#Edge Computing Access Screen

[forlinx]

Solution of Edge Computing Access Control Screen Based on FET3568-C SoM

Edge Computing Access Screen is designed to provide an edge computing-based solution for access control systems. It can realize face recognition, data processing, fingerprint recognition and other functions, and improve the security and convenience of the access control system. In terms of application scenarios, intelligent monitoring and access control system is an important part of intelligent building security.

The application of edge computing technology can increase the monitoring effect and response speed, avoid the security risks in the process of data transmission, and protect the privacy of users. Edge computing devices can process authentication faster and improve the response speed and security of access control systems.

Hardware requirements for edge computing access control screen

(1) Processor

Select a high-performance and low-power embedded processor, the processor itself needs to come with arithmetic power to meet the needs of edge computing.

(2) Memory

Configure appropriate memory and flash for system and application data.

(3) Interface

Provide necessary interfaces between the carrier board and other devices, such as GPIO, UART, I2C, SPI, etc.

(4) Communication module

Support Wi-Fi or 4G to facilitate data transmission with the cloud platform.

(5) Sensor

Integrate multiple sensors, such as face recognition, fingerprint recognition, and RF card reader.

Edge Computing Access Control Screen Design

The FET3568-C SoM is recommended to be used as the hardware platform of edge computing access control screen. The system on module has a quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor with a main frequency of 2.0 GHz, and its own NPU has a computing power of 1TOPS, which can meet the needs of lightweight edge computing tasks.

Memory: FET3568-C SoM supports LPDDR4 and eMMC storage, and can be configured with appropriate memory and flash memory to meet the needs of the access control system.

Interface: Native GPIO, UART, I2C, SPI, Gigabit port, etc. can communicate with other lines.

Communication module: FET3568-C supports wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The appropriate communication module can be selected according to the requirements.

Sensors: FET3568-C supports multiple sensor interfaces, such as GPIO, I2C, SPI, etc., and can easily integrate multiple sensors, including face recognition, fingerprint recognition modules, etc.

Power supply module: According to the requirements of the access control system, the appropriate power supply chip can be selected to provide stable and reliable power supply for the entire carrier board.

Peripheral expansion: USB and SD card slots are convenient for secondary development and function expansion.

Originally published at www.forlinx.net.

[berrymarkie]

gamer | l.hc

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genre : smut

warnings : fingering , spanking , hair pulling , multiple creampies , unprotected sex

hiii everyone! im so sorry for literally disappearing for a whole month. 😭 i just lost motivation for a while but i wanna start writing again! unfortunately, i lost access to most of the requests i received over the last month due to my own lack of experience using tumblr. i am still fairly new to the app so i am still learning how to navigate my drafts, requests, etc.

any new requests would be greatly appreciated!

well, this is nice. you come to visit your boyfriend and instead of you occupying his time, it’s a computer game. what could possibly make a game so fun? you swear he’s been playing for hours at this point, rarely even taking glances in your direction. you haven’t seen eachother in a week and he’s acting like he couldn’t care less about your presence.

“hyuck” you sing out, as you crawl to the end of the bed to be closer to where he sits. he hums in response, not even looking at you. “wanna cuddle?” you ask while giving him puppy dog eyes.

he looks at you for a moment and then turns to the screen again before speaking. “you know i’d love that. but, there’s a time limit on me getting this super rare gun.”

a gun? seriously?

“you can’t cuddle for just a little bit?” you whine dramatically. he chuckles and shakes his head. “im sorry, baby.”

you sigh and crawl back to the middle of the bed. laying down on the fluffy blanket you were previously wrapped in. you open your phone and start scrolling mindlessly, hoping to pass time so maybe haechan could finally give you attention.

you find yourself going through your camera roll, more specifically your videos. most of them being of your dog, sometimes pretty scenery outside. you come across one video in particular, a video haechan took on your phone.

shit, you look so pretty like this. want me to fuck you, hm? my pretty girl is so wet for me.

the audio plays quietly from your phone, just loud enough for you to hear over the sound effects on haechan’s game. you quickly swipe to the next video and see his face, his bare shoulders glistening with sweat as he roughly thrusts into you, his hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. he looked perfect, so handsome.

great, not only are you wanting to simply talk with haechan, but now, you’re also horny. now craving something he most likely doesn’t want to give at the moment.

you want his attention, and you want it now. you decide to take off a few layers, hoping to maybe catch his eye. you crawl over to the edge of the bed and lay on your stomach. wearing just your bra and panties, you prop your ass up a bit higher, hoping he’d see that first if he glanced at you.

“what are you doing?” he asks, not looking away from the screen. “im not doing anything, why?” you say, making yourself sound way more innocent than you are.

“oh really? then why are you half naked, staring at me.” he chuckles and finally looks at you, taking in sight of you. “uhm, it got hot? i think you’re looking into things too much, hyuck.” you coo at him and blink cutely.

“am i now?“ he shakes his head, his jaw slightly tightening. “mhm, you’d better get that gun anyways. it sounds… exciting.” you say softly, trying to fight back a stubborn smile.

he clicks his tongue and looks at you again, shaking his head and chuckling. you look back at him, raising your eyebrows. he suddenly gets out of his chair and sits down on the bed, pulling your legs across his lap, ass up.

“what are you doing? don’t you have a time limit?” you ask, your voice filled with fake urgency. “oh shut up.” he growls and spanks your ass roughly. you yelp and bury your face into the fabric of his sweatpants.

he rubs your ass before laying another slap across it. “you wanted it this bad?” he asks, his voice a bit deeper than usual. you don’t say anything in response, just shutting your eyes tightly.

you feel him pulling your panties off of you quickly, leaving yourself feeling a bit more vulnerable than before. he spreads your legs on his lap before slapping the back of your thigh gently. “you all worked up, hm?” he teases.

“hyuck…” you breathe out weakly. he hums softly and rubs his finger along your slit. he spreads the wetness all over your pussy before slowly pushing a finger inside you. you whine at the sudden action, hands moving to his free arm in front of you to grip on it gently.

“so wet. it’s all for me, right?” he whispers. you nod your head quickly in response. “talk to me, baby.” he says softly, starting to slowly move his finger in and out. “okay” you whimper and grip onto his hand tightly, your hips starting to squirm a bit.

he lets go of your hand and holds you down with his whole arm, not letting you move anymore. he starts to curl his fingers every time they go into you, speeding up the pace a bit more.

a soft moan escapes from your lips as he hits a certain spot inside you. “oh, did that feel good?” he asks and repeats the action, this time rougher than before, causing your legs to tremble. he repeats this a few more times before adding a second finger, stretching you out a bit.

“please don’t stop.” you whimper softly as your back arches. “oh i don’t plan on it.” he chuckles and continues to finger you. he starts to move his fingers in at an angle, causing them to hit that same spot perfectly.

loud, wet, squelching noises can now be heard in the room, mixing with the lobby music of the game still running on haechan’s computer. you whimper softly with each push of his fingers, you close your eyes tightly.

“im close.” you pant out as your whole body starts to shake. he starts moving his fingers faster, pushing them into your g-spot nonstop. his free hand moves to your clit, rubbing quick but steady motions.

��cum for me.” he says gently. you moan softly as you feel a familiar tightness in your stomach. you clench around his fingers as you feel yourself coming undone. his fingers don’t stop moving inside you, fucking into you roughly as you cum on them. your legs start to shake even more than they were before, he slowly pulls his fingers out after you completely finish.

he grabs your face gently to make you look at him. he then starts to lick his fingers clean, savoring the taste of you on his tongue. your breath quickens at the sight.

“hyuck.” you whimper softly, he smiles and pulls you to sit up, making you sit on his lap. he grips onto your hips tightly, making you grind into him slowly, your wetness seeping through his sweatpants.

“do you want me to fuck you?” he asks, rubbing one of your thighs while continuing to grind against him. you nod quickly, biting your bottom lip while looking at him. he shakes his head and pushes your hair away of your face.

“you can speak, you know? use your words.” he teases. you breathe in slowly and look at his lips, “yes, i want you to.” you breathe out slowly. he nods and tilts his head to the side. his hand moves from your side up to your chest, gently squeezing your boob through your bra.

“please, i need you.” you whimper softly while looking at him. your cheeks feel warm, probably a few shades pinker than usual. he smiles softly and nods, getting off of you to pull off his shirt. then, pushing down his sweatpants, his bulge very evident in his boxers.

he pushes his boxers down quickly, feeling eager to be inside you. "you ready?" he asks softly while slowly starting to rub his tip up and down your folds. you whimper softly and nod, spreading your legs just a bit more to give him better access.

he slowly pushes into you, a small grunt leaves his mouth as you squeeze around him. "so fucking tight." he whispers while he moves his hips a bit more. he leans down and nuzzles his face in your neck, breathing heavily as he thrusts into you slowly. your hands fall from his arms to the bed sheets, gripping tightly on the fabric.

he continues to thrust into you, hitting deeper with every movement. your breath hitches as you feel him pull out almost all the way. he suddenly pushes back into you roughly, not hard enough to hurt you.

“feel good, baby? fucking take it.” he grunts, his voice deeper than the last time he spoke. you nod quickly and grip onto his shoulder again, your other hand resting on his back. he starts to pound into you, gentle but still rough.

“im close.” he whines out as his hand finds it way lower, eventually finding your clit and rubbing gently. you let out a breathy moan as his fingers come in contact with it.

he speeds up his movements even more, the rubbing of his fingers on your clit start to sync with his thrusts.

“im gonna cum.” you cry out. “yeah? cum for me.” he says softly, not slowing down on his movements at all. your legs start to shake as you get closer. your nails dig into his back as he thrusts relentlessly into you.

you shut your eyes tightly as you feel yourself cumming, you unintentionally clench around his cock as you do so, causing him to whimper and shake his head. before you know it, haechan’s warm cum is spilling deeply into you. he pants heavily, still buried inside you.

he pulls his head away from your neck and kisses your lips gently, his hands kneading your boobs gently. he continues to kiss your lips, the kisses becoming a bit sloppy as he pulls out of you.

he leans back and watches as his cum slowly leaks out onto the sheets, staining them. his breath hitches at the sight, he looks up at you after a while as well, taking in your tired appearance.

he lays down next to you, rubbing your waist with his hand as he breathes heavily. “was that good?” he looks up at you. “yeah, it was.” you smile tiredly.

“we should take a bath before you sleep.” he suggests while looking at you. “no, im so tired.” you whine and shake your head. “fine.” he sighs softly, laughing softly a bit after because of your laziness.

“goodnight. i love you, baby.” he kisses your forehead gently and closes his eyes. “goodnight, hyuck. i love you too.” you whisper softly, your eyes slowly closing.

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note . . .

thank you so much for reading! i hope this wasnt too bad 😭 i haven’t written anything in a while so this is probably choppy af. i plan on being more active from now on hopefully! (no promises) i also want to thank everyone for the love and support on all of my last stories. i didn’t think they would get as much attention as they did and im so grateful. thank you! 💞

[oizysian]

Bad Puppy | Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanoff

Summary: Y/N isn’t in the right headspace today, and when Wanda lets Natasha go too far with her punishment, she has to make it up to her poor puppy.

Warnings: pet play, spankings, dirty talk

Word count: ~2.5k

AN: I’m so nervous about posting this because I’ve never really written anything like this. I hope you all like it!

•

“Bad puppies get punished,” Wanda said without looking up from her work. “You know that, pet.”

“Yes, mommy.” I responded softly, not wanting to antagonize her further.

“And today mommy is far too busy with work to punish you, so I’m having Tasha come and do it for me.”

My eyes widened. Natasha was coming to punish me?

“But, mommy -”

“I don’t want to hear it.” She took a break from typing to crack her knuckles, then looked at me. “Unless you want Tasha to stay over tonight.”

“No.” I whimpered. “I’m sorry.”

“Good girl.” She looked down at her paperwork, picked up a pen and scribbled something down before typing again. “She’ll be here any minute so go lay down. You know how she likes you.”

I almost started crying at her words. I did like playing with Natasha, really, but I didn’t want to play today. Puppies didn’t talk back to mommy so I couldn’t tell her how I felt, so I just went and laid down on the pullout couch she had in her office.

I lay pouting when Natasha walked in, dressed in a pencil skirt and plain white top, and high heels to finish off the ensemble. She closed the double doors behind her and approached Wanda’s desk, completely ignoring me.

“Wanda. I hear someone’s been bad.”

She took a moment to look up at the other woman, nodding as she did so.

“Very. My little pet needs to be punished, but I’m just swamped with work today.”

“I see.” She said as her eyes scanned over the various piles of paperwork she had on her desk. “So that’s why you called me.”

“Exactly.” She leaned back in her chair and looked up at the older woman. “I know you’ll dish out the appropriate punishment for my little pup.”

Natasha finally turned to look at me, spread and waiting for her on the luxuriously large couch.

���She’s well trained, at least.” She walked over to me and ran her hand along the edge of the couch, fingers brushing the soft, silk cushions.

“She’s well trained for you.” Wanda rolled her eyes. “She’s been a bit of a brat lately.”

“It’s because you’re working too much and too hard.” She walked back over to Wanda and stood behind her chair, reaching over and massaging her shoulders. “You’re gonna work yourself to death.”

“Mm,” she moaned, her head lulling back against the headrest as Natasha worked out the knots in her upper back and shoulders. “You’re right, but I need to earn a living.”

“Wanda, you’re one of the top five richest women in New York.” She leaned down and pressed a kiss to her neck and Wanda tilted her head to give her better access. “You need some time off. You need someone to take care of you.”

My ears perked up at that, watching them from my place on the couch.

“Not today, Tasha.” Wanda finally sighed and Natasha stood up straight, returning her gaze to me.

“I know. Today is for the pup.”

I trembled where I lay, watching as her hungry eyes ran over my bare body. I didn’t want to play today! I wanted to be with mommy!

Usually Natasha and Wanda played with me whether I said I wanted to or not, but they always listened for a safe word. I’ve never used it, always coming around and wanting to play after a while, but today wasn’t like that. But, puppies didn’t talk back to their mommies.

Natasha walked back over to me and climbed onto the pullout bed, crawling over to me like I was some kind of small prey. Wanda stole a glance at us, her eyes hovering over me before returning to her computer screen.

Natasha rolled me over and rubbed her hand along the swell of my ass, propping herself up on her elbow as she laid next to me.

“Wanda,” she spoke as she caressed me. “Why haven’t you painted this ass red already?”

“I figured you’d rather do the honors.” She continued to type. “I know you so enjoy a good spanking.”

“I do.” She slapped my ass and I whimpered, gripping at the sheets beneath me. “Especially when someone deserves it.”

“Mommy,” I whimpered, turning my head to face her, but she didn’t even spare me a glance. “Please.”

