#got a fig of him today . love that guy a lot

[nutsack90]

redrew my fav skybound panels

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Interventions Part One

Season Two Episode Six

Dr. Spencer Reid x Reader (Aaron Hotchner’s Sister)

Words: 6275

Series Masterlist

Summary: Y/N spirals out of control. Spencer and Aaron recruit the whole team to help. 

Notes: This one is going to be crazy long, but I’m really excited to dive into each relationship the reader has with everyone on the team. I was really planning on making this one part to keep the season nine episodes, but I thought, fuck it. There’s so much to go over in this. I was going to do more with JJ, but since she wouldn’t actually be there, I shortened it, but I think it still conveys the importance of their friendship. Obviously, both of these parts are going to jump scenes a lot, but I hope it’s still clear. 

Warnings: Alcoholism, suicidal thoughts/actions, depression, PTSD, etc. (both of these are going to be pretty intense, so ye have been warned)

-

He carried it with him. The envelope, though thin, it weighed in his pocket every day like a stone pressed against his heart. It was too painfully familiar, the sweeping letters of his name. The note left by Jason Gideon haunted yours, the sting of abandonment fogging Spencer’s mind with more emotions than he knew how to handle. 

It’d been three days since everyone got back from Los Vegas. Three days since he saw you, or even heard from you. The worry was making it hard to work. He had no idea where you were or if you were okay. He didn’t even have it in him to be angry. He just wanted you to come home. 

Of course, the team noticed the youngest member’s change in behavior, but everyone assumed he was still recovering from the case with his father. Only Hotch suspected something else was wrong. 

He hadn’t heard from you either. 

The whole morning, everyone worked in a tense silence, like they were all waiting for a bomb to go off, but they didn’t know when. Emily darted back and forth between her desk and Hotch’s. She feigned a series of questions about cases, but really she was just checking to make sure he was okay. She’d noticed he’d seemed more stressed than usual lately and figured it was because of worrying about you. Of course, everyone was worried about you. Morgan had asked about you more than usual and Emily hadn’t quite figured out why. 

It was around one, right after everyone got back from lunch- whoever decided to leave- that the said bomb hit. 

“Guys,” Prentiss said, eyes glued to the news playing on the television. 

“Pine River Psychiatric Hospital outside Oregon City, Oregon has released a statement today announcing the death of mass murderer, Lydia Y/L/N, the woman responsible for what the press called ‘The Birthday Cake Killings,’” the anchor announced.

 The room went silent. Reid was frozen in his chair and his hands started to shake. Hotch came out of his office and watched with them.

 “Lydia Y/L/N killed six teenage girls at her daughter’s birthday party in the spring of 1998. She pleaded insanity and was sentenced to life in psychiatric care. Y/L/N leaves behind her daughter, the only victim to have survived the murders-”

Hotch muted the television. 

“Oh my god,” Prentiss exclaimed. “Does Y/N know?” 

Hotch nodded. “They would have called her first. She’s Lydia’s only next of kin.” He turned to Reid who hadn’t stopped staring at the TV. “Reid, did you see her this morning? Did she seem-”

“She left me,” Reid said, almost to himself, but loud enough for Morgan to hear. 

“What?” Morgan boomed. “What do you mean, she left you?” 

Reid spoke quietly like a broken man trying to find the pieces. “The night we got back from…�� he took a deep breath and finally turned around to find everyone’s anxious gazes burning into him. “From Las Vegas, I found this on her desk.” He pulled the note out of his jacket pocket, looking down at his name in your beautiful handwriting. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Morgan asked. 

“I didn’t think I needed to announce the condition of my love life, and frankly, I wasn’t ready to talk about it,” he fired back. “I figured she would’ve told you,” he added, looking up at Hotch. 

“She didn’t,” Hotch said. A thick, heavy feeling of dread filled his chest like molten metal. 

“Damnit!” Morgan yelled, kicking his chair back. It hit the floor with a deafening crash. 

Rossi came out of his office. “What’s going on?” 

“Y/N’s mom died,” Prentiss answered, still shocked by her partner’s outburst.

“Is Y/N okay? Does she know?” He asked.  

“You don’t understand,” Morgan sighed. He took a moment to calm himself down and let his gaze dart between Hotch and Reid. “Y/N’s drinking again.” 

A tense heaviness sank into everyone in the room. In a blink, Reid had crossed to Morgan, his hands gripping the other agent’s shirt. 

“How long have you known and not told anyone?” Reid snapped. 

Morgan was taken aback. He’d never seen the kid like this before. Reid had never been violent with someone else on the team before, but the fierce anger on his face told Morgan just how serious he was. 

He put his hands on his shoulders slowly, trying to urge his hands away from him. “I only found out when I called her to come to Vegas, okay? I was trying to give her the chance to tell you herself, but I think it’s been going on for a while.” 

“Do you have any idea what this means for her?” Reid said, the anger cracking to reveal his panic. “Do you know how much pain she must be in? And now, her mom is…”

“Reid,” Hotch said sharply. 

Reid let go, but Morgan kept his hands on his arms. 

“We’ll find her.”

The two men looked at each other, a shared guilt between them. Morgan knew, if he’d just told Hotch and Reid about you, they could have stopped you from leaving. 

Spencer berated himself for not noticing the signs. He should have seen it. He should have helped you. 

And now you were gone. 

It was like Fairfax all over again, except now, the only villain they would be facing was the one inside of your head. The demons you’d never shared. 

-

JJ

You didn’t know why you answered the phone. You’d been ignoring calls all day and almost turned it off altogether, but the name that came up stopped you. Maybe you thought it was somehow poetic. 

“Hey JJ.”

“Y/N, hi. I-um-I just heard and I want to see how you’re doing.” 

“You know, I didn’t think Aaron would stoop as low as to use the new mother to babysit.” Your words swam in your head as much as they stumbled out of your mouth. 

“I’m not calling for your brother. I want to make sure you’re doing okay.”

“Oh, I’m doing great. I’m curled up, watching stupid Christmas movies about stupid families with stupid mothers who make stupid dinners for their perfectly stupid kids. I’m having a great morning. You?” 

She paused. “Sweetie, how much have you had to drink?” 

“I don’t know why you guys are making a big deal about this,” you huffed. “It’s not like you were there the first time. You don’t know. Maybe I’ve changed. I’m not the woman you met and trusted into your family. Killing someone does that.” You didn’t mean for the last part to slip out, but the liquor loosened your lips. 

“You’re right. We weren’t there,” she said. “But we’re here now. You have people who care about you, Y/N. We just want to help you.” 

You stared at the tv, absentmindedly watching a mother and daughter decorate Christmas cookies. You imagined them licking the frosting off of the spoons and collapsing in a seizing, gasping heap. Just like you and your mom used to. 

“I need you to do something for me, JJ.” You finally said. 

“Of course. Anything.” 

“You’re the front man. Hell, you’re the first person I met that day. You were so sweet and smiley and wonderful.”

 Your words held no bitterness, but a kind of melancholy. Like you were mourning for a life lost. The life where the two of you were friends, where Spencer smiled at being made godfather of her son, and you could look on with something other than total despair in your chest. You could resume pretending that you were a part of their family. 

“You’re the one that looks through everything and decides what cases to present, right?” 

Her tone tinted with confusion. “Yeah.”

“Tell them I’m not one of your cases.” 

“Y/N, wait-”

You hung up the phone. 

-

“Okay. Thanks JJ,” Reid sighed. He leaned his head back against the hallway wall, taking a break from his pacing. He tried calling you again, but no answer. 

JJ said you didn’t sound good. He felt bad for bringing her into this- she should be relaxing at home with Henry and Will, but he knew that she would have driven to the BAU and yelled at him for not keeping her in the loop. 

He knew JJ saw you as more of a sister than just a friend. She was worried. Everybody was. 

“Was that JJ?” Prentiss asked. “What’d she say?” 

“That Y/N is drinking and she’s afraid it’s going to get worse,” he said. “Y/N told her that she’s changed. She doesn’t think she deserves to be a part of us anymore.” He paused and ran his hand down his face. “Because she killed Sarah Cunningham.” 

“She thinks she’s becoming her mother,” Prentiss nodded mournfully. “And now, she’ll never get the closure of coming to terms with it because her mother died.” 

“Morgan should have said something,” Reid snapped. “He knew. He could have- I don’t know- maybe if we’d known we could have stopped her from leaving.” 

Prentiss crossed her arms. “Come on, Reid. You aren’t really mad at him and you know it. This is about something else.” 

He stared at her for a moment, shoulders sinking, and started pacing again. “I should have seen it. I knew something was off, but I didn’t do anything and now-”

“Woah woah woah,” she said, holding a hand out to stop him. “This is not your fault, okay? Y/N would have been careful. She understands behavior just as well as we do. She would know exactly what to hide from you, from Hotch, from everybody.” 

“But I should have seen through it,” he shook his head, voice cracking from the pressure building in his chest. “I didn’t even go after her. She left me that letter and I assumed it was because of Vegas. I thought I’d become too much for her and she left just like-” 

He stopped himself. He didn’t even know who he meant at this point. So many people had left him already. The thought of losing you… it piled on with the rest until he couldn’t see anything else anymore. 

Prenitss’ face softened. “Spencer…” 

“I don’t know what to do,” he cried. “When I almost lost her before, we had a villain, something to go after. Now,” His hands floundered helplessly at his sides. He needed to do something. “She doesn’t want to be found.” 

Emily took the younger agent in her arms and hid her own heartbroken expression in his shoulder. It felt like the team had lost one of their own and, in a way, she thought maybe they had. But she refused to accept that. 

Emily Prentiss, of all people, knew what it was like to protect the people you love from your past. And as her mind started running with the connections, she let Reid go, keeping a hand on his shoulder. 

“We’re going to find her,” she said. “She’s going to be okay. Y/N’s one tough woman, even if she doesn’t see that right now. We have to help her find herself.” 

He nodded and returned to his pacing while Prentiss formed a plan. 

-

Dave- Six years ago

Your arm hung limply in the sling across your chest and the soreness of every motion only made the red tint of embarrassment on your cheeks grow. 

The man sat across from you in a chair in the corner. He flipped absently through a magazine, gazing up every once in a while. 

“I remember you, you know,” you finally said after the silence became unbearable. “You were at my high school graduation reception. You only stayed, like, two minutes, but I saw you there. You’re David Rossi. I’ve read your books.” 

“I would hope you remembered me,” he scoffed, putting the magazine aside. “Who do you think that generous gift came from?” The man smirked and crossed his arms, eyeing you in a way that reminded you of your brother every time you snuck out. “So… wanna talk about how you got here?” 

“Where’s Aaron?” You asked, avoiding his question. 

“Being processed.” 

You nodded, only snippets of the past few hours recovered in your memory. “Right.” You shifted back against the hospital bed pillow and winced. Hangovers and broken bones definitely didn’t mix. You blew out a breath. “That was stupid.” 

“I’ll say,” Former Agent Rossi said. 

You rolled your eyes. “I meant Aaron. He could get fired for something like that, right?” 

“I doubt he will be. Professor Douche isn’t pressing charges so he can keep this all under wraps. Besides, most people in the bureau would have done the same thing,” he glowered. “I know I would have.” 

“Brian isn’t a bad man. He’s brilliant and he’s helped me through-”

“He’s writing a book, Y/N,” Dave blurted. 

You looked away, the reason you drank pouring back into your memory. You’d found the pages on his desk and downed a few glasses of wine, finished a bottle of vodka, and half a bottle of absinthe, by the time he came back to his house. You screamed at him until you fell down a flight of stairs. 

Dave’s face softened with sympathy. “He was using you for content, sweetheart.” 

“That’s not…” You still couldn’t lift your gaze. “That’s not why I did it.” 

He took a seat on the edge of the bed and for some reason, you welcomed his presence. In your years of building up distrust for everyone, this man- basically a stranger- already felt so familiar. 

“I know,” he said. 

“My uncle drowned himself in a bottle of Jack. I haven’t seen him since I graduated, but it’s still, I don’t know. When you don’t have much family, every member counts, right?” You finally looked up at him and found he was listening intently. “That’s why I went over to Brian- Dr. Calvin’s house. I have a key so I let myself in and found the manuscript on his desk.” You didn’t know why you were telling him all this. Maybe you knew, if Aaron trusted him, then you could too. 

He didn’t say anything for a while, only nodded in understanding. After a while, he finally spoke. “You know, I’ve been through a lot with your brother in the years we worked together.” He paused, making sure you understood the importance of what he was about to say. “When he called me tonight, I'd never heard him so scared. Believe me. The broken nose was deserved.” 

You laughed humorlessly, hating the fact that he was right. When you were loaded into the ambulance, you remembered Brian worrying about how he’d look. He screamed at you for bringing him into your problems. He wasn’t anything like the person you’d fallen in love with. Your brother had just seen that all along. 

“You’re a legend in profiling, right?” You said. 

He raised a brow. “I don’t know if ‘legend’ is the word I would use.” He chuckled. “Why?” 

You turned your head to the window. Your lip quivered as the pieces and fractures of memory kept coming back to you. 

“Why do I do it?” When you looked back at him, tears filled your vision. “I mean, I saw what it did to Uncle Robbie. I’ve seen it since I was a kid and I let it happen to me anyway. I welcomed it. Why?” 

“There’s a lot of reasons people turn to alcohol and drugs, especially after going through something like you did,” he said. “It makes sense that maybe you saw a kind of relief your uncle got from it so you tried to find it for yourself.” 

“Is there something wrong with me, Mr. Rossi?” You cried. “For the past four years, I’ve been trying to figure it out. I tried to drink it away, but it just made things worse. I don’t know what to do.”

He put a hand on top of yours. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Y/N. You survived something nobody should ever have to go through. Your entire life changed. Hell, you found out there was another half to your family you didn’t even know about. And you still graduated top of your class. You’ve pushed yourself so hard to prove to yourself that you aren’t that girl anymore that you split yourself in two.” 

You closed your eyes, the tears finally spilling out. You never realized it before. All this time, you’ve spent studying to figure out why your mom did what she did that you never thought to turn what you’d learned on yourself. You were overcompensating in one side of your life and crashing in the other. 

Dave held your hand a little tighter. “It’s time to become whole again.”

-

Although he didn’t show it, Aaron felt sick. The panic had knotted his insides and clouded his head with images of his little sister lying on a motel floor somewhere, choking on your own bile or with a gun in your hand. 

He hated himself for not realizing sooner. He knew the signs. He’d spent two years with you getting through your addiction. The overcompensating and avoidance made sense now. You knew, of all of the people in this office, he’d see through it and he failed. 

“She’ll be okay,” Rossi said from his seat in the corner. “She was before. She’ll find a way back.” 

Hotch shook his head. “This time is different. When Robbie died, she lost a connection to her past self. She mourned the person she used to be, but she came out of it. Now, she lost any amount of closure she could have gotten,” he sighed. “She never went and saw her, you know. Not since the trial. She said she always meant to, to understand, but she could never bring herself to do it. Now, she can’t.” 

“And with what happened in Fairfax…” Rossi blew out a breath. “She thinks there’s nothing now to stop her from becoming like Lydia.” 

“Without her mother as a tether, she thinks there’s nothing stopping her from losing herself entirely. It’s why she left Reid, why she’s been avoiding me,” Hotch said, a tone of helplessness making his voice darken. “She’s protecting us from what she thinks she’s inevitably becoming.” 

Rossi nodded and stood. He walked to the Unit Chief’s desk and put a hand on the edge. “It’s up to us to remind her that’s not what she is. And then we’ll bring her home.” 

A quiet knock at the door interrupted their thoughts. Morgan stood, tension evident in the stiff way he held his shoulders. Like the springs inside of him were waiting to break. Hotch dismissed Rossi with a nod. 

The older agent left and closed the door behind him. 

Morgan shifted uncomfortably. “Garcia tried tracking Y/N’s phone, but she’s got it blocked off somehow.”

“I helped her do that,” Hotch sighed, running a hand down his face. “I didn’t want her to have to worry about fans or copycats trying to get to her. You know what the press was like.”

“Arnold Owens was a real piece of work,” Morgan nodded. “I can’t imagine what that was like for her.” 

“It wasn’t easy, but she was always a tough kid.” The other agent made for the door, but Hotch stopped him. “Have a seat.” 

Morgan clenched his jaw, took a deep breath, and took the chair across from Hotch, the deep sense of dread now mixing with his guilt. 

Hotch centered his gaze on Morgan, the seriousness of his expression softened by the sincerity in his eyes. 

“I don’t blame you for what happened in Fairfax,” Hotch said. 

Of the things Derek was expecting, that was not on the list. He just sat there, blinking for a moment. “I didn’t think that you…” There wasn’t any point in lying, so his voice trailed off. 

“I don’t blame you, Morgan. Owens was the more pressing threat. You couldn't have known the Cunninghams were waiting for her. It wasn’t your fault. Nobody thinks that, including Y/N. I know how you’ve carried it with you. I know you think that’s the reason I’ve been so hard on you and I need you to know, now, that it isn’t.” 

Morgan looked at his hands, clasped in his lap. “I know I should have said something about her drinking, and I’m sorry I didn’t.”

“She asked you not to and you trusted that she would make the decision on her own to seek help. And she might have, had her mother not passed away. That isn’t your fault either.” Hotch leaned forward on his desk. 

The average person may not have noticed the change in his face, the slight hint to just how worried he really was, but Morgan did.

 “I’m telling you this because I need you to have a clear head for all of this,” Hotch said. “I’m afraid you and Prentiss are the only ones who can. You saw what it’s already doing to Reid and I…” He swallowed. “I’ve seen what she’s been through before and I’m afraid this time is only going to be worse. If we all close in on her, I don’t know what she’ll do.” 

Morgan stood with new determination. “I’ll have Garcia work a new angle.” 

“I’ll be right out,” Hotch said. “I need to call Haley in case Y/N said anything to her.” 

“Wherever Y/N is, Hotch, I’m not gonna rest until I bring her back and get her help.” Morgan opened the door and stepped back out to the bullpen, finding Reid still pacing in the hall and Prentiss’ chair empty.

