#and has repeatedly asked her if she has what emilie has

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

After watching what his mother, and now Nathalie went/is going through, can you imagine how traumatized Adrien must be. I mean, at this point, to hear that anyone he loves is sick or under the weather must make him feel completely panicked. 

I can only imagine if, when they’re older, anytime that Marinette or their kids so much as gets a cold, Adrien would be incredibly doting on and caring for them, bordering on smothering, All to ensure that they get well as soon as possible, that they recover. It just seems like a pattern he is all too familiar with and all too anxious to avoid...

[gghostwriter]

Spencer Reid x Fem!reader

They are friends, but Spencer is in love with her. Spencer gets in one accident and thinks she is more than a friend. He believes she is his wife. (Happy ending, please)

Spencer Reid x BAU!Fem! Reader Trope: Friends to Lovers; Fluff! Just fluff Warning: Medical inaccuracies A/N: Reader is part of the BAU, hope that's alright. I had fun writing this, hope you enjoy anon! Main masterlist

Hallucinate. // Spencer Reid

It was Morgan’s turn—based on Garcia’s glitter paper schedule, to keep watch of Reid lying uncomfortably still on the hospital bed. The team was out for a local case—a series of murders that targeted male divorcees. They’ve profiled the unsub to be male in his late 20s, shy in nature, and comes from a broken household. The profile was correct. The team just didn’t factor in the possibility of another unsub—a subservient willing to do anything to let the dominant evade capture, including intentionally ramming a four door sedan to a government owned vehicle. The same vehicle that Reid and JJ were driving to the unsub’s residence. 

Spencer’s finger twitched, bringing his guardian out of his musings. “Reid. Reid,” the dark skinned agent called out.

A series of whispers escaped the patient’s mouth. “W’fe—” Spencer wetted his lips. “Wife, where—wife?” 

“Kid, what wife?” Morgan’s brows furrowed. As far as he knew, Reid wasn’t married. All he had was a tongue twisting, IQ dropping crush on the newest BAU addition, you. 

Spencer tried once more. “Y/N. Y/N, my wife—where?”

And as if you heard his pleas, you quietly entered the hospital room. Tilting your head to the side, silently questioning why Morgan was standing very close to Spencer. The agent smirked at your presence and waved you to come close. 

“Spence?” You asked, taking his hand into yours. His fingers cold, and for a moment, it reminded you of how still he was when he was pulled out of the driver’s seat. 

His eyes flickered under the lids. “Y/N. Wife—y’safe?” 

“I’m here, Spencer. Safe,” you murmured in a soft tone as you note that his hazel eyes were glassy and unfocused. A physical manifestation from the concussion that the physician had theorized when he was admitted. 

He turned his head to the sound of your voice in comfort before tightening his hold and his pupils blowing wide. “Wife—the baby? Is—baby okay?”

Your eyes widened in return. “What?” 

“Aurora—she, strapped in car seat, I need—need to see her,” his voice getting louder and louder as he unsuccessfully tried to push himself out of bed. 

You gently pushed his shoulders. “She’s—she’s fine, Spence. The team has her,” you coaxed him to relax back. Morgan cleared his throat beside you, clearly trying to not let a chuckle escape. 

“Good—good. Safe.” Spencer was locked in a hallucination where you were married and had a child, a girl—Aurora. You pictured a tiny long haired brunette with his waves, clinging to Spencer’s neck and smiling at you, a set of innocent hazel eyes looking at you with such adoration and trust. 

“Wife—you, love you,” he mumbled before closing his eyes and falling back to unconsciousness. 

Morgan took that as his cue and turned to face you—still clutching Spencer’s hand—with mirth dancing on his face. “Damn. Wife and kid huh, pretty boy sure moves fast.” 

You felt your cheeks grow warm. “It’s the concussion talking.”

“Uh huh, keep telling yourself that. Y’know I heard he said the same thing when Emily was keeping watch,” he paused dramatically to watch your reaction. “But there was no kid—that’s new.” 

“What. I—we’re friends,” you jested. Even to your ears it sounded like a feeble excuse.

Morgan appraised your reddened cheeks, your free hand repeatedly raking your hair, and your lips tucked between your teeth. His well experienced profiler eyes cataloging everything. “As I said, pretty girl, keep telling yourself that.” 

———

A few days later, away from the Morgan and Emily’s constant teasing, it was your turn to keep Spencer who was now alert and awake , company. His eyes darted all around the room, finding everything and anything interesting, except you.

“Spencer? You alright?” You sat on the chair near his bed.

He cleared his throat. “Morgan—Morgan said I called you—” his voice trailing off at the end, too hesitant and mortified to repeat what his fantasy conjured up and what his lips had let escaped in his state of confusion and vulnerability. 

“Uh—yeah. Yeah, you did.” 

“And that we—”

You nodded as you watched his blush travel down from his cheeks to neck.

“I also said that I—”

“That you love me?” You clarified in a whisper.

“You did.” 

He covered his face in chagrin. Spencer wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole or better yet, for all of this to be just a dream—a horrible dream. It was no secret to the team, except for you, that he had feelings for you. Amazed with how your mind noticed patterns in cases, grateful with how you actively listen to his conjectures, and stunned with how beautiful you look even on cases that leak into the late nights—how could he not fall in love with someone as incredible as you. It was impossible, trust him, he tried to deny it to himself and to others. He mumbled something in reply but his hands muffled it too much to understand. 

“What was that?” You asked.

He repeated again but made no move to remove his hands.

You sighed. “Spence, I really can’t understand.”

He steeled his nerves before facing you, without a blockage this time. “According to studies, hallucinations are simply a result of neurons firing incorrectly. But I-I meant it. What I said, I mean.”

Silence ensued. He’s been your ride or die since you entered the BAU. Your partner on cases and your person off cases. Penelope always teased you two together—attached to the hip. Like some magnets that need to move in unison, that need to be within reaching distance. “Oh.” 

His shoulders drooped, taking that as a sign of rejection. He wished he could have kept his mouth shut. He’d rather be your close friend than be an awkward colleague.

“It’s not like that,” you hurriedly explained. “I—it’s just—take me out on a date first,” your cheeks enflamed as the idea of progressing your relationship beyond what it was now excited and set butterflies on your stomach.

He perked up and smiled. “Okay, yeah. I can do that.” 

You watched as his hand slowly crept towards yours, stopping an inch away, as if waiting for your permission. You took the initiative and intertwined yours with his, watching him shudder from the warmth and settled back into bed. 

“Okay,” you breathed out. 

He didn’t let go of your hand even when Morgan entered the room to relieve you from watch duty. The profiler zeroed in and opened his mouth, unable to stop himself from teasing the blushing couple.

“So love birds, since you already named your first kid Aurora. How about naming the next one Derek?” 

My inbox is currently open for any more fluff requests! Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated!

[astrophileous]

ANYTHING with jealous Reid <33333

HI ANON ty for the request! I hope you'll like this one 🥰❤️

Warning(s): gn!reader, profanities, jealous spencer, that's it rlly this is mainly just fluff 💞

This blurb has a part two.

This blurb was written as a part of the "Zara's Birthday Bash and Road to 1K" celebration.

Zara's Birthday Bash and Road to 1K Masterlist / Criminal Minds Masterlist

Supernovae had always been known for their extremely high temperature. Nearing the end of its life, a mature star would go through an explosion so stupendous, it would eject almost the entirety of its mass. During this stage of a star's life cycle, the core temperature of a star could potentially rise to be in the billions of degrees Fahrenheit, making it appropriate for a supernova to be credited as the hottest object ever known in the vast universe.

But as Spencer sat on the chair behind his desk, his fingers tapping impatiently on the surface, he was certain that not even the temperature of a supernova could rival the heat rising steadily inside his chest.

The flame raged unlike anything he had ever known. It flourished with every second Spencer spent staring at you from across the room. You were laughing at something your present company had said, and Spencer instinctively gripped the arm rest of his chair as the fire in his ribcage roared even wilder.

Spencer was on the edge of his seat, ready to prowl at any second, when a presence unexpectedly slid right next to him.

"What are you doing?" Emily Prentiss asked, perching herself on the edge of Spencer's desk without a care in the world.

"Nothing," the young man answered distractedly. "Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you still had those ginger candies you shared with me last week?" Emily wondered as she began to rummage through his drawers. "Where do you keep it?"

Silently, Spencer opened his bottom drawer, pulling out a tin box where he stored the sweets Emily was looking for.

"You're an angel on earth, Dr. Reid." Emily grinned, popping a candy into her mouth. "Are you okay, by the way?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you've been throwing daggers at (Y/N) and Anderson for the past three minutes."

"I have not."

"Yes, you have."

"You're mistaken. Maybe you were just seeing things."

"Reid, you're literally glaring at them right now as we speak." At Emily's observation, Spencer begrudgingly tore his gaze away from the two people across the room. "Wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing's going on. I told you," Spencer insisted, his eyes once again returning towards the pair on the other side of the bullpen. "Hey, do you know how (Y/N) and Anderson became close like that?"

"Haven't they always been friendly?"

"Friendly? Yes. But not like... that." Spencer pressed his lips, trying to contain the scowl when he saw you grip Anderson's forearm as you beamed at the other agent. "Since when does (Y/N) laugh like that with him?"

Emily flicked her eyes repeatedly between yours and Spencer's face. A smirk emerged on her lips when understanding finally dawned on her. "Oh my God, you're jealous."

Spencer didn't think he ever whipped his head so fast in his entire life.

"You're jealous of Anderson. Holy shit, that makes so much sense! You're actually jealous."

"What are you talking about? I'm not—I'm not jealous!"

"Of course you are. Why else would you get so hostile at the mere sight of those two talking?"

"I was just... asking a question. I wanted to know why they suddenly seemed so close, that's all."

"Of course you did."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Right. Of course you are." Emily snickered. She got up from his desk and started walking away, all the while belting out a ridiculously jesty song she obviously just made up, "Spencer is jealous. J-E-A-L-O-U-S! Spencer is jealous. J-E-A-L-O-U-S!"

The young Doctor frowned at Emily's teasing. He glanced towards where you had been standing only to see you sauntering towards his direction. Spencer automatically busied himself with the random papers on his desk, acting as if he had only noticed your presence as you sat down on your desk right across from his.

"Working hard, Doctor?" you quipped jubilantly, rearranging the case files on your desk as you hummed an unfamiliar tune under your breath.

"Something like that," Spencer replied, closing the documents he wasn't even reading as his full attention landed on you. "What did Anderson want?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing. He was just asking if I was free this weekend, that's all."

Spencer unwittingly clenched his jaw at your reply. "What's this weekend?"

"A cricket game. Apparently, Grant has always been a big fan, so he was very excited when I told him I used to play back in college. Too bad I can't come to the game, though. I promised my mom I would visit her this weekend."

Spencer could merely nod at your explanation, pretending like his brain hadn't short-circuited when you referred to Agent Anderson with his first name. The fog in his head only started to dissipate when Derek called for the two of you from the bullpen doors, asking if any of you would like to join him for lunch.

"You coming, Doctor Reid?" you asked as you stood up from the chair, pocketing your phone and wallet in the process.

"Yeah, yeah, of course. I'll be right there. You guys just go ahead."