“Mommy won’t help you if you’ve been bad.” She smacked my ass again. “She might actually enjoy hearing you cry.”

“I think I might.” She said with a smile, tilting her head slightly so she could see Natasha spank me.

Natasha spanked me again and again, causing me to cry into the pillows. My ass was red, burning and raw once she was done, which felt like hours later. I had been bad, yes, I had disobeyed mommy, so I deserved this.

“I love it when she cries.” She directed at Wanda, but kept looking at me. “You really have the most perfect pet.”

“She’s perfect when she listens.”

“I’ll listen, mommy, I promise!” I cried and Natasha laughed.

“She says she’ll be good, mommy. What do you think?” She said as she rubbed my ass, causing me to hiss from the pain.

“I don’t believe her.” She said, resting her head on her hand. “I don’t think she means it.”

“Maybe her pussy needs a spanking too.”

“Mama, please, I’m sorry! I’ll listen to you! I won’t disobey you again!”

“Mhm.” She hummed and Natasha laughed again.

“I’m sure she’ll listen, mommy. At least she definitely will once I’m done with her.”

I buried my face in the pillows, crying freely. Why wouldn’t mommy believe me?

Natasha flipped me back over, running her hand over my mound. I cried when my ass hit the sheets, and covered my eyes so I didn’t have to look at them. I was embarrassed that I couldn’t be good enough for mommy that she had to call Natasha over. I was embarrassed that I had been spanked.

“Look at Natasha, detka.” Wanda said smiling. “Look at her when she spanks your pussy.”

I removed my hands from my face, balling them up at my sides. I sniffled softly as I watched Natasha pet me, my chest heaving as I tried catching my breath. She wasn’t hitting me yet, but my body trembled in anticipation.

“She’s shaking.” Natasha said with a smile. “She must be excited.”

Wanda got up from her desk and went into her bag, retrieving a rose gold buttplug with a little tail on the end. She walked over to us and handed it to Natasha, who eyed it excitedly.

“I was in such a rush this morning, I forgot to put this in.”

“Keep those legs spread, pup.”

Natasha spread me further and tried to insert the plug into my ass dry, causing my muscles to push her out.

“Tasha,” Wanda chided. “You need to get it wet first.” She gestured to me with her head. “Use her mouth.”

“Open wide.” Natasha brought the plug to my lips and slipped it into my mouth.

I pulled away from her and she grabbed at the leash attached to the collar I always wore and pulled me back toward her to take the plug in my mouth.

“Get it nice and wet.” She said softly, a sadistic smile on her face.

Tears stained my cheeks as I swirled my tongue around the plug, doing as she asked. I was taking the punishment I knew I deserved but I wasn’t sure how much more I could take today.

“She’s such a needy slut. She needs all her holes filled up, doesn’t she?”

I didn’t respond. She popped the plug out of my mouth and pushed me back down on the plush cushions beneath me, spreading my legs once again to insert the plug into my ass.

“She’s so tight.” Natasha said as she attempted to push the plug in again. “I love it.”

I let out a grunt as she finally got it through my ring of muscles, relaxing at the familiar feel of my plug in my ass.

“There you go. Puppy’s got her tail now. I thought something was missing.” She reached up to pet my head, touching the ears I had clipped to my hair.

“I do love when she’s all dressed up for me.” Wanda leaned over and tugged at my tail gently, drawing a low moan from the back of my throat.

“She likes her ass getting played with, huh? She really is a whore.”

“Mommy …” I looked up at her with teary eyes, but she continued to examine my tail.

“I might need to get her a bigger one for when she’s bad. Maybe one that’s a little longer and with a little more girth.”

“I’ve seen some pretty ones in the shop,” Natasha chimed in. “They’ve got a lot of things your pet would look delicious in.”

Wanda smiled at her before walking back over to her desk. She went in her drawer and pulled out a wooden hairbrush - one that was not used for hair - and brought it over to Natasha.

“I need to purchase a few different things. Paddles in different sizes are one of them.” She handed her the brush and Natasha ran it over my slit.

“A hairbrush is classic, though.” She tapped it on my mound gently and I nearly jumped right out of my skin. “It’s got a different texture than the paddle.”

Wanda hummed in agreement and Natasha began spanking my pussy, sharp, lingering strokes of the brush.

“Count for Natasha, pet.”

I was unsure of how many times she had already hit me. I opened my mouth to speak and she gave me another smack, and all that came out of my mouth was a whimpering cry.

“She’s too dumb of a whore to count.” She continued to spank me, my pussy red and raw, and I cried, attempting to close my legs to cover myself.

She pushed my legs open and spanked me harder, ignoring my cries. Wanda watched as Natasha punished me, her eyes hard and unwavering.

“Thank Natasha for spanking you, detka.”

“Thank you, Tasha.” I cried, blubbering like a baby.

“How many was that?” She asked Wanda and she raised her eyebrows.

“Twenty. My obedient pet should’ve been counting.”

“I’m sorry, mommy.” I just wanted to get back in her good graces.

“Hm,” Natasha slid her fingers into my heat, causing me to cry harder from the pain. “She’s wet. Dumb slut even gets wet from punishment.”

I couldn’t control my body, but everything hurt. My heart just wasn’t in it today, I wasn’t feeling good anymore.

“Red, mommy. Red.” I finally squeaked out, her eyes widening as she finally looked at me.

“Natasha, could you wait in the other room for a minute?”

The other woman nodded and climbed off the couch, straightening out her clothes before leaving the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

“Detka.” Wanda said softly, coming to sit next to me, resting her hand on my bare thigh. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to play.” I cried, covering my eyes with my hands. “I deserved to be punished, but I don’t wanna play.”

“Why didn’t you say something earlier, baby?” She rubbed my thigh, comforting me.

“Because I deserved it.”

“Hey. Look at me.” I peeked at her from behind my hands and she waited until I was fully looking at her before she continued speaking. “You deserved to be punished, yes, but not if you weren’t in the right headspace to be punished.”

I sniffled softly, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.

“You need to speak up when you’re not feeling good, okay?”

I nodded.

“Are you still mad, mama?”

“No, malyshka. You took your punishment, you did good. But, don’t do this again. If you don’t feel right, we won’t play, okay? This isn’t fun for mommy if it isn’t fun for you.”

“Okay, mama, I’m sorry.”

“I know. Come here.”

She held out her arms to me and I climbed into her lap, curling up in her embrace despite the pain on my ass and pussy. She held me close and rocked me, petting my hair.

“You’re my good girl. You did so good today. Do you want to sit with mommy while she works?“

I nodded and she pressed a kiss to my head.

“I’m gonna go tell Tasha we won’t be needing her anymore today, okay? I’ll be right back.”

She put me back down on the couch and got up, walking out and talking to Natasha.

I laid down and waited for her. My breathing finally evened out as I relaxed and calmed down. Mommy wasn’t mad and now I didn’t need to be punished any more today. I would get to cuddle with mommy and everything would be better tomorrow.

She walked back into the room, her gaze softening as she saw me curled up and practically falling asleep. She went and sat in her office chair, patting her lap for me to sit with her. I climbed off of the couch and almost ran to sit with her, letting her wrap her arms around me as I got comfortable on her lap. She began typing again and rested her chin on top of my head. This was all I wanted. I wanted to be with mommy today.

I nuzzled my face against her neck, taking the sensitive skin in my mouth and sucking gently. I slipped my hand up her shirt and palmed her breast, playing with her nipple through her bra as I sucked on her neck. I couldn’t be happier.

She ran her hand along the swell of my ass, hushing me when I hissed from the pain. She was just trying to comfort me.

“Do you want the cream?”

I shook my head slightly, not wanting to let go of her. I could handle the pain that I had deserved. I didn’t want us to part and I didn’t want to be a bother to her. I knew she had a lot of work to do.

“If you change your mind, let me know.” She pressed another kiss to the side of my head and continued to work.

“Mama?” I asked softly, looking at the dark mark I left on her neck.

“Hm?”

“Do you … need someone to take care of you?”

Her brow furrowed in confusion before she remembered the conversation she had with Natasha.

“No, detka. I have you. I don’t need anyone else.”

I smiled to myself and rested my head against her.

“Am I more important than your work?”

“Of course you are, baby. What a silly question.”

I was important to her. I was hers and she was mine. Now that everything was settled, I couldn’t wait to play with mommy and Natasha again.

•

@boredandneedfanfics @hailee-steinfelds-girl

[the-thing-inside-your-closet]

Trick or Treat…or Else

This is unfinished because I felt like I kept screwing up Jason’s characterisation a bit. Gotta work on that.

Jason glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall to his left, it’s was 2:57 on Halloween. His patrol wasn’t due to start for a few more hours, but something tugged at him that cause him to feel like something was going to happen. He wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad feeling just yet. He just knew that whatever is was put him on edge.

“Haven’t you taken enough pictures, Danny?” Tucker laughed through the screen of the computer Danny had set up in a four way call between himself, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz.

“I could never have too many pictures of my little princess!” Danny retorted as he snapped another photo of little Ellie in her Halloween costume.

“Ahem!” Ellie puffed out her chest and put her hands on her hips. The pose made her look even cuter, Danny thought.

“Oh my apologise,” Danny grinned cheekily, “my little badass.” He corrected himself.

Ellie, decked out in her mini Red Hood costume. The child sized leather jacket had been a gift courtesy of Sam, while the mini Red Hood helmet had been designed and built by both Tucker and Danny working together to ensure it would be perfect. They might have gone a little overboard however, since they’d managed to incorporated a real working com unit, an air filtration system in case of a gas attack, night vision, heat vision, and an emergency beacon should Ellie wander off and get lost that only Danny or Tucker could access. Danny had also hand painted two nerf guns for her, and gave her hand painted ‘grenades’ that were just glitter bombs. Ellie had insisted, just in case she was ‘forced’ to choose ‘trick’ from Trick or Treat.

“Danny,” Jazz voice held a fondness to it, “if you keep it up with the picture not only will you no longer have any space on there, you guys will be too late for the trick or treating.”

“Oh no! I don’t wanna miss it,” Ellie ran to Danny and started tugging on the sleeve of his costume, “let’s go!” She looked up at him and though the helmet obstructed Danny being able to see Ellie’s face, he could feel it in his bones that she was giving him those big puppy dog eyes of hers.

After a dramatic show of sighing in defeat, he picked up his daughter and said, “alright my starlight, but let’s say bye to the others first though.”

“Bye Uncle Tuck, Aunty Sam, and Aunt Jazz!” Ellie waved her little gloves hand at the screen from her place in her dad’s arms.

Tucker, Sam and Jazz all waved back and said their goodbyes and wishing her a fun time trick or treating. Danny bid his friends and sister farewell and ended the call.

“C’mon Little Hood, let’s go bug our neighbours for candy,” Danny beamed at Ellie as he put her back down and held out her candy bucket which had been a plastic black pumpkin from a dollar store. He’d hand painted a red bat symbol on the front of it for her, so that it would match her costume more. Ellie held the bucket in one hand, and held her dad’s hand in the other as they exited their apartment.

The clock had ticked over to 3:20pm the next time Jason spared it a glance. The trick or treaters would be put and about now. Most cities started later, but in Gotham there was always the risk of a rouge attack, so many parents would go out earlier, just to make sure they were home to avoid being out when it started to get darker.

Jason stretched his arms above his head and marked his page before putting down the book he’d just been reading. He stood up slowly and made his way over to his front door, checking that he had some Halloween candy at the ready just in case someone knocked on his door before he took off for the night. Jason knew that his building had several families with children under 14, so the likely hood of getting at least one truck or treated was pretty high.

When he was satisfied that he had everything in place he returned to the couch, picked his book back up and waited.

“Trick or treat!” Ellie cheered as the door opened.

The middle aged woman who opened the door let out a small gasp, “oh my,” she said with a smile, “Red Hood, I didn’t know you’d be patrolling our building?” Her tone was teasing as she reached somewhere past the door to grab some candy for Ellie’s pumpkin.

“Of course ma’am!” Ellie happily played along, making her own attempt at a deep ‘man’ voice, “crime could be anywhere!”

“Well I certainly feel safer knowing you’re out there protecting us Red Hood,” the woman laughed, “have a good patrol.” With that she closed the door, and Danny and Ellie Bahn making their way to the next ‘civilian’ as Ellie had started to call their neighbours.

Five groups of kids had come to Jason’s door so far. It was getting later, and he knew he’d need to start getting ready soon. Just as he was weighing the pros and cons of heading out on patrol early another knock sounded from the door to his apartment.

[untoldstar]

male!yandere hacker x fem! reader

warnings: reader being watched from their webcam without their knowledge, nsfw content, obsessive behavior and infatuation, stalking, readers privacy being breached.

hey! I'm sure someone will find this hot but this is your reminder to stay safe and be careful. It's super easy for someone to watch you at any time. This might be a silly lil post but this is a real thing that happens so stay safe loves and cover your webcams.

yandere hacker! Who simply stumbled upon your webcam one day having done this a million times before, honestly how do people still allow themselves to be so vulnerable like this? it's laughable.

He doesn't care for their files or their credit card information and he isn't selling the footage on the dark web or anything he's just..bored to put it plainly.

yandere hacker! Who watches you do mundane ordinary things, he sits there for hours watching you listen to music, watching your favorite series, type out your essay that's due for next week, he finds himself focusing on how you bite your lips when you're concentrating on the events unfolding on your screen or how you furrow your eyebrows and don't take your eyes off your screen for a second as the words flow out of you when your typing out you essays.

He hacks into your files to read what you write, sometimes sneaking in a small edit of his own on your work hoping you don't notice.

He accesses your monitor so he can feel like he's a part of your routine, bringing his own snacks as he watches your movies with you, reading your texts with your friends, listening to your playlist with you. He only took notice of his growing obsession for you when he realized he hadn't hacked into a single webcam since seeing you. He felt it was really getting bad when he'd find himself spending hours on end at his desk simply staring at you until his eyes became dry and blood shot.

When you're not doing anything particular on your computer he still keeps your webcam on his screen monitor as he goes about his day so that whenever you use your computer he knows immediately.

yandere hacker! Who never used his skills for perverted reasons, he didn't watch webcams to catch a girl changing or find some dude jacking off to porn. That didn't interest him in the least. But when he glanced at his monitor and caught a glimpse of you lifting your shirt over your head, your back facing him, he just couldn't look away, his eyes were glued to his screen. A small tiny voice in his head prayed that you'd turn around even if just for a moment.

He internally thanked god when a ding sounded from your computer, the notification showing up on the corner of his screen as well and for once he found your friend actually useful.

You turn around and walk to your screen bending down and squinting your eyes slightly to read the message and he feels his dick hardening, a visible tent forming in his pants.

