AlteredTundra

Edenridge

JJ Milligan

_{"Partly, I like a bad reputation. But I also want a reputation of being a good person." — Joan Jett}

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𝙉𝙖𝙢𝙚

Jessie James Milligan

𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨

JJ - Common nickname || Responds to it the most
Bluejay - Equally as common || Also doubles as her street name/callsign.
Jessie - Just another name people call her || No preference one way or the other.

𝘼𝙜𝙚

24 || July 19th || Cancer-Leo cusp

𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧

Female, She/Her

𝙎𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮

Bisexual - Male lean

𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙨

Exclusively (she thinks) dating Cameron Hyde

𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨

▸ HEIGHT : | 5’5”
▸ WEIGHT : | 115lbs
▸ ETHNICITY : | Irish-German (Irish from mom’s side and German from her biological father’s)
▸ HAIR COLOR : | Naturally a ginger but dyes her hair blonde sometimes with strands of blue
▸ EYE COLOR : | Playful emeralds for eyes
▸ BODY TYPE: | Lean and fit
▸ MODIFICATIONS: | Ears pierced || Has a tattoo of a Bluejay on her inner-right wrist and one angel wing on the other inner-wrist. She also has a tattoo of a sunflower and stem with the words "forever in my heart" at the bottom of the stem in honor of one of the most vivacious people she had encountered in her life, Allison Davies.

JJ embodies exactly what it means to be a “biker chick”. All her life, her fashion has been strictly tight pants, shirts that don’t go past her belly button, and an assortment of leather jackets, wristbands, and sometimes bandanas. Through the years her style has had minor alterations, but the core aesthetic of her version of biker chic remained. Though, that isn’t to say she can’t work it if she needed to. She does enjoy wearing dresses or when she’s clubibng, she can rock it. Tight skirts, shirts that may as well be a bra of some kind, but always she wears her dark blue leather jacket. Nobody really knows why except her. It’s a blue jacket with the crest of a bluejay on the back of it. Her mother gave it to her for her 18th birthday, a gift she said that she wanted her to have it. Though she didn’t know it, it was actually something her father had made for her long before she was born and told Ivy to give it to her when she was 18. Or when Ivy deemed it fitting.

𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮

Confident → engaging → adventurous → lively → authentically herself → loyal → honest to a fault → selfish → shortsided → oversensitive → impulsive → petty → has the irish temper

Depending on who you ask, there are varying opinions about Jessie James Milligan. Ask her mother and she’s the most forward, confident, exciting, and emotionally dynamic woman. She’s everything that it means to embody the Milligan name (and unknowingly the Taylor name, too). Ask her jaded ex, Angel and she might come across as a selfish, dishonest, bitch of a person who never commits. Which to that, JJ understands where it comes from. She’s not the easier person to deal with, be it as friend or someone that she just couldn’t put her everything into, but she has never apologized for being who she is. Because, for better or worse, Jessie is unapologetically herself. She wears it both as armor and as her main form of offense against her haters.

Growing up, she’s seen and experienced some reality checks that tested her. The growing jealousy that she sensed from Bornagh cause of her relationship with their father, the lack of being with who she saw as her one true love, and just always feeling like there was something missing. Like a piece of her soul was never whole. Much like her parents (and the father she never truly knew), Jessie is loyal almost to it being a double-edged sword. Her fire rages inside her. The irish blood from her mother and the steel will of the german side of her family fuels her to be this explosive force. This woman that lives and breathes living for the moment. She believes that tomorrow is never truly promised. You can hope for it, but odds are, you won’t ever see it unless you live in the now and see what happens. Impulsive and reckless as it is, but that’s Jessie James Milligan. She’s a wildfire.

𝘽𝙞𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙮

"Give a voice to your dreams, but don't let it dictate how your journey ends, Jessie James."

That's something mom used to say to me for the longest time. Every time I had a milestone in my life. When I grew an inch when it was recorded on the growing wall, she'd say it. When I'd pass all of the minor quizzes and major tests and exams throughout middle school and high school, she'd say it. When I got accepted into college, my mother would repeat that. She'd become a broken record over and over again with it. As far as I know, she didn't shy away from saying the same thing to Bronagh every time she had accomplishments.

My mother is someone I could never figure out completely.

Siobhan Maeve Milligan has always been someone and still is someone that wears her heart on her sleeve. For as long as she's been alive, her feelings were always known. Did it matter if she was happy or depressed? Not one bit because she'd always show it. Ivy, as most call her - well, at least those who weren't her daughters - has never been able to lie about how she's feeling. This all dates back to how she and her sisters came up: Edith and Deidre. Both have found good men. John Callahan and Garrett Cleary. Both foundlings and on some level, maybe that always made her feel left out. Being the only Milligan sister who didn't marry into a foundling family or even would eventually. She didn't know it at the time, but when they were teenagers, Ivy, like the poisonous plant she chose to nickname herself from, always had this affinity for danger.

Maybe that's why she felt a draw to a Charlie Wayne Taylor. The truth was, as high as her jealousy for her sisters was back then, this rings true to Ivy's highly sensitive soul. Her inability to do away with the excessive emotions. She feels so much because she has a big heart. Those with big hearts often get hurt easier and in the worst way. During high school especially, Ivy found herself both so full of life while simultaneously in such a dark place because she went through a rather aggressive rebellious phase that damn near gave both of her parents a heart attack. Charlie Taylor was also not a subtle person. His reputation and the reputation of the Fallen Angels MC was known in just about every corner of Edenridge. Charlie being the son of the then president of the club, it was destiny that he'd join the club when he was 18 as a prospect all the while Ivy was still heavily involved in his world. She knew Francis Dawson, Charlie's sisters Fiona and Whitney. She knew them well, at that. Still to this day, there have been moments when she still thought about the now deceased Fiona and what that was doing to Charlie.

But there was a moment in those years when she left being a teenager behind and to being a woman who had no clue what she was doing.

And that was when Ivy found out she was pregnant with her first daughter, Jessie James Milligan.

Mom never talked about my birth father much. She met Lance not long after she had me. He's a really good guy. He's the only dad I've ever known and even if by some miracle I can finally find out who knocked my mother up, it won't matter. I know it and I think she knows it too. Regardless of who he is, or was if he's even alive, there's nobody other than Lance -- Chef -- that will ever take his place.

My mom had instilled some priceless values in me, but it was Lance who helped form me into the fearless person I am today. Proud of who I am and unapologetic of that person. People will call me a bitch and maybe there have been points where I was unreasonably cruel to some people or just too set in my ways to realize when I was wrong or have done wrong. Dad always made me believe in myself when I was losing my way. Mom did too, but the effect that he has on the Milligan women, that's something that can't be ignored. Depiste everything that happened at a certain point in time.

For the second time in my mother's life, she had to be protected from a man she loved dearly. Both myself and Bronagh would protect her, try everything we could to keep her from ever falling for dad again. They were different people when they were together and every time he came rolling back into town, all the progress that Ivy made after finally healing was undone. And what's worse than that is mom never seems to notice it because she's always transported back to the days where they were all a happy family.

Maybe that's why my relationship with Angel never lasted. It also had to do with the fact that I've always had this huge crush on Cameron Hyde. No matter who or what came into my life, he was always my endgame. Even after I left Edenridge after graduating and I went to college at Worcester Technical Institute, which I graduated with high honors from including a BA in both mechanical and electrical engineering, I couldn't keep him off my mind. I couldn't let go of one day being his girl. Now that I'm back in town, I am his. Jessie James Milligan and Cameron Hyde are together. I'm back home and I'm Cameron Hyde's girlfriend.

I couldn't ask for a better life.

𝙁𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮

Milligan Family

Siobhan Maeve "Ivy" Milligan || Mother || 44 || Property manager for various residential properties in Edenridge (namely the Milligan Apartments) - ”I fucking love my mom to death. I will protect her from anyone who tries to hurt her. For a time, that was dad…Lance, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s our rock. For the longest time, both me and Bron had to watch her go into such a great depression after finding out the man she loved more than anything had another family. It broke her and now that he’s back, well I can’t help but wonder if he’s back for good. I love her and I want her to be happy, but I sometimes worry if dad being back is really the best thing for her well-being. I don’t know..”
Charlie Wayne Taylor || Biological Father || 43 || President of the Fallen Angels MC (currently incarcerated) - ”...””

Willow Jade Taylor || Cousin || 19 || Waitress at Edge of Sin - ”...””

Chef Lance Irvine || Father (only one she's ever known) || 48 || Professional Michelin-Star Chef - ”Dad isn’t perfect. He’s made mistakes and I don’t blame him for it anymore and I’m sure mom doesn’t either. His other family is something that we just have to deal with as our new normal. I have step siblings (even though we’re not related by blood). They probably hate my mom, but they haven’t tried anything against me or mom, so they’re nothing to me in all honesty.”
Bronagh Edith "Bron" Milligan || Younger Sister || 22 || Social Media Influencer/E-Girl - ”Sometimes I want to ring her neck but someone so energetic, so shamelessly herself, how could I not love this bundle of wild, chaos in a person? I’ll fucking kill for her. Tommy Hartmann, you better treat her right. I know where my mom keeps her gun.”

Through her Aunt Edith and Deidre, JJ is also related to the Cleary and Callahan families.

𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙘

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_{FC: Katherine McNamaraDialogue Color: #567ce0}
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Member of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduating class of 2021 with Magna Cum Laude distinction

Graduated with a major in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Electrical Engineering
Midway through her masters program to obtain her Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering

Drives a dark 2015 Triumph Bronville Speedmaster that was gifted to her by both her mother and Lance when she graduated high school. Jessie has always been a motorcycle enthusiast. For everything she says about not wanting to know her biological father, it’s the one thing that she knows bonds them. She pretends to not care but deep, deep…deep down, Jessie cares and feels like riding a hog is the only thing that she can consciously do to show that. Her first bike was a Honda Rebel 500
JJ is an avid fan of heavy metal and hard rock. Her spotify playlist exclusively consists of the hits from the 80s and 90s. She actually owns an old vinyl record of the Gallows - their only full-length one - that she sometimes listens to that was gifted to her by her mother, who owned it previously. She doesn’t know much about their story or why they broke up. Even though JJ is a rocker and always has been, her favorite song is the first song on their only album: The Comet. It speaks to her soul. Becoming Woman is a close second but that’s only because she loves anything with badass women at the epicenter.
JJ loves to party. She loves the feeling of being in some old house where she’s likely to get murdered. She loves that brush with death and the danger that comes with it. She loves the music pulsating against her skin, the vibrations from the outrageously loud beat. She loves not hearing herself think but letting the trap beat, the bass drop, and the electricity of being in the club and living life to the fullest. But most of all, JJ loves a good party.
Jessie James has a few guilty pleasures, but the biggest one of all is eating the greasiest, fattiest, most unhealthy item on any menu and ordering two of them for herself. Maybe it might kill her before she’s 50. Maybe it’ll give her a bad case of heartburn, but if there was one thing JJ is always adamant about, it’s that she’s never going to let a little regret from tomorrow from letting her live today.
Bad Reputation by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts || Going to Hell by The Pretty Reckless || Adrenalize by In this Moment || Cherry Bomb by The Runaways

Imgur to Delete Archive of Images

For me personally, I've been using Postimages. It's a solid hosting site with an easy-to-navigate UI.

