ♫♫♫♫ Who let the wolf out? ♫♫♫♫

But the most gruesome awesome kill goes to…… Freya Mikaelson. Srsly brain melting? That’s a novelty.

She probably has so much energy pent up in her. Poor that vamp dude. Next time buy a life insurance. That way your wife and kids will get compensation.

Once again this show proves women are a force to be reckoned with.

Klaus VS Alistair (plus crowd). Klaus: 0, Alistair: 1. Some ranting on Alistair’s part later… Klaus: 1, Allistair: 000000…

See the similarities?

I seriously think Klaus should expand his diet to vampire blood as well. I mean Alistair’s full of healthy blood; why doesn’t Klaus just sucks him dry? He’s been pretty starving, hasn’t he?

“Meet…… your…… maker.”

Too bad Marcel has to choose this very moment to be a dickwad. Why, Marcel, why?

Marcel’s boast kinda gets on my nerves.

“You want more?”

Hayley’s making badass taunt while standing in her gloriously nude form. I’m fine. I’m so fine. Are all wolves natural naturalists?!

Elijah’s really the expert in creepy killing. Is this a throwback to the pilot where he killed all those vamps who were ganging up on Sophie?

Haylijah reunion.

The kiss! I’m not a Haylijah shipper but still…

Vincent mentions Cami and Klaus immediately shuts up his threats. “You stayed my hand and quelled my rage” indeed.

Even better, Cami will make an appearance in the next episode!

“When it comes to my family’s safety, I don’t negotiate.” Mikael’s beloved daughter speaking.

“After all this time…” “Me too.” They really don’t need many words, don’t they?

“A child after my own heart.” The moment they will get to meet Hope will be s-p-e-c-t-a-c-u-l-a-r!!!

And now they’re going back for Klaus!

Kinda agree with Klaus about Marcel’s not escaping his shadow and being weak. Kinda feel bad Klaus gets daggered for that. “Why’re you so hell-bent on proving him right, Marcel?” to parody Vincent’s words.

Overally, a good episode and a strong start for the season. Looking forward to the next episode.

[Rant] Gather Up the Killers – The Originals 4×01 Warnings: spoilers galore, careless language, maybe inappropriate jokes I watched the season premiere on Saturday and since then had been debating with myself whether to write a review for this spectacular opening of a new season.

#elijah mikaelson #freya mikaelson #hayley marshall #hope mikaelson #klaus mikaelson #marcel gerard #original groupies #the mikaelsons #the originals

[bonenzone]

From @finaltvdspoilers

First spoiler: Alaric and Caroline start a boarding school for kids that are specially gifted. This means young witches etc and also kids with the werewolf gene that sort of pays homage to Tyler. This happens in a flash forward at the end. Matt is married with kids in 8x16. He is STILL the town sheriff. And Damon does not become human. (LMAO)

Steroline’s wedding ceremony in 8x15 goes uninterrupted. They are married. Damon is the best man/priest. Bonnie is maid of honor.Bonnie/Damon dance together. Damon’s best man speech is interrupted by Vicki (back from hell) who is working for Katherine. The aftermath of the wedding carries on into 8x16.

Matt’s mom is helping Vicki while Matt is trying to convince both of them to forgive the Salvatore’s for what they have done. Caroline receives a letter from Klaus, I assume inviting her to join him in NOLA. I’m unsure what the letter says. Katherine and Caroline have a fight that Elena interrupts.

Many come back from hell seeking redemption (John Gilbert, Tyler, Lexi and all the others that have already been spoiled) Bonnie takes them into her dimension (where Enzo currently is) to live peacefully.  

Bonenzo is endgame. Might not be happy ever after. @finaltvdspoilers added. What I consider “endgame” is when both sides of the ship exclaim their undying love for each other. That’s what I mean by BE is endgame. Enzo is definitely dead. By that logic, Bonenzo isn’t endgame because Enzo stays dead.