It starts to become a habit. A routine even. Watching you get out of the shower, hair still dripping wet, skin glistening and flushed from the hot water. You remove the towel from around your body and chuck it at a nearby chair, starting with your routine by applying your body lotion and oil and that's when he starts getting comfortable in his desk chair and slowly unzips his pants. His favorite part is just about to start.

Wet lewd sounds and heavy breathing fill both of your rooms, he was pleasantly surprised when he discovered that you occasionally like to take care of yourself after having a shower and soon enough he joined in too.

He pants as his hands move quicker around his cock matching the pace of your fingers moving in and out of you, biting back his moans so he can hear yours clearly. With a shaky hand, he reaches over to his mouse and raises the volume. Your moans and whimpers echo loudly from his monitor.

He finds himself liking being a part of your activity here too, he edges himself waiting until you're close so you can both come together. After the first few times, he started recognizing your body's signals, your whimpers become a pitch higher, your pace becomes more sloppy and desperate than steady, too focused on chasing your high, and your hips start meeting your fingers halfway.

His head falls back and he lets out a loud moan as you both come at the same time. Both your hands slow down and your chests rise and fall as you catch your breaths and he feels a warm twisted feeling bloom inside his chest, the way you're both in sync makes him feel like he's there with you, touching you with his fingers inside you instead of your own.

The fog inside his brain clears up and he looks down at his lap to his cum leaking and covering his hand. He feels perverted like he reached the highest level of intrusion. These feelings always swirl around his chest at moments like this but they always go away as quickly as they come because he knows he can't stop.

You're just too sweet, and you seem to have fallen right into his hands and he's not letting you go.

[casandaxel]

The next time Axel appears in the Theater, he was watching a movie with Laertes. Back to the Future. They’d had to steal a computer to get access to a screen, and it took at least two hours of hard work to get the thing on, but they figured it out eventually.

Laertes doesn’t like the thunderstorm in the beginning- tried their best not to growl at the noise, really did. The fistfight scene probably wouldn’t have been any better.

But it’s just as it’s about to start that Axel isn’t in his living room. He’s somewhere Else entirely.

@laertesthelocalstranger

Axel startled, before looking around and realizing exactly what happened. He sighed, groaning in annoyance. Again? “I was with Laertes! This is her domain!” He shouted into the audience. It’d been a while since he last found himself in this place. The break was nice. He nearly forgot about how terrible the theater felt. How on edge he was when simply feeling the lacquered wood under his feet. “Why?”

[felassan]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard settings details - Display and Graphics

This post is under a cut due to length.

This information comes directly from the game.

DA:TV menu 'pages': Display, Graphics, Audio, Controls, Gameplay, Interface, Accessibility, Other.

For some of the settings, additional detail on a specific one (the one that was selected at that particular point during the video, e.g. "Window Mode" was set to "Full Screen") is given after the general explanation/definition of the setting itself. These are in italics at the end of an entry.

DISPLAY

Display Mode

Active Monitor: Select the monitor for game display. Window Mode: Switches between full screen, windowed, and borderless windowed modes. You can press ALT+ENTER at any time to switch between full screen and windowed modes. In full screen mode, the game will play on the entire screen. Screen Resolution: Changes the game's display resolution. The game's level of on-screen detail is determined by the number of pixels it contains. Higher resolution increases the number of pixels displayed, which will result in a clearer image. This comes with a potential cost to performance. Refresh Rate: Sets how often your display will refresh game visuals. A higher refresh rate means a smoother picture, depending on your computer's hardware. Frame Rate Limit: Sets the maximum framerate for the game. VSync: Synchronizes the game's framerate with the display's refresh rate to prevent screen tearing.

Calibration

Brightness: Adjusts the intensity of the game's visuals. Makes all visuals lighter or darker. Contrast: Adjusting the contrast will change the difference in color and light between the brightest and darkest parts of the screen. Enable HDR: HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode provides enhanced color and contrast ranges. This option can only be enabled on supported displays. HDR must also be enabled in your operating system. Use the HDR Calibration option below to adjust. HDR Calibration: Launches the HDR calibration tool which adjusts the HDR settings to best match your display. The maximum brightness level should generally be adjusted to match what your HDR display will support. Measured in nits. This is only available when Enable HDR is turned on.

Upscaling

Unsample Method: Improve performance and visuals by rendering the game at a smaller resolution, then "upsampling" to a larger resolution for display. The pixels that make up the difference between the two resolutions are generated using advanced algorithms. Unsample Quality: Select the desired quality level for the upsampling method selected. DLSS Frame Generation: DLSS Frame Generation can generate additional frames that boost your overall frame rate. In order to use Frame Generation, you must have an NVIDIA RTX 40-series graphics card. NVIDIA Reflex: NVIDIA Reflex is a technology that helps reduce input latency while playing the game. In order to take advantage of NVIDIA Reflex's feature, you must have a supported NVIDIA graphics card. Anti-Aliasing: Anti-Aliasing smooths out pixels along the edge of objects that can look sharp or jagged in certain situations. Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TAA) uses information from current and past frames to address aliasing issues. The high setting uses a large range of frames and will result in a higher quality anti-aliasing effect, but with a higher performance cost.

Resolution Scaling

Render Scale: Controls the resolution the game is rendered at relative to your display resolution. Settings below 100% may decrease visual fidelity, but can improve performance. Settings above 100% may increase visual fidelity, but can negatively impact performance. Dynamic Resolution Scaling: Automatically lowers the game's resolution in real-time to maintain the target frame rate. Target Frames Per Second: Determines the target frame rate for dynamic resolution scaling. Minimum Resolution Scale: Determines how low the resolution can be scaled when Dynamic Resolution Scaling is active.

GRAPHICS

Graphics Preset

Graphics Preset: Graphics presets are predefined configurations that simultaneously adjust multiple graphics settings to achieve a balance between visuals and performance. Restart required for setting change. Maximizes visual fidelity by setting most graphics options to their highest values. Recommended for the Ultra hardware specification tier.

Textures

Texture Quality: Selects the level of detail and resolution for textures applied to objects in the game. Higher settings will result in more detailed textures, potentially at the cost of performance. Restart required for setting change. CPU - Moderate. GPU - Moderate. VRAM - Major. Texture Filtering: Adjusts the appearance of textures at varied angles and distances. Higher settings will increase texture quality, though potentially at the cost of performance. CPU - Minor. GPU - Moderate. VRAM - Minor.

Light and Shadow

Lighting Quality: Adjusts the appearance of shadows, reflections, and light-scattering. Higher settings increase the visual fidelity of light effects. CPU - Minor. GPU - Moderate. VRAM - Major. Contact Shadow: Contact Shadows improves the appearance of shadows when objects are close to one another. It fills gaps between objects and shadows that can occur with static lighting. CPU - Minor. GPU - Moderate. VRAM - Minor. Ambient Occlusion: Ambient Occlusion is a technique to simulate soft shadows where objects are close together or where surfaces meet. This makes the scene look more realistic. Disabled when Ray-traced Ambient Occlusion is enabled. CPU - Minor. GPU - Major. VRAM - Minor. Disables Ambient Occlusion. This potentially increases performance at the cost of visual fidelity. Screen Space Reflections: Screen Space Reflections simulate reflections of objects and light on visible surfaces. Enabling this will result in high-quality reflections. Disabled when Ray-traced Reflections are enabled. CPU - Minor. GPU - Moderate. VRAM - Moderate. Volumetric Lighting: Adjusts the appearance of volumetric lighting effects. This simulates how light interacts with atmospheric elements like fog, smoke, dust, and clouds. Higher settings increase the quality of these types of elements. CPU - Minor. GPU - Moderate. VRAM - Minor. Sky Quality: Adjusts the appearance of the sky, clouds, and celestial bodies like the sun and moon. CPU - Minor. GPU - Moderate. VRAM - Minor.

Ray Tracing

Ray-traced Reflections: Enables the use of Ray-Tracing to simulate realistic reflections of objects and light on reflective surfaces. This is a more advanced technique and requires specialized Ray Tracing compatible hardware. CPU - Major. GPU - Major. VRAM - Moderate. In selective mode, the game will only enable Ray-traced Reflections in specific areas that can best take advantage of the feature. Ray-traced Ambient Occlusion: Enables the use of Ray Tracing to simulate soft shadows where objects are close together or where surfaces meet. This makes the scene look more realistic. This is a more advanced technique and requires specialized Ray Tracing compatible hardware. CPU - Major. GPU - Major. VRAM - Moderate. Ray-Traced Ambient Occlusion is always on. Ultra Ray Tracing: Enables the highest level of ray tracing effects, which provide better quality visuals at the cost of performance. This setting is available on the Ultra and Custom graphics presets and is only recommended for high-end graphics cards.

Geometry

Level Of Detail: Adjusts the distance at which objects are visible and the level of detail as they get father away from the camera. Higher settings increase the visual quality of objects at distance. Restart required for setting change. CPU - Major. GPU - Major. VRAM - Moderate. Strand Hair: Strand hair simulates the appearance and movement of individual strands of hair. Enabling this will result in more realistic and natural-looking hair. CPU - Major. GPU - Major. VRAM - Moderate. Terrain Quality: Terrain is the natural landscape and ground surfaces. Higher settings will increase the detail and overall quality. CPU - Moderate. GPU - Major. VRAM - Moderate. Terrain Decoration Quality: Adjusts the appearance and detail of terrain elements like rocks, vegetation, and other environmental objects. Higher settings will increase the quality and density of the terrain elements. CPU - Moderate. GPU - Major. VRAM - Moderate. Visual Effects Quality: Adjusts the quality and detail of visual effects throughout the game. This includes particle effects, decals, and screen effects. Higher settings will result in higher quality effects. CPU - Minor. GPU - Moderate. VRAM - Moderate.

Camera Effects

Depth of Field: The Depth of Field effect causes some elements of the scene to be in focus, and others to be out of focus. This effect is generally only used in cutscenes and conversations. CPU - Minor. GPU - Minor. VRAM - Minor. Depth of Field is only enabled in cinematic sequences. Vignette: The vignette creates a subtle darkening of the image towards the edges of the screen during cinematics and gameplay. This is generally used to enhance the atmosphere of scenes. CPU - Minor. GPU - Minor. VRAM - Minor. Motion Blur: Motion Blur slightly blurs fast-moving objects. This helps make motion appear smoother and more natural. CPU - Minor. GPU - Minor. VRAM - Minor. Post Processing Quality: Adjusts the overall quality of the post process effects above like depth of field, bloom and motion blur. Higher settings will result in higher quality effects. CPU - Minor. GPU - Moderate. VRAM - Minor. Field of View: Adjusts the field of view, which changes how much of the game world is visible during gameplay. A higher field of view allows you to see more of the game world. CPU - Major. GPU - Major. VRAM - Moderate.

[source]

[thetxtdevil]

Oh, to wake up and be called twin 😙😙😙

Anyway, here it is!

We all know, yeonjun has this whiny attitude right? However, he is the oldest and he tends to act maturely than others if he wanted to. Can you make someting about school student president yeonjun? Where he is the most strict school president the campus ever had. Then here's his vice pres, who balances it. Like, when yeonjun is too strict, she'd be like "that's too much, how about..." in the most gentle way. And theennn, before they can even leave the campus after being caught up on some works on the council office, yeonjun would be whining about these, like, "y/n, you shouldn't have changed the rules, they need to be punished because of what they have done" or something like that. But still, at the end of the day, yeonjun, he may be the president, but he is under the vice's power. 😋 like, she loves to play with and tease yeonjun whenever they are in the office, (i know you'll be adding the edging part 😳😋❤) and yeonjun is whiny whenever reader does this, but he still obeys. Hmmmm, but they do love each other. Being all time bestfriends with no boundaries 😭😆

- 👭🏻

Ooo twin this got my gears turning

---

"You did what to whom?" Yeonjun goes red out of anger.

"We might have toilet papered the head of the department's office thats why he's been strict about our publishing."

You giggle at the prank but look over worried at Yeonjun rubbing his face having a hard time not to lash out, "Why?" you ask

"We thought he's being too harsh" the younger students say.

It was true the head of the English department has been unnecessarily harsh on grading and simply on the students' lives. He was disapproving the fact that 'we have our own lives' and not truly focusing on work.

"Maybe we should not only being strict on publishing but no more access to the library" Yeonjun blurts out making the younger ones and even your gasp.

"Yeonjun, you can't do that they're in college the library has valuable resources" you plea, Yeonjun sighs trying not to look at your sweet face knowing too damn well that he'll melt.

Yeonjun rolls his eyes and waves his hand to let you approach the situation, "You're allowed access to the library but I want you to apologize and give your outmost respect to the HoD."

The students' tense posture relaxed showing their gratification towards you. You smile and walk away with Yeonjun.

Holding his arm you whisper, "You gotta stop acting tough or else no one is going to like you."

Yeonjun scuffs, "I need to show my dominance."

Both of you arrive at the empty council office, it was after hours, you both should go home too but at the same time both of you wanted to be together longer. Yeonjun starts his work on the computer immediately getting in the zone.

You walk over to the stack of papers needing filing, "do you?" Yeonjun looks over the desktop already forgetting what he said. "Where's all that dominance when I'm fucking you?"

Yeonjun's defined cheeks turn pink, thoughts of you runs through his mind. Thinking of you two having to reprint papers because they had both of you all over them, the time the janitor walking in see him tied up with his tie and you riding him on the desk, so on and so forth. He shifts in his chair looking back at the screen gulping down the drool forming in his mouth. You chuckle at his reaction, looking back at the papers which were starting to get less and less interesting.

You twirl around walking up behind Yeonjun's seated position, your hands on the arm rests as you hover over him. Acting like you were reading his words on the screen.

"You need a comma right there and change that to a period" you say leaning down so your breathe tickles his neck.

Yeonjun's nervousness was clear when his hands were shaking the mouse having a hard time pointing the arrow to the spot that needed to be fixed. He then feels your hand over his guiding the mouse to the right spot. You grin at his chest heaving, letting go of his hand you turn his chair around facing you. The man looks up through his eye lashes seeing your menacing grin. You straddle his hips determined to fit on the small desk chair. Your skirt flowed on top of each others groins, Yeonjun's hands instinctively guide up your thighs finding out you were wearing thin panties underneath. You kiss the man while slowly grinding on his growing hard on.

"Now show me that dominance you have."

A nuisance,

TxT's Devil

taglist: @inkigayocamman, @naoristerling

[nats-firefly]

7 and 8 with mommy wanda making r say it 🤭 thanks for being a whore ily 💕

live laugh be a whore, also this is ceo!wanda and assistant!r from the obey universe

as part of the friends and family special, this is a little longer than a blurb

warning: fingering (r receiving), mommy kink, office sex, strap on use (r receiving), a little humiliation, light spanking, orgasm denial

7. “You can take it.” / 8. “I can take it.”