You flashed him one last bright smile before skipping all the way towards where Derek was waiting. A sense of calm washed over him when he saw you glancing back, offering a small wave in his direction. Spencer could feel the smile blooming on his face before it was soon chased away by the sight of Anderson standing by the door, holding it open as you laughed gratefully at him.

Fuck it.

It looked like Emily was right after all.

[youbutstupid]

What d’you think is the “best” trait the main bau team members have?

OH I love this question thank you so much. There’s a lot so bear with me

Hotch: his compassion for his team. He’s an extremely compassionate and empathetic leader, constantly allowing for his team to leave work if they need to and following them on their hunches, even if they seem unlikely, purely because he loves and respects each of them. Quite often Hotch is portrayed as stone faced but I’ve honestly never seen a male leading character be so openly loving to their team.

Gideon: how much he cares for the victims in his cases. Gideon is often characterised as being a bit clueless to the feelings of his team, yet he never is to the people he is trying to save because he puts his everything into it. He has always been so open and accepting in cases which was rare for a 51 year old man in 2005; he was very willing to let go of his old ways and what he used to know so that he could evolve with the changes in society in order to best help the people he was saving. We also got to see his book of the people he saved. It was amazing.

Rossi: his ability to read and help the people on the team when no one else does. I wholeheartedly believe that if Rossi was present during the Hankel case, Reid would not have gone through his addiction alone. Rossi is always the one to call out people who try to hide their problems and he puts in so much effort to help them, even using his hours outside of work to do so. We see him waking up early to help Hotch coach Jack’s football matches, him inviting Penelope over for scotch so that she can finally disconnect from technology and him hosting the cooking class, the wedding and Strauss’ funeral dinner ar his house. His character development from being weary about the team to adoring them all individually was amazing.

Reid: I love how despite him admitting that he has trouble with emotions, he is always the one doing everything he can to be an emotional support when people around him are struggling. We see him try and comfort Elle when everyone else disconnected from her, he stayed with Garcia the entire time when she was shot, he is the one to call Emily to ask if she wants to hang out when she started disconnecting due to the Doyle situation, he is the one to try and help JJ with her PTSD in season 10 and so on. He doesn’t like the idea of the people around him going through things alone despite the fact that he often tries to go through things alone and he is extremely selfless in this sense.

JJ: I am constantly inspired by how throughout the show, she is repeatedly putting in effort to try and improve herself as a person and as an agent. We never see her get cocky, even when she deserves to be like she was in the FBI from a very young age, she had one of the most challenging jobs as the press liaison and then she was able to work herself up to profiler where she was one of the most formidable people on the field. Despite how impressive she really is, the audience are never given a chance to consider it because she never boasts about it and instead spends everyday striving to be better.

Morgan: he is always willing to take on a leadership role when he has to, yet he is always willing to give it back to Hotch when he doesn’t need to take it on anymore. I’m not just referring to season 5 either, I’m talking about any time when Hotch is unable to take on his role. Morgan respects Hotch a lot and is always willing to support him by taking on the role of team leader when Hotch can’t anymore, yet he never tries to take the role permanently for himself, despite being told he could by Strauss. Despite his years of experience and his leadership skills, he is willing to give up the role because he sees it as what is best for the team and he respects Hotch too much to keep it.

Elle: her protection of women. Elle was, in my opinion, ahead of her time. She previously worked in the sex crimes division and in season 1, she was the only female profiler and she did not step away from her previous role as an advocate for women in sex crimes just so she could better ‘fit in with the men’ of the BAU; she instead brought her perspective with her and implemented it in her cases. She was the only one in episode 3 to look at the woman who was assaulted and realise how uncomfortable she must have been surrounded by men. She ended her career in the BAU fighting for women and it hurts me that the BAU lost her.

Garcia: she never, ever stops being herself, even when people question her or bring her down for it. Sadly, because Garcia is the brightest person in the room, she is quite often the one who the profilers take their frustrations out on; we have seen JJ, Morgan, Hotch, Rossi and Emily all do this. Despite this, she doesn’t waver, she doesn’t stop being the brightest person in the room just because someone is simply not in the mood for her to be because she knows that she does not need to apologise for simply existing as her authentic self. In the episode The Black Queen, 9x12, her ex tells her that they both used to make fun of girls like her, and she corrects him saying that he made fun of girls like her, this was who she always wanted to be. This is so empowering to me.

Prentiss: my love, she was so unbelievably loyal to those around her and this was clear from the beginning. She was the only one to question Reid’s suffering in season 2, she literally uprooted her life and faked her death so that her team’s lives could be protected in season 6. When she found out JJ was in danger in season 9, she was so quick to jump on a plane back to help her. When the team calls for favours whilst she is in London, she always answers to help them. When Reid got arrested and imprisoned in season 12, she didn’t once believe that he committed the crime of which he was accused and even risked her entire career tampering with possible evidence so that it couldn’t be used against him. She is loyal to a fault and so many don’t acknowledge that.

Todd: we only got Todd for 9 episodes but I loved how human she was. She was the first character to make the audience realise that none of what we were looking at was normal. By season 4, the audience became very desensitised to the crimes that we were looking at and Todd broke us out of that and she also was not afraid to call out the fact that it wasn’t normal that the profilers were desensitised either. I respect how in the end she would rather admit that she couldn’t do the job anymore than lose that human side of her. I also loved how she made sure Hotch never took JJ for granted.

Seaver: we never got to see much of Seaver’s development because of the writers, but I loved her willingness to learn. Seaver hadn’t even graduated from the academy when she joined the team, she was not a profiler, she wasn’t even a qualified FBI agent. Watching her learn and grow in such a traumatising field and take it all in her stride was so incredibly interesting to watch. I also loved watching her friendship grow with the team; going to the cinema with Reid, Morgan and Garcia, gaming night with Rossi and going out for curry with Reid. 

Blake: Blake was so incredibly talented and so unbelievably smart but instead of using it as a way to get ahead of her team, she used it as a way to relate to them and bond with them. She almost became a protective figure over them and she took that role very seriously too. It was honestly amazing watching her mind work and how easily she was able to take on her role as a profiler because of it. I know I just named multiple good qualities but it is incredible to me how much her character was able to grow and be adored in just two seasons, she had no idea what dynamic she was getting into when she joined the team yet she fit in perfectly and adapted to it so quickly in order to help them and gain their trust.

Callahan: her confidence. She went into that bullpen being unapologetically herself from the beginning and she fit herself into that team without an ounce of apprehension. She made so much effort to establish herself and she was not shy about it which I adored; she had banter with Rossi, she opened up to Reid, she carpooled with JJ, she became a close friend for Garcia and she gained Morgan’s trust all within a few episodes; the last two being hard to do as a new member of the team. I love how she didn’t question where she belonged, she knew she belonged.

Simmons: to me, Simmons was just so incredibly sweet. When he first joined and I saw that he was buff and conventionally attractive, I was weary that he was just going to be another jock detective that we see in other shows, but he wasn’t. He, again, was an incredibly strong and skilled agent yet when he arrived on the team he took everyone for who they were and never once acted like he was in any way better than them because he had skills that they did not have. He was just a nice person and that may sound like a basic description but to me, it’s the best description to give a person. I felt genuinely safe with Matt’s character on the screen because it was just lovely to see a man on the screen who was just good.

Lewis: OH I love this woman. Tara brought a new element of self assurance to the screen and also humour. She, again, was very unapologetically herself and she knew her worth, as we saw when she went through her breakup, which was so refreshing to see because it is rare you see a woman know her value and not be portrayed as cocky for doing so. She is also a character that marked her place on the team and I also love how unafraid she was to come out and say that she was dating a woman, which was a risk in itself because the BAU had never had an openly LGBTQ+ profiler before. I also loved how she brought ‘your mum’ jokes to the show because watching a 50 year old woman with a doctorate make multiple ‘your mum’ jokes is all I needed from the show if I’m honest.

Alvez: I don’t want to repeat things too much but I also love Luke’s loyalty, which is something we also saw from very early on in his time in the show. Bear in mind when Reid was in prison, Luke was only on the team for a very short period of time, yet he believed wholeheartedly that Reid was innocent and even made threats for his safety. I also love how he took Garcia’s original dislike of him in his stride and honestly embraced everything about her, whether it was her distrust in him or her ‘quirkiness’ as the team would dub it, he took it all in and loved her because of it all, not in spite of it.

[mschievousx]

i wish you love | a.h.

pairing: aaron hotchner x ofc

summary: francesca sainz knows her interests. she likes the dark, crime, profiling, medicine, military, guns, and suits. imagine her surprise when these things come as a person... granted, a "fourty-something unit chief" person, but a person nonetheless.

series masterlist

prologue

penelope garcia, despite loving her womancave, cannot resist spending time at the bullpen where her family is. yes, her office is her place of comfort, but the bullpen has always been more fun—fun in terms of the banter of her friends, their plans of vacations that never really happen because of the nature of their job, and of course, her chocolate thunder, derek morgan.

she loves morgan dearly—as dear as colleagues can love each other without ruining their respective romantic relationships. however, for the past ten months, morgan's life has been nearing hell-like. reid, he can manage. but, the arrival of another proved to be challenging. and garcia should really not love the way her chocolate thunder is outnumbered as much as she does.

but hey, what can she possibly do when the enemy comes in the form of a young trainee who she equally loves?

"i am not a kid."

francesca sainz playfully glared at morgan, crossing her arms as she sat on a desk across reid's. the three, along with jj and penelope, gathering for their daily banter.

derek chuckles at that, gesturing to the resident genius who was sitting on his seat with an amused smile, "reid's 34 and he's a kid, kid."

"i do not have an iq of 187." she retorted plainly.

he scoffed as he tossed his baseball and caught it again repeatedly, sporting his incredulous look with everyone before settling to her.

"what does that have to do with it?"

she slowly stood up and smirked as she presented her case, "false equivalence, like you did. you compared reid and i. while your point in age could be taken, comparing spencer and i is not acceptable at all since our nature is not the same. hence, your point, as a matter of fact, does not have a point."

they all looked at her in silence for a good couple of seconds before jj crossed her arms, as if in thinking as she voiced an observation.

"there's no false equivalence at all."

"my point stands." morgan pushed with a smug grin.

franz narrowed her eyes to each one of them before glaring to morgan once again, "just so you know, this is my annoyed face, derek."

he leaned forward as if to observe her closely before speaking in a sarcastic tone.

"really? looks pretty much the same, kid."

she rolled her eyes at him before grinning herself, fixing her hair to tease him, "what did you say? i look pretty? thanks."

the older agent scoffed once again as he leaned back with a smirk, "deaf."

"you being this chaotic tells me the boss-man is not yet around."

emily's voice made them turn towards the entrance at her arrival, rossi following closely behind as they chuckled.

"where is he?"

 · • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

"where is he?"

aaron hotchner, more known as hotch and the unit chief of the behavioral analysis unit or bau, asked as he gestured the paper to the course professor of the class they just lectured.

she looked at the paper to see who the agent is referring to.

"this student? oh," she raised her head to the entire room, scanning the area for any sign of the girl, "she left already."

he tried to hide the look of slight surprise in his face. after all, franz sainz is a very misleading name. it has certainly nothing to do with what emily has previously said before during her first cases with the team when he asked what is his worst quality. he does not trust women as much as men.

hotch neared rossi, giving the paper to him as the latter read the contents.

