#hell Jess is far from perfect and I sure love being team Jess

[anxiouspotatorants]

With genuine respect to those who like and root for this character I have officially become a Logan hater

[word-scribbless]

Lucky to Have You

I have been wanting to write but just haven’t been inspired and then I saw a gif of bearded Hotch and my writers block was cured for a little. Enjoy the fluff!

Aaron Hotchner x female reader

Masterlist

——————

You sat on Aaron’s bed curled up with a sick Jack, all the blankets you could find, and coco playing on the tv.

God you missed your boyfriend.

You had been dating Aaron Hotchner for a beautiful 6 months before all hell broke loose.

Emily Prentiss, one of your very best friends and former co workers was killed, your boyfriend was sent to Pakistan and you were just trying to keep yourself together let alone Jack and your BAU family. That was 3 months ago now.

You laid there at stroking jacks hair and thinking of the choices you’ve made in the past year, how proud Emily would be of you and how much you really miss her and Aaron. You pushed the tears about Emily away and focused on how far you’ve come from having a hopeless crush on your boss, to laying in his bed taking care of his son.

You had transferred from the BAU to linguistics about 2 months in to your relationship. You had always wanted to end up there and figured you’d do the fun dangerous job before you settled down. Then you met Aaron and Jack and you knew right away that you were ready to be home more, you were ready to be with Aaron Hotchner with out it being a secret.

Before your relationship began, you worked with the BAU for about a year while slowly falling in love with your boss. You two had become the best of friends. Emily, pen, and jj always told you he wanted more too but you couldn’t let yourself believe it. That is until the day he had an emergency meeting with Strauss and Jessica was called away to help her dad. You automatically offered to watch Jack. You smile as you remember overhearing Hotch tell Dave the problem.

“I know I should have a back up but all my back ups are here Dave, I’ll just ask someone to go get him and bring him here…”

You had ran up to hotch’s office to drop off paperwork when you heard his talking to Rossi.

“I’ll watch him” you volunteered right away.

It took a few minutes of convincing but finally he gave in and you spent a perfect afternoon with Jack until his dad got home around dinner. All three of you sat down to eat the dinner you made. It all felt perfect and meant to be. Turns out Aaron felt the same way.

“Y/N thank you so much” He said as he walked you to your car door that night.

“Always Aaron you know that”

“But thank you for everything. The two of us are so so lucky to have you.” He said as he placed a hand on your hip and you leaned into him a bit.

“I’m lucky to have you both” you said as he leaned closer to you “I’m so glad to have you Aaron.” You whispered before he leaned in and placed the most perfect gentle kiss on your lips. You wrapped your arms around his neck and smiled as you pulled apart and he leaned his forehead on yours.

“Will you let me take you out Y/N.” He asked sweetly and you couldn’t stop your giant smile as you nodded.

Since that perfect night she and Aaron had started the best relationship she ever had been in.

As you laid in bed with Jack you thought of your boyfriend. The man who lost a team mate, a friend and been sent to Pakistan away from his son and girlfriend. You thought about how much you wished he was with you both. Curled up around you and Jack making you both smile and Jack feel better.

A few hours later you and Jack had both dozed off. You woke up to the ringing of your phone. Every time you woke up you automatically would reach for Aaron then realize that he wasn’t here. As you fought the inevitable sadness you answered your phone and heard Derek’s voice on the line.

“Is everything okay?” You asked.

“Yeah, I need you to come in got word from Hotch.”

“Be right there let me call Jess.” You said as you slipped out from under Jack.

About 20 minutes later you were driving to Quantico thinking about the last phone call you had with Aaron. You driven in to fill him in about Jack and talk to him and Derek about Doyle. Of course you hadn’t stopped looking even if the FBI thought you had. You didn’t have much time to just take him in, his voice how he was. God you missed that man.

As you walked in to the conference room where you were told the team was your mouth dropped. There standing the head of the room was Aaron Hotchner. Next to the Emily,, alive and well. You knew he had been hiding something, you also knew sometimes he had to keep secrets from you. You hated it but knew this was for a reason, as much as it sucked… you would get over it. right now all you could do is be happy your best friend was back, and your boyfriend was here. And he was sporting the sexiest beard you had ever seen.

You paused and your keys dropped to the floor as you locked eyes with him.

Quickly Emily ran over to hug you. You were thankful for her support since your legs felt like jello.

“I missed you!” She said into the hug.

“I’m so happy you were fake dead I can’t even made that you guys lied your faces off.” You said as you felt Emily chuckle into the hug and she watched Aaron physically relax. He must have been nervous you would be mad. Jj must have known too because at your words she physically relaxed as well.

“You may be the only one not mad.” Emily breathed.

“Eh they’ll get over it, being you’re alive and all.”

��Yeah well I think you’re boyfriend might need some extra support.”

“Gladly” you said as Emily let go so you could move to him. The rest of the team huddled around her, giving you both space as you collapsed in Aaron’s arms.

He scooped you in and you broke down. He had you so tightly wrapped in his arms and you hadn’t felt so safe in months.

“Y/N I’m so sorry. I I had to.” He whispered against you and you shivered and squeezed him tighter as his voice cracked with emotion. You close your eyes and take in the feeling of his hands, his handsome beard, his strong body.

“I’m not worried about it, I hate that you had to lie to me, and leave, but all I care about is you both being home safe.”

“God I got so lucky” Aaron whispered.

You knew you would always hate the fact that you had to grieve your best friend and that your boyfriend had to lie to you and be away from you for 3 months. However she couldn’t deny she couldn’t be mad at him or her friends for doing what they had to.

“Me too aaron.” You say as you hold him. “And don’t even get me started on how lucky I am to see you with this this beard!” You said flirtatiously as you stroked his cheek.

He smiled at you and winked. “I’m sure Jack will hate it but I’ll keep it for at least a night.”

You laughed and winked back to him. “ that’s all I ask.” You said and kissed his cheek.

“Now let’s get this bastard finally so Jack and I can have you home!”

“Anything to be back with my favorite people.”

Later that night You were back in Aaron’s bed wrapped around Jack again, except this time you were looking into the incredibly handsome eyes of your boyfriend. Jack had jumped for joy despite his aching throat when his dad walked through the door. As Aaron had guessed he didn’t love the beard but agreed that he could deal with it for a few days when his daddy said you liked it.

You reached across Jack and cupped his cheek smiling as he turned his head to kiss your hand.

“I know this is an awful way to do this, but please stay, officially move in with us. I know you were staying here between leases while I was gone, but I don’t want you to look for a new place. Move in with us?”

You smiled with tears in your eyes

“I was really really hoping you’d say that!”

Jack woke up just a little as Aaron leaned in to kiss you.

“Ooo were kissing Y/N” he whispered as he kissed your cheek.

You giggled and Aaron hugged you both saying “I asked Y/N if she wanted to keep living here with us.”

“Yayyyyyy!” Jack rasped out and hugged her.

“Don’t you wanna know if she said yes?” Aaron laughed to his son.

“You have your giant Y/N smile on ofcourse she said yes!” He said to his dad with a ‘duh’ face

“I am so happy both my boys are here!” You say as you snuggle them both to you and smother their faces with kisses.

Tag list:

@averyhotchner @andreasworlsboring101 @mac99martin

[doctorstethoscope]

The Right Chapter 27 || Aaron Hotchner x Fem Reader

Hello my loves! Just a reminder that this chapter is posting from the queue as I am on vacation--- I will be checking in periodically but less active than usual and not updating the tag list! Hope y’all enjoy this one :)

Read previous chapters of this fic here! 

contains: food mention, hangover mention, discussion of parenting, canon-typical mentions of violence

wordcount: 2k

When you woke up the next morning, you’re somewhere between completely refreshed and wickedly hungover. You need a bacon egg and cheese on an everything bagel and a big cup of coffee stat if you are going to get anything at all done today. Aaron, of course, must have gotten up hours ago, and has long past left the bedroom by the time you rise at nearly 11. When you roll to get out of  bed, you notice that he’s left you advil, water, and a sleeve of saltines just in case you were feeling nauseous. You smiled, sitting up gingerly to sip at the water and take the pills. Once you were sure your stomach was fine, you slid out of bed and found Jack and Aaron in the kitchen, cooking up bacon and frying eggs while The Beatles played in the background. The boys hadn’t noticed you yet, and you decided not to call attention to yourself-- taking the moment to commit this mental image to memory, of Jack on his father’s hip, Aaron rocking back and forth as he pushed scrambled eggs around a frying pan, smiling and giggling and not thinking about work or serial killers or the next time he’d be pulled away.

When the song fades out, Aaron looks up, seeing you leaning against the doorway to the hall. 

“Good morning, sleeping beauty. How are you feeling?” He asks, looking you up and down for signs of a hangover. 

“I’m okay. I’ll be better after breakfast,” you tell him. “And a big hug from my favorite Hotchner!” You add, crossing the kitchen and taking Jack from his father, shooting Aaron a knowing glance that said “I’m pretty sure physical therapy didn’t clear you for that. Especially not after last night.” 

“I cracked the eggs. There’s no shells in them, Mom.” Jack says, and the world stops. He doesn’t even seem to notice that he’s slipped up, but Aaron and you both freeze, whipping your heads to look at each other with equally bewildered glances. 

“I’m sure you did a great job, buddy!” You tell Jack, after a moment that feels like hours, not wanting to ignore him but not quite sure how to address what had happened, and Aaron wasn’t being much help. 

“Breakfast is ready,” Aaron says, handing you exactly what you needed-- a bacon and egg sandwich, along with a hashbrown, some fruit, and a big cup of coffee. 

“You might be the perfect man.” You tell him gratefully, and he smirks at you as the three of you sit down at the table and eat.  

You and Aaron make casual conversation for a little while before Jack poses a question. “Dad, can we take my kite out today?” Jack asks as he spears a sausage link on his fork. 

“It’s not really windy enough to fly a kite today, buddy, but we can go for a bike ride or play some soccer if you want,” Aaron responds before taking a sip of coffee. 

“And we’ll all go?” Jack asks, looking across the table at you. 

“Of course,” you tell him. “We’ll all go to the park with you.” 

“Okay. Can I be excused?” He asks, and Aaron nods. 

“Go ahead, just make sure you wash your hands and your face. You’ve got syrup everywhere,” He chuckles, and Jack scoots out his chair and leaves the table. 

As soon as Jack is out of eyesight, you speak up. “So, are we gonna talk about that, or what?” You say in a hushed tone, not wanting Jack to overhear. 

“I didn’t tell him to do that,” Aaron says. 

“Neither did I,” you assure him. 

“Are you upset?” Aaron asks, a furrow in his brow that just about broke your heart. Silly, silly man. 

“No, of course not. Not if you aren’t.” You assure him. 

“I just… he can’t forget Haley. He’s all that is left of her.” Aaron says with a deep sigh, and your eyes well up in tears. 

“No, Aaron, he hasn’t and he won’t. We won’t let him.” You say, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. “And if you don’t want him to call me Mom, I understand.” 

“That’s not it. It’s just… bringing a lot up for me, is all.” He says. 

“That’s normal, honey. You should think about it for a while, maybe talk about it just with him. No matter what you decide, you’re not going to disappoint me or him. But it’s okay to need some time with this.” You say, standing up to wrap your arms around his shoulders from behind, pressing a kiss to the junction of his shoulder and his neck. 

“Thank you, for understanding me and for respecting her.” he tells you, raising one hand to cover yours where they met over his heart, craning his neck to leave a kiss on your wrist. 

“Baby, have you seen my phone?” You asked, realizing that you haven’t checked it all morning. 

“It’s charging next to mine on the bedside table. You were having a little trouble with the charger when we got in last night,” he chuckles at the memory of your drunken antics from the night before. 

You go into the other room to grab your phones, noticing that you have two missed calls from Penelope--- you only just missed her. You dial her back as you head back towards the kitchen to help Aaron clean up. 

“Where are you right now?” Garcia asks you as soon as the line connects, and your face twists up in confusion as you put your plate in the dishwasher. 

“I’m at Aaron’s place, where are you?” You ask, not understanding her line of questioning. 

“Is Jack in the room with you?” 

“Garcia, what’s going on?”  You ask, starting to get nervous. Aaron turns to face you, sensing your anxiety and you place a hand on his forearm for support. 

“Last night, when we were all at the bar, a girl was kidnapped, who based on the description, looks a hell of a lot like you. A neighbor saw the guy, and based on the he neighbor’s description--

“It looks like Josh,” you finished Garcia’s sentence, and you felt Aaron tense under your fingers. He puts his palm out, silently asking for your phone, and you pass it to him without even telling Garcia that you were putting him on. 

You were scared, terrified even, but you knew that the best thing you could do right then was be a profiler. You left Aaron to settle the details, and went into his bedroom to find something work-appropriate to wear. By the time you came back out, Aaron was off the phone. 

“I called the rest of the team in, they’re going to meet us at the office. We’re going to get this loser, and we’re going to get him today,” Aaron lets out, and you nod.

“I’ll take Jack over to Jess’s,” you say, turning back towards Jack’s room, and he stopped you. 

“No. You stay with me. Jess is on her way,” Aaron says, and she knocks at the door at the next moment. “I just told her that we got called in,” he tells you as he answers the door. 

“Morning, guys,” she says as she steps in, entirely too chipper for the terror that’s rolling through your stomach in waves. “Duty calls, right?” She smiles at you, and you use all the power you have to muster a smile back. 

“Yeah, even at the worst times,” you’re impressed that you strung that many words together. 

“Any idea when you’ll be back?” She asks, and you shake your head. 

“We’ve really got to go,” Aaron says, coming back into the room with Jack, who gives you and his father both hugs before you have to leave. You squeeze him extra tight before Aaron ushers you out of the apartment and towards the car. 

“I am not going to let anything happen to you.” Aaron tells you after a few moments of tense, silent driving. 

“I know,” you say noncommittally, and it’s back to silence. 

“You can’t go in the field.” You both say after a moment. 

“Darling, you have to understand--” 

“No, Aaron, it’s not even up for debate. You’re out because of your leg, and JJ is pregnant. The team needs me, and I can’t sit this one out because either one of us is emotional about it,” You argue, and Aaron heaves a sigh. 

“I wish Elle were here. Josh wouldn’t even still be a problem.” Aaron grumbles out, and despite yourself, you burst out laughing. Aaron’s shocked at first by your reaction, but after a moment, he lets out a laugh, too. 

“Aaron, that’s awful. You were upset with Elle for months, even after she left. You’re better than that.” You say, still smiling even though it really wasn’t funny at all. 

“Yeah, well, when you hobbled out to my car with a black eye, I think I began to understand Elle a little bit better than I did at the time.” Aaron tells you. 

You think of the girl Josh has taken now-- being punished only for the sin of resembling you. No doubt she had her own black eye to match yours, plus god only knows what else at this point, nearly twelve hours after being taken. You swallowed thickly. After a moment, you speak up again.

“You knew that this was going to happen, didn’t you?” You ask quietly-- it’s a genuine question, not an accusation, but it still breaks Aaron’s heart. “That’s why you weren’t excited or relieved like I was when he got arrested.”

“I knew it was a possibility,” he confirms. “I didn’t want to say anything to you, because there was no way to know-- and I didn’t want you to have to keep living in fear,” he explains.

 “I’m gonna get this son of a bitch,” you whispered, more to yourself than to Aaron. 

The team is already waiting for the two of you in the roundtable room while you arrive, although there’s really no need to brief, so you all launch into a profile while Garcia digs for more information. 

“What do we know about the unsub?” Aaron asks the team.

