#I think I died more there than the main secret boss later

[crueltyserpent]

              As I shove the knife through the underside of the skull of the hotel concierge, I think about that old saying, “love what you do, and you never work a day in your life.”  Every knows this is bullshit.  Sure, in the striping the shirt off a recently deceased busty woman and cutting through her bra with a knife still covered in her brain matter is, abstractly, the type of thing I love doing. The routine I’m doing now, slicing through the fatty tissue of her chest to make a gruesome spectacle of her lovely rack, is a thing I did just a few weeks ago as a spur of the moment decision.  The thing that makes it work though, is this time it isn’t a spur of the moment decision.  The high power lawyer found with her tits sliced off in her million dollar apartment was such a huge news story corporate wanted more, wanted this to be a new Brand Name Killer, that every girl in America would be thinking about every time they stepped into Victoria’s Secret. It was stupid, honestly.  Sexually brutality, as much as I enjoy it, is a powerful force in a singular kill; violate a woman in the right creative way and people will talk about it forever.  Try and make a pattern of it and it becomes just another horny serial killer story people have heard a million times. I’ve argued this before, corporate disagrees every time, I’m always right, and they never admit it. That’s what makes it work.

              If I was doing this my way, she’d be alive while I cut her up. I love the panic in their eyes at times like this, the realization that all that’s left of their lives is a few minutes of sexual agony, the helplessness that they can do nothing about it, the screams leaving their throats. But this isn’t killing for fun. I’m a goddamn professional, and I’m going to get away with this whole stupid plan my manager drew up, and so she dies silently and gets mutilated post mortem.  I’m not even going to fuck her corpse.  Maybe one of my other victims tonight, if I have time (I won’t).  I take from her the thing I’m really after, not her life or her body but a master keycard that will unlock every room in the hotel.

              Working for a secretive, supernatural corporation that uses me to spread fear via gruesome callous death of the innocent is a mixed bag. Somethings, I get amazing supernatural solutions to; on my inner thigh, I have the “Mark of the Slasher” tattoo’d, which lets me sense the location of nearby, vulnerable women, amongst a few other powers.  This lets me walk down the hallways of the hotel, sense which has a suitable victim inside, and begin my work.  All that magic though, and I still have to rely on swiping a keycard from the front desk. Can’t just snap my fingers and open the doors.

              On my third victim, a brunette who was rubbing herself to some truly heinously boring pornography, really how do straight girls survive this world (this one won’t) I realize the actual power to this story.  There’s a lovely sort of violation to breaking into someones hotel room.  There’s no other space that both has that sense of being a public space people move in and out of and also being somewhere you can jack-off; and assumption of privacy and safety that I’m denying that cuts almost as deep into this straight girl, who shouts and covers herself with blankets, as my knife will seconds later. If corporate was smart, they could really make something of the Hotel Slasher.  I could still set it up, if given time. Mess these bitches up enough that the tits aren’t the main takeaway anymore.  But I can’t, because corporate wanted a dozen corpses in one night (which is more than my contract demands of me, but they have other ways to twist my arm) so basically as soon as I’ve got the room gory enough that my boss won’t complain I’m out the door.

[tisorridalamor]

Soooo excited for Deltarune... Going to do some rambling below~

Chapter 3 TV world is going to be very fun!! From what we've seen it looks like there will be areas based on movies / tv genres or common channels which allows for so many different settings as opposed to CH1 and CH2 which had a very similar "vibe" throughout. I'm interested how the party will transition between, say going between the "western" theme and the "rock star" theme. I feel like CH3 will have a lot of fun minigames lol.

Spamton has a piece of dialog saying something like "we don't need any [CRTs] or [EASELS]". We know of a character named Tenna (as in antenna) and know CH3 is TV land, so there's a bit of evidence pointing toward a main antagonist of CH3 (boss or secret boss or other) being this Tenna. Now when Spamton says "easels" that makes me wonder if that could be related to a character in CH4 or a later chapter? Originally CH3 and 4 were releasing alongside 5 so it could be a reference to 5 too. I'm curious if a future Dark World will feature an "easel" character. The only place I could think of one being is an art classroom but I'd be surprised if we got another fountain at the school... Note Spamton also mentions a "Mike" which makes me think of "microphone." Wonder if they'll also show up in CH3?

Speaking of CH4, I think this is going to be a big chapter. We'll be roughly half way through Deltarune by chapter numbers so I think it's a good time for some more big reveals or Weird Route things to happen. I'm personally expecting CH3 to be a little more toned down than CH2 and for CH4 to have the big moments. We've seen very VERY little of CH4 as opposed to the teasers for CH3. Even the scenes in the latest trailer are very short with little context for us to even guess at a dark world location. My best guess currently is the Church - the muted color pallet on Kris and Susie and some of the background decoration give "church vibes" to me, though I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being somewhere totally different lol. Something noticeable to me is that the CH4 scenes in the latest trailer only show Kris and Susie, no Ralsei in sight...

I wrote a post ages ago about liking the theory that Dess died in a car accident with Asgore, but I no longer think this is the case, especially post Spamton Sweepstakes. There's more than enough evidence to point to Dess being "missing" rather than "dead", but I still think Asgore being unable to solve her disappearance could have lead to him being fired from the police by Mayor Holiday. My favorite Dess theory right now is her literally being lost within the code of Deltarune and Noelle, someone oddly connected to secrets within video games, being uniquely suited to finding her :')

Two theories I really REALLY dislike though are "Ralsei evil" theory and "Kris evil" theory. I agree that something is up with Ralsei but I believe he is genuine and even if he's hiding something. I think his strange actions are not out of malice but out of ignorance or for something he truly believes in. I don't think he only cares about "The Player" and not Kris either, he clearly cares for the Lightners and takes his duty as Prince from the Dark seriously. I hope he'll reveal more soon!

As for Kris, they're just a kinda lonely kinda sad kid!! There's evidence within the chapters to show they care about their friends and are negatively effected by The Player's control. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story tackles Kris making a fountain. I also doubt that they're "The Knight" as both King and Queen talked about meeting The Knight and I feel like they would have recognized Kris?? Idk I need more evidence before I can pin Kris as the one who made the previous fountains.

Ummmmm I think that's all for now... perhaps I'll add more later. Very very very excited to play some after work on Wednesday and both hoping for a lot of content and also not too much lol? I want to be able to get through it quickly so I can see what everyone else thinks, but of course I still want enough game to be worth the wait. One of the most incredible things about CH2 was engaging with the fanbase after its release and watching the slow horror as people discovered Snowgrave and theorizing what it would mean for the story long term. If there's any Weirdness in CH3/CH4 it would be really fun to be there when its found.

CH3 is set to break some of the previous patterns of the chapters, as we'll likely launch right into the Dark World without much preamble, and I'm wondering how much you'll even get to explore Hometown after leaving the Dark World since it's currently nighttime in game. This means a delay in seeing characters like Noel and Berdly again, so I'm not expecting any immediate Snowgrave results. Ahhhh can't wait to find out what happens!!

[mermaidsirennikita]

I've recently read a book where the point was to have an heir and the hero is becoming more and more obssesed with the heroine and won't admitted bc IM DOING THIS FOR THE SAKE OF HAVING AND HEIR AND NOTHING MORE lol, do yoi have more books like that to recommend?

I appreciated the reviews you do ☺️ more than usual people get waaaay to serious about a book and it gets tiring to read their thoughts after a while

Hi! Thank you lol, I think people need to read romance novels for fun and it's a little irritating for me when they get like... guilty? About liking what they like. I think romance novels can definitely be emotionally deep and compelling, but the main point is fun.

Soooo I think some breeding kink or breeding kink adjacent vibes will give you these vibes!

Historical:

The Duchess in His Bed by Lorraine Heath--In this one, the heroine is the one that propositions the hero to put a baby in her because she needs a baby in order to secure her safety right after her husband dies. She spends a good chunk of the book showing him the kind of life his baby will have because he was a bastard and is worried about the kid having a good home, etc. But once they do get to babymaking, it's like feeeelings.

Waking Up with the Duke by Lorraine Heath--This is the ideal book for this setup, except a) they're making an heir on behalf of her husband, who's impotent after a carriage accident and pressures the hero to get his wife pregnant b) the hero isn't TOTALLY detached, even though he puts on a good front, because he has carried a torch for the heroine. However, the babymaking process is when he REALLY starts falling and it's delicious and one of my favorite books of all time. AINSLEY!!!!

Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas--These two are married, and had feelings, but he left her the day after the wedding and they've been separated for like a decade. She wants a divorce so she can marry her lover, and he's like "fine"--if you give me an heir first. So it's really like... a reawakening via babymaking. I shall always remember the first sex scene when he like, bends her over a desk to KEEP IT PROFESH.

Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt--This is the one where they got married because she was pregnant with another guy's baby and and the guy died before they could marry. Then she lost the baby and they separated without consummating the marriage. A few years later, she returns to town like "I want a baby, put it in me" and they start having sex... During which he gets FEELINGS.

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare--The hero is a super scarred duke whose fiancee leaves him right before the wedding, and the heroine is the seamstress who made the wedding dress and shows up on his doorstep wearing it all "PAY UP". He realizes he has a ready-made bride, and he just needs an heir, so... they've got a deal. Obvi, he begins falling for her as they start working on the baby.

The Duke I Tempted by Scarlet Peckham--This is another "duke marries local woman for an heir" book, with the twist that his secret is... He's sexually submissive and likes to be dominated and whipped during sex.

Contemporary(ish):

Lush Money by Angelina M. Lopez--This is the crazy one wherein the heroine is like, a billionaire, the hero is the prince of a tiny nation with a genius IQ. She wants a smart royal baby, so she offers to bail out his nation financially if he marries her and gets her pregnant. He actually hates her, but he's a man of his word, so he starts workin' on it. Workin' REAL hard.

Mafia Virgin by Mila Finelli--In this one, a mob boss and a mafia princess (who wants to be a doctor lmao) are forced to marry, and then the boss is blackmailed.... he has to get her pregnant within six months, or Something Bad Will Happen. However, it turns out that they both have a breeding kink, so they get SUPER into it and feelings start to develop. This is the one where he makes her kiss his balls and thank them for all the cum they're about to give her (she's about it).

Fantasy:

The Winter King by C.L. Wilson--The hero conquers the heroine's kingdom, and part of the treaty is her being forced to marry him and give him an heir within a year. VERY hot.

[warsofasoiaf]

I know you're a big Baldur's Gate fan. Did you play Baldur's Gate 3?

I did, yes.

For a long time, I didn't want to play Baldur's Gate 3. For me, Baldur's Gate was the tale of Gorion's Ward, the Bhaalspawn, and it was decisively concluded in Throne of Bhaal. You either ascended to the Throne of Bhaal as a god, or forsook the power, and that's it - the story was over. Initially, hearing about a Baldur's Gate 3 felt like desperation: we don't have a good enough idea to stand on its own so we're going to cleave back to the old success story's brand and hope that you buy it. I also don't go for Early Access games as a general rule even among highly-regarded publishers like Larian. They're janky. But I finished it up, and I can tell you what I think. Spoilers below the cut.

For the most part, I enjoyed myself in Baldur's Gate 3. I found it a great way to introduce people to 5e D&D and found the amount of content and rewards for creativity to be quite gratifying. You were genuinely rewarded for thinking outside the box, exploring the map, and using untraditional uses of spells. Protecting characters in fights so they could provide bonuses or become party members was likewise gratifying, it added a risk/reward ratio that made it *harder* to play a hero. That's rewarding in video games because the game is tying the psychological thrill of beating an encounter to a material reward over and above continued play. Sometimes that could be aggravating - the AI could sometimes do really stupid crap, and sometimes you got screwed on initiative and it seemed like your NPC allies died before you could do anything.

The opening felt a little too gonzo at first. Big illithid invasion where you plane-hop to the Nine Hells is a bit much especially for someone not really well-versed in D&D lore, but I understand what it was going for. It tried to create a main story arc that every character regardless of alignment or personal backstory wants to fulfill - staying alive lest you turn into a nasty squid-creature. By saddling you with a cast of characters with the same ticking clock over their heads (and the mystery of why you haven't converted already), it gets you stoked into going out and digging into the main quest. The hand-waive of the delayed conversion is clearly meant to also provide a Watsonian reason why your character can long rest and spend time dicking around on sidequests like any good RPG, but the actual lore reasons service the story far more than Bethseda's "Find Your Missing Family Member But Also Do Literally Everything in the Wasteland" main plot of their Fallout entries.

Act I serves to both flesh out the world and later conflicts and recreate the exploration-based feeling of early Baldur's Gate. Faerun is a place with its own specific lore, and while Bioware might have expected many people that played Baldur's Gate to know about the Forgotten Realms (although given its hit status, they were probably delighted to be wrong about that), Larian knows that gaming is far more mainstream over two decades later and so needs to spend some time immersing the players in the unique cosmology of Faerun itself. Little things like "hyenas can worship the demon lord Yeeonghu and give birth to gnolls" is a nice fascinating piece of horrible lore that is visually presented well on the screen. Auntie Ethel was a delightful little sidequest that was acted well. The Underdark is a bit too overexposed, but the questing and map design were fine, including a fun little puzzle boss in the Adamantine Forge. There's a good blend of quests from puzzles like the Arcane Tower. The main quest is fairly binary good-and-evil, but that's standard fare for D&D. The tiefling refugees are clearly the morally right thing to do, and it's only really secret Shadow Druid Kagha that makes things only slightly grey. Pretty much everyone in the goblin camp is a piece of garbage, only the Priest of Loviatar redeems himself primarily by being hilarious.

Where the moral ambiguity comes to is in the companion characters. In Baldur's Gate I, the many party members were almost completely interchangeable save for some light flavor dialogue. Khalid and Jaheira mattered to the main story, as did Imoen, but you didn't need to take them if you didn't want to. Baldur's Gate II learned from this, every character has their own companion quest that usually ties in with one of the major stronghold-type quests. This isn't the case in Baldur's Gate 3, Larian has clearly invested effort to building these characters, from the morally-upstanding to the callous and practical. Each of the characters have their own opinion, but spend time doing their quests and they generally seem to warm up to you. All of the origin characters have their own long-form quests, while the other characters that join later have quests they're involved with and quests you need to do in order to recruit them (cleaning the Shade-Touched lands, not getting Jaheira killed by the Cult of the Absolute). For the most part, the characters are a little cliché but well done and well-voice acted. Shadowheart acts as a nice little introduction to Selune and Shar, another fun piece of Forgotten Realms cosmology that essentially asks if you're playing good or evil. Astarion's quest is "do the obviously extremely evil ritual or not." Wyll angsts a little too much about the cost of dealing with devils when everyone knows that when you do deal with them, they fuck you over. His lack of regret is honestly more refreshing than when he does feel the sting, I would have liked for Wyll to play that part up a bit more before starting the painful consequences later on; having someone know the other shoe is coming but not have it show up for a third of the game would have been pretty refreshing. Karliah is just a big old sweetheart, a normal trope but an enthusiastic one, solid barbarian trope all around. Lae'zel takes a bit of working to get to know her, but since any good illithid story would deal with the githyanki, having her along is a welcome change of pace, especially when you dissect her story and realize that she's putting on a front - she's a kid trying to act tough because she's a kid that knows she's facing doom, which then segues nicely into shattering the illusion of just how awful Vlaakith is - when Lae'zel finds out she is crushed but shows spirit enough to save the githyanki instead of wallow. Gale at first seems annoying and flippant along with eating my magic items, but eventually you learn about Karsus's folly, the nature of arcane magic, and the fickleness of Mystra.

The other characters aren't as well-developed, which is a pity. Halsin seems like a decent enough chap, just a guy trying to do the best he can. The two characters I found the weakest were ironically enough, supposed to be the strongest because they already were established: Minsc and Jaheira. Jaheira just doesn't seem like herself, there are no good roasts like the classic: "You are amusing, in a 'what the hell is wrong with you' kind of way," like there was in Baldur's Gate. Jaheira in Baldur's Gate faced down dragons and gods, yet she's comparatively fragile (and her own epilogue was ignored). Minsc is shallow, the humor in Minsc is that he's a bit of a punchline, whereas here it's just referential humor regarding Boo. Other returning characters get it even worse: Sarevok and Viconia are specifically brought back to show how much they've regressed, undoing some of Baldur's Gate's best writing. Sarevok was a tormented soul, unsure of what to do after coming back, but he goes back to his old tricks regardless of what I did, which just feels...careless. Sarevok was more than just a glowing-eyed spiky boss monster that he was in BG1, to have him returned to that was dull and uninspired. Viconia had some hints of her self in her regrets for destroying the previous Sharran enclave, but is still happy to be a boss battle for no other reason than to conclude Shadowheart's questline.

Whereas Act I was a bit scattershot, Act II benefitted from incredibly tight focus. JK Simmons did a phenomenal job as Ketheric, and the pacing and threat within the Shade-Cursed Lands is well-earned. You have clear objectives, the antagonists are always properly menacing, and there's still enough time to explore the Monastery and the githyanki creche. You have to do so anyway to start learning more about the Astral Prism, but the githyanki questline comes into its own with Lae'zel's betrayal at the hands of Vlaakith, they actually feel like part of the story and they begin to set up Prince Orpheus's later introduction into the story. It can be a bit jarring going from handling the Nightsong to immediately storming the Moonrise Towers, but it allows Shadowheart's midpoint arc to handle itself. The fight against Z'rell on the bottom layer isn't bad, although the Harper AI keeps doing its best to have Jaheira kill herself. The fight with Ketheric is great from a mechanical standpoint, the avatar of Myrkul fight is a bit easy given it's supposedly an avatar of a god, but Simmons sells Ketheric.

The surprise twist that the Dead Three have enslaved an Elder Brain has me thinking: "Alright, this is a decent enough plan." The Absolute's war creates plenty of death that empowers Myrkul, cults of murder spring up to empower Bhaal, and Gortash takes control of the city and subjects those within it to Bane's tyranny, exporting Bane's power after his success and creating an empire to super-charge Bane. By implanting worshippers of other gods, they deny souls and petitioners due to D&D cosmology which weakens them. That's fine, except all three of their Chosen are looking to betray each other, which would destabilize the Crown's control over the Netherbrain. Gortash at least tries to adjust to his plan falling apart by allying with the player character, grabbing Orin's Netherstone and reuniting the Three to reassert control over the Elder Brain. Orin, however, seems largely to fall into Stupid Evil territory, just happy to murder people for no reason. The revelation that the Dark Urge was the original Chosen of Bhaal actually makes this work since according to the lore, even with the Dark Urge's murderous impulses, they kept them in check. It further cements that the Dark Urge is the canon main character, and it ties neatly back to Baldur's Gate, when you find out in Throne of Bhaal that the Bhaalspawn do have an instinct to kill - one that wasn't expressed mechanically in the game save for the fact that you will easily have a four-figure body count when all's said and done. But that introduces a further wrinkle, Orin was unstable, and if they needed this plan to succeed, they should have opted for Sarevok, not Orin who can't think ahead.

Act III suffers from rushed execution. Several of the climatic moments in the final act are undercut either by bad programming or poor encounter design. Gortash's confrontation is shockingly easy, if you grab the grenades you get free attacks - it's so easy it's almost confusing. Orin's confrontation as the Dark Urge is narratively satisfying but a single Luck of the Far Realms attack can positively melt her health. This isn't the case for all of the fights - when the encounters are good they are really good. The House of Hope was an incredible level from start to finish, capping off in a great fight against Raphael that combines handling the cambions, burning down the pillars, and trying to survive against Raphael (at least until you find out that he has a crappy Wisdom and the game become keep him under Otto's Irresistible Dance or Hold Person), but even that works out well narratively after confronting his incubus lover and realizing that Raphael is a hedonist and thus would have a lower will save.

The final climax of the Emperor vs. Orpheus suffers from incredibly bad writing. The Emperor already has massive lore problems, such as *somehow* miraculously getting off the Island of Balduran so he can become a mindflayer in the Moonrise Towers, without even the barest acknowledgement why, or how. He says: "I never lied to you," except that he *always* lies to you, and when you call him out on it, he basically says: "no, that's just illusion. Not the same thing." At the finale, he's just stupid though. The Emperor has been positioned this entire time as wanting to avoid the slavery of the illithid hive mind, and yet in the final confrontation, if you opt to free Orpheus, he immediately decides to side with the Netherbrain and willingly consign himself to slavery. No chance to see if Orpheus will side with you, not even the ability to say "look, if he doesn't play ball, you can snack on his brain at your heart's content." Nope, he sides with the guy he's been specifically dreading this entire time, something he was so terrified of that he stopped at nothing to stop it. It only makes sense as a binary choice for a video game, to pick which faction rather than actually rewarding the creativity you were previously celebrated for all game.

The mandatory ceremorphosis was likewise stupid. "Somebody's gotta squid up, don't ask questions, it just has to be done. Netherbrain is too smart." For a game that has been giving you creativity this whole time, the entire point is "welp, someone has to make a sacrifice," is just an arbitrary shoe-horned thing to make, to up the stakes for dramatic tension. Why we simply can't use Omelum if we rescue him from the Iron Throne, despite the fact that he has acknowledged teleportation powers? No that's simply foolish, it undercuts the dramatic flair of the ending, I guess. We have to have our tragic ending, but a mandatory tragedy *isn't* tragic, especially when it's railroaded like this. It feels like the Mass Effect 3 ending, a rushed mess out of nowhere. At least Cyberpunk 2077's ending has you trying to fix the problem, only to find that you probably can't, and at best the Nomads might be able to help you or you sell your soul to Arasaka. That actually has some tragedy - do the safe thing and survive, or try to find a solution even if it might not work, and it ends with you wistfully looking out into the horizon. To add to the shoddy nature of it, when you reach your allies, they treat you as if it was you that did it, regardless if Karliah took the bullet to save herself from the Infernal Engine. So much promise and potential, ruined by the rush to get it out the door.