"what do you think?"

the italian man read her answer for the situational case they gave earlier. his brows slowly raised inquisitively as he reached the middle and commented, "quite perceptive."

"so?" he asked monotonely. dave already knew what he meant and nodded in agreement.

he turned to where penelope was, chatting with the rest of the team before looking at him.

"garcia, i need you to run details as soon as we get back in quantico."

and with that, it was imperative that they returned the next day, having learned more about the student.

francesca was calmly walking down the hallway, having just finished taking a special exam after she missed her written exam yesterday by attending the bau's lecture. chewing on her gum with earpods in, she disregarded the bandage on her left wrist and hand which served as her 'valid reason' for missing yesterday.

however, she could not miss the the contrast of that bright blonde hair and imposing suits against the figure of twenty-year-olds in the hallway just meters away. she immediately slowed down her steps as she lightly chatted up another student, who she does not know, and casually turned away to walk back where she came from.

only to find the italian already closing in on her too. she shrugged resignedly at that as he finally reaches her, sarcastically smiling as he placed an arm around her shoulders, guiding her to walk where she was originally going to.

"walk with me, kid."

she smiled sheepishly at him, removing her earpods and looking at him, "sir, great to see you. i'm a huge fan."

rossi lightly chuckled in amusement, "i don't have the best experiences with 'huge fans'."

she looked ahead at that, exhaling impassively as she remembered his book about a fan-turned-serial killer, "evidently."

as hotch and jj accompanied their sides, francesca tightly smiled in acknowledgement as the lady smiled back, "sir, ma'am."

"do you have anywhere to be right now?" hotch monotonely asked as they all continue to walk towards the exit.

she looked at him on her left with a sarcastic grin, to which he only returned with a look as if trying to figure her out, "i have a really good feeling you already know the answer to that."

dave interjected with his usual playful tone, "good, because you're going to be at quantico in a few minutes."

with her in the middle of fbi agents, francesca sainz could do nothing but look at him with wide eyes and mouth agape in shock.

"is this about my search history? i promise i did not kill anyone. i write books."

 · • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

"ask and he shall appear."

the trainee commented as the unit chief passed the doors just after emily and dave did. however, when hotch came into full view, she could not stop herself from gaping once again.

"oh my, sir! that is illegal."

he paused at the bottom of the staircase at that, turning to the group as the others slowly distanced themselves from the girl.

"excuse me?"

she grinned at him, her voice full of exaggeration, "you took my breath away with your usual white long sleeves, but now, you're simply killing me with that dark one."

"sainz," hotch pointedly called, trying to contain his exasperation even though the day has just begun.

"i'm serious," she opened her arms on chest level, feigning ignorance before grinning widely once again, "are you looking for wife number two? i volunteer as tribute!"

he narrowed his eyes at her, almost glaringly, before closing them. regaining his composure, he continued to walk upstairs, "i'll pretend i didn't hear that."

noticing the team's amused looks at her as dave and jj shook their heads with small smiles, franz raised her eyebrows at them.

"what? dave's already working with number four."

"what is wrong with you?" derek said in a higher pitch than his normal, seemingly unbelieving of the girl's antics.

penelope grins at the exchange, jabbing to her jokingly as well, "you know he hates you, right?"

before entering his office, he looked back at the team downstairs, voice strict as usual but without serious intensity.

"and refrain from saying phrases like taking your breath away."

as they all hear his door closing, she turns to garcia with confidence and a bright grin, nodding reassuringly.

"he likes me."

[sweatervest-obsessed]

Violent Delights Have Violent Ends - Part Three

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!reader

WC: 1.8k

TW: More rambling about art, Hospitals, poor male role models

A/n: Let's pretend like this didn't take me over a month to write. It's been a weird month for me so I really appreciate all of your patience <3 But the good news is, I've actually already starting writing Part 4...hehehe

“Hi Doctor Kolek. My name is Emily Prentiss and this is Doctor Y/n Y/l/n, we’re with the FBI and we wanted to ask you a few questions.”

The woman on the hospital bed nodded, eyes wide. There was a cloudiness to them, as if the memory loss from the past twenty-four hours was visible. “I-I told the police everything I remembered about yesterday.” 

“Actually.” You spoke up, giving her a small smile. “We wanted to ask you about your courses this semester. We’re working on the recent murders here, and they all seem to be connected to famous paintings depicting Shakespearean deaths.” 

Doctor Kolek gave you an incredulous look. “That’s incredibly specific.” 

You heard Emily mutter a “you’re telling me” under her breath, and you tried to minimize the smile on your face. 

“We know. I don’t actually work for the FBI, I’m consulting on this case. It’s not exactly what I thought I'd be doing with my degrees but…you never know.” 

Spencer was standing outside of the room, trying to remain inconspicuous as he and Derek guarded the room. 

“So Lover Boy, have you confessed to her yet?” 

Spencer scoffed, repeatedly, trying to seem as if the idea was incredulous—as if he wasn’t picturing every outcome of asking you out. 

“Yeah okay Reid. Don’t try to pretend like you haven’t been crushin on her since she walked into Hotch’s office four days ago.” 

“I don’t like–”

“What don’t you like?” Prentiss walked out of the room, eyebrows raised, a small smirk on her lips as she looked at Derek. You followed her out, looking inquisitively at the pair in the hallway. 

“Cats.” Spencer mumbled. “I don’t like cats.” 

You hummed in agreement. 

Prentiss let out a pretty dramatic gasp. 

“Okay Well.” You quickly started to defend yourself. “I’m allergic and it’s easier to pretend that I hate what I can’t have.” 

“That better be true Y/l/n. I was just starting to like you too…” 

You rolled your eyes and smiled at her. “Please. Says the woman who admitted to me about her weekends in—”

“Hey! I told you that in confidence.” Emily cut you off, pointing her notebook at you. 

“Weekends in what Y/n. Finish the sentence for those of us out of the know here.” Derek chimed in, very curious to know more about Emily Prentiss. 

You surrendered your hands in the air, mimicking zipping your lips shut. “Sorry Morgan, sworn to secrecy.” 

“Emily, come on. You know the girl for four days and she already knows more about you then, like, all of the team.” 

Prentiss and you shared a knowing smile and the both of you burst out into small fits of laughter. 

“Ha ha very funny. Do you believe this?” 

Spencer wasn't paying attention to Derek since the sound of your laughter actually made him turn to stone. He was frozen to the core because he had a realization. Spencer Reid wanted to hear that sound for the rest of his life. Considering how his parent’s marriage went, how Hotch’s marriage went, how Gideon’s life went, how Rossi’s marriages went, he didn’t exactly have a good track record in his history or in his mentor figures. The thought of you having to deal with him every single day made him want to crawl out of his skin. He couldn’t force someone to listen to him blabber on, and he certainly wasn’t about to make someone as wonderful as you do it. 

“Hey Spencer, you alright?” Prentiss’ hand on his shoulder brought him out of his head, and he started to shake his head but quickly nodded. “Ye-Yeah uh. Just..” He thought back to his thinking when something quickly came back to the forefront of his mind. “This is probably a, uh, ‘woman scorned’. She probably was cheated on or…” He managed out. 

“That would line up with the revenge against the men, especially since her end game….” 

Spencer nodded at you, while Prentiss and Derek gave each other a look. 

“What did Kolek say about the courses?” Derek interrupted. 

“She’s teaching three this semester. Spanish Art, which hasn’t really applied to us, Women in Art History, which has, and then, honestly it’s too good to be true Derek…” You bit your lip and looked at Emily, obviously troubled.

“The third course is a combination lecture between the English department and the art history department as a way to knock out two gen eds in one—it’s literally a course about literature in Art.” You sighed. 

“You’re joking with me.” 

You shook your head. “Derek you have no idea how badly I wish this to be fucking fake since it’s a lecture seminar—there’s like fifty kids in that course a semester, minimum.”

“Jesus Christ…”

_______________________________________________________________________

You, Derek, Emily, and Spencer spent the next three hours going through all of the kids in the course–learning the names, hometowns, languages spoken, grad years: everything about them. 

It was a dreadful process that caused all of you to almost lose your minds on several occasions. It didn’t help that the only thing you could really do was scan course loads of students that the three agents picked out to see if there could be some courses that aligned perfectly to fit the profile, but it was not helpful because all of these kids took almost the exact same courses. 

“I can’t fucking sit in these chairs anymore. I’m losing my mind.” You stood up and stretched your back a bit. “I’m going back to the hotel, and I highly advise that all of you should too. Especially since it’s now ten pm, and all of us being miserable tomorrow morning would be extremely counterproductive.” 

Spencer sighed and nodded. “I’ll walk back with you?”

You smiled and nodded at him, grabbing your coat off of the back of your chair. “Derek? Emily?”

“We’re going to finish up, but we’ll be in bed before the sun rises.” Derek mock saluted you and you nodded. 

The two of you left the two of them, starting to head in the direction of the hotel the FBI had set you up at. Well, really it was almost an Airbnb type of place. They had managed to get an entire house set up for the team since there were no actual hotels around. You and Spencer had landed with the rooms up on the third floor, while everyone else was on the second floor. This was nice considering it meant no one was waking you up when you managed to sleep in for an extra half an hour, nor were they in your business about your crush on Spencer, and maybe you didn’t have to sneak back into your room when the two of you would finish your late-night conversations. 

You had never met anyone like Spencer Reid. His intelligence was unmatched, and so was his want to learn. Tonight was all about teaching him the feelings of art. This was a big one considering that was something that traditionally steered Spencer away from art. Not because he couldn’t feel things, but because the expectation of emotions was a bit much. 

“I think a good one to start with is Turner’s Odysseus Deriding Polyphemus. It’s one of my favorites because Turner hid creatures within the nature of the scene; Hippokampos and Dryaids in the waves. Polyphemus in the mountains.” You handed him your phone, the piece of art on your screen. “When you first look at the image, you just see Odysseus and his men sailing away. But the longer you stare at the image,, more reveals itself to you.” 

Spencer nodded. “Rigth. So I get that part, but why. The optical illusions within the paint make it impressive artistry, but Holbein’s Ambassadors does the same thing, only with a weird skull optical illusion. What is the difference?” 

You smiled. “While I’ve had the privilege of seeing both paintings in person at the National Gallery in London, and while seeing both in person is extremely cool, Holbein was just showing off. He wanted to showcase his extreme talent and boast. Whereas Turner is hiding the story within the painting. He is asking the viewers to not only know what they are looking for but challenging them to find it. The victory of Odysseus suddenly seems more magical because Turner is capturing the isolation of the giant through the isolation of the mountains, making him seem small before you really consider the proportions of the paintings.”

Spencer was just smiling at you, completely enamored by your passion for this topic. You looked over at him and blushed slightly. “Sorry, I just get really into these things and then I start to ramble and–” 

“No! No. Seriously. I don’t mind it, at all. I really like it when you…ramble.” 

You bit your lip and nodded, ready to continue with your tirade. 

But Spencer’s smile quickly turned into a frown, and it was the last thing you saw as your vision went black. And the last thing you heard was Spencer yell out before the world went silent. 