-

Emily

The Christmas movies continued as you downed another glass. You fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling while your hand reached for underneath the pillow. You stopped halfway, rolling your head to the side and switching your focus to the fabric on the chair. 

Somehow, your legs managed to bring you to the chair and your fingers latch onto the scarf. The soft, purple material made you feel more than you want it to. The guilt. The loneliness. The wish to have him here now like nothing happened. But that was selfish. 

Your mind traveled back to what laid underneath your pillow. 

A soft knock at the door brought you back. 

You groaned quietly and sat back down on the bed, hoping they’d just go away. The manager had checked up on you a couple of times just to make sure you paid, so it was probably just him again, even though you’d paid out for the next few days. 

“Y/N, it’s me.” 

Emily? 

“Crap,” you muttered, but the word itself hardly formed on your lips. Maybe if you were quiet enough, she’d go away. 

“Come on, I know it’s you. Open the door,” Emily boomed. She knocked again, this time louder. It made your head pound. 

“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” you winced. You made your way to the door, tripping slightly on the chair leg. You kept the chain locked and cracked the door open. “Hey Emily.”

She grimaced and put a hand down her nose. “God, you look like hell.” 

“What’re you doing here?” You slurred through the words and swayed on your feet. 

“Can I come in?” 

“I don’t think that’s-” The turning in your stomach cut you off. You slammed the door shut and unlatched the chain. 

“Okay, this is how we’re doing this,” Emily sighed, hurrying after you, hearing the sounds of you vomiting in the bathroom. 

She sat beside you and held your hair as if you were college girls at a party. The hand on your back soothed your sickness until you were able to sit up again. 

“I never had a big sister,” you muttered through your haze. 

Emily didn’t say anything. It broke her heart to see the strong woman she’d come to know reduced to a scared girl on the floor of a sleazy motel bathroom. She could see in your eyes, behind the drunken trance, the despair you were trying to forget. Wrapped around your hand, a long purple scarf was carefully kept off of the floor and in your lap. Even intoxicated, you seemed to protect it. 

“Isn’t it stupid?” You said, noticing her eyes on the scarf. “I stole it. His favorite scarf. I just wanted something I could hold, you know? He’s probably looking for it. Will you give it back to him?” You held it out to her with sad eyes and pouting lips. 

She lifted you off the floor. “No.”

“Why not?” 

“Because you are going to give it to him yourself,” she said. “After we sober you up, so come on.” 

“But I don’t want-”

She pushed you into the shower and turned on the stream of freezing water, ignoring your squeals of protest, only now taking the scarf from your hand. You stood in the spray of icy cold and could feel. 

You got out of the shower and were sick again. After that, Emily decided you seemed conscious enough and took you back into the room, helping you change out of your soaked clothes and forcing a glass of water down your throat. The water was followed by coffee and you switched back and forth between the two. It must have been an hour of just that. No questions. No words. Just water and coffee. 

“Why are you here?” You finally asked, pulling the blanket around your shoulders tighter.

“You’ve got a lot of worried people back home. You know that.” Emily thought back to Reid’s trance over the past few days, his terror as he paced. She handed you the scarf. 

You sniffed. “He hates me now, doesn’t he?” You abandoned him with nothing more than a note- just like his dad, just like Gideon. You didn’t even have the decency to say goodbye. At the time, you just hoped he’d never have to see you again. 

“He misses you.” 

You closed your eyes, rubbing the fabric back and forth in your hands, as if you could conjure his comfort. When you opened them again, you were still just in the motel room, sitting across from Emily’s pitying eyes. 

You blew out a long breath. “How did you even know how to find me?” 

Her expression darkened and she looked down for a moment before returning to your gaze. “Because I’d do the same thing.” This was the part she was afraid of, but she swallowed and kept a straight face. “Now… where is it?” 

You froze, fingers tightening around the scarf. You could deny it. You could say you didn’t know what she meant. But what was the point? 

Emily held out her hand. You leaned back, reached underneath the pillow, and pulled out the gun. She took it slowly, as if reaching too fast would scare you into shooting it. With one hand, she tucked it into her waistband behind her, and with the other she reached for yours. 

“I need to know- I’m not going to be upset with you- but,” she sighed, “did you come here to use this?” Her voice was filled with such sincerity, such concern, you knew you couldn’t lie. 

“I don’t know,” your words were surprisingly steady. “I just wanted to protect everyone.”

She nodded, understanding. “From you?” 

You didn’t say anything. You just turned your head to the window. She continued. 

“Y/N, I know what it’s like to be afraid of becoming just like your parents. Hell, half of the people in your life know what that’s like.” 

You scoffed. “It’s not the same thing.” 

“You’re right, it isn’t,” she said. “But I also know what it’s like to be so terrified of a part of yourself that you’d do anything to keep it hidden. You’d do anything to protect the people you love from the ugly, brokenness you feel.” She squeezed your hand a little tighter. “But all you’re going to do is hurt them.” 

Her words sunk into you like teeth, but the wall around your heart wouldn’t let them completely in. There was still that fear, the sense of inevitability that even her honest eyes couldn’t chase away. But it did make you realize something. You may not have had the strength, but you still needed a failsafe. Just in case she was wrong. 

You wiped the corner of your lip with the back of your hand. 

“I need you to call someone for me.” 

-

The office was buzzing with effort in trying to locate you. Everyone was working even harder since Prentiss just up and disappeared. 

“We know she must have gone to Fairfax,” Reid exclaimed. “Why can’t we just go find her?”

“This is all about protecting us from who she thinks she has become,” Hotch sighed. “If we charge after her, I’m afraid what measures she’d take to keep from ‘hurting’ us.” 

Reid stopped his furious scribbling on the map of the city. He turned to Hotch, wide eyed and terrified. “You don’t think she’d…”

“I think, if she’s pushed herself this close to the edge, then she’ll do anything if she believes it means not dragging us down with her.” 

Spencer let the marker fall to his side and leaned hopelessly back against the table. Statistics unmercifully filled his head. Connections between PTSD and suicide, alcholism and every other dark thought his stupid logical brain could conjure. He should have seen the signs if you had gotten this bad.

“She’s spent her whole life learning how to mask herself, Reid,” Hotch said, as if reading his mind. The older agent was thinking the same thing. He should have known you were avoiding him for a reason. 

“Guys,” Morgan rushed through the doorway, phone in his hand. “Prentiss found her.” He put the phone back to his ear and listened, expression contorting with confusion. “What are you talking about? Just bring her back.” 

Reid opened his mouth, but Morgan held up a hand to stop him. 

“Alright, alright. Text me the place and I’ll meet you there.” 

The shift in his tone made Reid and Hotch stop breathing. Hotch was the first to speak. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Morgan’s head tilted, bewildered. “Prentiss found her. Sobered her up as best she could. But she wants me to pick her up.” 

“What are we waiting for?” Reid exclaimed. “Let’s go.”

“Just me,” Morgan said. “Y/N said it’s important.” He shrugged and looked to Hotch for approval. 

Hotch nodded. “Go.”

Reid whipped his head around. “We aren’t going with him?” 

“If that’s what brings her back,” he sighed. “Yes.” 

- 

Derek

He spent the entire drive trying to wrap his head around it. Why him? Did you still think he was the only one who knew about the drinking? Why wouldn’t you want to see your brother? Or Reid, for that matter? Sure, there was a reason you left him, but of everyone in the BAU, why would you need him to come and get you. 

Derek pulled into the parking lot of the motel Prentiss sent him and spotted both of your cars in front of the room. Prentiss stood outside the door with a duffle bag and a grave expression. 

“Hey,” he greeted, getting out of his car. “What the hell is going on?” 

Prentiss shrugged. “She told me she wanted you to take her back so she could talk to you about something. She wouldn’t tell me what.” She turned to the office where you were checking out. “I’m just relieved she agreed to come back at all.” 

He blew out a long breath. “That bad, huh?” 

“I counted four empty bottles in that room,” she nodded. “And I found this.” Prentiss glanced around before pulling the gun out from her waistband. 

Derek looked down. 

“Do you think she was going to do it?” 

“Honestly…” She sighed. “I don’t think she’d see it as enough. She thinks she deserves this. Deserves being alone and miserable. She’s convinced herself that there isn’t a way out.” 

“Then why did she agree to come back at all?” He mused. 

You finished paying and walked back to where the two agents waited for you, Derek’s hard, worried face staring you down. You straightened your shoulders, determined. He was the only one that could do it. 

“Are we ready?” You asked, picking your duffle bag off of the ground. 

“I guess I’ll just meet you guys back in Quantico.” Emily said, gaze darting between the two of you. 

“Quantico?” You crossed your arms over your chest. “Why would I be going to Quantico?” 

“Because you called me to take you back and that’s where we’re going,” Derek said. 

You made no further argument and got in the car. 

The drive started in tense silence. You didn’t say a word, partially because every motion of the vehicle was making your head sway. You should have taken Emily up on her aspirin offer. 

“So are we gonna spend the next forty minutes in silence, or what?” He chided. 

“Why are you talking so loud?” You groaned, leaning your head against the cool window. 

“God, you’re really out of it still, aren’t you?” 

“I’m fine.” 

“Sweetheart, you just spent the last four days on a bender, scaring the hell out of everyone, and breaking Reid’s heart in the process, so fine is not exactly the word I would choose.” 

“This was a bad idea,” you muttered to yourself. Your head’s pounding increased. 

“You wanted me, you’ve got me, but I’m not gonna just drive you back so you can disappear again.” 

You put a hand to your forehead. “Please stop talking.”

“Why did you need me anyway? Do you have any idea what this has been doing to Reid-”

“Pull over.” 

“What?”

“Pull over, damnit.” The ferocity of your tone was all he needed and he quickly got to the side of the road in time for you to be sick again. 

Derek stopped the car and got out, walking around to the other side where you were crouched by the passenger door, hands on your knees to hold yourself up. 

“Great,” he exhaled, crossing his arms. 

“Yeah, well, alcohol poisoning’s a bitch, Derek. I would know.” You stood back up, almost laughing at the ridiculousness of it. Here you were, standing on the side of the road in a puddle of sick, with Derek Morgan’s famous big-brother-protective, but frustrated, gaze locked on you. 

The two of you stood there for a long time. It was just like the police station. His tough-love approach was familiar, almost comforting. It had to be him. 

He seemed to understand the shift in your gaze. “Why did you call me, Y/N?” He stepped towards you. 

“Because they love me too much,” you sighed, coming away from the car and the now soaked earth. 

“What?” 

“You’re the only one who will do it,” you said. “Because they love me too much.” 

 His eyes narrowed, trying to figure out what you meant. They widened again when he understood. “No.” 

“You’re the only one-”

“You can’t actually be serious,” he scoffed. 

“If I… change. If I do something to hurt them. I need you to-”

“That’s not how this works, Y/N. You know that. You’ve spent the last ten years studying it. You aren’t just going to wake up one day and turn into Lydia Y/L/N.” 

“I killed, Derek,” you cried. “I’m a killer. I’m already her.”

“Your mother suffered a severe psychotic break due to undiagnosed PTSD from your father’s abuse,” he said slowly. “Why are you so convinced that that’s who you are?”

“Because everything I touch dies!” 

Your hand hit his chest before you really knew what you were doing. You pushed again. 

“Arrest me.” 

“I’m not gonna do that.” 

You hit him again, this time harder. “Derek, arrest me. Stop me. Do something! Arrest me, damnit!”

“Y/N, stop.” 

“I can’t go back. You have to end it. I can’t- please- I can’t do it alone. Derek, please.”  

He caught you before you fell, holding you up against his chest as your arms fell defeated to your sides. Sobs muffled against him and tears stained his dark shirt. You kept muttering the same things over and over again until they didn’t make sense to you anymore. Derek lowered his voice to a persistent, caring whisper. 

“Y/N, running away isn’t going to save us. You can’t protect anyone by destroying yourself,” he sighed, keeping his arms locked around your shaking frame. “Or asking me to.”  

“You don’t- you don’t know that.” 

“I know you. And I know how crazy Reid and your brother are going right now worrying about you,” he said, still holding on. “They aren’t afraid of you, sweetheart. They’re afraid of losing you.” He pulled back, tucking a finger under your chin to lift your head. “If I don’t bring you back, that kid is going to lose his mind, you hear me?” He smiled slightly. “I know the fight you’ve got in your head isn’t one that I can just pull you out of, even though I want to. But that’s the thing, Y/N. You have to keep fighting.”

You closed your eyes, more tears cascading down your cheeks. He kissed your forehead. “Let’s take you home, okay? I talked to Garcia and she said we can use her office and you can tell me everything. Or you can say nothing. It’ll be up to you.” 

With a deep breath, you nodded, opened the car door and climbed inside. 

-

(I know I forgot to post last week, I'm sorry!)

The In-Betweens series: @amywright; shesoperfectt;  hereforsmutbcicantgetenough;  violetbossler;  hyper-half-blood;  i-bitch-you-bitch; xcastawayherosx; preciousbabypeter; @jori21; @sol-48;  @murdermornings ; @ staygoldsquatchling02; @ ara-a-bird

[pbandjesse]

I wish I could say I felt better today. And it wasn't as intense as it has been earlier this week but man was I uncomfortable and crazy fatigued. The heat did not help. But I was able to mostly push through and still have a pretty good day.

I slept alright. But I woke up incredibly sore. I have been using my weighted blankets a lot but I think my tossing plus the weight of the blanket may have bruised me somehow??

I would struggle getting ready. I was just really sore and tired. My hair seems dry and I don't know why. Once I was dressed I just sat in the floor and tried to pull myself together.

The market was fine. It was entirely to warm but in a weird way. James drove us there. Made me hashbrowns. I only ate one and gave them the other and then pretended to be upset that they ate it and we were giggling in the car.

When we got to the museum James helped me set up. I was being a little baby about being so tired and sore. I just wanted to sit down. And I struggled to set things up. It felt like everything was going wrong. Even though it was all silly little things. James still helped me and once I was set up I would mostly just sit in my chair and knit the whole morning.

James would be running around fixing things and making sure things were okay for everyone.

I would have some sales. A lot of stickers today! I need to order new stickers ASAP but we have to find a few supplier after sticker mule lost their minds a few weeks back. I would also like to draw some more designs soon too. I haven't been very productive. Specifically with how poorly I have felt I haven't really made anything! Besides knitting. But even that it starting to hurt my wrists something fierce. So I will have to slow down with that I guess.

I had some lovely interactions today. That o e family came that I have been talking to a lot lately. Their little girl went around my table and just stood in front of me and I tried to chat with her but she's like 2 so she didn't say much that first time. But the second time she talked back and it was very sweet. And the mom remembered all about my knitting project. Which a lot of people were interested in today and had questions about so that was really nice for me.

Del was one of the educators today and came out to chat with me. Sat on my camp couch and we talked and caught up. He's always such a nice man. I also talked to the security guard, Mo, who made a big fuss about thinking my temperature blanket was such a cool idea and he loved how me and James always have a second layer of why we do things and it made me feel very proud.

I would also talk to Ann about the fence. She is annoyed that our fence was not the fence we ordered and is going to make sure we get some money back. She is great. And I'm really glad she is helping us so much just making sure things are okay. I feel very lucky to have gotten to know her over the years.

I was very very ready to go though. And when Ann said we could all start packing up at noon she didn't have to tell me twice. I waited until others were starting to pack up but I was for sure the first one out of there. I was just so sick of being outside. The nausea had come back (after over an hour of being okay) and I wanted to give James a hug and go do my tasks.

And that is what I did. James would give me the things they bought at the market for our little cook out tomorrow. And then I was off.

I went to Glen Burnie and went to the value village. I dropped off my big box of shoes. The guy who worked there that helped me tried to flirt "you got an IG (Instagram)?" And I hit him with the "I got a husband." And his eyes got huge and he apologized and ran away. And it was very funny.

I would walk around the thrift for a little. I got James a framed newspaper headline collage about the Orioles. And got myself a pajama jumpsuit. And then I was off.

I really wanted garlic bread from mod pizza. So I would go and get that. Got confused on the parking lot but it was fine and I figured it out. I also got a little lemonade cake. I was able to eat half before I had to throw in the towel. I needed to go home.

It took about 25 minutes but I got back here. The sun was oppressive and terrible but I got the groceries James got me inside. Our neighbors, Sean and Victoria, are moving and today was the day!

Their door was open and so after I got my stuff inside I went to wish them luck and promised to move their garbage cans on Thursday so they didn't have to drive back here. Sean also showed me around their house so I could see how their layout is different. And I am jealous of their upstairs!! While it's only two bedrooms, they are obviously a much better size and they have two full bathrooms. Plush they have the original banister with decorative trim. The upstairs felt so much lighter. I would love that. I someday I want to knock down the one wall between the two back rooms. But that is a future project for sure.

After wishing them luck I came back in here and did some cleaning up and putting away. I vacuumed the frog tank. And pet Sweetp. Let him go roll around outside for a while. But eventually I would make him come in and went to take a shower.

After my shower I laid down and fell asleep. And I slept really hard. I don't even remember having dreams. I do remember James coming in and touching my hand. But when I woke up for real they were not home. They left me a very sweet note. That they loved me and would be back home from laundry soon.

And they would. And when they got back they babied me. Rubbed my legs that still hurt so bad. Made me an orange juice and frozen strawberry smoothie. Which made me feel bit as bad. But I still felt weak. Like my body was full of concrete. I feel heavy and sore and just so tired.

James would work on folding laundry and I would come lay on the couch. And eventually we would cuddle up to watch "interview with the vampire" which we ended up watching two episodes of and it is fantastic.

I have maybe talked about this before but I had a long standing beef with Anne Rice. I loved Queen of the damned when I was a kid. It was my favorite movie. But Anne Rice was rude to my mom and also all of her fanfiction taken down nonsense. So I decided to stop supporting her. But she's dead now so I win and I can enjoy the series and it's great and I am glad we are watching it together.