So overall it was a solid game, hampered by a lackluster ending.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[artsysurvivor]

Mom said it's my turn for the AU making: The One Where it's a Game

Hiya! So I'll try to make this as coherent as I can but it isn't really coherent in my brain so. 🫠 (BONUS: If you click read more you will see another prince!Halt design I have for Halt :3. I'm pretty proud of it tbh).

Ok Basics:

Setting: To be clear, this isn't a cross-over. It's basically stealing from Deltarune and twisting it into a more medieval fashion. It takes place in Hibernia, before a certain prince runs away. There are certain modern-esk aspects to it because idgaf or because I think it's cool. For example, sometimes it takes place in a "public" school for princes and princesses who are "trouble makers."

Characters: Cathan (aka Halt's birth name) can be correlated to Kris as the leader of the group, the one who is the silent protag. Everyone else, though, doesn't really have direct correlations to Susie, Noelle, Birdly, etc etc (at least. Not canon characters). Therefore the relationships/character dynamics among the characters are still pretty close to canon, except that Ferris actually likes Halt at one point.

Control: DR fans might be wondering "well, if Halt correlates to Kris, does that mean he's controlled by a god-like entity in his world?" To that I say: no. Not really, though the main person who is pretty contolling could be considered to have a God Complex. It's more so social pressure to be king. (I know, I know, boring just HOLD ON).

Magic: Hibernia has more magic than Araluen does (so when Halt says something along the lines of most things that seem magic have a logical explanation he is fucking lying). HOWEVER, Halt himself does not have magic, nor does Ferris and Caitlyn. Some people are born with magic; others can create something that seems like magic for the time period (like a giant wooden animatronic type thing that a little girl can control like a puppet while she's inside it).

(WDYM that's suspiciously specific?)

SOULS: Yes, everyone has one, but they still have an actual human heart as well. The human heart keeps the body alive, while the SOUL mostly just shows up in battle, and is where one gets their personality. There is a way to hide SOULS using magic, which is helpful for people trying to hide their true intentions or personality (wink wink nudge nudge).

NO, HALT DOES NOT RIP OUT HIS SOUL AT THE END OF EACH "CHAPTER"

Since villains (more on them later) tend to be magical, this AU is very much a "bullet-hell game." For those who live under a rock, here's what it is in an excuse to show part of my winning fight with Jevil:

[Video ID: Start up: 1st Chapter's file selection screen; the one on top says "ARTSY 149:56." Below that, I write, "Most of the time here has been used to fight this dude lol." The next screen is the SOUL breaking. Written there is "And I still died 2 times after start up." The "Will you persist?" choice screen shows up: "Anyways," I say. It finally cuts to one of Jevil's attacks: Clubs and Diamonds are shooting at the red soul, Spades are exploding, and Hearts are spinning towards the player quickly. /End ID]

Villains:

No Dark World Characters, since they never travel there, but they can be attributed to certain characters

I'm ripping a lot of them off, but I am adding Irish Mythology twists to them

Some of them are just regular royalty tbh

(Coughs Halt's birth-father coughs)

Items given to you/dropped by enemies affects the new user. If one EQUIPS one of the items, it will affect their mood and give them a lesser, less powerful version of the enemy's power. For example, the Devilsknife makes the one equipping it manic and gives high yet random damage if used.

Secret Bosses are accessed through different POVs. For example, you can't access someone like Jevil in Halt's POV. In fact, a lot of secret bosses are accessed in his brother's POV...

Religious Aspect: Like in Deltarune, there is references to things like heaven, jesus, apples (adam and eve), angels, etc. One of the villains, for example, thought the royal family had blue blood and wanted to steal Halt’s heart for… some reason ;]

In relation to The Knight: there has been killings around the kingdom of Clonmel; mostly of people who were accused of evil deeds themselves. The killer was efficient and silent, and is said to wear a cape and dull armor, as to not reflect light. They have not been found.

Relationships/Character Dynamics:

Pritchard: Obviously, he eventually becomes Halt's adoptive, supportive dad. Does this even need to be said?

Caitlyn: The O'Carrick Twins™️ love her very much. She also has a decent amount of friends: people tend to like her kind personality. In general, she has a practically non-existent relationship with her parents—as in, she doesn't get into trouble and is mostly ignored.

Halt: Very much the replacement parent for his two younger siblings. He is not perfect in the least and has some toxic behaviors that he passes on, and he doesn't have a lot of friends due to that and how "odd" (autistic) he is. He doesn't get along with his birth parents, and wishes all the castle staff would leave him alone for 2 (two) seconds.

Halt's Personal Body Guard: In the last sentence I'm mostly talking about this guy. Assigned to him after he left into the woods and started fights one too many times, BG (I don't have a name for him yet) sticks to his side like tape. Halt can get away if he tries, and is sneaky enough, which causes a lot of friction with each other. Other than that, their relationship is strictly professional.

Ferris: Obviously, the relationship with Halt is shaky, but in the early, early years they get along quite well. (Aside from him getting annoyed with Halt trying to parent him—"You're only 7 minutes older than me!") He is the golden child, his parents love him. He has a lot of friends, and two people who... are more than that.

Yes, I'm saying he's in a triad. LISTEN. To me, to me, right, he has more vibes of being poly than Halt does. How did I come up with this? I... have no clue.

Anyway, their relationship, despite Ferris being raised in a toxic family, is actually pretty healthy, happy, and wholesome!

That is until his thirst for power kicks in. He leads them into a lot of danger (which is why you can access more secret bosses in his POV).

"Game Mechanics":

Emotions: Like OMORI, certain emotions have good and bad effects. You can check what the current emotion is in the STATUS menu (where your level and what you have on you etc etc is also shown), otherwise it will show in battle sort of like this:

[Image ID: Sweetheart is in the middle in her signature pose. She is glowing yellow, indicating her happiness or mania. In the 4 corners of the screen are the OMORI protagonists in boxes: Omori, Kel, Aubrey, and Hero. All their facial expressions are visible, and the color of the background is changed depending on their mood. Underneath their pictures is their Heart and Juice bars. /End ID]

"Canon" Route: There is a canon route you can take, and you earn more points for it. The points don’t amount to anything, but if you’re a story-based completionism, it is a good/fun thing for you to do. (Note: canon here is not referring to the book's canon, but the AU's canon).

POVs: They can be switched whenever you so desire. You can even switch to a POV of side characters, like the servant staff, though there are less things to do there. They can be useful in showing the reality of things, because it can get really warped.

Music: Ripped straight from anything I like atm that I think will fit with whatever's going on. (Hey, I'm not making money off of this! It resides in my brain, after all)! Currently obsessed with this:

Extra:

Ferris’s a little more desperate and mentally unwell in this one because that's fun <3

Pritchard is best dad <3

He’s very much a sort of therapist.

I like to imagine that Hibernia has a more of a plot/vibe as Deltarune, while Araluen is more related to Undertale. They are still in the same timeline, same world, unlike the two games, but there is a less of a focus on control and religion in Araluen

Bloody

The school is somewhere away from Clonmel, I don’t know exactly where, but it is set up as a castle with multiple guest bedrooms for the princes/princesses, they each get their own rooms. There is a cliffside near by, like there is everywhere in Hibernia.

Halt meets a guy at the school who is high as fuck all the time but he is really chill and breaks the rules when he deems fitting so Halt looks up to him in a way

Sometimes groups of people just battle for fun and to gain more stats

Oh, and while Halt still wears his usual prince clothing, as well as his ranger's apprentice gear when he is able to, wearing this is more common!:

[Image ID: Three drawings of Halt in knight armor. Two of the drawings are sketches: the first one is a bust shot of Halt looking down at someone, his lips parted, while the second one is him pointing (Like Kris does in the game) to the left of the screen with his eyebrow furrowed, his face in side view. The last drawing has light blue lighting coming from the right, making the armor gleam. At the edge of his torso, before the v-shaped brown belt comes in, there's a swirl pattern; the pattern is repeated at the edges of the tri-layered pauldron. In the center of his chest is the Coat of Arms, which is also shown at the bottom of the page. It's the classic shield shape, with a dull red rim and a blue inner area. The Deltarune symbol is on it, although it has been modified. The circle with the two simple wings are still there, but the triangles have been turned into a three-petaled flower shape with a very short, thin, pointed stem and no inner detail. There is 3 dots towards the end of each of the flower shapes. Two of them have the side with the dots facing upward, while the one in the middle have it facing downward. Besides the dots, which are bright red, the logo is colored gold. In the middle of all the drawings is handwritten words: "Cathan (Halt) O'Carrick" /End ID]

Another Bonus with a shitty sprite I made:

[Gif ID: In a Deltarune styled text box Halt's head is off to the side. He is raising his eyebrow. Text beside him is saying, * -insert sarcastic comment here- /End ID]

(Make your own text box here.)

[mesaprotector]

I began writing this Elden Ring review when I felt the game nearing a close. Today I finished it. First "AAA" game I've ever played to completion, and I have mixed but mostly positive feelings. At any rate, my life to come is going to be a bit different not fighting wolves for hours each week.

Graphics

Anywhere from "fine, but relentlessly grim" (Caelid, much of the Mountaintops) to "I want to move here right now" (Siofra/Nokron, Leyndell, the Roundtable Hold). The game looks very good, though I can't say the same about some of the enemies and NPCs. When the designers cared, they made some very cool-looking stuff - Astel, Naturalborn of the Void is one of my favorites.

Music

The region themes were definitely a highlight. Above all, the terribly sad theme of Leyndell, a lone city clinging to life in a world falling gradually to pieces. The way the horn-using enemies harmonized with that theme was a beautiful touch. I wasn't as impressed with the boss themes though that might just be my personal preference for chiptunes.

Characters

Overall, this isn't a character-driven game, and that's fine. The voice acting definitely lends a hand with best boy Margit/Morgott and other characters like the Blackguard; but most characters who are memorable are memorable because of their designs or combat abilities. I do have to ask, though, why do most of the characters have to die? Even characters whose arcs I completed just up and died at the end. Alexander should've survived!

Combat

I think for the most part this aspect was fun. I definitely can criticize certain enemies getting reused (those awful ulcerated tree spirits, if you're going to reuse a boss that many times at least pick one that's fun). The balance was a bit off, as the game very clearly expects you to be playing a Str/Dex melee-focused build with a lot of dodging, weaving, and blocking, and doesn't bother balancing for anything else. Never mind that you can snipe enemies from a distance one by one or mow them down on Torrent, and then certain boss fights are MUCH harder doing anything except melee. (Hi, Rennala... or any of the Crystalians.) I don't know if it was intentional that some dungeons are torture but have easy bosses at the end.

I played Dex/Fth, using the Treespear for most of my run until I went for the Blasphemous Blade later in the game, with the Cipher Pata as a backup. I was terrible at dodging and only attempted it on bosses with telegraphed attacks like Mohg and the Fire Giant. I spent most of my time on Torrent, because the Treespear is an S-tier mounted weapon, and turned into a stealth-sniper every time I was in a dungeon. People sleep on bows and crossbows - their damage is terrible, but they're fantastic for aggroing one enemy at a time or hitting those dungeon pillars that breathe fire.

Despise the weird balancing, I think my only major quibbles with the combat in Elden Ring would be that, one, items are mostly useless - why use a Rune Arc to try to beat a hard fight when it's not enough of a buff to guarantee a win, and you lose it permanently? - and that the boss fights being occasionally hard throws progression out of whack if you're anything other than very, very stubborn. Which leads me to my main complaint about this game.

Questlines

Oh dear lord. I've always hated "guide dang it"-type content in games, but it's fine if it's like, secret rooms that have a bunch of coins and a cool sword. Not if there are obscure quests that you're all but required to play for much of the game's plot to make sense. (Rogier! I'm talking about Rogier!) I'll get into this more in the "story" section but I scarcely had a clue what was going on for most of the game, because almost all the lore for the game is hidden deep in questlines which can easily be permanently missed. I praise Miriel his Holy Turtleness every day for being one of the only NPCs who tells you about the gods without you having to find the Dubious Runebear Medallion first (or whatever). Without him I'd have had no idea who Marika even was.

The game also punishes you, over and over, for daring to explore areas early. Nepheli and Corhyn both died because of this in my playthrough - I'd already explored the Albinauric Village and the cliff by the Royal Colosseum, respectively, so I didn't re-explore once they moved to those locations. Then they just both died when I burned the Erdtree. Thanks, game. Really appreciate it.

While I'm at it - gesturing should never have been a mechanic in questlines except when you're explicitly told what to do (like the Finger Snap to summon Blaidd). Same with the Prattling Pates - there was zero indication they were anything but a joke item and then suddenly, dead Boc because you missed the single chance the game gives you to use one. (Rebirth with Rennala didn't kill me the three times I did it... so why did it kill Boc?)

I'm not sure I'd have completed even a single quest had I not had the bright idea to look them all up after the Fire Giant. (Maybe Fia's?) Turns out that was already a bit too late.

Story

I will say that the game's story and world is very, very good. It's a shame it's so hurt by the poor quest design, because I genuinely wanted to learn everything I could about the demigods, about the conspiracies and factions and everything else. Unfortunately I've learned more from the game's wiki than from the game itself. Even when I burned the Erdtree I wasn't totally sure why I was doing it, except that Melina told me to.

I was told by a friend not to heavily RP my character because it'd make the game too hard, but I did do a bit of it. I played a tough old lady, pious but brutal, who would never dare talk to the Three Fingers or do the bidding of a heretic, but wouldn't hesitate to slay a god. I intentionally skipped Tanith's questline because of this, and left the Dung Eater to rot.

Endings

I accidentally picked Ranni's ending. I was in the boss room after finally beating that obese flying salamander and instinctively pressed E when I saw a message below me, and instead of asking to confirm the game went straight into the cutscene. (Yet another example of this game being poorly designed for PC!) I think I was eligible for two other endings, and Fia's was my favorite concept of the three, though its 20-second cutscene I watched later on Youtube wasn't much. It does feel like the endings have the same issue as the rest of the game - very good ideas that never get explained well enough to be appreciated.

Overall

7/10; an amazing world with passable characters and very fun gameplay, but held back by the terrible quest design. If the game provided a lot more lore by default (for example, at the end of each major boss fight, or through Gideon and other NPCs who rarely change location), and made it very clear what the quest breakpoints were, it could easily be a 9/10. The game breaks the unspoken rule that hidden content should never be core to the plot. Anyone who plays this game should do it with a guide - not an exhaustive 100% checklist, but enough of a guide that nobody ends up dead without you intending it, and that you don't miss the most plot-relevant quests in the game.

[transneonneko]

Things from Archie Sonic that I would love to see return in the Mainline Games and/or IDW Sonic!!

Recently, I decided to read some of the Archie Sonic Comic, from like issue 186ish up until the first MegaMan crossover and the reboot, mainly because there were some gaps in my knowledge of those stories. Mainly Issues 198 till 235, which I never got to read as a kid and, I have to say, there were a lot of really interesting concepts during Ian's run of comics before the reboot that I really loved. There was a lot of really interesting concepts I love after the reboot too. I wanna celebrate that. A lot of these concepts and story idea I feel really deserve another chance.

So I wanna make this list of stuff I wanna see return in either for stories in the Mainline Games or the IDW Sonic comics. Before we start, I do wanna add somethings. This post isn't meant to be shitting on IDW and being like "IDW would be better if they did this". I really love the IDW comics and universe. I also know that some of these concepts likely can't be done due SEGA Mandates and I'm not gonna include stuff like "Bring back the Freedom Fighters" because I feel asking to bring back characters isn't gonna be very productive, as much as I would like to see their return. Anyways, let's begin.

The Fate of the ARK

One thing that really inspired this list was this scene right her. We'll talk more about Silver's Future later but for now, let's focus on the ARK. I'm gonna assume anyone reading this knows the story of the ARK from SA2 and Shadow. Sadly, the ARK hasn't really been revisited in the main canon since Shadow, despite how iconic of a set piece it is. In the Archie Comics, we get a look at Silver's future and one of things that may have been the cause of how bad things are is the ARK crashed. Sadly, Archie got rebooted before the writers could go more into it but, from SA2, we know that the ARK was set to crash into the planet if all 7 Chaos Emeralds are placed into it, wiping out all life on the planet. This could be an excellent premise of another Silver adventure, whether it be in the comics or games, where Sonic, Silver and some friends have to stop someone from making the ARK crash into the planet.

Expanding the Eggman Empire/Egg Bosses

Something I've always found a bit lacking in the game canon is how the Eggman Empire itself has been presented. In the games, the Eggman Empire is usually just made up of Eggman, Metal Sonic, Orbot, Cubot, a bunch of robots and (recently) Infinite. It's not really an Empire if it's just one guy and a bunch of robots. The main goal is the conquer the world but we hardly see Eggman actually see what happens when Eggman conquers a place, like what happens to the people who used to live there, besides like Colours and Forces, where the Wisps and Mobians are usually just seen being imprisoned. The Egg Bosses are the perfect solution to this and adds so much to Sonic's World.

The Egg Bosses are Mobians who, either willingly or unwillingly, aligned themselves up with Eggman for whatever reason, becoming commanders of the Eggman Empire. This usually comes about when Eggman has taken over a part of the region and the people living in that region have no choice but to join the Eggman Empire, for their own safety. Not only does this make the Eggman Empire feel more than just one person but it also makes Eggman more a villain himself. It able to portray Eggman as someone to be feared and, I mean, this is a dictator and genocider who is pretty much declaring war against the world.

It also brings up some interesting thoughts about the world. Characters like Maw, Thunderbolt and even Nephthys to a degree joined up with Eggman because they felt it was the right thing to do for the sake of the world, or in Nephthys case, to stop things getting worst later on, meanwhile characters like Grand Battle Kukku are plotting to usurp Eggman, with Clove and Beauregard only working for Eggman to protect family or close ones.

As I said before, having these Egg Bosses also makes Eggman look more threaten, both because he's able to look like a "bigger bad" next to these villains he has command of and, because almost all the Egg Bosses hate Eggman's guts, they are cyberized, a terrifying process in which those who work for Eggman are focus to have parts of their body replaced with cybernetics, with either bombs which will blow if they decide to leave or a locking mechanism that will paralyze their entire body, ready to be locked up.

If either in the game or the IDW comic, I would like to see the Egg Boss concept return. It doesn't even need to be the same characters or use the name "Egg Boss." It would help expand the army of the Eggman Empire, as well as provide some fun bosses for the games I think.

Mobians and Humans living together

This was always a weird hangup I felt the series had. In the case of games between Sonic Adventure & Unleashed, Sonic and friends were the only Mobians, humans made up the NPCs while Mobians were reserved for main characters. Then in Forces and IDW, Mobians made up the background characters, so then Eggman is the only human. I really prefer it when they have the two living together, it makes it seems more normal and, honestly, a better solution than the whole "Two Worlds" explanation.

Eggman Seemingly Defeated

Can I just that I love Issues 198-200? In these 3 issues, Sonic and friends Eggman's main base, the Egg Dome. This including fighting on the outside of the base, involving fighting hoards of the Dark Egg Legion soldiers and Eggman in the Egg Phoenix. After dealing with the outside, Sonic and friends raid the Egg Dome itself, taking different directions, with the Dark Egg Legion seemingly retreating, until they reach the center of the base, where they are blocked off by a barricade, which only Sonic can pass through, giving a "Point of No Return" vibe, Dark Egg Legion soldiers lining up and saluting Sonic. Then Sonic reaches the center and finds Eggman in the Egg Tarantula, starting their final battle which Sonic wins. This defeat is enough for Eggman to lose his sanity, seemingly ending the war Sonic and the Freedom Fighters have been fighting their entire life.

Of course Eggman returns but, god, it's just such a memorable couple of issues. There's a real sense of finality to it. I would a sequence like this in the games, something that feels like truly ending the Eggman Empire and defeating them once and for all. Of course, it wouldn't be the end, Sonic games are always needing to be made which would lead to...

The New Rulers of the Eggman Empire

In the comics after the defeat of Eggman, the Eggman Empire is taken over by some of it's Commanders, the Iron Queen and Iron King, who rules the Empire as their own until they are defeated and Eggman's return.

I love the idea that even if the Eggman, there will always be someone there to take his place. The games could do this by having Neo Metal or Infinite take his place. Hell, IDW did have Neo Metal take over but I think what made that less interesting was that Neo Metal wasn't doing it for himself, he was doing it for Eggman. I think this would work well if a concept like the Egg Boss was introduced in the games, maybe have one of the characters part of that group take over OR have a lot of the more ambitious Egg Bosses war against each other to take command, until eventually Eggman returns and puts them in line.

Silver's Future

Silver is one of the most recurring characters, who always joins the gang when his future is in trouble. The problem is that we never see his future besides 06. We have no idea what Silver's future is currently until it's in danger and, even then, we never see it.