Dead = Enzo, Tyler.

Alive = Elena, Caroline, Matt, Alaric.

Bonnie puts Katherine in prison world with Kai!

The spoilers do make it seems like the finale death are down to the brothers, mostly Stefan. She hinted SC isn’t endgame which isn’t a shocker, Caroline’s endgame seems tied with her kids and Ric.

Also Bonnie, Damon and Stefan not being mention as alive or dead makes me wonder what the fuck could be happening. Damon’s not taking the cure. Stefan nor Bonnie have zero futures for the flashforward same with Damon. Like is Bonnie gonna be the immortal boss and those two become her siren bitches???? Anyways Bonnie’s dimension seems like it will be set up like how the 1994 Prison World was, livable. They can all live their own lives over there, travel and what not. I just wonder if Bonnie will be collecting souls and allow more people to come over. 

Thank you, friend. These are… interesting. Some of them are so vague I don’t know what to make of them. Some are more fleshed out and some are vague so maybe she’s got them from an extra or someone who worked on a few scenes? Until I see script shots I’m not trusting anything. Other than Stefan is dying, that’s happening for sure.

I would really like for Bonnie to be immortal and be able to travel between both worlds, so I’m kinda hoping she either doesn’t die or if she does die she’s turned immortal in that moment but can go back and forth… though, I don’t know why you’d want to when you have the choice of paying your electricity bills, a mortgage, commuting to work, struggling to find the energy to even see your bf let alone have an active love life (aka – a boring human existence lol) OR basically having your own SIMS world and deciding “you know what? I feel like I’d love a house on the beach” and just making it happen. “I’ve always wanted to go to <travel destination>” and then willing it into existence without the pollution and tourists and 14 hour plane ride.

K I got carried away. Imma stop talking now lol.

[gibsonsflowofthoughts]

DeMarcus Cousins to the Warriors has many losers and one huge winner

In a move that stunned basketball fans, reporters, and players far more than any other this summer, All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins opted to join the repeat NBA champion Golden State Warriors Monday night.

Cousins makes the Warriors so good, it’s laughable. He’ll become the fifth All-Star on Golden State’s roster, with a starting lineup that at some point will feature Boogie, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry. You’ll be hard-pressed to find five other players in the NBA that can take that team in a 5-on-5 game of pickup.

The Boogie signing sent shockwaves across the other 29 NBA teams. The majority of teams may as well concede defeat before the regular season opener. And even the others that thought they had a puncher’s chance against the Warriors just got rocked with a pre- pre-season haymaker.

Boogie may still be recovering from the torn Achilles that ended his season early, but his presence on this championship Warriors team creates so many losers and only a handful of clear-cut winners:

The Pelicans probably let Boogie walk because they played better last season without him. And sure, in many respects, adding Nikola Mirotic to the starting lineup when Cousins tore his Achilles midseason did, in fact, make the Pelicans better by spacing the floor and opening the lane for Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday to go to work.

But New Orleans opened the door for one of the best players in the league to go to the best team in the league. The Pelicans will inevitably have to face the Warriors in the playoffs again sooner or later, and when they do, they can only blame themselves for not making an offer on the star center.

Winner: The Warriors

These guys actually have an All-Star Game starting five. Let’s just fast forward to summer 2019 already, copy?

Loser: Conferences

NBA commissioner Adam Silver was already entertaining the thought of doing away with the Eastern and Western Conferences to open up a tournament-style playoff bracket featuring the NBA’s top 16 teams. Now Boogie’s on the Warriors? Press fast forward, commish, please. I beg of you.

Loser: Parity

Yup, the majority of the NBA’s talent is spread across very few teams, namely the Warriors, Celtics, Rockets, LeBron James, Timberwolves, Thunder, Sixers and Raptors. A hard salary cap that teams can’t exceed under any circumstances is no fun whatsoever. So unless there’s an NBA re-draft — ooooooooh, what about a re-draft? — it doesn’t look like there’s much anyone can do about it.