Now James is playing with sweetp, who has been very very needy and affectionate this week. And I am very ready to go clean up for bed.

Tomorrow we are having some friends over for a little cook out. And I'm looking forward to seeing people. Though I am very nervous about how I have been feeling and just falling apart on everyone. I am going to do my very best.

Sleep well everyone. I love you all. Goodnight

[callahanisms]

in the kitchen - hotd cast

blame my binging of epicurious for this one guys. (i also generally love to cook and bake so yeah)

funny enough i have a got cookbook in my cooking wishlist on amazon lol

when it comes to these headcanons, i tried my best to incorporate the worldbuilding from westeros since each character would have different tastes in cuisines (like alicent and criston, as primary examples). i have not read the books but hopefully i can do this justice.

ser criston cole

to the surprise of many, criston is very good in the kitchen. better to trust him with cooking over baking, but he’s a decent baker. his food has a lot of spices incorporated in them and it tends to be spicier than what most people aren’t used to. you will often find himself cooking late at night when no one else can interrupt him. he enjoys the quiet and to make some dornish comfort food that his mother used to make for him. more often than not, criston buys the spices and produce himself. he’s very particular about his fruit. kind of like an immigrant grandma or mom.

“evening (y/n). i did not know you would be up so late. it does so happen that i have made a little bit too much food for myself. would you like some? it’s roasted chicken with figs, olives, and some spices.”

daemon targaryen

daemon is not a bad cook? it’s really iffy considering that cooking and baking are things he never did. he doesn’t have much experience but somehow, he always manages to make something that tastes good. he definitely does not measure, definitely does not keep track of time. and somehow, it all comes together. he’s a little less chaotic when it comes to baking and the bread he’s made tastes really good. you’re always struggling to get a loaf from him.

“do you want some (y/n)? i slaved away for hours to make this. i promise it tastes good. at least that’s what my brother told me. don’t know if he’s lying or not.”

rhaenyra targaryen

rhaenyra is not a good cook. you have strictly been told to keep her away from the kitchen. there have been more than enough fires started when she’s tried. baking is a no good and the best she can do for cooking is just throwing stuff into a pot with some water and letting it simmer down into a stew. even then, she has managed to burn things before. better off letting someone else cook for rhaenyra.

“this is quite delicious (y/n). you have outdone yourself. perhaps you should come back to dragonstone with me just so i can have your cooking to myself.”

alicent hightower

alicent’s a homecook. she cooked more often when she was younger compared to being an adult. however, she has great technique. she much prefers baking considering the fact that it feels like she can exercise full control over the little thing she’s doing, which is opposite to her own life. definitely a stress baker and needs to do it when she’s alone so she can have time for herself. it’s her version of self care. she also is very picky about produce and comes into her children’s room unannounced with cut fruit. (there is no argument about this, i’m sorry)

“(y/n), dear, i noticed you were looking a little pale today. so i cut up some blood oranges from dorne and made some pigeon stew for you. remember to eat, okay? chasing aegon should be your priority after you nourish yourself.”

aegon targaryen

aegon seems to have inherited his sister’s skills because this man cannot be trusted in a kitchen. he has definitely undercooked chicken before and sausages and beef. definitely tried to cook once and alicent almost fainted when she saw that the chicken somehow turned blue. when he’s drunk, he’s alright. can actually put together a decent meal that isn’t undercooked. but never trust his technical skills. he almost chopped off two of his fingers once.

“come with you to the kitchen? mother won’t allow me to go in. i didn’t do anything i promise! aside from...almost cutting my finger off...and setting the dough on fire.”

aemond targaryen

aemond is not a bad cook. he’s very good at it, actually. he does not do it often but if the time calls for it, he will. he also is very good with baking and frequently comes to your room to deliver whatever he has concocted in the kitchen. there is something to note, however, which is that aemond’s palate is a little more on the sensitive side. so when he seasons things to his liking, it tends to be underseasoned for others. he also cannot handle spice. accidentally had some of criston’s food and almost died.

“i hope i’m not interrupting your studies, my love. because i come bearing lemon cakes and rabbit stew.”

helaena targaryen

helaena is very experimental in the kitchen. she spends an awful lot of time on her presentation rather than the process. the process doesn’t take long. it’s just the plating and making it look to her heart’s content that does. depending on the day, the food can taste as good as it looks. sometimes it’s a little underwhelming but regardless, eating helaena’s food is always a pleasant experience. she also balances her seasonings and flavors well unlike her younger brother.

“(y/n), are you hungry? i can make something quick before you get back to your duties. it would be a nice break.”

jacaerys velaryon

jace is someone who needs structure within the kitchen. he’s great at following recipes. and that’s why his food tastes good. he needs to follow a recipe when in the kitchen. it gives him some structure and a sense of direction. he’s okay when it comes to cooking without a recipe but much prefers having one. he’s also very clean, often cleaning as he goes so he doesn’t have to do it later.

“oh! don’t worry about that (y/n). i can clean up. i just finished with the dough so there’s plenty of time for me to spend cleaning. it’s a nice point of relaxation.”

[swoftbambi]

୨୧˚ spending fall with armin arlert ˚୨୧

armin loves fall, it’s probably one of his favorite seasons, besides summer cause he likes to go to the ocean. he just likes all the scents and foods that are apart of the autumnal season. he definitely burns fall scented candles to get into the mood of it all. armin would also take you on lots of orchard/farm dates so you guys could get groceries, go home and bake pies and stuff like that.

“armin look!”, you pointed at the ruby red apples hanging from the branches of a small tree. it was one of many at the orchard your boyfriend, armin took you to.

you raised your hand out, trying to pick one of the apples that caught your eye. the branch was a bit too high for you, as you were only touching the apple with your fingertips. armin came up behind you picking the apple off and placing it into your basket.

“thank you,” you said wrapping one of your arms with his. you two walked along the dirt path picking up apples and figs. once you guys made it back to the farm, armin picked up a few pumpkins and squashes for your home. he placed them in the backseat of your car, along with the fruits you picked up in the orchard.

the drive home was calming. armin holding your hand while the other steered the car. the radio was playing quietly in the background as you looked out the window, seeing orange and yellow tones of leaves piled on the ground next to big trees. groups of pumpkins bunched together and little tourist attractions for little kids.

once you both got home you insisted on making an apple pie together, since you kind of overestimated the amount of apples you bought today.

“do you know how to make an apple pie?,” armin had asked, washing the red and green fruits off with water.

you bent down to grab the pie dish, placing it on your counters. “Mm kind of,” you replied heating your oven up to 450°, “i haven’t made it since i was little”.

armin hummed, cutting the apples and shaking cinnamon on top of them. while you made the crust of the pie.

the dough was a bit too tough for you, you could barely knead it with you hands. as you hardly pressed onto the dough, armin came up behind you to help. his hands gently massaged the into it, you smiled to yourself as you picked up the rolling pin to roll it out.

armin gently placed the dough into the pie dish, laying down the apples, covering them with the left over dough before setting it into the oven.

you wrapped your arms around armins chest, hugging him tightly. he looked down at you, smiling to himself, he rubbed small circles on your back, placing a kiss on top of your hair.

a ding of the oven, brought you back to the kitchen. putting on your oven mitts you pulled out the golden tinted out of the oven. a smell of cinnamon and warm apples filled the house. you cut the pie open placing two slices on different plates.

“min, the food is done”, you called out. armin came out of the living room to see the dessert you two made together.

you handed him the slice with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and a fork, smiling at him. “enjoy, tell me if it’s good”, you said.

armin dug his fork into the sweet treat, taking a bite. his eyes lit up happily, he licked his lips looking over at you.

you raised an eyebrow at him, “do you like it minnie?”. you played with the fork in your hand.

armin nodded his head, swallowing the piece into his mouth. “i like it a lot,” he dug his fork in again, putting it next to your mouth so you could take a bite, kissing you, “i like that i made it with you”.

© 2021 all rights reserved flavoni do not copy, repost, edit, and/or plagiarize any of my works.

[undercoverangell]

moments for the pok lives au bc i love them your honor. fh s1 spoilers!!

pok after being attacked by goldenhoard is mildly blind in one eye, just for a few months until the antibiotics fully kick in. cue this moment

pok: yknow despite being blind in this eye for the next few months there is one thing i can see

sklonda, genuinely curious: oh? whats that?

pok: your beauty :)

sklonda, wiping away tears from her eyes: that **sniff** that was a fucking **quiet cough sob** lame pick up line and it was dumb and you're dumb **sob** for saying it

even after he is healed he just

"you know, some things are still a little fuzzy in this eye, but yet your beauty remains consistent"

"LITERALLY SHUT UP I CANNOT CRY AT THIS RESTAURANT TODAY"

he is at home for literal months while recovering before he can go back to work so she comes home to dinner almost everyday for like a solid 6 months while he's healing. wakes up to a full breakfast too. on her days off she just gets a bunch of downtime with him while riz is at school, most of which is spent sitting in the backyard of their new house and just talking. she can also take more time off bc he got a promotion so she can work like. normal shifts.

they nap together a lot. pok has nothing else to do bc they arent putting him on cases for 3 months bc he cannot read out of one eye. when sklonda isnt working on cases she is also incredibly tired. they just pass out together. sometimes riz joins them. there are periods from like 3 pm to 5 pm where its just silent in the house as they all nap.

riz has a big attic room to make up for his shameful room back when they were in the apartments. one wall is pure corkboard for him to conspiracy board. theres like a little coffee machine in there, a bunch of drawers bc theres so much room. a little secret area where he goes to chill out. theres bean bags where he and his friends hang out and most of the time the bad kids find that the gukgak estate is the place to be. pok cooks incredibly well bc he grew up making dinner for himself while his dad was working so dinner is usually amazing, theyre incredible parents who are like "yeah eat in ur room idk just dont wear shoes in the house and dont get dirt everywhere." once pok trusts them enough to know his true profession suddenly theres just like 6 new secret rooms in the house they didnt know about and it becomes the bad kids hangout spot. they have like passwords and everything.

pok, standing at the door of one of the secret rooms: ok mijos dinner is ready come down and serve yourself some!

fig: WHATS THE PASSWORD

pok:... i dont want to come in im just letting u know dinner is ready

kristen, poking her head out: WHAT IS THE PASSWORD MR BALL??

pok: jesus christ the password is lunchlad.

fig: ok cool whats for dinner?

pok is mr ball, sklonda is mrs ball. (padre and madre ball are good as well). sometimes they do all sit down and have dinner together and pok does wonder if they do know his name

"so mr ball..."

"my name is pok gukgak. you know that right?"

".....okay so mr ball as i was saying"

"i think id prefer just being called mr pok."

pok and adaine are fairly close. not like jawbone levels but pok has anxiety and ptsd and his dad kinda sucked too so he can relate to adaine a lot. also, what jawbone doesnt get academically and arcane wise, pok understands bc he works w magic users and researches magic for his job, and adaine probably LOVES hearing about his take on magic as someone who cant cast but works with it almost everyday (messaging spells on missions to keep instructions secret, clairvoyance as cameras, wards on everything including his house). he never needs her to like dull stuff down for him and if he does its more like "i dont fully grasp what your saying and youre using terms i am unfamiliar with, id like to learn about those terms and become familiar with them" adaine comes over when she needs advice w arcane stuff and like magic and he is just a rogue but he will try and help where he can, and give recommendations of who to see when he cant.

pok is the one who drives riz to prom. when sklonda shows up and he tells her that "hey lol the guy who tried to eat me is inside" she just. "OH MY GOD WHY DO YOU.... STOP THAT, NO. NO NO. NO MORE TROUBLE." When Kalvaxis attempts to eat sklonda he just goes "dude you couldn't eat me what on earth makes you think you have a CHANCE of eating my wife??"

[writingwithacupoftea]

The Unexpected Visitor in Small Heath

Summary: Y/N Shelby was a nurse during the war. What happens when a ghost from that past comes looking for her? A ghost with definite intentions...

Word Count: 3683

Trigger Warnings: a slightly handsy dude

A/N: *peeks out from my hiding place* hi guys, I’m back!! Hope you’re all good - to me it feels so amazing to be posting some writing again! As you can probably tell by the word count, I got a bit carried away with this one and so it’s basically unedited, so apologies for any mistakes 😂 Hope you enjoy it! 😘

"About fucking time, Y/N, I've been waiting here for almost a quarter of an hour."

"You've knocked on my door five minutes ago, Tommy, stop being such a dramatic shit!"

To any passers-by outside of Y/N Shelby's house, for a moment it would have looked like the two siblings were about to get into another argument. But any anxieties about that were washed away when they observed the teasing glint in the younger girl's eye and the playful shove given by the man, as they made their way down the cobbled streets of Birmingham.

Tommy and Y/N Shelby were as thick as thieves, there was no doubt about that. The brother and sister loved each other fiercely, and where one of them was found, it was almost certain that the other wouldn't be too far behind. But when they rowed, oh boy, did they row.

It was only a few days ago that the occupants of the Garrison were subjected to their shouting, after Tommy had scared off yet another one of Y/N's dates. As usual, however, the argument had soon blown over.

***

Y/N loved living in Small Heath. It was a shithole, but it was her shithole, so she didn't mind it as much.  

To Tommy's surprise, she had turned down the offer of either living with him in Warwickshire or buying her a place of her own in the country. Instead, she had asked her brother if she could move into his old house on Watery Lane, to which he had agreed.  

His swaying factor had been that someone would always be close-by if anything happened at the office, and the rest of the family had a place to crash if they needed to.  

Y/N, on the other hand, had more emotional reasons for wanting to stay where she grew up. Since training as a nurse for the war, the Shelby girl had got to know the children of Small Heath very well: she had somehow become the go-to person whenever one of them got into a scuffle or had an accident, and always fixed them up with a smile on her face as she listened to their innocent voices babble away. Y/N wanted to see them grow up, and didn't want to abandon them. She also didn't want to leave behind some of the poorer families in Small Heath, who she paid a visit to once a week to check that everyone was as well as could be.

Tommy had had one condition for Y/N's staying in Small Heath by herself – that he walked her to and from work or the Garrison (wherever they were the latest) every day, and the days that he couldn't make it that she would let him get one of the blinders to do the job instead. The Shelby name and his sister's capabilities alone were not enough to settle his worries about her wellbeing.

And this job was what had brought Tommy to Y/N’s house that morning. It had come to Y/N’s attention that her brother seemed to be at his happiest during these walks - and when she said ‘happiest’ she meant that there was often just a slight glimmer of a smile on his face and his eyes looked a touch softer. Sometimes the indicators were bigger, but more often than not this was where the happiness would stop. It was in these moments that Tommy seemed to be at his most human, and they were the favourite part of Y/N’s day.

Apart from today.

The pair navigated the streets with ease, speaking quietly to each other, just as on every other day of the year. Suddenly, however, Y/N stopped still, lips parted slightly in shock. Tommy examined her expression carefully, and after realising (with a sigh of relief) that his sister wasn't scared shitless, followed her line of sight. It landed on a man. A rather scruffy man, who appeared to have done an awful job at trying to make himself look respectable, Tommy thought. The Shelby man knew that this was a stranger to Small Heath, not only by the fact that he had never seen such a distinct person before, but also by the way that he looked at the buildings and the people in the street. Yes, Tommy concluded, that was definitely a look with purpose.

Breaking Tommy away from his thoughts was the delicate hand that grabbed his wrist tightly, causing him to look down at his sister. "Tommy, how do you fancy taking the scenic route to the office today, hmm?" Whilst her voice was light, as if she were simply commenting on the day's weather, the forced smile that was plastered on her face was the one that she used at parties when she wanted to get away from someone (usually when she was being annoyed or bored to death).

Amused by Y/N's desperate desire to get away, he resisted her impatient pull on his arm towards a side street. "What's wrong with this way, Y/N/N? This is the route we take every day, I'm not going about changing it now." Tommy's voice was teasing as he casually lit a cigarette.

"Yes, yes, Tom, I know you're a stickler for routine – but for once in your fucking life can you do as I say?"

"Ah, well I was considering it, but since you've been so rude to me..."

The man was getting closer.

"Please, Tommy, I'll do anything." Y/N hated that she was having to practically beg her brother, but the situation was one that she definitely wanted to avoid. She even slipped her hand down to grasp his tightly for emotional effect, something that she hadn't done for years (but, oh, how she relished that warm and safe feeling that it brought with it).

Surprised at his sister's actions and looking into her wide eyes, he was about to relent and let her drag him down the side streets to the office. But it was too late.

"NURSE SHELBY!" The man's deep voice bellowed down the street, causing a few people to look towards them.

"Fucking hell," Y/N mumbled under her breath, giving Tommy's hand a tight squeeze and then letting go, before addressing the man. "Henry. What a surprise! What brings you to Birmingham?"

"Well, you, of course!"

Y/N cringed internally as she saw Tommy's eyebrows shoot up at this statement. Tommy cleared his throat. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Y/N?"

Sending a quick death glare up to her brother out of the corner of her eye, the woman replied with strained politeness: "My apologies. Henry, this is my brother, Thomas Shelby. Tommy, this is Henry Mathers, one of my former patients."

"Pleasure to meet you, sir." Henry shook Tommy's hand, the latter trying his hardest not to grimace at the thick layer of sweat coating the other man's palm.

"Likewise, Mr Mathers. You met my sister in France, then?"

"Yes, sir. We said that if we both made it out of there alive, we'd go for a drink. Ever since I got back I've been searching for her and here I am! And, oh, it was worth the wait to see that face again."

Tommy could no longer suppress the smirk threatening to escape as he looked between Henry's longing gaze and Y/N's very clearly faked happiness crossed with panic.

"Well, my sister is a woman of her word, Mr Mathers, and I'm sure she'd be delighted to be able to catch up with you after all these years." Tommy decided to pause for dramatic effect. "Perhaps you can go to the Garrison tonight, Y/N? We've had it done up recently, it's just around this corner here" Tommy added, pointing in the direction of the pub.