“He’s a power-seeker. He uses physical force as a method of coercion.” Morgan says, and Reid scribbles his statement onto a whiteboard. 

“He doesn’t react well when challenged--- his demeanor completely changed when he came here and Hotch went after him.” Emily adds. 

“True, but he had no problem going toe-to-toe with Morgan.” JJ contradicts. 

“Based on the message he left with the flowers, he’s displaying early indicators of stalking behavior. If that’s escalated far enough, it’s possible that Josh might really believe that the woman that he’s taken is Y/N.” Spencer says, and you nod. For her sake, you hoped not. He had a hell of a lot of pent up anger towards you, and you didn’t want this poor girl to take the brunt of it. 

“What’s her name?” You asked, quietly, and with everyone talking over you, you almost think no one hears you, until Aaron leans in a little closer. 

“What’s that, darling?” He asks. 

“What’s her name?” You say again, and his brow furrows in confusion. 

“Who’s name?”

“The girl who’s taking the beating with my name on it right now,” you spit out, and the rest of the team stops talking over you. “The least I can do is learn her name and go talk to her parents.” You say, packing your stuff up.

“Her name is Anna Reardon. We’ll send the address to your phone,” Emily tells you, and you turn on your heel and walk out. 

tagging:  @romanogersendgame @wanniiieeee      @zheezs14      @greeneyedblondie44 @angelic-kisses13  @baumarvel @ssamorganhotchner  @ijustwannaread2k19    @rexit-mo @shmaptainhotchnersmain @qtip-blog @averyhotchner  @the-modernmary @itsmytimetoodream @choppa-style @hotforhotchner11 @infinite-tides @isthatme-thatsme @g-l-pierce @bakugouswh0r3 @ssahotchie @sleepyreaderreads @rousethemouse

[cc-tinslebee]

[steps up to the mic] Listen, this might just be me, but if you’re going to have a large cast of “main” characters, you should probably give those characters opportunities to display their skills and foils instead of handing it off to the “real” main character.

Obviously, this could probably speak to a lot of fandoms, but I’m just gonna talk about The Mighty Ducks for a second because that’s what inspired this train of thought.

A bit of a rant (analysis?) below the cut:

When we look at the movies, I think the original, as well as D2, handled their large cast pretty well. Sure, it was kind of strange not seeing Karp, Peter, Terry, and Tammy/Tommy in the D2 cast, but they seemed to fill their absence decently with the new additions. (Of course, that’s just my own opinion.)

D3’s where my real gripe is, and while I have yet to rewatch it, there are still a few issues about the large cast that come to mind. Going from giving Adam good arcs in 1-2 to side-lining him when there was a perfect opportunity right in front of them, setting up a conflict between Guy and Connie with seemingly little payoff, and completely cutting Jesse (an original and arguably very important Duck) out with, as far as I know, little explanation.

I’d like to clarify before I get into this next part that I actually like Linda as a character; she seemed to have a lot of heart and I really admire that. I don’t, however, appreciate the writers creating a female character for the sole purpose of being the love interest to the lead. I really do believe that they could have made a much more compelling coming-of-age story for Charlie had they not implemented that romance, which didn’t seem to add anything to the plot. It really wasn’t Linda who got Charlie to turn around and realise his kinda self-destructive behaviour, but Fulton and Bombay.

They really would have used their time better focusing on solely telling the story of the Ducks’; Charlie’s refusal to change, actually giving us a vague understanding of Connie and Guy’s lovers quarrel, Adam’s feelings of separation from the Ducks. They really did the Ducks dirty with this one, and, hell, they did Linda dirty too. (And, yes, I do understand that D3 was mainly there to wrap up the story, so naturally things were a little messy.)

Which brings me to Game Changers.

Look, I’m not going to subject you all to me nitpicking this show. I will, however, say this: I hope they give the Don’t Bothers/reclaimed Ducks other than Evan a chance to shine. Even Sofi and Nick, despite them arguably being the “second/third” main (younger) characters. Sam, Logan, Maya, Lauren, Koob — even the Capek brothers! — are listed as main characters, but they’re often not as focused on as Evan. I’ve seen someone argue that Sam was set up to be a really interesting character this first season and they didn’t really do much with him other than in Pond Hockey, which was kind of disappointing, and I think that’s an extremely valid point.

I can only really speak for myself when I talk about things I’d like to see if we get a season 2. Like, if they manage to get Joshua Jackson, I’d be pretty happy with a new-captain-meets-the-old-captain moment, but I would much rather see Charlie bond with Logan over absentee parents over Evan. Logan clearly has some unaddressed issues with his mom, clearly more self-aware that what his mom did was unfair to him, and it just furthers his already established arc (but I’ve spoken about that already). I’d like to see Sam’s character get explored more, and maybe see Bombay help him harness his X-factor! I’d like to see Lauren and Maya’s relationship grow, and the Capeks’ gradual journey learning English! Hey, maybe even see the Reddicks join the new Ducks and bond a bit with Evan like Stephanie and Alex did.

That’s what I, personally, would like to see, not Evan getting handed all the potential arcs. Because he pretty much got everything; absent dad, team captain, love interest, choosing between what's good for him versus the team, getting Bombay back onto his feet, etc, etc. Other than maybe Sofi and Nick, everyone else on the team has 1-2 arcs at most, and I think there’s a pretty good argument out there that some get one to none.

And look, I’m not so naïve that I don’t understand that large casts are hard to juggle. It’s difficult to focus on everyone especially when a particular character speaks more to you and especially with a time limit. But take my Logan and Evan point for example; it’s not hard to assume that a bonding-with-Charlie-over-an-absent-parent moment would go to Evan. That’s probably what the GC writers might assume. But if you take a step back, look at the rest of your cast for a moment, you can see that he’s not the only option. It’s all about sharing the wealth of arcs evenly amongst your characters.

(Also, I wanted to quickly include — I believe — @k-romantic’s idea/joke that Julie should’ve been the one to romance Linda purely because I think it adds to my argument of arcs being forced onto the main character when they could’ve easily been better suited for another character. Obviously, since it was the late 1990s and Disney’s a bunch of cowards, maybe they wouldn’t have used Julie, but I think another Duck dating Linda would have done what the writers were going for just as well, maybe even better.)

[ellewritesathing]

Infernal    VIII

Summary: In your sleepy little town of Greendale, nothing ever slept for long. And ever since October, everything felt like it was waking up. Everything except for you, that is. One teensy trip to Hell (and an infuriatingly cute guy) later and suddenly you felt wide awake.

Word-count: 3.4k+

Masterlist Prev. | Part 8

Ever since you were eleven years old, you’d been going to the Paramount once a week with Theo to share a large popcorn with m&ms poured over the top, two large sodas, and the biggest bag of Sour Patch Kids that money from dog walking, tutoring, and scrounging between the couch cushions could buy. The dark was a blanket of safety and anonymity for an hour or two, and you loved it more than anything. It was two hours of you, Theo, and whatever rerun was showing that weekend. One of only two movie theatres in Greendale, The Paramount stood as a testament to friendship and the enduring power of bad cinema. 

Sharing the Paramount and all its memories with Caliban was nerve-wracking. 

If he noticed your non-stop fidgeting, he didn’t say anything. He was perfectly composed as he watched stressed out parents corral their screaming children - shoulders relaxed, mouth upturned, and hand easily laced through yours. 

“You know, I never cared much for children,” he said. He suppressed a laugh when one of the kids threw pieces of popcorn at their dad. “But I’m starting to think they may not be such loathsome little creatures after all. Given a little direction, they could surpass any of Hell’s torturers.” 

You would have laughed at his joke if you’d been listening, but you were too busy watching the specials board light up his face red, orange, and yellow that caught on the edges of his hair. “Is this your first date?” you asked. 

Caliban raised an eyebrow as he turned to you and you stammered out an explanation. Impulse control had never been one of your strong suits, and it had been on the decline lately. Putting you out of your misery with a sly smile, he said, “Yes.” 

“Wait-” you tugged on his hand slightly as the two of you moved forward in the line “-does that mean I’m your first kiss?” 

Caliban laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “My first kiss was with a succubus.” 

You weren’t sure what kind of answer you were expecting, but that particular one caught you off guard. “Oh. That’s pretty cool. Do you guys keep in touch?” 

“Are you in touch with your first kiss?” Caliban asked, throwing another smile at you as the two of you walked over the counter. He let you order and pay in peace, but he asked again when you were flavoring the popcorn, clearly amused by your awkwardness. 

You were in the middle of explaining that your first kiss had been on a dare at one of the worst, least supervised birthday parties you’d ever been to when someone bumped into and spilled your popcorn all over the floor. They kept walking. 

They only cleared a few feet before the Darkness lashed out and you yelled at them. “Hey! Are you going to apologize?” 

You recognized them once they turned around. He was one of the kids from the lacrosse team who’d bullied Theo back in freshman year. With possibly the fakest smile you’d seen, Charlie said, “Chill. It was an accident.” 

“Apologize.” 

“Are you kidding me?” 

“Say you’re sorry.”

His body relaxed and his eyes took on a familiar glassy, hollow quality as he mumbled an apology. You smiled.

“Good.” You took a step forward to close the distance between you. “Now give me your wallet.” He did so without a word, the charm overwhelming any reservations he may have had. He faltered slightly when you took out most of the cash, but you told him to be quiet. With a smile, you handed his wallet back to him. “Enjoy your movie.” 

Charlie blinked twice, slowly, but then he nodded. “You too,” he said uncertainly. He stumbled down the hall and looked at you again as he rounded a corner, completely dumbstruck. 

You waved at him, turning back to Caliban with a smile. “Ready to watch the movie?”

The easiness from earlier was gone; Caliban’s jaw was tense and his eyes were narrowed. He didn’t move from where he leaned against the wall. “What was that?” 

You shrugged. “I wanted him to apologize.”

“Are you sure that’s all you wanted?” he asked, pushing himself off the wall. His movements were easy, but his words were strained.

“Yes,” you lied, unclenching your fists. When you stole a glance at your palms, they were coated in a thin layer of darkness, smudged around the area where you’d dug your nails in to keep from knocking the false smile off Charlie’s face.

---

“Wait, so you’re like … Hannah Montana if she was a teenage witch and he’s like- what is he? Your Jesse?” 

Out of all the reactions you’d imagined after telling your friends that the mother you’d spent your whole life looking for turned out to be a literal demon, a Hannah Montana comparison hadn’t even made the top ten. 

“Harvey, don’t you think you’re being a little-” 

To be fair, they’d handled the news about Lilith better than expected. Harvey was confused, Theo was happy you found your mom even if she’d tried to kill them all before, Sabrina helped smooth things over, and Roz admitted to having her suspicions for a while. 

“What? I’m just trying to understand why the guy that tried to rule Hell and enslave us all is sitting on my couch.” 

It was only when things came to Caliban that their understanding faltered. Even Sabrina, trying her best, didn't quite understand.

“I’m sitting on your couch because I was invited, Huckleberry Finn.”

After defeating the Darkness and unbinding your powers, you’d gone to Sabrina’s with a tub of ice cream and explained everything. A weight that had been slowly crushing you was lifted off your chest that night, but it came back in full force with every angry word from Harvey. It wasn’t like you’d expected him to understand, but you’d hoped he would at least try. 

“Okay!” Standing up, you let out a weighty breath and held out your hands to stop them from speaking. “Will you two stop antagonizing one another for five minutes?” 

Reluctantly, Caliban nodded as Harvey collapsed back in his chair and grumbled, “Fine, but I still don’t like him.” 

“You don’t have to like him. You just have to respect that I like him,” you said. Harvey didn’t seem convinced, so you sighed and tried to come up with a new strategy. Finally, you stopped pacing and turned to Harvey. “Do you know what it’s like to feel like a piece of you is missing?” To Roz, “Like there’s something wrong with you because you just don’t fit in with everyone else?” To Theo, “And then you figure out what it is and you can’t tell anyone because you don’t think they’d care about you anymore if they found out?” You wiped your face haphazardly and stared at the Smashing Pumpkins poster peeling off the back wall. “It fucking sucks.” 

“And I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” Harvey said, standing up and blocking your view of the poster. “I am. But you can’t expect me to be okay after finding out that you spent the last three months lying to everyone and dating that asshole.” 

“I didn’t want to lie to you!” You felt the Darkness rising in your throat and did your best to push it down. Taking a deep, shaky breath, you looked back at Harvey and tried not to cry. “Is it so hard to believe that I was scared to tell you, or did you forget when you cut Sabrina out of your life when she told you?” 

Harvey frowned. His hand twitched at his side as he glanced at Sabrina. “That’s not the same thing.”

“Yeah, I know, because she was the most important person in your life and I’m just the kid that lives next door.” Your voice broke and Harvey stepped forward to give you a hug. The Darkness lurched at the movement and you stepped back to keep it from hurting him. Taking another step back, you started gathering your stuff. “I can’t do this right now.” 

“Hey, just hold on a second, okay?” Harvey tried to grab your wrist to stop you, and you couldn’t stop the Darkness from lashing out this time. 

“Don’t touch me.”

Harvey frowned, his hand outstretched and frozen, and a familiar, glassy film cloud covered his eyes. The air was sucked out of the room as Harvey blinked and tried to recover. His hand still hung in the air. Your heart broke.

“I need to go,” you rushed out, scrambling for the door. You didn’t care about the stuff you dropped or the fact that Caliban was sitting on the couch the last you saw - all you cared about was getting out before you did anything worse. Still, you froze in the doorway. Over your shoulder, you mustered up all your courage and said, “I’m sorry.”

You weren’t sure if any of your friends heard you over their concern for Harvey or if they just didn’t want to respond, but at least Caliban caught up to you in the silence. He didn’t reach out for you for the rest of the night, all he did was stare at you with stormy, unfathomable eyes.

---

Hilda Spellman was the closest thing you’d ever had to a mother; she was warm and inviting, and always made your favorite cupcakes if you were having a bad day. She made sure that your dad always had something on the table for dinner. She took you shopping every year before school started. She let you stay in their house for almost a month when you were convinced that your bedroom was haunted. Hilda Spellman deserved nothing but happiness. 

So why couldn’t you suck it up for one day and give her the perfect wedding that she deserved? 

Because, despite your best efforts, you were still upset at how things had unfolded with your friends. While Theo and Roz forgave you for lying and accepted you for being a witch, they weren’t sure they could give Caliban a chance after he lashed out at Harvey. Talking to Harvey might have solved that problem, but he was pretty much set on avoiding you. You didn't blame him after what you did to him, even if he didn't know what exactly it was you did to him.

All this drama might not have been an issue otherwise, but they were the only people you knew at this wedding. So far, the only other people to show up were witches that were preoccupied with either the Uninvited or the incubus on the loose. 

When you noticed Nick had disappeared from door duty, you finished your drink and set the glass down. Sliding in next to Sabrina, you bumped her arm with your elbow and held your hand out for some of the programs. “Need a hand?” 

“Not really, but I’ll take the company,” she said with a smile. She handed you a stack of creamy pink programs and laughed wistfully. “Nick was supposed to help me with this but he’d rather get busy with Prudence in the coat closet.” 

You tried not to laugh as you handed a program to a very solemn-looking witch. “Yeah, well, at least he’s talking to you,” you said, watching the witch disappear into the steadily growing crowd. 

Sabrina rolled her eyes. “Harvey will come around,” she said, pausing to smile as she handed out another program. “He’s just scared of losing you in all this.”