[sp3ncerr31dsw1f3]

i love you

an: lol my first ever fanfic lmfao pls dont bully me and I'm sorry I'm making so many changes after proof reading (song: i love you by billie eilish)

warnings: mentions of blood, death and stabbing, i think that's it pls lemme know if i missed any!

pairing: spencer reid x f!reader

genre: angst with happy ending, fluff

It was like any other case. I do my part and the others do theirs. Or so I thought. I was hurt almost a month back from a stab wound to the side when I should've been paying attention. Spencer was on the way to warn me, but it was too late. I was laying in a pool of my own blood. I heard Spencer's name in an echo. I could't respond, on the verge of death. If he hadn't come in time, I probably would've been dead. Spencer and I had an argument before us coming on this case because today wasn't actually the day I was supposed to return. I actaually had one and a half weeks left, but of course, boy genius found out. We bickered about, but I ended up coming anyway and he didn't say a word to me the whole flight here, nor did he look at me.

Right now, we're on another life risking case. Trying to find a little girl and the man somewhere in the house hiding with her. Spencer along side of me, closer than he'd usually be before I got stabbed. He's trying to prevent what happened last time from happening again. I appreciate that, but if he ever got hurt, or worse, killed because of me being unattentive of my surroundings, I'd never be able to forgive myself. I shake off the thought when I hear a muffled scream and a man yelling 'shut up'. Instinctivley, Spencer moves in front of me. I hold my gun a bit to my waist, again, not the best idea. "Come out!", Spencer yells. "We're the FBI!", he yells out once again, turning towards me and nodding his head to where the sounds were coming from. I was thrown off by the fact that he didn't even look at me when he turned my way. He looked a bit past me, which kind of made me upset. I stand by the door with my back towards the wall as he kicks in the door. The man suddenly lets go of the small girl and charged towards Spencer and in that moment I froze. My fault. If he dies, It's all my fault. The man punched Spencer twice before I point my gun towards the man, but as I did, he saw me and immediately started charging toward me. Out of shock, remembering what happened to me last time, I drop. The man hovering me. I close my eyes tight, while he has a knife to my throat.

Once again, I hear Spencer's name, but loud and clear this time. My eyes shoot open and I use my free hand, which is close to the knife on my thigh and reach for it. I quickly stab the man in his leg repeatedly until he's off of me. Spencer immediately rushes over to the man and puts him in cuffs. He then comes over to me whose catching my breath that I held in and from the man's weight. "Are you okay?", he asks worriedly, scanning my body. I nod and point to where the little girl is, signaling him to help her first. I get up feeling a familiar pain where I was stabbed. I lift up my shirt only to see the stitching being opened. I pull it back down when I see Spencer carrying the little girl in his arms. I rush over to her. "Are you okay, sweet girl?", I ask the small girl. She nods and starts to cry. I tell Spencer to take her to Emily and I'll be there in a bit. Right after Spencer settles the girl with Emily, he immediately comes back to me with a worried expression. "Y/N...are you okay?", he asks coming closer. "It hurts, Spencer.", I say with tears in my eyes. I was talking both about the argument and the wound. I couldn't stand being on bad terms with Spencer. He was the love of my life, though he doesn't know that.

"What hurts, Y/N?", he asked, scanning my face, noticing I'm in both mental and physical pain. He then scans my body and spots the blood on the side of my shirt. "Oh God, did he do that?", he asked, his voice shaking. "Why didn't you just listen to your doctor and stay back?", he looks at me while holding the wound as it continuously bled. My legs are wobbling, not just from the pain, but the mental exaustion. He was right. I should've listened. I am not mentally nor physically ready yet. We get to the ambulance that was already outside. "Please help her.", Spencer says desperately to the medic. I get into the back of the second ambulance as Spencer informs the team what happened. I saw him open the back of the ambulance with me. "Hey, angel. We're gonna get you help, okay?", he says, wiping the tears off of my face. The exaustion soon took over and I passed out. I soon wake up in the hospital bed. The wound feeling a bit better. They restitched it. I turn to my side to see Spencer fast asleep with his head resting on the side of the bed. I weakly place my hands in his hair, which made him stir and slowly open his eyes.

"Hi, sweet girl. They brought you food.", he says. "Hi, Spence. You can have the jello", I smile at him. "Really?, Thank you.", he says exictedly, but he has tears in his eyes. "Angel?", he says. I hum in response. "Please, please listen to your doctor." he says pleadingly. "They're mostly always right.", he says holding his hand in mine. I smile and chuckle. "Yeah, I know.", I say reffering to him. He laughs along, but says in a trying to be serious tone, "No, but really, Y/N. I can't lose you. I almost did. Twice.", he pauses for a moment. "I love you, Y/N. So so much.", he says bringing my palm to his face. My heart skips a beat and my eyes well with tears, never expecting that from him. "I love you too, Spence.", I say with a shaky voice while brushing my thumb over his teary cheek. "So so much."

[sequinsmile-x]

I Knew You'd Linger Like a Tattoo Kiss - Chapter 1 - Wake-up Kisses

A series of unrelated one-shots and mini fics about the many types of kisses Aaron and Emily share.

-x-

Hi friends!

I hope you are all okay <3

This is for my dear friend @sometimesitswho who inspired this new little series!

The prompt list for this series can be found here! Feel free to send me some via my inbox/leave some in the comments if you don't have tumblr <3

This...got sadder/has more feelings than I intended...but it's also kind of soft.

As always, let me know what you think <3

-x-

Words: 2.3k

Warnings: Nightmares, pregnancy (tomorrow I will create a master list for this fic after i've had some sleep haha)

Read over on Ao3, or below the cut

The first time it happens, they haven’t been together long. 

It isn’t the first time he’s slept over at hers, but it’s still new enough he has to think about the layout of her bedroom if he gets up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, his shins bruised from walking into her dresser more than once. At first, he isn’t sure what has woken him up. He groans when he checks the time, blinking to clear his vision in the darkness of the room. 

That’s when he hears it, a pained whimper from the woman pressed up against him, her grip on his shirt tightening, her nails digging into his skin through the thin material. 

“Em?” He asks, switching on the lamp on the nightstand, “Are you…” He trails off when he realises she’s sleeping, her face screwed up in distress as she mutters something he doesn’t quite hear, whatever monster she’s fighting in her dream making her fold in on herself as she twists in his arms. His heart feels like it’s in a vice, wound tighter together with guilt and sorrow as she whimpers again, “Oh, sweetheart.” 

He was no stranger to nightmares himself. He’d wake up sometimes, his breath caught in his chest as he felt the blade of Foyet’s knife, or the warmth of Haley’s blood against his skin, his knuckles aching, scars that had long since healed about to burst open. At first, he’d barely slept when he got back from the hospital. His apartment quiet even though it had never been the home he’d shared with Haley and Jack, and every sound he heard was Foyet coming back to finish the job. Sleep only found him when he was away on cases. Cheap, lumpy mattresses more of a safe space than the place he lived. He’d still wake up from nightmares though, unsure if he’d actually screamed or if he’d imagined it. The echo of his dream following him into consciousness, his past only ever one step behind him - its hand stretched out to pull him back in. 

When Jack came back home, the house Aaron had bought with Haley now a wretched tomb instead of the place he’d once found sanctuary, he had nightmares too. His brain filling in the gaps of all he’d heard when he was lying in the chest in his father’s office, his monsters real and tangible when he would wake up screaming for the mother he’d never get to truly know. 

Aaron gathers Emily closer, easily sitting up with her in his arms. Despite his instinct to do so, he doesn’t hold her any tighter, doesn’t want to restrict her movement as he holds her lightly to his chest. The last thing he wants to do is make her nightmare worse, to add to it, so he sits there and rubs his hand up and down her back, repeatedly pressing kisses to any part of her face that he can reach, murmuring against her skin the entire time as he slowly draws her back to him. 

“You’re okay.” 

“You’re safe.”

“You survived.” 

She wakes suddenly, tense and stiff in his arms as she pulls herself out of his embrace, her eyes wide as he willingly lets her go, “Em, sweetheart, it’s just me.” 

She looks at him, her eyes wild and shining, her chest heaving as she looks around, her gaze finally locking on him, “Aaron?” 

She sounds so ragged, so unlike her, that it takes everything in him to not reach out and touch her, well aware from experience that it needed to be her who initiated any physical contact. 

“Yes, baby,” he says, painting on a soft smile he does feel connected to, the expression misplaced in the heaviness of her bedroom but hopefully reassuring, “It’s me. It’s Aaron.” 

She sinks into him, her forehead against his neck as she breathes him in, her chest shuddering so hard he feels it, the stutter of her ribcage against his palms as he pulls her closer. 

“Fuck…I…” she trails off, her words stuck in her throat, her grip on him tightening as he tucks her against his chest, feels the shiver of her shoulders even though her skin is warm to the touch. 

“I’ve got you,” he says, kissing her forehead, her temple, anywhere he could reach again, “I’ve got you.” 

She shifts, curled up in a way he’s sure must be uncomfortable, her cheek pressed against his chest so she can feel his heartbeat, “Can you…can you talk?” 

“About what, sweetheart?” He asks, desperate to help her in any way he can. 

“Anything,” she breathes out, “Please just…anything. I need to…”

She doesn’t have to say anything else, doesn’t have to tell him that she just needs to think of something other than the cold warehouse floor where she’d almost died. Where she had died. He says the first thing that comes to mind.

“Did I tell you that Jack’s teacher pulled me aside today?” 

She huffs out a shaky breath and shakes her head, “No.” 

“Well,” he says, resting his cheek on top of her head, his hand still moving in soothing circles on her back, “Apparently, a new kid called Caleb was being bullied by someone else in their class, and after Caleb was pushed in a puddle by this kid, Jack jumped in after him.” 

She chuckles breathlessly and pulls back to look at him, her eyes still shining, sticky tracks smudged down her cheeks, “He jumped in?”

Aaron hums and nods, wiping her cheeks, “The teacher had to tell me because he had to change into his spare clothes. She wanted to explain why the clothes he went to school in were covered in mud.” 

She closes her eyes and shakes her head, “He’s a sweet kid,” she says, pressing her forehead against his.

“He told me he wanted to make sure Caleb was okay, and that he knew he had a friend.” 

She smiles and kisses him, her lips against his for just long enough to press the taste of her tears against his, “Like father, like son.” 

He kisses her, his hand around the back of her neck as he holds her in place, his nails scratching at her scalp when he feels her now even breath skip across his face, “Want to talk about it?”

She shrugs, her lips pressed together as she swallows thickly, “Not really.” 

He nods, understanding more than most, and he encourages her to sit against him, her side against his chest as she snuggles back into him, “Want to hear more about what Jack got up to today?” 

He feels her smile against his neck, a silent answer before she whispers her response, “Yes please.” 

___

At first, she thinks the baby has woken her up. 

She groans, her hands automatically drifting to her stomach, the curve beneath her palm making her smile just like it always did. She was enjoying the changes to her body, loved that she actually looked pregnant now and not just like she’d had a big meal, but she could do without the frequent trips to the bathroom. She’s about to quietly chastise the baby, whisper her usual half-hearted annoyance to her son about being woken up because he’d kicked her bladder, when she realises he hasn’t woken her up at all. 

Aaron tightens his grip on her even in sleep, his arm heavy over where her waist used to be, his hand in a fist around the covers lying over her. He’s murmuring something she can’t quite catch under his breath, his body tense as he pulls her closer, protecting her from whatever it was he could see in his dream. 