Secret Force: A Power Rangers RP

Ashley Hartmann || Black Ranger

“You bore me. Give me a better challenge or just leave me alone."

how would you describe their personality? Ashley is never without a comment about any situation. It's more of a hobby, some would say. Both her mother and father seem immensely proud of the fact that she's so opinionated and curious about knowledge in general. What seems to be a problem is her attitude and boy does she have lots of it. She isn't disrespectful...to her teachers. Only to those who annoy her, which might be a problem for the small troublemaker. She has a low tolerance for bullshit. She rarely becomes violent, but she sure loves to taunt people, especially to get under their skin. Now keep in mind, while she does this with the intention of being difficult, she doesn't go out of her way to be outright mean to them. In her own unique way, Ashley bonds with people this way. It's how she can separate the cool people from the lame ones who can't hang with her in a war of words. Ashley is an intelligent girl, so for a myriad of reasons that aren't ever made clear by her, she tests people to see if they have the wit to hang. If they do, well you got a friend in her. And if they can't, then they're shit out of luck. It doesn't take a lot to impress this 4'11 ball of spitfire fun, but it sure as hell takes a lot for her to stop messing with you (again it's never personal). She just loves toying with things. Finding what makes it tick. Her philosophy has always been to break things down so she can build it up in her image. If she calls you a loser, just know it comes from a place of neutral love for your potential in her life. Also, let's face it: in this small town where nothing ever happens, sometimes Ashley has to make her own entertainment.

what has their life in Angel Grove been like? For her entire life, Ashley Hartmann has never known true stability in her life. Both of her parents are in the military, both serving in the Marine Corps. Her father, Lieutenant General Derek Hartmann and her mother, Lieutenant Colenol Kimberly Hartmann, have been shipped all over the country - even a few countries for a few months at a time. And every time, Ashley had to adjust to the new location. If she was lucky, these few months would be during the summer, so she wouldn’t have to worry about saying goodbye to friends or her school year being shot. For this reason alone, she basically had to take up homeschooling so she wouldn’t fall behind. Thankfully, her parents took that just as seriously as they did their stations. It was going fine for a few years. Ashley grew up mostly on army bases, so it’s all she’s ever known. She and a few other “army brats” ended up bonding for however long her parents would be stationed here or there. By the time she was fourteen, Ashley had moved to ten different states, three countries, and never staying in one place for too long. It didn’t help that for a while now, there has been this added pressure to succeed in her studies, to make sure she made the marks while also keeping up with her diet. Her parents were strict but from a logical perspective, they werne’t unreasonable. But then again, nothing about Ashley has ever been reasonable. She just isn’t wired that way and she’s developed a certain disdain for her parents and their hopes for her future. She is their only child, as they didn’t have the time nor interest to have more children. They were all about their careers. All about their hopes to climb up the ranks. All about the dream of having their daughter join the marines, but Ashley has no intention of following in their footsteps. She made it abundantly clear and ever since then, which happened just days before both Derek and Naomi got their new assignments to be stationed at Fort Bragg. They found a three-bedroom home in Angel Grove and moved there during the summer of 2020, which was roughly a month before Ashley would set to start high school, not home-schooled as she wanted to have the authentic high school experience. She didn’t want to spend her days on an army base anymore. They both agreed and throughout the next few years, Ashley had her first, genuine chance of being the kid that she never had the chance to be. Because of that, she got into more trouble than she cared to admit. Did things that most people her age probably already achieved at a younger age. She made friends. Dated some boys, some girls, some gender-neutrals -- she lived a life that she always dreamed of yet was never able to fully experience because of always moving around. Now she wasn’t a troublemaker for everyone. She wasn’t even a bad student. Actually, if you saw the way she dressed (like she just woke up and decided that was the vibe), you wouldn’t believe it but Ashley is actually a straight-a student. One of the benefits of having no time for anything other than studies (her parents’ preference) was, when it came to the books, Ashley aced just about everything in class. Books were easy to figure out and teachers and their tests were a piece of cake. But that was boring. Anyone could pass a class with flying colors. Now people? They were a more challenging puzzle. She likes puzzles. She likes complicated systems that don’t have a manual. Maybe all the years she was deprived of the kind of social interactions that may have developed her into something resembling a normal girl with mannerisms that didn’t seem weird and off-putting to some (not all but some might have issues with it) has wired her brain in this unique way. Just another thing she blames her parents for. This doesn’t change the fact that Ashley enjoys testing people, poking the bear to see how long until they might break or snap at her, and generally finding more about them in her own unique way.

what can they do? what are they good at? What Ashley excels at can’t be taught. It’s not some trait or thing you can find in a book, manual, or some written text. What she mostly excels at and what she brings to a group project is the ability to figure out complicated problems and look at it from an angle not most would consider. This is a combination of her upbringing as an Army Brat. Always taught to look outside the box. Think outside the spectrum of what most consider normal. Einstein might’ve been insane, but then again Ashley didn’t know him personally, so what does she know? She tries and tries again. In her opinion, it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to screw up, but as long as you don’t give up and keep swimming along, you can figure out any problem. Similarly, she keeps obsessing over problems she hasn’t solved. The more complicated the better. Don’t expect her to be the best fighter or most effective in physical confrontations. She might have the physical conditioning of someone who can throw down, but Ashley is a small. As frightening as she can be to some, there’s only so much a 4’11 white girl can do in literal physical fights. Her strength is more her smarts than actual ass-kicking. But she will bite you and climb on your back and attempt to choke you out…if that sells her case better. Oh she has a mean motormouth in the face of danger. Liteally can’t shut the fuck up. That’s a positive thing, right?

how would they react to danger? Probably with one too many quips than she should. Seriously, Dessy's mouth tends to go off before her mind has any chance of stopping it. She's never been in any serious danger, mind you, so this is all hypothetical. But, hypothetically speaking, she may just throw more insults at whoever decided to ruin her day or complain about a situation and point out the obvious. She tends to do that a lot anyway, so it's no different than her everyday life. Except for the potential danger to that very thing she enjoys thoroughly.

Edenridge

_{TIMESTAMP: Tuesday Afternoon || After On My Mind
Featuring: Marco Brady-Castillo, Nadine Navarro, Eloise Anderson
Introducing & Big FT: Amity Lyon}

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“I called you here for an important FAMILY intervention,” Eloise stood in front of their booth, in the Hole of the Wall, staring at her gaming crew who rarely meet in person. Marco, Amity, Nadie, and herself. She couldn’t believe the audacity of Ross for making Nadie cry, yet again. While Nadine didn’t tell her the details of what happened during graduation, Lolly knew it had something to do with him because whenever his name was brought up during gaming sessions, her dear friend went quiet. Now suddenly, he was trying to come back into her Nadie’s life, causing problems for everyone.

Nadine nursed a hard cider in her hand, as she deeply stared into her glass, replaying her conversation with Ross at Beau’s. You were never nothing, Nadine. You have always been the best of the two of us. The better student. The better test-taker. And the stronger person. She sat in her sadness, realizing how silly she was for taking his struggle personally. She should’ve understood him better and tried to listen to his side.

Only recently he got out of rehab, and when she found out, she wanted to know so many things. She wanted to know how he was, if he was okay, and what he was doing. She didn’t care about where he was going in life, all she cared about was the Ross today, the Ross now, and whether or not he was thinking about her like she thought about him. All these questions left unanswered in her head, with no escape. She clearly meant something to him if all he could think about was what he said and did to her. She clearly meant something to him if he went out of his way to reach out to her. She clearly meant something to him and knowing that, knowing that small piece of information, gave her hope.

“Ross is trying to win Nadie over and I’m not okay with that! He made her cry. I saw it!” Lolly grabbed her shirley temple from the table and sucked it down so fast, that it was intense to watch. “How dare he think he has the right, the privilege, the HONOR to come back into her life like he didn’t stab her to death a million and ten times!”

Helping herself to the plate of wings, not really bothered by Lolly’s language, though she was sure Rhett Cleary was not pleased, Amity scanned her friends. Giving them all a wide smile, never letting any negative emotion creep up on her demeanor, she grabbed a spicy wing and took a bite out of it. If there was any person that knew how to hide their emotions better than anyone, who mastered the art of a poker face, it was Amity Lyon. And she learned that through her time growing up and watching her Uncle Bernie play her father like a fiddle.

Amity was a lucky girl to be surrounded by so much love. She had a colorful array of friends from the E-Girls to the Gremlins, from Hailey’s band, Of Hail & Fire, to 99.1 FM On The Block crew that hosted their own personalized shows. She was a lucky girl to be loved by many. Though she was sure Hailey would disown her soon, seeing how it was only yesterday she sent a text about dropping the band due to schedule conflict. She had committed to too much and seeing how Jade had disappeared, ghosting all her friends, this felt like the easiest choice to let go. The easiest way out.

If there was one thing Amie knew how to do well it was keep herself busy. Never one to keep still. Never one to stop and let the dark thoughts overtake her. Never one to outwardly show someone’s ruined her day. She was a chaotic creature, through and through, and she chose to live each second freely and on a whim. Even though she would never admit it, there was a reason behind that. There was always a reason behind everything she did.

While Nadie’s heart was being twisted by a boy she clearly had feelings for, and never stopped having feelings for, Amity found herself thinking back to when Samara Aviles rejected her in Eighth Grade and since then, Amie did a lot of ‘finding herself’. Her older brother, Brandon, would wonder if she had ADHD, never being diagnosed, since her parents didn’t really believe in therapy, but in all honesty, she just didn’t want to think she would never be good enough for someone. That heartbreak sat with her throughout the years and she’s come to accept that love wasn’t something meant for her anytime soon, if at all.

Amie sat there in her thoughts, looking at all her friends, and realized there was one thing they all had in common. They all had their hearts shattered into many glass pieces. All through heartbreak. Lolly may not agree but her losing her fierce leader, Quinton Wood, wrecked her and ever since then she had never been the same. Marco never talked about his lover from highschool but after junior prom, he wasn’t the same. Recent days, he’s been better and even has a bounce in his limp steps. That doesn’t change that he does carry himself differently and that’s all thanks to a moment, a moment that changed him forever.