Let’s get serious for a quick second. Boogie had no (ZERO) offers on the table as a free agent this summer. Are you kidding me?

Boogie Cousins said he got ZERO OFFERS (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) in free agency and decided to make a call to Warriors GM Bob Myers.

The league has no one else to blame (!!!). pic.twitter.com/957t0gDg58

— AJ King (@allday_ajking) July 3, 2018

Yes, a torn Achilles is the worst possible injury an NBA player can suffer, and only Dominique Wilkins has returned from one at close to his peak form. But Cousins is a player you take a chance on. Even if you don’t throw the max at him, you throw SOMETHING. A few teams had cap space to sign him, others could have figured out sign-and-trades, but not one made an offer. Cousins reportedly had to call Warriors GM Bob Myers as a result.

You know what? Good for him. Good for Cousins. Go get your ring. The Warriors don’t actually need you right now, so take your sweet time and rehab your Achilles until you’re 128 percent healthy. Then return midseason, probably off the bench, and remind the world how dominant you are. Secure a championship ring, then leave the Warriors next season and secure your max contract bag.

As Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith would say, “You win, big fella! You win!”

Loser: Houston Rockets

Oof. The Rockets were a Chris Paul hamstring injury away from probably beating the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. But Paul hurt his hamstring, and Golden State came back to win the series before sweeping the Cavaliers in the Finals.

The Rockets’ game plan this summer has been to bring the gang back, and for the most part — with the exception of Trevor Ariza to Phoenix, and so long as they re-sign Clint Capela — it looks like that’ll happen. But how do you compete when the Warriors sign DEMARCUS COUSINS??

(Hint: You don’t.)

Winner: Warriors jersey sales

I mean, seriously. Can’t you see yourself rocking a Boogie jersey just like this one?

If ‘Bron thought he was competing with the Warriors this season, that thought just went out the window. Just sip your red wine, hit the hyperbolic time chamber and fast forward to 2019 when your team gets Kawhi Leonard in free agency and maybe gets lucky enough to pry Klay Thompson away from the Warriors. (I lied, Klay’s going to Brooklyn.)

Loser: The NBA

Fans were already starting to lose interest when the Warriors signed Kevin Durant in free agency. Now they’ve got Boogie, too?! Those blowout wins are gonna get real old, real quick.

Winner: The NBA

But the league always makes more money when there are dominant teams.

Loser: The other 29 teams in the league

NOBODY MADE AN OFFER ON COUSINS! YOU CAN ONLY BLAME YOURSELVES. TAKE YOUR L.

Loser, again: New Orleans Pelicans

So you expect to keep Anthony Davis down the road when his good friend and uber-talented big man jut went to the best team in the league? And you expect to keep Anthony Davis when the Pelicans will have to go through that team to make it to the NBA Finals? AND Rajon Rondo left NOLA for LA?

Good luck keeping AD.

Winner: Boston Celtics and anyone else in the AD sweepstakes

There’s only one team that can take the Warriors with Cousins down, and that team is going to need the help of a superhuman big man — like Anthony Davis — to do it. Davis can become a free agent the summer after next. The clock starts now.

Boston lost out on Cousins, but that might deliver them Davis down the road.

Dope article from sbnation.com

[itsworn]

Diabolical Durango SRT Haunts One Lap

Who’d take a 2018 Durango SRT on the grueling cross-country road trip known as the One Lap of America and attack road courses and racetracks? We would, and we’d do it all over again. When we left off, the Durango SRT, aptly nicknamed “HEMI Hauler” and “DuranGO!”, had just begun the One Lap and was starting to create a reputation for itself after just the first two events: the wet skid pad competition held a the Tire Rack headquarter in South Bend, Indiana, and time trials at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. While in the paddock at Autobahn, some McLaren and Porsche owners stared at our 5000 ib. Durango SRT with weird looks thinking it was some sort of media support vehicle. They were quite surprised to see this massive, honking SUV running faster laps times their sports cars.