We see Silver's Future in both continuities of the Archie Comic, with two different takes. Pre-SGW has a destroyed city vibe, like 06 but less lava. Post-SGW brought a whole new take where people are ruled by a corrupt council where people are put into class groups, and security robots will arrest if you are not at your job at the right time. They even re-contextualize Silver's bracelets as cuffs that the robots can activate. With Silver being my favourite character as a kid, I remember being obsessed with this new world and story, wanting to know more.

I'm not saying they would need to copy this world exactly but it would be nice if they gave us a concrete and consistence look for Silver's Future.

The Heroic Metal Sonic

Right before the SGW, we were introduce to Shard the Metal Sonic. His story is that he was the original Metal Sonic, the one that raced Sonic in Stardust Speedway. He appeared later in the comic, where Sonic made him realized there was more to life than just being Eggman's killing machine. He seemingly died, but was rebuilt to serve as a member the Secret Freedom Fighters.

This one would be tricky to be included. It worked in the Archie comic as they had been many Metal Sonics throughout the series, each one getting destroyed. Meanwhile, there's only officially been one Metal Sonic in the games made by Eggman (two if we count Classic and Modern). Admittedly, Gemerl fits Shard's personality and does need to be used more in the games but having it be Metal Sonic is just a cooler concept.

I think a solution to this is that we have Metal Sonic 1.0 made by Eggman and, in Rivals 2, we have Metal Sonic 3.0 by Eggman Nega from the future. But what about Metal Sonic 2.0? I think we could have a game where after Metal Sonic fails, Eggman builds a replacement, being 2.0, which would give reason to Metal Sonic wanting to revolt, which could lead to a redemption? While I am loving the IDW comics, I do really miss a lot of what both Archie continuities offered. I haven't mention the some other concepts and stories I liked that really focused on certain characters such as Naugus, Geoffrey St. John, Dimitri etc. Maybe I'll talk about that another day...

[earnestly-endlessly]

Cherik angst!

Ooooh the angst!! The cherik fandom has an abundance of angst fics and I could probably make a list of hundred fics to recommend, but these are some of my favourite angsty cherik fics. I should warn you though, some of these require tissues.

Cherik Angst

Everyday Love in Stockholm – tahariel

Summary: Magneto is the ruler of the posthuman world.

His only secret? Charles Xavier, the human he's kept locked in his bedroom ever since his right-hand woman, Mystique, came to him pleading for mercy for her stepbrother, who accepted her mutant form and protected her as a child. The human he started fucking after Mystique was killed in battle, despite the guilt he feels at contaminating even this last promise to the woman who was integral to his life's work and happiness.

Boden’s Mate – kaydeefalls

Summary: "Shaw has information that we need, and we need him alive to extract it," Moira says, and there it is: the job is on the table. Extraction.

XMFC/Inception fusion AU. Erik is an extractor, Alex is his point man. They're assembling a team to go after the most dangerous mind in dreamsharing: Sebastian Shaw. But unless Alex and the team can keep him in check, Erik's desire for vengeance might just rip the whole job apart around them -- and then there's the shade that haunts his dreams...

Ritual Self-Torture – TurtleTotem

Summary: Shaw is King, Charles is his royal consort and Erik is a Knight/Lord. Shaw is sterile but his kingdom can't find out, so he asks Erik to impregnate Charles.

He doesn't know Erik and Charles are in love.

The Winter of Banked Fires – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles Xavier has returned from the dead -- but is lost within his own mind. Rogue has cast aside her own power and doesn't know where she fits in the world any longer. The production of synthetic Cure means mutantkind itself is newly at risk. And Magneto, turned human against his will, is in despair until the day he feels a familiar consciousness tugging at his own

Us – Pangea

Summary: “Charles,” Erik says, and if his voice hits a pleading note then who can really blame him, “Charles, it’s me.”

It takes several longer moments before Charles musters up the strength to answer, breath stuttering horribly as he tries to breathe. He’s shaking, entire body trembling.

“Erik,” Charles says, his voice cracking, “Erik, I want to die.”

Enigma – Yahtzee

Summary: Erik dies, or finds a reversey-time mutant, or a magical time travelling device, and wakes up in the past. This time, though, it's before he ever met Charles - in fact, it's before his mother died.

He can save his mother that one time (thanks to his mastery over powers carrying back), but what does Erik do after that? Does he stick around, or escape and run to find Charles again (and hope everything doesn't go wrong)?

By Faint Indirections – kianspo

Summary: Erik is in his ~50s, and lonely and bitter. He survived the Holocaust and was only ~14 when the war ended; and even ~40 years later, living in a country that helped to end WW2 and the Third Reich, homosexuality is still a taboo topic. Then one day, he stumbles over Charles, who is young(early 20s) and bright and smart and cheeky and full of energy and beautiful. And moving in the same street where Erik lives.

Lonesome on the Shelf – ikeracity

Summary: After three years of marriage, Charles has to admit that his relationship with Erik has significantly cooled off. These days, they're barely ever home at the same time and it seems like every conversation they have turns into an argument. Charles misses the way they used to be, misses the spontaneous dinner parties and the surprise morning sex and the wake up calls in the early mornings to catch the sunrise. But it's going to take two of them to fix this marriage, and some days, it seems as if all Erik wants is to be rid of him.

A fic about rekindling marriage.

When the Spell Breaks – kianspo

Summary: Erik, a high-profile lawyer with a successful career, meets a 21-year-old grad student in a bar, and within a few short months marries him. He and Charles are blissfully happy, until Erik's boss runs a background check on Charles and discovers he's been cheating on Erik. Charles denies everything, as there was no affair, but Erik doesn't believe him and throws him out. As Charles tries to figure out how to survive and stay at school that he can no longer afford and makes a lot of bad if not plain dangerous choices, Erik has to fight his own battle of discovering the truth and winning Charles back.

The Tower and the Hurricane – dreamlittleyo

Summary:(Post-movie AU.) Five years after Shaw's death, Erik's predictions prove painfully accurate. Violence rages on both sides of the human/mutant conflict. In a world ravaged by war, it doesn't really matter who's more at fault. Charles struggles to teach his students a better way, but what choices will he make when peace really isn't an option?

The Attempt – Yahtzee

Summary: Charles knows everything about Erik, knows how obsessive and self-destructive he is, how Erik would do anything, give anything, in his quest for vengeance against Shaw. But he also knows that Erik loves him in ways that aren't exactly platonic.

I'd like to see a completely straight!Charles, out of pure love and care of Erik, initiate a romantic relationship with him. It can be because he wishes to give Erik something positive in his life or because he thinks it might help change Erik's mind about Shaw, the reason is up to author. Also, while Charles finds intimacy with Erik strange and awkward, he does enjoy the new, non-romantic layers that have developed in their relationship.

Apple Seeds – pprfaith

Summary: Charles, Erik, apple seeds and Shakespearean love affairs.

Ashes, Ashes – winterhill

Summary: Post-apocalyptic AU — When the bombs fall, and mutually assured destruction occurs, it turns out that Shaw was right and radiation does enhance mutant powers. Snapshots of the XMFC main ensemble in the time after the bombs: Erik decides to stay, Moira thinks she might be the only human left, Raven is having trouble sleeping, and Charles is losing his mind.

Warnings: nuclear holocaust: death (death in general, not a specific character), cancer, burns, medical procedure, mutant powers gone awry

Five Bullet Points – Sperare

Summary: It was supposed to be Erik locked away in a prison one hundred stories below the ground.

Charles was never supposed to be there with him.

Tequila on a spaceship – faerie_ground

Summary: In 2014, Charles Xavier gets brutally murdered and Erik Lehnsherr spends the rest of his life mourning his death.

In 3014, Captain Lehnsherr and CMO Dr Xavier are colleagues, best friends and maybe a little more besides that aboard the Magneto I.

The Tower and the Hurricane – dreamlittleyo

Summary: Post-movie AU.) Five years after Shaw's death, Erik's predictions prove painfully accurate. Violence rages on both sides of the human/mutant conflict. In a world ravaged by war, it doesn't really matter who's more at fault. Charles struggles to teach his students a better way, but what choices will he make when peace really isn't an option?

Simple and Uncomplicated – Pookaseraph

Summary: Erik and Charles had been fuck buddies for some, but when Charles is in an accident he figured their relationship would be over. Erik's visit to his bedside in the hospital changes his assumptions even as he has trouble believing Erik is sincere.

Lazarus – Clocks 

Summary: Erik is 19 when he says ‘I love you’ for the first time.

It would take five long years before Charles says it back.

Broken Eternity – CractasticDispatches

Sumnmary: It starts with being alone. It shouldn’t, perhaps, but it does because, of course, alone is what no one ever wishes to be.

Shout it Out Loud – dreamlittleyo

Summary: (Movie-Concurrent AU.) When Charles forges a telepathic link between himself and Erik, the two men find themselves bound together by more than just destiny. With the world on the brink of war, Charles and Erik struggle to cope with a psychic connection that may well be permanent.

Call Me By His Name – sinuous_curve

Summary: Charles wakes from the absence of noise.

There is an empty space in his room, beside his bed. Not quiet as in an abandoned room, but utterly, featurelessly blank. Like a box made of unblemished, impenetrable metal and Charles knows before he opens his eyes.

The Longest Word – septicwheelbarrow

Summary: "I'm Charles Xavier," he says, smiling from ear to ear. Then he gestures to his wheelchair. "Terminal spinal osteoblastoma, reaper due to collect in a year."

After some time, the man gestures at himself with a sardonic smile. "Same, one year. Lung." And then, reluctant, as if trying to keep his name to himself, "Erik."

I reject your reality and substitute my own. Doesn't really work that way, both ways.

Copy – chantefable

Summary: Charles wakes up without his memory. His sole caretaker, Erik, claims to be his husband, and tells him he's recovering from a car accident on their honeymoon.

Slowly falling for Erik again, Charles begins to regain his memories. He starts to notice strange things about his body, Erik, and their secluded mansion.

Myosotis – SomeCoolName

Summary: When Charles got back from Cuba, he lost the two things which made him stand: his legs and the love of his life, Erik Lehnsherr. Charles can get used to the wheelchair but he won't ever be able to get pass the loss of Erik.

"I wish I never met him" is something Charles says one night, maybe a bit drunk, absolutely wrecked for sure. It's a bit silly but Charles figures out his only solution is to use his own powers to erase Erik from his mind, progressively.

Except one day Erik comes back to the Xavier mansion to win him back. And even if Charles doesn't want to stop forgetting about him, Erik will do anything he can to convince him otherwise.

Das Haus am See – sareyen

Summary: The Lake House AU:

Erik is an estate planning lawyer who takes some time off to get away from the big city after his marriage fell apart. He lives in a picturesque lake house by Chautauqua Lake for almost two years, before moving back to New York City. This is in 2019.

Charles is a famous but very private author stuck in a creative rut, and moves to his lakeside estate for a short while to try and find a reason to write again. This is in 2017.

By magic or fate, Charles and Erik discover that the letter box at the lake house has the ability to send letters through time, between Charles in 2017 and Erik in 2019. Through letters that transcend the barriers of time, Charles and Erik fall in love. Charles vows to find Erik two years in his future, and Erik promises to wait for him. Two years - just two, meagre years.

But, fate is fickle, and time waits for no one.

Appropriate Boundaries – Yahtzee 

Summary: Charles has been having serious problems with back cramps in the year and a half since he's been in a wheelchair. His doctor prescribes massage therapy. But when Charles meets his masseur, Erik, in some ways they begin to heal each other. So how do you cross the boundaries between professional touch -- and the personal?

Unbound – Cesare, helens78

Summary: Thousands of miles apart, Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier form a soulbond. But when that bond is severed five years later, they have to spend the next ten years trying to rebuild their lives alone.

Do You Love Me – cgf_kat

Summary: Charles and Erik have been married for 25 years, thrown together by a mandatory post-apocalyptic pairing system attempting to increase and strengthen the population. They have seven children. They have never spoken of love, but change is on the horizon.

A Quiet Riot – cloudstroke (aQuired)

Summary: Erik can't stand the fact that his father has brought home a boy less than half his age.

But mostly because he's madly in love with Charles Xavier himself.

[tonyglowheart]

okay the more I think about this, the more I like this idea

So, premise is that I'm not sold on Tim as Red Hood in reverse batfam AUs, since like if any of them Get why Batman can't kill (both as like the symbol/title bc otherwise GPD couldn't be friendly or tolerant of the Bat as an official stance, and as like a personal line for Bruce), it'd be Tim imo.

so I'm thinking, it'd be interesting if his death wasn't caused by Joker (passe, tired, society has progressed past the need for Joker), and instead the second Batlad's death was caused by a freak accident in the middle of a Riddler scheme. It's the kind of thing where, yeah Riddler caused them to be in the situation, but the death itself isn't *really* Riddler's fault. It's tragic and a lot of blame all around and a lot of ppl blaming themselves. Riddler retires from villainy afterwards out of grief and guilt tho.

Years later, when Jason is the new Batlad (I think he still tried to steal the wheels off the Batmobile, but he gave Bruce a much-needed wakeup call when he like hit him with a tire iron and shouted how everyone on the streets knows to avoid the Bat now since Batlad died, everyone knows he's gotten more brutal and less discerning and almost as bad as the villains, or even worse bc at least some of the rogues abide by honor amongst thieves/the street folk. etc etc Batman takes him to Bruce who takes him in, Jason is suspicious bc why would the Bat take him to Bruce of all ppl even tho it's an open secret the Bat is funded by Wayne, maybe even a rumor that the Bat IS Bruce Wayne, and he finds the Cave and extorts Bruce into taking him on as Batlad, partly so Jason can also give back and partly so he can keep an eye on Bruce, the big dummy)-

But years later, a new.... villain? vigilante? antihero? emerges, calling himself Enigma. He sets up these elaborate tests of morality for bad guys - not necessarily rogues but like. corrupt politicians, dirty cops, biased judges or prosecutors, etc. - wherein they're given an elaborate scheme, kind of like a Saw trap ig but it's always fair, there's always a chance for the person to make a moral choice/personal sacrifice that shows they're more than just corrupt or self-serving. Batman thinks it's Edward Nygma, come out of retirement to dabble in the antihero field, and tracks him down- but no, he is retired, and has been growing his business designing and selling escape room designs for years now. He has no clue who this new guy is or what his deal is. So back to square one.

The first couple times, this new Engima guy is pretty good at diverting Batman from interfering and his schemes go off, more often to the detriment/death of the guy being tested- tho a couple times it did work and the ppl in it came out changed. Traumatized, ofc lol, but like with a change in perspective and priority. But eventually, Batman starts wising up to the diversions, and eventually it's revealed that Enigma is Tim. And, well, the clues WERE there for Bruce to see, if he'd just seen them.

I think this works w Tim not being able to fully return to the fold, bc like having died himself he knows just how incentivizing for personal change the threat of real actual death can be. He may not be setting out to kill people, but he's also not averse to setting up situations where they may well die. Maybe as he starts returning more to the fold, he pivots to being sort of Oracle-like, where he deals more with information and giving the Batfam tip-offs and leads or info support, in addition to like patrolling on the ground maybe. But like, patrolling wouldn't be his main gig, I feel like he'd become sort of information mastermind/broker, the way Jason took on being like a mob boss so he could control the trade better to prevent kids from getting involved, etc.

But anyway, for me I feel like this works as a concept better, where Tim is the one who died and came back and then occupies a sort of Batfam adjacent but unable to bring himself back fully into the fold concept, vs a straight "Tim is Red Hood" concept.

[orangeoctopi7]

All of Your So-Called Problems

[AO3 link]

Stan was trying to find room for the leftover Mac and Cheese in the fridge when he heard the doorbell. He grumbled a few obscenities under his breath as he trudged towards the door. He was NOT in the mood for visitors tonight, even if they might be paying customers. The fact that a demon was trying to break into the house to steal some world-ending piece of junk from Ford didn’t help.

"We're closed!" He shouted before he even peeked out the window. He pulled back the blinds just enough to glare at whoever thought it was a good idea to drop by this late, and his eyebrows raised nearly to his receding hairline when he saw who it was.

"Wendy!? Since when do you knock?" Stan couldn't think of a single time she hadn't just come in and made herself at home since she'd started working at the Shack.

"Since Dipper told me you answered the door with a loaded gun earlier today." The teen answered as Stan opened the door.

"Gonna have to have a talk with that runt about blabbing." Stan rolled his eyes. "What, you having a movie night with the kids?"

"Not exactly." The teen jerked a thumb over her shoulder, and Stan finally noticed the rest of the Corduroy family standing just behind her, right off the porch. They were all carrying sleeping bags and pillows.

"...Wha?" Stan could only utter a surprised grunt as his brain tried to piece together why it looked like the entire Corduroy family was here for a sleepover. 

"Dipper called me and said we could stay here until your brother puts up a barrier around our house." Wendy explained, noticing her boss's confusion. "...Aaand he never even told you anything about it, did he?"

"He sure didn't." Stan deadpanned.

As if on cue, Dipper and Ford both stepped into the entryway.

"Oh, Wendy, you're here already!" Dipper said, voice dripping with faked surprise. "I forgot to ask Grunkle Stan if it was ok for you guys to stay the night. But gosh, since you're already here, I guess we can't turn you away!"

"You can drop the act, bucko, I wrote the book on It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission." Stan folded his arms disapprovingly. "The answer's still no. We're already putting up one freeloader."

"I'm the one who said they could stay." Ford said firmly.

Stan turned his glare to his brother. "This isn't a safehouse, genius!"

"It's my house, Stanley!"

"Where are they even gonna sleep!?"

"Well, perhaps we'd have some place to put up guests if you hadn't turned the two largest rooms into a tourist trap!"

"Oh, like you kept the place ready for company when you lived here!" Stan countered. "These rooms were both filled to the brim with your weird experiments when I got here!"

“Hey, we can sleep outside like men, if it’s too much trouble to put us up!” Manly Dan interrupted the brothers’ argument.

“Unfortunately, that’s not an option.” Ford shook his head. “The barrier barely extends past the front porch.” 

Ford quickly took a mental survey of where there might be extra room. The basement lab was out. He’d finished dismantling the portal, but he was storing the rift down there for now. His secret study was supposed to be a secret, and he still needed to clear out all that old Bill memorabilia. The attic was already taken by Dipper and Mabel. Stanley still had the main bedroom, and Fiddleford was currently sleeping on the couch in the upstairs study. That left the den, which might be large enough for one or two people, but certainly not a family of five. If only Stan hadn’t filled his old experiment and specimen rooms with useless junk! Sure, the rooms hadn’t exactly been empty before, but Ford at least would have known what things could be moved where to make room for their guests. Even his old thinking parlor was… wait…

“What about the parlor?” The old researcher asked.

Stan shrugged. “I kinda use it as a space for rotating exhibits, or whatever else I need at the time. Pretty sure it’s still full of leftover campaigning junk.”

“So, nothing we can’t throw out then.”

“Not so fast, genius, I still haven’t agreed to letting anyone stay here.”

“This is an emergency, Stanley!” Ford fumed. “And besides, it’s not your decision to make!”

Stan regarded the Corduroy family still standing awkwardly on his porch, and tried to imagine Manly Dan with those disturbing yellow eyes he’d seen on that time traveler earlier. He tried to picture the hulking lumberjack acting like that erratic demon. It was not a pleasant thought.

“Alright, fine.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “But only because I don’t want any of these ax-weidling giants possessed by a triangular serial-killer. And don’t expect me to provide any bedding or food!”

“Yeah, we can probably snare ourselves a few squirrels or something.” Wendy’s oldest brother assured Stan.

Stan grimaced. “On second thought, help yourselves to some canned meat. Only the stuff that’s expired though!”

“Thanks Stan.” Wendy said. “For giving us a place to stay until this blows over, not for the expired meat.”

“What? They pad that date out by at least a year. As long as it smells fine, it’s good to eat.” Stan defended himself.

The teen rolled her eyes but stepped into the Shack, followed by her family.

Ford observed them all carefully as they entered. No hesitation or sign of even noticing it as they crossed over the barrier. So they definitely weren’t possessed now. He would have to keep a close eye on them while they stayed. He knew that Dipper trusted Wendy, and that was good enough for him, for now, but the others? Ford vaguely remembered Dan from when he’d been a young man, building this very cabin for him. He’d been friendly, loud, and boisterous. It appeared his sons were cut from the same cloth. But it was hard to say whether or not Bill could convince any of them to try and smash the rift.

“So Wendy, did you manage to get more unicorn hair?” Dipper asked as he helped her lay out a sleeping bag in the parlor.

“Oh yeah. I just snuck into that glade again with a pair of shears and a tranq dart. Works just as well as fairy dust.” She handed a grocery bag full of rainbow hair to Ford.

Ford made a mental note to add that tidbit to the Journal 1 entry on unicorns later. “I’ll get started on it first thing tomorrow.”

Mabel came downstairs to help just a minute later. After a lot of rearranging of campaign signs and novelty phones, everyone had a sleeping space set out. Dan took Stan’s recliner in the den, and his youngest son set out a sleeping bag at his feet. The oldest three children laid out their sleeping bags between the piles of junk in the parlor. 

“Ohmigosh, Dipper, we should pull our mattresses down here and have a mega-sleepover!” Mabel gasped as she pushed the last of the campaign signs into a corner.