Sadness was ingrained in her mind and imprinted in her heart when Samara was flattered but not interested. Sam, to her, then was a complete badass and a downright inspiration. For a girl like Amity, who was told to play a role for most of her childhood, Sam was a badass and a downright inspiration. Someone who was unashamed of who she was and continued to live for herself. In highschool, Amity had only started embracing her individuality and now that she's found people she loves and hobbies she can call her own, she was content but she knew she would never be ready, not really.

Just because she knew what she liked didn’t mean she could stop thinking about others and that’s where her flaws would always lie, she wanted everyone to be happy and at the end of the day, it left her exhausted. Saying no to Hailey was her first big step of doing something for her, and she was sure Bron would be proud of her but the repercussions terrified her. Hailey terrified her. Amity acknowledged awhile back she was a people pleaser and even if she was surrounded by so many people, she was so lonely and the only person who could change that feeling was her and she didn’t know where to start. As for Nadine, it was with a boy that matched her energy in every way, yet neither knew how to confess. Maybe instead of the Smile Riot Gremlins they should be called the Lonely Hearts Club.

“Like he didn’t brutalize her and murder her hopes and dreams to ever find happiness ever again!” Lolly continued to preach, a bit on the dramatic side. The crew knew she could go on and on and on if they allowed it. “There is no way we are going to let him damage her again, right?”

Marco had been through so much in the past few years and though he didn’t talk about it in great details with the girls, not all of him was repaired. Even though he was with Danny now and they knew the small bits of truth he’d give them during their sporadic gaming seshes and he was obviously in a better place mentally and emotionally, a small part of him was stuck in 2019 at prom when Danny broke him into a million pieces that Charlie Decker had then shot away and scattered him into dust and the winds of Edenridge spread it far and wide. Only because he kept having those recurring dreams, a fact that Marco admitted to the girls, he felt himself start to become whole again. Being back with Danny was part of that, but where he missed his friend dates with Lanie and watching a soccer and football game with Roddy, these three girls were his saving grace. Being his escape.

Which only pained him even more because of how much Nadine went through with Ross Takahashi and what he did to her. Of the three of them, Marco felt the closest to Nadine because they were similar enough and there was always a part of him that felt they came from the same emotionally fractured cloth. And between Lolly and Amie, Nadine was the closest to his sometimes timid nature. He loves them to death, but those two girls could be a lot in heavy doses.

Lolly was called out by the bartender to quiet her voice. Grumbling in return, she scooted in beside Marco, and continued, “We all need to remind Nadine why Ross is bad for her. Like first of all: HE MADE YOU CRY! Second of all: HE MADE HER CRY! And thirdly: HE MADE HER FUCKING CRY!!!”

“Ouch. You yelled right in my ear, Lolly.” Marco dug his pinky finger into his left ears as it felt hollow like it always did whenever he or any of the other Gremlins were attacked by Lolly's impressive superpower of sound. Marco’s blue eyes, through the already slight headache he had (thanks again for that, Eloise), fell on Nadine and he smiled slightly. In times like this, he wished he knew what to say. Wished he knew what the right thing to say was. The only thing he could think of was the most common thing, but it was Marco Brady after all. “How are you holding up, Nadie?” He asked her in a soft tone.

“What do you mean how is she—” Lolly cut in before noticing Amity’s free hand going up to silence her. The usually hyperactive e-girl was quiet, giving the floor to the person that likely needed them the most. “Let her speak, Lolly.” Amity brought her attention back to her wings, keeping herself busy as she listened along. Eloise’s response was another grumble before she crossed her arms and leaned back, waiting impatiently.

“I…” Nadie whispered, not really knowing what to say or how to articulate her conversation with Ross. This all happened so fast and seeing her friends wasn’t something she expected but one does not simply go against Eloise Anderson’s will. Biting her lip, she shook her head in clear confusion before letting her heart speak instead of her mind, “I’m unsure. Is that a bad thing?” She looked between her friends, seeking reassurance that what she was going through wasn’t odd and her not having all the answers was natural.

With Lolly coming down from her intense high, she finally took in Nadie and her demeanor, seeing how deflated she was and could hear Dallas’ voice telling her to be patient and be quiet. Sometimes people just need to speak what’s on their mind to understand how they’re feeling. Lolly started feeling bad because of how selfish she was acting. As such, she decided against speaking, choosing to let the other two take the lead.

“Not at all!” Marco said rather quickly, almost immediately after Nadine’s question. “I probably speak for us all but also for myself, there is nothing wrong with feeling unsure. We have all been there and sometimes it’s okay to not have all the answers.” And sometimes the answers never present themselves clearly for you to make sense of them. There had been nights -- too many for Marco to remember -- when he questioned himself about him and Danny and what caused their break up. He felt so unsure about himself, his ability to be who he was before and that was before the shooting when he really lost all traces of himself. “You remember how much of a wreck I was in the last couple of years. You three pulled me out of that particularly painful gutter…even if one of you did it a bit too aggressively…” Marco, in a teasing manner, shot a glance towards Lolly. “Because that’s what friends do for each other, Nadie!” He smiled a bit softer at Nadine.

“I like him,” Nadie blurted out, before immediately correcting herself, “No, I think I love him.”

Lolly was drinking her shirley temple when suddenly, she spat out all her drink. Thankfully it only hit the wings but that did cause Amity to grimace.

“I guess I’m done eating!” Amity exclaimed in irritation, throwing the bone of her current wing to the basket and reaching for a napkin to clean her fingers. “Come on, Lol’. You need to chill the fuck out.”

Ignoring Amity’s clear displeasure, Lolly slapped her hands on the table and speedily asked, “What do you mean you like him? You love him? After everything he’s done to you?!” Lolly was flabbergasted. She couldn’t believe her ears. Did Nadie even know what it meant to love someone? If Daisy were to find out, she would lose her goddamn mind.

How dare.

“I don’t know,” Nadie bashfully looked away from her friends, avoiding eye contact. “I haven’t seen him in so long and yes, I know he hurt me and he explained where his mind was at the time. I know you guys think I shouldn’t forgive him but… I don’t know. I always felt my most authentic self with him and I really worry for him and seeing him today made me want to be there for him. Take care of him. I don’t know, it’s all rather sudden and I’ve never stopped thinking about him even after he hurt me. I can’t get him out of my mind.”

“You got it bad,” Amity commented, finally entering the conversation. Still wiping her hands intensely with the napkin to get the wing sauce off, she brought her loving gaze to Nadie, “All I can say is the heart wants what it wants and no matter what we say, you’re going to find your way to him. That’s just how stupid love is.” She smiled to herself wondering if she’d ever get to that place where love took pilot of her decisions or if she was meant to be forever alone, like her siblings. “You’re both older and have been through it. I think having a serious conversation about your feelings with him would do you wonders. It may hurt if he doesn’t like you back, but at least you’re given closure to move onto the next chapter.”

“Y-you… you don’t think he likes me back?” Nadine stammered, hyperfocused on the last part of Amity’s spiel. “Maybe, maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.” She coiled inwards, embarrassed. “Yeah, I probably am. Nevermind, I take it back,” she added, retreating from the situation. “I take it back,” she repeated.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Lolly hissed in annoyance. “Nadine, stop it. Stop it with this self-conscious-guilty-it’s-all-my-fault shit. If you like him, fucking commit. Don’t be wishy washy. I can’t say I like the dude, but fuck, you don’t even know how to act because you’re so dumb for him. He really did put you through it but I guess, I GUESS, he might have some good qualities. The Nadie I know doesn’t befriend just anyone. The Nadie I know sees good in everyone but if Nadie legitimately likes someone, that comes from a very real place. Just don’t be stupid, don’t do anything stupid, and don’t let him be stupid.” She gritted her teeth, adding a little grr in the end. Lolly wasn’t the most eloquent with her words but what she was trying to say was she hoped Nadine was careful and took things slow. At least until her heart was ready to take the risk. As stubborn as Eloise wanted to be, she knew when to throw in the towel.

As Marco watched the conversation take a rather interesting, albeit unexpected turn, he couldn’t help but think about how Nadine and Ross’ situation, though different, was similar to what happened between him and Danny. He couldn’t ignore the similarities. Both he and Nadine were hurt to the point they felt hopeless and just like he and Danny, Nadine had her first encounter with Ross. It seemed like it didn’t go great but not bad either. The sudden confession Nadie made was very telling.

“They’re both right, Nadine! You have the kindest heart of us all…” He could just feel the scathing glare from Lolly, so he would rephrase. “What I mean is, like Lolly said, you always manage to see the good in people even when they don’t deserve it. Ross might not deserve it, but I don’t think there’s ever been anything bad said about him to leave your lips. I think that’s something to consider.” Marco found himself thinking about the intense conversation he and Danny had shortly before they got back together, how it was so hard for him to admit what was really going through his mind. At the time, Marco had no idea that he and his first love would ever get back together. He just knew he couldn’t stand the thought of not being in his life. “Trust me I know exactly the crossroads you’re at. How much it hurts to even think about that time. It’s like a deep wound that will never heal. A never ending pain that grows the longer you leave it untreated. Those scars stay with us for as long as we allow it to.” Marco found that out the hard way. It wasn't until he was essentially backed up into a corner did his true healing begin. “And whatever happens, you won’t have to go through it alone. We’re the support to your tank, Nadie!”

Nadie responded with a smile, keeping her emotions contained but feeling grateful to have wonderful friends. Even if she wanted to say anything, Lolly would’ve talked over her, finding an in to redirect the conversation to someone else.

“When are you going to tell us your boyfriend or girlfriend’s name, hmmmmmm? Don’t think just because we’re meeting here for Nadie that I’ve forgotten you’ve replaced us and don’t need us anymore. Not even wanting to game. Like what even is that? Too much of a life for your friends.” Lolly complained, leaning herself up against Marco, giving him the crazy eyes as she interrogated for answers.

“I'm not going to lie,” Amity chimed in, grinning mischievously. “I am curious. Last time I saw you, you had such a glow. Whoever you’re with is totally fucking your brains out and I’m so jealous.” Amie’s vulgarity and pointing out an obvious, lewd fact caused Nadie to blush because unlike everyone at this table, including Lolly, she was so innocent and pure. She was a virgin. Clearing her throat, she grabbed her hard cider, chugging down more than she meant to. She didn’t drink often so she knew she was going to feel that later… well, she was already feeling it so there was no later.

Nadine hadn’t been the only one to go a little red when they brought up the someone new (or old in this case) in Marco’s life. Marco was getting better at developing his poker face. Danny could still see through it from a mile away but that was only because he was powerless whenever he was around him. Danny knew it. Marco knew it, but around his girls - the squad - he could hide it a bit better, but even with them he couldn’t keep the charade up for long.