“You know, Caliban actually said something similar after we left the other night.” This time, you didn’t bother hiding your laughter. Sabrina didn’t bat an eye at taking on an eldritch terror, but the possibility of Caliban having a valid point seemed to shake her to her core. “He said that I shouldn’t be so hard on Harvey because all he wants is to keep me safe, but this is the one thing that he can’t protect me from. The magic and … getting my heart broken.” 

Sabrina tried to reign in her surprise, but she still seemed stunned as she handed out another program. “That … actually makes sense.” 

“Weird, right?” You stole a look at the line forming outside the church and your heart ached when you saw your friends lugging their band equipment through the parking lot. It was going to be a long night. 

Sabrina followed your gaze and sighed. “So ... where is Caliban? You RSVPed that you were bringing a plus-one but I don’t see him anywhere.” 

You tore your eyes away from the band to hand out another program. Shaking your head, you said, “I was going to bring him, but then I figured that this was Hilda’s special day and she didn't need a fistfight between her lead singer and a plus one.” 

“Well, I think you should bring him,” Sabrina said. “What? Just because I’m going to be sad and alone the whole night doesn’t mean you have to.” 

So, after a quick check with Hilda, you invited Caliban. He agreed to come, if you promised to talk to him about your lesser angels creeping in. 

You could feel Harvey staring at the back of your head throughout the whole ceremony, but Theo sat next to you and Robin said he’d save you guys a seat at the reception. Things were starting to look up, even if they were a little weird. 

As awkward as the ceremony had been, the reception was great. Caliban was as charming as ever, winning over Theo and Robin and making witches swoon left and right. Despite all your time together, you’d never seen him this comfortable around others. A room without demons or humans, it seemed, was where you found common ground. 

Until Sabrina’s toast. 

She lost credibility before she even opened her mouth by stumbling up the stage steps. Opening with a joke, she had a solid two and a half seconds before she started drawing attention to every couple in the nearby vicinity - starting with Harvey and Roz, glossing over Theo and Robin to mention you and Caliban, and eventually landing on Nick and Prudence. Sabrina tried to save the toast by circling back to Hilda, but it was too late. She crashed into the drums, said she’d be single for a century and a half, and was dragged off-stage by Zelda while the Fright Club scrambled to perform their set.

Amidst the chaos, Caliban ducked his head closer to yours and brought his drink to his lips. “You know,” he said, pausing to take a sip, “If you’d told me how much fun these gatherings were, I would have come with you a long time ago.”

Rolling your eyes, you took his drink and shifted in your seat so you could lean against him. “Does that mean I can sign you up for the book club?” 

“That depends. What are we reading?” Caliban asked. He looked away from the stage to meet your eyes. 

“The Feminine Mystique.” 

“Oh, okay.” 

Laughing, you tilted your head up to kiss his jaw. Settling back into your seat and intertwining your hands, you said, “Well, if it counts for anything, I’m glad you’re here now.”

If you thought the worst part of the night was Sabrina’s toast, you were totally and completely unprepared for the incubus attack. It jumped from Theo to Harvey to Melvin before landing in the Uninvited. Their eyes were wild for a moment, but then the Uninvited shuddered as their eyes returned to a deep, empty brown. They’d eaten the incubus, and moments later they bit into Dorian’s heart like an apple. 

There was something unbearably sad about the Uninvited, and the Darkness within you ached to fix them. It didn’t matter that they toasted to the end of all things, all that mattered was that they were alone. You started reaching out for them when Caliban took his hand in yours and pulled you closer to him. 

“I am the Herald of the Void. I feast on the hearts of those that reject me. And someone here turned me away, therefore, death to you all.” The Uninvited smiled and downed whatever had been in their glass. 

Tipping your glass towards the Uninvited, you drank to their toast as Hilda apologized for turning them away. She tried to invite them, but the Uninvited said it was too late. They’d already been turned away. 

Nick stepped forward as the one that had turned the Uninvited away to sacrifice himself, but Sabrina tugged him back by the edge of his sleeve. Prudence was one step behind, holding Nick close to her chest as Sabrina offered the Uninvited a heart of sorts. She explained that she’s been wandering a cosmos of her own lately, feeling hopelessly alone, and just wanting to belong somewhere with someone. If they got married, the Uninvited would have her heart and a place to belong, always. Forevermore, they’d be the Invited. 

The Darkness grew unruly as the Uninvited considered her proposal, and for a moment you thought they’d do as the Darkness wanted and rip Sabrina’s heart from her ribcage. Instead, all they did was nod.

---

Cold bit at your fingertips as you sat, knees pulled up to your chest, on the wall outside the desecrated church, but the stolen Mother’s Ruin kept your stomach warm. The sun had disappeared somewhere between the fake wedding and trapping the Uninvited in Sabrina’s old dollhouse, October chill coming in with the night sky, but you welcomed the change. Indifferent sunshine to apathetic stars. 

Pouring out a bit of gin on the dead flowers below, you said a silent prayer for the Uninvited. Not for forgiveness, but maybe understanding. Hoping it would make the Darkness subside.

The crunching of dried grass underfoot interrupted your thoughts. 

“This seat taken?”

You shrugged but moved over all the same to make space for Harvey. He threw a lanky leg over the side of the wall as he let out a deep breath. When he was settled, you offered him some of the Mother’s Ruin but he shook his head. 

“No, uh, I’m good. Thanks though.” Harvey drummed uncertainly on the sides of the wall, watching carefully as you drank his rejected share of the gin. “So I was thinking about something the Uninvited said back there - about wandering around all alone until the terrors welcomed them to their club?” 

Raising an eyebrow, you asked, “Are you about to call my boyfriend a terror?”

Harvey laughed, a deep, unsure sound, and looked down at the wall again. “Well, he is, but no.” He sighed and tried to get back to his point. “Look, I know I’m not the best at handling change. When Sabrina … I don’t know. It just- it kills me that you felt like you felt so alone and didn’t think you could talk to me.” 

“Harvey-” 

“Wait, let me finish.” Harvey took another deep breath. His nose was red, either from the cold or because he was holding back tears. “I never ever wanted to be the reason why you got hurt. But I was, and I’m sorry that I made you feel like that.” 

You slid your hand over his. “Thank you,” you said quietly. 

“I’m still not done.” 

“Of course, you’re not.”

Harvey choked out another laugh and smiled. “Don’t tell Theo but you’re my best friend. And if Caliban makes you happy then … I kinda owe it to you to give him a shot.” 

“So you’ll stop antagonizing him?” you asked, sitting up a bit straighter and pointing the bottle of gin at Harvey’s chest. 

“Well, I never said that,” Harvey said dramatically. He laughed and pulled his other leg over the wall, taking the bottle from you and pulling a face after he tasted it. “Okay, what stars are we looking at tonight?” 

You threw your legs over the side and let out a deep breath as you leaned against Harvey’s arm. “Fuck if I know. Tommy was the one who remembered all that stuff.” 

“You just wanna make some up?” Harvey asked. He put his arm around your shoulder and handed the bottle back to you.

Hugging the bottle to your chest to keep the Darkness warm as it slept, you looked up to the sky and pointed to a cluster of stars. “That one’s you because it’s ugly.”

Tagged:  @caliban-is-my-girl  @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e​  @music-movies  @miss--moose  @marrypuffsstuff​  @harryscarolinaa​  @igorsbby  @foji2000​  @hxlalokidottir​    @artaxerxesthegreat​  @thxmagic  @luquincy  @strawberriesandknives​  @xealia​  @hotmessindisguise  @acciomaximoff​  @reheated-coffee​​  @olivia-west-allen  @shelby-x​  @perseny-blog​  @millie-753​  @luneerius​  @shizzybarnaclee​  @lettherebelovex​  @drrramaaaqweeen​  @throughparisallthroughrome​  @ietss​  @thebookwormlife​  @mechanicalanimalz​  @mariamermaid​  @nqbmf​ @roxytheimmortal​  @shephard17895​  @andie-kathleen​  @clockworks-world-to-fandoms​  @blondeeee-e  @piensa-bonito  @supportstudies​  @bookishaficionado​  @perfectlysane24​

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: Miraculous World: New York

(The following review contains spoilers, and if you would like to not be spoiled, I would recommend watching the episode before reading)

(I had to pause a LOT to get through this special)

-Oh s*** Cosmo bug and Astro Noir. That is so cool.

-Okay maybe its my audio, but their voices seem a bit deeper. No big, just something I noticed.

-Okay the yellow flower was cute. Good on you kitty.

- Also, side note. This is very nice animation. Very crisp.

- Marinette is moving on... kinda. Well, she is trying. Its not easy getting over someone you have a thing for. I guess that means Miracle Queen did happen and I will need to suck it up. But.... I am not moving on yet either.

- The puppet show was perfection. And honestly on par with what you would expect from middle school projects. (I almost thought it was the adults showing them and was like WTF)

-BACK THE F***. Madame Bustier is PREGNANT! PREGNANT?! I am so lost? What is the story!? Who is the father! Is she married? Is it artificial insemination! Is it the principal?

-Adrien so moved by Marinette’s outburst of Friendship. Marinette ‘Just a friend’ Dupain-Cheng is going the Tia Gardner method of friendship. Lol

-Marinette ready to fight and Gabriel just like ‘Yea sure whatever’ (Gabriel’s smile murders puppies)

- Kagami trying to cheer adrien up. If you love adrigami, get that juice. (That looked like a kiss kiss, but the angle seemed off, so I am not counting it that way.)

- Kitty Clicker is wonderful. This entire scene is gold.

-  Gorrilla doesnt like planes, poor baby

- Plagg, you are a devious little s***. I love you so much. As a writer, his dialogue on how to convince adrien is so devilish its amazing. Using technicalities to tempt adrien.

-Lukanette shippers get your juice... even if it was still tainted a bit by Adrien inclusion. You still get a kiss.

- Okay, can we appreciate that Adrien is also having the same amount of trouble as Marinette moving on, but also include Guilt into the equation? I love this because you KNOW Chat noir is going to get an ear full later.

-Marinette has totally moved on from Adrien.... Oh my poor sweet little girl. You havent. You havent even a little. This ride is litterally the reverse of Startrain and its amazing. Alya is NOT helping. Also, give the person that drew Marinette’s Daydreams a f***ing raise. They earned it

-Marinette pulling herself OUT of the situation. Now adrien is slightly bummed out. Well i am sure that this is the last awkward experience with Adrien she will have. It isnt like the two of them will get lost in NY together... thats whats gonna happen isnt it?

-Marinette walking past all the couples sleeping together. JULROSE GET YOUR JUICE!!!

-Ah yes, nothing like watching the sunset with your good friend. Yes, you good pal, Adrien. Who is Just a friend. Wow, the realization that Marinette used the word friend in this movie more times then Adrien did in the entire series so far. (Or at the very least close)

- Adrien, STOP! Marinette is trying to move on from you! Stop making it so damn difficult for her. (I am not serious, i am eating this s*** up like Sushi)

-Nino confirms he loves Adrien. ADRINO COME GET YOUR JUICE! But yea, I feel alya and Nino’s pain. So they are going to help them both.

-Adrienette hugs. Yes, good.

-And thank goodness for Techno Pirate! Saving everyone from awkwardness by trying to bring down a plane... thats heading for NY...

-OH SWEET! BATMAN RIP OFF AND Captain Marvel rip off! And their sidekicks, Robin rip off and... Medusa girl? Okay Neat.

-Jokes aside, Majestia and Night Owl are boss as hell.

-Wow, I know that Ladybug and Chat noir got powerups now. But these United Heroes make their powers look so bland in comparison.

-Get rekt France!

-ADRIEN! DONT USE YOUR PHONE ON AN AIRPLANE! Well, unless he is using the in flight wifi, then he good.

-How come New York has a f*** ton of superheroes in this universe? America really gets all the cool stuff regardless of what fictional universe your in.

- Why are the superheroes so keen on watching over Marinette’s class? Do they know? Do they know Marinette and Adrien are there? Or is it like they just want to prevent an international incident. PLEASE LET IT BE THE LATER.

- I have only had Aeon for 15 seconds and I would violently murder anyone who harms her.

-Oh my Sabrina! GET YOURSELF AN AMERICAN BOY! ... And Chloé is going to ruin the fun. Oof tough break roomies.

-The entire class! I cant even! Not even a second after the door closes they out to party on the roof!

-Aeon, “See? They are made for eachother!”

- Damn, now that’s some guitar playing! Plus Her design is boss as heck. America really just has better versions of EVERYTHING.

-American boy basically snuck in to see Sabrina! GET IT GIRL!

-HOTDOG SUPERHERO! WITH MAGIC HOTDOGS!!!!!! BEST NEW YORK EVER!

-Nino and Alya be tag teaming this!

-Wow Zag, you stuffing me full of Adrinette goodness. Gorilla is a beautiful sunflower.

- Marinette and Adrien havent been in the US 24 hours and they already have two shippers of them. Also, what do doors have against them?

-Jess is Shipping it too hard. “Lets put them in danger!”

-Jess is having way too much fun with this.

-Hawkmoth akumatizing an actual Super villain. FINALLY!

- “Wouldn’t you rather have an Atomic Bomb?” I love Techno pirate.

-”Super Heroes should never use their powers for personal gain.”  Hmmm I wonder how this will back fire on everyone involved.

-”OH S*** HE STOLE THEIR CANNONS! BOOM GOES THE CANNONS!”

-Okay, I take back what I said, these heroes need some Miraculous asap.

- Ladybug is 100% justified in being angry with Chat Noir. It is his fault.

-AEON!!!! NO!!!!!!! Okay, guess i have to kill that techno pirate, and Chat noir

-MAJESTIA IS F***ING PISSED! WRECK HIM MAJESTIA!

- Seems they really hammering it in that Chat noir f***ed up. They right though, but at least Ladybug isnt angry enough to agree that Chat noir should give up his miraculous to some rando. FLEEING FROM THE LAW!

-So lucky charm can only fix damage due to specific villains. It cant fix things when the villain is gone or they are out of range. I always knew it had limitations, but damn. Chat noir REALLY screwed the pooch on this one.

-Adrien no! Oh s***! He cant just... I mean.... He can but...

__________

-Gabriel stole the Eagle! The Kwami of Freedom. The irony is so delicious here.

- So night Owl and Sparrow are both chick with Masculine superhero appearances. Thats actually pretty damn smart, great way to keep people off their identity.

-Welp, i am depressed. Adrien doesnt have Plagg.

-EVEN THE PRESIDENT IS A SUPER HERO! AMAZING!

- So an akumatized person can USE A MIRACULOUS WHILE AKUMATIZED! WHAT THE F*** THATS AWESOME. Also why didnt catalyst do that?

-Gabriel actually getting adrien out of there while before s*** hits the fan. That is actually kind of a decent parenting move. Granted he is going to cause it, but appreciate it.

-Marinette the bike thief is back! And she is an international criminal!

- She tried so hard. Welp I am glad that Marinette is clearly over... actually no. This trip made that clear.

-Liberation, Wow. That is the most American power I have ever seen. I LOVE IT.

- Okay, so I never thought i would say this. maybe there is such a thing as too much freedom? Or at least Freedom that lets you impede on Other people’s freedoms.

- I know what Zag is up to, and it is working. I want a tv series Of Jess and Aeon. They are wonderful.

-So Majestia can casually move the moon. Yea, thats amazing and terrifying! I love her.

-Quantum masking! So there is a glamor effect! I knew it! So Aeon knows who ladybug and Chat noir are.

-DID I F***ING MENTION I WOULD MURDER FOR AEON!

-aeon will never see Tikki or plagg. Thats so sad.

-At least Adrien learned an important lesson.