The first time she’d had a nightmare in front of him, she’d been embarrassed. She’d pressed her face against his chest as he told her all about his son, now their son, and apologised, cutting him off halfway through his story about Jack’s obsession with the sharks at the aquarium. Aaron had kissed her, his lips still just about touching hers when he told her she had nothing to apologise for, that he knew all too well how it felt to be haunted by a dead man. 

She knew he was telling the truth, but it was confirmed just a few days later after she woke up to him knocking on her hotel room door in the middle of the night, breaking their rule of never on cases less than six weeks after they’d set it. His eyes had been wild and shining when she’d opened the door wearing one of his shirts, something she’d stolen to try and settle herself that night, already too used to sleeping next to him. She’d known what had happened without him saying anything, the look on his face, the half-crescent indents in his palms gave him away immediately. She’d pulled him into her room and locked the door behind them and led him over to her bed. He’d curled up against her, his head against her chest in a way that made him seem like a little boy, an image distorted by his large hand grasping at her waist, his thumb and little finger skimming her ribcage and her hipbone. 

In some ways, she hated that they had this in common, that they each knew what it was like to stare into the abyss and have it stare back, but in another way, one that felt entirely selfish, she was glad he understood. Sure that she would never have been able to let herself fall apart in front of someone who didn’t understand as he did, the knowledge that he knew what it was like was enough to let her let him pick up all the pieces of her and slot them back into place. 

He was, after all, the only one who knew where all the pieces went. 

She rests her hand over his and eases it away from the comforter, sandwiching it between the two of hers as she lifts their hands to her face, first pressing her cheek against his knuckles before she starts to kiss them one by one. Focusing on the scars she doesn’t need to see to know where they are, evidence of when he’d torn himself apart for vengeance for the last woman he’d loved. 

She draws him back to her, feels his grip briefly tighten before he tenses behind her, his breath harsh and fast against the back of her neck. 

“You’re okay,” she says quietly, unwrapping one of her hands from around his to switch on the lamp on the nightstand, still squeezing his hand tightly with the other, “It was just a dream.” 

“Em?” 

She hums and sits up, scratching her nails across his scalp as she encourages him to look up at her, “It’s me, sweetheart,” she assures him, “It’s your Em.” 

She usually called him honey. It was the first nickname she’d tried on him, the taste of it as sweet as the nectar it was named after, as sweet as the smile on his face when she called him it. She only ever called him sweetheart in moments like this, when he looked afraid as if he’d somehow lost everything again, because it always made her feel better when that’s what he called her. 

He slides towards her, only sitting up enough to rest his head on her chest, his cheek against her breast as he places his arm over her bump, his palm resting where he knew their little boy kicked the most. They lay in silence for a little while, her nails scratching idle patterns on his scalp as his breathing slowly returned to normal, the warmth of it fanning out against her skin. 

“You know,” she says eventually, resting her cheek on top of his head as she wraps her arms around him, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say this was just an excuse to press your face against my breasts.” 

He laughs, a broken sound that cheers her up nonetheless. He turns his head just enough to kiss the closest bit of skin he can, his lips catching the edge of the brand left behind by a man who had once killed her. 

“You’ve got me,” he says wryly, his voice cracking still, “I can’t believe you saw through my plan.” 

She smiles and kisses the top of his before she rests her cheek against it again, wanting him as close as possible. They turn serious again, as they always did on nights like these, and she whispers, “Want to talk about it?” 

“No,” he replies, and she knows it’s because she’s heard it all before, that it was nothing new, so she seeks out his hand, linking their fingers over where their son rolled beneath her skin. 

“Jack told me he had some ideas for how we could decorate the nursery today.” 

She feels his smile against her skin, feels the way he clears his throat, their tradition something they both held fondly. It had started that first night when she’d been torn from sleep, unfocused and panicking as she asked him to talk about anything and he’d spoken about Jack. It was something they carried on doing, idly talking about the little boy, even if it was something the other knew, until they felt better or fell asleep. She knew that soon enough their son would be in the mix too, that they’d talk about him as well as his older brother. A much needed reminder of what they’d survived everything for, what they had now they’d fought their way here. 

“Oh yeah?” 

She hums, “Apparently,” she says, smiling as the baby kicks, “He thinks the baby will like dinosaurs.” 

He chuckles, his laugh already sounding more like his own, and he tilts his head to look up at her, his smile soft and his eyes looking like nothing short of the future, “I guess I’d better find some dinosaur stencils for the walls then.” 

She leans down to kiss him, ignoring the crick in her neck, and smiles as she pulls back, “Yes, I think you should.” 

[deathsbestgirl]

something i think i should have talked about when i got that irresistible ask:

scully is looking at photos of the mutilated women, when she flips to one, she sees herself. it happens again when she's doing the autopsy, seeing herself on the table. you could chalk that up to her disturbance at the case, echoes of her abduction. that's definitely happening, she's so deeply affected by what's being done. desecrating the dead, murder to steal from their bodies.

but i also think they're visions warning her. donnie pfaster is going to target her. the first time he takes her, she hallucinates him turning into different evil men & a devil like figure. in orison, she hears a song from her childhood. a song from the first time she understood there was evil in the world. the murder of her sunday school teacher, who used to call her scout. (this is also the second time a murderer uses one of her nicknames to signal psychic abilities/communication with the dead. boggs in beyond the sea, reverend orison. both trying to connect with her and get something they want. and i think they both take specific interest in scully because of her faith, more obvious & pointed with rev orison but boggs knows he's going to hell and would love to take more down with him. its what mulder feared when she followed boggs' signs.) it's that same song that makes mulder go to her apartment, believing pfaster has gone after her. mulder gets there in time to apprehend pfaster, but ultimately watches scully shoot him repeatedly in a dissociated fugue state.

it ends up making scully question who made her do it. mulder tries to comfort her, pfaster didn't give her a choice, his report will reflect that, the bible allows for vengeance. and she finally voices what she's afraid of: what if it wasn't god? she doesn't believe she has the right to exact vengeance, she (mostly) abides by the law & (supposedly) her religion.

in other episodes, she's questioned the signs she saw. like in revelations & all souls. but she followed them, and she saved a little boy & lost a teenage girl. she let go of emily. everyone she's lost has followed her. ahab in one breath, melissa in christmas carol, emily in all souls. they speak to her & guide her & forgive her (and ahab asks forgiveness). god speaks to scully. she's always trying to listen. and she always follows mulder.

[gogandmagog]

Do you think you can expound on what you meant by LMM showing her hand/Dean being condemned by cat aversion? I was skimming the Emily tag and came across your post. Just curious!

I’m sooo cracking up and embarrassed right now, because while I do fr believe that... I’m not exactly sure I can wholly defend it. Or even remotely ask anyone else to consider getting onboard with that kind of intense inferring. But I’m going to do my best to have a go at it (🥴) and attempt to explain where my head was at with all that, while also letting it be a lesson to myself to not just be out here saying things sometimes, lol.

Also as a small sidenote: I tried to find the post you might be referencing, and I’m all but certain it must’ve been a very old conversation with @no-where-new-hero, but it must’ve also predated my searchable tagging practices because alas, I cannot find it. So… I’m already sorry-in-advance if I veer off into unrelated areas or miss the ‘ask’ mark completely. But I think you mean that at some point I said Maud “showed her hand” early in the Emily series by having Dean Priest say that he wouldn’t keep a cat. I’ll double check, but I think his exact quote is: “I like cats but I never keep one.”

Which, to a casual reader... doesn’t mean a whole lot. Yet when I look back at this, as a non-casual reader, after many re-reads and a little bit of Maud experience, I do kind of now recognise that as a tell. At least it’s a proper LMM red flag. Especially when we experience and feel the depth of cat symbolism and heavy-handed cat presence in the Emily series. And of Emily. How Emily is repeatedly and often assigned a cat-like nature + appearance in the narrative and by other characters in the book. She’s told at school that she has cat ears, and she’s even nicknamed “puss” by Cousin Jimmy. Emily’s Wind Woman purrs. It’s everywhere in Emily. If we advance even a bit further, into broad and ancient symbolism, we can also reflect on timeless and universal cat symbolism… the cat alignment with femininity. The same way dogs are aligned and representative of masculinity.

So when we consider all of this and juxtapose Dean’s statement against Montgomery’s men that did get their girls, I think it speaks even louder. Teddy had Smoke and Buttercup. Barney had Good Luck and Banjo. Cats are so important to Maud and her stories that she has Gilbert (the son of a cat lady, eventual owner of the First Mate, and saviour of Ingleside housecat the Shrimp) mention them in his finally-accepted proposal to Anne. He says, “I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it, a cat and dog, the footsteps of friends—and you!” (Which P.S. is even a veeeery interesting order, in my veeeery-stretched opinion. A cat, then a dog. The feminine before the masculine. You before me, Gilbert says.)

To me... Emily is the cat that Dean will never keep. Much later, when their engagement is dissolving, he says, “… Perhaps that is why I couldn’t keep you.” Which is lowkey full circle. (If you squint.)

[enixamyram]

Basically I saw people arguing whether or not Charlie would accept any of the Vees (especially Valentino) into the hotel. And it gave me ideas that I know I'm never gonna write so I'll just share it instead! XD

Random Story Idea I Got Based On Seeing Others Discuss:

What If The Vees Checked Into The Hazbin Hotel

Since the big fight with the angels, it has been proven once and for all that demons can be redeemed via Sir Pentious visiting with Emily to confirm Charlie's dream for her. The Hotel's all happy and celebrating but not everyone in hell is.

The Vees as some such people because if Charlie starts redeeming sinners then that will be less souls they can get contracts with. But they have no way to stop them since Sir Pentious and Emily made a pretty grand display and if they fight too hard then it could backfire on them. So, they come up with their plan. They decide to pretend they also want to be redeemed. All three of them ask to join the hotel with the secret purpose of spying on them and sabotaging it from the inside out.

Charlie knows they are full of shit. Everyone knows it. But if Charlie refuses them without any proof, it would cost the hotel since Charlie's whole point is that everyone and anyone should get the chance if they ask for it. In the end, she knows that if they say no, they would essentially be sabotaging the hotel's good reputation and lose other sinners who genuinely want to redeem but are too afraid to come forward for fear of being judged for past sins.

So, Charlie is forced to say yes and let them in. But then immediately gets Vaggie, Husk and Alastor to work spying on the Vees spying on them. The goal is to catch them breaking any of the main hotels rules so that Charlie has a legit reason to kick them out.

On the very first night, Val tries to go to Angel's room since he avoided him all day only to find Nifty dutifully cleaning the hallway just outside. It turns out Charlie assigned her the job of keeping the Vees (specifically Val) from distubring other guests (specifically Angel). Cue some humor as Val is freaked out by Nifty because, well, it's Nifty and she tore a chunk out of him and then went on to kill the first man.

So, Husk is trying to get dirt on Val and the two have confrontations about Angel - which leads to Huskerdust! Alastor is riling up Vox to get him to do something stupid and the two just repeatedly try to one up each other and get on each others nerves. And Vaggie is assigned Velvette who isn't giving anything away and even mocks the fact that she knows Vaggie is spying on her (like taking a selfie with Vaggie obviously hiding in the background and tagging her in posts on her socials).

There'd be a bit of humor but also some dramatic angst with the Vees using the spying/riling/confrontations to show the Hotel is picking on them and whatever other techniques they can to turn people against the Hotel.