Feeling all of this pressure was getting to Marco and he looked down, taking a sip from his Mr. Pibb, silence taking over his end and he pondered about telling them. He knew they wouldn’t not be happy for him having someone in his life, but even without knowing the name, they knew about Danny because they knew about the person who broke him into shambles. More than Charlie Decker ever did. The whole notion of telling them about Danny had, if he was completely honest with himself, absolutely scared him shitless. But he knew as long as he was happy, they’d be happy too…at least that’s what Marco hoped.

“I guess my poker face isn’t as good as I hoped it would be,” he commented, laughing as he took another quick sip. “So yes, there is someone in my life. A guy--” Marco immediately turned his gaze on Lolly for a short moment as if to put all of her suspicions to rest. “It happened about a month ago more or less. He’s uh…” As he felt a tightness in his throat, there was something blocking Marco from speaking. A fear. A tense apprehension about how they would judge him. He wouldn’t blame them because they didn’t know Danny at all. Only that he was with someone that he loved and had completely broke him. But things were different now. Marco was different. Danny was different. They all had gone through incredibly difficult trauma in their own right and and they were here, all together. Through everything that should have broke them, it didn’t.

“He’s uh, what?!” Lolly demanded Marco to speak. “Come on, don’t leave us hanging like this. What’s his name? Where does he work? Does he have a car? Do I need to visit him? Is he hot?” Now that Marco was finally speaking about his lover, Eloise wanted to get as much as she could from him. The more she knew, the better everyone would be. That was her philosophy. “Whoever it is, tell them I’ll beat their ass if he makes you cry just like I’m planning on beating Ross’ ass.”

“Lolly,” Nadine cut in, tired of her dragging Ross’ name in the dirt and her childish interrogation of who Marco was with. “Give it a rest, please.”

Amity chuckled at the immature Gremlin’s display. “Girl you’re so tiny, there’s no way you can take down Ross and whoever Marco’s screwing.”

Before Lolly’s rapidfire questionnaire, Marco was feeling tense. He couldn’t bring himself to speak. Couldn’t find the words he wanted, but in a weird way, Lolly being Lolly, it was reassuring. The crackhead energy she always had helped him feel at ease. When she wasn’t using that superpower for evil, it was one of the few things that put his mind at ease. “It’s alright, Nadie. I don’t mind. It just shows she cares,” Marco laughed, smiling at the Gremlin next to him. “He doesn’t have a job as far as I know, but he does pick me up almost every day from the Godmother. And his car is very nice. Very shiny. Very blue.” Just speaking out loud about Danny, answering almost all of Lolly’s questions, Marco felt at least comfortable in the fact that just telling them was nothing to be worried about. He was happy, so that’s all that should matter.

He took in a deep breath and as he slowly exhaled, he just said it, “His name is Danny Belmonte and…well, he’s the boy I was seeing before. From high school. The one that I was seeing up until Junior Prom before…you know.” Marco’s heart couldn’t stop beating. He understood what they might be thinking. Maybe he was stupid to get back with Danny - at least, that’s what his mind had him thinking the moment he said it out loud. In his mind, he knew they could see how happy he was but he also knew how he was with them after Danny broke his heart.

“I knew who you were talking about when you described his ride. He’s the only one driving a luxury sports car straight from Italy,” Amity reached for her whiskey sour and surveyed the area around them. “Also who the fuck doesn’t know Danny Belmonte? He’s literally the only son of Taz.” Whether you were on Scott Street or Cherry Street, Taz made himself known to many, having friends from all areas, one including Kamilla Briteson. A known and respected mother figure of the Southside serpents. “He does have a job, by the way. He waits at Palermo. He also does salsa every Tuesday.”

Nadine narrowed her eyes at Amity, thinking this was all rather suspicious. Taking another sip of her hard cider, she asked, “Why do you know all this?”

“Sister is literally best friends with Kingsnake so I get some deetz of all the people she sees. I sometimes get pasta with my girls so Danny’s served us more often than not since Palermo has a small staff. And like a couple months ago I took an intermediate salsa dancing program and Danny was there. Don’t know if he still goes there but his dance partner was Caroline Sinclair. Small world, huh?” Amity shrugged. Her eyes falling on the wings Lolly ruined with her spit. So tragic, she would’ve eaten it all.

Eloise was going crazy. Not only did Nadine and Amity act like they didn’t hear that Marco got back with his ex but they were spitting facts about this man as if he was some Edenridge icon. Finishing her Shirley temple, she glared at Marco, “so you’re back with a boy that broke your heart and you,” her sharp, offended gaze went to Nadie, “are considering bringing a boy that hurt you back in your life. I DON’T GET IT!”

“The heart wants what it wants,” Amity shrugged before looking at her phone and seeing her ethot chat was poppin’. Texting her girls back, she continued to talk, directing her words to Marco but not glancing up from her phone, “Well, you’re a big boy, Marco, and I’m sure you wouldn’t have made this decision if you didn’t trust that Danny’s changed or is actively changing. You’re happy, and that’s all that matters.”

In truth, Marco omitted his job at Palermo in the event they actually didn’t know who he was. The last thing he wanted was for the girls - though namely Lolly - showing up to his family restaurant and grilling him about the past. He appreciated Lolly and how she would go to bat for him, especially because of how long it took Marco to finally get to a good place. These three, the squad, were a big part of why he has a better mindset. They provided the therapy session almost every night for a year, allowing him to find an escape and smile when his world was at its worst. Between them and PT with Roddy, they saved him.

Marco needed Lolly to understand so his gaze shifted to her and he also shifted his position in the booth to make sure she knew this was important. “Trust me, I get where you’re coming from. Believe me, there was a point last month when I thought me and Danny were done. Like leave-it-in-the-past done, but we had a conversation that not only opened up the wound, but addressed just about everything that went on between us when we broke up and everything leading up to it. I poured my heart out to him and now we have been together for a month.” Marco faced the others again, smiling at Amie. “I’ve been also learning not to be so doormat-like and expressing myself when I need to. And like Amie said, I am happy. Truly I am.”

“In this town, that’s something you should hold tight to,” Amie smiled at her friend, acknowledging his hardships but also acknowledging everyone at this table’s struggle to survive and stay afloat. This town was a challenging place to live in but as long as they had outlets that made the pain worth enduring, then they would be okay. Together, they would be okay. “Lolly, I’m glad you brought us out to meet. You don’t leave your house often so it’s nice to see you wanting to. ‘Side for you catching Nadie and Ross talking, what made you want to go outside?”

Bleh.

Her friends were so mature in comparison to her. Lolly frowned when she listened to Marco express his decision to be with Danny and that he was happy. She had no idea if that kind of happiness would ever find her nor did she think she would see it if she did. Losing Q took a lot out of her. Made her afraid to step outside. But Shannon challenged her and told her to go on an adventure and so here she was, trying to find her next adventure. Trying not to be scared to live because of the monsters that lurked in this town. “I want to be happy. Mrs. Shannon is trying to help me get there but I can’t be happy if I’m always on the computer.”

Little did Lolly know that an adventure was just about to walk inside the Hole…

Sum up your week in roleplaying in just 3 words

Halted by depression

Edenridge

_{TIMESTAMP — Tuesday, July 20th, 2021, After Here For You
FT — Ducaleon "Duke" Booker, Dominic "Doc" Wells, and Lorelei Mercer}

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Once Duke and Jokes had followed Creed and his two charges safely back to the Gonzales home the other men were relieved of their shifts. Creed had accepted Aleyda’s invitation into the house and Jokes went off to call his Auntie Adora after getting a voicemail from the loving woman filling him in on the events going on with Boa and Puff out at Blue Hill. Left alone and to his own devices for the rest of the day, Duke drove back to Lost Souls with the intent of wasting the rest of the day inside the comfort of his own apartment. He opened his door with the expectation of a cold and dark living room and was instead greeted by the sight of his boyfriend, Dominic Wells, and the neutral face Duke had carried at work and on the drive home lifted into a bright smile.

“Hey,” he greeted as he closed and locked the door, toeing off his shoes and sliding the security chain in place now that the apartment’s two inhabitants were both home. “I thought you were busy until tonight.”

“I was. Or I thought I would be.” Dominic or Doc, as most call him, stammered for his words the minute he saw Duke walk into the apartment. “Club Business was cut short. Something about more important matters that Twitch had to attend to.” Dominic spoke as someone who didn’t have the full story and that’s because he didn’t. The man often had his head stuck in the clouds…well, if those clouds were made of nuts, bolts, and various engine parts spread throughout the Clubhouse. When he wasn’t here or in his own apartment when Duke’s not-so-sweet father, Tiberius Booker, came around, he was at the club. “So I had some free time on my hands. Didn’t want to spend it anywhere else.” He said with a beaming smile, gently patting the seat next to him on Duke’s sofa as some rerun of Family Guy was playing. It was the iconic episode where Stewie beat the holy hell crap out of Brian and even hearing it when his attention was shifted on his boyfriend, he couldn’t help but let out a few second hand chuckles. He loved stupid humor like Family Guy and American Dad.

Duke smiled as he took his spot next to the man he’d been dating in secret for years now. Things like family guy weren’t really his brand of humor and hadn’t been for quite some time, but he loved seeing his boyfriend smile and laugh no matter what the subject was, so he had some of the older episodes memorized as well. The first time he’d seen the scene currently on the screen he’d immediately thought of the trouble twins, Ransom and Molotov, and he was never able to see it the same ever since. Especially not after he ran Enforcer for one of Ransom’s collections; the kid was so vicious and cold on the job, and if he hadn’t known him his whole life, Duke could’ve been scared.

“I wouldn’t want you to spend it anywhere else, either,” Ducaleon admitted to his love as he leaned in and captured the leaner man’s lips in a loving kiss, dropping his hand to Dominic’s thigh and squeezing. Like always, he wanted to show Dominic how much he truly loved him, but there was always an underlying apology that this beautiful thing was kept secret for Duke’s sake, that Dominic was kept a secret just so there was no chance that word could get back to his father. Sure the man could have Sultan Wilson, Duke’s friend and Creed’s older cousin- a married gay man- work as the secretary for Booker Brick and Mortar Restorations, but that was different. That was business, and the dude was amazing at his job. But his own son, the one he raised after the divorce, being bisexual? Not a chance. Not after everything he’s said over the years, both overheard or said directly to Duke. Dominic understood, he’s always understood. He’d been friends with Duke’s older brother Leone long before they were Fallen Angels together. It didn’t make Duke feel any better about it. “I hate coming back to an empty home.”