“What was the point of clearing out all this junk if we aren’t even gonna sleep in our own beds?” Dipper asked tiredly.

“Hmm, good point. Maybe Barry and Stuart can sleep in our beds, and we can sleep down here with Wendy!”

Dipper and Wendy’s middle brother both blushed beet red.

“Uh… I mean… I, uh, I don’t think Wendy would want to sleep with me--US! With us!” Dipper stammered.

“M-me? Sleep in a g-girl’s room? Like a room that a girl sleeps in?” The middle brother gulped.

“Yyyeah, I think we’re good where we are.” Wendy said cooly, trying to diffuse the awkward tension in the room.

“Aw man!” Mabel pouted, but she didn’t put up any other protest than that. Dipper suspected she was still pretty worn out from the rescue mission this morning.

Eventually, everyone got settled down and the children all fell asleep. The elder Pines twins moved back to the living room to check on Dan one more time.

"Hey, now that the kids are asleep, I've been meaning to ask you something." The lumberjack said in a low rumble that was probably his version of a whisper. "How long have there been two of you?"

"Hooboy…" Stan pinched the bridge of his nose. He really didn't want to retread this again.

"I'm Stanford. I'm the one you first met when you built this place for me. My brother Stanley has been living here under my name for the last 30 years." Ford summarized tiredly. Apparently he wasn't in the mood to make a big deal out of it right now either.

Stan could practically see the gears turning in Manly Dan's head. Eventually the grizzled lumberjack nodded. "Yeah, that adds up."

With that, he turned over and went to sleep. Stan was a little surprised that the guy accepted their explanation just like that. But then again, Dan had lived in Gravity Falls his whole life.

Ford grabbed a folding chair from the card table and carried it out into the giftshop.

"Are you seriously gonna stay up and keep watch over that snowglobe thing all night?" Stan asked incredulously.

"My usual sleeping place is already occupied, I may as well." 

"Y’know, operating on so little sleep just makes you more likely to screw up.”

“Don’t worry. I’m well accustomed to it.”

“Not reassuring.” Stan said flatly, turning and climbing the stairs up to his room. If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he probably wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight either. But at least he was going to try. Ford was going to run himself ragged if he kept up this pace.

- - -

Nights in prison were the worst part of the whole ordeal, in Gideon's opinion. At least during the day, he was able to sway the other inmates to do what he wanted. There was a sort of mob mentality that he could take control of. But at night, it was just Gideon and his cell-mate, and there was nothing the boy could do to stop the hulking man from taking his pillow and doing whatever he wanted with it. 

Last week, the convicted felon had staged a wedding in their cell. He’d made a veil out of toilet paper and hummed “Here Comes the Bride” and everything. Tonight, he seemed to be discussing the possibility of children with his new “wife”.

“But Tessa, your mother and your aunt both died in childbirth! I’m just worried about you, honey!” He paused for whatever imagined reply the pillow gave. “Adoption, you say? I’ll admit, I had not considered it.”

Gideon groaned. He couldn’t even put a pillow over his ears to try and block out the nonsense! He’d tried to persuade the warden to let him switch cell mates so he could room with Ghost Eyes, but apparently they were “both instigators” and putting them both in the same cell would be “asking for a prison riot”.

The boy’s eyes flicked with annoyance to the cat poster still hiding his last attempt to summon Bill Cipher. The triangle had appeared and promised he was working on something, but so far Bill had failed to deliver.

“Stupid useless demon!” Gideon muttered under his breath. He rolled over, expecting another sleepless night.

Well, it did turn out to be sleepless, but not for the reason he’d anticipated.

It was a little past 10 PM when Gideon heard the familiar sound of an old van’s engine revving. He’d heard it many times on his father’s used car lot, but what on earth would one of those junkers be doing here?

That’s when he heard the unmistakable sound of a van crashing through a wall. Followed by the even more unmistakable sound of a machine gun.

“Heavens to Betsy, what was that!?” Gideon ran to his barred window just in time to see a pudgy man with a machine gun walk away from the wreckage of where a large van had burst through the prison wall. His maniacal laughter sounded familiar.

“Well whaddya know? Bill came through!” Gideon said in a hushed whisper. 

He dove away from the window with a yelp a second later when the machine gun started firing in his direction. A few seconds later there was a much quieter bang as a tall ladder hit the wall just outside the window. 

“HEY GIDEON, I HEARD YOU WERE GETTING TIRED OF YOUR PRISON AND WANT TO FIND SOMEPLACE NEW TO PARTY?”

“Bill!?”

“THE ONE AND ONLY!”

“Are you trying to kill me, you maniac!?” 

“YEESH, YOU FLESH-SACKS ARE SO SENSITIVE! YOU’RE FINE. BESIDES, I NEEDED TO LOOSEN THESE BARS!” He ripped out the bars on the window with ease. They’d already been loosened by the machine gun fire. “YOU COMING OR NOT? I NEED YOUR HELP STAGING A LITTLE PRISON BREAK OF MY OWN.”

Gideon pouted and followed the demon down the ladder, grumbling the whole way.

“... You know what, Tessa? I don’t think I want kids after all.” Gideon’s cowering cell mate said after they left. 

Bill kept the guards off them with plenty of machine gun fire, but he had little regard for who he was shooting at, guard or prisoner. He even narrowly missed Gideon on a few occasions.

“Oooh, I hope Killbone’s foot will be ok.” The boy hissed sympathetically as he saw one of his inmate friends go down.

“NAH, HE’S CRIPPLED FOR LIFE!”

They finally made it to the van, and Gideon climbed into the passenger-side door. Bill followed after him.

“A-aren’t you gonna drive?” The boy asked.

“TCH, FUNNY! I JUST RAMMED THIS THING THROUGH THREE WALLS OF CONCRETE; YOU THINK THE MEASLY COMBUSTION ENGINE STILL WORKS?” He flicked a lighter on and dropped it down between the driver’s seat and the steering wheel. Gideon could smell the gasoline. This thing was going to blow any second. He scampered over the benches and out the back door. Bill followed casually behind him.

“Then how are we supposed to get away!?” Gideon demanded as he sprinted to put distance between himself and the burning van.

“RELAX, SHORT-STACK, I’VE GOT A SECOND GET-AWAY CAR RIGHT HERE!” Bill pointed out a small black Audi parked behind a tall tree.

“Then why did you set the van on fire?” Gideon asked in confusion.

“BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT’D BE FUN.” Bill grinned as the van blew up behind them. Gideon screamed and ducked to avoid fiery flying debris. “AND I WAS RIGHT!”

Gideon got into Bill’s car. There was no child’s car seat. “You better drive careful.” He warned the demon.

“AHAHAHAHA, OH GIDEON, YOU’RE ALWAYS A RIOT!” Bill struggled to shift the car into drive, and Gideon had just enough time to realize with horror that the demon didn’t really know how to operate a human vehicle before it sped off through the trees.

[kacchanrawr]

Things I want to see in the future of MHA

(not just post-war stuff, but also the entire series. Some of these are kinda self-indulgent)

1. Endeavor and Hawks’ judgment

I honestly don’t know if I want to see them punished or pardoned. I’m interested in both of those so I’ll just trust Horikoshi on that one. But anyways, there’s no way they aren’t getting shit for this.

2. Whatever the ‘fake heroes’ are gonna do after this

Going back to Stain’s ideology about fake heroes. I agree with parts of it, there are a lot of people that become heroes without the conviction. They get into it by treating it the same way as any other office job, not as a mission to be well, heroes. But I don’t agree that they should be killed or eliminated. Being a hero for money isn’t inherently a bad thing, it’s when you let greed take over you to the point that you forget what it means to be a hero. Some of those ‘fake heroes’ like Mt. Lady who was originally in it for the fame and money have grown to become real heroes. Others who really have zero conviction, will probably quit after facing this amount of despair, like the guy in chapter 296.

3. The Todoroki family’s image

How will everyone else see the victims of the situation, Natsuo, Fuyumi, Rei and Shoto after this? Especially Shoto. Now that his past is out in the public, that will probably affect his future as a pro. Would his classmates and peers see him or treat him differently after this? Like out of pity or sympathy?

4. The public’s backlash in general

How will the public start viewing not just Endeavor, Hawks, and the Todoroki family, but all heroes? Will they lose faith in heroes? We know they kinda already are when UA had a lot of backlash when Bakugo was kidnapped. UA as well, will it get shut down?

5. Bakudeku’s talk

I don’t think their relationship is actually gonna stay the same after this whole ‘my body moved on its own because I care for you and wanted to save you so I just got stabbed and risked my life for you and even told you to stop trying to be so selfless and do everything by yourself’ thing. All Might also did foreshadow that they were gonna talk soon. Maybe we could get the long awaited Bakugo apology scene ? Though it feels way too soon. And if Hori feeds us Bakudekus even more I think we’re just gonna combust.

5. Deku’s character development

His mindset and view of the world will probably be way darker and even more serious after this. I also want to see how Bakugo getting hurt for his sake and saying “don’t play hero all by yourself” will affect him. We know that he has decided to become a hero that wouldn’t make anyone worry about him when he had a flashback of his mom crying and being worried for him. He decided that the solution to that is to be stronger, but now maybe he can learn that selflessness doesn’t necessarily mean that he has to carry all the weight by himself. But then there’s the 4th user’s quirk that will probably push him to be even more selfless.

6. Ochako’s development

Please please PLEASE let this girl have more development. The way her fight against Toga ended, and her seeing the grievous side of being a hero? Probably a set up for her development.

7. Basically the rest of the kids’ development?

Obviously it’s not just the people involved in the fight against Shigaraki, or Ochako that are gonna view the world differently after this. I wanna see how they will deal with this. Kirishima and Mina will probably be some of the highlights. Also Momo, since Midnight meant a lot to her when she was the one that trusted Momo to lead their classes in the battle against Gigantomachia.

8. Aizawa and Present Mic dealing with Midnight’s death

Those two are especially highlighted amongst all of the other UA staff members because they have a past with her, as shown in vigilantes. We saw their anger and sadness about Shirakumo, what more when it comes to Midnight?

9. The villains dealing with their losses

Yes, know Toga went on a rampage after Twice’s death, but how will she and deal with it in the long run? How about losing Mr. Compress? How will Shigaraki react to both of those, and having the other Paranormal Liberation Front members like Geten captured? Not just emotionally, but how about the loss in terms of strength and power?

10. Prison break arc

People have been talking about this for years, maybe ever since we knew All for One was only imprisoned and not killed. We’ll probably see it happen next chapter. Will it cause the public to lose even more faith in the hero system? How will it affect the villains? Will AFO be their boss now, or will they resist him and stay loyal to Shigaraki?

11. All for One vs Shigaraki

Related to the previous point. We know Shigaraki really doesn’t want AFO bossing him around. They’ll probably have a fight. Maybe Deku and Shigaraki vs AFO? Then they’ll go back to fighting each other once the common threat is gone. This doesn’t feel very likely, but it could be a way of interpreting Deku’s “you looked like you needed saving” at the end of chapter 295.

11. Deku’s arms?

I don’t know if I want him to lose them and get prosthetics, or get healed by Eri. It would be great to see him experience a major loss, but ability-wise and emotionally? Not so good for him, though that’s kinda the point. Also he might not be able to use OFA in his arms anymore and I kinda don’t wanna see that. Even if he can, will he be able to use it at 100%? So far, we’ve seen that the level of technology in MHA aren’t enough to withstand 100%

12. Deku mastering One for All

I wanna see him consistently use 100% without injuring himself. I want to see him do more with black whip, float and the fourth user’s quirk. I’m also curious about the other three quirks left.

13. Power buff for everyone else

I kinda don’t wanna see the MC getting so ahead of everyone else, to the point that they leave everyone else in the dust. But I know that it’s been established way earlier on that Deku will surpass everyone in terms of strength. Even now, Bakugo, one of the strongest in Class 1-A could barely catch up with 30% OFA. But from his internal dialogue in chapter 293, I’m guessing he already had a quirk evolution when he saw Deku at the verge of death. I want to see more details on that though.

14. Everyone else’s reaction to Bakugo’s sacrifice

It’s gonna be a big thing for his character and all, but I don’t think this is gonna happen because of well, everything else being a mess. But maybe at least All Might’s?

15. Deku’s father

I don’t want him to be a really big famous, important figure, or someone involved in this whole AFO vs OFA stuff. It will kinda ruin Deku’s character of like, ‘just an ordinary boy that was lucky and so his character arc is to be worthy of that blessing’. If Deku’s father was someone like that, that would mean he was the fated or chosen one in the first place anyways? But what else can Deku’s dad be? I honestly don’t know.

16. All Might’s death

I see so many people complain that he should’ve died in Kamino, but I disagree because saving that big moment for later was actually a good decision. We know he’s gonna die, he has death flags everywhere. But I wonder how exactly he will die, when he will die, and how big of an impact his death will have.

17. The final battle

As in, the last battle of the entire series. Deku vs Shigaraki rematch, Ochako vs Toga, Shoto vs Dabi. And for Bakugo, well...... he doesn’t really have a villain nemesis? (Huh maybe I’ll talk about that some other time) But the best I could think of right now is Bakugo and Deku vs Shigaraki, like in Heroes Rising. If the Heroes Rising ending was the original series ending, maybe Hori was hinting that Bakugo and Deku will be fighting the final boss together?

18. Bakugo and Deku as a hero duo

Related to the previous point. Shipping lenses aside, I think there’s plenty of foreshadowing for that? Even if they wouldn’t officially be hero partners, I’m guessing they’re both gonna be important pillars. “Win to save, save to win”

19. The ending

I want to see how they will fix the broken hero society. I want to see Class 1-A as wonderful heroes. I want satisfying closure for the villains as well. What I don’t want to see is everyone getting married and having kids like Naruto, and those kids being the characters for a sequel series. I’m sorry but as much as I like a lot of the ships, I think that’s probably one of the worst endings possible. But a next generation sequel actually wouldn’t be that bad if the main characters were the established kid characters we already know and love, Eri, Kota, Katsuma and Mahoro. We can see through them how the new hero system/society works, and maybe all the smaller subtle stuff that they still need to patch up. Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything else good about it.

20. Deku becoming the greatest hero

Also very much related to the previous point but I only remembered it afterwards. We know it’s gonna happen, but how? Also notice that while Bakugo always says ‘number one hero’, Deku always just says ‘greatest hero’, which kinda aren’t the same thing. Maybe it’s just cuz I’m a Bakugo stan, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to just let the rival characters be content with number two? Either ‘Bakugo is the number one in ranking while Deku is the greatest hero’, or ‘Deku is the greatest and number one hero but their rivalry hasn’t ended and it’s a push-pull’ thing. Or just kill one of them (cough Bakugo cough) and it’ll be fine.

21. Other people finding out about OFA

I don't think it's going to stay a secret between Deku, Bakugo and All Might anymore. At the very least, the people involved in the fight against Shigaraki, like Shoto, Aizawa and Endeavor should be given an explanation on why Shigaraki was targeting Deku in particular. At worst, it becomes public news and Deku will now have to deal with a much a greater pressure of everyone expecting him to take up All Might's mantle. I'd rather go with the former, but the latter is also interesting I guess. Or if not those, they'd have to come up with a really good excuse.

Anyways that’s all I can think of for now? There’s probably way more at the back of my head. I’ll just edit whenever.

[cherrybracelets]

Freefall

aaron hotchner x fem!reader

word count: 15.3k | warnings: smut!!!! alcohol mention, murder mention, rape mention, lots of typical cm violence! 

inspired by: its called freefall by rainbow kitten surprise (i highly recommend listening to this song before or during reading!)

Anyway, you say you’re too busy saving everybody else to save yourself / And you don’t want no help, oh well / That’s the story to tell

ok i have put my blood sweat and tears in this lamfkndksjfj this has been my wip for almost 3 weeks this is my entry for @veraiconcos​ fic challenge!! her prompt fit so perfectly with this fic so i am so excited to share it with you guys. this is by far my most challenging piece and the one i worked the longest on. i really hope you all love it, feedback is much appreciate. i am tagging some moots to signal boost this, i hope u dont mind 

Aaron- 

This woman killed my dad. They said you’d be able to help. Please find her. 

Aaron ran his fingertips over the letter one more time, feeling the depth of the pen, the engravement of each letter into the crisp stationary. He reread the words for a thousandth time, wondering if this time he could discover who actually sent the letter. But unfortunately, just like the past times, there was nothing to indicate who the sender was. The only other thing in the picture was a photograph of a young woman, the person Aaron believed was the murderer. Her face was mostly covered, and he was almost certain the short black bob that sat on her head was a wig. There was nothing about the photo that would help identify her, but on the back of the photo was a date- May 7th 2020, and a city, Sante Fe, NM.

He continued to stare at it, hoping some new information would pop out at him this time. But there was nothing, and he knew if he wanted to find whoever was responsible for this crime, he would need to involve the team. Whoever sent this clearly only wanted Aaron involved, even addressing him personally as Aaron and not Agent Hotchner.. Who could this person be? And who sent him Aaron’s way? 

“You’re here early,” JJ hesitated, walking through the doors of the BAU to begin her day.

“Yeah… I’ve got kind of a… thing?” Aaron stammered over his words, trying to decide how he should go about this. 

“What’s going on, Hotch?” 

“Come take a look at this. It was on my desk yesterday.” Hotch waved JJ over to him, holding the letter tightly in hands. He handed it to her hesitantly, still not feeling comfortable sharing with the rest of the team. It could be a prank, a practical joke, somebody just trying to waste his time. But how did it find it’s way onto his desk? Who would be messing with him like this? 

“Was there an envelope?” JJ asked, staring at the words on the paper. 

“Yes, addressed to me, but no return address. It seems like it was hand delivered.” 

“The handwriting looks like a teenagers, how would he have made it all the way from New Mexico?”

“Maybe somebody else delivered it?”

Aaron and JJ’s attention was quickly taken away when Spencer and Derek walked through the doors, their loud voices cracking through the quiet air of the BAU. They were arguing about something pointless, as they usually did. Aaron felt his head throbbing as the day started to begin, unsure of how much longer he’d be able to make it without some strong coffee. 

“JJ, keep this between us for now. I’ll bring it to Garcia, see if she can find anything worth investigating. I don’t want to bring it to the team unless I’m sure we have a case.” 

“Understood.” JJ smiled kindly at him, a look he was all too familiar with. Ever since Haley died, it felt like everyone was constantly walking on eggshells around him. Everyone felt bad, and they did whatever he asked without complaint. From a boss standpoint, it was nice, not having to argue your decisions to your team. But, they were more than his team. They were his friends, and he felt he lost them the same day he lost Haley. 

Aaron greeted Spencer and Derek quickly, not wanting to get pulled into whatever discussion they were having. He was holding onto the letter tightly, afraid of losing it. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he just had a feeling about it. Like he had stumbled onto something huge, and whatever Garcia could find out would lead them to something unbelievable. 

“Hey, Garcia. Any chance I could have you work on something… private, for now?” Aaron stood in the doorway of her office, all of the bright screens making him wince. His headache was only getting worse as the day went on. 

“Of course, sir. Is everything okay?” She looked worried, for sure hoping that whatever secret task she was performing for him had nothing to do with Haley. Although he knew she would never say anything, he could tell she was worried about him. 

“I need you to check deaths in Santa Fe, NM from May 5th - May 9th. Specifically look for men with teenage sons.”

“Just homicides?” 

“No, any deaths. And see if you find anything suspicious.”

“Alright…” Penelope said, furrowing her brows in confusion. “It might take a bit. Santa Fe’s a big city.”

“Just get back to me when you can, Garcia.” Aaron smiled slightly at the technical analyst, before leaving quietly. His head was begging him for caffeine, or Advil, or a drink, even though it was barely 9 in the morning. 

He walked quietly back to his office, not talking to any of his team, closing the door behind him as he got inside. There was a sick feeling in his stomach, most likely caused by the cigarette he snuck this morning on an empty stomach. He paced uncomfortably, dry swallowing an Advil he found in the back of his desk drawer. He knew it would take Garcia a while

to get his information, but he was feeling exceptionally frustrated and impatient. He started to walk towards the door, feeling the need to to pester his analyst to work quicker, but as he opened it, JJ stood pleasantly in the door. 

“We got a case, boss,” she smiled, waving an envelope in the air. 

“Alright, let’s get to the conference room.” Aaron closed the door to office, following his Agent into the annex. He felt sick as he took his seat, not ready for whatever horror was about to be presented. Some days he felt like giving up, like throwing in the towel. He has given this job everything he had, and what did he get in return? 

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Aaron and the team left an hour later for their newest destination, solving the case within 3 days. They were headed back to DC on the jet when he got a call from Garcia. It was rare she would call him personally if they were not working a case, so he knew it must’ve been about the letter. He waited a moment before answering, anxious about what her news could be. What if she found nothing, and this was the end of the line? 

“Hello, sir. I wanted to call as soon as I could.” She sounded nervous, a tone of confusion in her voice. 

“What’s going on, Garcia?” 

“Well, it’s about the letter. I found something… interesting.” 

“Do you think we could have a case?”

“It’s a high possibility, sir.” 

“Alright. Can you patch into the computer and share with the team. I’d like to bring them in on this as well.”

“Sounds good, see you in a moment.”