So yeah. That's my rambles of an idea!

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

The Performer: Part Two

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.4k

Summary: Hold on. Just hold onto what's good. Don't let him see how broken you are. Spencer becomes heartbroken when he realizes that you don't want to see him but you'll see everyone else. How can you see yourself through his eyes like this?

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Season Five Masterlist

Author’s Note: just another reminder that I know this isn't how prisons work in real life but this is how my prison works for the sake of the story. I know fighting in prison has more stricter rules than what I'm going to be putting.

I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them.

x

Derek takes in the sight before him. The newest murder victim was found on the side of the freeway where everyone could see her. She wasn't covered, she wasn't laid to rest, she was just dumped there like trash. If you were here, you'd be able to see what happened to her. You'd be able to see the unsub's energy. It's weird how much he relied on you until you weren't there anymore.

"Highway crew found her just as the sun was coming up," Kim says.

"How long has she been here?"

"Probably an hour. She's barely cold."

Emily notices something on her stomach, and she wears some gloves to lift up her shirt. On her stomach, two words are carved into her skin.

"The Liar."

"It's the same message. It wasn't just meant for Tara. I wonder what it means, then. Detective Kim, can you have your crime scene techs keep us apprised of the processing? We're ready with a preliminary profile."

"That's quick."

"So is this unsub."

The rest of the team and Kim head back to the police station to give the profile with Spencer. He isn't too sure about the profile but knows it has to come out now or more people are going to die.

"We aren't looking for a vampire in the supernatural sense, only in the sense that this unsub has a very strong desire, a need, for human blood. Fortunately, vampirists display several characteristics that will be helpful in finding him. He will have cut himself repeatedly. It's called auto-vampirism, essentially becoming his own first victim. It's the way by which he first tasted human blood. Most vampirists are incredibly ashamed of this and will wear long-sleeved shirts in order to conceal it. Secondly, there will be a long history of animal abuse starting with smaller animals such as insects and rodents, and then working its way up to larger things like dogs and cats. Though this is a well-recognized component of the homicidal triad seen in other serial killers, in the case of the vampirist, it's more pronounced. There will, interestingly enough, not be any animal torture as with other psychopathologies. The killing isn't the point, it's merely a means by which to obtain the blood," Spencer explains.

"Look hard at your animal control section records, as far back as you can. They will probably have some record of this unsub as an adolescent. This guy also most likely lives in a poorly kept older home. He needs a house for the privacy, not an apartment. It takes some time to drain a body completely of blood. Uninterrupted time."

"This unsub also most likely lives with an elderly woman like a grandmother, a mother, or even an aunt."

"How could you know that?" Kim asks Rossi.

"This type of mental illness, accompanied by extreme schizophrenia, dominates a family's entire existence," Emily answers. "It often leads to a broken home, and a woman ends up as the primary caregiver. The men generally leave."

"Oh, and one more thing," Rossi says before the conclusion, "this type of disorder cannot be hidden for long. I guarantee you someone out there already knows this unsub is very, very sick."

The worst part about cases like these is the waiting game. The waiting after the profile is given out because leads aren't going to come in right away. JJ is on her way over to Tara's friend's house when her phone rings.

"Hello?"

"Hello, this a collect call from Virginia Correctional Center for Women for inmate Y/N. Press one if you'd like to accept the call."

JJ frowns but she answers the call nonetheless. Why would you be calling her instead of Spencer?

"Y/N?"

"Hey, JJ," you whisper.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why are calling me? Shouldn't Spencer get this time?"

"I can't face him when he knows I don't want him here."

"He heard the word Twilight and almost cried. I felt so bad for him."

"Yeah, I've been wanting to watch the movies with me. They're cheesy but I wanted to share that with him," you sniffle.

"Yeah, he's pretty upset."

"It's better he be upset than for me to see myself as this broken woman through his eyes. I might be selfish for that but I can't handle any more pain right now. Rossi is the only one that knows but I'm not doing too good in here. There's a reason why psychics like me don't go to prisons. I feel everything, JJ."

"I can't imagine what you're going through. I wish I was there to help you."

"JJ, you're too good for prison. Please keep an eye on him. I know he'll hate me for it but he needs you right now."

"Of course. I hate to break this up now but I have to go. I'm following a lead."

"Okay. See ya."

You hang up on JJ reluctantly, wishing you could have a few more moments with her. Hearing their voices is what keeps you grounded. If you're not talking on the phone or with visitors, you're back in the yard, drowning. You wonder what the team is doing and what kind of case they're on.

"Agent Morgan," Kim says, "we've identified this morning's victim. Her name is Erin Hickman. She worked for a caterer at an event last night. They're still there cleaning up."

"Let's go."

Derek, Kim, and Emily head over to the outdoor restaurant where Erin was working. They're still closing down as Kim said, and Derek easily finds the manager of the place.

"Excuse me, Ms. Masters? I'm Lieutenant Kim, LAPD."

"Is this about Erin?" she asks, already knowing.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Is she really dead?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry. These are FBI agents Morgan and Prentiss."

"FBI?"

"Did Erin work for you?"

"Yeah, until last night. She walked out on me in the middle of the party. She was here one minute and gone the next."

"Was it uncommon for her to be irresponsible?"

"Look, I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but she had a problem with drugs. Like, a big problem."

Someone walks by the trio with a handful of CDs, and Emily does a double-take when she sees what's on the front cover. She stops the man, grabs a CD, and shows the other two. On the cover is the same man that was on Tara's walls, and the album name is called "The Liar".

"Morgan. Rossi and I saw a poster of him in Tara's house." She takes out her phone and calls Penelope who is eager to answer. "Hey, Garcia, give me everything you've got on a singer named Dante."

"Dante, the vampire guy? I was just about the call you."

"Do you know him?" Derek asks.

"He's the one thing that all of our victims have in common. They have cyber shrines set up for this guy. They worship him. They're obsessed with his music. His new album comes out today. 'The Liar'. Isn't that what was written on them?"

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, all of our victims, including the first two, were diehard fans. Tara and her best friend, Gina, were practically running his fan club."

"What about Erin Hickman, our latest victim?"

"I haven't run across her name yet."

"Okay, we need to talk to this Dante guy. Can you get us an address?" Derek asks.

"That's gonna take a little while," Kim says. "These celebrities are protected by layers of privacy. It's like finding information on a deeply--"

"22423 Greenvale Circle in Holmby Hills. GPS coordinates are uploading to you now," Penelope cuts Kim off. "His name is Paul Davies, by the way."

"Run him for a criminal record, too."

"You got it."

"I'd hate to think what she could find out about me," Kim chuckles once she hangs up.

"Oh, I prefer not even to consider it."

The trio heads over to Paul's house immediately which is located in the rich part of the neighborhood. There are nice cars in the driveway, the house looks like a mansion, and with high trees that block out the paparazzi. It makes sense that someone like Paul would live in a place like this. What doesn't make sense is the part about him being the unsub. The unsub doesn't come from money like this, and the profile suggests the unsub isn't well-off.

"I hate to ask this, but are your profiles this far off sometimes?" Kim wonders.

"They haven't been yet. This probably isn't our unsub, just a piece of the puzzle." They turn the corner and see all the nice cars on the driveway, and Emily whistles lowly. "I could get used to this. This is definitely not poorly maintained." Among the expensive-looking cars, there is one that is beat up and much older. "One of these things does not belong." She takes out her phone and calls Penelope. "Hey, Garcia, can you run a plate for me?"

"This isn't our guy, is it?" Kim asks.

"I highly doubt it."

Derek and Kim walk to the front door and knock, and the one known as Dante answers it. However, instead of in goth clothes, black and white makeup, and fake fangs in his mouth, it's a man who has freshly washed hair, a scarf around his neck and looks nothing like the guy on the album covers.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" Paul asks in a British accent.

"Dante?"

"No."

"You're not the singer?" Derek asks.

"Dante's not my name. He's a character I play. So, who are you guys?"

"We're investigating a murder--"

"Sir!" Emily cuts Kim off. "Would you mind coming in to answer a few questions?"

"Prentiss, what are you doing?"

"That car is Erin's car. The victim's car. Would you mind coming in, sir?"

That put everyone on alert. To avoid a whole stink, Paul goes with the team without fuss hoping that no one from the media will know about this. They're doing their best to get the unsub and prevent deaths while you're still in prison trying to protect your friend. Ever since that bitch beat you up, you've been careful to keep yourself and Ashley in view of the cameras or guards at all times. You're not in the same cell, thank God, so you don't have to worry about your safety in there.

The woman, you have no idea what her name is nor do you care to know it (even though people call her Big Sue), is always watching you two. She won't come near you if you're near another guard or in view of the cameras because she doesn't want to be placed in solitary confinement. Anyone who is caught fighting goes in the hole. The bigger the fight, the longer someone stays in there by themselves. You've heard of someone staying in there for two months straight, and she doesn't want to do that.

Ashley is the kind of person who hates violence. She is a pacifist and would much rather run from a fight than confront the bully. If you were to leave, who would protect her? You need to make her realize that all she has to do is stand up to the bully once and they will back down. Big Sue does this to people to make herself feel better, but she's nothing more than a small dog. Bark loudly once and she'll back down.

You walk into the cafeteria and search for Ashley. She is sitting in your usual spot waiting for you. You look to the right and see Big Sue with her group of friends. She is the leader of one of the gangs on site. Her gang isn't to be fucked with, especially the leader. However, you're not backing down.

Big Sue notices Ashley alone and decides to fuck with her. Not on your watch. You find yourself in almost a run to get to Ashley before Big Sue can. You slide in between the two women and face Big Sue who looks pissed at your presence. Ashley cowers in fear at what might happen but you're not going to let Big Sue touch her.

"Walk away," you warn.

"Do you want another black eye, bitch?" she snarls.

Some of the other women look your way but not enough to grab the attention of everyone in the room.

"Oh, I was being nice before. I didn't want to hit back, but touch her or even go near her, and I'll dropkick you so fast you won't know what hit you."

Now everyone is looking at you. A threat like that to one of the gang's leaders isn't the wisest decision. Some of the guards look over but won't do anything because an actual fight isn't happening. No one is moving, eating, or making a sound because they want to see what's going to happen. Either you're going to get your ass kicked or she is, and they don't know which is going to be worse.

Big Sue nods twice and turns around as if she is going to go back to her friends. Instead of doing that, she immediately turns back around and goes in for a hit. You duck just in time to avoid another hit. She stumbles forward having expected to hit you. You move out of the way and give her some room to collect herself. She is so full of anger that she will do anything to take you down. She won't stop and think what is the best move, only that she needs to hit you.

She runs at you to tackle you to the ground but you jump out of the way and kick your foot out so she trips over you. The more she fails, the angrier she gets. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Where she hits, you dodge. You dodge so well because you can see her energy and anger tell you where she is going to hit next. You punch her in the jaw hard enough to throw her off balance, and you grab her arm and twist it behind her. You shove her face-first into the ground and twist her arm tightly behind her. She cries out in pain and tries to move but can't because you've got her pinned. Everyone gasps at the shift in dominance.

No one will look at Big Sue again. No one will treat her the same. She might even be demoted in her gang. Whatever is going to happen, it's not going to be good for her.