Dom looked at his boyfriend (and yes, that’s what they were and no amount of secrecy would ever change his opinion about that), reading between the lines of Duke’s words, his kiss, and how his hand squeezed Dom’s lean thigh. He understood what was being said without it being uttered and Dom always wanted to reassure Duke almost every time he could. When Duke’s kiss broke, Dom kissed him back. “Being alone sucks. Your place is much more homier than mine ever could be. Your couch is great too!” This was Dom’s specialty. Perhaps a side effect of his habit of shifting from one subject to another, which played into his uniqueness that most either loved or didn’t, but Ducaleon Booker never gave him any grief about it. That made him the second Booker who had accepted his faults, no matter how out of control they became and there were some days when Dominic was like the energizer bunny.

But because of the man next to him and his brother, Doc has his anchors.

“You know, though, we could always invite Dolce around. Maybe we can have her and Callum over for dinner one of these days? Maybe make some of Shale’s greatest hits? I like to think I’m getting the hang of some of their recipes…” Although he understood nothing compared to the real thing, if there was one thing Doc could do well it was pick up things quicker than most would. His mind was always churning, always processing complicated problems. A recipe was so much like taking apart and putting together a motorcycle. If you knew which parts were what and where they went, you could understand how to put it together. Recipes were similar in that way and Dom’s focus was, if anything, one of his better traits. Plus, he liked making Duke happy and food was the ultimate act of love because it meant someone put time and effort into doing something considerate for that one person who means the world to them. Duke is that person for Dominic and so was his family (exception: Tiberius).

“Uh, yeah,” Duke responded to the suggestion slowly, mind already kicking up into gear to find a way that the invitation could seem natural. “Um, what if I…what if I say I want a Booker sibling day or something! Leone could come and we could have you come since you live next door and so Cal isn’t the odd one out. Plus you’re the best cook of all of us so it would make sense,” he assured, eyes trailing from side to side in anxious thought. Dolce may have broken through his walls a few years ago when she got him to admit that he was ’bi-curious, probably, I don’t fuckin’ know but you can’t tell a soul, promise me’, but he still couldn’t bring himself to update her on the fact that it was actually ’bisexual, definitely, and currently with the most amazing man that the family had accepted long before I started dating him.’ He’d never said anything to Leone about it, and his older brother had never asked. “Movie marathon maybe?”

It was at that moment Dominic processed what he had said and what it really meant. He was so used to his family knowing about who he loved (not the specific who but who he was attracted to in the general sense of things), but that didn’t mean the same was for his boyfriend. Holding Duke’s hand and squeezing it assuringly, Dom looked at his boyfriend. “Whatever you’re most comfortable with.” He made sure that Duke saw his eyes, heard his voice, and made sure he knew he wasn’t trying to force anything. That was the last thing. He got ahead of himself, didn’t think it all the way through. He was so in love with the man next to him that he was only thinking of what could help him not feel so alone in the event he couldn’t always be waiting for him when he got home and having his siblings over seemed like the second best thing.

“I feel like I would have to cook. Leone can’t toast bread, let alone handle Shale’s iconic, if not complicated recipes.” He laughed, remembering the last time that Leone tried to make a grilled cheese. “Did I ever tell you about the time he made us dinner one time and it was so bad, Twitch made an official amendment and held a Table vote about it?”

You didn't have to," Duke laughed, letting go of the lip he was biting to make way for the smile that broke across his face. "He came to me whinin' about it as soon as the meeting was finished. Tried to prove to me that he could cook and then almost burned dad's house down, I had to push him out the back window so he didn't get caught," that was a long time ago, after the divorce had been finalized and his father had taken up heavy drinking in his off hours, so Duke of course had gotten his brother out of the line of fire and been cleaning off the stove as his father pulled into the driveway. When Tiberius had entered the home soon after, he'd thrown a fit over the half-cleaned kitchen and wasted food. The smile faded off Duke's face as he remembered how the rest of the story went. "You have mama's recipes perfected compared to the rest of us, I don't know how all three of us missed the cookin' gene but I know they're happy that you were around to pick up the slack," he leaned back into his boyfriend and gave him a soft kiss on his temple. "That genius brain of yours never ceases to amaze."

He took Dom's face in his hands and pulled him into a deeper kiss, willing to drop the subject for the time being in lieu of being affectionate and loving with his boyfriend for as long as he could. He sat up just long enough to swing a leg over his boyfriend's lap and settle there like he was the missing puzzle piece, then he resumed his task of trying to take his love's breath away. He was just beginning to slide his hand up under Dominic's shirt and-

*Knockknockknock*

"Shit-" Duke threw himself backwards, out of his lover's arms and off of his lap before the third timid knock could even finish. Avoiding the coffee table, Duke twisted to catch himself on his hands so he didn't face plant onto the threadbare carpeting, then he not so calmly gathered himself up into a standing position and looked around his apartment with fear-wild eyes. "Um, b-bedroom, go hide i-in the bedroom, please," Duke begged, apologizing with his eyes while already backing away from his boyfriend and towards the door, an unfortunately common routine between the two. "I'll get rid of whoever it is."

Even before Duke was finished, Dominic was already on his feet, his body half-turned towards the bedroom. A small period of curiosity kept him from going as he saw his boyfriend head for the door and he went inside his lover’s bedroom, closing the door shut, but making sure to put his left ear to it so he could at least hear half of what might happen. In the back of his mind, he feared it might’ve been Duke’s poor-excuse of a sperm donor. If that was the case and if he had to, he would throw some fucking hands. Dom wasn’t a fighter fighter like Leone or, really, any of the angels, but he would go to ware for his man.

Once the bedroom door had closed, Duke took a deep breath and peeked through the peephole, eyebrows raising in surprise as all he could see was the disheveled top of the person's head on the other side, indicating a small brunette with her head down and standing rather close. Were the hair a bit lighter, Duke would have suspected it to be Boa's friend, Poppy, though he'd be just as confused on why she was here. As it was, the Enforcer had no idea as to who could be waiting on the other side of the door, nor why they'd chosen his. After a moment's consideration, Duke slid the chain out of place and unlocked his door, opening it just enough for the girl to see him but not be able to see too much of his apartment behind him. The girl now standing in front of him was more than half a foot shorter than him, which was impressive given his shorter than average stature at five foot seven. He took in her ruffled appearance and timid stance and let the tense line of his shoulders fall until his body language was more soft and welcoming.

"Uh, hello," he greeted, sticking his head into the hallway to see if anyone was with her or using her for an opening. "Are you alright?"

“Um,” Lorelei honestly would have rathered no one answered the door. Let alone a big guy that could take her down with his finger. Her teeth started jittering in sudden bouts of fear. Miss Samantha told her that this was the safest place in Edenridge. That her parents wouldn’t know she was here. Miss Samantha told her to be brave and that soon she’d find her again and take her in. Or did she hear that wrong? Did Samantha want nothing to do with her? Then why would she give her this burner phone?

Lala clutched tightly on the phone, wondering immediately if this was a mistake. She wished her brother was here. He would know what to say and how to say it. He would be able to read if this guy was good or not. If he was going to hurt her or if he was understanding and willing to hear her out. “I’m really sorry, I… I’ve never done this before.” Lala brought the phone up, placing it on her chest, holding it with both of her hands. Her sleeves dropped ever so slightly, showing a glimpse of fading marks, of someone who had held her down, countless times. “Someone… said… Lost Souls is… has good people? I, um…” Don’t want to go home.

Duke’s eyes had trailed from the girl’s chattering teeth, to the obvious burner phone clutched tightly in her frail grasp, to the multitude of faded grip marks now apparent on her thin and pale wrists and he felt his jaw clenching in anger. He did his best to keep any heated response from showing on his face or in his stance but he’d seen bruises like that far too often on the kids in his hood- the Warren and the Boaz brothers, the Cernis siblings- until something or someone changed their situations. There were too many disgusting people in this world, too many people happy to hurt the ones they’re meant to be shielding, and Duke had seen more than enough proof before he followed his baby sister and her stooges into the Serpents. Everyone in this building had seen enough proof, that’s one of the reasons it existed.

“Hey, it’s alright,” He assured in a soft and low voice, reading between the lines of her answer and once again trying to soften his otherwise hard and muscular appearance. He let go of the door and let it slowly swing open so the girl could see the empty space behind him and see him fully and unguarded. His focus was now entirely on making the obviously abused young girl feel safe, or at least comfortable, enough that he could get her inside and get a warm blanket around her. “My name’s Duke Booker, and this is my apartment. Whoever told you this place was safe is right, and I’d like to help if you’d be okay with that.”

His demeanor was kind and his words were soothing. Pierce had always told her to not judge a book by its cover. Looks could be deceiving. Wolves could wear sheep’s clothing while good people could have fangs and venom, solely because that’s how they were raised to be. She was a bird, flying far from her cage, seeking safety from a place full of those that look like predators. Based on how this man presented himself and how he talked and even opened his door for her to see everything inside before she came to the decision of staying or going, she could tell not everyone was a monster. She could tell he meant well.

Her shoulders didn’t ease, since she was still frightened. Not at him or his apartment but at the fallout of her running away. Her grip on the phone tightened as she nodded and greeted back, “I’m Lorelei. My friends call me Lala…” her voice trailed off, as she stopped herself from giving her surname. If she told him too much, this could backfire. Lala was far too deep into the victim mindset that every word she said, every action she did, she wondered if it would turn against her. Taking a deep breath in and holding it in, she took a couple steps inside. Looking around, completely aware of her surroundings, alert and trying to find some clarity of how to feel safe in this moment, she exhaled, catching a couple of breaths, before apologizing again, “I’m sorry for intruding…”

“It’s no problem,” He assured the girl again. “I’m gonna close the door but I won’t lock it unless you want me to,” He dictated his actions to her before he did them, making sure the hypervigilant state the girl was in was at least partially satiated by the clear information. In the lull that closing the door created, Duke took a moment to look down and realized he still had his boots on. Why did he still have his boots on? He always took them off when he closed the door so what had stopped him today?

Oh. Right. His boyfriend got home early.

’Fuck.’

His fear of being discovered warred for only a second with his protective instinct over someone who is obviously a victim of abuse before he took a deep breath and announced, “I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you this. I have someone else in the other room but I promise he’s harmless, I can get him out of here while you close yourself in the bathroom or something,” Duke’s own nerves suddenly picked up. He didn’t want Lala to think that he had tricked her, or that they were trying to corner her, but this was one of those situations he’d feared for years; a small mental slip now had someone close enough to discover his relationship with Dominic, and he had no idea how this stranger would react. “I’m sorry, again, I just forgot.”