"Oh, that sounds perfect! I shall meet you there at eight o'clock, Miss Shelby." Before Y/N could get a word in edgeways, Henry was removing his bowler hat and bowing his balding head. "Good day to you, Miss Shelby, Mr Shelby." The man continued to walk down the street, a definite spring now in his step.

As soon as he was far enough away, Y/N sent a firm punch to her brother’s stomach. “What the actual fuck, Tommy?” She started to storm down the street quickly, leaving Tommy hurrying after her. “One minute you’re chasing men away from me, and next you’re setting me up on dates with people you don’t know the first thing about!”

“You’re the one who agreed to go for a drink with him in the first place, don’t go blaming me.”

“He had a lot of drugs in his system when he asked, I didn’t think he’d actually remember it.” Catching her brother’s amused smile at her excuse, she continued. “He was on the verge of death, I wasn’t exactly going to say no, was I?”

“Oh, so he fought to stay alive just for you then, eh? Sounds like a keeper to me, Y/N/N.”

“You’re an arse, Thomas Shelby. A complete and utter arse.”

***

Y/N remained in a foul mood with Tommy for the rest of the day, not that this surprised him.

When the hands of the clock hit ten to eight exactly, however, he still knocked on his sister's door to take her to the Garrison himself.

Tommy couldn't help the chuckle that fell from his lips at the sight of Y/N, clad in a beaded black dress, scowling as she stepped out of the house.

"You do know that you're not going to a funeral tonight?"

"Oh, it's my bloody funeral, alright. Might be his too, if he reverts back to his old ways." Y/N started playing with her hands as they made their way towards the pub, something that she'd done since she was little when she was nervous.  

Tommy noticed it immediately, eyebrows furrowing slightly in concern as he recalled Y/N's desperation to avoid Henry. It hadn’t really hit him properly in the moment how desperate she had been. But before he could begin to question what the man's 'old ways' were, his sister spoke again.

"But you were right about one thing earlier, Tommy. I did still agree to go out with Henry, no matter what state he was in when he asked. It would be rude of me not to go through with it and at least act like I'm having a nice time, seeing as he's come all this way for it. So," her voice became sterner, "I'm going to smile my way through the evening, and you'd better not start any fights - do you understand me?"

The older of the two Shelbys sighed, a feeling of dread beginning to build up inside of him. "I can get you out of this if you -"

"No, Tommy." An angry fire was dancing in the young woman's eyes. "You don't get to land me in this situation and then try to snap your fingers and revert it. That's not how this works. This is happening, no thanks to you..." The last part was mumbled under her breath as she pushed the heavy pub doors open.

Tommy hadn't wanted to lose his sister in the same way that he had lost Ada at the beginning – not giving her enough freedom, especially given their argument the other day. So, when a man came along who she had agreed to go for a drink with previously, he had decided (for once) to take the light-hearted and supportive approach, a far cry from the overprotective older brother that he had been since the moment that Y/N had been born.

He was starting to regret even considering changing his ways, and the night had barely begun...

***

From his seat at an ordinary table at the Garrison, Tommy looked at the occupants at the bar once again, probably for about the fifth time in the past two minutes. He had decided not to retreat into the snug, as he usually did, wanting to keep a close eye on Y/N and Henry.

So far, the evening had gone surprisingly well - it was far better than any of Tommy’s imaginings after his discussion with his sister previously. He had heard his sister’s gentle laugh ringing across the room on multiple occasions (and he could tell that it was genuine), and the pair had barely stopped talking.

Maybe this would prove to be a success, Tommy had mused.

One thing that the man’s careful eye had picked up on, however, was how many whiskeys Henry had thrown back. Tommy had concluded that no matter how well things appeared to be going now, he wasn't leaving just yet.

And he was glad he didn't – for just 15 minutes later, as the alcohol began to kick in to Henry's system, things began to go downhill.

It started with the occasional nervous laugh, or a smile that didn’t quite reach his sister's eyes as she avoided Henry's intense gaze. This grew more frequent as Henry continued to drink, and Y/N began playing with her hands once again as well.  

The head of the Shelby family was an inch away from leaping out of his seat when he saw Henry leaning over to whisper in Y/N's ear, and her nose crinkled in disgust at the stench of alcohol on his breath. After a few subtle attempts, she finally managed to push him away from her, and Tommy relaxed slightly as he heard her state a firm "No." His sister was always a lot tougher than he thought.  

But her efforts were undermined as Henry grabbed her left hand, holding it as if he were about to kiss her knuckles. However his grip was far too firm for that. Ripping her hand out of his, Y/N grabbed her bag hurriedly and started to get off her seat, and Tommy stood up himself.

The final straw for the protective brother was when he witnessed Y/N freeze completely as Henry rested a hand on her knee to stop her from leaving. Fists clenched as he tried to contain his anger, remembering his sister's warning about not starting any fights, Tommy marched over to the bar, his lie for getting her out of there already prepared.  

"Y/N, something urgent has come up, we need to call a family meeting – now." Tommy extended a hand to his sister, which she gratefully took as he helped her get down off the barstool and pulled her safely to his side. "Would you get my things from the back room, I've just got something to sort out quickly before we go. I'll see you outside."

Y/N nodded, knowing exactly what Tommy was doing. Shooting her brother a grateful glance, Y/N mumbled a quick "Goodbye" to Henry, and walked off quickly, not wanting to be in the man's company for any longer than necessary.  

***

She slipped out of the back door and into the cold night air, relief washing over her. Lighting a cigarette, Y/N waited for her brother, wondering how he had got to her so quickly – she hadn't seen him once after meeting up with Henry.

A few minutes later, Tommy emerged and went straight to Y/N. "You alright?" His thick Brummie accent comforting her as he, too, lit a cigarette.

Y/N sent him a soft smile as she replied, "I'm fine, Tom. I'm assuming there isn't actually an emergency?" Her voice was laced with amusement.

"Nope."

The siblings stayed there for a while, smoking and listening to the sounds of the pub behind them. Y/N vaguely wondered whether Henry would find them, but looking up at her brother's solid presence beside her, she felt any worries lift off her shoulders.

Out of the blue, Tommy threw his cigarette to the ground and stubbed it out, turning to Y/N. "Come on. Do you fancy going for a walk?"

"Yeah, I need to clear my head." Tommy started to move towards the street. "Oi! I'm finishing this first, you know I hate smoking and walking at the same time!"

***

"You gonna tell me what happened tonight then, eh?"

The pair didn't know how long they had been wandering the streets of Small Heath for, but Tommy's curiosity had finally gotten the better of him.

Y/N sighed, her eyes focused on the cobblestones beneath her. "When Henry first came to us, back in France, he'd been caught up in an explosion. After the doctors had seen him, he was still very drugged up and the chances of him surviving were about fifty-fifty. We had to keep administering him the drugs for a few days, because he was in so much pain. He kept calling me over, wanting to talk to me no matter how busy I was – said that he needed a 'pretty girl' like me to keep him company. I humoured him. But then he started saying things like we were 'meant to be together', 'soulmates' even."  

Y/N paused, thinking hard. "He lied when he showed up today: he said that he asked me out for a drink, but he didn't. What Henry actually said was, and I quote, 'If we both survive this fucking war, I'm going to find you and marry you.' I had no clue what to say. His chances of making it out of the hospital alive, never mind the war, weren't improving. So I said something like 'Well, I hope you buy me a drink first.' I ran off after that, and another one of the nurses took over his care. I had no clue that he was still alive until today.  

"At the pub tonight, I will admit that I did enjoy catching up with him. For someone who I believed to be a lost cause all those years ago, it was nice to hear that he'd actually done something with his life. But then he brought up getting married again, insisting that I was still 'the one' for him and that it was the thought of me that kept him going until the end of the war. He just kept repeating over and over again that he was going to marry me and that we'd be so happy together.

"But just before you came over, he was getting rather forceful about it. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see your stupid face." She laughed a little, noticing her brother's annoyed (yet secretly amused) glare as they sat down next to the Cut.

"It wasn't him that freaked me out, necessarily - it was the thought of marriage. I'm not ready yet, Tom, and to be honest I don't know if I ever will be, no matter how many boys I try and date. I'm terrified of being tied down to someone and losing my independence. I enjoy being by myself too much – and with you lot, I suppose." Y/N nudged her brother's arm.

A comfortable silence settled between the siblings, and Y/N let it sit there, wanting to give Tommy the time to process everything that she had said in her little monologue.

Happiness was one emotion that the elder Shelby didn't expect to feel after hearing his sister's answer to his question. And yet it coursed through his every vein, accompanied by a sort of relief. Tommy wanted his sister to find contentment and peace more than anything; even though he hated the thought of her marrying, of her having someone else to turn to that wasn't him, a few years ago Tommy had come to accept that one day Y/N would want to move on from him and the family. Maybe even start her own family. This acceptance, however, hadn't been able to stop him from deterring nearly any man who came her way. In his mind, anyone that couldn't stand up to Tommy definitely wouldn't be able to deal with his youngest sister, and that they simply weren't good enough for her.

To hear, though, that Y/N had no intention of leaving him yet, was music to his ears. It was also a comfort to know that she was waiting for the right person to get serious with – Tommy felt as though he wouldn't have to spend as much time hunting down every single potential suitor. Instead, he could spend the time with his beloved, if annoying, little sister.

But this was Tommy Shelby, and he would never communicate such vast amounts of emotion verbally. "So I'm stuck with you for a bit longer then?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Y/N couldn't help the grin that spread across her face, understanding the exact meaning behind her brother's words. It widened as she heard Tommy chuckling slightly in response, a sound that she had nearly forgotten. "What did you do with Henry? After I left the pub?"

Tommy cleared his throat, uncomfortably. "He won't be proposing to you again any time soon, don't you worry, sweetheart."

"Tommy, I thought I said - "

"No fighting, I know. And I did as you said, I didn't start any tonight." He looked, almost sheepishly, over at Y/N, who had adopted Polly's stern expression. "I told him that if I saw him again in our city, I'd cut him myself, and the same applies for if he tries to contact you again."

The younger Shelby sighed and rolled her eyes, fondly. "Well, I can't complain about that, can I?" Y/N heard the bells of the church chime, telling her that it was midnight. She turned to Tommy. "Home?"

He nodded. "Home," and he knew exactly where that was tonight. Tommy stood up and brushed the dirt off of his trousers, whilst Y/N got up too. They were about to set off when Tommy held his hand out to his sister, just like he used to when they were younger. Y/N instinctively took it, a feeling of warmth spreading throughout her body. She felt loved, and knew for certain that this love was the only one that she needed at the moment.

Tommy didn't let go until they reached the front door, comforted in the knowledge that Y/N was going to remain his little girl for a while longer yet.

[ayma-nidiot]

Dawn of the Dark Epilogue

This chapter can be found here on AO3.

Epilogue – Reclaiming the Championship

Damian knelt to pay respects to the person in the grave in front of him. Instead of a typical graveyard rain, sparkles and floating Morelull decorated the air of Ballonlea’s graveyard. “I hope you’re doing well, wherever you are, Ms. Opal. I just turned 18 and am about to challenge Ballonlea’s new Gym Leader. It’s because of you that I was able to bond with her so well… Thank you for all that you’ve done for us, Ms. Opal. I will forever be grateful.”

Before Damian could get up and begin his short walk to Ballonlea Stadium, he saw only one other person in the graveyard – a familiar face. This person recognized him too. “Oh! Hi, Damian! What brings you here?”

“I was just paying my respects to the late Gym Leader of Ballonlea, Ms. Opal.”

“It’s hard to believe she’s been gone for so long…” Professor Sonia took on a somber look. “Well, she lived a good 105 years.”

“May I ask why you’re here too?” Damian could hazard a guess.

“My gran just died.” Professor Sonia cried as she turned her back to Professor Magnolia’s grave. “Now, her research lives on through me.”

“My condolences.” Damian paused a while before saying, “I was just on my way to challenge the new Gym Leader of Ballonlea. You wanna come watch?”

Professor Sonia suddenly took on a coy expression, uncharacteristic of her. “I wish I could, but… uh, I need to go home to my… best friend,” she floundered the words, “best friend.”

“That’s too bad. Well, then, wish me luck!”

The reporters that pestered Lily had no interest in her battling today. “So, Gym Leader Lily, you’ve got a lot of social media pressure to find a boyfriend,” started a snooty young male reporter. “And you’ve got lots of suitors. Does one of them strike your fancy?”

Lily wished this rude man would leave her alone so she could mentally prepare herself for the incoming challenger. “Daddy is going to have to approve a guy for me to date him.” In all honesty, Lily didn’t give two figs if Raihan approved of a boyfriend or not, but anything to shake off the press.

Luckily, her gym challenger, having just arrived, would give her an out. “Gym Leader Lily! I’m here!”

“If you’ll excuse me.” Lily breathed a sigh of relief on her way to her side of the pitch. “Thank you, dude. You saved me from those-” Lily’s eyes opened wide when she saw who the challenger was. “Damian, is that you?”

“The one and only! I finally earned my Ghost Badge!” Damian did a little celebratory jig.

“Congrats, man.” Lily raised an eyebrow when, despite how she had her first Pokemon ready, Damian didn’t show a sense of urgency. “Oh? Don’t tell me you’re having cold feet?”

“Lily… Before we begin, I want to make a bet with you.”

“A bet?” Lily looked confused.

Damian stopped fidgeting and looked at Lily sincerely. “If I win, you have to be my girlfriend.”

“C-Come again?” A blush quickly spread across Lily’s face. “You don’t mean… you’re still in love with me after 13 years?”

“I tried dating other girls when I was still in school, but… but I turned them all down. It’s because my heart was always with you. Even if you don’t love me in return… Please, Lily, can I at least have the chance to prove myself?”

Lily decided to deflect from this question, sending out her first Pokemon. “Florges, I choose you!”

Damian steeled himself as he send out his first Pokemon. “Theivul, you’re on!”

“A Dark-type versus a Fairy-type? Ha!” One of the announcers scoffed. “What could Challenger Damian be thinking?”

“This should be interesting,” remarked the other announcer. “Let’s see if Gym Leader Lily will pound him into the ground or play with her food and beat him slowly.”

As it turned out, Lily went with the latter option… or so she had planned. Damian, being gifted since he was small, had every contingency plan in the book – Thievul had a devastating Double Team/Fire Fang combo, and Grimmsnarl was especially powerful in his Gigantamax form. Even more troublesome still was Alolan Muk, whose Poison-type moves knocked out two of Lily’s Pokemon, before being knocked out by Matcha Cream Alcremie.

Now, with only his Morpeko left, Damian declared, “It’s a battle of aces… Get prepared to lose, Lily! Morpeko, use Aura Wheel!”

“Pepepepepepeko!” Morpeko charged in her Full Belly Mode, knocking Alcremie well into the air.

“Not bad, not bad!” Lily clapped slowly. “…is what I would say. But you made one grave mistake.”

“And what might that be?” Damian had no idea.

“That was Gigantamaxing your Grimmsnarl.” Lily returned Alcremie to her Poke Ball. “You forgot that I haven’t had a chance to Gigantamax myself.”

Damian’s face fell when he realized his error. “Oh, no! M-Morpeko, use Aura Wheel!”

Alcremie loomed over the stadium so tall that she had no trouble stopping this attack in its tracks with G-Max Finale – and then some.

“Morpeko is unable to battle! Gym Leader Lilliana wins the match!” proclaimed the referee.

“What did I tell you?” Announcer #1 snickered. “If this guy ever has any hope of earning his Fairy Badge, he needs to have something other than Dark-types on his team.

“You said it,” Announcer #2 concurred.

“How was that?” Lily walked closer to Damian after her victory, crossing her arms.

“…I’m okay. Even if I can’t be your boyfriend yet, I promise to train harder with my buddies. I’ll challenge you again when I become a man worthy of you.”

Those words sent Lily’s heart aflutter, and she didn’t even bother trying to hide her blush this time. “Oh, Damian…”

“Lily?” Damian stopped moving when Lily unexpectedly hugged him and buried her face into his chest, taking in the scent of his bay rum body wash. When the young woman tiptoed to give him a kiss, he nearly went as limp as a boned fish, but returned the kiss gladly. “Why… I… uh…” Any word that escaped Damian’s lips turned to gibberish.

“You’re already a man worthy of me,” Lily spoke while she intertwined her fingers with Damian’s. “And there’s no man I’d rather have than you, Damian.”

Damian blinked before jumping for joy. “Yeeess! I finally won Lily’s heart!”

“Well, would you look at that, folks!” Announcer #1 spoke to the cheers and gasps that erupted throughout the stadium. “Suitors, Lilliana of Ballonlea is officially off the market!”

“You damn right she is!” Damian peppered his new girlfriend’s face with kisses. “Oh, Lily, you have no idea how happy you just made me! I’m beyond cloud nine! I’m on cloud ten!”

“Hehehe!” Lily heard the grass rustle, seeing that her parents had made their descent to the pitch. “Daddy! Papa!” She ran to give them a hug.

“Hey, princess! Congrats on your win!” Raihan ruffled Lily’s hair, then walked up to Damian, using a stern tone with him. “Damian, is it? I think I remember you.”

Damian nearly held his breath, intimidated by Raihan’s presence. “It’s an honour to see you again, sir.”

Instead of accepting Damian’s handshake, Raihan cracked his knuckles. “If you do anything – anything – to make my little girl cry, I won’t hesitate to break your cock in half.”

“Y-You got it…” Damian’s whole body quivered.

“Daddy, calm down!” Lily insisted.

“Yeah, love. Think of our baby girl.” Leon rubbed his husband’s belly.

“Wait, what?” All these years, Damian had forgotten that Raihan was also a shapeshifter, and thus capable of pregnancy.

“Daddy is five months pregnant with my little sister,” Lily whispered. “Her name is Poppy.”

“Then, um… Congratulations are in order.” Damian laughed nervously.

“Save it, little man.” Raihan, with Leon close behind, walked off without another word.

Before Damian could say anything, Lily took his hand and started walking off the pitch with him. “I’ve got a great idea for our first date! My little brother is competing in the Champion Cup today, and I’d love for you to watch! He’s in the Championship Match!” Lily was pleased to see the Flying Taxi already waiting for her. “Ah, right on time, too.”