-Cute LADYNOIR REUNION

-The was clever, using the keychain

- Eagle jess is epic.

-and Majestia can catch missles. Considering she can move the moon. Not surprising.

-OH DAMN, Night owl and Sparrow are LEGACY HEROES! Thats like the Phantom, Or like Jojo.

-That was sweet of Marinette and the class.

-Oh so the guardian of those miraculous came back to claim it.

-But now sounds like the set up for a new series.

____________________________________________________________________

Overall, I did greatly enjoy this movie. Though there were times i wanted to know more, and times I wanted to know less. I know this takes place sometime during season 4, but the exact time is vague. It did tell a really cool story. It felt like a three episode saga combined into one. It was kind of interesting. And damn the drama was higher.

I give it a 7.5/10.

I would rate it up there with my favorite ML episodes.

[imaginesandinserts]

Irreverent Pt. 26 - Forgiveness

Title: Irreverent Pt. 26 - Forgiveness Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader Rating: R Words: 1625

Irreverent Series Masterlist

You had decided to stay. Well, you hadn't quite decided that - but rather you hadn't been able to decide what to do if you were to leave, so it had been a decision by default. After the Senate hearing, things started to go back to normal. The team began to pick up cases again and you realized why you loved your job. Being out on cases, hunting down new monsters every other week, picking apart someone else's life rather than your own - it was the perfect distraction. You couldn't possibly focus on your own mess when you were stopping evil.

You and Hotch were professional - that was really the best way to describe it. He had taken you staying on in stride and hadn't commented on it if he'd expected otherwise. He didn't pair the two of you together for anything, which was perfectly alright with you. It was nice to not go home and drink every night. You had recognized the signs of alcoholism emerging in you and had made sure that it wasn't something you were becoming overly dependent on. You weren't - not unless you were home and alone that is.

Things with you and Emily were getting better. You'd gone out with her for dinner - just the two of you. It was nice to talk to her about nothing again. You knew you'd been unfair to JJ and so had offered to babysit Henry, which she'd taken you up on immediately. You'd also been helping her study for her profiler certification. That really only left Hotch, and you had no idea how to go about fixing that.

On the last case, there had been one room short so you'd offered to bunk with Emily. The two of you had had fun, making a sleepover out of it. JJ had joined, dragging Derek and Spencer along as well. The five of you had done face masks in yours and Emily's room and exchanged stories from college. It had been nice and felt so incredibly normal.

When everyone else had left, you and Emily had crawled into bed, your hair done up in braids. In the dark she'd confessed how happy she was that the two of you were good again. How sorry she was and how many times she'd stopped herself from picking up the phone and calling you. Your hand found hers in the dark and you entangled your fingers together, a sad smile on both your faces.

"Y/N, do you think you and Hotch are ever going to be okay?" Her voice was barely a whisper in the dark room.

You swallowed, turning to face her, unsure how to answer her. "I don't know Em. He really hurt me. I know that he was doing it to protect you and I am thankful every single day that he did. But then he left. He left knowing that I needed him. I forgive him for not telling me. I can't seem to forgive him for leaving."

You felt her hand on your face, brushing away the tears that had come unwantedly. "Eventually you will," she said, lightly pushing you to turn around so she could hug you from behind. That was the nice thing about Emily - she said the right thing and she would always offer to be the big spoon.

*------------*

Hotch had watched you very carefully during cases ever since the day of the Senate hearing. You'd decided to spent the night at Rossi's that day, which was the only reason he hadn't commented on the uncharacteristic excessive drinking. But he watched you for the signs. He knew them well.

However for all intents and purposes you seemed to have a grip on the situation. He wasn't sure if that was cause for concern in and of itself - were you actually managing it or were you just incredibly good at hiding it? He hated not being able to talk to you about it.

*------------*

Hotch was helping Jack get ready, the morning before he was meant to fly out for a case, when his son asked for you. He asked why you hadn't come around for their dates anymore since his father had come back. This had been news to Hotch as he had no idea what Jack was talking about. As far as he had known, Jack had spent the seven months with Jess and her family an hour away. When he dropped Jack off at Jess's place for the week he had pulled her aside.

"Hey, Jack mentioned that Y/N had seen him during my overseas assignment. He made it sound like it happened pretty often."

"Oh yeah, I figured you knew Aaron. Honestly, she was a God send. Every Saturday without fail unless your team was on a case, she drove over and took the kids for the day. They did a bunch of stuff all summer - the Zoo, Aquarium, Circus," Hotch looked down at his sister-in-law in complete bafflement. "Andrew and I started using Saturdays as date night. She'd come back and tuck them all into bed and just wait until we got home. I thought for sure Jack mentioned it to you."

Hotch quickly fixed his expression and just muttered something about having misunderstood. Jess nodded understandingly. "Well anyways, since you bring it up and you'll see her before I do, let me just grab her umbrella that she forgot last time. Could you bring it back to her?"

He'd nodded in agreeance and drove to work in a confused state of mind. You'd driven an hour there and back every single weekend that you were free to take his kid and his niece and nephew off of his sister-in-law's hands, the entire seven months he'd been away. What the hell was he supposed to make of that? That wasn't something anyone did for a friend - right? It just wasn't. So what on earth was he supposed to think? How was he supposed to tell his son that it was his fault that he no longer got to see his favorite person in the world.

He pulled into the parking garage breathing harder and trying to control the onset panic he was experiencing. How was he supposed to fix this?

*------------*

You were sitting on the plane already by the time Hotch arrived late, which was very unlike him. You looked up and nodded at him before returning back to the case file in your hand. He was the last one to board, so he went and gave the okay to the pilot and stowed his stuff away. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Rossi get up from the seat across from you, only to be replaced by Hotch. You looked up, unsure of what to make of the look on his face. He was holding something, and as he placed it on the table in front of you, you recognized it as the umbrella you'd left at Jess's and promised to drop by and grab, right before he'd come back. You hadn't been back to her place since.

You muttered a quick thanks and moved to grab the umbrella and put it away in your bag, but his hand covered yours. You looked at him, eyebrow raised in question. He looked upset, that much was clear, but you weren't sure why. You had to stop yourself from covering his hand with your other or standing up and going around to hold him. Seeing him upset, hurt.

"You went and saw Jack, every single week." His voice was low and full. It hadn't been a question, but you found yourself nodding just the same.

"Y/N," his voice broke but hearing your name from his mouth again felt so good. It had been so long since you'd been anything besides Agent. "I am so so sorry and I will do anything you want in order to prove it. Can we please be alright? Please."

You immediately felt the tears welling up in your eyes. You had to swallow a sob as you looked at him. He looked so broken and so sincerely apologetic and you couldn't believe you'd held a grudge for so long. You nodded, before quickly getting up and turning into the alcove where the bathrooms were, out of view of the rest of the plane. You wouldn't cry in front of everyone. In a second he was there too, crowding the tiny space and looking at you as you met his eyes. You weren't able to stop yourself as you reached for him and drew him one step closer until he was right against you. You wound your arms around his waist, face burrowed into his chest. His arms held you tight immediately. It had been so long. "I'm so sorry, I am so so sorry." He just kept repeating himself as your hands tightened around him.

If anyone on the team noticed the interaction or the fact that the two of you stayed in the alcove far longer than needed to simply use the bathroom, they wisely didn't comment on it. He let you into the bathroom first so you could fix yourself up a bit. Your face looked a bit worn from tears but a quick splash of cold water helped. When you exited, he was still waiting for you. You reached up and fixed his tie into place before walking back to your seats. As you sat down, you caught Rossi's eye and he smiled knowingly at you. For the first time you found yourself actually returning one of those smiles as a slight color came to your face. Things were going to be alright.

[kazledazzel]

Hi! I was wondering, for the au + trope + prompt game: can I request the Merry thieves in the hogwarts au? I can totally see them as marauders! Maybe prompt 23? but honestly any one of them would be cool 💕💕💕

Thank you for the prompt! I hope you like this. I tried to stick to the Merry Thieves as much as I could, but I did end up wandering to Thomastair... so I’m sorry about that, but I have been wanting to do a Shadowhunters Hogwarts Au for ages, so I plan to do a series of one shots for this au. (I want to do more Thomastair, Blackdale, The Merry Thieves, Gracetopher, etc...). Anyways, I hope you enjoy this. I have a part two of this if anyone is interested. 

Click here to read on Ao3 or keep reading below :)

“Are you sure this is legal?” Thomas asked, peering down at the quidditch field from where he sat on the bleachers next to James Herondale. The two gryffindors sat together, supervising the other half of the friend group.

 The pitch was empty, and the group had taken this opportunity to sneak down and test out Matthew’s new broom. Matthew Fairchild was a Slytherin who was as ambitious as he was cunning, and had jumped at the opportunity for a better broom. His old one, though a cleverly crafted broom made by Matthew’s father, had suffered a rather disastrous encounter with Alastair Carstairs, and was long in the bin. It had just so happened that Christopher had been in the process of making a broom, better than any Nimbus or Firebolt. He had accomplished one of his lifelong goals; to combine magic, science and mechanics. 

 Only Thomas seemed to be worried about this experiment. He was proud of his cousin, but there was often a thin line between success and disaster when it came to Christopher’s inventions. However, Christopher did seem utterly and completely focused on his latest invention. He was so lost in his work, he seemed to have failed to noticed that he was wearing the wrong tie. Grace Blackthorn was probably in the castle somewhere, searching her room for a green tie and instead finding a Ravenclaw blue one.

 “I am sure-,” Matthew started, giving Thomas false hope. “- that what the Ministry of Magic doesn't know won't kill them,”

 Thomas frowned. He turned to James for backup, but he had his head in his book. Thomas scowled, and returned to his babysitting.

 “It’s almost done,” Christopher said, raising his voice loud enough so that both guys on the bleachers could here. He raised his wand and cast a silent charm. He cleared his throat. “Matthew and Gentlemen-,”

 “Kit!” Matthew demanded. “Are you implying that I do not qualify as a gentleman?”

 Christopher shrugged, but James took this opportunity to poke at his best friend. 

 “Anna told me otherwise,” James called down. “Did you or did you not have a rather scandalous encounter with a Hufflepuff prefect last week?”

 “Hufflepuff? Alastair Carstairs’ house? Really, Jamie? I would never,” Matthew lowered his voice. “It was a Ravenclaw,”

 James laughed, while Thomas only smiled. Although the situation was funny, he was getting rather tired of Matthew’s hatred for Alastair Carstairs. Was all this nonsense really over a broken broom, or did it run deeper? Thomas didn’t know, but he needed an explanation before he could hate Alastair Carstairs. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as James and Matthew thought. 

Then again, maybe Thomas was just being silly. If he was honest with himself, he’d admit that he had strong feelings for Alastair Carstairs. Strong feelings that caused great confusion, and Thomas couldn’t tell if those strong feelings were born out of love or hate. He’d thought about talking about it with Christopher, but Kit hadn’t really picked up on the fact that Thomas may lean more towards boy, nor the fact that his science goggles were upside down. God bless Christopher and his obliviousness. 

 Then again, Christopher may have been oblivious, but he wasn’t stupid. In fact, he was one of the smartest people Thomas knew. The sorting hat had known it when placing him in Ravenclaw, and even the Slytherin prefect Grace Blackthorn had known it. Not only did Grace seem to be aware of Christopher’s genius, she seemed to be falling in love with it. Grace Blackthorn, who was so set on maintaining her reputation of being sensible and too mature for love in all its silliness, had fallen for a softie like Christopher. Thomas often found it funny; plenty of quidditch stars from all the different houses fancied Grace Blackthorn, but she was too busy looking at Christopher with cartoon hearts in her eyes to notice. 

Thomas was constantly seeing romantic love. He saw it every time Cordelia Carstairs had walked past, making James blush red like a tomato and leaving him stutter for five minutes as he tried to remember his own name. He saw it every time he went looking for Lucie only to find her writing her manuscript with I heart Jesse Blackthorn and Lucie Blackthorn written around the edges. He saw it most of all in the way Anna and Ariadne talked about each other. Thomas was constantly surrounded by his friends and their lovesick hearts, and yet he couldn’t figure out his own.

 “James, and Matthew,” Thomas said, glaring at both boys harmlessly. “Let Kit finish,”

 “Thank you, Thomas” Christopher began again. “As I was saying, I present to you all, The Lightwood Flamethrower,”

 James chuckled softly. “Lightwood. I get it. Light-wood. Brooms are made from wood,”

 The rest of the group turned to look at James, who was slowly realising the obvious. He slouched, as if he was trying to make himself smaller.

 “Come on then. Let’s try it out!” Christopher said enthusiastically, gesturing for Matthew to get on the broom. He rambled on excitedly. “It should go faster than any Nimbus or even Fire Bolt, and it has a spacial awareness feature so that you’ll be able to tell if there are any bludgers coming your way. It started producing sparks last night, but that probably won’t happen anymore-,”

 “Probably?” Thomas asked worriedly. “Have you ran any safety tests?”

 Matthew grinned with bright green eyes. “What do you think we’re doing now?” He began to mount the broom, and Thomas felt he might go into cardiac arrest. Matthew picked up a helmet and put it on his head. “Besides, I’m wearing a helmet,”

 “That’s great Math, but you haven’t strapped it on right,” James pointed out. 

 “Oh dear god,” Thomas said, exasperated. He buried his face in his hands, while James patted his shoulder. 

 “Don’t look now,” James said, his voice low. Thomas heard Matthew give an annoyed groan, and he looked up from his depressed state. He spotted the cause of Matthew’s annoyance right away. 

 At the entrance of the quidditch pitch was the entire Hufflepuff team. Leading the team was Cordelia Carstairs, in full quidditch gear and carrying her broom, the Cortana two thousand, as if it were a mighty gold sword. To be fair, it was the greatest broom one could buy. They were extremely rare, and had been discontinued. Thomas recalled how Christopher hadn’t compared his own broom to Cordelia’s. The Cortana two thousand was faster than any other broom, and could change direction easier than even a Fire Bolt. With Cordelia as their Captain, Hufflepuff was a hard team for any house to beat. It didn’t matter if the weather was against them, Cordelia flourished in rain, hail, sleet and snow.

 Next to Cordelia was Lucie, who stuck out like a sore thumb in her Ravenclaw robes. She didn’t really need to be there, but she often went along anyways to support Cordelia. 

 “And to look at Jesse Blackthorn,” James had once said to her, with both the disapproval of a protective older brother and with the satisfaction of teasing on a sibling. 

 “Very funny, Jamie. How long did it take for you to form a full sentence the last time Cordelia spoke to you?” Lucie has snapped back, while Matthew burst out laughing. 

 Alastair Carstairs wasn’t far behind his sister. Being the older sibling, some might have thought Alastair would be annoyed that the position went to his younger sibling. If he was, he didn’t seem it. He seemed perfecting content being Head Boy. Not that Thomas payed much attention to Alastair’s behaviour, or the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed, or the way he-

 “I’m going to do it,” James whispered to Thomas, interrupting his thoughts. James closed his book and practically bounced out of his siting position. “I’m finally going to talk to Cordelia Carstairs,”

“Okay, Jamie,” Thomas said, standing up and following his friend down the bleachers. “Just remember that your name is James Herondale, not-,” Thomas made a series of spluttering noises. James blushed.

 “What’s all this about, Carstairs?” Matthew demanded, glaring at Alastair. Cordelia didn’t seem to realise the question wasn’t directed at her. She seemed a little hurt. 

 “Quidditch practice,” Cordelia replied, eyebrows raised. “What’s wrong with that?”