“It’s okay…” Lala whispered, noting Duke’s fixation on his boots. She slowly took off her shoes by the door, assuming that was the etiquette of this household. “I… trust you.” Cautiously, she placed her shoes to the side before shuffling deeper into the apartment, not knowing where to go. She chose to stand in place, waiting for direction from the older figure. Obedient and patient, just how her dad trained her.

“Okay,” Duke replied, closing his eyes to keep her from seeing his frustration at himself and taking a moment to take his boots off before he also moved a little further into the room. He didn’t show it much, but he was honored by the girl’s somewhat easy trust of him, well aware that he wasn’t the most approachable looking in many people’s minds. Assuming she didn’t want to sit down until she knew where the other man in the apartment was going to be, he shuffled past her, giving her a wide berth as he did, and headed to his bedroom. Ready to get it over with, he quickly grasped the doorknob and flung the door open to reveal his boyfriend.

Or it would have, had Dominic not been listening with an ear to the door. As it was, there was a rather solid and impressive thunk! when the wood door met the taller man’s head and Duke immediately released the doorknob in favor of covering his mouth with his hands.

Dominic had been listening the entire time, only able to make out bits and pieces of what was said - most of it from his boyfriend. He hadn’t been able to make out everything he said and that was mostly due to how close his ear was pressed against the door. He was on one knee and the murmurs of something about ‘this place being safe’, Duke introducing himself to whoever was at the door. Did someone come over that Duke didn’t know? Again, it was impossible to hear, much like his boyfriend walking towards the bedroom and aimlessly swinging the door open with force.

Only that force was met with a not so sturdy Dominic. He felt the impact hit his ear and his head, knocking him clear away from the door and on his ass.

“Oh my god, babe, are you okay?” Duke asked, “I’m so sorry, do you need some ice-”

Before responding, Doc gave a shaking thumbs up gesture. He wasn’t hurt that bad. As he slowly raised himself upward, he held the left side of his head and he didn’t feel anything wet, which meant no blood. “Good news! There’s no blood, so you didn’t whack me that hard.” He laughed, only to feel nothing but discomfort in his head. He might be called Doc, but he wasn’t the kind that went to med school. “So, out of curiosity, why swing it so fast?” He peeped through the opened door and saw some little girl who looked oddly familiar and he just waved to her, smiling gently.

"I didn't know you were gonna be standing right on the other side!" Duke defended, dropping to his knees to grasp Doc's face, checking his eyes and gently tilting his head every which way until he was satisfied that he hadn't concussed his lover. Releasing the breath he'd been holding, Duke finally silently declared Doc to be in good health. When the worry from that particular thought faded, it left room for a question of his own to form. "Wait, why were you so close to the door? Were you trying to listen in like some kinda old sitcom parent?" He took his hands, already conveniently on either side of Doc's face, and squished his cheeks together. "That shit don't work that easy, you dork."

Lorelai wasn’t like most young people. Some individuals that were left to their own devices would take the opportunity to be nosy and look around to gather information. Lala wasn’t like most people her age. She stood there, still holding the phone close to her chest, waiting for further instructions, not wanting to step out of line. As she stood there quietly, she reflected. She graduated highschool a couple of months ago. Her parents were there, pretending to be normal. People would go up to them and say how Pierce was such a tragic loss. He would’ve done amazing things. They were good at pretending. She was not, which is why she kept quiet. If she kept quiet, she wouldn’t have to lie.

Not too long ago she turned eighteen. Two days ago, actually. The day before Dear David. Her birthday was one of the days where her mother was more lenient of letting her out the house to spend time with friends. When she got in bad headspaces, it was hard to think about them because it was in those moments she felt more lonely than ever but now? As she heard two men, that she could only assume were lovers, playfully bicker, she thought of her friends and realized she had more reasons to better her life. To fight against her monsters. Bernie, Freya, Alaric, Alex… she had people that loved her. That was more than enough reason to carry on.

“It’s not like I intended to get whacked with a door. I didn’t know who would be at the door. I thought it might’ve been someone not as…tiny as the girl out there.” Dominic sighed and felt his head pulsate. His loving boyfriend had deemed him to be not brain damaged, but it felt like he was. Every breath he made felt like the migraine and the pain it came with was only getting worse the longer it went on. He might have to pay Dr. Sinclair a visit whenever he got the chance. “Anyway, now that it’s been established that I’ve got the common sense of the cast from Friends, who’s the girl? Is she okay?” From where he was and from what he could see, something was off but he couldn’t place his finger on it. Call it his sixth sense tugging at him or something like that.

Duke turned around to look at Lorelai and his hands retreated from Dominic's face on reflex, finding purchase on the doorframe as he stood back up before they were clasped behind his back like a kid caught touching something he shouldn't.

"Um, this is Lorelai- Lala. Lala this is Dominic he's uh," the Serpent Enforcer closed his eyes against the stupidity of what was about to come out of his mouth, especially given what the girl just saw, but he's been living with this secret for so long that the responses were practically ingrained. "He's a family friend and my neighbor."

’Please don't ask why I had him hiding in my bedroom. Play ignorant if you have to,’ he kept the plea from showing while taking a too-casual half step away from the doorway and wringing his hands behind his back, out of her sight.

“Nice to meet you, sir,” Lala shyly replied, holding herself with proper posture and polite mannerisms. Gazing at them like authority figures, wide eyed and anxious, she rooted her feet to the ground. Her hands had dropped in front of her skirt as she tightly held onto the burner phone. “Sorry to have interrupted…” her deep, brown eyes went from one man to the next, understanding the situation but not wanting to comment on it. It wasn’t her place. “A woman named Samantha led me here and said I could find shelter. I…” she looked away from them, ashamed at her actions, knowing this would come to bite her in the ass later. Her melancholic gaze went from Dom’s face, straight to her feet like a forlorn, neglected animal who hasn’t had an ounce of kindness and love, the type you expect to get from family, in years. “...I don’t know where else to go.”

“It’s okay. You weren’t interrupting anything at all.” Dominic gently smiled at Lorelai, seeing how she stood, how she acted, how she spoke. That off feeling he had from before that was just from a momentary glance increased and it made his stomach turn at the thought of what kind of torture she had to go through to be so…obedient with two people she barely even knew. “Samantha seems like she knew what she was talking about.” Dominic crouched down to Lorelai's eye level but didn’t advance any paces. Something told him he needed to go with caution. “She must care for you a lot. Lost Souls might not look like much, but it’s one of the safest places for anyone to live. We have good friends looking after us. Protecting us even when we don’t realize it. So you will be safe here, that much I can guarantee.” He spoke as softly as he could so she didn’t feel alarmed but not too soft so she heard every word he said.

“Good, I’m glad,” was all Lala could muster saying in response at first. All the nerves and anxiety that had gotten her to this point were now being formed into tears running down her cheeks. She was quick to back up and wipe her face, not realizing she even needed to cry. “Sorry, sorry,” she profusely apologized. “Thank you for being so kind to me. I know this is really weird,” she rambled, completely scatterbrained, “and I don’t know what I’m doing. I hope I’m not bothering you two… it’s just I don’t know what comes next. I never did this before. Maybe I’m making a mistake, maybe I’m being too impulsive. I could go back and apologize, maybe that will make everything better.”

"You're not bothering us," Duke reassured, his older brother instincts kicking back in as her tears started to fall, he made his way into the bathroom and came out with a roll of toilet paper, holding it out at arms length to her while apologizing, "Sorry, I don't really have tissue, but you can use this. And I'm sorry to say this, but it's pretty unheard of that returning and apologizing makes that-" he glanced at the bruises still showing on her wrists, no judgment in his tone, none of the anger he felt at seeing them showing on his features. "-any better. Usually it's just…more pain. If you're not comfortable here with us we understand, but please let us introduce you to some of the women that live here too. Maybe you have a friend we could call?"

“No, no, it’s fine,” Lala graciously took the toilet paper, sniffling as she placed the burner phone on the counter. Ripping a tiny piece of paper off to dab her face, she explained, “No one really knows about my situation. I’ve never told any of my friends and I don’t think I’m ready to tell them now. They’d feel bad for not noticing and I don’t want them to feel bad.” Instead of hugging the burner phone, she was now hugging the toilet paper. The fact that she was no longer holding the one thing that could protect her in this situation with two strangers, older men no less, showed she wasn’t scared of either of them. If anything, she felt safer here than anywhere else she’s ever been.

“I guess…” What would Kylee do? She asked herself internally, before offering an olive branch, “…We can start by getting to know each other better. And if you two are okay with me staying for a night, I can try to plan my next steps. I don’t want to meet new people and have to do this whole thing all over again.” She gave an exasperated sigh. “This was a lot for me to do but if I’m imposing then sure, we can find someone else,” Lala mustered to put a small smile on her face, which was still a little wet from tears, hoping she wasn’t being too demanding and they actually did want her to stay. “Whatever you guys think is best!”

“You’re not imposing, seriously, Lost Souls doors are always open to those who need help,” Duke reiterated to the newest lost soul herself. He looked back to Dominic and nodded him over to the couch, taking the seat next to him once he had sat down and looking to Lala, who was the last one standing. He hadn’t been questioning it before, figuring she didn’t want to be the one to sit down with two stronger strangers in the room, but now he realized she may not know what’s okay to do. He pointed to the plush and worn leather seat placed on the adjacent side of the coffee table to their right. “You can take a seat in the recliner there, the blanket over the back is really soft if you’d like to use it.”

With direction, Lala nodded and shuffled her way first to the blanket then to the seat. Getting herself situated, after placing her back pack at the foot of the chair and the toilet paper on the coffee table, she leaned back, pulling the blanket over her thin body. She placed a hand in front of her mouth and yawned into it. When she was comfortable, she surveyed the two older men before smiling and meeting Duke’s gaze, “Mr. Duke, you carry yourself differently when you’re around Mr. Dominic. I can tell there’s a lot of trust between you two.”

Whether they were platonic best friends or more, she knew she was lucky to be in their home. “I had someone I trusted too, with all my heart. He was my protector until Charlie decided to end that. But I know for him, I have to be strong. I have to protect myself.” As much trauma as Lala had gone through, she built enough power of will to articulate her words and her experiences. She didn’t go into too much detail about her own trauma but in time, with a trusted group of people, she was sure she’d get in a place where she could speak freely and let her story aid those who need to hear it. “I struggle though. I’m too weak to be a fighter and like, how do you fight something you’ve lived with most of your life? How do you fight monsters?”

Another person Charlie’s actions weighed on, of course. Duke couldn’t say he was surprised, almost everyone in town had some connection to those lost the day of the shooting. Charlie helped create a lot of lost souls himself. He didn’t quite know how to feel about her comment on him and Dominic, aside from the fact that it made him sweat a bit. If she could see that he acted differently around him and they just met, well, just how obvious was it to the people that knew them? Just how different did he act?