"Come to my office, Y/N," Wanda said, bringing your attention from your computer screen to her as she walked past your desk into her office. She had just returned from a meeting and by her tone of voice it did not go her way. She slammed the door once she was fully in her office, making you flinch and turn your eyes to Celeste who was sitting across the room from you.

Celeste sipped her water with wide eyes, her eyes moving from Wanda's door to you. 'Good luck,' She mouthed across the room. You swallowed hard, standing up and fixing your attire before walking into her office. You were hesitant to breathe as you softly closed the door behind you.

"Leave your underwear by the door," Wanda said, barely even acknowledging you as her fingers typed away on her keyboard. You were frozen in place, earning a hard gaze from the older woman. "Now."

"Mommy," You voice was soft as you slid your underwear down your legs. You didn't understand why she was mad at you. You swallowed hard as you approached her desk, she sensed your hesitation and took a deep breath.

"Come here, baby," She said, leaning back on her chair so you could sit on her lap. She instantly slid her hands around your middle, snuggling her face into the crook of your neck. "You're gonna have to be very quiet, we're still on the clock."

"Mommy," You whispered as one of her hands drifted down to between your thighs, causing your skirt to bunch up by your hips. You released a shaky breath as her fingers started circling your clit. Her lips sucked on the skin of your neck, being careful not to leave a mark. It would be suspicious if you went into her office with a (rare) clear neck and returned with dark bruises littering your neck and cleavage.

"Shhh," She groaned into your neck, speeding up the pattern on your clit. You release a small breathy moan, bucking your hips into her hand.

"Need more," You whined, gripping her arm. "Please, Mommy, I need- I need your fingers."

"I know what you need, baby," She whispered in your ear, teeth tugging at your earlobe. She spread your legs over hers, pulling your underwear to the side so she could run her fingers over your soaked cunt. "All this for me, baby?"

You couldn't help but moan. You could feel her lips on your neck as her fingers continued their movements. It wasn't long until Wanda grew frustrated with your underwear getting in the way. You heard fabric ripping with Wanda's grunt into your ear.

"Mommy," You whined. "That one was new."

"I'll buy you a new one, baby, you don't have to worry," She said, pushing you off her lap and bent over her desk, knocking some of her things off the surface. "Now you just be my pretty little play toy and stay quiet."

Your gripped the edge of her desk as you felt her run her fingers over your pussy, spreading it between her two fingers. She stood up behind you, slowly sliding the tip of her strap over your folds. Your eyes went wide as you looked back at her.

"That's- that's too big," Your voice shook in anticipation, arching your back to give her more access. You couldn't wait to be filled with her strap.

"You can take it," She said, starting to slowly push the strap into you. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as she continued her movements. "Can't you baby?"

"I can take it, Mommy," You moaned as she suddenly snapped her hips into you.

"Be quiet, baby," She gripped your hips as she pulled back out, the strap already completely covered in your arousal. "You don't want the whole office to know you're my little cockslut do you?"

You whined, biting down on the edge of her desk as she started to pump into you. Her hand came down against your ass, making your skin burn. Her manicured nails dug into your hips as she continued to fuck you, grunting under her breath as she let out her frustrations. It was hard to contain your moans, the strap hitting all the right places as you neared the edge.

"Mommy," You whispered, looking back at Wanda, her eyes glued to the way you were taking her cock. "I-I'm gonna c-cum."

"Not yet, baby," You whined as she pulled out of you then turned you around on her desk. She pulled your shirt open, popping the buttons on your shirt. Her hands groped your chest as she pushed the strap back into you. Your hands held onto her wrists as you arched into her touch, doing your best to stay quiet. "You're doing so good, princess."

You were barely coherent, mind focused on the way she was making you feel. You were so close, desperate for a release.

"Look at you, all spread open for Mommy," Wanda pulled out her phone, quickly snapping a picture of you taking her. She couldn't help it, you looked so perfect just like this, trying your best not to cum with your he thrown back and clothes half ripped off your body. You couldn't help but release another moan, forgetting the office was, in fact, still full of people. Wanda smacked your face before gripping your chin, pulling you up so you could look in her eyes.

"Mommy told you to be quiet, slut," She pulled out of you, your eyes filling with tears at the loss of contact. Wanda pulled on the bottom drawer of her desk, pulling out a vibrator and slipping it inside you. "If you can't learn your lesson I'll put that pretty mouth to good use."

She moved you to kneel on the floor, clicking on her phone screen a few times before you felt the vibrations start. You looked up at her, a few tears rolling down your cheeks. She cupped your chin and cooed.

"You did this to yourself, baby," She sat back on her chair, roughly gripping your hair and guiding your mouth to the strap. "If you suck Mommy's cock well enough, maybe I'll let you cum."

[featherquillpen]

Hello! I just wanted to ask: is Daemorphing finished? I love that series so much!

That's a very good question!

My intention has been to write an epilogue to the series, tying up loose threads and showing the state of the world at the end. However, all my attempts to write such an epilogue have failed. I have a graveyard of abandoned epilogue drafts on my computer. It's like I have a mental block.

I suspect the source of the mental block is that Daemorphing is so epic and has been so important to my life that my brain doesn't want to like... admit it's over? And so if I can never write the epilogue, then I don't have to admit it's over.

One thing I can say for sure: all the major plot developments of the series are over. The epilogue is just about the way the world works now, and little emotional codas of people moving on with their lives in various directions. I wish I could reassure you that I will definitely get to the epilogue soon, but I'm not sure I ever will, given how badly I'm blocked about it! If it's any consolation, here is an excerpt from one of my languishing epilogue drafts:

Eva and Cassie stood at the edge of the Sky Hive Nirx Pool, once called the Hett Simplat Pool, and stared at each other. Mercurio stood in front of a device with a screen that stood on a flexible arm emerging from the dark waters of the Pool, as if to block the screen from view. Quincy flew over the Pool near the edge, seeking the presence of a Yeerk he could not sense.

Finally, Cassie said, “Aftran wouldn’t want us to fight over this. Let’s just use the interface.”

Eva exhaled slowly through her nose. “I’ve used it before. But with her, it just feels so… impersonal.”

Mercurio sighed. “Look at us, fighting to have our privacy violated. It’s honestly sad.” He stepped aside to give them access to the interface. Eva reached out and woke the screen with a touch. It cycled through multiple languages, both spoken and displayed on the screen, asking her to choose her language and sensorium.

“English, audiovisual,” Eva said.

Quincy returned to Cassie’s shoulder. “It feels like I should be able to find her myself. But I can’t.”

“Summons,” Cassie said. “Aftran 942. Visitors: Cassie and Quincy. Eva and Mercurio.”

“Summons sent.”

The Pool interface had been invented by the Yeerks of Sky Hive. They had collaborated with the Taxxons for their technical expertise. Cassie and Eva had arranged a donation of materials, as there was not yet any mechanism in place for humans to trade formally with aliens—the negotiations were ongoing.

A hologram appeared in the air before the interface. To Cassie and Eva, she looked like any other Yeerk, and anyway sight was not how Yeerks recognized each other either. But seeing her was for them a comfort.

“Cassie, Eva,” Aftran said, or rather keyed into a Pool terminal, which converted it to sound. “Thank you for coming in person.”

“Would you rather infest one of us?” Cassie said. “This feels…”

“I know I have your permission,” Aftran said, “but now that there’s a real alternative, I don’t want to do that to you anymore. I am humbled by your trust, but I’ve been inside both of your heads, and I have seen for myself that my presence in your minds is hard on you.”

Cassie wanted to protest that it wasn’t. Aftran couldn’t violate her privacy anymore, even if she tried. “But how many times,” Quincy said in her ear, “did we agree infestation was the least worst option?”

“What does the interface show you about us?” Eva said, examining the hologram.

“I can’t naturally detect electric charges through air,” Aftran said, “but the interface can. It converts the impression of your negative charges through air into a waterborne rendition. As if you were floating in the Pool with me as electric ghosts.”

“It’s kind of like that up here too,” Cassie said.

[wheredafandomat]

Desk duty

Avenger Loki x Female Reader

18+ | contains a lil smut smut

“Demoted to desk duty for the foreseeable.” Loki sighed, still typing on the keyboard as you stood, still close to the door as you spoke.

“You see it as a demotion, I see it as an opportunity.” You grinned, stepping closer to him.

“An opportunity you say.” Loki replied, copying your expression as you sat on his desk.

“Yes.” You nodded, looking down at him seductively as his hand started moving across your thigh, thumb drawing circles near your knee as your hand found his chest, smoothing over his tie.

“I think I see where this is going.” He spoke, tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip.

“Yeah?” You giggled

“Riiight after I’ve finished this.” He finished, hand leaving your leg as he focused back on the computer screen in front of him.

“But Lokii, I’m bored noww.” You whined in an attempt to catch his attention again.

“Well then why don’t you go and entertain yourself with the other fun avengers, you know, the ones still allowed to go on missions.” He huffed.

“Ouch, jealous?” You teased.

“Yes.” He nodded.

“This is just a tiny little punishment” you began, playing with his tie “plus, at least you’ve got your own office unlike the agents on floor five all packed into the room—”

“Like sardines.” He finished contemplatively.

“Exactly, see.”

“I suppose things could be worse.” He agreed.

“Yes” you nodded “it could also be a lot better.” You smiled, leaning down to kiss him, Loki kissing you back when your lips met.

“Right, off” He said, breaking the kiss as he gestured for you to stand up “I’ve got work to do.”

“Fine” you sighed “I’ll go see if Bucky wants to—” you began, standing to your feet.

“You little minx.” Loki cut in, narrowing his gaze at you.”

“Ouch, jealous?”

“Yes.” He nodded, pushing his chair out from under his desk and gesturing to his lap.

“Well, can’t have that now can we.” You smiled, biting your lip as you made your way back towards Loki, straddling him as you pressed your lips to his. Lokis hands found your back, pulling you flush against him as he deepened the kiss, groaning into it as you rolled your hips against his. His tongue pushed passed your lips, moving against yours before you broke the kiss, catching your breath. Lokis hands continued to roam your back as you undid his tie, placing it around your own neck before undoing a couple of his buttons giving you perfect access to his neck. Loki couldn’t contain his delight as you peppered kisses across his neck, moving up to his ear causing his grip around you to tighten. He always loved when kissed him there. You continued your movements feeling Lokis cock growing beneath you as you began rolling your hips again, desperate to feel it against your core.

You undid another one of his shirt buttons, exposing part of his shoulder as your lips moved there before you wrapped your legs around his torso as he stood. Placing you on the desk, Loki stood between your legs, his hard cock straining against the material of his trousers. You were quick to remove his restraints, undoing his belt as he pulled his trousers down enough to release his length. Wrapping your hand around it, you began stroking as Loki reached underneath your skirt before tugging your panties down, opening his desk drawer and concealing them in there, offering you a coy smile as your eyes met again. Reaching back underneath your skirt, Loki began drawing circles over your clit as you continued to pleasure him, thumb running over the tip already dripping with precum. Pausing his movements, Lokis hand replaced yours on his shaft as he began palming himself, his other hand finding your lower back as he pulled you closer to the edge of his desk, your skirt riding further up your thighs as he did so.

Widening your legs further, you helped guide Loki to your entrance before he thrust into you, both of you releasing a breath at the feeling. Loki pulled out before entering you again, filling you further as you bit your lip, trying to stifle your moans.

“So tight.” He spoke through gritted teeth, tying to push deeper into you as you closed your eyes, the feeling of his cock hitting that perfect spot leaving you almost inebriated.

“Loki!” You yelped as he reached between you both, thumb toying with your clit causing you to bite back a lewd moan, aware that anyone could walk past the office.

“You weren’t saying anything.” He reasoned, stifling his smile as he continued playing with your clit, filling you on his desk.

“Fuckk Loki.” You began to moan, his thrusts quickening as well as his movements on your clit. Before long, he was slamming into you, the sound of his skin slapping yours filling the room as you laid back against the desk, Loki fucking into you relentlessly as he bared his teeth, chasing sweet release.

“Fuck. Desk. Duty.” He snarled, entering you with every word, hips snapping into yours.

“Don’t stoppp, I’m so closee.” You begged, hand gripping the edge of the desk. Loki continued, sweat beading on his forehead as he fucked you until he felt your walls pulsing around him, your arousal coating his cock, an indication that he had successfully completed this mission. You floated down from your high as Loki prolonged it, searching for his own climax before he stilled his movements, cumming inside of you.

Once you were both sated, completely and utterly, Loki pulled out of you, helping you to sit up as you pulled your skirt back down, certain your next stop would be to your bathroom to shower. Loki sheathed himself before doing his shirt buttons back up, unlike you, he was able to make himself look presentable again with a flick of the wrist. He took his tie back from around your neck before fastening it around his own despite your pout.

“What’s the matter?” Loki asked, seeing your expression as you watched him.

“You look smart like this, formal. I’ll miss it.”

“This is my dress wear for the foreseeable y/n, nothing to miss.” He chuckled.

“Unfortunately not.” You answered.

“What?”

“I got you off of desk duty.” You smiled.

“What?!” He asked again.

You winked before Loki kissed you. “You can thank me later.” You spoke, hopping off of his desk.

“Ooh I intend to.” He teased.

Omg 2.2K followers. Thank y’all so much, I thought I’d write something to celebrate 🎉🥰😘

Tags:

@mcufan72 @mischief2sarawr @lokisgoodgirl @lokiprompts @lokilvrr @peaches1958 @vickie5446 @mochie85 @lulubelle814

[celabi]

Yandere Creep! Scara who sets up cameras in your bedroom…

While checking the live footage one night, he finally gets to see you masturbating, so ofc like the gross perv he is, he excitingly takes this chance to jerk off….but something catches him off guard and has him pause his movement? Did you say something? He’ll need to replay that..

Did you just moan his name?

This took way longer then it should have, even though it’s short 💀

God knows how he snuck in to place them, or how small they’d have to be so you don’t notice,— probably climbed into your window when he knew you would be out for a decent amount of time, and hid very small cameras behind your shelves and ornaments— as well as making sure he got just the absolute perfect placement where he had access to view every single angle of you.

The first few nights that he has the live footage of your room pulled up on his computer are slow— you’re just doing ordinary stuff like studying at your desk for hours, or leaning up against your bed frame while you scroll through your phone. Repetitive activity that anyone would yawn at, but not him. Not Yandere Creep!Scaramouche who stares at your every movement through the screen with a small and content smile on his face. How he’d sit at his desk for hours, with the only time he’d look away being to rub the blur out of his eyes and to use the restroom.

You’re just so fucking adorable without even knowing it, he thinks. Every time you get up and walk out of the room to grab or do something, his eyes are carefully following your figure like a hawk— praying that you hurry up and come back into frame where he could see you, because he didn’t have enough cameras to put around your whole house. God, he just gets so excited watching you that he can’t help but let’s his hands wander down into his pants and start jerking off the boner you unknowingly had caused him.