 “Oh, sorry, I-,”

 Cordelia had her head held high as Matthew struggled to explain he was speaking to her brother. Alastair looked amused, as Thomas tried to rip his gaze away from him. He often found it amusing how Matthew could hate one Carstairs so much, and be fighting with his best friend over the attention of the other. 

 By now James was my Matthew’s side, and had gained a new confidence from Matthew’s humiliation. 

 “That wasn’t very nice, Matthew,” James gloated. He was looking at Cordelia hopefully. Cordelia broke away her gaze, and Thomas could see the scarlet colour against her brown skin. Cordelia Carstairs was blushing over James Herondale.

 Maybe Thomas wasn’t as fluent in love as he thought he was. 

 “We booked the pitch,” Alastair said, moving to his sisters side. Matthew seemed to have forgotten his desire for Cordelia immediately, and was now looking at Alastair as if he was the Devil himself coming to drag Matthew back to Hell with him. Not that Cordelia noticed. She and James were both stealing glances and giving each other soppy looks. It truly was a wonder that they didn’t know their love was requited. Lucie was making her way towards Thomas and beaming. No doubt she was about to write James into her newest chapter of the Beautiful Cordelia.

 “It’s true,” Lucie said, rolling her eyes at Matthew and Alastair’s petty feud. Her and Thomas had discussed it often, but neither of them knew the root of the rivalry other than the fact that Alastair had once broken Matthew's broom after they both collided in a quidditch match, but that had been an accident. Perhaps their hatred had always been there, and this had just triggered it. Still, even that didn't add up. Matthew wasn't a hateful person. That was something all the Merry Thieves were aware off, especially James. All of Thomas' friends were like little lights in his life, and Matthew was sometimes the shiniest. Despite coming across as overly charismatic or vain, Matthew never failed to radiate what good was in him. He was constantly willing to be the guinea pig in Christopher's experiments, and never let his obvious crush on Cordelia get in the way of his friendship with James. Thomas sometimes wondered if James was even aware of Matthew's feelings for Cordelia.

 Then there was Alastair. Mysterious Alastair, whom Thomas had never cared for until his fourth year at Hogwarts. Up until then, Thomas had known nothing of the other boy save the fact that he was a fifth year Hufflepuff with a repuation, that his friends with Clive Cartwright and Charles Fairchild, Matthew's annoying older brother, and that he and his posse sometimes liked to pick on first years. It wasn't until that one day in Third Year, when James had been locked up in the infirmary with a broken leg and Thomas had been sent on the Honeydukes run while Christopher, Matthew, Lucie and Cordelia had stayed behind to keep James company that Thomas even spoke to Alastair. It had been snowing outside and it had been difficult for Thomas to see where he was going. He accidentally walked straight into Alastair as he entered the shop. Thomas had been almost terrified; Alastair had been so intimidating when he'd had his two friends by his side before. He hadn't seemed intimidating that day in Honeydukes, though. He'd seemed lonely, and as Thomas bent to help Alastair pick up his chocolate he could see that Alastair's dark brown eyes were brimmed with red. Sometimes people weren't scary; they were just sad.

 Thomas, being Thomas, had asked the other boy if he was alright. Instead of brushing him off, Alastair had admitted he needed a bit of a distraction. This led to casual conversation, and eventually the two ended up chatting over chocolate cauldrons and fudge flies. They parted on friendly terms, and had a few encounters after. These encounters were a secret, of course, and mostly accidental. Still, Alastair seemed to enjoy Thomas' company. Thomas couldn't help but feel a glimmer of satisfaction every time Alastair laughed at something he said. 

 These accidental encounters became less frequent when Alastair and Charles became a couple. Thomas tried not to feel annoyed that he'd barely spoken to Alastar all year. It wasn't like he was in love with Alastar, was he? Besides, Alastair was a year older. There was no point in falling for someone who was going to leave Hogwarts in a year.

 "We just wanted to try out Matthew's new broom," Thomas said, trying to avoid an argument. "We didn't realise the pitch was booked,"

 "The Lightwood Flamethrower," Christopher said proudly. Cordelia's eyes widened slightly.

 "Does it work?" Cordelia asked, making her way towards the broom. Alastair looked a little put off, but then his eyes met Thomas'. Thomas could have sworn that Alastair's expression softened. 

 "We don't know yet," James and Matthew said, simultaneously. Both boys blushed. Cordelia smiled.

 "Well," Cordelia said, her smile radiant. "Shall we try it out and see?" 

[neeterloveschenford]

RNM 3x01

Howdy partners! It's finally happened. Roswell New Mexico has come back from the war! Last night was super exciting. I agree with everyone that said it was like a brand new pilot episode. I have slowly but surely gotten more excited over the last year, ever since she who should not be named got the boot. And it looks like things can only go up from here.

If you're new to my blog, I try to do a review of each episode just giving my opinions and speculating on what's to come. It's a long read because I really dived into almost every aspect this time, so I'll put the rest under the cut.

So without further ado, let's dive right in!!!

Mopey Max is mopey.

I know he was reverting back to his old way of doing things in not telling Michael and Isobel about dying, but I have to believe that he did it to have good memories for himself as well as for his siblings. I don’t know. Maybe I’m being generous, but I’m willing to give him a little grace this season. It’s a new beginning, so maybe we’ll get some growth from him this season.

Not gonna lie, Heath is a hottie. I can see what Liz sees in him. He’s kinda like if Max and Kyle had a baby. I hate her boss though.

Love the pod squad hanging out together. They were very funny and very much like real siblings when they were in the mindscape. And Isobel digging on Michael about Alex was so good! Also, how has no one noticed that Max is shooting up acetone like heroine.?

I’m gonna surprise some folks, but I ain’t mad about Delmanes. I think Greg has chemistry with everyone and they established that Maria and Alex are still in contact (I’ll get to that in a minute.) So I don’t think he’s going to have a problem with them. Frankly, I think they are going to sweep the thing we all hate under the rug and never bring it up again. And I am a-okay with that! Y’all, I want to love Maria so badly! She was my absolute favorite character from the OG and if they have to forget about questionable things that we all know were a product of CAM self inserting, then I am ok with it. Besides, she’s cute and he’s cute and they can just be cute together. I also don’t think she was dragging Michael when they were talking. She made a comment about Michael’s bad boy demeanor. Something that he has been cultivating for over a decade now. And her saying that some things aren’t meant to be…… I mean are we going to argue that point or something? I could have told her that last season.

Also, I want to try some of Bert’s mead.

Kyliz!!! I love their friendship so much! Few people challenge Liz the way Kyle does. He treats her with so much respect, but doesn’t hesitate to call her out when she’s being stubborn. Go Team Liz!!!!!

Michael Guerin stopping to fix his hair before he welcomes Alex Manes back just about broke me y’all.😭😭😭😭😭😭 My sweet son! I love him so much!! And I am so proud of him. I think the old Michael would have walked right up and made some sarcastic comment. But this Michael is respecting Alex’s choices and being a real friend. I am truly sad we didn’t get any one-on-one Malex content, but I know that this is just setting us up for an amazing journey for our boys.

It was also gut-wrenching to see Alex stepping off that bus and being confronted with Jesse’s statue. But it was nice to see him smile when Forrest came to meet him. I am nowhere near a Forlex shipper, but it was good to see Alex happy for once. And Michael’s face when he saw them.😭😭😭😭😭😭My baby boy. I just want to hug him so badly!!

Kyle trying to help everyone was so wonderful to see. He’s the best person on that show. If only folks would listen to him!!! But I am intrigued by this vision.

Damn Tyler Blackburn is ripped! Good lord son. You are killing me!

So here’s where we come back to Maria. It’s kind of a throwaway line, but Alex checks his phone and says it’s his brother and Maria making sure he got in ok. (Followed by that super cringy did you get in ok line from Forrest.) (No wonder they weren’t exclusive after a year!) This shows me that Alex still considers Maria to be his best friend. There’s no flinch. No negative reaction. He just starts returning texts before Forrest starts revealing that he’s in Deep Sky.

Wyatt Long is such a douche.

HAHAHAHA!!!! Forrest is nothing more than a low-level henchman! I love it! And I can’t blame him for falling for Alex. Who could? But let me tell ya bud, keeping secrets like that is no way to ingratiate yourself to one Alex Manes. You could see the wheels turning in Alex’s head. How much does Deep Sky know? Is Michael in danger? What lengths will he have to go to to protect him? I’m finding Deep Sky to be quite fascinating.

Max’s brain manifesting Liz when her song comes on the radio was so sad. He loves her so much, but is just so bad at being a good partner. You know he just wants to see her one last time before he dies. And once again, bravo to everyone’s hero Dr. Kyle. He’s tired of Max keeping this a secret. I just love them together. They hate, yet respect each other. It makes for a very interesting dynamic.

I’m like Liz and Heath. They had fun shenanigans! I enjoy shenanigans. And of course she would leak their patent to keep it from becoming a wrinkle cream. Like a boss!

“It’s a cactus! There’s a flower on that testicle!” Wyatt, you are an idiot. But why would anyone think that tacking Linda on the end of Rosa would be all that they need to do to integrate Rosa back into society. She looks the same! At least give her a new hairdo. And Wyatt was right on the money when he pointed out she writes on her shoes just like she did before. They really shouldn’t have given up on the makeover from last year. She definitely needs a new style.

Michael’s speech about being happy the last year was so good. He was so happy to have his family back. So was Isobel. They are totally right to be angry with Max. He always makes the decisions and never asks them. Their heartbreak hearing that Max’s body was rejecting the heart just made me want to cry.

I also didn’t hate Michael’s interaction with Maria. It’s rough having to be friendly with an ex. But they did care very much for each other. It makes perfect sense that he would want to let her know about Max to keep her from trying to force more visions. And she would of course want to comfort him when he tells her. He’s losing his brother. I would react the same way if that were happening to any of my exes. Because that’s how normal people react. And there was nothing even remotely romantic about that scene. Her teasing him about Alex didn’t bother me because it was just an awkward attempt to get back to their previous banter-filled friendship. Will they ever get there? Who knows. (Well, I’m sure Chris does.)

KYBEL!!!!!!! I had forgotten how much I shipped them in s1. I am all for them getting together. I have had a big suspension that smelling rain was an indication of a cosmic connection. It’s been confirmed so far with Liz and Alex. And Kyle did say that Max smelled like rain last season. He just needs to get some alone time with Isobel when she doesn’t have on the undoubtedly expensive perfume that she wears. I just know he’s the one for her.

Max listening to Liz’s tape was so sad and beautiful.

Kylex! (Has anyone else noticed that all of the really great scenes featured Kyle?) He’s so great at being the voice of reason. And I love that they are friends. If anyone other than Michael can convince Alex to not join Deep Sky, it’s Kyle.

So here’s my theory on Wyatt. Of course he’s going to forget that he’s a racist piece of crap after being injected with Byterical(?). I think Rosa’s going to try to help him be a better person and maybe come to terms with Kate’s death. But I don’t think it’ll end well. They’ve already talked about how the mayor’s racist son is going to factor into things this season. I think he’s going to end up trying to re-corrupt Wyatt. Either he will succeed or Wyatt will end up sacrificing himself to save Rosa. It’s not ideal, but as long as there isn’t any kind of romance there, I can endure. (Also, that was Maria’s necklace not Rosa’s, dumbass Wyatt.)

I don’t trust Max’s one night stand. I know in the sneek peaks she’s shown to be a reporter, but I think she’s more than just that. Maybe it’s because I remember how horrible a character she played on Teen Wolf, but I just don’t trust her. She’s after something besides a story.

Sorry, Forrest. You messed up and let’s be honest. You never could compare to Michael. Alex’s reaction was so bittersweet. He trusted him. But he knows what he has to do now to protect the people he truly loves. And that’s exactly what he’s going to do. So buh-bye Forrest. It’s been real.

I think that the alien mask guys that attack Maria are going to be part of some kind of racist gang.

I’m veering away from thinking it’s Michael that’s going to die. Alex was pissed, not distraught.

Why does Jones look like he’s a bad yogi? The shirt and the rings? Aren’t you supposed to be naed in the pod? Did Michael and Isobel put those clothes on him? Howdy partner indeed!

So that’s my take this time around. It’s been a hell of a wait for this episode. But all in all I think it delivered!. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. I think we’re going to have a blast this year! Till next time1 my lovelies!!!!

[let-me-write-shit]

Somebody To You: 4

I post a new chapter every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

Warning: implied smut

Word Count: 4,806

Click Here For Previous Chapter & Other Completed Stories

-------------------------------------

CHAPTER FOUR

“If you two don’t stop eye fucking I’m gonna have to call HR,” Andy whispered with a smile in Zoey’s ear, hip checking her as he passed.

Zoey forced her eyes off of Brett from the other side of the bar and felt around her chin to make sure she hadn’t drooled. Two weeks had passed since they had slept together and the sexual tension between them only seemed to grow. Flirting only barely seemed to get her by and Andy consistently pointed out that she was staring again.

“Why don’t you just fuck in the storage room and be done with it? Y'all are making me horny just looking at you two,” Andy dumped ice into a shaker and started mixing a drink for a patron.

Zoey finished weighing out the last of the liquor for inventory and looked at him incredulously, “Why would you put that in my head? Do you think anyone would notice?”

Andy stopped what he was doing and stared at her in disbelief before rolling his eyes dramatically and finished the cocktail. She had gotten her set schedule after the first week, having the same schedule as Andy and work overlapping typically by the second half of Brett’s shift, except Mondays. Mondays were her only early shift day with Brett, ending at 9 PM, and were usually slow, so the night seemed to drag. Luckily, with her new schedule she’d be off Tuesdays and Wednesdays and she works late shift the rest of the week which means more patrons and more tips. And since she worked at a high end bar, most people tended to tip really well. A little cleavage helped, too.

The only downside to working nights was that no one was really home during the day. The only time the girls had was around dinner to catch up and chat, and they had weekends during the day time if no one made plans. But, Aurora’s been really busy with photo and video shoots, interviews, and meetings, and even though Nancy didn’t work a typical nine to five office job, she was still really busy piecing her work together in her room or out of the apartment for a meeting or to prepare fo some kind of deadline with her manager. 

Luckily, her hours matched up with Harry’s schedule pretty well, even though he was on the other side of the country. At night, he obviously had a show to perform, usually while Zoey was at work, but the rest of his day typically consisted of either traveling, small meetings with his tour team, rehearsing, or all three. Still, he always found time to respond to her texts.

Their friendship was strange because they’ve only known each other for two weeks (three if you count the one day they spoke when she first moved in), but it feels like it’s been much longer. She often had to remind herself that he doesn’t know her family and never met Michael, Katie, or Jess whenever they talk about her home life, which was often.

At least once a day, without fail, Harry would ask her to tell him more about Jess, or a memory that she was fond of growing up. The questions always came at the perfect time and he seemed genuinely interested to hear what she had to say, engaging in the conversation. It helped Zoey to talk about Jess - it made her feel as though her best friend’s memory wasn’t fading. That someone cared enough to learn and talk about her in a positive way.

A brief phone call with her family made her realize this when her mom started crying that she missed Zoey and compared her daughter moving across the country to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis losing their daughter in a car accident; that she doesn’t get to see her anymore. Zoey knew she didn’t mean for it to be so insensitive, but her mom got an earful after that. 

During a text conversation with her little sister, Katie, Zoey was filling her in on her outings with her new friends and a simple ‘you deserve to have nice friends again. Jess would have wanted it. I’m happy for you.’ made her bawl, though she’d never tell Katie that. Instead, she ran to Harry to talk about it.