Tiberius Booker never liked different, much.

’How do you fight monsters?’

His father wasn’t a monster. He wasn’t a great man by any stretch, don’t get him wrong. The man was every type of phobic that you could be when it came to the queer community and the things Duke had heard him say about his mama after the divorce were nothing short of vile. The man had let his drinking get the best of him and his idea of what makes a man was strictly enforced in both of his sons. But Duke had been the one to be home when he stumbled in drunk after a long night, pissed about people he saw out and about with their loves that day. Duke was the one Tiberius could fix before he became a problem.

You can be a bad person without passing the threshold into monster. Tiberius toed the line often, but didn’t like to cross it. He wasn’t a monster like the parents of some of Duke’s Serpent siblings, but Tiberius Booker would not need to worry about overcrowding at his funeral service.

’How do you fight monsters?’

The truth is, Duke doesn’t know how to reply to Lala in this moment, because he’d never fought his monsters, let alone his father. He’d taken the closet doors he was meant to burst out of and pulled them closed tighter, adding locks to the inside so no one could get to him where he was most vulnerable. Duke never knew how to fight his demons, and he never knew how to stand up to people like his father. But he did know one thing, and that was that, “No one’s too weak to be a fighter. Sure you have people like me or Creed with obvious muscles and fighters’ builds, but then you’ve got people like my girl Emira, who’s deceptively soft looking but could put most fighters on the floor. She could honestly probably teach you some moves, and if not I could talk to Marce and Cela next time I’m at Phil’s. Maybe it’s a little less about fighting your monsters right now, and more about building your strength to do it in the first place,” He looked over to Dominic for validation. “That makes sense, right?”

That was a heavy question Lorelai asked. Monsters existed all over in all shapes, sizes, and colors. They were sometimes the devil you knew while others were less obvious and paraded as a friend, or somebody who was just trying to get into your good graces so they could hurt you when your back was turned. Dominic, in his life, had experienced all forms of those people. Listening to Duke talk about what it took to combat them, he didn’t realize it but he was nodding even before his boyfriend looked his way.

He smiled at Duke and then to Lorelai. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. I’m also not as great at conveying what you just said either. My brain goes woosh--” Dominic made the sound that an airplane makes when it’s taking off from the runway to emphasize what he just said, “--whenever I try to get my thoughts out. But everything Duke said is right. David took down Goliath with nothing but rocks and a sling, but he had the heart of an underdog and never gave up. That’s how ya beat whatever monster or demon you come across: by never giving up.” In that moment, Dominic had kind of realized he contradicted himself. Apparently he did know how to get his thoughts out when he wanted to.

Duke smiled at his boyfriend, realizing the same thing. He made an aborted movement to grab Dominic’s hand before he caught himself and played off of Dom’s words. “Everyone loves a good underdog story, and gaining the strength to fight your monsters, mental or physical, is a perfectly attainable idea. You’ve also already found me and Dom, and we aren’t exactly lone acts. You’ll have people in your corner if you want them there.”

The two lovers were so enthralled with one another that they didn’t notice the stranger they permitted in their apartment had dozed off, bundled in their fleece blanket. For once, Lorelei felt safe. The more they talked, the more her worries were put at ease and before they knew it, she faded and entered the land of dreams.

They were sweet men.

Maybe Lost Souls was the safest place in Edenridge. Maybe she could find a family here. She would have to thank Miss Samantha the next time she saw her. Her breathing was quiet and her posture, while more relaxed, was in a sitting position. Her head leaned back into the recliner as she imagined a bright, sunny day. No rain or cloud in the sky. No darkness to hide the monsters that only meant her harm. Just the sun and those that mattered. Mostly though, she thought of her brother.

Here with my homies.

Always great when the squad joins in on the crazy (don't worry our RP mother had us tested )

WElcome to the site! :)

The Unbanned Cabbage

Welcome (back!) The anti-spam filter is a double-edged sword it seems, but glad everything all worked out. :)

𝘿𝙀𝙎𝘾𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉 ⌜ᴀ ɢᴏᴅ ʀᴏʟᴇᴘʟᴀʏ⌟

_{Flashback - Morning after the events at the Luncheon
]𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Anubis’ Home
𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Hera@smarty0114 | Ares@Legion02
𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. Anubis @metanoia, Aphrodite @Akayaofthemoon, Isabel @Legion02}

---

Despite the rays of the multifaceted and benevolent morning gracing the world and the City of Seattle with her brilliance, something that, under normal circumstances, brings Anubis some semblance of peace or even a rebirth of one’s mood (as it typically did), he couldn’t say that was the case now. And this is for a myriad of reasons, but something was in the air and it had been since before first light.

Last night was an unorthodox night for the Guider of Souls. After returning from his private time spent at Illicit, Anubis received a call from an associate that nobody in their right mind would refuse. Ares, the Greek God of War asked a favor of his and he happily obliged. It was to see a human woman by the name of Isa. Their session was fine, or as fine as Anubis confidently could feel. Truth of the matter was that it went in a direction that he hadn’t expected.

Revealing their existence to someone outside of their species. Anubis had tried to ease her, but that wasn’t exactly what happened. He gave Isabel answers that only he could. Pensive as he was about it, how she reacted was…understandable, yet it plagued him well into the night. By 3am, he finally slept with the aid of one too many melatonin tablets, but he woke up just three hours later to a series of text messages on his cell phone. A series of texts that were from a former patient, sexual partner, and general bane of the entire Egyptian Pantheon’s existence.

Nooby Nooby, how I missed youuuu

We should play again soon! 💋

From Apep

There have been very few to ruffle the nonexistent hair of his mane, but that chaotic serpent goddess, the technical queen-adjacent of his pantheon, somehow to always get under his skin regardless how much distance he put between them.

For the hours that followed, Anubis had gone out of his way to block out all of these feelings, but that one text was just the icing on the ominous feeling he had. Not even his famous shakshuka shook that overall unease. He only consumed half of it and had downed two shots of his preferred coffee of choice, which was Cuban coffee. Strong as it was, one just wasn’t enough.

As he finished the dishes, he heard a knock on his door. A series of knocks, actually. In the back of his mind, he feared it was Apep. She would be the type to text him and then show up at his condo as if nothing happened between them the last time they saw each other. With a deep sigh, wearing only his bed gown - a deep brown-colored pajama-like gown that he found comfort in that covered all parts of his body except his collarbone and slit down the middle in the shape of a V that went down the middle of his pectorals - and a pair of expensive and comfortable fluffy slippers, he opened the door after the third round of some urgent knocking.

“Sorry--” Anubis spoke as he was opening the door, only to find two women on the opposite end. Both of whom he knew, but one in particular immediately brought an unknowing smile to his face. “Isa?” He questioned, blinking a few times as he wiped his eyes free of dust. His eyes scanned the human woman for a few seconds, gauging her face for any clues to explain her presence here. “And…Aphrodite?”

Okay, Anubis was officially confused. Given the state that the human daughter of war had left his condo last night, he didn’t expect she’d willingly come back, much less be in the company of a Goddess, especially one so…infamous like Aphrodite. “Been a long time, Aphrodite.”

To say Aphrodite reflected Anubis’s internal confusion would be a massive understatement. It was clear that this God knew her but her mind wasn’t supplying any recollection to this extremely gorgeous face which in itself should have been a sin to forget. She gazed into his eyes, the windows to one’s supposed soul and found a familiarity in them, a kindness which made her feel soothed and created a feeling of safeness but still nothing was clicking. It was only when she drew her eyes downward to take in the rest of his appearance that a smile graced her lips at the sudden recognition, sliding into his personal space, hands gliding over the exposed skin of his chest, reaching upward to rest them his jawline. ”That it has. Quite the new appearance you have, Anubis. It suits you.”, Aphro purred, admiring the Egyptian jackal in a new light.

They had always been friendly when pantheons were mingled in the past before the mess of her slumber and the fall but she wouldn’t mind being even friendlier now. She had always enjoyed the view of his physique, wondering how nice those hands would feel against her form and what he could do with those muscles but unlike Zeus, animal forms were not quite her cup of tea which had left friendliness and light-hearted flirting she did often to others. This was a positive difference. A very positive difference. ”I hope we didn’t interrupt anything important, but we require your assistance. Isn’t that right, Isa? …May we come in?”, she asked, briefly glancing over her shoulder when addressing the other woman before ignoring her once more, leaning closer to the God before her, lips lightly brushing against the shell of his ear as she continued with a whispered tease, ”Or do you need some convincing?” She grinned with a cheshire grin that might have put Bast to shame, pulling completely away to give Anubis some space once more.

“We should’ve gotten you some clothes.” Isabel groaned to herself as she rolled her eyes at Aphrodite who stepped up closer to the Egyptian god. She just raised a curious eyebrow at whatever the goddess was whispering. Well, she could garner a guess. Promises of tangled bedsheets and shaken worlds. “Anubis.” Isabel cut through it all. Her tone was not playful like Aphrodite’s. There was an insistence in it. “We do need to come in. It’s important.” She said, her eyes were burning as the hollow sense in her chest was growing again. For every minute she wasted finding her father he could be bleeding out somewhere. Some pleasantries would have to wait.

Anubis had frequently enjoyed the playfulness of others, especially that of Aphrodite’s unique way of teasing, but he could surmise that the half-mortal, half-divine woman did not share the same sentiments (as noted by how quickly and abruptly she cut the Greek Goddess of Lust off). He saw the way Aphrodite reacted to it, but he understood and just nodded and stepped to the side, letting both women into his condo. As he closed the door, he guided them both to his living room. Isa would remember it well as it was the same area of his home that she had her session.

As Aphro sat down and Isa chose to remain standing, Anubis also kept his vertical base. “Before we begin, could I interest either of you something to drink? Tea? Water? Perhaps something stronger?” At that last offer, his deep gaze went to Aphrodite. He remembered how much she enjoyed the unique blend of spices and fermented grapes that was the Divine version of Egyptian wine. Strong in its alcohol content, it was a pleasurable experience on the palette.

”Something stronger is always welcomed, especially with the current situation.”, she smiled softly. She might have seemed relaxed and unworried compared to Isabel but one of her babies was missing and to know Ares was also missing was extremely concerning. She didn’t know who to lean on without causing more concern. When she had no one else to turn to, she did what she did best by showing nothing was faltering or affecting her. It might be silly to some but it had gotten her through many times when she felt like giving up completely or crumbling.