Aaron hung the phone up, walking back to the main part of the jet and back to the rest of the team. They were spread out, all enjoying the calming feeling of a solved case. Spencer and JJ were sleeping, Emily and Derek both with headphones in and Rossi reading a book. He hated to bother them, hated to disturb their peace they all deserved. But that was the job- there was no peace. They all had to endure constant chaos so that innocent people didn’t have to. 

Aaron turned on the lights of the jet, alarming his team and causing several groans of frustration. 

“What’s going on, Hotch?” Emily asked in desperation, her eyes squinting as they adjusted to the light. 

“I’m sorry to bother everyone, but I think we might have a new case.” Aaron looked around the room, slowly watching the faces of his friends change from their relaxed state to the intensity of a profiler. 

“Is this about… the thing from a few days ago?” JJ asked quietly, not wanting to bring it up if it wasn’t the case. 

“The letter, yes.” 

“Hello, my sleepy friends. I am sorry to bother you, but I have stumbled across something interesting that I believe requires your attention. Uh, Hotch… would you like to…” she trailed off, looking around for her superior to explain how they ended up here. 

“I received a letter a few days ago… someone asking us to look into the death of their father. It was anonymous, there was a picture along with it but it still wasn’t enough to do much on my own. So, I handed over what I had to Garcia and…” Aaron trailed off, realizing now he hadn’t even asked Penelope what she got before bringing the rest of the team in. 

“I guess that’s where I come in. So, as per our humble leader, I searched for deaths of men on the given dates with teenage sons, and as I expected, that list was quite large.” 

“Why teenage sons?” Derek asked, still trying to fill in the gaps of information. 

“The letter was clearly written by a young boy, no older than 16 was my guess,” JJ added, explaining her conclusion to the team. 

“Garcia, were you able to narrow down the list?” Aaron asked, desperately wanting to know what she found. 

“Well, I got rid of anyone whose death was expected. People who were sick or in the hospital, with underlying medical conditions, et cetera et cetera. Once we narrowed it down to deaths that were true accidents, I had a list of three.” 

“How do we know this isn’t just a prank?” Rossi asked. It was a fair question, a question he frequently asked himself as well. 

“Ah, well, if it was a prank I wouldn’t have found out what I did…” 

“That looks like the face of someone who’s about to tell me I’m not going home tonight,” Derek laughed, turning to Emily, who rolled her eyes. 

“Unfortunately it does seem like there’s a case here. One of the men that I flagged as ‘Could Be A Murder Victim’ has a… bad past.” One thing that Aaron always admired about Penelope is how she always managed to speak with such lightness, no matter how heavy the content of her words. “42-year old Derek Hood was killed on May 7th, ruled as an accidental drug overdose. There was some chatter that it may have been suicide, but there was no note and the family insisted he wouldn’t have killed himself.” 

“So what makes you think it was murder?” Spencer asked.

“Alright, get this. Our man Jason was on trial two years ago for the rape of three different 16 year old girls. It was declared a mistrial, unfortunately, after all three of the girls refused to testify at his trial.”

“Is it possible he threatened them? This could be a revenge killing, if that was the case,” Emily added. 

“Ah, I thought that too, my friend. But all three of the girls are now in college and far, far away from Sante Fe. So, that was kind of a dead end.”

“What about the parents?” Aaron questioned. 

“We think alike, sir. All three of their families still reside in Santa Fe, and three weeks before Jason’s death, all three couples withdrew $15,000 cash from their banks. One family stated it was for a pool, the other for a car, and the last family stated it was for bathroom renovations.” 

“Were any of those projects completed, Garcia?” 

“To the best of my knowledge, no.” 

“So this is what I think it is, then,” Rossi asked, looking up towards Aaron for confirmation. 

“It’s most likely a hitman, yes.” Aaron looked around at his team, a feeling of worry drowning him. Hitmen were exceptionally dangerous, and so were the routes to get to them. It was an extremely well protected underground business, and the chances of catching one successfully, with no one hurt, were very slim. 

“Wait, but our unsub is a woman. The photo very clearly showed a female, and even in the letter, the boy addresses her as ‘This woman.’” 

“Could we see the picture, Garcia?” Aaron asked, staring at the monitor as he awaited the photo. 

“Maybe they’re dressing as a woman to distract any possible witnesses?” Rossi added. The photo then popped up on the monitor, the same hidden person that was ingrained in Aaron’s brain. He couldn’t forget her, her shielded face, cheap wig, perfect body… 

“That is definitely a woman, guys. You can’t fake that body…” Derek laughed, causing a wave of eye rolls and a slight shove of disgust from Emily. 

“A female hitman… that is exceptionally rare.” 

“Maybe she’s killing for justice? I mean, Jason was a piece of shit. And he somehow got away with his crimes, maybe this is punishment,” Derek added, always the first to try to come up with some sort of explanation. 

“Why would she charge the parents almost fifty grand, though? That clearly makes it about money,” Emily rebutted. 

“Garcia, is there any way we can find out who they gave that money too?” Aaron asked, hoping for a quick and easy answer, but he knew nothing was easy at this job. 

“Since they took it out in cash, there’s no way to trace it, sir.” 

“We’ll need to talk to the parents.” 

“They won’t say anything, you know how that goes,” JJ said. 

“We’ll target one of them, whichever is the most unstable. Promise them immunity. That usually works in situations like this.” Aaron looked at the team, noticing how tired they were. He knew how bad they needed to go home, sleep in their own beds, wash their hair with something other than hotel shampoo. But this was big, he could feel it. And they probably did, as well. It was their life, they were all aware of how crazy this career path could be. But, just because he knew that, it didn't make it any easier on Aaron when he had to push them to their limit.  “We need to turn the plane around to Santa Fe. If this person is local, it’s best that we’re on the scene.” 

“Can we at least stop home so I can get some new clothes?” JJ groaned, looking at the team in desperation for support. 

“Fine. Can we be back in the air in two hours?” 

“We can make that work,” Spencer agreed. 

“Alright. Thanks, guys.” 

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Santa Fe was hot. The kind of hot that made it impossible to breathe, and your clothes felt like they had melted into your skin. Aaron could feel his skin on fire, burning hotter and hotter as he stood under the desert sun. Emily stood next to him, glistening in a thin layer of sweat. The two of them stared closely at a house across the street, taking in every detail. 

“You ready?” Emily asked, her voice cracking through the quiet air like a whip. 

“Uh… yeah,” Aaron stuttered, his brain feeling off. He had a feeling whoever this person was, she wasn’t in Sante Fe. This was a big operation that they had stumbled upon, and he had a bad feeling about the way it would end up. 

Aaron followed Emily to the door, feeling exceptionally guilty as they entered the front yard of a family whose lives had been destroyed- and all they were there to do was destroy them further. He knew they only did what they did to avenge their daughter- and he understood. Sometimes he wondered if he should’ve done the same thing with Foyet.

“Are you alright, Hotch? I don’t mean to overstep, but you don’t seem like yourself,” Emily questioned, stopping in her tracks before they made their presence  known to the family. 

“Just have a bad feeling about this one, I guess,” he responded, rubbing his head with his thumb and forefinger. “Let’s get this over with…” 

“Aye aye, sir.” 

The two of them walked to the front door of the small house, knocking slightly quietly on the white painted wood of the door. An older man opened the door, immediately tensing up as he saw the two of them. They looked like Agents- or at the very least, local detectives, and the man was pretty quick to understand why they were there. 

“Are you Bradley Mathis?” Emily asked, standing a few inches in front of Aaron, clearly trying to take the lead on this. It was probably for the best, since his head was not on right today. In all honesty, his head hadn’t been on right since Foyet. 

“Who are you?” Bradley asked defensively, crossing his arms across his chest and backing away from the door. 

“Mr. Mathis, I want to assure you that if you cooperate with us, there will be no trouble. We understand you did everything to protect your daughter, and we aren’t looking for trouble. We just want to find the person who did this for you.” As Aaron spoke, he realized how scary this must be for him. His daughter was brutally attacked, they found the man that hurt her, and then he threatened her into silence so he could walk free. If it had happened to Aaron’s kid, he would’ve killed the son of a bitch with his own bare hands. 

“You promise me nothing will happen to me?” He asked defensively, his eyes darting nervously across the room.

“I never met her, okay. I swear,” he responded in relief, as if he’d been waiting for the moment he could finally tell somebody. It was exhausting caring around those kinds of secrets. “I got her info from a friend. You go to the website, submit your claim, and she’ll send an assistant out to decide if she’ll take you on as a client. If she decides to help you, you’ll give half the money up front, and half upon proof of… death,” he whispered, closing his eyes as he spoke the words.

“That’s pretty standard practice for what she is…” Emily added. 

“How did you find her website?” Aaron asked, wanting to leave this man in peace as quickly as possible. 

“There’s some… tricks to finding her. Give me one second,” he said, turning around quickly and darting to another room. Emily reached for her gun defensively, but Aaron put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. 

“He won’t run.” 

“How do you know? He has every reason to dart.” 

“I just know. He’ll be back. Trust me.” Aaron looked to his Agent, kindly suggesting but also ordering her to relax. She nodded, crossing her arms as the pair waited for Bradley. As Aaron suspected, he came back a few minutes later with a beat up piece of paper. 

“Someone I know from the support group gave me this. It’s how to contact her.” He handed them a brochure that was in pretty bad shape, but still legible enough to understand where to go. From the outside, it looked like a brochure for a dental surgery. But there were certain words highlighted, most likely by whoever gave Bradley this in the first place. It mapped out clear instructions on how to contact this mystery vigilante. 

“That’s all I know. I swear.” 

“I believe you,” Aaron responded, noticining the calmness flooding over Bradley’s face as Aaron spoke. “You can never tell anybody this, do you understand?” 

Bradley nodded, his mouth glued shut as the reality of the situation finally weighed on him. He noticed the guns holstered to Emily and Aaron’s hips, and quickly shut the door, no goodbye’s needed. 

“If she’s sending people to meet potential clients before she meets them, she isn’t local,” Emily put together, shaking her head in shock as the pair walked back to their car. 

“No, she’s not. Which means we need to get back on the plane ASAP. Send this over to Garcia, I’ll call the team and tell them to meet us back at the jet.” 

“Sounds good.” 

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“Hello, angels. Are you ready for all the answers to your prayers?” Garcia’s voice popped through the stiff air of the jet, breaking through the harsh waters like a ray of sunshine. 

“Were you able to find her, Garcia?” 

“Of course, sir. Our girl is fancy. You need five grand upfront just to meet with her. Her website looks like it was designed for a five star hotel. She is legit.” 

“Can we actually find her, Penelope?” Aaron had raised his voice slightly, frustration starting to set in. He just wanted this to be over, he wanted to bring her in and end this. 

“Yes, yes. Sorry. Our girl goes by the name Ananke.” 

“That’s not very intimidating,” Derek laughed, shaking his head as he sat back in his chair. 

“Well, kind of. Ananke is a greek goddess, specifically known as one of the most powerful deity’s to control fate and circumstance. It’s pretty fitting, giving what she does.” 

“The only way to meet her is to submit an appointment request, which is easier said than done. She has a legit system, requires a birth certificate, social security number, and a license or passport.”

“And five G’s,” JJ added. 

“Can we create fake documents and submit them? Maybe have someone undercover go meet her.” 

“I’ll do it. This has been my case from the beginning, I’d like to end it as well,” Aaron said, assuring his team he would finish this. 

“I can get everything made up and submitted before you land.” 

“Is there any way to figure out where she’s located?” 

“Unfortunately not at the moment. I am still digging though, it’s possible I missed something.” 

“Thanks, Garcia. We’ll see you soon.” 

The team made some more small talk after that, realizing there wasn’t much they could do unless they had a location. Aaron’s head was beginning to throb again, absolute exhaustion overcoming him as he sat down and let himself relax for the first time in days. He missed Jack, he missed the comfort of his own bed, the smell of his cheap laundry detergent. He realized he was digging his nails into his palms, his flesh barely intact as he released his tension. 

The rest of his team had broken up into their own conversations, ignoring the crumbling mess that was Aaron Hotchner. He walked to the bathroom quietly, snooping through the cabinets and finding a small bottle of vodka. He downed it quickly, letting the liquor burn the back of his throat and take his mind off of everything else. Even if it was for a moment, the distraction was welcomed, and almost necessary for him to keep going. 

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It was two full days- almost forty eight hours exactly- when they finally heard back from Ananke. She had agreed to meet with ‘Zachary Wilson’ who was looking for revenge against the drunk driver that killed his wife. And to the whole team’s surprise, it appeared that she was located in DC. Ananke herself said she would meet him, stating that she was ‘in the area’. 

The address she gave them appeared to be a popular nightclub in college town, one that Aaron had unfortunately been dragged to on multiple occasions. The team agreed that Aaron should meet her alone, the team standing outside to come in if necessary. She wanted to meet him on a Friday night, which meant the place would be flooded with innocent civilians. It was safest if they stayed out of it, at first. 

By the time Friday rolled around, Aaron had barely eaten in days. He was staying alive on coffee, tylenol, and mini bottles of vodka he could keep in his pockets. Oh, and the occasional cigarette was a necessity as well. He had waited anxiously for what felt like weeks to meet her. This case had been weighing on him since the moment he received that letter, and he wanted it to be over. He wanted the anxiety and the chaos to be over. But, once they solved this one, there would just be another after, and the cycle of chaos and anxiety begins all over again. 

“I hope you know you can't dress like that,” JJ said, teasing Aaron with a light shove as she walked past him. 

“Why?” 

“It’s… a business suit, Hotch. And you're going to a nightclub. It screams Fed.” 

Aaron looked down at himself, realizing JJ was right. His vibes screamed ‘Cop’, and that was exactly what he did not want. 

“Don’t worry, sir. I have something you can borrow from my go bag,” Derek suggested. 

“Hotch in Derek’s clothes? That’s something I’ll pay good money to see,” Emily laughed, JJ giggling alongside her as Derek rolled his eyes and threw clothes at the two of them. 

“You think these will work?” Derek asked the girls, not bothering with Aaron’s opinion. 

“Oh, it’s perfect. Hotch will love these,” they laughed, neatly folding the clothes and handing them to Aaron. He walked away in silence, heading towards his office so he could change. The clothes weren’t a perfect fit, but they were better than his suit. The shirt was way too tight, with a v-neck that was way too deep. His arms felt like they would rip right through the cheap cotton, and his ass felt like it was going to bust straight out of the denim. 

He began to walk out of the office quietly, hoping that the rest of the team wouldn’t be waiting for his fashion show. But as he figured, they were standing by patiently for him to show off in Derek’s way too tight clothes. As soon as he opened the door, a riot of laughs and cat calls surrounded him. He felt himself blushing, which was something he hadn’t done in a long time. 

“Damn, Hotch. Where have you been hiding those arms?” Derek laughed, his voice echoing through Aarons head. 

“I think we need to start casual Friday,” Spencer added, staring in awe at his boss. 

“Alright, enough guys. This is a serious case, and I need everyone to be on their best behavior.” 

“I’m not sure I can act right with you walking around like that,” Rossi joked, causing the rest of the team to burst out with laughter. Aaron just rolled his eyes, secretly appreciating the light that they all brought to his life. 

“Alright, you guys ready to go?” 

“All set. Let’s go catch a killer, sir.” 

The ride to the club was a bit of a hike, a little over thirty minutes by the time they parked. They were split in two cars, seperated to cover both entrances. The plan was for him to go in and assess the situation, hoping he can get her out without harming any bystanders. If he needed backup, he had an alarm he could trigger that would alert the rest of the team to come in. It was a simple plan, one they had executed a thousand times in the past. But despite that, he felt extremely anxious. 

“Are you ready, Aaron?” Rossi asked, raising his eyebrows in concern. 

“Yeah, let’s get this over with. Stay alert, guys.” Aaron walked out of the car and to the entrance of the club, staring directly at the large bouncer standing in front of the door. He was given very specific instructions on what to see when he approached the man, ones that would deliver him directly to Ananke and avoid having to deal with the actual club. 

“You on the list?” The bouncer asked as Aaron approached, not even bothering to look up from his clipboard. 

“I’m here to see… A,” he whispered, looking around frantically to see if anyone else heard. 

“You got your ID and confirmation number?” He asked, setting his clipboard down and staring intensely at Aaron. 

“Uh, yeah. It’s 73491. And here’s my drivers license,” he responded, handing him the forged Virginia license of one Zachary Wilson. 

“Zachary Wilson…” the man whispered, making Aaron sick to his stomach as he awaited the man to deny him and send him away, ruining his chances of finding her forever. “You’re gonna go in this door, right here,” he said, pointing towards a hidden and seemingly locked door to his right. “Take the stairs all the way up, knock on the door twice. She’ll be right with you.” 

“Thank you,” he responded, relieved as he began to walk past the guard and towards his end goal. 

“Oh, and Zachary,” the man added, causing Aaron to turn around in confusion. 

“Remember: lei è dalla nostra parte,” he said, a smile creeping on his face as he spoke. Aaron recognized the language as Italian, but he couldn’t translate what he was saying. The bouncer turned around before Aaron had the chance to ask what he meant, but he figured it would just be better to move on and go directly to her. 

He slowly opened the door, unsure of what he would find on the other side. To his surprise, it was only an exceptionally narrow staircase in a small hallway, leading directly to another gray door. The sound of fluorescent lights buzzed in the air, making Aaron dizzy as he walked up the steep steps. He remembered what the man said- knock twice. He also remembered the phrase in Italian, lei è dalla nostra parte. And when he finally got to the door, he began to unravel the words in his head. He knocked twice, replaying the words over and over. And when he finally heard the door click open, he understood what the man had meant. She is on our side. 

“Zachary?” A man asked, opening the door slightly, only enough to peak out at him. 

“Yes. I’m here to see-” 

“Ananke. Of course,” he interrupted, swinging the door open and revealing an exceptionally beautiful and ornate room. Aaron walked in slowly, in a daze, his eyes not sure where to look as every piece of the room exceptionally thought out. There was a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the light reflecting rainbows from the crystals. 

“She will be with you shortly. Feel free to have a seat somewhere. Can I get you anything to drink?” 

Aaron felt like he was at a hotel, the service impeccable as he sat down on the incredibly comfortable and probably very expensive couch. Most hit men he had met with did not present themselves like this. Whoever she was, she had a lot of money. In that moment, he wondered how many lives she had taken- how many people finally got what they deserved. And for a brief and frightening moment, he wondered if she was doing things right? 

His thoughts were interrupted when she walked out. Not only did he lose his train of thought, but his breath was literally ripped from his chest. She was no longer covering her face, or wearing a wig. She had finally revealed herself to him, and he was in awe. She was absolutely stunning- beautiful to a level that made his head spin and his heart cramp up. He stood up instinctively, feeling the need to stand and greet her face to face. As she walked closer, he felt his throat getting tighter and tighter. 

“Hello,” she spoke, her words floating through the air like a flower in the spring wind. “I’m Ananke.” 

���Mhmm, he,” he stuttered, sticking his hand out to shake hers. “I’m…” he choked, unable to get his words out. 

“Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, right?” She smiled, and Aaron instinctively reached for his gun. 

“Put your weapon away, Aaron. I’m no threat to you,” she instructed, and he complied. For some reason, he believed her. She had no intention of hurting him or anyone else in this building. He didn’t need his weapon. 

“How do you know who I am?” 

“The FBI has a list of Social Security numbers they regularly use for fake documents. It’s… a hard list to get your hands on. I’m lucky I have friends in high places.” 

“So you knew who I was from the minute I submitted my application?” He was shocked, a sick feeling washing over him. Who was she? How was she consistently one step ahead of them? 

“I’m sorry to break your sense of superiority, agent. It hurts when someone is smarter than you, doesn't it?” She tilted her head at him, a devilish grin pasted across her face. He wanted to hate her, he wanted to be angry, but all he could focus on was the fire burning inside of him and the hunger building itself, the craving overcoming her. Her skirt revealed a little too much of her thigh and her shirt was a little too low cut and the thought of her flesh on his rippled its way through his body. 

“Well, we found you and I’m going to arrest you, so it doesn’t seem like you came out on top here,” he responded, avoiding eye contact as he tried to get his impure thoughts out of his head. 

“Agent Hotchner, something you will quickly learn is that I only come on top.” She winked at him, pursuing her lips slightly and smiling. She held her wrists out to him, walking towards him until she was only inches away. “Are you going to arrest me, Agent?” 

Aaron reached for the cuffs in his back pocket, pulling them out slowly and staring directly at her. She didn't take his eyes off of him, standing tall as he began to cuff her. Her hands were soft, almost comical as they brushed against his rough and untouched skin. He didn’t speak, and neither did she. He just closed the cuffs on her, her large eyes staring up at him like a doe. He felt dizzy again, the intoxicating smell of her perfume, the subtle hints of berries and vanilla surrounding him in a whirlwind. 

He slowly grabbed his phone from his pocket, trying to dial Rossi’s number, feeling drunk as he pressed the button. What was wrong with him? And what was wrong with her? Why would she willingly let herself get arrested so easily? That was the problem. This was exceptionally easy. Nothing was ever this easy. 

“Hey, Rossi. I got her. We’re coming down now.” 

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Aaron wasn’t surprised that she remained silent the entire car ride back to Quantico. What he was surprised by is that she didn’t appear nervous or angry. She sat calmly, staring out the window, her body relaxed and her lips forming the slightest smile. It made him angry- he didn’t understand her nonchalance. 