"Tap out!" you yell. She cries in pain and slams her open palm against the floor. Guards come rushing in and pull you off her. They're not gentle with you either as they drag you away. "Stay the hell away from her!"

Ashley stands up and watches you leave with concern weighing heavily on her shoulders. You're taken to the solitary confinement room and thrown inside like you're a ragdoll.

"Maybe a couple of days in here will change your attitude," the guard says before shutting the door on you.

At least now you can think clearly.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[aurorialwolf]

SO! Next installment of my series of posts detailing the ocs I made up for the next gen of redacted characters (aka the kids of redacted characters) At the time of writing this, the dynamic of Samuel Jr. and Adrian is winning on the poll I posted! Samuel Jr. is the kid of Sam & Darlin in my AU-ish thing, and Adrian is the son of Alexis Getty! Link to my in-detail info dump about Samuel: https://www.tumblr.com/aurorialwolf/757447421698654208/yall-ever-heard-of-epigenetics-okay-mildly?source=share Cutoff so that it doesnt make a super long post on ppls dashes

For starters, I am going to write out what I think needs to be known about Adrian for all this to hit home properly, I may make a longer post about him if I feel this doesn't cover it but thats for later - Full name: Adrian Getty - Ranking in the House: Duke - Son of Alexis Getty, he is the result of a fling between her and a man from another clan (this makes him literally an official bastard) - He vehemently dislikes his mother, as they have a very unhealthy relationship, considering how, like Samuel, he was turned by his own blood (except fully), and therefore, Alexis counts as his maker, and invokes him as a disciplinary measure. William has not stopped this, because he is unaware. - I have anon asks off so if u really love Alexis im sorry but u cant yell at me for this - He is a guard for Emily Solaire, daughter of William Solaire, mostly as a formality, and to give him a purpose within the clan. Now! Onto the actual dynamic Imagine that your child, and your ex's child, meet each other, and decide to continue your feud. That's how it feels for poor ol' Sam. Samuel and Adrian hate each other. Sort of. Adrian hates Samuel, but Samuel thinks it's really funny.

- They take turns provoking each other, and end up trying to beat each other up.. in front of multiple vampiric nobles.. not a great look for their parents - It's kind of gay? hear me out- - Samuel flirts a lot with Adrian, provoking him into sparring - Adrian is like.. definitely gay but has majorly repressed it, bro is in denial (mainly bc he assumes Alexis won't accept him, and will just harm him further for it :(( ) - Samuel is trying to help him? Probably. but also who wouldn't want to provoke their attractive vampire rival - Ok but he really is trying to help - After a while of meeting up at events, they finally hang around outside of official vampire territory, and mostly just spar, but sometimes talk! like normal folks - One day, after Samuel undergoes some p r e t t y b a d t r a u m a, he's all bandaged up, and Adrian shows up to spar, but decides to leave him to rest, despite Samuel's protests that he's still capable - At their next match, he goes way easier on Samuel, which leads Samuel to question him, saying that he's recovered now - Turns out, seeing him injured made Adrian realize he actually does care about Samuel's wellbeing, and they agree to a truce, deciding to not fight literally every time they see each other - They become friends! And they confide in each other about their problems, creating a really strong bond - They still definitely enjoy fighting though, since they are at about an equal level, making it a fun challenge - Before they became friends, whenever Samuel would show up somewhere (at like a Solaire event or sm) with Vivienne after they'd gotten some kind of treat (slushie etc) Samuel would bring him a lemon snack, and lemon is Adrian's favourite flavour :3 obviously Adrian pretends to be pissed off but he really does appreciate it Now how do their parents feel? Alexis hates everything about them hanging around each other. She repeatedly invokes Adrian to stay away from him and push him away, but Samuel finds a way around the invokation, using their blood bond (yes theyre blood bonded ooooh) to skirt around it Sam? He's kind of unsure at first, and doesn't really trust Adrian, but he warms up to it, and supports Adrian whenever he comes to their house for help or just to hang around. He makes Samuel and Adrian hot cocoa when it's cold out :3 and he's happy that his son is helping Adrian out, even if they had initially been fighting because of their parents' feud. Also both of them do notttt like the fact that their kids flirt given their previous relationship and how it ended,, Sam is worried it'll spiral into a similarly toxic situation and it just pisses Alexis off So yeah :3 Samuel and Adrian are actually really close, but it takes a couple years for them to get that way This really does sound like some rivals to lovers stuff huh hfgjksdhgks Taglist: @vegafan69 @darlin-collins @kxemii @professionallyyappin @sereh624

[criminalmindswhore]

Dark Pieces of Me

TW: violence, kidnapping, blood, description of wounds, spy activities

Summary: Emily and you both have dark pasts, but yours come to light against your will.

Part 2 | Part 3

"Guys, we got something," Garcia announced as she entered the bullpen. Everyone stood up from their desks grabbing notepads, pens, and coffees. As they shuffled into the round table room everyone was silent, except Reid as he finished his ramble about how elephants think humans are cute and react the same we do with puppies. "Yeah I hate to cut off conversation about puppies but this is urgent." Garcia clicked the remote displaying pictures of mutilated bodies. "San Fransico PD is requesting our immediate help as a cyclist discovered all 5 of these bodies early this morning. All 5 victims were killed over a month ago but dropped late last night." Her face cringed as she caught a glimpse. The team studied each body, and you were first to speak up. "Cause of death?" Garcia continued, "Blunt force trauma to the face. Each person was hit in the face repeatedly with something like a bat or tree branch. There were pieces of wood lodged in their skin." Everyone cringed slightly, but you. Emily noticed, her eyebrows lifting somewhat in concern. "We need to find out who these people are and who did this to them. Wheels up in 20." Hotch ordered and everyone filled out of the room. You were the fastest to abandon the table, dropping your things at your desk you quickly made your way to the bathroom.

As you entered the stall and locked it, memories came flooding back to you...

"Good evening ma'am." You turned in your chair to face the door. "What took you so long Henry?" The man cringed, knowing this was his fate. "I- um- the target was hard to reach." You scoffed, "That has never been an issue before. Now answer me truthfully what took you so long?" You sat up in your chair, elbows resting on the desk. Henry took a deep breath in, "The target was holding her daughter." He finished his sentence and waited. You sighed, you hated this mission. You hated every part of it. "Thank you for your honesty. Go." You shooed him away. As soon as the door shut you let a couple tears slip before pulling yourself together and picking up the phone. 3 rings and then he spoke, "Is it done?" Your face showed fear but your voice never faltered, "Yes sir." He chuckled, "God. Now kill Henry and the other and get home mi amor."

The tears came rushing from your eyes as you sat on the toilet clutching your arms around yourself. You remember what your therapist said, "Deep breath in, I am safe, deep breath out." After a few deep breaths, you calmed down enough to return to work. Opening the bathroom door, there stood Emily. A concerned look on her face made you break down again. Nearly falling on the group Emily caught you. A sob escaped your lips and everything started flowing. Emily pulled you close to her chest holding you up by the shoulders and an arm around your waist. You put your forehead on her chest and sobbed. Hot tears ran down your cheeks and onto her shirt. "Shhhh y/n it's okay, get it out." Emily knew deep down something big was wrong, you never cried in front of anyone ever. "I'm so sorry Emily. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." Emily immediately pulled you to your feet, holding by your shoulders and staring into your swollen eyes. "Listen to me right now, I don't know what's wrong, but no matter what it is not your fault." You took a deep breath. The old you crept in as you immediately stopped crying, knowing what had to be done. "I'm sorry Emily." You spoke so clearly that Emily got a chill. This was not you.

You broke out of her grasp and walked into the bullpen. She followed close behind you, "Y/n, what are you doing?" She called after you, drawing attention to the two of you. You collected your items, laid your badge on your desk and walked towards the door. "Y/n what's going on?" Morgan asked as he stepped in front of you. You stopped in front of him and looked him dead in the eyes. "Let me go." There was no emotion in your voice and it shook him to his core. He stood his ground, "Y/n, no. What is going on?" He spoke sternly, demanding you to stay and let them help. "Derek Morgan, move or I will move you." You stared right through him. He did not even falter. You took one hand and grabbed his ear yanking him down. He fell with a thump and you stepped over him. You looked back at Emily, standing beside Morgan, staring at you. She looked devasted and furious. "Goodbye, Prentiss." You haven't called her that in over a year. You stepped out of the doors and left. Leaving the team screaming after you. Garcia came running down the hall at the commotion just in time to see the elevator doors close.

You stepped into your car and drove back to your apartment. You know the team isn't far behind you so you move quick. Just like you practiced. Safe, file, bag, close. Turn, gun under the mattress, wallet on the bed, turn, out the door. You got into your second car no one knew about and took off. As you pulled away 2 SUV's pulled up. From the rearview mirror, you saw JJ and Emily jumping out of the first and running inside. You sighed from grief knowing that was the hardest family to walk away from. You left them, in your apartment. Emily clutching your wallet, Morgan staring at the empty open safe, Reid holding your car keys. You were gone, you pulled an Emily.

#emilyprentiss #criminalminds #aaronhotchner #JJ #garcia #spencerreid #criminalmindsfanfic #criminalmindsxreader #emilyprentissxreader

[thegirlwithataser]

Garvez and How They Treat One Another

So the thing that struck me most about Luke and Penelope's interactions in this episode, specifically the scene in the briefing room where they talk about Penelope seeing Tyler, is the way that Luke treats Penelope versus the way that she treats him.

Luke was clearly about to yell at her, but she looked so small and scared that he literally swallowed his words. He told her that she was in the wrong, but he was incredibly gentle about it. He had every right to get extremely mad at her, but he didn’t play it that way, because he cares about her and her feelings so much.

But on the opposite end of the spectrum, Penelope has no regard for his feelings at all. He tells her that it’s too much for him to be hearing her talk about her sex life and she says “i know” but then just… keeps doing it. The whole scene, basically all she talks about is how good the sex is (which is a super weird thing to be focusing on in the moment anyway but that's a point for another time). Luke is very careful with his words, even though he's mad, but she just keeps talking even once he asks her to stop.

An in depth look at Luke and Penelope's treatment of one another throughout the show, as well as an analysis of Luke specifically on the date, below the cut.

And the thing is, is that this is such a pattern for Luke. When we first met him, one of his very first interactions with the other characters was with Garcia in the elevator. She’s uncomfortable and extremely short with him. She snaps and rolls her eyes, and he lets her.

This is literally acknowledged in the show. After she meets Roxy, she admits to thinking he was big headed and macho, and he said “I know.” And she’s shocked and confused, and he says. “I know you didn’t want to like me at first.”

Luke clocked her extreme hatred of change immediately. He recognized that his joining of the team immediately after her best friend left was a big change for her, and even without knowing her well at all, figured out that she needed space and time to deal with it. So he let her. He even made it easier on her by playing into it at certain points. He let her tease him and occasionally be genuinely mean, because he knew that this was her way of dealing with the change.

Luke is incredibly perceptive and also ridiculously kind. It's who he is with everyone, but it is most blatantly obvious with Penelope. Again, he barely knew her, and this was a huge change for him too. But he figured her out immediately and then made a conscious decision to let her do what she needed to do.