“Current situation?” Anubis inquired. He could make an educated guess that something in the air was troubling. Not even eight hours removed from when Isa had darted out of his condo after their session, he could tell she was in even more distress than she had been. “Allow me to get you some wine, Aphrodite. And Isa, I will get you some chamomile tea. Perhaps it will help you. It will just be a moment, I promise.”

And in five of those moments, Anubis came back to his living room area with a tray that had three glasses on it. Two glasses of a deep purple wine that was imported from Egypt, something that Anubis had been quite fond of for the longest time and a hot but not too hot cup of chamomile tea for Isa. “I put a sprinkling of honey in your tea, Isa. I understand it might be hard, but if you can, please at least drink it. Many of my patients find the flavor of Chamomile to be quite relaxing.” Anubis said as he sat, though he wasn’t sure if Isa would take him up on the tea. Regardless, it was there if she wanted it. “Now tell me what happened.”

“My father is gone.” Isabel didn’t touch the tea. She didn’t need to feel relaxed. If she did, she would’ve stayed with the literal goddess of it. No, right now she had to be tense. She had to be razor sharp. “And he didn’t leave like before.” She quickly added. Her father did have a tendency to leave her alone for months on end. But then he’d always come back. She pulled out her phone and showed Anubis the video message her father had left her.

The message was straightforward: Ares explained that if she received the message that he was either captured or killed. He explained that there is a family secret he carried around and gave Isabel a handful of names – mortal names of the Olympians – who would explain that secret. The message then began to stutter. The audio cut out. By some cosmic maleficent chance it appeared that the video had been corrupted somehow. Only a few words could be understood: proud… love… anger… release.

“I couldn’t understand anything at the end of it.” Isabel said. Hearing her father’s voice gave her a sense of melancholy. Normally – in a situation like this one – she would’ve called him already. She had called him. Over a dozen times. Normally he would’ve answered fast. Not now. And it made her feel a little more alone. “I need to find him, doc.” She said to Anubis. It wasn’t a demand. It was almost a plea.

Anubis’ own expression grew tense, matching the severity of what had been eating away at the Daughter of War. It’s true that Ares was a mysterious individual, but in his time of having past dealings with the Greek God of War, Anubis always had this impression that he was one who stuck to a schedule. This clearly exceeded that routine and, if he was being absolutely earnest, it was frightening. Often, Anubis felt a certain grief when life was lost. Yesterday he felt that loss when those children of death were slain.

“This is truly dire, Isa. I am truly sorry. But one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty is this.” Anubis leaned forward to give her his full attention. “I know your father is not dead. Something about myself, as well as I believe all those of us whose domain is the domain of death, I know when life is lost. I feel it in my heart and in my soul. I become overtaken by an unexplainable and outworldly melancholy that no mortal could possibly fathom. I felt it yesterday morning. About this time yesterday, but I have not felt it since.” But what troubled him more was those last words. What could they mean? “Please, if you take comfort in anything, let it be that your father still has a chance of being saved from…whatever may be responsible for his sudden disappearance.”

The words of the Egyptian were pretty and Aphrodite hoped that they were in fact truths and not a way to calm the pacing child. If it wasn’t true, she didn’t wish to know for fear of what that meant for those she cared for and if it was true, then she almost desperately wanted to ask what sense he had about Pothos. Her hands tightened around the almost polished off glass of wine, the usually exotic spices would be savored on her tongue but she couldn’t find a moment to fully appreciate it. It was a shame that it took so much more for immortals to feel the buzz she most definitely craved. Heck, there were quite a few ways she would like to be distracted from the nerve-wrecking anxiety of the unknown.

”Isa stated that the last place she saw her father was here. We were hoping that perhaps he shared his agenda with you or that you might have any ideas of where we can search next. He said something about the Festival when he was explaining what happened yesterday but I don’t know where that is or even what it is to be honest.”

Anubis could sense there was an atmosphere of dread between both Aphrodite and Isa combined. Naturally both had a certain investment in making sure that Ares was safe. Isa was his daughter and Aphrodite was the mother of several of his children. Anubis, too if he admitted it to himself, wished to see Ares' safety if not for the sake of the two women in front of him.

Looking between the both of them, though his immediate gaze fell on the Goddess of Love. "Regretfully, I cannot say with certainty where exactly. When Ares came here last night, he did so to leave Isa here with me. He was supposed to be back by 2am, but he never showed." Though Anubis wanted to respect the privacy between him and Isa's session last night, he knew to be as helpful as he could, he had to provide, at least, the bare minimum of why Ares was here in the first place. "You mentioned the festival. As I understand it, there was a luncheon held at the Olympic Club yesterday. Perhaps it might be a long shot, but could it be possible that's where he went? I admit, I had prior engagements yesterday so I couldn't make it myself, but I felt the events as if I was there to bear witness to the passing of our own." Anubis stared at the glass of Egyptian wine in his hand, staring down at it with a profound sadness in his eyes and on his face.

Aphrodite set her glass down and moved to Anubis’ side in an instant, taking his free hand gently into her own while her other hand rubbed his thigh gently since she was not sure how else to comfort him. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to have death affect you without even being present for the events. The emotions once told of the event, sure, but to feel it as though bearing witness sounded like a painful sadness. It was a look that reflected in his eyes and it didn’t sit right with her. She wished she could fix it. Instead, she turned her attention to Isa for a brief moment before stating, ”Even if it is a long shot, I think the Olympic Club could be worth a try if we can manage to get access.” Her focus then switched back onto the God beside her. ”I’m sorry that you had to experience their passing in such a way. Death was never my forte and has not been one of the major qualms of my life but if you ever wish to talk, I would be happy to listen when the timing is more appropriate., she said softly, giving his hand a squeeze. ”For now, I really must thank you for providing a lead but by chance do you have an address or know which Greek owns the establishment? I can only assume with the naming that one of the brilliantly creative members of my pantheon owns it.”

Anubis gave Aphrodite a small smile, one that was bleeding with graditude and gave her hand a light squeeze in return, acknowledging her gesture and her compassionate words. He was appreciative of them, as well thankful for them. His abilities, even long since before the fall, was a heavy burden for him to bear but he always did so with a positive outlook on the unfortunate passing of souls from this realm to the one he one day hopes he may return to himself. Death was not the end of a journey. As the Guider of Souls, he not only believed with every fiber of his existence, but also as a man of Earth, that even without deities to control the passing of these lost souls into their respective afterlifes, he had to believe something or someone was still at play. He couldn’t entertain the notion that this wasn’t the truth. His entire belief system depended on that being absolute.

He shifted gears away from the melancholy of what consumed his mind for a few moments onto what the Greek Goddess of Love asked, almost musing a laugh in response but he remained composed. “I regretfully don’t know who owns it, but I do have the address. Hera, your pantheon’s queen, as I understand it, was the one who hosted the Luncheon yesterday. She was…very thorough. Made sure everyone who should have attended had the address and I still have the envelope it came in, though that might not be necessary as I memorized it.” Anubis reached for the table in front, grabbing his notepad that rested on it with a pen attached to it. He wrote the address of the Olympus Club on it, tearing the piece of the pad that had the address on it, and handed it to Aphrodite.

Isabel moved like a cat to snatch the piece of paper from Anubis’ hands. She knew a token when she saw one. And while the good doctor probably didn’t intend to trade for it, she wasn’t in the mood for whatever games Aphrodite and him would play with that piece of paper as a prop. “What’s Hera’s… mortal name?” She quick asked as well as she started looking at the address with her phone.

”Of course she hosted it, practically screams Hera a mile away since she has a need for control.”, she snickered at Anubis comment leaned back against the couch, crossing her legs and adjusting the uncomfortable coat material against her skin. She had been about to receive the address to pass to Isa since she was better at directions but it seemed the woman had other plans. ”Rude.”, Aphro muttered with a roll of her eyes at the snatched paper from her fingertips, letting the incident slide but still moving to rub her temples. Why did it have to be Hera? At least it wasn’t Athena but it still wasn’t good in any case since they had always had a rocky relationship, the golden apple mess had not helped with the Queen’s jealousy and irritation at her.

She gave a side glance at what was Hera’s grandchild and wondered if the knowledge of her existence would outweigh the Queen of the Gods hatred for herself if they needed to speak with her. It would be wise not to further upset Hera with the knowledge of Ares' disappearance but sadly, as a mother she did have the right to know and might have connections. It felt like a double edged sword and if it wasn’t for her own baby missing, she would suggest to Isa that they part ways here but she wasn’t sure that was a smart idea. Maybe she could just convince Isa to remove that factor all together unless they got caught. She grabbed her glass, tapping her fingers against it to keep her hands busy as she spoke, ”Do you really need her mortal name? Perhaps we should just avoid her and focus on the task at hand.”

For the moment, Anubis had just realized just how deep the Greek drama went, how much there was to it. Anubis had sworn to himself he wouldn’t ever become too entangled in their family drama, but that part of him that always felt like he needed to help those who were in need of it - the empathetic side that always led him down some very dark, melancholic periods - never shied away what made him visibly uncomfortable. “Isa, unless this is related to the situation at hand, I’m afraid I can’t divulge that information, for it is privileged information. Even for someone who is as…infamous as the Queen of Olympus, she is entitled to her privacy.” In truth, something about the way that Isabel was acting, the change in her demeanor, he couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was unsettling. His first instinct was to let his purple smoke calm whatever it was that pained Isa, but he couldn’t do that without her permission.

“Unless it is related?” Isa said. She felt herself getting angry. “My father… her son… vanishes and you sit here and talk about privacy?” It hit a nerve with Isabel, who was ready to do just about anything to get her father back. Someone else’s privacy did not matter at all right now. But she couldn’t lash out now like she did before. This anger, she had to focus it. So she closed her eyes for a second and took a single deep breath. “I got what I need then I suppose.” She said. The tone in her voice was unnaturally cold after the outburst. But it wouldn’t take a therapist to recognize the internalized anger.

It afforded her a dangerous clarity of mind. The guide of the dead had given her all he could at the moment. In fact, he gave her more than he expected. Sure, he would not divulge the name but he linked her to an event. A little social engineering could pry the name from the Club when she visited. “Thank you, Anubis.” She said as she got up. “I’ll take my leave.” The tea remained completely untouched.

“Of course. I apologize that I couldn’t be of any help to you, Isa.” Anubis let it show on his face through a gentle smile that hid a mind that was analyzing Isa’s subtle change in her demeanor. Even as he watched the demigoddess leave his condo and the door closed behind her. He understood, at least on some level, that she was likely holding something closely resembling a grudge against him because he didn’t divulge Hera’s mortal name to her.

With a sigh and he leaned back against the couch. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. An immense disappointment overwhelmed the Guider of Souls. Not just in himself but because he couldn’t bring himself to help Isa in the way she wanted him to.

Secret Force: A Power Rangers RP