How he’d grip his nails into the arm of his chair in desperation and thrust his hips up to counter the pace of his hand, throwing his head back and sobbing out your name in lots of pathetic, shallow whimpers when he squirts his load of cum all over his keyboard. His breath is inconsistent as he rides out his emotive orgasm, face flushed into a deep shade of vermillion with beads of sweat trickling down from his forehead to his neck. But not once. Not once do his eyes leave you as you sit quietly at your desk, with a towel wrapped snugly around your body and drops of water occasionally rolling down your glowing skin.

He bet you smelled like heaven its damn self, and he wanted nothing more then to be sitting beside you and stuffing his face into the crease of your neck to breath in your heavenly aroma— but sitting behind a screen and watching you from behind a camera was enough for him, for now. Scaramouche slightly adjusts in his chair and watches in anticipation as you stand up from your own seat and stalk over towards your bed, stopping right in front of the edge of it.

His slight curiosity quickly morphs into full faced shock when your hand reaches up to your towel to slowly untie it— and he physically feels his breath stop as the material almost elegantly falls from your body and dropping to the floor under your feet. He’s stunned, eyes blown wide and with each second that passes, he can feel how his heart rate quickly increases by the beat. “Oh… my fu— fucking god.” He staggers, his cock physically twitching in to the palm of his hand. You’re naked,

Jaw slacked, Scaramouche— who’s still in his state of shock, stares so intently as your ass allures him in almost teasingly when it sways side to side as you crawl into the middle of your bed, and lay back comfortably onto the mattress. Perfect, you looked absolutely perfect as your hands trailed down your skin and towards your— your… wait a minute, are you about to do what he think you’re about to do? He leans in so close where his head is almost touching his monitor, his hands planting on the desk surface to keep him from toppling over out of excitement— and trying so hard not to blink until you finally…

Finally bring your hand down to your thighs and spread them apart ever so slightly so your fingers can slip in between and access your pussy. He moans, a full fledged moan falls from his lips when you start teasing your cute little clit with your fingers. “Fuck, fuck, no fucking way—” is this real? Finally, what he’s been waiting for this entire time, for you to finally (and unknowingly) show him that filthy side you’ve been hiding away.

His hands are quick to reach back down to his cock, before he quickly starts to masturbate again— this time however, he has something to look at while he does so. His hand is moving at an almost inhumane speed up and down his shaft, and he knows that if you keep it up— toying with your cunt and laying so erotic looking on your bed— he won’t last for much longer.

God you sounded so fucking cute too. When you’d let out little whimpers as you slowly start to insert a finger inside your hole, Scaramouche is grunting out your name and pretending you’re making those sounds right next to his ear while he fucks into you. How you’d let out small whines and use your free hand to play with your nipples, his tongue flops out of his mouth and glides over his bottom lips to imagine he were the one doing it. The whole sight of you touching your self just has him so hot and heavy that he can’t help but grip onto his cock harder then normal and tug at it like it was going to run away.

Just as Scaramouche is about to cum, as he’s hunched so far forward and sobbing out your name in a broken tone— he hears a static sound from the audio of the camera, before your cute little voice enters his ears again. He has to pause, the rapid movement of his hand stops along the shaft of his cock as well. What was that? Was he hearing things, or did you really just—

“Mmhm— Scara!”

Oh, wow.

“Ah…” it takes a while to register, his brain racking for an answer before it finally clicks. You just… moaned his name… while you’re playing with your pretty cunt with those pretty little fingers, thinking about him. Only him, no one else. “Oh… my fucking fuck!”

Yeah… Scaramouche has never cum so hard in his life before.

Also rushed to see if he was screen recording or not. Imagine his anger if he wasn’t l m a o 💀

[sanjoongie]

Ϻ𝜚ƍ𝖺ｖℯ𝗿𝑠ｅ

💙A/N: last but certainly not least (after scorpio season is finished i know lmao) this is for @anyamaris who i need to bonk most of the time for being a menace. somehow i made a combined alternate universe combining stray kids and ateez? 💙Pairing: Lee Felix (Stray Kids) x Reader (f) 💙Au: Vigilante au, Undercover au 💙Genre: smut 💙Trope: enemies to lovers 💙Warnings: mutual foreplay, fingering(f), jerking off (m), praise kink, penetrative sex with no barrier, creampie, slight edging 💙Rated: 18+, MDNI 💙Word Count: 1,590 💙Summary: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to 'distract' this vigilante until the special forces can finally arrest him. Or will he distract you?!

💙credit to @cafekitsune for the page break!

You throw back your head and gulp down the last of your coffee at 2am on a late night shift. You know what your mission is today but you’re nervous about it. It’s not the mission itself that makes you nervous, but it’s the success that has you anxious. You want to make sure you pull through and help your division capture the vigilantes Stray Kids. 

You had spent months infiltrating the dirty cops group, going behind enemy lines and snuggling up to the one cop in charge of surveillance. You've seen all the blurry screenshots and buzzed video cam of the vigilantes, so you knew your work was cut out for you, but you were firm in your stance: you would do whatever it took to catch these vigilantes.

Stray Kids had taken the law into their own hands, going after suspicious individuals or groups that seemed to get away with a crime. You weren't sure if you agreed to their methods or not, but there was a proper way to do it and it was not working outside of the law.

Your mission was to tempt, distract and down right seduce any one of Stray Kids so that they would be delayed and caught. This group had somehow been able to infiltrate some of the most high security locations and manage to leave without getting a scratch or even nearly being caught. It was time for their vigilante spree to end.

You leaned with both palms against the table where several screens surveyed the building where this particular band of dirty cops operated out of. Everything seemed normal until one of your screens glitched and there they were: 8 men in an elevator, on their way to your location.

You prepared yourself, strapped steel to your spine and turned around in your computer office chair. You swore you saw a man with brown hair walking down the hallway in the camera before you had turned around. You blinked when the door opened and a man with long black hair wound tightly to his scalp entered but when you blinked again, it was a man with blonde hair and a puffy jacket.

“Well, this is a surprise,” He said, voice low, so low, it punched you in the stomach.

You lifted an eyebrow to him. “Surprised there's a woman here? Women can be dirty cops too, pretty boy.”

The blonde grinned, a vague hint of sweetness to it. “Surprise that such a treat has been left for me. The others are going to be jealous.”

You stood up and cocked your hip, putting a hand on it. In reality, it was to allow your hand easier access to your gun strapped there. “A treat, huh?”

“The name's Felix, by the way.” He scuffed his feet and looked at you through his eyelashes, bangs framing his face.

“And why would I need to know your name?” You humored him.

“Why,” he caught his tongue between his teeth naughtily, “for you to scream it, of course.”

A shudder ran through you before you could stop it. Your fingers inched for your gun. “I thought you guys were vigilantes, not bad guys. You plan on torturing me?”

“Oh, come now,” He purred in that deep voice of his, making his way closer to you. “You and me both know why you're here.”

You attempted to keep your cool. How did he know? How had your cover been blown? “Suppose I did, and I believed you also knew…why would you go through with it?”

Felix leaned forward until his mouth was close to your ear, his body heat radiating into your skin without touching you. “Because I'll be able to have my cake and eat it too.”

Goosebumps littered your skin and your nipples tightened to peaks. You wanted him so badly already, you had no idea how he had this kind of power over you. Was it the situation? Was it… You licked your lips. “I guess I'll never know unless I try, right?”

You should leave. You should turn around and inform your higher ups that even this set up wasn't possible. Other means were going to have to be applied to bring this group down. But God, you wanted him badly, it overode your cop instincts.

Your fingers dove into Felix's hair and the nape of his neck and you smashed your lips against his. Felix chuckled deeply against your lips and kissed you back. Your tongues clashed, Felix’s running along the roof of your mouth before he began to maneuver your body back towards the desk with the monitoring screens. You sit back on the desk and spread your legs as Felix fit his body between yours. 

Felix’s dark gaze met yours and when you nodded permission, he unceremoniously shoved his hand down your pants. “So wet for me, treat, that’s good of you.” His statement was so good girl adjacent that you almost felt a little faint. 

As Felix’s fingers rubbed you good, his lips flirted with yours, pressing close but not close enough to kiss, only enough that his hot breath could be felt against your lips. You whined, whether from the inability to kiss him or from the pleasure building in your lower half, you weren’t entirely sure. 

You couldn't come undone for him just like that, so you fought your lust down, and began to palm him through his pants. The groan that verberated through his chest and sent his eyes rolling in the back of his head was worth it. Felix’s chin hit his chest as he tilted his head down to watch you working his length. He hissed when you pinched his head between your thumb and forefinger. “I’m going to fuck you so good, Treat, bend over and pull your pants down for me.” 

You were gone again, at the nickname alone this time. You did as you were told and were rewarded with Felix’s hand smoothing over your ass and hip, murmuring to himself how good you looked for him, bent over and wet. 

Felix struggled entering you. “So tight,” he rasped, “so soft and wet.” You clenched around him at the dirty talk and he moaned. “Treat, I'm gonna come prematurely if you do that again.”

You're both panting and struggling once he's finally full hilt inside of you. “F-felix,” you stuttered, “Pleeeeasseee.”

“Promised I'd fuck you good, didn't I?” Felix said in a husky tone.

You whined and began to push back on his dick. You could feel how wet you were, how you were dripping down your thighs. “Please.”

Felix pulled out slowly and pushed back in, allowing you to appreciate every inch of his dick. He pulled all the way out, making your inner pussy lips feel the head of his dick part them again and again as he played with you. 

You made a noise of anguish at how frustrated you were not getting fucked properly but you couldn't deny the feeling of pure pleasure being fucked this way--like Felix was also appreciating every moment fucking you.

Every single monitor buzzed in front of you, changing to a woman bent over--but how, there were no cameras in this room?! And the man fucking you was not Felix, but a man with light brown hair who you recognized as Lee Know, one of the original members of Stray Kids. 

“Felix!” Lee Know scolded Felix, who was suddenly not present. Lee Know grunted as his cock continued to fuck your wet hole, however. “Hurry up, we're done here!”

You watched on the screens, with a dropped jaw, as Lee Know transformed into Felix. What was going on here? It was like there was an alternate reality blending into yours currently.

“Fine,” Felix sighed and rolled his eyes. “Ruin my fun, why don't you.”

Felix’s grasped both your hips firmly and began to fuck you at a proper pace, not mind-numbing, but the way you were begging for earlier. He leaned forward and began to speak to you in a language you weren’t familiar with but by his tone, you could tell it was dirty and it made you shudder with the secret intimacy of it all. It wasn’t long before you were both crying out from climax, you almost blacking out from the intensity of your delayed orgasm.

When you woke up, you could feel his cum leaking out of you but safely onto your panties as you were fully clothed again but still bent over the surveillance desk. You turned your head tiredly towards the door and spotted an orange haired man wink at you before he blinked out of existence. Wasn’t that the leader? You attempted to stand up but your legs folded beneath you.

Wooyoung, the man that was in charge of surveillance, the dirty cop you had been working with all these months, stumbled into the room. “Someone snitched on us! The SWAT team is on its way! We gotta wipe all these--” Wooyoung halted as he stared up at the many monitors. 

Stray Kids everywhere all around the world was spelled out in letters on each screen. Shit. They had been here and gone, with the information they needed and you without a capture.

You scrambled with Wooyoung, to maintain your cover, but you couldn't help but think about the blonde who had fucked you good and wondering if you might convince your higher ups to give you a second chance to ‘distract’ him again.

[codename-mom]

Paternity test

Summary: Aaron has doubt about Jack being his now he is nine and still doesn't look like him. Dave tries to find a solution to reassure him, but it can be a double-edged sword.

Characters: BAU team (Callahan era) + Jack Hotchner

Contents: TW mention of Haley's cheating, alcohol, anxiety and I think that's all.

PS : English is not my mother language so they are necessarily mistakes. Sorry about that.

___

                Jack finished his exercise and looked up at his father. He hadn't moved an inch since he himself had sat down at the living room table to begin his homework. The giant was concentrating on his computer screen, eyebrows furrowed, lips pursed, his right hand regularly twitching, as it always did when he was deep in thought. The little boy got down from his chair and walked towards the sofa, his heart pounding. He wasn't afraid of his sire, but he still impressed him a little.

“Dad?”

“Yes, Jack,” he answered without looking at him.

“Can you check if it's okay?” he asked, placing his notebook on the armrest.

“I'm listening,” affirmed Aaron, his attention still fixed on the monitor.

“It's not math, it's grammar.”

The titan immediately ceased his activity and turned his attention back to his pocket roommate. Jack smiled at him, sketching a discreet chuckle. Then he picked up his notebook and read his lines in silence under the toddler's worried gaze. His father spoke much better than most of his teachers and other parents, and he had told him many times that knowing how to write properly would be an asset for his future life. In fact, the boy could feel the pressure on his shoulders as the director's brown irises leapt from one word to the next. It was hard to tell from his unexpressive face whether he was satisfied with his work or not.

“Reread the third sentence,” he said, finally giving him back his possession.

“What did I miss?” he interrogated him, disappointed that he hadn't got it right the first time.

“I don’t know, think.”

His ascendancy rarely made it easy for him to understand his mistakes. For many things, he let him analyze, study and dig for himself, before providing the explanation he needed, when necessary. For others, he readily agreed to teach him what he knew, just as he also took the time to listen to the results of his own discoveries. Jack loved these moments of exchange between them, and cherished them all the more as his father wasn't often at home. And when he was, he sometimes carried on with his duties as branch manager, forgetting about his offspring. Which he appreciated less and less.

“What are you doing?” he questionned as the colossus fell back into his trance.

“Research.”

“For work?”

Aaron didn't react on the spot, squinting his eyelids, before suddenly flinching as he met his gaze.

“… What? No, I... he stammered, his pupils shifting from him to the screen. I’m actually looking for a new place to live.”

“Why?”

He hadn't expected this.

“Because this one isn't very practical for either of us. Especially now that you're older.”

“Why?”

“You need a bigger bedroom, and I need an office where I can work without blocking your access to the living room.”

Instinctively, he looked towards the corridor at the end of which was his den. When he'd had to move in for good, he'd had a hard time adjusting to the old-fashioned decor, the noisy surroundings and the smallness of the place. Now he knew all its nooks and crannies by heart and felt at home here.

“Where are we going?” he worried instantly.

“Not that far, don’t be afraid. I'll make sure you stay at the same school so you can keep your friends, Aaron declared with a smile. And, in any case, we can't go too far away. I have to stay close to Quantico and I can't make your aunt travel miles for you.”