They tried to talk to her, ask her for her real name, about her crimes- but she would just look at them, tilting her head and smiling before bringing her gaze back outside. When they finally arrived back at the Bureau, she turned towards Aaron and Rossi, slowly speaking her first words in over thirty minutes. 

“Am I allowed a phone call?” She asked, staring directly at Aaron, as if it was only the two of them in the car. For a moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the entire world. 

“Who exactly would you like to call?” Rossi smirked, rolling his eyes, trying to get Aaron to look at him. But he couldn’t take his eyes away from her. He was drawn to her like a sailor at sea, listening to the sweet song of the siren. He understood, now, why the sailors always swam to their death. It was because it was so damn beautiful. 

“I’d like to speak with the Director,” she insisted, her eyes finally releasing Aaron from his hypnosis as she looked in disgust at Rossi. He could sense the shift in her tone as she looked at the agent- she had built up a terrifying exterior that she had on display for most people. But when she looked at Aaron, the wall somehow didn’t exist. Why would she show her true self to a stranger? What was it about him that she was drawn too? Could she sense his pain? Did she know that he understood why she did what she did? That he, too, had felt the rush of ending evil with his own two hands? 

“The Director? Of the FBI?” Rossi asked, shocked at her absurd request. “What exactly would you like to speak to him about?” 

“I just think he’d be interested to know I’m here,” she spoke, calmly, sitting back in the seat of the car and looking out the window again. 

“This girl is nuts…” Rossi whispered to Aaron before getting out of the car and grabbing ‘Ananke’ from the back seat. Aaron followed closely behind, his eyes locked on Rossi’s tight grip around her flesh. He could see the marks his agent was leaving behind, his fingertips dug into her arm. It made him sick. The thought of anyone harming her made him sick. But she was the bad guy- he was supposed to hate her, to send her away and avenge all of the lives she took. Why did he want to save her so bad? Grab her from Rossi, hop in the car and take her away from all of this. It didn’t make sense, the way he felt. And Aaron hated it- he hated feeling out of control of his own thoughts- his own desires. 

As they brought her into the BAU, the rest of the team following behind, he immediately noticed something was off when he walked through the doors. The rest of the team must have noticed as well, because they all kind of stopped in their tracks as they walked in. 

Derek noticed her first, pacing back and forth in Aaron’s office. 

“Strauss,” he groaned, rolling his eyes at the sight of her. 

“What is she doing here?” JJ asked, crossing her arms and tensing up. 

“I’m not sure. I’ll go find out. Rossi, can you bring her into the interrogation room? Spencer, try and get something out of her,” Aaron instructed his team, watching them seperate and do their assigned tasks as he walked up to his office. When he got closer, he noticed the Director was also there as well. He got a sick feeling in his stomach, remembering his immediate thoughts when he first arrested Ananke. It’s never this easy. 

He opened his office door with shaking hands, immediately slapped in the face with tension clinging to the air. The Director stood up as he entered, and Strauss stopped pacing. 

“Aaron,” she whispered, her eyes darting nervously around the room. 

“Erin,” he smirked, not sure why his brain was choosing this moment to crack jokes. 

“It’s good to see you, Agent Hotchner. It’s been a while,” the Director said. 

“Chris. It’s good to see you as well. Can I ask what you’re doing in my office?” 

The two of them looked nervously at each other, as if deciding who had to tell him the unspoken secret. The first thought in his brain was that Foyet was back. He killed him, though. He remembered the life draining out of him. He couldn’t be back. He felt his body get hot, his breathing picking up as he remembered Foyet’s face… 

“Aaron… unfortunately, we’re going to need you to let (Y/N) go.” 

“Who?” He asked bluntly, confused at the name he was sure he had never heard before. Although his brain was still spinning, he was feeling calmer knowing whatever this was, it wasn’t about Foyet. 

“Ananke. You need to release her,” Strauss clarified, her voice equally annoyed and apologetic. 

“I’m sorry… I’m confused.” Aaron was realizing now how much easier it was to hate Ananke - or (Y/N) - when she wasn't right in front of him. He couldn’t see her, she couldn’t lure him in. Her spell had broken. “I know for a fact she killed at least one person. I’m not releasing her.” 

“Aaron, this goes beyond you. She is no longer a person of interest.” Chris had raised his voice, clearly frustrated at whatever was happening. 

“You can’t just take away my unsub and not tell me why. Do you think my team will be okay with that? Do you think I’ll be okay with that?” Aaron was angry, the thought of them taking her away with no reason making him crazy. 

“Agent Hotchner, there are some secrets within the Bureau that even you don’t know about.” 

“I don’t accept that.” 

Chris and Strauss looked defeated, both accepting that they won’t win this battle. Chris shook his head slightly and closed his eyes, contemplating his words. 

“What is going on, Strauss?” Aaron begged, the room beginning to spin again, his body craving the sweet release of nicotine and the bitter taste of vodka. 

“Your unsubs real name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N). She is a government protected assassin.” 

“What?” Aaron’s head was spinning, the room around him dancing in circles as the words floated through his mind. That couldn’t be real. There was no way the place he worked, that he believed upheld justice, would do something so… unjust. So immoral. They had to be lying. “It’s not possible. We met the man that paid her to kill someone. She was paid by a civilian to kill a civilian.” 

“She sometimes takes on… side projects,” Chris muttered, clearly knowing his words would upset Aaron. 

“And you allow that?” He yelled, his body fuming with anger as he paced around his office. It didn't make sense. Everything he had ever believed in was crumbling right before his eyes- all because of her. 

“With the things she has done for us, Aaron, there is a little bit of lenience. Besides, Jason was a bad person, anyways.” 

“That doesn’t make it okay. We have a justice system in place for a reason.” He felt sick, the realization that a system he protected for so long was seeping with corruption. 

“Did Foyet get his chance for trial? Or did the justice system not count for him?” Strauss looked at him sternly, frustration written on her face. Aaron realized she was right. He took justice into his own hands with Foyet, and he didn’t regret it. How was she doing anything different? For a moment, nothing made sense to Aaron. His entire belief system had shattered right in front of him. He was speechless, his brain splashing around trying to find the right words to express his disbelief. But he was coming up empty, drawing blanks. There was truly nothing he could say that could capture how he felt. He just thought of her, the sweet smell of berries that lingered in her hair, the softness of her skin, the enticing aura that surrounded her when she looked at him. 

“What am I supposed to tell my team?” He thought out loud. 

“We’ll handle it. Let’s go out and talk to them now,” Chris instructed, walking out of the office and down towards the annex. Rossi noticed the three of them and quickly walked up to Chris, greeting him. 

“Could you gather your team for me?” The director asked, Aaron still unsure of how he would explain this to them. Rossi grabbed everyone pretty quickly, dragging Spencer from the interrogation room, which Aaron could only imagine was going very poorly. 

“Hello everyone, I’m sorry to bother you all, but the unsub you brought in today is a person of interest in several international crimes. She’s been on our watch list for a while, now, and we’re going to have to hand her over to interpol.” The Directors words were quick and precise, leaving no room for anyone to second guess him. Even Aaron was convinced they weren’t going to release her the minute they were alone. 

“What has she done?” JJ questioned, intrigued at the mystery international criminal they brought in. 

“It’s classified, Agent. And if you don’t mind, we’d like to get out of here rather quickly. If someone could grab her, please,” he ordered, causing Spencer to quickly walk to the room she was in and bring her back out to them. 

She was smirking widely as she walked out, clearly knowing her freedom was inevitable. He had so many questions for her, so much he needed to know, but he had to keep his mouth shut. She was slipping right through his fingers, and he had only just begun to know her. 

“I’m so sorry, Aaron. I know how much you enjoyed seeing me in handcuffs,” she whispered to him as she passed by, winking seductively before being taken away by the Director and Strauss. 

Aaron felt miserable as she walked away, the three of them heading into the elevator and away from him forever. She now felt only like a ghost, a distant memory fading away as more time went by without her. The team moved on from the loss in a matter of minutes, but Aaron stood there, frozen in place, waiting desperately for her to come back. 

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Five days. He was able to wait five days before he went to see her. He tried so desperately to forget about her- it seemed everyone else had. But she seeped into his dreams, tossing and turning as he tried to sleep, her voice, her face, her body, calling to him. He needed to see her again, just to ask her why. He wouldn’t sleep ever again if he didn’t. 

So, five days after she walked away, he waited until Jack was asleep, explained to Jessica that he had some paperwork to take care of, and headed to see her. His brain continuously tried to tell him it was a bad idea. He should turn around, go home, and forget her. But he knew it was easier said than done. This was the only way. 

When he got to the club, he noticed the same bouncer from before was sitting outside the door. Aaron felt a bit relieved, hoping the man would recognize him and he could lie his way up to (Y/N)’ door. 

“Hey, man,” he said casually, trying to sound as calm and not suspicious as possible. 

“Can I help you?” The man grunted, clearly not amused by Aaron’s attempt to be friendly. 

“I’m here to see A. We met a few days ago, I need to drop my money off,” he whispered, praying to whatever God was listening that this guy would believe his story. 

“A isn’t supposed to be meeting anyone tonight,” he groaned, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. Aaron could tell it was a long shot, but he had to do whatever he could to see her. 

“Call her. She’ll tell you,” he stuttered, looking anxiously at the large man standing between him and (Y/N). It was possible he could take him down if he had to, Aaron thought. It would be a hell of a fight, but he’d brought down bigger men. He shifted instinctively, trying to casually feel his hip and make sure he was still armed. 

The man pulled out a small phone that appeared to be very old- most likely a burner they used to communicate. He dialed a number quickly and stared at Aaron, as if hoping his boss would give him the go ahead to kick Aaron’s ass. 

“Hey, it’s me. Some guy is here to see you. Said you talked earlier today. Can you check the cams,” he asked, trying to speak quietly, but Aaron was still able to hear every word. He waited patiently for her response, trying to keep his face calm. 

“Alright, thanks A.” He hung the call up and placed the phone in his pocket, taking as long as possible to give Aaron his answer. It felt like hours, excruciating pain as he waited for his fate. 

“You’re clear to go.”

Aaron was almost positive she would send him away. If she had cameras, she knew it was him. Why would she allow him to come up? Did she want to see him, too? 

He knew if he stood there any longer contemplating the situation, he would look suspicious. So despite all of his common sense warning him that something was wrong, he walked through the secret door and up the narrow staircase, knocking twice at her door and awaiting to enter her world. 

He was greeted by the same man from earlier, who was smiling brightly as he opened the door and let him in. He offered him another drink, which Aaron politely declined, finding a seat on one of the couches and unable to sit still as he waited for her. 

She left him waiting for quite a while. Although it felt like hours of agony for Aaron, his watch assured him he had only been waiting around twenty minutes by the time she finally greeted him. She was wearing a short red dress, golden heels wrapped around her feet as she floated towards him, smiling devilishly as she poured herself a drink. 

“It’s nice to see you again, Agent,” she teased, taking a sip of her liquor of choice and taking a seat across from him. 

“I needed to talk to you.” 

“About what?” She tilted her head, soft lips creating a pout of confusion as she stared at him. 

“You knew I was going to arrest you the minute you got my application to meet… if you knew you couldn’t get in trouble, why would you let all of that happen? You could’ve called the Director the minute you knew who I was. Why didn’t you?” Aaron needed to know why she went through the trouble of setting up a meeting with him, allowing herself to be arrested and brought to the Bureau. It didn’t make sense, allowing herself to take such a big risk.

“It seemed… fun. Sometimes my life can be quite boring.” She smiled at him, her flirtatious grin that she seemed to save just for Aaron. 

“Wasting my time, my team's time… that's fun to you?” Aaron was getting angry again, his body fuming as he looked at her. 

“Well, maybe a part of me wanted to meet you. I mean, we’re not so different, Aaron.” 

“Hah,” he laughed, rolling his eyes at her. “You think you and I have anything in common?” 

“Oh, are you not the same SSA Aaron Hotchner who killed George Foyet with his own hands?” 

“How the hell do you know that?” Aaron had stood up at this point, his anger and frustration causing his body to become restless. 

“It’s on your record, Agent. It’s not too hard to find…” She took another sip of her drink, finishing the last of the cups content and standing up to face him. For a moment, they were inches apart, the air between them stock full of tension, anger and attraction swimming around the two. But as he prayed he could control his compulsion to touch her, she walked away, over to another corner of the room, grabbing a cigarette and lighting it. 

The smell of smoke intoxicated him, making his knees shake as he craved the burn of nicotine in his throat. She floated back towards him, taking her place back on the couch and burning quickly through her cigarette. 

“You seem so angry, Aaron.” 

“Because you’re killing people, and somehow the people I look up to to maintain law and order don’t care.” 

“Have you ever thought that you’re more angry at yourself than at me? I mean, a part of you gets it, right? You understand what I do, why I do it… and that makes you sick, doesn’t it?” 

“I would never justify what you do.” 

“Mm,” she hummed, standing up and walking towards him again. She placed a soft hand on his face, Aaron realizing her touch was the first he’d felt since Haley died. The feel of his flesh being caressed by someone, being held by someone- it made him melt. 

“Maybe it’s not that, though. Maybe you really do hate me, hate what I do. But a part of you can’t stop thinking about touching me, feeling me… fucking me.” She moved her hand down his body, trailing her fingers down his chest and stopping at the base of his groin. He felt chills down his body, blood rushing to his cock at the slightest touch. 

“That’s not- it’s not that,” he stuttered, trying to back away, knowing how dangerous it would be for him to get roped into something like this. 

“Right, of course,” she whispered, taking her hand away from him and turning around, walking away. He watched her body as she floated across the room, his eyes glued to her ass that was begging to be touched by him. 

“(Y/N)...” Aaron whispered, calling for her, unable to stand the feeling of her being away from him. She turned towards him, walking back slowly, taking her time and letting him simmer in anticipation as she made her way back to the center of the room. When she made her way back to him, he grabbed her chin with his hand, tilting her face up towards him, her lips inches from his. 

“I would never want somebody like you. You are a bad person, no matter what you try to say to me.” 

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Agent,” she smirked, her lips almost brushing against his as she formed them into a smile. 

At that moment, it felt like any self control Aaron had flew directly out the window. He wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her body into his and kissing her. It was a kiss that was draped in desperation, anger, lust. His tongue made no attempt to be gentle, selfishly exploring her small mouth and he picked her up and sat her on a table. He tore his shirt off, his desire to be touched, to touch her, overcoming any restraint he had before. 

He picked her up, her small frame easy for his trained body to carry swifty to the couch. He threw her down on her back, her body writhing under his, moaning his name so loud that he was sure the club goers downstairs could hear. He wrapped his hands around her neck, gripping gently, listening to her gasp for air as he slid up her dress to reveal nothing underneath. 

“You’re just begging for me, aren’t you,” he teased, pulling his hard cock out from his boxers and teasing her entrance with his tip. She nodded slowly at him, unable to speak as he still had his hand gripped around her throat. He was aching to hear her voice again, so he released his hand, getting turned on at the mark he left on her. 

He slipped into her slowly, no time to waste on foreplay. He knew he needed her now, that their time was limited and it was only a matter of time before his common sense kicked in and he got out of there. But for the moment, he was sloppily pounding into her, not caring who saw or heard, desperately needing to be as close to her as possible. 

He came quickly, the euphoria of feeling another woman for the first time in months too much for him to control. She came too, though. He could tell she wasn’t faking- he could feel it. After they finished, he quickly put his clothes back on, (Y/N) continuing to lay breathlessly on the couch. He watched her for a moment, waiting for her to say something- ask him to stay, kiss him goodbye. But she just pulled herself up and walked towards the other side of the room, grabbing and lighting another cigarette.

“You should go.” (Y/N) instructed, not even bothering to look up at the man who just came inside her moments ago. 

“You shouldn’t smoke those, you know. They’ll kill you.” Aaron’s mouth was dry, watching the trail of smoke that followed her as she floated around the room, refusing to give him even a second of her time. 

“What do I have to live for?” She asked, finally dragging her tired eyes to his and smiling, one of the first real, and saddest, smiles he had seen from her. 

Aaron tried to think of something else to say, racking his brain for the correct words to say. But he continuously came up empty, and he realized he was starting to look more and more suspicious the longer he stood there. He decided to walk away, ignore the part of him that refused to tear away from her. 

He walked soberly down the stairs, out onto the street and to his car. As he sat in his drivers seat and started the engine, feeling his face get hot, the rare feeling of wet eyes as he began to cry. And then he started to laugh. An uncontrollable cackle that spilled out of him like a waterfall. It was comical, to look back over the past few months and relive all of the bullshit he had been through. He didn’t even recognize the person in the mirror anymore. And maybe that was a good thing, because the person he used to be was the same person that let Haley die. 

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Aaron tried to pretend he didn’t spend every day over the next week thinking about her. The way her soft skin felt when he touched her, the way her lips tasted like bubblegum and her hair smelled like cherries. When he imagined her in his head, everything felt so distant, like he was barely holding on to a dream of her. He could feel her memory slipping away every second, and he couldn’t let that happen. 

He had to see her again, and soon. He wondered if she was thinking about him as well, if she remembered the mint chapstick he was wearing, or the Dolce cologne he was wearing. It made him sick, thinking that she forgot him. (Y/N) had slowly become everything to him, what if he was just a passing thought for her? 

The team had landed back in DC an hour ago, solving a case in Miami that was one of the easier ones they had had this year. Aaron was grateful for the slight break, his brain not completely in the right headspace. 

He rushed to finish up the closing paperwork, scribbling his words sloppily and without much care for grammar. He knew as soon as Strauss read his, she would call him and question his mental state. But he didn’t care. He just needed to get the hell out of here tonight, and if that meant sitting through another of Strauss’s evaluations, it was worth it. 

As he was signing the last of the documents, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He grabbed it with caution, not sure who would be calling him this late at night. The call was coming from an unknown number, and Aaron immediately worried something had happened to Jack. He was away at his grandparents this week, planning on staying a few more days. He answered the phone nervously, preparing for whatever horror was to come. 

“Hello, Agent,” a female voice said, a voice he instantly recognized as (Y/N)’s. Her voice flowed smoothly like silk even over the phone. It was truly hard to believe how she had managed to perfect every aspect of herself. 

“Why- how are you calling me?” He looked around cautiously, making sure no one could secretly hear any part of the phone call. 

“I’m flying to Paris this weekend, a little well deserved vacation. I was calling to see if you’d like to join me.” 

“I… Paris? I can’t just fly to Paris.” Aaron chuckled into the phone, the idea of someone just getting up and deciding to fly halfway across the world with no plan truly comical to him. 

“Oh, I didn’t realize I’d called the Fun Police. I thought this was Aaron Hotchner,” she teased. He could feel her smiling through the phone, a warmth that somehow seemed to wrap him even though he could only see her in his thoughts. 

“I can have fun…” he argued, biting his lip awkwardly, not wanting to seem inferior to her. 

“When was the last time you did something for yourself, Agent? Have you ever just… been spontaneous?” 

“(Y/N), you don’t understand-” 

“Call me A on the phone. It’s safer,” she instructed, her voice losing its soft luster as her professional side kicked in. 

“A… my job, my life… it doesn't leave room for spontaneity.” 

“No, Agent. That’s your choice. I’ll be at the jet runway at Dulles in two hours. Think about it. I’ll wait for you.” She hung the phone up, not giving him room to protest. He set the phone down on his desk, instantly missing her even more than he did before. Jack was going to be with his grandparents for three more days, and he did have some saved up vacation time. But what would he tell the team? What would he tell Strauss? 

His phone vibrated again, this time only a single buzz to indicate a text message. He flipped his phone over and saw a new message from an Unknown number. 

Life doesn’t have to be so complicated, Agent. It is much too short to spend this much time suffering. Learn to enjoy your days. 

A

He reread the message a thousand times, knowing the words would still reign true no matter how much he tried to convince himself she was in the wrong. He had spent his whole life serving others, and he was okay with it, until now. Maybe if he had lived without complication, and enjoyed his days, his life would be completely different… 

He ran home and quickly packed a bag, letting Strauss and Rossi know he needed some ‘alone time’ for a few days. They didn’t question it- one nice thing about having a recent trauma, he thought. He took an Uber to the airport, praying that (Y/N) kept her promise and waited for him. 

When he finally arrived on the runway, he noticed her immediately. It was as if even being near her set an alarm off inside of him, like every part of his brain was awake, feeling her energy from a hundred feet away. 

He thanked the Uber driver and ran to her, bag in hand. As he got to her, he noticed her face. She wasn’t surprised or shocked in the slightest- she knew he’d come. She somehow knew every move he would make. Was he that predictable… or was it something special between them?

“I have to be home in three days,” he said, breathlessly, overjoyed at the sight of his girl. 

“We can do a lot in three days,” she responded, smiling wickedly. She walked towards him, wrapping her arms around his torso and embracing him. It was such a nice feeling to be held, comforted. He felt like he could stay there in her arms for years. But she broke the hug pretty quickly, motioning for one of her men to take care of the bags and began walking towards the jet. 

As he followed her up the stairs and into their own private world, he started to remember everything he was leaving behind. The realization of just how impulsive this was dawned on him as he looked back at the city behind him. He felt dizzy, leaning on the railing for support as he shakily walked up. 