Damian waited for the taxi to take off before saying, “Your little brother must be one hell of a Trainer, to be able to compete in the Championship Match!”

“Oh, no, no, no. Dragan is the Champion.”

A few seconds of silence, and then a shout from Damian. “Say whaaat? Champion Ash finally lost?”

“Dragan has actually been the Champion for a year now and former Champion Ash is now Chairman of Macro Cosmos. What, you didn’t know?”

“I guess not, hehe.”

“That’s okay.” Lily decided to take a nap on Damian’s shoulder, even though it wasn’t a long flight. “I just hope that he’s not pants with directions like Papa and will show up on time.”

It turned out that Ash wasn’t pants with directions, but he would be running late for a different reason. “Ugh… Blargh!” He had a fit of vomiting that entire morning and had hogged one of the loos in his house for a solid thirty minutes.

 To Ashalina’s dismay, Goh was having an equally bad sickness bout in the house’s other loo. “When will it end…” She was starting to get a little squeamish from hearing heaving noises all morning.

Ash came out of the loo, rubbing his stomach. “I think it’s finally over…”

“Dad!” Gavin brewed a pitcher of ginger-lemon tea and offered some to Ash. “If you need to, I can walk to my gym challenge. You need to rest.”

It was then that Goh came out of the loo and happily accepted the tea that his son offered. “We’ll be fine, sweetheart. This tea is making me feel better already.”

“Gee, it’s like you’re both pregnant or something,” Ashalina suggested nonchalantly while scrolling through her Rotom Phone. She stopped scrolling to look up and see that her parents turned as white as a sheet.

“But it does make sense…” Goh returned to the loo to take a couple of pregnancy tests as Ash did the same.

“Are you nuts?” Gavin rubbed his temples. “What are the chances that Dad and Papa are pregnant at the same time, unless they happened to impregnate each other at the same time?”

“I-I was just joking!” Ashalina didn’t say a thing during the ten minutes it took for her parents to return from the loo. “And?”

“In seven months, you two are going to have another sibling.” Goh held up one of his positive pregnancy tests.

“Make that two siblings.” Ash revealed another positive test.

“Yay!” Gavin hugged his Alolan Raichu. “Isn’t this awesome news, Raichu?”

“Rai rai!” Raichu floated about in the air.

“Just don’t procrastinate on the names like you did with us,” spoke Ashalina as she twirled the car keys about her fingers.

Goh decided that he would be the one driving and took the keys from his daughter. “Now that we have ‘100000+ Baby Names’ by Biggus Dickus, I can assure you that won’t happen.”

“Sure, sure.” Gavin was stoked during the entire drive, particularly when Goh parked in the VIP parking lot. “Dad, I promise I won’t let you down.”

“What do you mean?” Ash asked on their way in.

“Dragan stole the championship from you! I promise that today, I’m going to take it right back.”

Ash stopped his son right before he went into the locker room. “Gavin, he beat me fair and square. I know you’re upset that I lost, but you need to be a good sport.”

“Yes, Dad.”

Ash let up on his serious tone. “Plus, being Chairman of Macro Cosmos is a cool job too! I make even more money so I can give you the things you need to grow.”

Gavin bit his lower lip. “I’m sorry for showing such a lack of gratitude.”

“If you’re really sorry, then show me a good, clean match out there.” With that, Ash left for the stands, right behind Gavin’s side of the pitch, where he would see him ten minutes later.

Gavin ignored the rambling from the announcers to speak to Dragan. “Ready to lose, Champion Dragan?”

“Naw, I still want to bask in my glory.” Dragan toyed with a Poke Ball in his hand. “I just won the Championship back in honour of Papa, so don’t think I’m going to relinquish it that easily.”

“And don’t think that I’m going to lay down and take that bullshit from you.” The normally sweet Gavin locked eyes with his opponent.

“That’s what you’ve been saying for the past three years. Yet, despite pursuing me relentlessly, you’ve made little progress.”

“‘Pursuing relentlessly?’” These words made Ashalina curious. “Gavin, you sure have an interesting way of showing your crush that you love him. You’re just like Dad.”

That bantering would momentarily break Gavin out of his steel resolve. “I-I do not have a crush on Dragan!” Gavin then turned to the new Champion. “Right? Isn’t that just-”

“Methinks you doth protest too much.” Dragan waggled his eyebrows.

“Cut it out, man!” Gavin snarled. “Just ignore my sister; she likes to tease everybody, especially me.”

Dragan frowned slightly as he pressed his index fingers together. “Well, if you do have a crush on me, that would be good news for me.”

“You… aren’t serious?” Gavin couldn’t believe his ears, and being so inexperienced in matters of the heart, he looked to his sister. “Ashalina?”

Ashalina shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I’m not into romance, so you’re asking the wrong person.”

After showing his brief moment of weakness, Dragan put his war face back on. “As much as I want to flirt with you, there’s a battle to fight. Unless you want to chicken out now.”

“Not a snowball’s chance in hell.” Gavin had his Raichu at the ready. “The Ketchum family will have the championship crown again, I swear it.”

“Well, if you’re gonna do that… then you better show nothing less than your best, Gavin Ketchum.”

~Dawn of the Dark~

~Fin~

And that's a wrap! I never would have anticipated so many kudoses and comments! Thanks so much for sticking with me, guys!

However, I do plan to create much more content for this AU. I plan to draw a bunch of art, maybe even some comic projects, as I've done with previous fics! 

Thanks again, everyone!

[greatestwizardofthisage]

I made a playlist for Gorgug and put way too much thought into it please appreciate it

Boys Will Be Bugs by Cavetown

Freaks by Surf Curse

Be Alone by Paramore

The Stand by Mother Mother

Home by Cavetown

Pet Sematary by Ramones

Threshold by Sex Bob-Omb

Bit by Bit by Mother Mother

Hug All Ur Friends by Cavetown

Backflip by The Front Bottoms

Could Have Been Me by The Struts

Weightless by All Time Low

I Can’t Handle Change by Roar

Be Nice To Me by The Front Bottoms

If you want to listen to the playlist here you go

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Hp20qAJqkPgKumLuQSkET?si=572ccd72871f468e

Also it turns out I had a lot of thoughts about this so if you want to read my reasoning for some of these songs you can do that but fair warning it's a mess

Home by Cavetown - Ok so this song gives me big Gorgug in the forest of the nightmare king vibes. ‘I’m a little sick right now but I swear// when I’m ready I will fly us out of here’ = ‘It’s Gorgug keep going’ vibes and then ‘sometimes I think I’m dead’ I mean that's pretty obvious, he had that whole issue of like ‘I died on my first day and now how do I know if my life is real’ and then lastly just ‘Get a load of this monster// he doesn't know how to communicate// his mind is in a different place// will everybody give him a little bit of space’ = he’s always had a difficult relationship with his rage, often feeling bad/embarrassed for those feelings, but ultimately they help him keep his friends safe so maybe it’s not all bad but like when he’s with the sphinx and has to face the fact that he isn't the smartest? that shit hurts (also big autistic vibes for that last bit, he likes to be alone and needs space to be able to deal with his emotions)

Pet sematary by Ramones - I don’t have as much to say about this just, the whole vibe is dying and being brought back against your will (and with the added context of the stephen king books it’s about being brought back not quite right...) so yeah big Gorgug vibes like maybe this is the kind of thing he’d write with Fig when he’s feeling angsty. (Also this is off topic but Gorgug low key gives me Joey Ramone vibes...)

Threshold by Sex Bob-Omb - Another song I can see him writing with Fig. Just like big Autistic vibes, kind of gives me like going into a rage to avoid autistic overstimulation and just being so pissed and just like brute forcing it. So yeah also just like the distortion? on the song feels like how everything sounds to me when I’m experiencing overstimulation so yeah just big autistic Gorgug vibes for this one. (Also fun drumming that I can see Gorgug using to just get all the excess energy out)

Hug All Ur Friends by Cavetown - I mean I feel like Gorgug is the kind if guy to just love SO fiercely but to not really know what to do with these feelings? Like he said in his introduction that he’s never really had friends and prefers to just be alone. So then to suddenly have loads of friends?? He would love the shit out them!! And he would absolutely give the best hugs!!! So fuck yeah 'hug all your friends and let them know you’re not letting go’ Also the ‘I cant breath anymore// I forgot how to walk on my own// I could do with a little more of your help’ like he's always been alone so he learned to live like that but now he has friends but friends come with doubts and insecurities because what if they don't really like him but like he’s realized he likes having friends and doesn't want to go back to being alone all the time and he can’t use his old coping mechanisms of pretending it’s fine so he's having to learn to reach out.

Backflip by The Front Bottoms - Mainly included for the first few lines ‘I don't see me mad at situations; I see me turn and walk away// I see a tattoo on my right thigh that I will probably regret one day// Yeah, I will probably regret one day// But now I'm happy to be bonding in a kitchen with my friends’ I mean is that not quintessential Gorgug?? Like when he’s getting frustrated with Telemaine Lomenelda and he just straight up walks away? And his tattoos from leviathan?? It just fits too well!!! 

Weightless by All Time Low - I just feel like once Digby and Wilma realise their songs aren't getting through to him they’d find him something like this? Like more his style, so like he comes home after a bad day and their just like “See it's like the song bud!! Maybe today wasn’t your day but it could still be your year!” and so when he has a rough day you can sometimes hear him just muttering to himself like “yeah maybe it WILL be my year” 

Be Nice To Me by The Front Bottoms - Honestly this boy takes so many hits for the team because like he has the most hit points so it makes sense, he can take it! But god it must get exhausting just being hit constantly just to be healed and then hit all over again, so yeah that opening like ‘I got boulders on my shoulders// Collar bones begin to crack// There is very little left of me and it's never coming back’ like yeah he can be healed but that doesnt make up for the emotional trauma of it all. (Also ‘Can we talk about this later?// Your voice is driving me insane// I try to write you poems, but the words they don't make sense// The hand tries to grip the pencil, but the fingers are too tense// I try to show emotion, but my eyes won't seem to wet’ is again just me projecting my autism onto him so yeah)

[wallgirl]

The Little Nereid Part 9

Record of Ragnarok fanfiction

Poseidon x OC

Word count: 2,800

Dynamene, youngest of the 50 Nereids, has lived most of her adolescence as a servant alongside her sisters at Poseidon’s palace. But with her coming-of-age birthday and other developments, what she initially thought was just admiration of her master blossoms into something stronger and more passionate… and painful.

Categories and warnings: Romance, angst, unrequited love, coming-of-age, earn-your-happy-ending, slow-burn (ish); no sexual content. There will be some graphic violence in the future.

Updated regularly, multiple times a week; will have about ?15? parts total.

---

"Dynamene," a soft voice nudged her hours later. "Dynamene, wake up, we're almost there."

Dynamene opened her eyes groggily and looked up at Eione, whose shoulder she was still leaning against. "Huh?"

"Home; we're almost home." Eione smiled and drew back the carriage curtains to show her, letting in the bright sunshine. Dynamene sat up, quickly awoken by the warmth of the sunlight, and pressed herself to the window.

The rocky terrain and stormy weather had completely disappeared, giving way to rolling green hills lined with thick forest and sandy bluffs. The sky was clear without a cloud in sight, and Dynamene drank in the view of the pristine ocean under the bright blue sky. The gentle waves broke with crests like diamonds in the bright sun, before fading back into the cerulean waters. Dynamene's face lit up and she turned back to Eione, beaming. "It's just as beautiful as I remember."

"Isn't it?" Eione grinned. "We're nearly there. Just around this bend..."

The line of carriages rattled down the well-worn dirt road, turning around a thick grove of fig trees before beginning the final descent down a steep hill.

At the bottom was a sandy delta, flanked on the far side by a gorgeous palace made of sandstone and marble. The palace looked as if it had grown out of the bluffs as a natural extension of it, the exterior asymmetrical and rough but pleasing in a busy way. Sea glass in every color wrapped in whimsical patterns around the pillars and windows before winding down to the ground and forming a mosaic walkway to the entrance.

The ocean flowed into a cerulean lagoon before the palace, where the mouths of several small rivers met. Around the lagoon were large tide pools in which Dynamene could spot people and merfolk playing and basking.

There was a sudden shout from the distance, and the people began to stop what they were doing, looking towards the carriages. Then there was a loud chorus of calls and cheer, and the people scrambled in every which way. A trumpet sounded; now everyone knew that the Nereids were nearly home.

Before Dynamene could say anything, a booming voice came from the oceanside. "Greetings, Nereids!" She turned towards the other window to see a parade of merpeople headed by a handsome merman keeping pace with the carriage, leisurely leaping out of the water to speak to them. "Welcome home!"

Eione leaned over Dynamene and threw the window up. "Aye, merfolk! I thought I smelled fish!"

"Nay, Nereid," the merman replied smoothly. "It is yourself, I reckon." He gave Eione a mischievous wink.

Eione feigned a gasp of offense and flicked her hand. A spray of ocean water splashed the merman's face, but he laughed easily. "We will tell your parents of your arrival. Welcome home!" With that, he and the rest of the group sped ahead down along the beach, their tails glimmering in reds and greens under the surface of the water.

"Ah, that slimy fish," Eione tutted, but she tossed her hair in amusement. "It's so good to be back." She took in a deep breath before exhaling dramatically. "I can breathe here, you know?"

"Yes. Yes, I do," Dynamene whispered, unpinning her travel cloak. It was if the weight of the world had fallen off her shoulders with the fabric, and she began to help Eione get their bags sorted.

Minutes later, they had arrived before the palace. Beings of all sorts had gathered to greet their arrival with much a-do; fresh-water nymphs, dryads, fauns, satyrs, and merfolk. Familiar faces were on every side, and Dynamene lost track of the number of hugs she'd clasped with people she hadn't seen since goodness knows when. Old jokes were exchanged, and new ones made, as the crowd helped the Nereids unload their luggage from the carriages.

"Dynamene!" Actaea called from where a dryad was helping her lift down a trunk. "Look who it is!"

Dynamene turned and erupted once again into a wide smile. A boy with messy chestnut hair and freckles like hers was running down the path from the palace towards the group. "Dynamene!" He shouted. "Actaea! Eione! Everyone!" He flung himself into Dynamene's arms, and she squeezed him tight, rocking from side to side.

"Nerites," she whispered happily, taking the scent of seawater in her little brother's hair. "It's so good to see you again."

He pulled back to look at her with a frown. "You've gotten taller again. But I thought I would get taller than you someday?"

Dynamene laughed and ruffled his hair lovingly. "I think you have a few more centuries yet, little brother."

"That's fine," he replied. "As long as it happens someday." He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards one of the inlets. "I can't believe you're finally here! Even Elasippus came to greet you all today, too!"

Dynamene knelt down at the edge of the small bluff. Basking in the shallow water of the pool was a young merman, barely out of boyhood, with strawberry blond hair strung with ocean droplets and a shimmering green tail. He looked up in surprise at Dynamene. "Hello, Dynamene."

"Elasippus!" She smiled at her brother's friend warmly. "It's been too long. Your tail's gotten longer, hasn't it?"

"Um, yes," he answered shyly, fins curling back and forth. "I just thought I'd come and say hello, since I've known you all for so long..."

"Don't be awkward, Elas," Nerites sighed. "We've been best friends for ages; it's okay to talk to my sisters."

Dynamene laughed. "It's okay, it's been a few years. It's still weird to see that you two have gotten bigger, though," she sighed. "I guess I still remember when you were both little tadpoles, crying when the sand got in your eyes."

"Hey, we're not crybabies anymore!" Nerites protested. "Actually, me and Elas have been exploring a lot recently. We found this underwater cave that's full of oysters, and we've been collecting them to harvest. Some of them even have pearls. We're gonna go again today, actually. If you want, you should come with us!"

"When? Now?" She asked in disbelief as Nerites pulled on her hand.

"Yeah! Come on!"

"Well..." She looked back at her other sisters, who were still bringing the luggage in.

"Go ahead, Dyna," Ianeira called. "We'll join you in a little bit."

"Scratch that," Eione jumped in, boldly tossing off her peplos and chiton. "I'm going with now. Come on, Dynamene! Last one into the water is rotten caviar!" She took a running start and dove head-first into the rippling water.

"Well, if it's alright with everyone else," Dynamene sighed dramatically, undoing her own peplos. "I suppose..."

And bolstered on by the happy exclamations of her brother, she dove in.

---

Hours later, Dynamene pulled herself back up onto shore, breathless from laughter. "Here," she tossed a pearl to Nerites. "Almost dropped that one."

The other Nereids broke the surface close-by, laughing and wringing out their hair. "Did you see how fast Thoe dissipated when that ray went by?" Eione teased. "I thought she was a cloud of silt for a moment."

"Hey, those things have barbs, you know," Thoe sniffed as she smoothed her wet bangs away from her forehead.

"I wish we could've seen some whales," Callianassa sighed as she finished reforming her hands. She gave her fingers a graceful wiggle. "It's been forever since I've heard a whale call."

"There are a lot of whales at the next cove down. They came here for the birthing season," Elasippus told her as he carefully pulled a strand of seaweed from his hair. "We can show you later if you want."

"We gave a few of them nicknames," Nerites added, looking up from where he was admiring his satchel full of freshly harvested pearls. "Two babies have been born so far; we named one Fig and the other Olive."

"That's so... unimaginative," Dynamene teased him good-naturedly, and he splashed her with water.

"You come up with better names, then!"

"I will," she replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

"I bet I can come up with better names than both of you," Ianeira said, splashing them both. "Just give me until after supper."

"Speaking of supper, I'm starving," Eione groaned. She pulled her sandy chiton back on over her head before giving her hair one last shake. "What's on the menu?"

"Why don't we go inside and find out?" Ianeira said. "It must be nearly time to eat, anyways."

"Sounds good to me," Dynamene affirmed, gathering her clothes back up to get dressed. She paused for a moment, scouring the sand.