His father's large hand passed through his hair and lingered on his cheek. The FBI agent was smiling in a very exceptional way, but the whole physiognomy of his face, usually hard and cold, changed all at once. All the sweetness in his heart seemed to emerge from its hiding place and envelop him tenderly, soothing him instantly.

“Did you find something?”

“Not yet. But maybe you could help me, he asserted, looking at him. After all, you have a say in it, since you'll be living in it.”

Forgetting his English exercises altogether, he climbed onto the sofa beside him and pressed himself against his arm.

“What should I do?” he inquired, delighted to be able to support him.

“Look at the photos with me and tell me what you think. Would you?”

“Yeah.”

“So correct your third sentence and we'll take care of this.”

“Okay,” he yielded, picking up his notebook again.

Later, on a Monday, Dave invited himself into Hotch's office to let him know it was time for lunch. But as soon as he saw his drawn features and low expression, he knew something was wrong. He approached and shouted: 

“What’s going on? And watch what you say.”

His superior had a nasty habit of insisting that everything was fine, when it absolutely was not. A protective reflex that had already played many tricks on him. But the manager didn't fight. He sighed and settled back in his seat, pushing back the folder in his hand.

“…This weekend, Jack and I visited several homes. The other one's getting too small for the two of us, and I need a more suitable workspace than the living room,” he explained as Rossi sat down opposite him.

“Sounds like a good idea. But I have the impression that the hunt wasn't a good one.”

“In fact, one of them might do the trick, but... - he hesitated – that's not really the point. I didn't really expect to find the gem right away.”

Given the high demand and indecent real estate prices in the capital, it would indeed have been naive to think you'd hit the jackpot on your first try.

“So why the long face?”

“Because of the reaction of the real estate agents when they saw me arrive with Jack. You… you should have seen their faces.”

Surprisingly, Aaron wasn't looking at him, his irises turned to an invisible spot on his desk. He looked defeated.

“Well, what?” his mentor said impatiently, perplexed.

“None of them thought for a moment that that kid with me was my son, he revealed, staring at him at last. And even when Jack called me “Dad”, they still had their doubts.”

“Aren't you being a little dramatic?”

With his former disciple's tendency to see the glass as half-empty, the former retired doubted the accuracy of his statement.

“No. Many asked to see Jack's identity papers, even though they were of no use in completing the application files.”

He had to admit that this supported his hypothesis and he understood better why he wasn't particularly happy.  He dared to put things in perspective:

“At least they check.”

“Dave, these people were convinced I was a pedophile looking for a new hideout!” snapped his wounded interlocutor.

“Aaron…”

“And, at the same time, they have good reason to think so,” he continued, looking downcast.

“Why?”

The novelist had no idea why he would say such a thing. He was used to hearing him self-inflict a multitude of imaginary defects, but this one was beyond comprehension. Especially as there was nothing innocuous about it.

“Look at him, Hotch resumed, flipping the frame on his desk. Look at him and tell me where I am.”

A frozen Jack on glossy paper gave him a radiant smile, his straight, light hair waving in a passing breeze.

“He’s still a child, Aaron.”

“He's nine! the ex-prosecutor reminded him. It's high time he showed some of his father's physical traits. Except he doesn’t. Jack, it’s clearly Haley and... someone else.”

“Don’t say that.”

“So, tell me! Tell me what he took from me.”

 Uneasy, Rossi lowered his eyes to the toddler's portrait and carefully observed his eyes, nose, ears, chin... Apart from the color of his irises – which could also be his mother's – it was difficult to identify his sire's features. However, the elder felt that the kid was still too young to express all his genetic characteristics. Besides, he didn’t like what it implied.

“See. Even you can't answer that.”

“You realize you're implying that Haley went elsewhere.”

“But she went somewhere else, Dave, he asserted without preamble. One… one day when I was unusually at home, someone called. I picked up the phone and nobody answered. There was a silence and then they hang up. Right after that, someone called on Haley’s cell phone. I didn't make the connection with Jack this day, but now it's so obvious that he's not mine.”

The BAU co-founder realized that it had been eight years since his opposite had kept his wife's betrayal to himself, and he was touched that he hadn't been in the loop at the time. Why hadn't he told him about it? He'd been living with this memory for almost a decade, and it must have crushed his self-esteem when he realized that Haley hadn't had the respect for him that he'd had for her in the twenty-five years they'd been together. A memory that continued to undermine even now.

“Aaron, maybe it was someone who had the wrong number.”

“When you get the wrong number, do you just hang up?”

“… No,” he conceded, honest.

“You apologize and explain that you made a mistake. Haley didn't ask for a divorce because I was never around, but because I was too much and had discovered the truth.”

Dave easily perceived the anger rolling through his veins. Even after so much time, even after everything that had happened, he was still furious. The question was, against whom? The most likely answer was: his partner at the time. But Hotch was a complex person who had very little regard for himself, and his eldest wouldn't have been surprised if he resented him too.

“Wait, that doesn't mean that Jack isn't yours. It's playing with fire to have a child with someone other than your husband.”

“Except when the husband doesn't want children.”

Taken aback by this outburst, he widened his eyelids, questioning the giant with his eyes.

“She wanted that kid so badly; she could have done just that. And, once pregnant, she did what it took to convince me to take the plunge.”

He glimpsed a side of Aaron's private life he'd never known about before. The couple he had formed with Haley at that moment had seemed so harmonious that he hadn't questioned further why they had remained childless for so long.

“For… for years, she had put her desire for motherhood on the back burner, but suddenly it became urgent. She put me on the spot for it, he added, his eyes shining. And, as luck would have it, it worked the first time. Normally, it takes several attempts to make it work, even for couples who have frequent relations. But not us. I'm sure of it now, she was already pregnant and I find myself raising someone else's kid.”

“Hold on, Aaron. Breathe. All this is just speculation.”

He ignored all the statistics that ran through his brain about the number of tries one had to go through to get it right – even more so when the mother-to-be was in her forties – just as he refrained from bouncing on the fact that Haley had obviously taken advantage of her husband's unconditional love for her to finally accede to her request. Even if the evidence seemed to be mounting, he couldn't overlook the fact that he didn't hold all the cards and that, even if she had gone elsewhere, there was no proof that she had played him to such an extent.

“What are you going to do anyway? Abandon Jack?”

“No, he retorted immediately. I… I can’t do that. He… he’s not to blame. And… if I couldn't be his biological father, I could always be his... his legal guardian.”

                Dave was struck by the sadness that emanated from these last words. Even if he hadn't actually experienced it, becoming a father was an incredible opportunity, a stage of life like no other. All of a sudden, you found yourself propelled into a completely different dimension, where care freeness disappeared, replaced by a constant attention to detail. One was brutally invested with a long-term mission, which consisted in bringing an innocent and pure being to become strong and skilful enough to survive the ferocity of life; all without turning them into a bloodthirsty and cruel monster. Becoming a father meant making millions of sacrifices and compromises every day for the sake of a single individual; it meant facing up to fears and repulsions, ignoring fatigue, silencing anxieties, mastering annoyance, monitoring one's own behavior, weighing one's words and being able to give it all up when necessary. All this without even knowing if the child will return the favor one day.

                Being a legal guardian was a soulless legal term for the fact that you were just a name on an administrative document.

“But, you know there's a way to check if there's a genetic link between the two of you.”

“I won't do a test,” rebelled Aaron, adamant.

“Why not?”

“No. Imagine that... that he really wasn't mine. What should I do? Tell him nothing, at the risk that he might discover the truth later? Telling him the truth and destroying his mother's image and the pretend balance we've both managed to achieve? I… - he sighed. At least, at the moment, I'm still left with the doubt that he's mine.”

                Rossi left the office and joined the team gathered in the corridor, ready to go down for lunch. Their brows furrowed as soon as they noticed their superior's absence.

“Isn't he coming with us?” worried Penelope.

“No. He’s… he’s cogitating.”

“What? What's that supposed to mean?” grumbled Derek, unsettled.

“Cogitate comes from the Latin cogitare, which means... began Spencer, before all eyes turned to him. That wasn't what you meant, was it?”

Morgan shook his head jaded, but said nothing.

“Aaron thinks Jack isn't his.”

“Again?” exclaimed JJ.

Everyone stared at her, surprised.

“I'm sorry, but this idea has been on his mind for some time now, she justified herself, a little embarrassed. Everyone tells him that Jack looks like his mother and never like him. After a while, I can see why the idea would catch on.”

“When they're born, babies resemble their sire so that the latter can attach more easily to the newborn and thus provide it with all the protection it needs,” declared Reid, perhaps a little too cheerfully.

“Who did Jack look like when he was born?” bounced Kate, who didn't even know what the child looked like now.

The two blondes glanced at each other awkwardly and replied in unison:

“… Haley.”

“Wait, interjected Derek, suddenly enthusiastic, Jack has brown eyes and so does Hotch.”

“Around eighty percent of the world's population has brown eyes.”

“Reid, I'm trying to make a case for Hotch, he growled, letting his shoulders fall back. Don’t help me there.”

Dave refrained from hammering the point home by reminding the ex-policeman that the boy's mother also had brown eyes. 

“Sorry, but the only way to be sure Hotch and Jack are related is to have them take a DNA test,” the multi-graduate defended himself.

“He doesn’t want to.”

“Why?”

“Because without it, he still has the illusion of being his father.”

His reply cast a chill over the assembly. The few snatches of a smile that remained disappeared in a flash, and discomfort seized everyone.

“It's so sad,” commented Garcia, tears welling up in her eyes.

“At the same time, I've always thought Jack had a false air of Sean about him,” said the ex-officer liaison, in a very small voice.

“Seriously?” choked Rossi, blown away by this thought.

“It's true that it could explain the hair color,” supported the technician, who didn't dare meet his gaze.

“Who’s Sean?”

Attention turned to the newcomer to the team, whose embarrassment had given way to confusion.

“He's Hotch's younger brother, Spencer explained. They don’t look alike at all.”

Which was saying a lot. As tall as each other, the resemblance ended there. Aaron was as dark-haired as Sean was blond, and his dark irises were set against a much more attractive blue-gray. And then there were their differences in character: the former's straightforwardness didn't go at all well with the latter's carefree attitude. While both had criminal records, the elder had settled down before he came of age, while the younger was multiplying offences now that he was an adult.

“Hotch took from his mother and Sean from his father,” continued JJ, helping her colleague understand the situation.

“How likely is it that Hotch passed on his own father's physical characteristics to Jack?” suggested Kate, very seriously.

“That’s a good question. If we assume that his mother's alleles are all dominant...”

“We're going to do a DNA test,” proclaimed Rossi, cutting Reid off who was, in his opinion, putting a little too much effort into this sordid calculation given the context.

“What?” croaked the group, bewildered.

He'd expected this reaction, but the Las Vegas native was right: it was the only way to get to the bottom of the story.

“At least we'll know for sure.”

“How do you plan to do it? Derek questioned, eyebrows furrowed. Recovering Hotch's DNA shouldn't be a problem; all you have to do is steal his mug...”

“The DNA of all FBI agents is recorded in the national database so that it can be discarded when analyzing crime scenes.”

“Thank you, Reid.”

“You're welcome,” replied the latter, as cheerful as his colleague was weary.

Morgan sighed and resumed:

“How do you plan to get Jack's DNA?”

“JJ, I thought I'd put you to work.”

“Me? Gasped the interested party, unsettled. But… how?”

“You could organize a brunch with Will where you invite them both. Henry and Jack will be happy to play together, and Aaron won't suspect a thing.”

He'd come up with this plan in the very short time between their conversations, but it seemed feasible. And, by leaning on the young woman, he thought he wouldn't arouse the giant's natural distrust, which, after their conversation, might put distance between the two of them. If only to avoid being told to do the test over and over again.

“Are we talking about the results? Intervened Penelope. What are we going to do once we get them? We're not going to tell him that Jack isn't his, even if it were true.”

“Of course not. The whole plan relies on him not knowing about the test. In fact, if it's not in his favor, we won't tell him anything – and he'll keep hoping he's his real father – and if it is in his favor, we'll be able to prove to him that Jack is really his, he unrolled before adding. And he'll be too relieved to give us the hell for doing the test behind his back.”

The profilers and the analyst watched him as if they'd just suggested bungee jumping off the Empire State Building on a windy day. They, who were so quick to pounce on the slightest crumb concerning their superior's intimate life, retreated with great strides when he offered them a scoop on a silver platter.

“Not all at once.”

They exchanged questioning glances, then JJ spoke again:

“Okay. I’m in.”

“Thanks for your support.”

As agreed, JJ invited the Hotchners, father and son, to lunch at her home one weekend, and she met Dave in his office to entrust him with the few hairs she'd been able to remove from Jack's jacket. That same evening, the agency's eldest went to the analysis laboratory, where he knew one of the employees. The woman in question was a little younger than he, and they had seen each other on occasion outside of the professional context. Intelligent and endowed with a certain charm, she didn't shy away from propriety. In private, at least; at work, it was a different story, and he was going to have to convince her to help him despite the unofficial nature of his request.

“Hi, Dave, she said with a smile as she saw him enter her den. What brings you to this part of the world?”

“I’ve got a favor to ask.”

“I thought so too,” she ironized, resting the notepad in her hand on the bench behind her.

“I'll need to look for a DNA match.”

“Which file is it for?” she inquired, activating the nearby monitor.

She settled down on the stool, ready to launch a computer search so that she could attach the results to the ongoing investigation. Rossi couldn't lie on this point, but he was equally put off by the idea of unpacking Aaron's intimate life to this scientist who was a stranger to the titan.

“It’s… confidential.”

“Are you serious right now?” she retorted immediately, swiveling her seat in his direction. 

She knew perfectly well what this formulation meant. 

“I can’t tell you more.”

“Then, I won’t do anything. These machines are worth a fortune, and we don't run them for nothing.”

He then realized that there must have been some abuse lately, and that the laboratory workers were being watched. He didn't know how it all worked in practice but wasn't surprised to hear her put the financial argument of the procedure on the table. However, he didn't trust those online sites that offered DNA tests for a fee; just as he couldn't see himself contacting an analyst in whom he didn't have absolute confidence. The hostess stared at him, waiting for further explanation.

“Okay, okay, he yielded, raising his hands in front of him. I have a friend who's convinced his kid isn't his. I'd like to prove him wrong for once.”

She frowned.

“You know this kind of bet is a double-edged sword?”

“If he's right, he won't know.”

“But you’ll know.”

“I'll deal with it, he swept with his most casual air. How soon can you get me the results?”

He handed her the sample taken by the former liaison officer. She took it and sighed, before giving him a discreet smile.

“I’ll give you a call when it’s done.”

“Thank you.”

“Wait until you get the results before thanking me.”