“You alright?” (Y/N) asked, placing a hand on his arm to steady him. 

“This is crazy, (Y/N). I just can’t believe I’m doing this.” 

They continued to walk into the jet, her hand intertwined in his as they sat down and the door closed behind them. A man came out from behind the curtain, who Aaron immediately recognized as the same man who greeted him both times he met her. 

“Aaron, this is my… well, assistant, I guess. Jay, this is my new friend, Aaron.” She waved to Jay slightly, instructing him to come closer. 

“It’s good to meet you sir. Can I get the two of you anything to drink?” Jay was a short boy, couldn't have been more than 25. He clearly worshipped the ground she walked on, which seemed to be par for the course with men she knew. 

“Oh, hmm,” she thought, closing her eyes for a moment as she racked her brain for a decision. “Whiskey sour. What would you like?” She turned towards Aaron, the subtle tilt of her head reminding him of how pretty her neck looked with his hands around it. 

“I’ll do a Scotch, neat,” he ordered, something so enticing about ordering a drink on a private jet to Paris. 

“I’ll grab those for you now. Matt is ready to take off, A, are you all set?” Jay turned back towards his boss, his eyes widening like a puppy as he waited for her words. 

“I’m ready to go Jay, thank you,” she smiled, looking at him quickly before bringing her attention back to Aaron. Jay took her disinterest as a sign to leave and make their drinks, so he shuffled away quickly after she looked away. 

He came back with their drinks a moment later, leaving quickly after and closing himself in the cockpit. The jet began to take off shortly after, and Aaron took a long sip of his drink, hoping the alcohol would calm any nerves he had left. He started at (Y/N) dreamily, as she shuffled through her phone and a pile on various paperwork on her lap. 

“Sorry, Agent, just finishing up some work,” she whispered, her eyes still staring down. 

“Mmm, it’s okay,” he responded, just happy to be in the same place as her again. “Can I ask you something?” 

“Sure,” she smiled, setting her work aside and bringing her attention to Aaron. 

“Why did you kick me out the other night? After…” His voice trailed off, shifting awkwardly in his seat. 

“I figured it be best for you. I didn’t want to wrap you up with my life… with me. But in all honesty, I can’t stop thinking about you. I called you tonight, and told myself if you didn’t show, I’d move on. But… you’re here.” 

“I’m here,” he whispered back, his eyes tracing down her body, craving her once again. 

“I feel like we have something special, Agent,” she whispered seductively, climbing out of her seat and walking towards him. 

“I missed you… I couldn’t stop thinking about you…” he moaned as she bent towards him, her lips kissing down his neck and playing with the collar of his shirt. She unbuttoned the top buttons, kissing his chest and moving her hand to his inner thigh. She trailed her fingers up his thigh, teasing his cock with the slightest touch. His hips bucked uncontrollably, blood flowing down to him as his desire took over his body. 

She got down on her knees, toying with his belt buckle. She was clearly trying to make him wait, the suffering and craving all a part of her game. But he was impatient, so he ripped his belt off himself, undoing his pants and pulling his erect penis out. 

(Y/N) licked her lips in anticipation, wanting to pleasure him as much as he wanted to be pleasured. She played with his tip slowly, toying her tongue around him as he moved underneath her. He wrapped his fingers in her hair, slowly pushing her mouth down around him. He wanted her to take all of him, to feel the back of her throat as he shoved his length in her mouth. She moaned quietly as she took him, bobbing her head up and down quickly and sloppily. 

Aaron couldn’t remember the last time he got a blow job- let alone the last time someone enjoyed giving him one. (Y/N) was toying with him, clearly enjoying the pleasure she was able to give him just with her tongue. She looked up at him as he was about to cum, winking as she dragged her tongue up his shaft. The eye contact sent him over the edge, causing him to release himself in her mouth. She swallowed his cum happily, kissing him on the cheek and sitting back down on her chair. 

He wanted to go to her, give her what she needed now. But he was exhausted, the exhilaration of her taking away all of his energy. He took another hefty sip of his drink, leaning back in his chair and wiping the sweat off his forehead. He buckled his pants back up and readjusted himself in the seat. 

“Don’t hate me, handsome, but I do have to get some work done. Feel free to sleep on the couch, or watch a movie. I’ll let you know when we get there.” She blew him a kiss, teasing him with a wink before losing herself in her work. He wondered what part of her job she could possibly be doing from the seat of a plane. There was truly so much he didn’t know about her, which made it so much more exciting. 

He finished his drink, watching her work in awe as the plane soared over the Atlantic. He felt himself drifting off and didn’t try to stop it, wanting to be fully rested so he could make the most of his time with her. 

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Paris was unarguably Aaron’s favorite place on Earth. Whenever he told people that, they always kind of chuckled. It was kind of a feminine city, at least that’s what everyone told him. But god, he loved it here. The food, the architecture, the people… but most importantly, it was her. 

She had made every second of his life magical. When they landed, she brought him to a small bakery near the Louvre, where they sipped wine and ate the sweetest fruit he’d ever tasted. It was only 10 AM when they got there, but nobody seemed to pay them any attention as they drunkenly strolled down the Parisian streets, giggling and kissing and living. 

When they finally sobered up, they made their way to a gorgeous hotel, where (Y/N) got the nicest suite available. They ordered a few bottles of champagne, popping them open as soon as they got inside and helping themselves to many glasses. They drank out on the balcony, overlooking the whole city as they downed more alcohol. 

The suite came equipped with a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom, which (Y/N) was begging him to take advantage of. She stripped down in front of him, lighting candles and drawing a tub of steaming water. She took a bottle of champagne into the bathroom and soaked herself in the tub, lavender scented bubbles surrounding her. Aaron couldn’t resist the temptation of her body, so he quickly followed after her, stripping down and slipping in the bubbles with her. 

She sat on his lap, he kissed down the back of her neck and nibbled on her flesh. She moved her butt into him, the softness of her flesh pushing into his cock. 

“I told you, sometimes it’s fun to be adventurous.” 

“I never doubted that. I just think this is all… crazy…” 

“Are you not enjoying yourself?” She giggled, pushing bubbles towards him and splashing around the water. 

“Oh do not play games with me,” he laughed, splashing water towards her. She squealed when the water hit her face, scrunching her nose as she wiped the bubbles from her cheeks. 

“Let’s go,” she smirked, standing up and carefully stepping out of the bath. Her skin was glistening from the water, bubbles dripping down her flesh. He stared in awe at her, obsessed with every curve, every inch of her more perfect than the last. She walked slowly out of the bathroom, her butt wiggling with every step. She was clearly calling for him, begging for him to follow her wherever she went. And he would. He did.

He ran after her carefully, finding her naked body wrapped in the fluffy comforter of the bed. She smiled when she saw him, sitting up and wrapping her hands around his neck. She brought his face towards her, kissing him slowly, allowing their lips to enjoy every second they had with each other. 

Aaron’s hands were gripped on her hips, his naked body grinding into hers. He hadn’t known this feeling for a long time- the feeling of complete and total calm. For the first time in an absurd amount of time, he wasn’t worried. He wasn’t thinking of every terrible thing that was happening around him. He was only thinking about her- the way her lips felt on his, the way her body moved… his whole life had so suddenly become wrapped up in her. 

But, the trouble was, nothing good in his life stayed. And it was only a matter of time before the universe took her away, too. 

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The rest of their time in Paris went by in a daze. Most of their time they were either drinking or fucking, taking breaks to walk aimlessly around the Louvre and stroll down the Seine. He was heartbroken when he had to go back, but he did miss his son, and was sure the team was falling apart without him. When they landed back in DC, (Y/N) had a car ready to take Aaron home. 

He had a good hour before Jack would be back, so he used his time to take a long shower and brew a strong pot of coffee. It was almost 7 at night, but his body was still messed up from the change in time zones, and he knew he wouldn’t get much sleep that night. He was already missing her, checking his phone every five minutes to see if she would whisk him away on another adventure. 

But, as he quickly learned, she was the type of person to disappear for a while. Aaron didn’t hear from her for seven full days after Paris. Seven full agonizing days of wondering where she was, who she was with, and most importantly- what she was doing. 

Being away from her made it easier for him to realize the reality of their situation. She was a killer; and yeah, maybe she only killed ‘bad’ people, but did that really make it any better? At least, that was the question he was asking himself. Surprisingly, as more time went on, the harder time he had convincing himself she was a villain. Maybe it was because he was falling in love with her, maybe it was because he understood the anger of watching guilty people walk away from things completely unscathed. 

They didn’t speak about work once during their time together, although it was clear Aaron had a lot of questions. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend what she could be doing for Strauss and the Director. Who was she killing that they couldn’t get to the normal way? He wanted to know her life, understand the secrets she spent her existence protecting- but it wasn't for him. And maybe that was for the best. The mystery of it all made it… hotter. 

So when he finally heard from her, seven full days later, he felt like a kid on Christmas. He recognized the ‘unknown’ number as it popped up on the screen, stepping into his office so he could speak with her privately. 

“Hi, Agent,” (Y/N) spoke, her voice singing to him. He loved the way she called him Agent. He loved everything about her. 

“I’ve missed you. Where have you been?” 

“Oh, working. You know.” He could tell she didn’t want to speak any more about work, so he changed the subject. 

“Are you back in DC?” 

“For a bit.”

“Can I see you? Let’s get dinner somewhere. Anywhere.” 

“I… we probably shouldn’t be out together like that… if we saw anyone we knew… your team…” She spoke her words carefully, not sure how to tell him that their relationship wasn’t exactly approved of. Aaron had never really thought about it, but the reality made him sick. Would he never be able to love her publicly? Hold her hand at the park, take her to eat at his favorite restaurant, introduce her to his friends? 

But the adrenaline, the euphoria of being with her- it was worth any negatives. He would eat in the dark with her, hide her in his house, runaway with her… 

“Come over to my place, then. We’ll order pizza, watch a movie.” 

“Hah,” she giggled, her laugh airy and full of light just as he remembered. Hearing it made him smile. “I can’t remember the last time I ordered pizza and watched movies with a boy…” 

“Well, given the circumstances, I have to get creative A.” 

“What about Jack?” 

“Oh,” Aaron responded, forgetting for a moment that she had yet to meet his son. He didn’t think twice about it, wanting his son to know the woman that was bringing him so much joy. But was it safe? And did she want to know him? 

“I don’t want to put you in an awkward situation.” 

“Can I ask you something?” 

“Of course.” 

“What is happening between us? Are we just messing around… Is there feelings?” He hated to ask her such a loaded question over the phone, but he needed to know the answer- he had to know if she was just as head over heels as she was. 

“Agent, no man I’ve ever ‘messed around’ with has this number.” 

Aaron chuckled, the nervousness in his chest subsiding. 

“Come over tonight, please,” he begged, craving the way her lips felt on his. 

“Okay, I’ll see you tonight, Agent.” 

“I’ll see you tonight, A.” 

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Aaron didn’t expect just how wonderful (Y/N) would be with Jack. He had never really seen a maternal side to her before, but she was incredible. Jack took a liking to her as well, even falling asleep between the both of them as they watched Finding Nemo. After they were sure he was asleep, Aaron carried his son to his room and put him to bed, (Y/N) following close behind, in awe of the way Aaron cared for his son. 

“You want a glass of wine?” Aaron whispered to her, the two of them hand in hand as they walked back to the living room. 

“Please!” 

He poured the two of them overly generous glasses of Riesling, snuggling up on the couch next to her and kissing her on the forehead. They tried to find a movie for a bit, scrolling through endless channels before giving up. 

“Can you stay the night?” 

“I wish, but I have to catch an early flight tomorrow,” she frowned, her pout showcasing her perfect lips that he couldn’t get out of his head. 

“Where are you going?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. Her face turned pale and emotionless as she thought of a response, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. 

“You know I can’t tell you that,” she responded. 

“I’m sorry.” He felt uncomfortable, not sure exactly what to say to her. They had never had an awkward silence before, and it made him sick as he waited in the quiet for her to respond. 

“I probably should get going,” she finally said, setting her almost empty glass of wine down on the coffee table. 

“Oh, c’mon, we just got some time alone…” he pleaded, but he could tell by the look on her face he had already lost her. 

“I’m sorry, love. I just have a lot to prepare for this case.” 

“I understand. Will I see you soon?” 

“I’ll do my best, Agent.” 

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California was a popular hot spot for serial killers. It seemed like Aaron and the team were there every other week. This time, San Francisco was the lucky city. He had already been there for two days, stuck on an incredibly weird case, when he got the call. 

“Good morning, Agent,” (Y/N) spoke. 

“A… it’s good to hear from you.” He was relieved at the sound of her voice, the dark energy of this specific case seeping into him, choking any optimism out of him. 

“How are things?” 

“I’m working on a tough case, to be honest. It’s taking a lot out of me.” 

“Would it be better if I was there?” 

“How is that possible?” 

“I was… in the area. Set some time aside to stop by.” 

“I’m going to be really busy…” he frowned, realizing now how difficult it would be to actually see her. 

“Oh, Agent, I sure hope you can make time to see me,” she teased, giggling through the phone, her laugh wrapping him in warmth and shielding him from the darkness of reality for a moment. 

“Well, I have to sleep at some point,” he responded, laughing himself. 

“Call me when you get back to your hotel. I’ll be waiting.” 

Aaron hung the phone up quickly, peeking around the corner of the SFPD office they were currently set up in. Luckily, everyone was too busy to listen in on his personal conversations. He wondered what his team would think if they knew what was going on behind closed doors. Would they still stand around and trust the system they were working so hard to uphold? Because Aaron could barely stomach it. 

“Hey, we’ve got a problem,” Derek said, coming around the corner lookingfor his superior. 

“What’s going on?” 

“C’mon into the conference room. Garcia will explain everything.”

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He didn’t make it back to his hotel for another 12 hours. It was nearing 11 PM by the time he finally closed the door and could be done for the day. Although with his job, he was never really off the clock. 

He called (Y/N), pushing aside any exhaustion he had for a moment with her. She was there within twenty minutes, sneaking through the door, giggling and kissing quietly, trying to be secretive. It was risky, extremely risky for them to be together with his team just on the other side of a thin hotel wall. But he couldn’t help himself. A part of him wanted to get caught, be exposed, so they could stop sneaking around. He wanted to love her in front of everyone. 

He forgot about the case briefly as he lost himself in her flesh, kissing her soft skin and making love to her - twice. When the exhaustion finally overcame him, he crawled into her arms and let the horrors of his job overcome him. 

“It’s a bad one, this case,” he divulged, knowing he shouldn’t be telling her the details, but needed a release. He needed to scream, and she was the only one around to hear. 

“What’s going on?” 

“Some CEO’s kid has been going all around the country killing teenage girls. Eevrytime the police get close to him, he just runs. Five different cities, and he’s escaped them all. Thirty six bodies that we can find. Probably more. And he’s going to get away, here, too. Garcia found out he sold his house a few days ago and bought one in Miami.” 

“Well if you know it’s him, why aren’t you arresting him?” (Y/N) had a confused look on her face, her eyes wide and her lips forming a slight pout as she waited for him to respond. 

“We don’t have enough physical evidence. He fits the profile perfectly, and we are able to trace bodies to him in every city he’s lived in. But that’s not good enough for the courts. He’s just going to keep getting away…” Aaron felt his heart pounding, the face of Foyet flashing over and over in his head. 

“Sometimes… the system doesn’t help everybody.” She wasn’t looking at him, her eyes darting nervously around the room. 

“That’s why people like you exist, right? To serve justice to those who escape it.” 

“That’s one way of looking at it.” 

Aaron looked at her, her cheeks flushed and her breathing sporadic. They were thinking the same thing, it was only a guessing game on who would break the silence first. He didn’t think it would be here, she was too nervous. 

“(Y/N)...” he whispered, placing a hand on hers. 

“What are you asking me to do, Agent?” She finally looked up at him, her face flat and emotionless, a side of her she had never shown him before. It was her work face, her business face. 

“I want you to do your job, A.” 

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” 

“It’s the only way to stop him.” 

“Okay. I’ll take care of it.” She got up out of the bed and started putting her clothes back on, slowly redressing herself as she prepared to go back to work. She grabbed one of the three phones she carried, hastily dialing a number and putting the old cell to her ear. 

“Hey, it’s me. I need the car here ASAP, and the bag... Yeah, it’s a change of plans. … I’ll tell you in the car.” She hung the call up and put the phone back in her bag, refusing the look at Aaron the entire time she was preparing herself. 

“You’re doing this now?” He laughed, getting up and trying to stop her from leaving. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, her body struggling to get away. She felt tense, tired. Her body was no longer surrounded by it’s usual warm glow. She was cold, and dark. She wasn’t her.

“Agent, if this is what you want, I need to handle it my way. Please let me go.” 

“Will you… can I see you after?” 

“I need to leave the city immediately after it’s done. And it’s best we don't talk for a bit. I can call you when I think things are safe.” 

“How long is a bit? I mean, I don’t want to give you up.” 

“You can’t have both, Aaron. Either I’m (Y/N) or I’m Ananke. Do you want more girls to die? Or do you want a girlfriend?” She was yelling, her voice a loud and intense version of itself that he was unfamiliar with. It made him dizzy. He sat down clumsily on the bed and put his face in his hands. 

“Kill him,” he mumbled. She was quiet for a few seconds, and so was he. And awkward silence. Something they had never had. He felt like she was staring at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at her.

“I’ll call you when I can, Agent. It’s been wonderful working with you.” 

Aaron swore as she walked out the door he could hear her cry. Maybe he was making it up to make himself feel better. There was no way she could walk away that easily and not … hurt. He hurt, so terribly bad. How long was a bit? A few weeks, months? Would he ever see her again? 

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Aaron awoke to a loud banging on his door and his phone buzzing like crazy. The ringer was on, but not loud enough to awaken him from his alcohol assisted slumber. He shouldn’t be drinking on the job, he knew that rule better than anyone. But he had to shut his mind up. 

He opened the door to a rattled Derek Morgan, his forehead sweating and hands shaking. 

“You are not going to believe this,” Derek said, chuckling slightly. 

“What’s going on, Morgan?” Aaron knew what he was going to say, but he had to pretend to be surprised. Would Derek know? He was by far the best profiler on the team. How long could Aaron keep up a lie before Derek figured something out? 

“Our unsub died last night. Car accident. He hit a railing and his car just… exploded.” Derek held his tablet out to Hotch, showing him various photos from the scene. His car was completely crushed and torched. You could see his body, but there was absolutely no way to tell what was happening at the time of the accident. The damage of the car was far too elaborate to find any remnants of explosives- if that’s what she used. But whatever she did, it was brilliant. There was no way anyone would think twice about this. She was brilliant. 

He could feel himself smiling, being impressed with her work- but he remembered Derek was still standing there, unknowing of the secrets Aaron held. 

“Well, I guess we can finally get the hell out of San Francisco,” Aaron laughed. 

“You think this is the end? He just dies in a freak accident and it's over? Are we that lucky, Hotch?” Derek’s eyebrows were furrowed in the classic way his face always looked when he was suspicious. 

“He’s not around to hurt anyone else, and that’s the end of it. Our jobs are done here. I want wheels up in an hour.” 

Derek just nodded in agreement with his supervisor, realizing it wasn’t worth the argument. Aaron was right, the bad guy was gone and that was good enough for him. 

Aaron closed the door to his hotel, grabbing his phone and dialing her number. He had assumed she’d already disconnected the line, severing their connection for the time. But it rang, and somebody answered. 

“A…?” he whispered, waiting for her voice. 

“You shouldn’t be calling this number,” a man responded, a voice he recognized as Jays. 

“I know, I know, but please. Please just tell her something for me.” Jay was silent for a moment, deciding what to do. 

“... What?” He asked, quietly. 

“Please just tell her I said thank you. For everything.” 

And then the phone disconnected. The call was over. She was gone. For who knows how long? 

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One week later, SSA Aaron Hotchner was sitting in his office when Erin Strauss walked through his door. She didn’t knock, which made him jump. She walked right in and sat down on his couch, taking a deep breath. A disappointed sigh. 

“Hello, Erin.” 

“Agent Hotcher.” She looked at him angrily, her lips pursed and eyes tight as she thought of her words. 

“What can I do for you?” 

“In all honesty, Aaron… did you think we wouldn’t find out? You are a federal agent. Your passport is flagged any time you enter a foreign country. You were in Paris at the same time as her. And then San Francisco? She was there on assignment and your uncatchable unsub just happens to turn up dead?” 

“Am I fired?” He asked, his only thought on what they were doing to her. 

“Aaron… what are you doing? You are losing yourself! If this is about Haley…”  

“Just tell me something. What are you going to do to her?” He bit his lip nervously, Erin avoiding his eye contact.

“Right now she’s being relocated, on a six month assignment. We’ll see what happens after that.” 

“Where?” 

“You know I can’t tell you that!” 

Aaron sat for a moment, completely unsure of what to say next. Maybe Erin was right, he had lost himself. He would’ve never imagined himself in this situation. 

“What do I do now?” 

“You move on. And you do your job, the right way. I’ll cut you some slack this time, Aaron. But if this happens again… there will be consequences. Do you understand?” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

Erin walked out of his office quietly, closing the door as she left. He waited a moment, a long moment, before pulling out his phone. He had to at least try to talk to her. Even if the number didn’t work. He had to try. 

But it rang. And this time he knew it was her who answered. 