"Looking for something, Dynamene?" Elasippus asked.

"No, it's fine, just found it!" Dynamene sighed with relief. She brushed the sand away from where it had lightly blown over her bracelet. "False alarm." She quickly drew it back onto her wrist, carefully dusting any remaining sand off.

"That's pretty," Nerites said in awe. "Where did you get it?"

"Oh, um," Dynamene blushed, smoothing her wet hair away from where it clung to her neck. "Lord... Lord Poseidon gave it to me not long ago, as a birthday present."

"Really?" He asked in surprise. "Wow. He didn't get you guys jewelry, did he?" He asked the other sisters tactlessly.

The sisters exchanged a silent look for half a moment before Ianeira cleared her throat. "Come on, everyone! I'm sure Mother and Father would like to see us at long last as well."

The rest of the girls finished dressing and began to make their way up the beach towards the glittering palace. Nerites said goodbye to Elasippus and ran after them.

"Dynamene, are you coming?" Actaea asked, pausing to look back at her younger sister. Dynamene was still carefully braiding her hair.

"I'll be there in a moment!" Dynamene called back, waving her on. "I just want to finish braiding my hair before it dries again. I'll meet up with you guys at the palace."

"Alright, don't be too long!" Actaea disappeared over the sandy hill, leaving Dynamene alone with Elasippus.

Elasippus remained for a moment, watching in fascination as Dynamene wove her hair back into two braids. "Beautiful," he whispered.

"Mm?" Dynamene looked up.

"The bracelet," he said hastily. "Lord Poseidon was very thoughtful. It's gorgeous."

"Isn't it?" Dynamene sighed and held out her hand so the merman could take a better look. "It's mother-of-pearl, my favorite."

"So it sounds like you get along with him, huh?" Elasippus swam in an idle circle. "That's good. I hear he's not so easy to be around."

"No, he's not," Dynamene admitted. "But, you know..." She remembered the times on the beach with him, and the way he had brushed her hair back. "He's not so bad, deep down." She began to blush.

"I see," Elasippus said slowly, watching Dynamene's face turn pink. "If you say so." He turned to look at the setting sun. "You and your sisters are really brave, you know. I don't think I could ever live with him. Not after what happened with his brother."

Dynamene stared at him for a moment blankly. Then she realized what he was referring to - Poseidon's killing of Adamas.

She stared back down at the ocean. "I suppose so. I guess I can see how that would make people... uncomfortable."

"Does it bother you?" Elasippus asked earnestly, tail flicking.

Dynamene bit her lower lip. What happened with Adamas was justified, wasn't it? I don't know all that was said between them, but Adamas did want to start a civil war, right? So... Is Poseidon really in the wrong for what he did? "No. I... I think he did the right thing," she said, but her voice was shaky.

Elasippus sensed her discomfort and frowned apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make things awkward. It's none of my business. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's alright," Dynamene said quickly. "It's an honest question. I suppose I just don't really think about it much. We'd only been at the palace for a century when it happened, and I was still just a child, so my sisters didn't say much about it around me." Her thoughts went back to that day; what little she remembered of it, that was.

The Nereids had left the palace to picnic on the beach that fateful afternoon. They didn't want any part of Adamas's visit; he was nothing but a jealous troublemaker, and they wanted no part of whatever ill-will he brought.

But when the sound of marble breaking echoed out from the palace, they had rushed back out of concern for their master. Dynamene remembered tagging along behind Actaea, barely able to see past the rest of her sisters as they crowded into the great hall where Poseidon had received Adamas...

"No, don't look," Actaea had said suddenly, covering Dynamene's eyes with her hands. "Don't look, Dynamene." Her sister's voice had wavered in horror. She had immediately steered Dynamene back out of the room, rushing her as fast as she could go. But Dynamene's ears were free, and she heard the rest of her sisters gasp and scream at the sight that greeted them in the great hall.

They hadn't been expected to clean up the mess. Poseidon had ordered them to leave the body where it lay, and continue on with their day as if nothing had happened. The other unseen servants of the palace took care of Adamas's body and the wreckage, and the following day, the great hall was spotless. The wall had been repaired, the table replaced, and no sign remained of the gory mess that Poseidon had made out of his older brother.

Dynamene shuddered at the memories. "Even now, no one speaks of it, especially at Lord Poseidon's palace. That's what he wanted, so we must obey. I don't think we would talk about it even if we could, though. It was so brutal." She swallowed. No one likes remembering that day. That was the first time we truly realized how powerful, and dangerous, Poseidon was.

"That's awful," Elasippus sympathized. "I hope it doesn't haunt you too much."

"No," Dynamene sighed. "No, I guess I owe Actaea for that. I never saw the... aftermath of Poseidon and Adamas's argument. I hear it was a horrible sight."

The two of them sat in silence for a while longer, neither of them knowing what to say. "I'm sorry," Dynamene said finally, getting to her feet. "I didn't mean to make things so dreary."

"No, not at all," Elasippus said quickly. "It's good to talk about things like that sometimes, right? If you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen. It doesn't bother me too much."

Dynamene smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you, Elas. I'm glad my brother is friends with you."

Now it was Elasippus whose face was pink. "It's... It's nothing much, we just have fun together. I'm glad I got to see you all again today."

"Me too. We should all meet again before we go back to the palace," Dynamene beamed. "I had a lot of fun today."

"I'm glad," Elasippus smiled back. "See you later." He sank back under the amber waves.

"Bye," Dynamene called after him. She watched his tail splash through the surface for a ways before he dove deeper into the water, returning to his underwater home. Left alone with her thoughts once more, she sighed.

I'm sure what Poseidon did was justified, even if it was violent. Over the top, even. Terrifying. But I guess that's just how Poseidon is; why would someone like him hold back? I know he'd never hurt us, at the very least.

She stared out at the setting sun, lost in thought, twisting the bracelet around her wrist.

Poseidon... I hope things are okay back at the palace. I hope the visit with Hades went as well as can be expected.

If you were here, I wonder... What would you say to me? She looked away from the sun's burning orange rays to the ocean. The dark hue of the water brought to mind Poseidon's eyes, so beautiful, yet so often cold and empty. Lately, though... Was it just her imagination, or was there truly life in them when he looked back at her?

 Would you tell me that you don't regret what you did? Even if you'd never harm me, surely there are still times that you hurt others. Or was Adamas an isolated event?

 She sighed before turning to make the journey back to the palace. This trip was meant to be relaxing, and worrying over the past did no good. Surely everyone was wondering where she was by now.

---

Author’s Notes: Another chapter that took on a life of its own. I think it'll work okay, though.

Next chapter is one I've been waiting to write almost since I started this fanfic. So much angst. I can't wait.

[pbandjesse]

I went back to work today. I was able to keep it together for the majority of it! And it was mainly a really nice day. Even if it was incredibly hot towards the middle.

I slept pretty well. I did wake up with an upset belly at 6. And did not go back to sleep. Instead just scrolled on my phone. I had two weird emails but I don't think they were anything. Sometimes I get emails for a different Jesse who must have an email one letter off from mine. So it's probably just that.

I got up and got dressed and felt. Fine. My hair has dried nice but the heat outside didn't do it any favors.

Me and James would sit together at the kitchen island and have breakfast since I had gotten up so early and had so much time. I had egg salad on toast. And James would work on their computers we talked about the day. I shared my egg salad with sweetp. It was a nice morning.

James sent me off to work. Traffic was bad on our street because it is sometimes really tough to make a turn off of our road. So I would drive down the alley so I could use the traffic light. Made it a lot less annoying. And it wasn't a bad drive at all.

I got to camp at 8. And would go to the Erie first to grab my materials for my new program. The tree guys were their today, making a lot of noise. But it's productive. And getting the dead trees down in a controlled way is better then they falling down during storms.

I would go to the art building to set up next. I would have to tidy up a little in there too but it didn't take to long. I was still back to the office by 845.

I was alone for a little bit. But soon Sarah was there and I told her about the trip and folded Alexi and Elizabeth into the conversation too. I would love to share more but we had things to do and a feildtrips to run.

Some parents had parked at the office so I walked them to the lodge. Talked about camp. It was absolutely beautiful out today. The trees all bloomed and their leaves were all full. It was great.

This was a very good field trip. The kids got in and we're so sweet. The teacher clearly has a great relationship with them and they were very good listeners. The only hiccup to the morning was the bus driver almost backing up over the hill/cliff. Thankfully he did not but it was a close thing and a little scary!! It was because someone had parked in the way but we couldn't figure out who the car belonged to. But it worked out in the end.

I lead my program 4 times. And I really like this program. And I'm really good at it. We would go over bees and pollinators. A parents disagreed with me about the pronunciation of proboscis. And yes I'm probably wrong. Whoops. I was thinking of hibiscus and pronouncing it like that. Embarrassing! I am going to keep saying it wrong.

The groups were super sweet though. We had a huge laugh when I asked what wasps pollinate and a child guessed it right away and we all were shocked, even him! The answer is figs.

We would read the little book and I asked lots of questions. And then it was art time. I assigned parents roles to help while I kept tearing tape so no one would have to wait. And we had a really good system going. This was a fun day.

At lunch I would go eat my yogurt. I wasn't feeling eating much. I just sort of are small things throughout the day. Drinking a lot of water. I brought that electrolyte drink and I think it helped a little. I wasn't my best but I was okay when I wasn't in the sun.

The afternoon went quick. And we cleaned up nicely. I had made bags for each group and I think that helped a lot. Kept things organized. And then I saw them off.

Dad called me and I called him back quickly. It was nice to hear his voice. Mom was in the background too. I love them very much. We weren't on the phone long though.

I went back to the office to eat the rest of my lunch. And I didn't love the Mac and cheese j brought but it was whatever. I was supposed to have a call with Margaret but she ends duo being to busy with some stuff at the museum. That's alright, but I wish she had communicated it better. I had been waiting in the field for like 15 minutes because that's where I have the best service. But when I realized something was up I texted James to check in with her and then headed to the lodge to help clean.

It was mostly done at this point so I helped with the bathrooms. Bonnie was upset about the tables and chairs not being put away nicely. And apparently a table has fallen on Jeff and she was very upset about that. Absolutely understandably.

I would go chat with Jeff. He made a suggestion for my dad. About looking into a leg that has three rubber rings and a button that is on the outside of the leg that creates a vacuum seal and can also release it. He is annoyed that the fitters are letting my dad walk around with a leg that doesn't fit. I think he should glue it on but I understand why that might not be the best idea.

I would go back to the office to check in about tomorrow. The bge volunteers are coming and I'm going to be in charge of cleaning, repair, and painting of the girls latrines. Easy enough.

I drove to the salt mines to get the cleaning supplies. Accidently scared Jeff. Went back to the office and chilled for a half hour.

Me and Celia were going to hang out after work and since there wasn't much else for me to do I left early and we would meet at Indian Ocean at 4.

And it was so nice to hang out with herm I told her all about the trip. She told me about her new job. We ate paneer tika masala. We made the waiter laugh being goofy. I was having a really nice time. So we kept the party going and went to the Amish market.

We would touch all the stones. And make fun of the silly spiritual things they assign to them. But there were some truly beautiful stones.

I got some candy. We both got fudge. She teased me about only ever buying vanilla. So I got a mixed pack and tried cinnamon, whoopie pie, and cookies and cream. I haven't tried them yet but I am excited.

We went to the bakery next and I got a few reduced priced things. It was fun. I was having a really nice afternoon.

We went and got our cars next to drove over to the plant store. She got a while bunch of tomato and cucumbers and herbs. I got a chocolate peppermint, a pretty purple leafed plant, and an air loom tomato. For my James.

We were being very silly though and laughing about the names of things and just having a lot of fun. After we paid for our plants we went over to the fish house and loved looking at the tadpoles and snails. She even found a frog to take a picture of. I personally loved the big ponds they had. I would love to have a little pond someday. We don't have a lot of backyard but I think I could make something work.

We had to go though. It was stupidly hot in the sun and we both had meltable foods and wiltable plants. So we hugged and said goodbye.

I got home at 6. People were driving really really stupid. But I was paying attention and avoided them.

I would run into our neighbor when we got home and she asked about our trip and I just wanted to tell her eveything. Because it was truly incredible. It was like 16 life changing experiences, it's really hard to sum up. So I am choosing highlights. Seeing the Nile. Touching a lion and a zebra. The beautiful wedding. Learning dances. Spending 176,000 shillings.

James was home already and would grab a shower before we would tackle the evening chores.

James would run out to get beer for the party on Saturday and a new pot for the tomato plant. We would work on setting up the canopy tent in the backyard and affix it the the fence so it won't fly away. And we let Sweetp come out and wander the back with extreme supervision. He loved the concrete. I would brush him out there and filled the brush three times. We talked to a back of the house neighbor. But eventually we went inside.

James went out for a bit and I rested on the couch. The sun made me very tired. And while I'm not as nauseous I am for sure not all the way right yet. Easy to wear out.

When James got back they would jump into the wall paper in the hallway. Which looks so good and I'm super happy about it. I would do some tidying around the house. And would grab a shower. I am starting to struggle to keep my eyes open though. I am ready for sleep.

Tomorrow is a long day. With volunteers and much to accomplish at camp, followed by an evening at the museum for an event. I hope that my energy is good and I can just have a fun day.

I hope you all have a fun day. I love you all. Goodnight!

[whateverthedragonswant]

Holy crap this episode was funny as hell until it wasn't and then we were plunged right back into the intensity. But great episode!!! I don't lb so I don't get spoilers but man I had a lot of reactions as I watched. Ngl, a lot of cursing and caps ahead but damn was this such a good episode:

“One minute before the blackout” - now we’re to 1 minute from 1 week last week

“The place where this heart’s from, it was a tragedy. But once we land, it’s gonna turn into a miracle, right?” “Yeah, I like that” -- so once we land and settle after all of this craziness, a tragedy will turn into a miracle? I like that *looking at you Eddie*

EDDIE GET OUT OF THAT CHOPPER RN, DO NOT DO THIS TO ME AFTER SEASON 4, DO NOT!!!

Bobby going in to save the heart, hmm...

Oh, thank God - Eddie, Hen, and Bobby are all safe

Dr. Salazar - we need more of her. I love her so much.

4 Days later - hmm...

Wow, they’re really bringing Harry to the forefront here, this whole kidnapping thing is going to happen isn't it?

Harry charging neighbors and Michael and David in a sort of co-parent situation - first of all, Harry you are a GENIUS and love that Michael and David with Harry are being focused on in this episode, ahem, is there possibly a reason...?

Lou survived!!!! THANK GOD

Nearly 5 days Lou was in hospital

5 day head start for Hudson - is there something with 1, 3, 4 and now 5? I'm keeping track here, Tim

Buck is the power czar LOL - omg I love this man so much

Ravi!!! We need MORE Ravi!!! but where is Albert???

CHIMNEY!!!!! OMG I LOVE YOU - "Give me a charger or Uncle Buck will never see his niece again" - "Give him a charger" - "Well played" - "Let this be a lesson, never give that man a clipboard" - "Excuse me for being efficient" - "That’s one word for what you are" - okay #1 I will forever be in love with Chimney, probably one of my top favorite characters on this show & #2 LOVE this whole brothers interaction, Albert may not be there but Buck and Chim are still going with the whole older-brother-is-exasperated-with-the-younger-brother's-shit vibe

Oh God, here comes more cringe, yay... not so much

Eddie kisses Ana on the cheek AGAIN (Eddie, can you hear me? This is your subconscious speaking, when are you going to end this, my man?)

Ana says going to visit was Christopher’s idea since he missed Eddie and thought he was hungry - muy interesante

Buck rushing over to greet Christopher and hugging him tight is a moment I live for - outside of the whole Buck and Eddie story, I LOVE this relationship with all of my heart, I am so glad Christopher has Buck, he really is his second dad (with or without Eddie being involved)

Eddie not introducing Ana to Ravi (nor Buck saying hi) - Buck’s expression - “You must be Eddie’s wife” Christopher: “Not yet” I FUCKING LOVE THIS KID, OKAY!!!! Buck’s smile, he loves Christopher, too - love how Ana and Eddie don't say anything to dispel or clarify this

SAME FUCKING TRIGGER AND THIS TIME BUCK SEES IT!!!! OMG (Eddie, this is your subconscious again, you need to listen! The universe and I are trying to tell you something, please before any more shit hits the fan like me having to watch more uncomfortable interactions between you and your placeholder friend!)

Eddie sending Ana and Christopher on a tour with Ravi IN THE DARK at his work place so he can put SALADS AWAY

Buck’s expressions the entire time - Buck knows something's up

Ana’s expressions the entire time - she KNOWS

Thank God Bobby wasn’t around - hear me out, I have a reason for this that I am still working on in this long ass meta

Buck makes sure to not make eye contact with Ana (except quickly when Ravi is waiting to be introduced), even when Ana laughs at his “Constantly”

Eddie being a probie when Shannon came back in season 2 (and Eddie pulled her into the locker room to talk) & Ana being left to tour the station house with Ravi aka Probie - hello parallels & contrasts, my old friend

“I don’t want these things to wilt” - interesting choice of wording there, Eddie (newsflash, it's already wilting, Eddie)

I almost feel a little bad for Ana here because she did do something nice and she gets the brushoff and some discomfort/embarrassment in return (I mean the woman brought three salads in the middle of a blackout that she most likely made herself, come on - I'm sure some people think salads are easy to make but to those of us in the inexperienced/uninitiated cooks' club, it's not that simple)

Lila dead - hmm...are we surprised? (Hudson didn't give a fig about her and what's sad is Lou would have saved her)

“I think she was smitten like those other fools. I think she saw him being led away in cuffs and she intervened on his behalf” - interesting line there, Athena...

I need more scenes with Athena and Elaine - I know Elaine is the captain and Athena is on her own with no partner but I gotta say I am enjoying this

Athena! Why are you not warning the survivors!!! I mean I get it but still!!!

OMG “He takes Christopher all the time, he’s got the place memorized” - BUCK LISTENED TO EDDIE IN 3x03 - OMG!!!