He does this repeatedly throughout the entire time that they have known one another. Even after they get to know each other and her teasing loses it’s genuine edge, he still lets her take out her stress on him. In the episode “Saturday”, Garcia is incredibly stressed out, and she snaps at him for saying something that made complete sense (“Shut up shut up! Just because you look like that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want with this part of your face”) and he just laughs it off. At the end of the episode, when she thanks him for going out of his way to help, she purposely makes it seem like it had nothing to do with her, because acknowledging that Luke cares enough about her to do that would be too much in that moment. Again, Luke lets her. It’s very clear that he knows what she’s doing, but he doesn’t correct her.

Even when other people point it out, he plays it off. When JJ asks “What did you do to her?” he laughs and brushes it off.

We know that Luke doesn’t love when Penelope is mean to him because in the episode where he’s not allowed out in the field, Emily tells him that he has to work the case with Garcia, and he grins. He’s clearly happy with that, but then Penelope finds out, and reacts by saying “Ugh, fine” and making a face at him, and his smile immediately drops. He gives Emily a sarcastic “thanks” and makes a face of his own. So we know he doesn’t love it when her teasing trips into meaner territory, but he always, always, just lets her do it.

Luke is also the first person to bring up the toll that the job takes on her. He’s the one that goes to her office in the episode with the snuff films, already planning on watching it himself to get what they need. And when Garcia says that he doesn’t need to, that she already did it, he’s immediately concerned. He points out that she doesn’t even look at crime scene photos, something that everyone knew, but had never brought up before.

Everyone else loves Penelope, and they’re aware that she’s more sensitive to the gore of their job than they are, but they never say anything about it. Luke is the first to bring it up, and he asks her if she’s okay. When she brushes it off, and makes it clear that she doesn’t want to talk about it, it is extremely obvious that he’s concerned about that response, but he bites his tongue and once again, he lets her.

Specifically with that moment, we know he’s concerned. It would make him feel better to talk to her about it and actually make things better, but to Luke it doesn’t matter that talking to her about it and helping her feel better would ease his concern. That’s not what she wants in the moment, so he lets her get away with it.

Luke is constantly tracking how Garcia is feeling and reacting accordingly. For example, he brings her a little cat figurine when she's been upset because he knows that it will cheer her up.

At the start of the season, he feels guilty going to Penelope for help when he knows how good it’s been for her to not be involved, but they quite literally had no choice. He apologizes repeatedly for having to ask, he distracts her from the stress by telling her that she’s been totally irreplaceable at the BAU, he apologizes to her for Rossi’s behavior, and he is explicit in his gratitude for her help and tells her that she’s the best, because she needs to hear it.

He encourages her to tell Emily her idea about Green, he’s incredibly supportive of her and pushes when she needs it. He is completely just her cheerleader in that scene, and he keeps an incredibly close eye on her the whole time they’re working together in that episode.

When she’s on a conference call with the team, he’s the one that comments on the noise in the background and expresses his concern for her. He’s the one that asks about it because he wants to know what’s going on with her and make sure that she’s okay.

Even with the date, Luke is the one going out of his way to make conversation. It’s clearly awkward, but he was trying so hard. He started every little mini conversation, and he didn’t say anything about it not going well, not until she did. Even his agreement with her when she says that it feels clunky feels like they're having two different conversations. He's clearly relieved that that they're in agreement that it's awkward, but the next thing that he says is "but why? I mean, it's not like this when we're at work." Not that he doesn't have feelings for her, not that dating is a bad idea, he's wondering why they're so awkward on this date. He is saying that they're able to hangout and have fun with each other usually, so why is it different now? But Penelope goes a completely different route.

She says "I find it very hard to have a conversation with you when I am not dunking on you." (which is a mean thing to say considering they've had plenty of serious conversations) Luke's face completely changes. The warmth he'd had from a moment ago fades and he's literally speechless for a moment and then the only response he has is a half-hearted "That is cold." which should have been a joke, but he doesn't laugh. And then as Penelope is saying "With us, there absolutely is something there, but not that" he is shaking his head and he's no longer smiling. If he were shaking his head to agree with her, there would still be some remnants of relief on his face, but he just looks sad. After she says that she knows his person is out there, he looks down at the table, shakes his head, and when he looks back up, he looks completely dejected and asks "Where?" almost helplessly. His voice and the way he looks are both completely lost. Even his small laugh lands as pain instead of humor.

He doesn't add anything at all to that whole part of the conversation. He doesn't agree with her, he doesn't share his own feelings, he just lets her do all the talking. When she says “now that I know you’re not trying to get me drunk” he doesn’t become defensive and insist that that’s not what was happening and he would never do that, even though we all know that Luke Alvez is not that guy and he would have been well within his rights to take offense to that comment. He lets her say it, because she needs to say something to get herself back on solid ground, and he knows this about her, so he lets her get away with it. Again. He kind of huffs out a weak laugh, and then, in a voice that is completely different to how he was speaking to her before all of that, this one much softer and subdued, he says "Well okay, whatever it takes." He's smiling, but it doesn't reach his eyes even a little, but Garcia is grinning and she giggles.

The moment where she says that she can't talk to him without making fun of him also makes his reaction in episode 8 to her not teasing him when there was a perfect opportunity especially notable. He knows because of her own admission that she is at her most comfortable around him when she’s making fun of him, and so he is immediately caught off guard when she is nice and doesn’t take the opportunity to dunk on him.

Luke is always paying attention to Penelope. To what she says, what she wants, what she needs. He goes out of his way all the time to cater to it. He puts himself aside for her every. single. time.

On the plane when she gets upset about Tyler, we know Luke is upset with her, but he reaches out and physically offers her comfort anyways. In the forrest he’s more focused on her and making sure that she is okay than he is on finding Rossi or Green. He is at her side the entire time, only a few steps behind her when they do find Green.

All of this isn’t to say that Penelope is a bad person, I don’t think she is. I think that she’s been incredibly selfish this season, and I don’t think that this characterization of her is a good way to go, but I don't think Penelope Garcia is actually a bad person.

The thing with Luke, though is that they’ve taken her previous attitude towards him and pushed it beyond what it ever actually was. Yes, Penelope loves to tease him, but she's had plenty of genuine moments with him as well, which is why the line from the date makes no sense and was even a little cruel in the context of the larger picture. We know that Penelope thinks Luke is wonderful, she says it on the date, but I think she takes him for granted. He does all of these things for her, and sure a lot of them are unspoken and subtle, but they still make a huge difference. I don’t know if she doesn’t notice or if she’s just never thought about it, but she takes all of it, everything he is for her, everything he does, completely for granted.

Penelope has the capacity to be wonderful right back to Luke. She’s this incredibly kind person with a huge heart. All of her emotions are always so big. She cares so much about everything and everyone. She loves so deeply and so fully. And that’s what really gets me about all of this, because Penelope is that way about everyone else, but Luke is that way about her. She puts that care and that heart out into the world with so much intensity, but Luke puts that care and heart into her. If she would only recognize it, see it for what it is, see how wonderful and rare it is to find someone who treats you like that. Someone who loves you so much that he is willing to put everything to the side for you, to go out of his way for you over and over and over again, without expecting anything in return. Because he doesn't ever ask her for anything more than what she is willing to give.

And that's what would make Luke and Penelope so insanely wonderful. If she would just treat him the way that he treats her, then it wouldn't be so one sided. The worst part is that Penelope Garcia is more than capable of putting just as much care and love into Luke as he does for her.

But she doesn’t. And I can’t for the life of me understand why.

[batrachised]

I'm rereading Emily's Quest and Ilse/Perry's romantic resolution is hands down one of my favorite parts of the whole entire series, what are your thoughts on them together and the complicated love square between Emily, Teddy, Ilse and Perry?

you can't see it, but I'm throwing back my head and laughing maniacally, for o poor innocent anon - I do not know if you are aware and you might be, but this discussion happened several months ago and I learned (while having the time of my life) that people have strong and conflicting opinions on Emily of New Moon. Never have my lm montgomery posts gotten so much traction. I'm more than happy to talk about my thoughts here, but if you're looking for more, I suggest searching the emily of new moon tag on tumblr or on my blog. (Poor Teddy did not fare well, let's just say that).

Ilse and Perry's relationship is a really sharp contrast to Emily's and Teddy's to me tonally. Although this isn't necessarily reflected on the individual level, I feel like Ilse and Perry's is defined by this activeness/aggression, and Emily's and Teddy's is defined by this passiveness. Ilse and Perry get into fights; Teddy and Emily ignore each other for years. Ilse verbally attacks Perry to his face because she's too proud to admit she loves him; Emily ignores Teddy's whistle and ices him out. This doesn't necessarily trickle down to the character level (I would not describe Emily Byrd Starr as a passive and quiet person lol), but squinting at the relationships, these are overall impressions.

In this neapolitan ice cream mix of personalities, you get so many different combos. (Ilse/Perry, Ilse/Teddy, Emily/Perry (he wishes)..the list goes on). I love how you describe it as a love square, because it really only stops short of Ilse and Emily dating each other, and even then, their friendship plays just as a significant a role as the actual romantic relationships. It would be as if in Anne, Phil did decide to go for Gilbert because well, Anne has repeatedly said she's not interested. That would layer their relationship in an entirely different way, and that's what happens with Emily and Ilse. It would also give us a different impression of Gilbert, choosing to date one of Anne's best friend after expressing romantic interest in Anne repeatedly.

I think the love square kind of fits Emily's tone as a whole - Emily's books don't have the innocence - or perhaps a better word is earnestness - that Anne's do. That friend group is messy. Ilse knows Emily likes Teddy but goes around with Teddy, Emily knows Ilse likes Perry but Perry is in love with her, Teddy is in love with Emily but still choose to date Ilse...it's less a square and more a three dimensional rhombus that's caving in on itself. (floating somewhere in this stew of hormones is dean too, to make matters all the more complicated)

As for each individual couple - your ask didn't ask this, and it's already been discussed at length (see first paragraph) so I'll limit my thoughts on Teddy and Emily as It Would Have Been Nice if Teddy Talked, At Least Sometimes. We barely see them interact, and it weakens the pairing in my eyes considerably.

All the more because we have this passive conflict right next to Ilse's and Perry's very active one, although that's usually seen at a narrative distance (ie through Emily referencing it in her diary). I think Ilse's and Perry's romantic resolution suits them very well - Ilse is someone who has had free reign to do what she wants her entire life, who was neglected then spoiled rotten, and who is temperamental to say the least. Her leaving Teddy at the altar to flee to Perry's bedside is completely in character for her, along with her needing a wake-up call on the level of death haha. It's suitably dramatic and over the top for someone who is very dramatic. It also neatly embarrasses Teddy, who, if my memory serves, needed some emotional walloping at that point as well.

The thing about Ilse and Perry though, is that almost all of their interactions happen offscreen. Their fights, reunion, and married life all happen off screen. In fact, both the 'endgame' couples are marked by this. You get more interaction between Perry and Emily than Perry and Emily, and really, it almost feels like you get more interaction between Teddy and Ilse than Emily and Teddy. I love the Emily books, but they do leaving me wanting more in that respect, especially because these characters are so compelling. I want to read the scene where Perry who is half conked out in bed sees Ilse in all her bridal glory crash through his hospital room door! I want to read more than the 1-2 conversations we get between Emily and Teddy! It's interesting, though, because a lot of what we do see is narrated by Emily in her diary; in a way, Emily is telling her own story to us as she sees fit.