“Agent.” She answered sharply. 

“Where are you?” 

“I’m still in DC, as of now.” 

“If I asked you to stay, would you?” 

“You know it doesn’t work like that. Either I go, or they send me to prison. I’m sorry, Aaron. But this… was destined to fail from the beginning.” 

“No, (Y/N). I don’t accept that. I love you.” 

“You can’t. I’m sorry, Agent. This is goodbye.” 

[handlewithkara]

Redoing my titles + writers spec

So, with the new information, I’m trying to update my spoiler speculations accordingly. 

13 - The Gauntlet: Dana Horgan (story) & Jay Faerber & Brooke Pohl I had this down as a Lena/Andrea and maybe the point where Lex re-enters the picture. Lena/Andrea is still a possibility but so far it doesn’t look like Lex is back yet unless they are hiding him really well. 

This is also contains the test of course. If it really totem = a person, and courage = Alex that could fit with my take that Faerber was involved in writing Welcome Back Kara. 

14 - Magical Thinking: Derek Simon & Karen Maser Well, it at least confirms a very small thing about my theory that writers like to bring back stuff they introduced, with Karen Maser being the one who introduced Esme and who now brings her back for this episode. 

Derek Simon has written a bunch of strong Lena action girl episodes ( most notably Trinity ) or strong Lena contributes episodes (like Man of Steel) so I kind of assumed that his influence would be dominant. (note that both Derek Simon and Karen Maser are co-executive producers though I think Maser has been one for longer). 

I guess there is a chance that this is another Kelly centric episode where Kelly = humanity? Or it is more Lena centric with Lena = destiny? Or it’s destiny, but destiny is one of the few totems Nyxly manages to get? 

15 - Hope for Tomorrow:  Robert L. Rovner (story) &  Emilio Ortega Aldrich & Nicki Holcomb Now that we know about the totems we know that this is likely about the totem of Hope and naturally Hope = Kara. I guess it makes sense that this warrants attention from the big guy Rovner.  Other than that I had this tentatively scribbled down for maybe Brainy or Nia stuff based on the writers, but we really know very little about the episode. 

16 - Nightmares In National City: Rob Wright & Jess Kardos

Based on the title I would assume that this is about the Dream totem and hence would expect this to be Nia focused. Which would fit with the writers, they also wrote the prom episodes which were rather Nia heavy in addition to Kara and Alex heavy. 

Okay, originally there was a rumor that 17 would be called Truth and Consequences and 18 would be Believe In A Thing Called Love. 

Later the writers guild of america site was updated to have 17 as I Believe In A Thing Called Love with Dana Horgan &  Nicki Holcomb as writers. It should be noted that the WGA has wrong information on it, it has two episodes called Lost Souls rather than having the correct info on Prom Again. 

Personally, I still think that: 

Truth and Consequences is a perfect Lena/Andrea/William title. And either of them would be a really interesting choice for the truth totem. Also Dana Horgan to me strikes me as a though not exclusively so but still fairly Lena centric writer. So to me the perfect combination would be 17 + Truth and Consequences + Dana Horgan and Nicki Holcomb as writers + it’s about the truth totem. 

With 18 being about the totem of love, maybe containing a Dansen engagement, which means that Kelly or Dansen (or even little Esme!) would be love and somebody else could be/would be humanity (maybe Lena as humanity in 14? though that seems a bit weird to me if they just made her a witch, wouldn’t declared normal person Kelly be a better representative for humanity?). Though I guess it’s possible that it could be Brainy’s love for Nia? Or J’onn’s love for Kara and Alex? Or if you are true Karamel believer you could hope that that’s where Mon-El returns. 

But I have to at least entertain that my “OMG, Truth and Consequences is a perfect title for a potential Lena or Lena&Andrea episode” issues are not indulged. and really 17 is Love and 18 is Truth. One thing that could come of it would be what if they shot stuff heavily out of order near the end and the “love” is a Dansen wedding or engagement and the “consequences” is the death and funeral of William, explaining why Alex is wearing a ring at the funeral? (I still think that episode 20 is way too stuffed to contain a big battle AND a funeral AND a wedding AND various wrap up scenes AND a big speech AND potentially the reintroduction of guest characters, so shooting stuff out of order with the special guest stars like James makes a ton of sense to me, like have a wedding or engagement party in 18 and James is present for it) 

But yes, I can also entertain that 17 = Love = Lena centric beacuse of Dana Horgan. 

That would leave William or Andrea as the most likely candidates for truth in episode 18. (I still really like the concept of William passes the test of Truth, dies a hero’s death and passes the totem on to Andrea who feels so humbled by his sacrifice that she becomes a better person) But with us not knowing who wrote it there isn’t really much to go on except a potential title and the concept that there has to be a truth token and me thinking that truth fits those characters the best (Wlilam tries to find the truth, Lena of course was very hurt by truth being kept from her, Andrea is William’s boss and just recently had some lines about truths and secrets) 

There are also rumors that episode 19 is called Last Gauntlet. So this would presumably be where they retrieve the last totem. Based on the episode title game, it would have to be either destiny and humanity. My main instinct was that humanity would be considered most important and would be last. But I guess it could also be destiny if Kelly = humanity = episdode 14. 

What this leaves out is the return of Lex. We know he is back in 19. 

I originally had him penned down for him showing his presence again in episode 13 because of 

1.) the writers involved  2.) It would make a lot of sense to bring Lena and Wiliam in contact for 14 3.) Melissa mentioned that the return of Lex would play a role in Kara and Lena letting bygones be bygones and we know they work together in 14. 

But unless they are hiding him intentionally from the spoilers for surprise reasons, it doesn’t seem likely to me anymore. Since we now know that Lena’s ritual in 2 has something to do with Nyxly not Lex. I guess it’s possible that Lena and Kara have a different disagreement later in the season that then is put aside due to the return of Lex? Death of William? Misuse of power? Lena withholding information on Acrata? 

Anyway, if it is not 13 where Lex start working from the shadows, my second guess would be 17 because of Horgan. Or 15 because of Rovner (since his presence implies important episode). Which would make some sense if like teaming up with Lex causes Nyxly to become more powerful, allowing her to unleash a NIghtmare On National City.  I don’t really buy that they can add him back that late into the plot as just 19. I feel like at the very least you would have to feel his presence whether Lex himself is present (like in the garbage island episode) for it to feel satisfying that he is the one in the big last battle. But with how they gave Nyxly a different sidekick I guess there is less need for him, since she already has a sidekick who acts as her guide to this world and who she can explain her plans to. 

@peggystormborn there is a rumor that the title of the last episode could be “Kara”, made me think of you and your neither Kara Danvers nor Kara Zor-El nor Supergirl, just Kara theories. 

[forestlingincorporated]

Bernard Dowd

DC made me do it. Fandom made me do it. So here it is, the character retrospective I never thought I’d ever write. 

Bernard Dowd was introduced on December 17th, 2003, in Robin #121. Tim has recently transferred to Louis E. Grieve Memorial High School, his fourth school since his introduction when he was 13; Tim is 16 now, and was recently forced to drop out of Brentwood due to his father’s bad investments loosing them their upper class status. Jack and Dana Drake are still alive. 

Bernard Dowd is the first person Tim meets when transferring to this new school. Bernard picks him out of the crowd as new, and immediate tries to determine what Tim’s clique is, only to determine, as we all know, Tim is pretty much impossible to cleanly box. 

Bernard thinks very highly of himself. He views himself as also being above cliques, and wants to give Tim the impression that he’s “runs the school.” He thinks of himself as a cool guy, and he doesn’t like to be called “Bernie.” 

His attempts to befriend Tim are rather presumptive in a way that comes off as rude. He treats Tim like a lost little lamb in need of guidance. 

So, Tim ends up casual friends with Bernard. In fact, at this point in time, Tim says he’s his only friend at school. 

Bernard has a crush on fellow classmate and lowkey daughter of a crime boss, Darla Aquista. (Yes, that Darla Aquista, of TimSteph relationship drama fame.) He is the one to introduce Tim to Darla, and Tim embarrasses him by calling his bluff over whether or not he’d actually ask her out if her jock friends were removed from the picture. This is when you start to get the feeling Bernard might be all talk and bravado. He’s not the cool, confident, popular guy he makes himself out to be. 

After Tim looses Robin, he invites Bernard over for dinner with his family. His and Tim’s relationship seems... complicated. On the one hand, Tim likes him enough to invite him over to his house, and he’s probably Tim’s closest friend during a period of time when his other relationships are distant (friends at other schools) or cut entirely (the hero community). That said, Bernard is CLEARLY depicted as... skeezy, and skeezy about people in Tim’s life, in a way Tim doesn’t appreciate. 

Months later, if the passing of seasons is to be believed, Bernard is the person to inform Tim that there’s a new Robin. Tim seems to have a larger friend group at Louis E. Grieve, he’s worked out a friendship with Darla even though she still seems to have a slight crush on him, and seems to be friends with several of the footballers, but he still has time for Bernard. 

Bernard believes wild conspiracies that Batman works for a shadow government and owns secret orphanages full of Robins that only last for about three days before they die and get buried in secret government graveyards. 

We don’t see Bernard for a while after this. Darla Aquista is shot at school, dying in Tim’s arms. Stephanie Brown’s death is faked. Tim’s father dies, and his stepmother is in such mentally bad shape she has to be checked into a special clinic in Bludhaven, so Tim transfers to John Wayne High School, his fifth school since he was 13. 

A lot of shit goes down between the school shooting and the next (and last) time we see Bernard in Robin #140. He’s meeting up with a girl named Linda, when his vehicle is destroyed by none other than Darla Aquista, back from the dead as Warlock’s Daughter, who is looking for Tim. 

After she scares the shit out of him, they go to Gotham Grille for age-appropriate drinks, and Bernard tells her that the high school closed down after the shooting and all the students’ families received settlement money. With that money, Bernard attended an unnamed private school. 

He offers to help her become a superhero, which she turns down. While he’s pretty rude to Linda over the phone, he’s depicted softer here, He seems earnest in his desire to help Darla, even if he still has an underlying bit a selfishness. I personally feel like he comes off a little less like the Annoying Try Hard he started out as, and has a bit more Booster Gold-esque charm to him. 

But, we never see him again, after he helps her track down Tim’s new address with his Fake Uncle, so he was lost to the pile of Tim’s former normal boy friends to be forgotten. 

UNTIL BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS! 

Right now, everyone is excited because Batman: Urban Legends #4′s been released and Tim Drake has some strong Might End Up Coming Out As MLM Soon? vibes. He’s got this Discovering New Things About Himself arc in this comic that’s framed in a very Gay Coded way. Focusing on a gay male couple with the dialog box “like me” over it, Barbara talking about how he’s afraid looking too deeply at himself might “change” him, stuttering over how his old friend “looks,” and of course this pseudo date he’s goes on with Bernard. 

I cannot actually analyze the whole comic in depth, because I don’t own it; I ordered the trade, so I won’t be receiving it until December. This is what I’ve gathered from screen shots of this comic alone. I don’t think Urban Legends is technically in the main canon, but I would not be surprised if this was a test to see how audiences respond - like Joker shooting Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke (which isn’t canon) resulting in Barbara Gordon’s very canon paralysis. 

There’s some speculation at the moment that Bernard himself might actually be evil, or working for the bad guys. I think it’s equally possible he might be targeted by the bad guys, and not necessarily evil himself. But neither scenario would particularly surprise me, it seems unlikely he would be reintroduced as solely a potential love interest for Tim, if that is indeed the route they’re going down. Consider old flames of Bruce’s that get reintroduced, they’re often connected to the plot in some way. 

I... have not exactly sugar coated that I don’t like Bernard. Honestly, I AM trying to be fair. THIS Bernard seems lovely, from the screen caps, but my most recent experience with Bernard was a recent reread of the Robin series, and I just don’t find him historically likable. Some people may disagree, but I personally think some of those some people are maybe going back after reading THIS comic and rereading him with rose-tinted glasses he hasn’t quite earned. 

So, I personally am not going to start shipping this, at least not right now, though I am putting on my clown make up getting my hopes up that Tim might come out as gay or bi. I’m personally hoping he’s gay, but that’s just me seeing a lot of myself in Tim, and projecting my own experience with compulsory heterosexuality onto him, and I think it would be interesting to explore that with an established character. I would still be happy with bi/pan Tim Drake, and I think that would probably make the most people happy - fans of Tim’s opposite-sex ships get to win, and fans of Tim’s queer ships get to win, and bi/pan people would get a big name character as representation. What would make the most people angry, is if this ends up as a queerbait during Pride Month of all things. 

I... have no hope they might make him demisexual, I don’t know if DC even knows what that word means. 

[breanime]

The Boys

(and Uncle Miguel!)

(So this is just gonna be some random headcanons for the crime family au, I guess, pre-getting adopted/taken in by Uncle Miguel)

Spooky

Spooky has big brother energy for days. He’s the oldest of the crew at 28, and he considers all of them to be his responsibility. He’s the best at looking at situations from different perspectives, which makes him especially good at planning cons. Spooky always has a Plan B-Z in case something goes sideways. He’s the quietest of the bunch, but it’s clear he’s the leader. He can silence them or encourage them with just one twitch of his eyebrow. Being the oldest and therefore the caretaker for the others, Spooky had to drop out of school his junior year to earn money. He started off running drugs for a local dealer, and quickly worked his way up to one of the top members before branching off to start his own crew. He never graduated high school or got his GED, so he’s very adamant that his brother and cousins do. Spooky married his high school sweetheart, Lena (details to come), after they had a son, Marco, when Spooky was 25. Spooky and Lena had an on-again, off-again relationship after high school, and it ended with Lena’s death in a car accident when Marco was only 3 years old. Now a single father, Spooky is torn between being the best father he can be and making a name for himself in the streets. 

Rio

Spooky’s cousin, Rio is all charm. He was thrown into the Gifted and Talented program as a kid, and subsequently thrown back out after getting into a fight with another student and cursing out the teacher. Still, he was always a dedicated student, graduating at the top of his class even though he was always notoriously truant. As he grew older, he found that it was easier--and more effective--to use his brains over his fists to get his way. Rio set himself up as Spooky’s right hand man, but they don’t always see eye to eye... Rio is almost always cool, calm, and collected--a strict opposition to his sister Didi and best friend Angel. Rio, Angel, and their friend Cleo were a trouble-making trio in high school, and still work well together today. Rio wants to take the crew to the next level: bigger jobs, more profit, but Spooky wants to move into a more legit business. Rio respects Spooky, but he doesn’t always agree with his choices, and, truth be told, there will always be a bit of a rivalry between the two of them, especially considering Spooky’s not-so-secret interest in Cleo, Rio’s best friend and his self-proclaimed soulmate. 

Coco

The youngest of the bunch, Coco is Spooky’s half-brother. Their Mom (Miguel’s sister) got “knocked up” (Coco’s words) by a low level drug dealer/addict, and Coco was the result. Impulsive and explosive, Coco has always been a “react first, think later” type of guy. He looks up to Spooky and only graduated high school--through the alternative night school program--because he knew it was important to Spooky. Coco has a six year old daughter, Letty, that he loves more than anything else in the world. He’s co-parenting with his ex, Liyah, but it’s his greatest wish to have a full family, him, Liyah, and Letty--someday. Coco follows Spooky’s lead without question, but he’s finding himself agreeing with Rio more and more; he’s always felt more at home on the criminal side of things. Coco has the longest rap sheet of the family, which makes it difficult for him to find a “straight lace” job, even if he wanted one. Currently, his non-illegal job is working at a tattoo parlor; Coco has tatted everyone in the crew, and he was the one who gave Spooky his distinctive tear tattoo after Spooky, in defense of Coco, killed Coco’s father when they were younger. 

Angel

Angel is an honorary member of the family. He grew up with them, had his first kiss with Didi, ran from the cops with Rio, studied with Spooky, taught Coco how to hotwire a car, so Angel is basically family. Angel, Rio, and Cleo have always been the best of friends, and Angel ships them more than anyone else. Orphaned young, Angel always longed for a family, so he cherishes his chosen family and would do anything for them. He was in love with his ex-girlfriend Yaya, but he broke up with her to protect her from his lifestyle. They both still love each other, and he supports her in any way he can, but he’s terrified of not being good enough for her, so he keeps her at arms’ length. Angel never really considered life beyond the crew, the gang, the streets, but as he’s gotten older, he’s started to see the appeal of going legit, a topic he and Spooky have discussed a few times. His loyalties have always been with Rio, but he’s started to find himself siding more with Spooky and the idea of having a life outside of crime.

Bonus

Miguel

Miguel was the middle child. His older brother Jose (Rio and Didi’s father) was killed in a drive-by when Miguel was a teenager, and his younger sister Anjalise (Spooky and Coco’s mother) died of a drug overdose years after running away. Miguel took care of his parents after his siblings ran off; Jose to the streets, gangbanging with two kids under his arms, and Anjalise to drugs, getting lost in the needle. He learned to handle attorneys and doctors and bill collectors, interpreting for his Spanish speaking parents and handling all the paperwork and bills from a young age. When his parents died, he inherited what little they had, and he invested it, turning it into a small empire. Now, he runs several businesses, owns a handful of profitable properties, and employs several crooked cops and lawyers in case he needs...legal assistance. And beyond that, he also finances heists, stealing from wealthy white collar bosses who get tax breaks but don’t pay their employees, and redistributing the wealth to those who need it most. It is through this “side business” of his that he’s reunited with his long lost nephews and niece, and he promptly takes them under his wing and into him home. Miguel’s closest and most trusted companion is his personal assistant, Eve. They’ve known each other for over 15 years, and she knows all of his secrets, except one...

So those are the boys in the main cast! Let me know what you think, and I’d be more than happy to whip something up about the ladies next! Comments are welcome and encouraged! 💗

[mai-fanblog]

LAST AVENTURE OF DUCKTALES

Hello everyone, the show is over, we will miss it, remember it, etc.

Now I want to talk about the finale, how it was executed and so on. I know there are divided opinions with the finale, though fortunately they are as extreme as SVFOE. I'd like to break it down into parts, first the three acts, the use of characters, the use of ideas and the conclusions that were built throughout the series.

SPOILERS

First off, I feel it starts off super conveniently, as it begins with everyone going to Funzo to make an attack on the base, a rather lame explanation is given that Launchpad said the place while he was sleeping, that is Suavepad talking, this first act feels short until May and June acted later on. During the middle of the series they spent time on unnecessary stuff and felt filler or didn't handle it properly; although there were moments I liked in the first part like Fenton and Drake's first interactions in a direct way and Donald and Della's scene on the boat, anyway it doesn't take away from the fact that it started coincidentally. In the second act, the action starts when Webby and Huey go to the secret headquarters and the team goes there; it was good to divide them to make it more fluid, if there were more outstanding moments and if it managed to keep the attention until the plot twist that some people doubted. And in the third act, there were also exciting and incredible moments, however, the revelation about Webby can get to give some bad feeling in some, I rescue that the crew took a risk with an idea like that, it is also its biggest cons. The acts were good, the beginning is weak, but in the other two it works and becomes satisfying and doubt (I will explain later).

As for the use of the characters, they improved it and it's a little better than Moonvasion; since there are the right and necessary ones, the most outstanding ones are obviously the main characters, I still highlight Fenton and Drake and how they were their relationship with their superhero identities and remarking that Launchpad is their direct inspiration to fight crime, which is true and I really liked the final moment of Launchpad using the Gizmoduck suit; the villains were well used, highlighting Bradford, who's defeat was tepid compared to the previous two antagonists, Heron, who was shocking how he died, at least she died happy knowing that her boss (ex-boyfriend...I dunno) was evil for that betrayal and Steelbeak, who stole every damn scene with the fight against the LP team (wow that guy made me love him more).

(It's a shame they wasted Fethry and Gladstone here, I guess the writers didn't know how to use them the end).

The ideas they used were very questionable, the clone theme is very far fetched, if there was hint in some chapters about Webby's revelation, it comes to make shocking for some. The theme of May and June bothers me a bit, the idea on paper sounds interesting, in execution it's mediocre, unless you know them and April in the comics or the three Caballeros series, you possibly wouldn't like that idea, I don't like these versions of May and June. And I know Webby has direct inspiration from Daisy's nieces, but they got out of hand with the whole clone thing. And as I mentioned before, the idea of Webby being a clone of Scrooge is risky, which isn't bad, it gives a twist, this storyline reminded me of the characters of Wolverine and Danny Phantom, who have female clones (that's explains and I think it also happened, is that the Y chromosome that is to shape the male gender (XY) was changed by X that they became female (XX), if you want to know, google it). Although this is a double-edged sword, since it contradicts the message of the series, which is that your family is not defined by blood, but by your emotional and fraternal connection, something that still holds until we know that Webby is Scrooge's direct descendant and that loses all sense of what was built before.

To conclude, the ending of the reboot was acceptable, it is not bad or good, it was passable, it fulfilled what it proposed and gave it a final point; it could have been better in certain things like that rare revelation that was given and that also has wasted characters with a lot of potential. I had very high expectations and they were half fulfilled, because there were questionable moments that leave a sense of doubt.

It was entertaining to watch this reboot, I was even inspired to do unofficial stories from the east and I would like to exploit them well.

See you another time, I'll keep uploading DT drawings, but less frequently, because at the end of a series the interest goes down, I know.

CHAO