With two events under our belt, my co-driver, young David Carr from SRT Engineering, was getting a feel for how much he could push the chubby, plus-sized Durango SRT without compromising the Pirelli P Zero rubber. Remember, One Lap rules state you can only run one set of tires for the weeklong event that will cross over 12 states and compete at eight racetracks. With weight not on our side, David and I knew we would risk excessive tire wear and brake pad degradation real quick if we ran the 475 horsepower 392 HEMI powered SUV all-out.

Our Durango SRT may have looked stock on the outside, but the guys back at SRT removed the second and third row seats and installed a roll bar and harness. Not that expected needing it, but we appreciated the extra bit of confidence it inspired while flying down the straightaways at more than 125 mph.

Still in the Land of Lincoln, we headed south to Gateway International Raceway, in the shadows of the mighty Gateway Arch of St. Louis. Gateway’s massive facility in Madison, Illinois, has played host to IndyCar, NASCAR, and NHRA events.

During this stop, there was a Ford Model-T swap meet happening, but we didn’t have time to shop. Being rookies, we quickly learned that there is a really tight schedule at every track. We got in the rhythm and developed a system of unpacking the Durango, confirming which group and run order we would be in for time trials, make our laps, and then quickly pack up and drive seven hours to the next venue. Remember, One Lap is not really a race but a marathon that will not only test your machine, but will also challenge your personality and people skills. It’s easy to bounce off the chip and get irritable with one’s co-driver. For David and I, there were long periods of amicable silence on the open road as exhaust tone of the slightly warmed over 392 HEMI filled the cabin of the Durango SRT.

While at Gateway, both David and myself did double driving duties during this event. He attacked the infield road course, which included turnes three and four of the banked oval and the back straight. Wide open and just inches from the wall, The Durango SRT sounded more like a NASCAR stocker than a six passenger mid-size SUV. Once again, we became the talk of the pits as many competitors couldn’t believe this soccer mom, kid carrying, SUV could do this. We should have worn shirts saying, “Yeah, it’s basically Stock” for the numerous times fans came up to us and asked, “What’chya got done to that thing?”

Now it was my time behind the wheel of “DuranGO!” as we headed through Gateway’s massive pits/paddocks to the quarter-mile drag strip. We wer allowed only one pass to establish a dial-in, then it was right back to the lanes to get paired up with whoever was next to you. Since the Durango SRT is AWD, traction would not be a problem, but I made an executive decision. I decided not to use the launch control feature, as it would complicate the staging procedure. I did what I know best, footbrake it to 1,500 rpm and leave somewhere when then last yellow comes down. In the heat and humidity, and with the engine temps above 200 degrees, the Durango thundered down the strip and ran a 12.90 @ 105 with a 1.83 60’ time. I was able to go a few rounds during the eliminations and contribute to our overall points standings.

Once again we packed up, and headed across the mighty Mississippi, through St. Louis and on to Hallett Motor Racing Circuit located in the sleepy town of Jennings, Oklahoma. Feeling like the Joad family from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, we travelled through small towns that looked as if they never recovered from the dustbowls of the Great Depression. Once at Hallett, David surveyed the blind turn-ins, decreasing radius corners, and an off-camber downhill onto the front straight. Even though David has never raced here, he perfectly executed every turn and corner in the Durango SRT and finished in the top-half of the field.

Our next stop took us further west by approximately 620 miles into a vast and open landscape. Our destination was Deer Trail, Colorado, home of High Plains Raceway. Even with the change in altitude, the 392 HEMI still had plenty of grunt as David used the engine’s torque to attack the numerous uphill turns and corners. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the local police were waiting for us to get childish. We drove as if we were on our way to church when heading out for long evening drive- 400 miles to the next track.