A week passed, during which a certain tension gripped him from morning to night, and he was relieved to see a message from the coroner appear on his phone screen. He didn't yet know what she had to tell him, but the simple fact that his mission was progressing soothed him. He left Quantico earlier that day to see her. She was in the same place as last time and handed him an unmarked envelope.

“So?” he inquired, curious all the same.

“I'll let you find out. All I can tell you is that the father has a record.”

Which, in itself, did not exclude Aaron. Indeed, shortly after he and Gideon had decided to give the young prosecutor a chance to join the fledgling BAU, the HRD's vetting department had alerted them to the fact that he had a juvenile criminal record. He and his then accomplice had asked to take a look at it, only to discover that the obviously angry pre-adolescent had abruptly mellowed out three years before coming of age, never to leave the beaten track again. And apart from a few outrages against law enforcement officers, he had committed no crime that would prevent them from hiring him. But that didn't mean he was Jack's father, either; only that Haley had messed around with someone who hadn't been above the law at some point in her life.

“… Okay. Thanks.”

He started to walk away when the scientist called out to him:

“Hey, Dave! It’s not for free.”

“What do you want?” he replied, unsurprised by her remark.

“Look at the results first, then we'll discuss about it.”

Rossi's usual plan was to go home, open the envelope and pour himself a glass of twelve-year-old whisky to celebrate the fact that he'd been right, and could therefore reassure his superior and friend. But when he found himself sitting on his sofa, with that white rectangle in his hands, he couldn't go any further. What if it wasn't him? And what if Aaron's ex-wife really had slept with someone else to have the child she so dreamed of before she played her then-husband? Or, to put it more simply – and more commonly – had she had an ongoing extramarital relationship, forgotten to take her pill, or had unprotected sex and got pregnant afterwards? She would have backed her husband into a corner to cover her tracks. Unless she slept with both of them on the same day or within a very short period of time and didn't know which one was the father. There were so many plausible hypotheses that he didn't know which to believe.

He thought he could handle knowing the truth without blinking. But now that he was within a hair's breadth of knowing it all, he realized the implications and no longer felt as serene as he had at the start of his quest. Could he still look Hotch in the eye, smile at him, and joke with him and, above all, watch him interact with Jack knowing, in fact, that they were not related at all? How long could he keep this information secret? What would the agency director's reaction be when he heard that he was right and, what's more, that his mentor had hatched a whole plan behind his back and then kept quiet about it?

The next morning, he returned to the FBI training center with the envelope still sealed in his hands. The whole team was eagerly awaiting him, huddled together in the bullpen area while their boss held yet another management meeting.

“You've got them, haven't you?” Spencer hooked him up, impatient.

“It seems so.”

“So?” bounced JJ.

He didn't answer, staring at the mail as if it were about to start talking.

“You didn't dare open the envelope, did you?” teased Derek, with a smirk.

“I'd like to see you in my shoes, kid.”

“If that’s all it takes.”

Morgan took the document from his hands, gestured to open it, and then froze. Dave took the opportunity to say:

“Think about the fact that you'll have to work alongside him knowing the truth. And perhaps this truth will have the power to destroy what little self-esteem and self-confidence he still has.”

The ex-policeman rolled his eyes and sighed before handing over his property. The novelist could have savored this victory if it hadn't brought them back to square one.

“What do we do? Should we abandon the project?” suggested the Chicago native.

“I'd love to know the results, honestly, Reid admitted, but I don't want to hurt Hotch.”

“And, at the same time, continued JJ, if this test proves that he's Jack's father, it'll take a burden off his mind.”

“So, we come back to my question: what do we do?”

Everyone casted questioning glances at each other. They wanted to help their colleague feel better, but none of them wanted to be the bearer of bad news, let alone spend the rest of their lives with the weight of the truth on their shoulders.

“In any case, there's no way I'm opening this envelope,” said Penelope, moving away from the group.

“I'll do it, decreed Dave, cheerlessly. It's my idea, and it's up to me to accept the consequences to the end.”

“But if the results are negative, does that mean you'll be willing to take on the job of reassuring him again on the matter, when you'll actually know it's wrong?” pointed out Kate, dubiously. 

“Ouch!” commented Spencer, his irises leaping from his female coworker to his elder.

He hadn't thought of that possibility either, but threw out: 

“Somebody's got to open the damn envelope.”

“Is there a problem?”

The team gasped as they heard the cavernous voice behind them. They turned as one to see their leader standing beside them. They'd been so absorbed in their discussion that they'd stopped paying attention to their surroundings. Hotch looked at them blankly for a moment, then looked at the envelope in turn.

“What is it?”

“What? Ah! Stammered Rossi, unease. Uh… these are the results of a medical test I took.”

“A test? For what?” worried the giant, his eyebrows more furrowed than usual.

“No big deal. It's more of a routine check-up.”

He had tried to adopt his most detached attitude, but the expression on his interlocutor's face proved that he had not achieved his objective.

“Dave, would you tell me if something serious was happening to you?”

“Of course, Aaron. You’d be the first to know.”

The interested party seemed even more concerned, but the ringing of a distant telephone made him look up at his desk.

“I have to go. Don’t forget to keep me in touch.”

“Everything is fine, don’t worry.”

The BAU co-founder patted Hotch on the shoulder as he walked away from them, and they watched him climb the ramp to the walkway and disappear into his office. A general sigh passed through the federal agents' rib cages.

“Are your legs shaking too?” Garcia asked, leaning on the nearest piece of furniture. 

“If it was just the legs...” confirmed the other blonde on the team.

“Well done, Rossi,” congratulates sincerely Derek, who didn't seem to mind any more than his comrades.

“Fortunately, he always worries more about others than himself.”

It would have been a lie to say that he'd thought about it when he came up with this justification, but fact was that the giant's altruism and empathy had made things much easier for him.

“We might have to open that envelope now,” Callahan snapped, curious in spite of everything.

“Wish me good luck.”

Dave followed in Hotch's footsteps, but continued on his way to his own workspace, next to that of the colossus in the suit. He sat back in his chair and placed the envelope on his desk pad. He was afraid. Afraid to open the envelope and learn the truth. Afraid of condemning himself to silence for an indeterminate time. Afraid of having to lie for the rest of his life about the true nature of the bond between his friend and the boy he hoped would be his son. Afraid to face Aaron's scrutinizing gaze every time his insecurities resurfaced.

                He knew that the man behind the wall behind his back hadn't chased fatherhood – his difficult childhood hadn't encouraged him to extend the lineage – but that he adored Jack, nonetheless. More than that, the former pensioner was convinced that if the little boy hadn't existed, Aaron probably wouldn't have found the strength to overcome all the hardships he'd been forced to endure. Without the toddler, he'd never have recovered from the death of the only woman he'd ever loved. He hung in there because there was a four-year-old who needed him. Then, little by little, he had gained confidence in his new role as a single father and, year after year, he had even managed to overcome his grief to the point of getting back together as a couple.

                To reveal to him that Jack was not of his blood was to set him back almost a decade and annihilate all the efforts he'd made up to that point. It was tarnishing – ruining – the last nine years of his life, just as Haley had soiled their twenty-five years together by cheating on him and then filing for divorce. Dave hadn't been there for the birth of their child, but he'd been there for everything else, and he wasn't at all happy to destroy it. On the contrary, he really wanted to help his neighbor relieve his conscience of at least one of his anxieties. And for that, he had no choice but to throw himself into the lion's den.

He took a deep breath and picked up the envelope. So as not to back down again, he didn't wait to open it and extract the tri-fold sheet it contained. The paper was thick enough that nothing could be read from the outside. With his heart pounding against his ribs, he slowly unfolded the letter: first flap first, with the date, title, and laboratory logo; then the next two, clearly displaying the results. A long exhale escaped his lips.  

A few moments later, the profilers saw their colleague cross the few meters separating his door from that of the manager. He had a serious look on his face. He knocked to signal his presence to Hotch, still on the line, who beckoned him in anyway.

“Listen, I understand your concerns, but my team is used to this kind of situation and... Yes, even agent Callahan… he affirmed, rolling his eyes. I don't think this information will be of any use to you... Very well, we'll discuss it in person... Of course… And I'll get back to you as soon as possible... Have a good day too.”

He hung up immediately afterwards and turned his gaze on Rossi, who was standing in front of him.

“Something tells me you're not going to answer them right away,” Dave said with a smirk.

“I have no idea why you would think that.”

“Intuition.”

They smiled in unison, then his superior became serious again.

“What can I do for you?”

“Read this.”

He placed the envelope on his desk.

“These are your medical results, he remarked, confused. It’s private.”

“You wanted to know if I was okay. You'll find the answer in here.”

“Why won’t you tell me?”

“Aaron, open this letter, please.”

Disconcerted by his insistence, the giant obeyed, not without some hesitation. His perplexity gave way to annoyance, however, when he read the document's subject.

“You did a DNA test?” he scolded, glaring at him.

“Keep reading.”

Hotch gulped. He was hesitating, logically. He hadn't asked to know because he didn't want to know. He didn't want to lose the person he loved most in the world. He didn't want to be reduced to a wallet on legs for Jack. Dave understood his reluctance, so he made sure to appear as relaxed as possible. Finally, the branch manager applied himself and unfolded the entire sheet. The features of his face suddenly distorted. Anger vanished and a daze overtook him. Then tears rolled silently down his cheeks.

“I’ll leave you to it. You know where to find me.”

Rossi left the office, leaving his tenant in shock, and rejoined the group that had gathered at the bottom of the ramp. Penelope had emerged from her lair and was watching him walk towards them, her eyes shining.

“So?” she asked, in chorus with JJ.

“It’s a boy.”

Relief and joy took hold of the whole assembly, which found itself smiling and colorful once again.

“Are we sure?” wished to clarify Derek.

“Yes, the match is there.”

“I've got to go and give him a hug!” stomped Garcia, tears of happiness escaping from behind her glasses.

“Penelope, give him time. He's got a few years' worth of doubts to sweep under the rug right now.”

“I'm so happy for him,” declared JJ, moved.

“Me too,” toped up Spencer, grinning from ear to ear.

“I don't know him as well as you do, but I must admit I'm relieved,” revealed Kate, who shared her peers' elation.

“Here he is!”

At the analyst's exclamation, all eyes turned to the manager's office from which Hotch had actually emerged. Letter in hand, he walked slowly towards them, a neutral expression on his face. The general jubilation subsided into discreet smiles. Their superior froze in front of them, and the tension spread to Dave and his neighbors. By having this test done without his knowledge, he had trampled on his privacy, something the giant abhorred. Whenever his men had started poking around in this area, he had always reacted very badly. It was probably the only thing that made him bang his fist on the table about them. Except that this time was different from all the others. He spread his arms and embraced his mentor, saying:

“Thank you.”

“Mazel tov,” exclamed the latter, responding to his embrace with a few friendly pats on the back.

“I'll never know how to thank you.”

“Stop doubting yourself.”

The titan smiled and detached himself from him, but not without keeping a hand on his shoulder. Rossi was delighted to see him so happy. He had succeeded in his gamble. His colleagues approached in turn, and Morgan extended his hand in the direction of the man he'd had to replace at short notice years earlier.

“Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” answered Aaron, squeezing his palm.

JJ was the next to congratulate him, but she allowed herself to give him a hug. Garcia then threw herself at him, her red cheeks bathed in tears. 

“I am so, so, so happy for you! You have no idea.”

“Thank you, Penelope.”

Spencer dared an awkward embrace, offset by the radiant, confident smile that lit up his youthful features. Callahan waited for Hotch to face her before speaking:

“If all your affairs are resolved like this, I'll sign on for the next ten years.”

“I'll make a note of it, replied the ex-prosecutor, amused, before he regained his seriousness by enveloping them with his gaze. I… I should be mad at you for going behind my back, but...”

The end of his sentence disappeared into limbo, his smile revealing the depth of his thought. Dave guessed that he was a little embarrassed to be the center of attention, but that he wanted to share this moment of joy with them.

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” said Reid, proudly.  

They all burst out laughing, dispelling the pressure that had been building up.

“How did you get Jack’s DNA, by the way?... Oh, the brunch,” he realized all by himself.

“Sorry,” apologized the culprit.

“Well done.”

JJ immediately blushed, touched by the compliment.

“Well. Clearly, I owe someone a meal now,” he stated as the team filed out of the open plan to retrieve their respective places, and he and Aaron returned to their desks.

“To who?”

“To the coroner who performed the test.”

“If that's all there is to it, just make an expense claim. I'll validate it with my eyes closed,” assured the colossus, ecstatic.

“It’ll be fine, he answered, laughing. Thanks.”

He squeezed the shoulder of his friend and, by now, official family man, before resuming his day's work. Curiously, despite the harsh news they received by email that day, the same calm smile remained on the lips of the BAU agents.

___

I'm still alive! Actually, I put my other works on hiatus just to write this for Father's day (which was last sunday in France), and I'm now back working on three CM AU at the same time. Yes, three. I'm crazy. XD

Well, I hope you've enjoyed your journey. ^^

PS: Yes, I know "Mazel tov" doesn't mean "congratulations" and Aaron knows it too, but Dave is always so cheerful when he's using it that he never told him that he's wrong. ^^;

[destinysbounty]

Yo what if you went off about s3, it'd be cool

The love triangle, the quick tech development, whatever you want, I wanna know what you think

(I saw you in the tags of that post, please gimme the analysies. pretty please)

The entirety of my thoughts on Ninjago's technology are long and vast and complicated, and I could probably make a full video essay on just that topic alone. But for the sake of simplicity, and also because I'm too lazy to write a 10k-word essay with screenshot evidence on why Ninjago tech isn't actually anachronistic, I'm going to just focus on the season 3 issue for now.

Now, one criticism that often gets lobbed at Rebooted is the matter of the technology. How did Ninjago suddenly become a hyper-futuristic technoscape in the span of what couldn't be more than a year? At first glance, I can understand how that might feel unrealistic. I used to feel the same way! But it actually makes total sense when you realize that this technology probably already existed, if only in a beta form, for years before s3 started.

But wait! If the technology already existed in some form, then why wasn't it used? Why did Ninjago only become a cyberpunk dystopia during s3??

The answer to that question is something that sounds like a no-brainer, but should probably be said anyway: just because a technology exists, doesn't mean it is democratized. That is to say, just because a society has made certain technological advancements, doesn't mean everyone in that society can actually access those advancements. Look at any country in our contemporary world - richer and more industrialized communities typically have better access to cutting edge developments, whereas more rural communities may not even have reliable internet access. Even Ignacia, which is one of the most rural communities we've seen in the entire show, was depicted as having landlines and telephone poles in the very first scene.

Moreover, it's reasonable to assume that robotics and digital technology has existed - and fairly advanced - for decades in-universe.