Oh Buck my poor baby, he knows what they’re walking into - I LOVE Hen’s line of “Just smile, Buck” and then Eddie and Chim both smile wide at him - OMG I AM LIVING FOR THESE SCENES WITH THE 118

“Welcome to the Jungle” - nice touch 911

OMG Buck you are cracking me up - no animals are getting past him

1 hawk or eagle or raptor maybe? I’m not good with bird species okay!!!

3 emus again

1 bird I have no idea what kind (wondering if that’s what we saw the back of last episode near the emus)

Giraffe again

3 wolves

3 camels

Elephant

“The animal makes a move, control it” - YOU GOT THIS BUCK (yes we are finally getting that scene we saw filmed!!!)

Buck’s expression when the camel runs by is KILLING ME 'yeah, that's right Camel, back up, back up, you don't want any of this, yeah that's right'

Stuffed animals in the souvenir store, interesting

2 for $5 sign - even more interesting

1 alpaca

I guess I kind of wonder why Hen didn’t become a vet at one point in her life? Like I’m glad she’s a first responder and about to be a doctor but damn she knows so much about animals, she’s like the 118’s resident animal expert, that’s my girl

“We were gonna get one” - um...what? Hen...

“I wouldn’t” LOL oh Bobby you slay me

Is it just me or do we hear ET almost type music in the background as Hen lays chips down for the alpaca? Bobby mentioning the Reese’s Pieces, the flashlight shining on the Alpaca when it steps into view...are we getting an ET reference?

“It’s calling its friend!” *another Alpaca appears through coats “Clever girl” - a Jurassic Park reference - It’s a fucking Steven Spielberg reference, holy shit!!!!

Okay so that scene was Eddie looking over at Bobby, got it, near the fire trucks

Oh Buck I love you so much “So you ran from an Alpaca?” “Two Alpacas and no one was running” - both Buck’s and Eddie’s faces and then laughter are freaking hilarious

Chimney: “After careful consideration, I have decided not to endorse this park” - OMG I have not stopped laughing for like five minutes straight, can you imagine a Jurassic Park AU for this team? - shot of T-rex above Ripley’s Believe It Or Not (nice one, 911)

Weird looking bird that I've never seen before and 2 emus and 2 vulture, 1 hawk/raptor bird, 1 rhino

May is awesome!!! And so are those neighbors!!!!

Eddie in the tank top!!! Buck with a clipboard!!!

“Hey are you sleeping or just pretending?” Buck is taking no prisoners today

Buck is trying to make sure he’s not having any symptoms, omg, seriously how do you not love this guy???? Eddie you better make an honest man out of him soon, I'm not sure how much longer I can take this

“You don’t give up, do you?” Oh Eddie you did not just say that, to Buck of all people, come on man (hello season 3 Eddie, my old friend)

Get him, Buck! Get him!

“Since when do you panic?” “That’s what I said, I don’t panic” Buck once again out there proving that he knows Eddie better than anyone else

Oh wow!!! Eddie came right out and said it “If I’m being honest with myself I think it was Ana”

And there it is folks “She’s been a constant through all of this, staying with Christopher”

“Somehow we became a ready made family and I don’t know if I’m ready for that” - wow, this is an excellent scene, he’s totally letting that wall down to talk candidly with Buck, nice - and him being stripped down to a tank top for this scene just reiterates that fact, he's baring some things

“I think I’m gonna stick it out. Ana’s the first woman I’ve wanted to spend this much time with since Shannon” - oh Eddie, you really need to shit or get off the pot my friend, this isn’t good for you, Christopher or Ana - how can you sentence all three of you to this? come on

“My kid loves her” but YOU DON'T - okay my heart is breaking, Eddie is making the same goddamn mistake all over again just like we predicted - Eddie please, what did Carla just say to you three episodes ago? Where the hell is Carla btw????

“Stick it out? That’s not the way you talk about someone you’re in love with” “That enough?” - thank you Buck, seriously THANK YOU

Okay my heart just broke again but for Buck this time “Eddie, I have been Ana” - aww =( I love my chaotic firefighter son with all of my heart

And of course Denial!Eddie aka repressed!Eddie are back, sigh - 5x03 has to be where it all comes to a head, it has to be, now even Buck is forcing him to face what he's trying so hard not to - word of advice Eddie, my repressed firefighter son, you can try to deny it mentally/emotionally all you want but it will come out one way or another, just like it's coming out in panic attack symptoms and anxiety - you have to end this, sweetie

And I think it’s very interesting that Eddie looks right at Buck during “If I’m being honest with myself” *looks away then right back at Buck* “I think it was Ana”, “staying with Christopher”, then right after “I don’t know if I’m ready for that”, “I think I’m gonna stick it out”, “Ana’s the first woman I’ve wanted to spend this much time with since Shannon” “My kid loves her”

OMG Eddie’s expression when Buck says “I know what it’s like to be in love with someone who’s not all the way in and deep down you know it and it hurts. It hurts worse than the truth” — RYAN WHERE IS YOUR GODDAMN EMMY??? If anyone ever doubted that Eddie was in love with Buck, there’s the freaking proof written all over Eddie’s face at Buck’s line!!! It’s not something he thinks he can have and it hurts

Okay seriously, Eddie saying “Ana’s the first woman I’ve wanted to spend this much time with Shannon” — VERY PURPOSEFUL MENTION OF A WOMAN HE’S WANTED TO SPEND TIME WITH, EDDIE PLEASE, CAN YOU HEAR ME!!!!

Then they go right to Chim calling Maddie, uh huh, I see you 911

I really love Hen’s full support of Maddie btw & I love how Chim is able to talk to Hen about it all

Oh no!!! Maddie please don’t fall asleep!!!

Oh thank God!!!! It’s going to be okay, Maddie, you got her, it’s going to be okay - I seriously want to give my girl a hug and tell her it's going to be okay

Omg Jee-Yun is so cute!!!

Day 4 or day 5 hmmm - I'm still keeping track, Tim

“Why is it every time the world ends, it ends some more?” “It just keeps us on our toes” “More like knocks us on our asses” - Universe is that you?

Awww Bobby just called Athena “baby” <3 I'm not crying, you're crying

YES more Athena and Elaine

Lou is awake!!!!

Awww Lou =( I may or may not be ugly crying rn

I cannot tell you how relieved I am that Lou is alive

Oh God!!!! Athena get the cops there now!!!!

Yeah you should have let Harry charge them Michael lol, of course they were there to just use the generator power (though I love and appreciate the contrast they gave us in the neighbors who helped the boy with the ventilator so we know not all people take advantage)

OH NO GET AWAY FROM HARRY YOU BASTARD!!!!

On a side note, it’s nice to see more Michael and David but at what cost, Tim? Can we please get more of them and especially David in a more lighthearted episode for crying out loud? Is that too much to ask???

Go Bobby!!!!

Good for you, Athena!!!

Omg this is practically Athena’s nightmare come to life, shit

Omg Hudson unplugged the goddamn generator, THAT FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!

HARRY!!!!!!

I’M SORRY BUT ARE YOU TELLING ME THERE’S NO BOLO WITH A PICTURE ON THIS GUY?!!? - oh right, no power, but STILL

Okay that was super intense, I really hope Athena is the one to take Hudson down, just like Bobby said

I have a few more rewatches to do before breaking things down but damn, I think I need a drink after that one.

[masculinepeacock]

K: Kitten for @dimension20alphabet

Fig was sitting the back of Jawbone’s minivan, cradling a tiny kitten in her hands. She was sitting in between Adaine and Aelwyn, after shoving herself back there. “Look at how cute it is! I chose so well.”

“It is a lovely kitten I suppose,” Aelwyn responded. She looked at it quizzically. Fig knew she and Adaine hadn’t been allowed to have pets when they were kids, so she guess she could get away with the “suppose” comment. 

Adaine gave her a side eye now, “You chose well? I helped!”

“Oh whatever! Ragh helped me more than anyone else. Ragh was sitting in the middle row of seats, and Fig gave him a relatively soft kick to the elbow to prove her point. 

“Dude!” Ragh turned around to face them, he grabbed Fig’s ankle to push her a little bit, she stuck her tongue out at him, “Don’t kick me? And yeah Adaine, I helped way more than you did. Do you think he’s going to like it?”

“He’s going to love it,” Fig said, looking into the kitten’s eyes. It was Gorgug’s birthday today and she and the rest of her friends had just gotten him the best gift. It was a little calico kitten who had the biggest, prettiest eyes. Fig almost wished she could keep it. 

All of the Manorlings had piled into Jawbone’s car and hopefully they would be at the Thistlespring tree soon. Ragh was still looking at Fig and the kitten and, even as she hated doing it, she slowly reached the kitten out towards Ragh, who took it from her so gently. It was so sweet. 

The plan was they were going to get to the Thistlespring tree, then Ragh was going to hide the kitten in his jacket pocket, and then when Gorgug ran out to meet them they were going to just...surprise him!

It was going to go perfectly because Fig decided it was going to, and Gorgug deserved a good birthday surprise. 

They got to the tree surprisingly fast, Kristen was driving, which they really shouldn’t let her do, and they sat in front of it in Jawbone’s van for a second. Kristen turned around to face them, “Put it in your pocket before he comes over here!”

Ragh gently put the kitten in his pocket, checking on it as he did, making sure it was comfortable. Ragh and Fig gave each other’s a thumbs up, ready to go. All of them poured out of the van, and they saw Jawbone and Sandra Lynn land nearby on Baxter. 

As expected, Gorgug came bounding over, excited to see his friends. Fabian and Riz were already here, riding over together on the Hangman. They went places together a lot recently. 

“Gorgug! Close your eyes!” Fig called as she climbed out of the back. Gorgug was confused but did what she said. Ragh gave her a look like, What am I supposed to do? “Nevermind! Open your eyes, look at Ragh.”

As soon as Gorgug opened his eyes he rolled them at Fig, and she just gestured to Ragh who was taking the kitten out of his pocket to hand to Gorgug. He slowly held out his hands, “For me?”

“For you!” Fig said as Ragh placed the kitten into Gorgug’s massive hands. Gorgug was a barbarian who Fig had seen decapitate multiple monsters and bad guys, but there was none of that strength when handling this tiny animal. He looked at it so reverentially, pulling it close to his face. 

“Why?”

“It’s your birthday and you deserve it. Besides, you were such a great touring buddy you deserve something nice! And you mentioned wanting a pet on the road.”

Gorgug pulled Fig into a hug, holding her tight, she was shorter than him so he had to bend down, but he mumbled in her hair, “You’re the best bandmate ever.”

Fig couldn’t let him get away with that, “No you.”

[bewareofchris]

On (writing) Friendships

Hello there friends.

Today I bring you some simple, easy, effective cheats that will help you establish a relationship between two characters.

Shared Memories, as in “this is just like that time in third grade...”  “remember when your Mom made us eat banana chips and dried figs?”  “Dude, this is basically Macy Masterson all over again.”

Inside Jokes as in “Spoon.” “Hehe.  Spoon.”  Do we understand why spoon is funny?  No.  And you shouldn’t explain it to us.

F a m i l i a r i t y as in, Character A makes a strange sort of hiccupy noise and character b, their best friend, moved just slightly farther away because B knows A is about to sneeze some gloriously disgusting sneeze.  And once the snot-laden deed is done, B just hands them a tissue.  This is normal.

S u p p o r t, as in: “Hey, we got through braces and growing boobs, we’ll get over shitty mcshitterson face too.”  Or, “this promotion is the best thing that’s happened to you since Georgia Peach McKinnon kissed you at prom!” Or, “oh so we’re wearing the fuck-me boots today?  Ok, I see you.  You’re valid.” Or, “look, no matter how ugly you think you are, I have still seen you uglier.”

Intertwined Friend/Family Groups, such as: “Wait, is Aunt Myrtle the mean one that lives in Florida and throws peach pits at the neighbors?” “No, that’s Aunt Maryanne.” “Ooooooooooooooh, yeah, fuck Aunt Maryanne.”  Or, “You remember Jim.  Jim from work.  Jim from the cubicle next to mine?  Cubicle Jim we call him.” “Of course I remember Cubicle Jim.  How’s it going Jimmy?” (hint: Character B has never once heard of Cubicle Jim and will never admit this.) Or, “we should invite Cindy.” “I thought you didn’t like Cindy.” “I don’t like Cindy.  But you don’t like Taz so, it’ll be a bring that friend only one of you likes party.”

Increased Comfort in Close Spaces, such as: “Oh my god, stand still I’ll button your jacket for you.” OR, “Stop moving, I’m trying to lay on you.” OR, “ok, so I’ll hold the cake and you can buckle my seat belt and then you can hold the cake and I’ll drive.” OR, “you’ve got an eyelash, hold still.”

Shared Interests, such as: “Basically Bridgette is the best at air hockey.  It’s been twelve years of my life trying to beat her and I only did it once.” OR, “remember soccer camp?  I remember soccer camp.”  OR, “IF YOU WATCHED THE SEASON FINALE WITHOUT ME I SWEAR TO FUCKIN GOD I WILL DECAPITATE YOU AND USE YOUR SKULL AS A PLANTER.”

Nicknames and Pet Names, such as: “Yeah, we call her Sugar Buns but I would probably say that you’re not on that level yet.” OR, “Hurry up, Yogi Bear the pic-i-nic baskets are getting cold.”  OR, “Hoho is...” “I swear to god if you call me Hoho one more time.” “I’m sorry, HORTENSE IS VERY PARTIAL TO THE BLUEBERRY BAGELS.”  “I fucking hate you.”

Unthinking Gestures of Kindness, such as: “Oh, do we get each other coffee in the morning?” “Uh no, new guy that’s not a thing.” “But you...just brought...coffee?  For???” “That’s because Hoho isn’t even a person until cup number six.  We’ve got a meeting at 11.  I need him awake.”  OR, “Is this a candle?” “Yeah, I found it at TJ Maxx and it basically had your name on it.” “This says Dark Forest Gloom.” “Like I said.  Your name.” OR, “here’s your tuesday bagel and chocolate milk, so don’t even start with me today.” OR, “trust me, you need this scarf more than I do.”

There are a lot more random little things that will take up a matter of sentences in your over all writing project that establish a relationship that has already become fully formed.  The MAIN and MOST IMPORTANT thing that you need to do is write the people in the relationship like they know one another best.  Because your best friends DO KNOW you.  They know you better than co-workers, casual friends or that new hot love interest you met at the bookstore.  

[jamiebluewind]

Ayda and Fig's Sleepover

(Takes place during Fantasy High episodes 2.10 and 2.11)

*Ayda leaves Aelwyn with Adaine and goes to find Fig in her room*

Ayda: I think Adaine is very grateful that we rescued her. Um-

Fig: -Yeah-

Ayda: Ah, you fight very bravely and ah-

Fig: -Thank you. This was not my best work today.

Ayda: Um... you are extremely loud and funny and charming and you talk loudly um... and that's so exciting.

Fig: *giggles* Thank you so much! I mean, you're really direct and analytical and you kind of deconstructed things before my eyes and make me see them in a different way. And I really like that.

Ayda: Mm-hmm.

Fig: A lot of things I take for granted, you really think through.

Ayda: *tears of flame stream down her face*

Fig: Also? You cry fire, which is awesome. And check it out! *reaches out and touches a tear which doesn't burn her finger*

Ayda: Ha! That's something we have in common.

Fig: Yeah. Yeah-

Ayda: -That's bonding.

Fig: That's bonding.

Ayda: Yep. Um, I live on an island full of nasty, dirty pirates, so I don't have any other young women to hang out with and this has just been so huge for me and you're so cool and kind.

Fig: Why don't you just come hang out with us?

Ayda: Okay.

Fig: Why don't you just keep hanging out with us?

Ayda: Okay.

Fig: The library can run itself.

Ayda: I'm s-

Fig: -I mean, the man who works at the front, he was really on the ball. Really fast.

Ayda: That's not been my experience of Rolands.

Fig: Okay, but from my experience I was like hooo! that's a fast man.

Ayda: Running's all he's good for. I think Adaine and her sister Aelwyn probably just need to rest.

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: Um, are you... I need to fully sleep. Do you fully sleep as well?

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: Are you feeling tired from the battle?

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: Okay.

Fig: Let's do it up. Are you asking to have a slumber party? 'Cause if you're not-

Ayda: *starts crying*

Fig: -I am.

Ayda: Okay. You're asking that because you want it and it wouldn't be weird for me to also want that.

Ayda: Look. I understand- I understand that you probably meet at lot of people that say what they don't mean, but I pretty much across the board say what I mean, but I'm usually look like someone else.

Ayda: Okay.

Fig: But I mean what I say.

Ayda: Okay. I'm gonna lie down next to you while we sleep-

Fig: -Okay-

Ayda: -because I have not had a friend like that before-

Fig: -Yeah. Let's do it-

Ayda: -and I'm gonna really take my cues from you about what's normal about that.

Fig: Okay. Physical contact is totally cool. We've talked about it. We can just do whatever we want.

Ayda: Great. Fantastic. I'm gonna really follow your lead on this.

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: *lays down and immediately starts to snooze*

Fig: *wakes her up* Sorry. Part of the slumber party is actually that you stay up late talking.

Ayda: Fantastic.

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: I got that wrong out of the gate, but now I know and I won't make that mistake again.

Fig: Yeah. First cue is we stay up for a while.

Ayda: Great. Fantastic.

Fig: -Okay-

Ayda: I love that.

Fig: Um... I wanna apologize for being Aguefort. My plan was like to try to get out of fighting them and make them think I was your dad and like that I would call off, you know *air quotes* the military effort *air quotes* if they gave us- I wasn't trying to mess with you at all.

Ayda: That makes total sense and I won't lie. I caught the short end of the staw-

Fig: -yeah I know-

Ayda: -with this disguise, but normally your disguises are extremely delightful.

Fig: Thanks. Yeah-

Ayda: So, it's alright that this one didn't pan out for me. I'm sure the next one will.