Day five had us the Motorsports Ranch in Cresson, Texas. With the first session on the 1.3-mile course starting at 8:30 am, we barely had time for a three-hour “nap” and to wolf down a breakfast burrito before our session. David decided we should rotate the tires to extend their usefulness and optimize the remaining tread wear, especially after the abuse they taken. For some reason, our Durango SRT got lumped into a group with Z06 Corvettes, but they were quite shocked to see this massive SUV in their rearview mirror ready to overtake them. In the second session, David stalked and overtook an LS-powered Chevy SS. We were heroes in in the paddock as fans and fellow racers checked out the Durango SRT. We repeatedly had to inform the folks that this wasn’t some Hellcat power hybrid creation, but basically a stock, naturally-aspirated 392 HEMI with just Kooks long tube headers, a Mopar Cat-Back Exhaust, and Lowering Springs.

From Texas we headed east to Louisiana and NOLA Motorsports Park. With more than six days of this long road trip, plus the all the track time, we starting to get worn out. The Durango SRT, on the other hand, was having a blast as long as we fed it a steady diet of premium unleaded. Attrition was starting to take its toll on some of the competitors, and a few dropped out. For us, it was business as usual as the mighty HEMI did its job and gobbled up NOLA’s long front stretch like Pac-Man eating Power Pellets to get those bonus points.

Now northbound and down and looking at 615 miles until our next stop, we wanted to maintain our points standing and not loose ground. Currently running 25th overall, we were ahead of several Porsches, BMWs, Corvettes, and even a Viper ACR. Speaking of Corvettes, our next stop was within earshot of our HEMIs angry exhaust sound, the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Right by the museum is NCM Motorsports Park, with numerous Corvettes parked along the main entrance into the paddock. We felt as if this was going to be some sort of a LS ambush. Our Durango SRT was champ on the road course and the autocross pad, as we didn’t destroy a single cone.

Finally, day eight arrived after was felt like a short, 370 mile drive from Bowling Green back to Tire Rack headquarters in South Bend, Indiana. Once again, we attacked the 200-foot skid pad circle to see how the Durango’s lateral cornering and g-load would score would against other competitors, and once again, David’s driving skills, along with the AWD, had us gaining major points for the last competition.

So, what was the finally score for our 4000 mile journey? Well, we finished first in our class and 24th overall out of 71 competitors. We also ate lots of beef jerky and other fine food one finds at gas stations during those long 7-10 hour trips between stops. We made new friends along the way and likely influenced others. Most importantly, we changed the people’s perception on SUVs, because we proved that this Durango SRT is able and willing to haul much more than just passengers, sporting equipment, and trailers. Just ask some of the One Lap competitors we left in our wake still eating our tire rubber and road grime.

  The post Diabolical Durango SRT Haunts One Lap appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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[rick-xxstevensx-blog]

was that ( m.bomer)? no, it’s just ( richard “rick” stevens). they are the ( 38-38) year old ( human ). i heard they’re ( compassionate and loyal  ) but also ( distant and guilt-stricken ). rumor has it they ( haven’t ) pledged allegiance to the hollow. i must warn you, neutrality is not an option.

Alrighty, so I finally had time to sit down and do up a proper intro post for rick!:D ⚜ So here’s somewhat of a complete but a lil informal bio for Richard “Rick” Stevens. ⚜ (do feel free to like this post if u want me to hit up yr ims to plot a connection or anything with him ;D )

He actually comes from a very long old line of excellent hunters, thus his whole family is hunters, and they are very skilled & they love it, lmao as they think the whole supernatural species are an abomination to the world, yada,yada(what else is new?:P) But Rick from a very young age never liked being a hunter, he hates it and dislikes his family history, so he got out of it and studied to become a doc instead as he loves helping and healing people.

Due to being blessed with a slightly high IQ brain and sharp-quick thinking senses, he managed to graduate from high-school early at the age of 16 and thus them promptly left his home town and especially his family legacy & secret line of work for good and way behind him (or so he thought at that time). He then went on to complete his bachelor’s degree with pretty high results within 3 years, before being accepted for medical school.