My evidence? The creation of characters such as Zane and Unagami. Both were invented roughly 40 and 20 years pre-canon respectively. Coding, and especially programming an AI like both characters are classified as, requires the existence of a computer. Which means that computers existed as early as the Serpentine War. (Unless Zane is the product of magi-tech, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Especially since Zane's original body also has other functions that, to my knowledge, wouldn't be possible without programming. For now, I'm proceeding under the assumption that Zane was created purely with technology.)

For these reasons I would argue that certain technologies, and in particular digital technology, have existed in-universe for a lot longer than we might think at first glance - but due to what appears to be some very extreme wealth disparity, technology has only recently become more widely accessible within the last few decades.

Think about it. Most human settlements we see are fairly small and rural, except for Ninjago City. Ninjago City is the only city we've seen on-screen in the entire series (with a few small towns here and there, but it's mostly just villages). And even then, the cost of living in Ninjago City itself is astronomically high. There's clearly something funky going on with this country's distribution of wealth.

With that in mind, it makes total sense that the tech we see in s3 was at least in development a lot earlier than anyone might realize. It's just that it was too expensive and exclusive for anyone in the general public to actually use it.

Now, let's look at this in the context of Rebooted.

Imagine you're a multi-millionaire tech mogul and the CEO of a very powerful tech company. The city is in shambles in the wake of an apocalyptic battle against Lego Satan. You take this opportunity to spearhead the reconstruction efforts. On top of being an impressive PR stunt, this is also great for business as it presents you with the perfect opportunity to populate the city wholesale with your own products: flying cars, holographic floating streets, AI vending machines, elaborate VR and AR setups, mechanical spider wheelchairs, the whole nine yards. The government probably even writes you a big check to make this process more accessible to your consumers - I mean, to the citizens of your the shiny new corporatocracy you may or may not have stumbled into creating. Whether or not you employed lobbyism to get this check is neither here nor there. After all, this is for the greater good! And to finally seal the deal that this city has become a Borg Industries outpost, you rebrand Ninjago City to New Ninjago City. This isn't just a city anymore, it's a corporate asset. It's an ad campaign. It's a way of life.

This also explains why all the tech mysteriously vanishes after s3 ends: supply and demand. A robot apocalypse is, among other things, bad for PR. I don't wanna think about the existence of a Lego Stock Market because that will hurt my brain, but a robot apocalypse is definitely what I would classify as a "black swan event" (an unpredictable crisis that severely disrupts the stock market). The company starts faltering financially because of all the public backlash, people stop buying and investing in their tech, their stocks start to crash, and Borg Industries has to roll back on their infrastructural monopoly. And so the technological status quo is (mostly) restored.

The theme of s3 isn't "technology bad" - at least, it shouldn't be. If you're as brainrotted as I am then the theme of s3 instead becomes, "maybe you shouldn't let one sole company have a total monopoly on your society's infrastructure because they might accidentally start a cyberpunk dystopia". And that is a...disturbingly apt moral for our current day and age (cough cough Amazon).

...can you tell I've been listening to The Fine Print by Stupendium on loop for too long?

[viceroywrites]

private show - part two

part two of three - henchman 21 x camstar!reader

ao3 ver here

Gary ends up stumbling upon your profile on a camstar website 24 had mentioned to him. He quickly becomes your most loyal viewer and top tipper.

So why not reward him with a private show?

(Set during Season 3/Pre-Two Ton 21)

18+ only, minors dni.

“Oh my god! Oh my god!” Gary exclaims in shock, holding his laptop in between his thick fingers as he rushes out of his room. He books it down the hall, banging on 24’s door in urgency.

24 sticks his head out, cautious that the Moppets may be on the other side and ready to slam the door but relaxes at the sight of Gary, “I thought you were the Moppets… come in.” He opens the door, allowing Gary to rush inside and shove the screen up to 24’s face.

“Dude, you are not gonna believe this! Look at this message I just got from her!” Gary says in excitement, still in awe of the whole situation.

24 grabs the laptop from Gary’s shaky hands, sitting down on his bed as he reads over the message. His eyes widened before responding, “I told you she’s into you! So you’re gonna take her up on the offer, right?”

“I don’t know… I mean I’d absolutely love to get a private session with her but what if she wants me to turn on my camera? I mean I totally would get that, since there are total creeps in her chat that are probably like 60 year old men.” Gary rambles, pondering his next steps, “I don’t know if I can do it. What if she sees what I look like and gets turned off and totally just blocks me?”

“Well, too late because I already said yes for you.” 24 says with a grin, turning the laptop over to reveal the message he typed out and sent back to you, written eerily how Gary envisioned he might respond. 

‘Oh my god, I totally wasn’t expecting this at all! It would be an honor to get a private session from you.’

Time freezes for Gary as he processes what his best friend has just done, staring between him and the computer screen before snatching the laptop away from 24, “Oh my god, is there an option to unsend?”

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity! When will a super hot chick just offer to have cam sex with you, no payment needed?” 24 attempts to rationalize it, placing his hands on Gary’s shoulders.

Before Gary can respond, a notification tone rings through 24’s room and the two huddle around the laptop to read your reply back.

‘You’re such a sweetheart, Viceroy. Just let me know what times and days work best for you, I’m pretty much available the rest of this week. Looking forward to it!’

“You’re welcome,” 24 replies simply, patting Gary’s shoulder, “Also, why are your keys sticky?”

“Well…” Gary trails off, and 24’s face morphs into disgust at the realization of what Gary was just doing prior to him storming into his room.

“Oh dude, gross! Now I have to wash these gloves!” 

-

You felt butterflies in your stomach as you read back Viceroy’s enthusiastic reply, having a brief back and forth to discuss each other’s availability before solidifying a time and day that worked with both of your schedules the following week.

You couldn’t put a finger on what had you so giddy about the prospect of potentially putting a face to the user behind the screen though you tried to level your expectations that he may not even show his face on camera. 

There was something about his charming yet dorky personality that showed through his sporadic comments that had you throwing caution into the wind, offering a private session that normally would cost a hefty price.

As the days began to approach, excitement bubbled in your chest, quite distracted from your day to day routine. In preparation, you had picked out a special set outfit that made you feel the most confident and sexy, and made sure your collection of toys was easily accessible at the edge of your bed in case you got any special requests.

The feeling was mutual as Gary had a pep in his step for the rest of the week, excited but also anxious about potentially having to reveal his face to you. He tried to push the latter feeling aside, though it was difficult to stay distracted considering his henchman duties were pretty much put on hold as the Monarch tried to find a new arch and the Moppets ended up going on the most recent arch.

However, after that arch went south and Gary and 24 joined the Monarch in his raid of the Venture compound against his wife’s wishes, things picked back up as Dr. Mrs the Monarch found an arch that was adjacent enough to Venture that it quelled Monarch’s desires to arch only Venture for now - his brother, JJ.

The days flew by, landing on the day of your scheduled private session. Gary and 24 alongside Henchman 1 were assigned to execute a Dark S7 Maneuver by the Monarch. What Gary had hoped would be a straight-forward mission that would somehow turn out smoothly and with him and 24 unscathed and back at the Cocoon by dinner time turned into a complicated mess with the addition of Henchman 1. Being stranded in the middle of the ocean somewhere near Spider Skull Island with no reception, Gary had no way of letting you know that he would not be making your planned private session.

-

You sat in front of your laptop, an antsy smile spread across your features as your hands fiddled with your outfit, assessing it through the webcam. You had agreed that Viceroy would initiate the call as he had mentioned earlier in the day that he may run a little late due to work. 

A few minutes passed and you shrugged it off.

5 minutes turns into 10.

10 turns into 15.

You bite your lower lip as you try to come up with reasons as to why he may be running late.

15 turns into 20.

Your fingers fly across the keyboard, shooting him a message through the camsite’s chat function. You curse internally, wishing you had another way of contacting him outside of the confines of the website.

20 turns into 30. 

When there is no response to your message, you slowly begin to give up hope. 

‘I mean he did say he might run late.. Maybe I’ll give it another couple minutes.’ 

30 turns into an hour.

You sigh in defeat, deciding to send a message offering to reschedule before shutting the laptop. Part of you thought about taking advantage of the fact that you were already dressed up to do a last minute live show but your ego was a bit bruised and you knew that you would be distracted the entire time.

You get up to change into something more comfortable, and slip back into bed, deciding to scroll on your phone to get your mind off of getting stood up tonight. It proved unsuccessful as your brain attempted to come up with reasons for why he didn’t show up.

Maybe work kept him later?

Maybe something came up after work?

Maybe his power went out?

Each excuse you made for him fell apart as you came to the reasons that revolved around you.

Maybe he didn’t want to do this?

Maybe you pressured him into this?

Maybe he got anxious over the thought of having to show his face and bailed?

You sigh, reaching over to grab your laptop from your bed-side table. You deflate slightly as there is still no response and decide to send one final message before closing the laptop and turning off the lights, hoping that there would be answers awaiting you the next morning.

-

The moment Gary boarded the Cocoon, he ran straight to his room, knowing he was at this point two hours late to the assigned time. By the time he and 24 figured out where Drop Point Alpha 7 was and got picked up by the Cocoon, it was dark outside and way past the time that you two had agreed upon for your private session. Praying for the off-chance that you might still be online, he opens his laptop, logging into his account on the cam site.

To his dismay, he’s greeted with the following messages.

‘Hey, hope everything’s ok! Just wanted to see how much longer you think you’ll be.’

‘It’s getting kinda late and I’m guessing you’re probably not gonna make it since it’s been an hour. Let’s try and reschedule!’

‘Hey, I’m about to knock out for the night but I just wanted to say I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable by suggesting this. I also want you to know you don’t have to show your face on camera if you’re not comfortable and didn’t show up because of that. Let me know if you want to reschedule or if you’d rather not do it at all. I completely understand and hope you’re ok!’

“I can’t believe I screwed this up, now she’s gonna think I’m a total prick!” Gary groans, running his hands over his face before pulling back the hood of his uniform along with the mask in frustration.

He sucks in a deep breath, getting up to change out of his henchman uniform. After shedding his clothes, he sits back in his bed in just his boxers, laptop on his chest as he mulls over all the possible ways he can apologize.

After a few drafts that get rewritten over and over again, Gary finally hits send on his apology, placing his laptop on the side table next to his bed before closing his eyes, hoping that his apology will suffice.

-

You awake the next morning, finally sitting up in bed after about an hour of mindless scrolling. 

The sting from being stood up last night has subsided a bit as you go about your normal routine, getting out of bed, grabbing your laptop from your desk to check some emails, and heading to the kitchen to fix yourself some breakfast. Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you carry your meal over to the table, taking a seat before cracking open your laptop.

You had started camming a few years ago after your work at the time had cut your hours, making it difficult to pay rent and bills without it being tight each month. After hearing about a friend’s experiences doing camming on the side, you figured you could try it out for a couple months just to help with your expenses while you searched for a new job.

A few months turned into a year which turned into more and while you were able to find a new job with more security, you liked having the extra money to spend on yourself and loved ones. It was like another job to you - log on, perform for an hour or two, log off. Rinse and repeat.

You rarely offered private sessions - only having done two so far in honor of hitting major milestones in your viewership. Yet you offered to a complete stranger who just started watching you regularly a few months ago. Something about Viceroy made camming feel different - more intimate, less like work. The last few lives you’ve done, your main focus has been what would rile him up versus focusing on appealing to your whole audience.

It was intriguing.

He was intriguing, clearly dorky and a bit awkward but that’s what made him so charming.

After checking your emails, you decide to log into the cam site, curious to see if there was any response from him.

Your jaw dropped, cheeks feeling hot as you’re met with way more text on the screen than you were expecting.

‘Oh my god, I am SO SO SO SO sorry! I feel really bad about keeping you waiting but please know I wasn’t blowing you off on purpose!  I got tied up at work way later than I expected and I didn’t have any signal out where I was so I couldn’t let you know. You didn’t make me uncomfortable at all, I can't believe you even offered because you have all these dudes in your chat every live and you’re like an actual goddess. I was kinda nervous to show my face but it’s totally worth it just to get to talk to you one-on-one! If you’re still up for rescheduling, I’m free all day tomorrow. Again, I’m so sorry and I really hope I can make it up to you. ’

Your lips turn into an amused grin as you read over the text once more, giggling at the sweet and sincere apology. Part of you wondered what work he did that had him going to places with no cell service but you brushed it off as an unimportant detail. Thankful that you have the day off today, you reply right away, the butterflies in your stomach returning.

-

“I mean at least she offered to reschedule. Most dates I’ve had in the past that I had to miss because of henching didn’t even offer, they just ghosted me.” 24 said, reading over the messages from last night before glossing over Gary’s message, “Jeez, could you have laid it on more thick with the apology? An actual goddess?”

Gary snatches his phone away, crossing his arms defensively, “Hey, she is a goddess! Plus you’re the one who said this was a once in a lifetime opportunity!” 

Before 24 can respond, Gary’s phone buzzes to life, a notification popping up that you had replied to his message.

“Oh my god, she replied back!” Gary said with excitement, his fingers typing in his passcode hastily to unlock his phone to read the message.

‘Hey, glad you’re ok and thanks for your apology, it was really sweet and while I don’t think I’m quite goddess level, I appreciate the compliment. :) 

I’m coincidentally off today too, I’m gonna run errands in a bit but does 4 work for you?’

“I told you the goddess compliment was a bit much.” 24 said, reading over his friend’s shoulder to which Gary silenced him with a “Shush!” before typing out an eager reply.

‘It absolutely works for me! I’ll see you then, thanks for giving me another chance.’

Gary pauses before hitting send, looking back at 24, “You’re positive The Monarch doesn’t have anything planned for today?”

“Nope, think the boss is scheming up a new plan to arch Dr. Venture again. Plus today’s Friday, it’s date night for him and his wife so you’re in the clear.” 24 explains.

“Sweet, didn’t want to hit send and then he calls us to do some random reconnaissance in the middle of the day.” Gary huffs, finally sending the message before grinning up at 24, “We’re back in business, dude.”

“You’re not gonna wear your henchman uniform right? Though, she might just think you have a costume kink or something… It could hide your face too if you’re still nervous about that.” 24 points out, the two of them donning their costumes at all times while in the Cocoon.

“God no, I have my normal clothes! Besides, I get to see what she looks like all the time, it’s only fair for me to show what I look like.” Gary admits, having some anxiety about revealing his appearance but he’s certain that your comfort outweighs his discomfort. 

“Who knows, maybe after this private session, she’ll offer for you to come over.. and then you’ll have sex.” 24 says with a grin.

“Oh, don’t get my hopes up! I’m just glad I get another chance at this.” Gary grins, getting up from the chair in his friend’s room, “Well, I’m gonna go get ready, wish me luck!”

“Good luck! Don’t cum too fast, she’ll think it’s super lame!” 24 calls out.