Fig: I-I'm sorry that it seems like... he's a really powerful guy and it must be really annoying seeing everyone idolize him so much, cuz it doesn't sound like he was a great dad.

Ayda: No. He was not a great dad.

Fig: It's... it's-it's okay okay to admit that.

Ayda: I'm admitting it.

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: I'm very forthright-

Fig: -He might just be a bad dad forever.

Ayda: Oh well.

Fig: But! That's okay because you find cool people in your world that take the place of that you were looking for from him.

Ayda: A different, other dad.

Fig: Well... rather the emotions you were hoping to get from him, you might find in unexpected places.

Ayda: *whispers* I have to find these places.

Fig: *laughes* Not a phys- well actually yeah. It's a physical place, yeah. Let's go into some caves and look for emotions.

Ayda: Fantastic.

The pair stay up very late talking. Fig goes out and plays bass for a dancing Fabian as Ayda sleeps deeply before going to bed herself.

~~~

Fig wakes up next to Ayda who naturally sleeps with her bird legs up next to her chest. Ayda sleeps hot, like an ember burning with little trails of smoke out of her nostrils.

Ayda: *loud squawk as she startles from sleep* Ah. I was unconscious.

Fig: No. I think you were asleep.

Ayda: Right, right. That's what I meant.

Fig: Well, same difference. Good call.

Ayda: Thank you.

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: Uh, so now that we're awake, is the sleepover still happening or is that considered concluded now?

Fig: You know what? I'm glad you asked. Let's keep the sleepover going throughout the day.

Ayda: Okay. I don't fully understand, but I'm going to basically take your lead and-

Fig: -cool-

Ayda: -follow along. Does this mean that I have to remain in my night garb or can I put on my normal daytime clothes?

Fig: Um... the thing is, at a sleepover, you could sleep in your daytime clothes, so sleepover the-the wardrobe is kinda like do as whatever feels right to you.

Ayda: Okay. Things rarely feel a hundred percent right to me. I'm very self critical-

Fig: -You don't have any outfits that feel good to you?

Ayda: I have outfits that feel good to me-

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: -but I worry rather other people will like that. Does that make sense?

Fig: Okay. Well first off, everything you're wearing? Everyone's been liking.

Ayda: Fantastic.

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: God what a huge success.

Fig: Yeah!

Ayda: Great.

Fig: It's definitely been a huge sucess. So I think- you know what? I think you should go out on a limb and put on something that you like that you think other people wont like.

Ayda: *starts sweating* And you would like that?

Fig: Okay. I mean yes I would like that, but don't do it because of that.

Ayda: Okay. You have constructed a-a hellish riddle and um... okay. I'm going to attempt to solve the dilemma you've put in front of me and I am going to go eat. Uh. Um... I am hungry so I'm going to go get food.

Fig: Yeah.

Ayda: And I'm not doing that because I think you'll like that. I just need to eat. Is that a success?

Fig: Do you think it's a success?

Ayda: Okay. This is hell. *walks out of the room*

[ayma-nidiot]

“Don’t Speak Their Names” - Shrimpshipping fic Chapter 17

This chapter on AO3 can be found here.

Chapter 17 - Proud Daughter

“Wow, Rex, you look like you went on quite the shopping trip!” Ptera observed as her son got in the back seat of the car with Weevil. 

“I bought all my school supplies.” Rex sheepishly revealed his debit card. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Quite the contrary.” Ptera ruffled Rex’s hair. “You’re coming to class prepared. I’m so proud of you, mi hijo. ”

“Hehe… Thanks.”

Ptera noticed the bag with the fetal doppler. “Oh? What’s that?

“I saw a doctor on campus today.” Rex was careful not to mention a word about Spinos. “And no, it didn’t cost me a dime. Bet you didn’t know that healthcare is free for all students, whether it’s at the hospital or at the university.”

Amber noticed that the back seat was fairly full, and elected to take the front seat. “Um… Hello, ma’am.”

“Who’s this, Rex? A new friend of yours?” Ptera asked as the car took off.

“Yeah. Her name’s Amber… Say, Amber, I just realized something. You never told us your surname or your middle name.”

“That’s because I don’t have either one. Believe it or not, there are people in the world who don’t.”

“Is that so? Well, I learn something new every day.”

“That’s not hard for you, dino brain.” Weevil laughed.

“Speaking of which, Mom… The reason I went to the doctor was to get an ultrasound of my baby. You’re going to have a happy, healthy granddaughter!”

“You should name her after me, haha! I hope she gets my wild purple hair and personality.” Ptera invited Amber into the house. “Adelaide and your mama just came home from a long shift at work, so don’t wake them up until it’s time for dinner.”

“Ma’am, can I help?” Amber offered as she retrieved a satchel from her handbag. “I mean, I’ll admit I’m not the best cook around, but… I know how to cook bee larvae.”

“Say whaaat? In that case, knock yourself out!” Weevil happily consented.

“Y-Yes, well… Go right ahead.” This notion creeped Ptera out a little bit.

“Now I can just get right into studying, without worrying about looking for my favourite food.” Weevil laid down on the sofa with a cushion under his head. As usual, Rex turned it to one of his favourite channels, the Discovery Channel. Weevil paid the T.V. no heed as he began to study, propping his legs on a loveseat. “Which, by the way, I haven’t been able to find in a while. Where ever did you find it, Amber?”

“Oh, just… Just looking around.” Amber whistled as she and Ptera cooked. While she left the skillet on, she began to prepare salad, as that was the only other thing she knew how to make. “My father actually owns a well-off apiary and is an avid lover of insects. He’s the reason why I’m an insect duelist. I also have some of our honey with me, if you want some.”

“So you are rich!” Rex grumbled. Having little desire to study, he pulled out his laptop and switched the T.V. to the news. “That explains why you’re such a smartass.”

“I’d love to meet this fellow insect duelist,” Weevil mused. “And what better way to introduce ourselves than through Duel Monsters?”

“Haha…” Amber gave a halfhearted chuckle. Dinner was ready, and she offered Weevil a small bowl of fried bee larvae. “I’m sure of that…”

A reporter from the T.V. put this conversation on hold. “We just received breaking news that monsters have been spotted in various parts of Domino City and around the world. Sightings have not been prevalent, but said monsters have caused wreckage in several small towns and isolated areas. We will keep you posted on these latest monster attacks.”

“Oh great, this again?” Rex facepalmed as he recalled the mess that the Orichalcos caused. “As if one or two monster attacks weren’t enough…”

“What do you mean, ‘again?’” Ptera raised an eyebrow.

“Uh… Forget you heard that.” Rex had never told his parents about said Orichalcos mess or the fairly recent Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack. Or about his shapeshifting abilities, for that matter. And forget about the time travelling and KC Grand Tournament! Rex wasn’t thankful that, unlike Weevil, he had no ability to bullshit. “Just… uh… Whoa! What was that?”

Rex could hear a loud sound; though it was in the distance, its source was strong enough to shake the ground and wake up Adelaide and Tricera.

“Oh my gods, could it be an earthquake?” Tricera worried.

“No, an earthquake would be more consistent than that,” Adelaide answered. “But hust in case, I’ll call the police and report it.”

“Then… Then maybe the monsters from the news are real!” Ptera turned the burner off and approached her son. “Rex. You know something that the rest of us don’t, don’t you?”

“Mom…” I suppose there’s no hiding it now. “You’re not going to believe this, but I-” A knocking from the front door prevented Rex from speaking further. “I’ll get that.”

“Who could be knocking at our door at a time like this?” Ptera wondered. “I hope none of you ordered pizza or something.”

“Maybe it’s the press,” Adelaide suggested. “They could be here to ask us about monster sightings.”

“...Wait.” Tricera squinted at the person who knocked on the door. “That’s-”

“Dad!” Rex was stunned to see Spinos at the door. “What are you doing here?”

“You…” Tricera marched to the door. “You fucking bastard! How dare you show your ugly ass face at MY house!”

“W-Wait!” Spinos couldn’t stop the tall, strong Tricera from seizing him by the collar and punching his face.

“How the hell did you even find us?” Ptera asked. “You’ve been stalking us, haven’t you?”

“P-Ptera…”

“ ¡Vete al diabolo, puta madre! ” Ptera clocked Spinos really hard on the other cheek.

“Please, Ptera, there is no time!” Spinos disregarded the stings from the punches on both sides of his cheeks. “There are monsters coming this way!”

“And you expect me to believe you?” Ptera thundered. “If I couldn’t trust you 20 years ago, how do you expect me to trust you now?”

“Mrs. Raptor, he’s not lying!” Amber pointed to the sky from which several flying monsters came. “Look!”

“Oh, gods…” Ptera watched as the monsters shot lasers that destroyed nearby homes. “They’re going to destroy my house that I’ve worked so hard to save up for!”

The monsters… Weevil trembled as he heard the horrified screams of the unfortunate people who lost their homes - and would soon lose their lives, if he didn’t do something about it.  

“Weeves?” Rex knelt down to Weevil’s eye level. “What’s wrong?”

“Nobody can save these people… except me…” The ground underneath Weevil began to quake. His heart raced uncontrollably fast, and a red-and-purple aura emanated from it.

“Weeves, snap out of it!” Rex seized Weevil’s shoulders as the bug duelist fell deeper into his trance.

“Leave me alone!” Weevil shoved Rex off of him. He hadn’t fully shifted since last year’s Halloween Tournament, but was fully prepared to do it to save his boyfriend’s home. “You guys need to stay behind!”

“Weevil, don’t do it!” Ptera cried. “You can’t face them all by yourself!”

“...Actually, Mom, he can.” Rex watched as once again, Weevil transformed into Earthbound God Uru. Only this time, rather than causing harmless mischief, Weevil had every intent to kill any monster who would dare oppose him. Just the presence of his spider form, looming over his enemies larger than even KaibaCorp Tower, intimidated foe and friend alike.

“M-Master Weevil!” Adelaide couldn’t believe it. “What is happening to you?”

“Leave my home alone, you bastards!” Weevil shot a string of spider webs at the enemies who attacked him.

“Gaaah!” Two of the enemies fell to their deaths.

“He’s… something else, isn’t he?” Spinos observed.

“You know it…” Rex could only sit there and watch his boyfriend wreck havoc on his enemies, and hope that Weevil wouldn’t completely lose his mind out there.

“Wait, where’s Amber?” Tricera asked after a brief look in the house. “She’s gone!”

“I didn’t see her in the backyard, either!” spoke Ptera.

“Oh… Oh, no…” Rex’s good mood faded. “Did she get captured?”

The apparent leader of these enemies, Cyber Dragon Infinity, answered, “No, but I’m about to capture your precious little boyfriend! Who, by the way, isn’t looking so good over there.”

“It’s… happening again…” Weevil stared at the blood on his spider legs, and the blood he shed throughout the concrete. “I… have killed someone… again…”

“Well, why don’t we put you out of your misery, eh?” Cyber Dragon Infinity ordered his underling, an Armored Bee, “Activate your special ability!”

“With pleasure!” The Armored Bee rushed at Weevil full-speed, shouting, “Poison Stinger!”

“Ah… I feel… weak…” Weevil passed out and shifted to human form.

“Hah!” Cyber Dragon Infinity looked down upon Rex and his family. “Some ‘almighty, powerful Earthbound God,’ huh?”

Rex stepped forward, and already he half-shifted. “I’ll show you yet…”

“What is the meaning of this?” Cyber Dragon Infinity cackled as Rex transformed. “Do you, the puny Creepy Coney, honestly think that you can take down a monster as strong as I? By yourself? Hah! Your brain must be smaller than that of an actual rabbit!”

“Shut up!” Rex charged, only to be blown back rather easily by the Armored Bee and forced to revert forms. “O-Ow!!” he cried in pain while rubbing his belly.

“Rex!” Ptera knelt to her son’s side and cried. “You fucking idiot! Why did you do that?”

“Now that Uru is out of my way, there’s nothing standing in between your ruddy home and I! Die, the lot of you!”

Cyber Dragon Infinity couldn’t even begin to charge his attack, when out of nowhere, a shapeshifter with white-and-pink wings flew onto the scene. “You will do no such thing!” she declared as she shot an arrow at the Armored Bee, killing it instantly.

Rex already knew who this shapeshifter was. “Amber! There you are!”

“Leave my family alone!” Amber continued to shoot arrows at Cyber Dragon Infinity.

“You… You are…” Cyber Dragon Infinity was truly scared, yet tried to fend off Amber with attacks of his own - but not without sustaining severe injuries himself. “Pah! I don’t give two figs who you are! You’re severely outnumbered! Here, why don’t I give you a fresh reminder of that?” The dragon shot a quick beam of light, nicking Amber’s wings.

“Yeooooow!” Amber retracted her wings as she fell back to the ground. Though she was too weak to even half-shift, that didn’t stop her from pursuing Cyber Dragon Infinity. “Give Weevil back this instant!”

“Hmm… How about no? I’m not going to waste the little energy I have left on a monster that is clearly stronger than me. You get to keep your heads and your home for today! Be thankful!”

And with that, Cyber Dragon Infinity flew off with Weevil in tow.

“Tch!” Amber turned her attention to Rex. “Why, oh gods, why, Rex? Why did you attack an enemy that is clearly stronger than you?”

“That’s just the Raptor way, haha…” Rex had strength to stand up by himself. “...Wait. Amber? Is that you?”

Amber now had long mint-green hair with lavender sideburns and bowl-cut bangs. Her pupils were small and indigo. Rex didn’t think it was possible, but she looked even more beautiful than ever before. “It, um… seems my wig and contacts came off during that fight.”

“Amber…” Rex walked up to Amber to get a better look at her face. “Who are you, really?”

“I have lied to you all this time, Rex… Forgive me.” Amber calmed down a little before she began to explain herself. “So you know how you time travelled to the past with the pharaoh? I have done the same thing… I come from the future - a ruined future. I’m here to prevent that future from happening.”

“Uh-huh.” After all he had been through with Atem and Kaiba, Rex believed every word Amber said. Still, he found it curious that people could travel from the future. He thought that Amber would have had it all over there - the best technology, the toughest opponents, and the strongest cards. If she wanted to escape that, then something truly messed up must have happened.

“Everyone I know from that future is dead… My kid brother… My boyfriend… Even my mother!” Amber teared up. “Everyone I knew! They… They all died trying to protect me!”

“Amber…” Rex rubbed Amber’s back. “I’m sorry. I can’t say I know what you’re going through, but… I really am sorry.”

“But now… I can see you again… You’re alive, Papa!”

Rex’s eyes opened wide. “What did you just call me?”

“I’m not just Amber… I’m Ambrosia Camellia Ptera Raptor, the proud daughter of Weevil and Rex Raptor.” Amber lightly touched Rex’s baby bump. “I’m your daughter from the future!”

“So… that explains why you know about Mom, and about shapeshifters…” Rex began to cry too. “Forgive me, my daughter… You deserved better from me than one bow and a world of troubles… I’m sorry.”

Amber could finally release her emotions that she kept bottled up since her mother’s death. “Papa! Oh my gods, Papa…” she cried loudly into Rex’s chest. “I… I never thought that I could hug you again… You’re alive and breathing! I can’t… I can’t believe it!”

“Shh… I’m here, Amber…” Rex ran his fingers through his future daughter’s hair and wiped away some of her tears.

“You’re… breathing…” Amber held her ear to Rex’s chest to hear his heart beating. “And… you’re alive… This is… Oh, my gods… I’m sorry, I’m just so happy right now.”

“There, there…” Rex smiled while he cried. “We’re going to save your father, too. Or… Hold on a second.”

“Yes?” Amber stopped crying and looked at Rex curiously.

“ Weevil is the father, right?”

“Uh-huh. That would make you my mother.”

“I knew it…” Rex shook his head. “I wonder if I’m going to bottom for him again. Not that I would mind that…”

“Come on, Papa, there’s no need to be embarrassed about it!” Amber laughed and poked Rex’s cheek. 

Still feeling confused about everything that had happened, Ptera spoke up. “So… that makes you my granddaughter, doesn’t it? You’re the little baby Rex is carrying.”

“That’s right.”

“First this time travelling, then this whole shapeshifter thing…” Spinos spoke. “I have made many discoveries as a paleontologist, but this one really takes the cake.”

“Why are you still here, scumbag?” Ptera growled.

“Please, Grandma…” Amber begged. “I know what Grandpa did was unforgivable, but in my future, he died protecting both you and me. I ask that you give him a chance.”

“I ask the same,” Rex concurred. “It was Dad who told me about the doctor, and if it wasn’t for him, I would have no idea how to care for my daughter… for baby Amber.”

“Hmph!” Ptera still wasn’t wholly comfortable with this idea. “Fine. Since we’re both interested in Rex’s safety, I’ll cooperate with you. But do not expect to ever become friends with me. EVER.”

“Thank you so much, Ptera… No matter how long it takes, I’ll do what I can to earn your trust once again.”

“So what do we do now?” Tricera questioned. “Weevil has been kidnapped, and there are monsters roaming the city… We’ve got quite a matter on our hands.”

“I know of a club who can help stop this mess,” replied Amber. “But I ask anyone who’s not a shifter to stay behind, for your own safety.”

“No!” Adelaide refused. “After all Master Weevil has done for me, I can’t just leave him alone, suffering in gods know where… I’m coming, too!”

“Weevil is part of my family, too,” Ptera declared. “We’re all in this together.”

“And I’m sure this is a really good reason to call off of work,” Tricera added. “It’s times like these that remind me why I’m thankful to be a reputable employee.”

“Nana…” 

“It feels a bit weird being called that, I gotta say.”

“Well, what I gotta say is how damned proud I am that you’re named after me!” Ptera laughed. “I mean, I wish you took my given name, but I guess I’ll settle for middle name.”

“Hahaha!” Amber already began to walk in the direction of the university. “Well, what are we waiting for? I wanna go save Daddy!”

“Wait, Amber, before we go…”

“Yes, Papa?”

Rex pulled out his flip phone. “Let’s meet at the café first. If things are as serious as you say, then we need all the help we can get.”