She noticed during one of their chats the week prior that Harry was the only person she’d talk to about Jess without crying. And to prove her point, she had a quick catch up with Michael, and just the memory of the three of them together made her get emotional. It could have been because Harry didn’t know her personally, or because he’s been through similar situations, but she was grateful for the opportunity to involve Jess in a conversation without sobbing by the end of it. 

Herself and Harry had started doing this thing where every time they were being hard on themselves or feeling particularly down, they’d send each other a GIF, video link, or text of a random quote from ‘The Princess Bride’, which always seemed to keep them in check.

Brett started making his way over to her and she hastily got back to work, having some banter with a few of her regulars and grabbing them another glass of beer when she felt a firm hand on her lower back. She drew her attention upwards to Brett who grinned at the men and charmingly joked, “Hello, men. Zoey treating you alright?”

“As always,” they nodded, holding up their newly filled glasses, “She’s our favorite server here.”

“They’re only saying that because I give them beer and let them talk shit,” Zoey smiled at them, shooting them a friendly wink.

“See what I mean? Can’t ask for much else,” one of the men laughed.

Andy overheard the conversation and in passing added a, “she’s just an angel, isn’t she?”

But the men must not have picked up on the sarcasm because they responded, “Yes, she is! Makes no sense why you’re single.”

“Relationships?” Zoey fed into them, “No way. I just got out of a four year relationship. I don’t need to be trapped again so soon.”

It’s not that she didn’t enjoy her relationship with Michael. She did, and he was a lovely guy. It was just her way of communicating with her patrons; by mirroring and matching. It’s how she was able to bond and build relationships so quickly, especially with her regulars. These two in particular loved to talk shit on their wives, so Zoey found ways to add to the conversation without antagonizing the subject. And her favorite trick when having these conversations was to turn their mindset around before they left. Little things to make them ease up on their spouse. Something along the lines of ‘That’s a nice shirt. Did your wife get it for you? She’s got great taste, you look amazing in that!’ or ‘Your wife made you spaghetti for dinner? Lucky guy, I don’t know many women who know how to cook anymore’. Usually little white lies like that made them feel better about their wives without her actually having to say ‘shut the hell up and be nice to your wife, you old dingbat’ and she usually got better tips by the time they left.

The men raised their glasses in agreement to her statement and Brett turned his head to the side, wordlessly asking if he could borrow her for a moment. They stepped towards the back of the bar, doing a quick once over to make sure Andy didn’t need more assistance before he leant against the edge of the counter cooly and asked, “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Yeah. Your shift ends at 9 PM, too, right?” she asked, earning a nod. She continued, “Okay, everyone else will probably take a little longer to get there. Jake and Melissa are gonna be picking up some food, and Andy left a few things at his apartment he needed to grab. So you can always head over with me after work, or meet me there later.”

Nancy had flown back home over the weekend to celebrate her friend’s wedding and spend time with family, and Aurora had gone to Virginia for a shoot where Harry was coincidentally doing a show in the town over which allowed her an opportunity to see him in concert and spend some time with him before he left for the next city in the morning, so Zoey used the empty condo as an opportunity to invite some new friends over for a game night, with her roommates knowledge, of course. All of her friends worked with her on rotating days, so they were used to the hours.

“I’ll just go with you. It’ll be easier that way,” he said casually before his lips twitched upwards, “You know, if you wanted alone time with me, all you had to do was ask.”

“Shut up,” Zoey giggled, playfully hitting his chest.

The rest of their shift steadily got more quiet, slowing out to only six patrons in the bar by the time their shift was over. Andy, Brett, and Zoey clocked out and headed towards the employee parking lot around back. 

“I’ll call you when I’m five minutes away. You better not miss my call to let me in ‘cuz y’all are busy humpin’ on the kitchen counter,” Andy shook a key at them with an eyebrow raised, causing the two to laugh.

“I don’t screw where the food goes,” Brett responded, “but the couch is a different story.”

“Nasty,” Andy scrunched his nose at them before getting in his car and starting it up.

Zoey led Brett to her car, slipping into the driver's seat as he rounded to the passenger side. A few stray hairs had fallen from her messy ponytail and she smoothed them back, turning the AC on low fan. Evenings in May seemed to be fairly cool in LA so far. The stereo bluetooth automatically connected to Zoey’s phone and began playing ‘Are You Bored Yet’ by Wallows, which startled her, quickly turning down the volume. Being in such a confined space with Brett made her nervous. He had a distinct smell of beer and coconuts, which seemed like an odd mix, but somehow it worked. She could really stand a few shots right now to ease the tension. Too bad she was driving.

“So what’s the deal with your roommates? They out?” Brett asked as they pulled onto the freeway.

“Yeah, Nancy’s with her family and Rory is in Virginia for work. She might actually be with Harry right now, though,” she noticed the time, doing quick math and realizing it was Midnight on the east coast and Harry was probably done with his show by now, remembering he said he had some kind of after party planned with a few of his band mates and tour members, which she thought was weird for a Monday night.

“Wild that you’re all friends with him. But it seems like everyone knows everyone in LA, so I shouldn’t be surprised. So what’s his deal? Are they dating?”

When he put it that way, she did find it a little crazy. She never put too much thought into the fact that she knew Harry Styles, let alone was on a friendly communicating basis with him. She supposed it was just because of the timing when they met, she wasn’t in the right headspace, so by the time they started getting close, the shock and exposure to him had already sunk in and didn’t seem new.

“Uh...kinda? I don’t know, it’s complicated,” Zoey responded. 

And it was true. She honestly had no clue what was going on between Harry and Rory. Honestly, she didn’t even think they knew what was going on with each other. She couldn’t blame them, though. They were both super busy at the moment and their hangout today would only make it a total of five times they’ve seen each other in person. She wasn’t even sure if they had an actual date yet or not.

Brett nodded and a moment of silence filled the car. She felt him staring at her and he shifted his body towards her letting his elbow rest on the center console, his muscular arms so big that they lightly brushed against hers. She did a triple take, the pull of his gaze too strong to ignore, “What?” she asked, putting a hand on her cheek to conceal her blushing.

“You should go on a date with me.”

“What?” she sputtered. He was so straightforward and his confidence in his statement took her off guard. Brett was about to repeat himself when it clicked and she said, “I can’t go on a date with you.”

“Why not? Was I that bad in bed?”

“Well, now that you mention it…” she joked. Brett gasped in mock disappointment and she continued, shaking her head, “We work together. I don’t want things to get sticky at work. Besides, I was serious with what I said tonight. I just got out of a four year relationship. I’m not ready to jump into another one right now. Especially not the first guy I sleep with.”

“It’s a date, Zoey. Not a marriage proposal. We can keep it casual if you want. I just like spending time with you, that’s all. Please? Just one date.”

Zoey paused in contemplation. The idea of keeping things casual with Brett did sound appealing. It reminded her of Nancy and Cade’s situation, almost like a friend’s with benefits. No strings attached. She wasn’t opposed to it. If only Jess were here right now to see a sexy Australian man begging to go on a date with her. Twenty five years in Pennsylvania and she barely turned heads, but a week in LA and she’s getting hit on daily by successful, attractive men and her sexy foreign coworker? The move and personality upgrade was really working out for her and she was kicking herself for not listening to Jess sooner.

“I don’t know...”

“If it’ll make you feel more comfortable we can do a double date with someone. Andy and whoever. Or even Rory and Harry. Whoever you want.”

Zoey pursed her lips in contemplation, “Okay, I’ll think about it.” He smiled widely and Zoey quickly added, “Don’t get your hopes up. I haven’t said yes yet.”

“Good enough for me,” Brett said, a smirk spreading across his face, “So what are the odds of me getting you back in that bed tonight?”

“Slim to none,” she snorted.

“...So you’re saying there’s a chance?”

Once at her condo, Brett took a seat at one end of the sectional while Zoey quickly straightened up and drug out a few games from Nancy’s stash, with her blessing. It didn’t take long for Jake and Melissa to show up with a few two liters of soda, three boxes of pizza, and some wings for everyone to enjoy, and as soon as Andy arrived, twenty minutes later, they all dug in while catching up and joking about different work related instances.

They were in the middle of trying to decide if they wanted to play ‘5 Second Rule’ or ‘Incoherent’ when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She struggled to pull it out of her tight black pants and saw a text from Harry. Opening it, she saw a GIF of Princess Bride with the quote that read ‘Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something’.

Zoey snorted, typing back, ‘Okay, melodramatic. What happened? Didn’t get a big enough crowd at the concert tonight?’

She placed her phone face down on her thigh and laughed at Andy who was mocking Brett’s accent because he didn’t want to play ‘5 Second Rule’, which Brett was fighting hard for, listing all the pros and cons to the game. Her phone buzzed again, once, twice, and on the third buzz she got confused, thinking he was sending her rapid texts at first, only to turn the phone over and see that Harry was calling her. She hadn’t expected a call from him, and they never spoke over the phone with each other before like he did with Nancy and Rory. Her friends realized she had gotten a phone call and turned to look at her as she stood up.

“One sec,” she called, heading down the hall.

“Hurry! I need you to back me up so we don’t have to start out with this stressful, dumbass game!” Andy called after her.

She heard Brett quickly retort, “You just don’t like it cuz you can’t think quickly!” and a cracking noise that sounded almost like a slap before slipping into her bedroom and closing the door behind her.

Warily, she answered the phone and whispered, “Hello?”

Harry’s deep, exhausted voice sounded through her phone, dramatically quoting another line from Princess Bride, saying, “Fezzik! Listen! Do you hear? That is the sound of ultimate suffering. My heart made that sound when Rugen slaughtered my father.”

She laughed, pacing the length of her room, her brief feeling of shock being replaced with curiosity. “What could possibly have gone wrong at…” she checked the clock and quickly converted the time difference on the east coast, “Almost 2 AM? Where’s Rory?”

Harry groaned, “We got into a fight.”

“Well...did you do something stupid?”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal at first, but it turned into one apparently.”

The more he spoke and the more she heard his voice, the more it started to hit her who she was talking to. She wasn’t a huge follower of his, but she was a fan enough to have heard him speak in videos and interviews that to be able to have these kinds of conversations with him and it be normal knowing that they were friends was hard to wrap her head around. Even so, hearing his voice over her phone wasn’t as startling as she thought it should be. In fact, it felt more calming than anything else.

“What happened?” she asked.

“Well, after the show, Rory came backstage and I was introducing her to some people and said, ‘This is my friend, Rory’....”

“....Okay?” Zoey urged, waiting for him to continue. But he didn’t.

“See?! It wasn’t a big deal! But she got upset that I called her my friend and was being sort of quiet and when I asked if she was okay she just kind of went off asking me how I could introduce her as a friend after we just had sex and after I flew out to see her twice, and accused me of leading her on and all this stuff.”

Zoey listened, continuing to pace the room as Harry ranted. When he finished, she cleared her throat and spoke carefully, “Well...Harry, she’s not entirely wrong.”

“You think I was leading her on?!” Harry sounded more hurt than offended. “I just introduced her as my friend and she got mad. I wasn’t lying. She’s not my girlfriend. What else was I supposed to say?”

“Exactly. She’s not your girlfriend. And who’s fault is that?”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, you know she likes you. And you obviously like her, too. I mean why else would you fly across the country to spend one day with a person…”

“I do it all the time,” he defended himself.

“Okay, Mr. Perfect. The point is, you two already act like a couple. You talk almost every day. You’re not seeing anyone else but each other - at least, as far as I’m aware. Don’t you think it’s possible that she’s been waiting for you to ask her out and make it official, and by you introducing her as a ‘friend’, you could have just invalidated her entire impression of your relationship and where it was headed?”

Harry sighed, and after a moment to process he breathed, “I didn’t mean to invalidate her feelings. And it’s not like I don’t want to date Rory. We talk all the time, yeah, but I still don’t know her that well and I didn’t ask her to not see anyone else. We haven’t even been on a date yet. Plus, I just don’t want to start a relationship in the middle of tour when I have two months left. I’ve been doing this enough to know that travel can really hurt a relationship. Most people can’t deal with the distance and time restraints. Maybe if she’s still interested by the time the tour is over, then we can maybe talk about making things official. I’m just not ready yet.”

“Trust me, I get it. But did you tell her that?”

“No.”

“Well you need to tell her something so she doesn’t feel like she’s wasting her time. Don’t just leave her hanging like that.”

“I can’t ask her to wait for me. That’s not right. I want her to do it because she wants to, not because I’m dangling the promise of a possibility over her head.”

Zoey pursed her lips, understanding what he was saying while rummaging through her dresser for pajamas to change into, “Just tell her that you’re sorry and you understand where she’s coming from, but that you don’t want to rush things, especially while you’re in the middle of touring, and if she’s okay with it, the two of you can just take things one day at a time and you just want to get to know her more for now. Just be honest with her, Harry. Give her the benefit of the doubt. She’s a very understanding person.”

“Yeah, you’re right. That sounds good,” Harry responded, the words clicking in his head.

A knock on the door startled her and Andy’s muffled voice echoed through the crack, “I got them to agree on ‘Incoherent’ first, so hurry the hell up!”

“Be right there!” Zoey called back.

A gasp was heard from her phone as Harry muttered, “Shit! I forgot you were doing game night tonight. I’m so sorry for interrupting.”

“It’s fine. It only just started. There’s not many of us.”

“Is Theo there?” Harry quipped, the nickname Harry gave Brett made her laugh. Ever since he mentioned that Brett looked like Theo James from Divergent, she wasn’t able to unsee it.

“Yeah, he’s here,” she giggled, quickly changing out of her work clothes and into some sweats, fixing her ponytail.

“What’s going on with you two anyway?” Harry asked, “Are you dating, or just flirting still?”

“Funny you should mention that. He asked me on a date earlier.”

“Really? You gonna go?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t want anything serious right now, but he says we can keep it casual.”

“So...friends with benefits?” Harry pressed.

“That’s why I’m not sure. I don’t know how I feel about it, especially with someone I work with. But it’s only one date. I guess I could see how it goes. He did say that we could go on a double date if I’d feel more comfortable and suggested you and Rory. But I know your schedule’s gotta be insane with the tour and you’ve already flown back enough times.”

“I wouldn’t mind. I’m actually off for three days next week. I had plans Tuesday morning, but I could probably fly out right afterwards and head back Thursday. So maybe Wednesday night we could all go out?”

“Really? You don’t have to if it’ll be too much for you.”

“No, I want to. I told you, I do it all the time. My team will hate me, but oh well. It’ll be fun. I should probably go fix things with Rory first, though.”

Zoey laughed, “Good idea. Good luck.”

They each said goodbye and Zoey threw her phone on the charger before making her way back out to the living room. She took her spot back next to Andy and she smiled, excited to start the game with her friends. She felt proud of herself as she took in the scene, seeing her small group of friends laughing and joking together. She felt like she was finally starting to build the life she always wanted for herself. She never had this many people who she genuinely cared for and that cared for her in return. Sure, she had Jess and Michael, but that was really it. Zoey was finally creating a little family away from her family and it felt good.

After a few more games, everyone was beginning to get tired so the group decided to settle down with a movie. Zoey had dozed off, her head resting on Andy’s lap with her body curled into a ball. When she stirred awake it was nearly 3 AM and she noticed everyone else had passed out. Brett was in the corner and Jake and Melissa were cuddling on the other end. Her mouth was dry and tasted of cotton. Carefully, trying not to wake Andy, she slipped off of the couch and tiptoed towards the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

The blue light on the fridge dispenser illuminated as a steady stream of water poured into her glass. It looked so clear and refreshing that her mouth started salivating at the thought of it when she heard a shuffle behind her. She jumped, turning to see Brett padding his way in, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“Jesus!” she clutched her chest again. How was she so easily scared?