After getting his medical degree, he was then placed in a major NOLA hospital for his 1st year of residency placement at 23. At first he wanted to flee & plead as beast as he could for a deferment of location,  as he knew that NOLA was crawling with supernaturals & he wanted nothing to do with them,( as guy likes his normal & stable human life, tqvm :)P )..But then wham! Plans quickly changed when he fell head over heels in love with a human girl there and finally when they were 26, he believed her to be the love of his life, so he proposed to her & she immediately & happily accepted. But then she got killed (why do i love causing all my charries so much ache and pain, i have no idea XD) much later on, at the same year.

Now, when he and his now-deceased fiancee, embarked on their relationship together, they both at that time had absolutely no idea that she was a witch due to her being a rather unexpected late bloomer (meaning she would only come to her powers at a later age instead of during her childhood like most witches normally did or if she got triggered by a very traumatic event, which still hadn’t happened till up to the time she met Rick).  Most importantly, they both had zero inkling at all that she was actually the secretly, unknown granddaughter of the Regent of the Nine Covens at that time, Josephine LaRue (from the TO series) and hence she actually had powerful LaRue magic blood biologically running through her veins. I kinda have some sort of skeleton backstory on how the whole history of Josephine’s descendant line happened, but some details can definitely be discussed and there are still some gaps in the story which would be up to the player who takes that wc of his up, choice/say on some of those matters ;) Also, his deceased fiancee could have possibly finally found out she was a witch after analyzing a small number of events that happened to her both during her past and her few years in NOLA & could even be in the midst of secretly digging up her family’s history or whatever secrets they were hiding in their closet, before she was murdered. And yes, the murder did happen largely because she was Josephine’s granddaughter.XD Details of how, why and who murdered here can be let known & discussed thru ims if you’re interested in taking up this wc:)

Lots of shit and drama happened during the next 4 years after his fiancee was killed, that even involved Josephine taking  a part in the drama before she was killed off too during the latter half of TO’s S2 XD. What happened during the 4 years of drama after his fiancee died can be explained further if any of y'all are interested to know. Just IM me xx

And for the last 8 years, after that 4-year period, he has been traveling around, completed his doc’s course so he is a certified doctor, but he never stays still in one place for long. He has worked in hospitals or clinics b4, depending where he’s at the time, and but he mostly prefers working in either free clinics or mobile clinics. He also once in a while helps innocent humans who are being attacked by any  bad supernatural creatures with his hunters knowledge from his family, but he never kills them, only puts them down long enough for him and the person he’s saving to escape. He’s currently a rather broken shell of man on the inside causing him to be somewhat half the person he used to be in the past before that tragic event with his fiancee happened and the slightly traumatic aftermath of it.  And he doesn’t really know what to define himself anymore as he is deep down, plagued with dark & heavy guilt over two murders he committed as part of his revenge quest for his fiancee after she died. So nowadays, to most general people, he is a kind-hearted, helpful at most times,  but distant and rather brief person. He is only gentle & patient whenever he is with his patients, cos he's a trauma surgeon at a major NOLA hospital in town, and volunteers part time as a general doc/surgeon at a local free clinic on some of the nights every week. His personality can also be a lil rough round the edges/ gruff, sometimes can get irritated easily , sometimes gets impatient easily too and very blunt & directly straight to the point while speaking XD

He still has some parts of his own self in him especially like being kind, v helpful, protective intelligent, nice and when occasions calls for it, gentle,, but that’s mostly around people he knows well from the past and/or likes or his really closest friends :) He also tries to look out for his friends as best or as often as possible.

He has only recently returned to NOLA as of rn, cos he heard the news of many deceased ppl coming back to life here, so he’s back here again incase his (secretly, still-love of his life) deceased ex-fiancee happens to be resurrected too.

#macabre:intro #bio #plotting call too:)