He ignored her shock. “Can I have one?”

Zoey passed him the glass she had just poured and grabbed another glass for herself, filling it up with water. Brett gulped it down and let out a breath of air when he finished it before she had even raised her cup to her lips. She raised an eyebrow, sipping at the water.

“Tonight was fun, huh?” he asked in a low voice, leaning against the counter.

Zoey nodded, putting her half drunk glass of water down, “Yeah, thanks for coming.”

“We should do game nights more often. Nancy and Rory can join next time, too.”

“They’d love that,” Zoey agreed, taking another sip of water.

After a moment of silence, Brett spoke up again, “So...have time to think about that date yet?”

The water went down the wrong pipe and she struggled trying not to make a scene of choking, holding it in. But her eyes water as she spoke, “Yeah, uhm,” she caved and cleared her throat, continuing, “Yeah, I actually talked to Harry. He’s the one that called earlier, and he said he was down to do a double date next Wednesday, if that’s okay.”

It was hard to look at Brett when he smirked like that. He must have pulled so many girls by that look. Actually, she KNEW he pulled so many girls by that look from the amount of numbers he got at the bar. And honestly, she didn’t mind. It’s not like she saw a future with him. But he was hot and she trusted Brett enough to have a little fun with him.

Jess’ words kept replaying in her mind, again. ‘It’s fun not having strings attached’ and ‘Have fun, but be safe.’ Zoey thought about those exact words every day since she last had sex with Brett and how right her friend was. It’s not that she needed to have sex, but the liberation she felt by just being able to have sex with who she wanted and when she wanted was something so incredibly exhilarating and indescribable. She knew that a commitment was never a requirement to have sex, and she was reminded of this often by Jess, but it took her best friend dying and her moving across the country to really understand that. And to see Nancy, her kind, fun, carefree roommate, doing what she wanted to do and not worrying about what others might think really broadened her outlook on sex and intimacy.

Brett’s mouth was moving, and she knew he was talking, but Zoey couldn’t hear a damn thing. All she could pay attention to was his dark, mysterious eyes and his juicy, plump lips and how badly she wanted to taste them. Fuck it, she thought, grabbing him by the shirt and standing on her tiptoes to smash her lips onto his. He flinched, shocked by her abruptness, but quickly pulled her closer to his solid chest. When she finally pushed away from him, her heart pounded and her lips were already damp from his. Zoey could feel her body tingling from her knees up to her eyes as she craved someone, anyone’s touch. Brett could be enough for now.  

“Let’s go,” she urged, looking up at him through her eyelashes. 

Still stunned and unable to find the words to say, Brett nodded, mouth still agap, as she led him towards her bedroom.

KEEP READING

Let Me Know What You Think

[jess-rewatches-prodigalson]

Episode 12: Internal Affairs

Not going to lie. I know some people hate this episode but it’s one of my favourites.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

0:14 - Sure. Let’s start this episode off by shoving a knife through my heart. Look at Malcolm’s broken little face. :( He knows Gil didn’t deserve that outburst. Gil knows it too - but it still to hear. This episode aired months ago and I think my heart is still trying to heal.

0:20 - Look at Dani’s inner conflict here. She loves both of these doofuses and she can’t decide who to go and comfort. 

0:30 - Dani just figured out that Malcolm is hallucinating. She knows what he looks like when he hallucinates from 1x5. Now she’s scared. So is Malcolm. Look at their eyes. Mmmmhmmm. This is good whump.

1:30 - This is Gil being a total dad to Malcolm. He’s already forgiven the idiot for being a jerk last night. Now he’s helping Malcolm put on his tie like Malcolm is 12 years old. You can see that Gil is still a little annoyed with Malcolm but I think it’s probably based out of concern. Gil’s scared because he knows Malcolm isn’t sleeping and he knows Malcolm’s mental health has been spiralling lately. He’s terrified because he knows that Malcolm (unintentionally...sort of) tried to kill himself last night. Gil’s scared that Malcolm is entering active suicidal territory as opposed to his usual passive suicidal territory.  Maybe Malcolm’s behaviour is also reminding Gil of a time when Malcolm was suicidal as a teenager? Gil’s probably worried about the investigation too and how Malcolm’s mental state will affect it. 

2:21 - Malcolm walks into that interview room and just starts exuding manic energy. Yikes. This boy looks tired, scared, manic, and determined. He needs a nap and a hug. This will not go well. 

2:54 - “I’m not sure I have a safe space.” There’s a couple of these types of lines that Malcolm lets slip during this interview. Every one of them scares me because they’re completely true statements that Malcolm would never normally share out loud. Especially since he knows the room is wired and the team is listening. He doesn’t want them to think he’s weak. He doesn’t want Gil to make him stop working. It sheds a light on just how fragile his mental state is and that is just heartbreaking.

3:10 - So everyone knows that Malcolm uses humour as a coping mechanism for his trauma and pain. Good to know. Check out Malcolm’s face right after he says, “What else did they warn you about?”. He looks scared and a little confused. Almost as though he wasn’t entirely aware that he used humour as a coping mechanism and he’s afraid of what else the team might’ve picked up on regarding his mental state. He’s scared that if the team knows too much about what’s going on with him, he won’t be allowed to work anymore. 

3:25 - Total side note here. Every time I watch this episode I have to do a double take because for a moment I think Dr. Coppenwrath is played by Marc Evan Jackson (Kevin in Brooklyn-99, Shawn in The Good Place). It’s not, but try telling that to my sleep deprived brain. 

3:36 - Soooo was the room wired for everyone’s interview of just Malcolm’s? Because JT just verbally admitted that he’s friends with Malcolm. Does this mean the Malcolm has access to recorded evidence that JT is his friend? This is character development I can get behind. Look how far their relationship has come since the pilot. I’m so proud and so happy. 

3:45 - Malcolm was in the hospital for “weeks”. I really want to know exactly how much time has passed since the end of 1x11. Also. How the hell did someone keep him in the hospital that long? The boy seems to like signing himself out of hospitals AMA. AND WHAT HAPPENED TO WATKINS?!?!? and why is no one giving me a scene of the team visiting Malcolm in the hospital?! This is the scene that my heart wants. 

4:04 - It physically hurts me to watch Gil say “Watkins tortured you”. Kudos to Lou Diamond Phillips. Gil looks wrecked - almost like he’s trying not to cry. He probably blames himself for the extent of Malcolm’s injuries because he didn’t find Malcolm sooner. He’s probably remembering just how scared he was when he showed up at the Whitly house to find his kid bleeding out from a stab wound (in my headcanon Gil is the first responder on the scene and he finds all three Whitlys upstairs). 

4:09 - hahaha that look. Gil is like “you can’t lie to me you little idiot” and Malcolm immediately back peddles. hahaha this is a true father/son moment. I love it. 

4:25 - One of the reasons that I love this episode so much is because it makes me feel an array of emotions. I go from worrying about Malcolm’s mental health to laughing at some stupid comment one of the characters makes. I mean seriously : “If Bright was an actual state he’d be Florida.” hahahaha that is iconic. 

4:42 - Yep. Malcolm has reached peak mania. He’s ranting about jello with a very manic expression on his face. Which is kind of adorable but also very concerning. 

4:47 - OMG. This whole Elsa/Jessica/Dani/Malcolm scene is amazing. Jessica is so extra here and Malcolm is done with it. Really makes me wonder what Jess was like when he was in the hospital. AND look at Malcolm’s broken little face when Jessica mentions his “more unruly nightmares” he’s so embarrassed and ashamed. :( AND DANI. OMG. Every time the camera pans to her she just has this perfect expression on her face like “This whole family is whack. I feel like I’m intruding but also I kind of want to be here because I sort of care about this loser?”

6:44 - I love how the whole team is showing their own personal brand of concern for Malcolm when he shows up at the scene. Malcolm reacts so perfectly to it. He looks a little overwhelmed that they’re all concerned. Like he was only expecting Gil to care. 

7:00 - I’ll say it again. Someone needs to show my dude Gil some love. This man needs a break. Look how utterly exhausted he looks when he says “100%”. Ugh. This man worries way too much about his kids.  

7:14 - hahaha the look that Gil gives Edrisa here. hahaha he’s so shocked and annoyed that she knows the details of Bright’s injuries because she pulled his medical records. I love it. 

7:31 - The way Gil sort of directs Malcolm to the crime scene with his arm concerns me. By the look on JT’s face - it concerns JT too. That arm is a signal of defeat. Gil is resigned to the fact that Malcolm just won’t take care of himself. Gil is too tired to send Malcolm home again especially since he knows that Malcolm won’t rest. So, Gil is giving in because at least this way he can keep an eye on Malcolm. BUT the fact that Gil gives into this is not a good sign for Gil’s mental health. THIS BOY NEEDS A NAP.

7:53 - Check out the way Malcolm’s eyes narrow when Coppenwrath insinuates that Malcolm’s “patients” help him understand himself because he too is a killer. This is a bad therapist move right here. 

8:19 - I love that JT teases Malcolm when he’s concerned about him. It’s really sweet. SIDE NOTE - Malcolms shoes are nice. Dang. 

8:46 - Check this out. Is Gil even listening to the profile? He’s staring at Malcolm with so much concern that I’m not even sure. While they are at the graveyard Gil does not look at Malcolm with anything but concern. Gil knows that there’s something more than Watkins going on with Malcolm right now.

9:30 - That is a haunting look. Malcolm looks numb. Dissociated. 

10:14 - Malcolm almost looks like he’s having fun here? He’s lying through his teeth, living in a manic state but he seems to be enjoying the conversation. So that’s good, I guess?

10:32 - The look Malcolm just gave Coppenwrath is awesome. It’s a look that suggests that Malcolm is profiling the hell out of Coppenwrath right now and what he’s learning is really interesting to him. 

10:38 - Is Coppenwrath allowed to know this much about the investigation? I mean, I thought he was evaluating Malcolm’s mental health - not the current case? He doesn’t really need that many details about the case. 

10:57 - Awww. Gil going to bat for Malcolm is so sweet. <3 My heart is full.

12:02 - ....why does Gil know so much about the Vosler institute? Previous case? Advertisements? #justcurious

12:20 - Is Malcolm talking about himself here? He’s definitely guilty of a low self-worth and some schizotypal thinking. Has he been tempted by a cult?

13:54 - Is Dani checking Vosler out? I can’t tell if she’s amused that he’s such a bad liar or if she thinks he’s hot. 

14:15 - Was Malcolm at the institute at the same time as the rest of the team? Wouldn’t they have seen him?

14:51 - Myers-Briggs is a personality test. How the hell would that identify how much trauma you have? ...but I’m not a doctor so what do I know? 

15:30 - I feel like Gil is in an actual therapy session ranting about his dysfunctional, passively suicidal son. Gil looks almost comforted as he vents about how Malcolm can’t sleep. He still looks concerned for Malcolm but he looks less scared and more calm. I feel like this was a good experience for Gil. It’s allowing him to process just how bad Malcolm’s mental state is getting. Maybe we should get Gil a therapist.

15:37 - Things are getting too real again; so Malcolm is deflecting with humour. 

15:43 - Again. If Coppenwrath was actually evaluating Malcolm’s mental state he wouldn’t care about Vosler. He wouldn’t keep asking Malcolm to tell him about the case and specifically about Vosler. Coppenwrath is so obviously hiding something. Ugh. It drives me crazy. 

16:03 - That was honest. “I want it to go away.” Malcolm looks sincere, a little scared, and a little desperate. It breaks my heart.

16:53 - The fact that Malcolm let Vosler shock him is so upsetting. I know Malcolm is desperate to solve the case like usual. However, this time he’s disregarding his own health just a little too obviously for comfort. 

17:15 - Look at how terrified Malcolm is as he gets shocked. Look at how much pain he’s in. Yet, he still finds it in him to glare at Vosler. I’m kind of proud of him?

17:41 - Malcolm is being sincere here. He really, truly doesn’t think he’s vulnerable to Vosler. Malcolm doesn’t seem to have self-awareness to his own low sense of self-worth. He’s so depressed that he doesn’t recognize how bad he’s getting. He’s just desperately trying to get answers and make trauma go away without addressing the side-effects of his trauma. My. Heart. Is. Shattering.

17:52 - This scene is another one of those moments when Malcolm unwittingly reveals a little too much about his mental state. He’s being honest with Coppenwrath when discussing his motivations to solve cases. It’s problematic because he accidentally admits that he values the lives of complete strangers over his own health and well-being.  Someone please give Malcolm a hug. 

18:43 - Another instance where Malcolm is acting like an amazing, kind, empathetic human. Look at how much compassion he has in his eyes for Andi. He so desperately wants to help Andi and it’s beautiful. Malcolm Bright (a man who is currently suffering in a self-destructive, manic, pain-ridden state) has transformed into a calm, sympathetic, comforting, level-headed guy. It’s amazing. He’s somehow able to shed all of his trauma and poor mental state and become 100% pure, untraumatized Malcolm Whitly. Gorgeous. A++.

21:35 - This. Ugh. Just. Just. It’s freaking perfect. “But I didn’t want to lose him.” Gil you are straight up breaking my heart. Look at how sincere Gil is right now. You can see just how much he adores Malcolm and how desperately Gil wants Malcolm to be happy, healthy, and safe. Ugh. I’m in love with this moment. 

22:03 - I love how JT holds Malcolm back in this scene. As soon as Malcolm starts running out to Vosler both Dani and JT look concerned. JT grabs Malcolm but the way he holds Malcolm back is also sort of a hug. It’s not the way JT would hold back a stranger or a suspect. That’s the way you hold back a little brother. <3

22:10 - “She was taken by them”. Malcolm looks terrified here. He looks haunted, suspicious, and confused. It’s heartbreaking. Gil and JT look a little alarmed and concerned too. 

22:12 - Gil is looking at Malcolm with pure dad!panic here. He’s watching Malcolm unravel and he looks scared, concerned, and a little angry. I’m mildly shocked that Gil didn’t call Jessica to come and take Malcolm home. 

22:34 - “Okay. I wasn’t fine. I’m a mess.” This one hurts. I mean, I’m proud of Malcolm for being at least a little self-aware. This just sucks though. You can see the pain in Malcolm’s eyes when he admits it out loud. Followed by the stubborn look he gives Coppenwrath - the one that’s inviting him to ensue that Malcolm can’t do his job. It’s just heartbreaking to watch. All I can think about is the team’s faces as they listen to Malcolm’s outburst. 

22:50 - Coppenwrath gives Malcolm a look here that says, “Damn, you are messed up.” 

23:50 - The second someone reveals a personal trauma and/or personal problem Malcolm instantly becomes the most understanding, loving, compassionate human being on the planet. It’s beautiful. 

24:28 - Malcolm looks so sad here. My heart is shattering. 

24:38 - Wow. Malcolm’s voice is deep here. He sounds really upset. He’s angry and scared. I love it. 

24:54 - Gil has soccer trophies in his office. In other scenes we’ve also been able to see that Gil has some signed baseballs in glass cases and some model cars in his office. Gil doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to keep his own sports trophies in his office. Maybe he plays casually in an NYPD league and those are the 16th precinct soccer trophies? BUT here is my true headcanon: Ainsley and/or Malcolm (but I’m feeling that this was more Ainsley’s thing) was really into soccer as a kid. Maybe Gil coached her team? Or he and Jackie took her to all of the games/practices because Jessica had to deal with Martin’s trials? Maybe she gave all of Gil her trophies at some point because she thinks that he deserves them too and he proudly displays them all. The baseballs and cars? Christmas/birthday gifts from Malcolm, Ainsley and/or Jackie over the years. I will die with this theory because it makes me happy.

25:50 - More hints from the writers that there’s something romantic brewing between Jessica and Gil. 

26:40 - This whole scene with the deprogrammers is strange. It’s weird that Malcolm is standing next to the couch like some kind of butler. BUT DAMN it is funny when Jessica starts making some not-so-subtle hints about wanting Malcolm to accept his trust fund, settle down, and give her grandchildren. I especially like this because it suggests that Malcolm doesn’t have access to the family money. I assume he pays for things with his salary except for when Jessica buys him things that she insists that he needs  (like clothes? food? fancy headboards for his bed?).

27:40 - I love this whole JT, Gil, and Malcolm are tag teaming the interrogation thing. I love that JT and Gil are visibly pissed (because this dude killed someone) and they’re flanking him. I find it interesting that Malcolm is standing so far away - watching, until it’s time to start rambling about his observations. It’s a really great dynamic (I miss Dani though).

28:31 - Look at Malcolm’s face when Coppenwrath mentions the “incident”. He looks sad and guilty. He clearly feels bad for losing it on Gil. Look at the true fear on Dani’s face - she’s terrified at Bright’s mental state. AND GIL. Trying to take some of the responsibility for the incident because he looks sad, and scared for Malcolm too. My heart is so full with all of this whump. 

28:48 - Another instance where Malcolm has his own desk. I seriously want to know what the deal is with the desk. Is it his? Does he share it? I want to know. So. Bad. 

29:01 - Malcolm’s eyes remind me of the Pepe Sylvia scene in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He looks like a manic dude riding on the wave of a crazy conspiracy theory. It’s not good. Gil looks like he’s walking on egg shells because he doesn’t know what to say to help Malcolm. That’s almost worse. 

30:38 - Edrisa’s little moments in this episode are cute and funny. BUT WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO HER ABOUT THE CASE IF SHE DOESN’T HAVE ALL THE DETAILS? Aren’t you supposed to be talking to her about Malcolm’s mental state?!? Ugh. 

31:00 - This exchange between Coppenwrath and Malcolm is great. Malcolm looks sooo upset. The way he bites his lip and stares at the ground to avoid eye contact. The way Coppenwrath lowers himself to enter Malcolm’s line of sight. Malcolm looks on the verge of tears. He’s openly admitting his current biggest problem: what Watkins told him and the hallucinations. Not just to Coppenwrath but to Gil, Dani, and JT too. He just wants a dad who loves him and my heart is shattered. He looks so so wrecked. Somebody hug him. Please.

33:30 - Malcolm isn’t talking about how he’s going to miss his work friends because he thinks going to get fired. He’s talking from the fear that his friends will abandon him when they find out that he’s hallucinating. He’s afraid that they’ll abandon him because they think he’s crazy. He looks so truly sad here. Ugh. 

34:33 - Watching Malcolm expose Coppenwrath is upsetting. Usually, Malcolm has a look of determination, desperation, and mild sympathy in his eyes when he talks to a killer. This time - Malcolm just looks vacant, then self-satisfied, then annoyed. It’s different than usual, which is unsettling. 

35:50 - Now Coppenwrath looks scared. 

36:39 - I’ve never been so proud as the moment that the team steps out from the shadows to support Bright. Right as Coppenwrath is trying to convince Malcolm that the team thinks he’s crazy. My heart is full. Kill me now - I’ll die happy.

36:54 - I love this angle here. It’s not JT or Dani that we can see pulling out their guns. It’s papa Gil. The man who will undoubtedly shoot Coppenwrath if anything happens to Malcolm. 

37:00 - Another issue I have. Malcolm doesn’t look scared when there is a gun pointed at his head. He looks alarmed but not scared. More proof of his suicidality. I am not okay. 

37:05 - I love the scene where we see JT, Dani, and Gil all pointing guns into the room - desperate to help Malcolm. Look at the panic in Gil’s eyes as he orders a hostage negotiator. 

37:37 - Only Malcolm could possibly feel bad for the man with a gun pointing a gun at his head. 

38:45 - I do not like how visibly upset Malcolm is in this scene. I mean my whump heart adores it but I also hate it because you know - whump is complicated. 

39:23 - That hug was as much for Malcolm as it was for Andi. 

39:40 - This is one of my favourite Gil/Malcolm scenes. It’s just wonderful. Gil looks so worried about Malcolm and Malcolm looks a combination of scared and resigned to what Gil is going to ask him. There is something about the way Gil asks “Are you okay?” that just feels like a knife in my heart. Then Malcolm answers truthfully, and I’m pretty sure my heart stopped altogether. 

40:00 - Gil looks even sadder (if that’s possible) when Malcolm responds truthfully but he also looks resigned. He’s not surprised by Malcolm’s answer just of how easily he got the truth out of Malcolm.

40:24 - Gil has the absolute perfect response. “Okay.” Because Gil’s done too. Gil is almost as tired as Malcolm and for now Gil’s comforted by the fact that Malcolm is self-aware and being honest with him. For now - that’s enough.

40:44 - GIL YOU NEED A VACATION TOO.....omg. Can we get a Gil+Malcolm joint vacation. Please?!? That would be amazing. Someone write the fic!! Please!!

41:22 - Malcolm can see that Gil is upset. He knows he’s worrying Gil and he still feels guilty about the incident. Malcolm may be a little cracked right now but our boy is a mature adult. Watching Malcolm sincerely apologize to Gil feels like a warm hug. Gil’s little smile is everything. I want to cry happy tears. 

42:30 - “I’m a civilian now Sunshine.”....does this imply that sometime between 1x6 (when Gil refers to Malcolm as a civilian on the police radio) and now Malcolm has become an official member of the NYPD? 

I. Love. This. Episode. It’s not perfect but the insight to Malcolm is amazing. Thanks for hanging out my dudes. 

[lockdownfest]

LOCKDOWN FEST MASTERPOST WEEK #2 EXTENSION

*

BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE (2007)

Stuck in the Middle with You by InsanelyWriteful (M) 6k, WIP. With the zombie pandemic in full swing, Nigel flings himself into the fray on the hunt for groceries. Don't even get him started on trying to find that most-sought-after, priceless item of all items: toilet paper. As far as the world's concerned, that doesn't exist anymore. With the world going to hell, Nigel finds himself trapped with a strange man named Aiden Galvin. But, hey, there are worse fates than being stuck with a hot piece of tail, right?

BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA

Two Weeks In Quarantine by JedIzuku (T) 48k WIP, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto. A virus threatens all of Japan. Everyone needs to self-quarantine for two weeks to help prevent the spread. Izuku Midoriya learns that his friend, Shoto Todoroki, would be quarantined alone because of his father’s work. And Izuku won’t stand for that.A love story.

CHARLIE COUNTRYMAN

Stuck in the Middle with You by InsanelyWriteful (M) 6k, WIP. With the zombie pandemic in full swing, Nigel flings himself into the fray on the hunt for groceries. Don't even get him started on trying to find that most-sought-after, priceless item of all items: toilet paper. As far as the world's concerned, that doesn't exist anymore. With the world going to hell, Nigel finds himself trapped with a strange man named Aiden Galvin. But, hey, there are worse fates than being stuck with a hot piece of tail, right?

FALL OUT BOY

Gradually and Then Suddenly by earlgreytea68 (G) 3.3k, Patrick Stump/Pete Wentz. Life in quarantine: fourth-grade science, couch concerts, blanket forts.

HANNIBAL

Point of View by house_of_lantis (M) 3.8k, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter.  Summary: Franklyn Froideveaux gets an unexpected peek into Dr. Hannibal Lecter’s personal life during their self-isolation. 

HARRY POTTER

Locked Inside Your Temper Trap by VeelaWings (E) 4.3k, Draco Malfoy/Neville Longbottom. This was a minor problem. Not the being trapped in a humid greenhouse with a sweaty, gorgeous Draco, mind you. No, it was being trapped with a sweaty, pissed off Draco who would inevitably blame Neville.Plus the obstacle of not having the privacy to enjoy a fast and dirty wank with all this evening’s material.

Top Priority by JayGwen23 (T). 8k, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter. England is trying to stop the spread of an aggressive, new virus that is affecting both wizards and muggles. Everyone is being told to self isolate. House mates, Harry and Draco are stuck at home trying to brave it through the madness, while trying not no go mad themselves.Written for Lock Down Fest.

Bored Harry by foxymoley (G) FANART. Harry's been stuck in his room at Privet Drive and is bored out of his mind!He uses his wand in a mug as a lamp as Hedwig stretches as much as she can in her cage.

Harry Potter and the Secret in the Library by EvAEleanor, tasteofshapes (E) 11.6k, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter. Draco stands outside the library for a moment, before he turns the handle and pushes the heavy double doors open. What he expects to find is a silent library cloaked in darkness. What he gets instead is a fire crackling merrily away in the grate, the library lit only by firelight, and Potter lounging on the fur rug in front of the fireplace, clad only in a terry-cloth bathrobe, a glass of wine in one hand.“What the… Potter—!” Draco yelps, and Potter looks up from the book open in front of him and raises an eyebrow at Draco.

The Magic of Muggle Films by sunshinedraco (E) 5.3k. Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter. Harry is happy to get home from an Auror mission in Northern Ireland, but may have been exposed to a contagious disease. Draco Malfoy, who comes with a team of Healers to inspect Harry and also happens to be the subject of Harry's long-term awkward crush, is also accidentally exposed. The two are quarantined together. You know what happens.

Sweetheart by WolfyWordWeaver (T) 3k, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter. Remus Lupin comes home after a long day working at the hospital and quickly realizes that something is wrong with Sirius. Avoiding COVID-19 doesn't mean avoiding all hurts and Sirius has to deal with a major hurdle. While Remus doesn't have all the answers he does know how to do his best.

Stuck Senses by TheUltimateUndesirable (E) 12k, Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood. In the mist of the 2020 pandemic the wizarding world is left with a dire and unknown future as Covid-19 makes it's way into Europe. Hogwarts ends up on quarantined leaving students, professors and a Luna stuck at the school. How long will anything last and what will anything become? No one knows.

Augmented Agony by Drarrelie (T) 365, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter. Of all days... Draco's luck was apparently just as abysmal as ever. This work is part of a series of connected weekly drabbles written during 2020. It takes place in 2001, before the rest of the currently published drabbles in this series, while the two of them are still in Auror training.

If It Takes All Night by tackytiger (M) 11k, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter. It's not the first time Harry's been the victim of a botched curse (that's one of the reasons he doesn't like crowds), but he feels bad that Malfoy had to get caught up in it too. So they're bonded. That's ok, they just have to make sure to be touching at all time. No problem. Because Malfoy smells so nice, and has such lovely shiny hair, and his skin is so very warm.But this isn't going to be a problem for their friendship at all.Is it, Harry?

I'll Tell You Mine (If You Tell Me Yours) by MarchnoGirl (E) 4.2k, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter. When a cauldron of Veritaserum explodes all over Harry and Malfoy, Harry has the chance to finally discover Malfoy’s secrets. And maybe something about himself too.

Correspondence in the Time of Quarantine by Lediona, Zigster (T) 1.5k, WIP, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter. After informing Scorpius of my plan to bring him home, he wrote back immediately to ask if he might bring a friend with him to isolate at the Manor. When I inquired about the identity of this friend, imagine my surprise to discover that it was none other than your son, Albus Potter.

Garden War by Cibee (Cibeeeee) (T) 5k, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter. Harry and Draco are quarantined in their houses, a lake across from one another. What better ways to spend this time than to annoy each other with letters and attempts to prove that their garden is better ?

LITTLE WOMEN (2019)

Chocolate Kisses by lady_needless_litany (T) 3k, WIP, Theodore Laurence/Josephine March. If Jo had to be shut in her house for the foreseeable future, at least she had Laurie to keep her company.

MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

Strange Attractors by dance4thedead (T) 882. There's an asshole in Matt's apartment. An unworthy love letter to the fic "The Goldilocks Principle". Set in late March 2020, during the COVID-19 crisis.

I walk this lonely road by xxx_cat_xxx (T) 1.6k, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov. Part 3 of Red in my Ledger.

MERCY STREET

We run a very tight ship by middlemarch, sagiow (t) 3k, WIP. Jedediah "Jed" Foster/Mary Phinney. "There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where we could have said -- no. But somehow we missed it.” Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.Every single passenger on the ship would have that thought. At least once. Sometimes, on an endless loop, like the announcement about pina coladas on Deck 4. It turned out, the only way out was through. With card tricks.

OCEAN’S 8

You Shall Go To The Ball by ShadowHaloedAngel (T) 1.4k, Daphne Kluger/Rose Weil. The lockdown means the parties are all cancelled, but Rose and Daphne decide to have a little ball at home instead. After all, when else can you have a costume party for the hell of it? And with your own fairy godmother on hand, your gown is always going to make you feel like a princess.

OVERWATCH (video game)

nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody (ooh) nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody no— by faorism (M) 9k, Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada and other ships. Like most things now, it's more a matter of not if, but when. (Or: five times Jesse kept himself together and one time he really, really didn't.)

PITCH PERFECT

Icy Hot by Notsoawesomenerd (E), 7k. Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell. No, this is not a story about the topical pain reliever. This is a story about the interesting things Chloe can do to Beca with ice and ice-related items.

Desperate Measures by aliciameade (M), 6k, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell. Chloe and Beca have everything they need to weather the mandated period of social distancing and staying home: food, water, shelter, games, entertainment, and each other's company.The one thing they don't have?Much-needed privacy.

RWBY

The Man in Your Head by goreds (G) 431, Ozpin/Salem (RWBY), Ozma/Salem (RWBY). Salem has a friend in her head. Not that she considers him a friend...

STAR TREK: ALTERNATE ORIGINAL SERIES

fourteen by sciencebluefeelings (T) 2.6k, James T. Kirk/Spock Prime. Two years ago, Spock waited for Jim. Now it's Jim's turn to wait. 

STAR TREK: ORIGINAL SERIES

Seventy Two Hours by LiraelClayr007 (G) 2.4k,  James T. Kirk/Spock Prime. Kirk lowers his voice, makes it almost too low to hear, and this time he is pleading. “Bones. You know why I can’t stay here. You know what this’ll do to me.” He closes his eyes, then says one more time, “Please.” He can’t look when he says it. He already knows the answer.“Sorry, Jim. It’s only three days. If it’s any consolation I don’t think you were actually exposed, but we have to be sure.” He looks at Kirk, then at Spock, then shrugs. He knows what he’s putting Kirk through.Or: Kirk and Spock are accidentally exposed to something on an alien planet and have to spend seventy two hours together in an isolation chamber. Easy, right? Except Kirk is going to go mad, because he's head over heels for Spock.

STAR WARS

grey and sprawling by srawratskcuf (Doreen) (E) 7k WIP, Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren. Ben and Hux have had a rocky long-distance semi-relationship ever since Hux went away to college. Basically, they call each other once a week and have phone sex, and absolutely do not talk about their feelings.When Ben finally saves up enough to fly across the country to visit Hux, his ten day trip gets extended indefinitely. Sheltering in place together will make or break them.

SUPERNATURAL

some kinda something by quillquiver (E) 2k, Castiel/Dean Winchester. There are only so many places to hide shit when you’re playing with 700 square feet of totally shared living space. This is something Dean has become very aware of in a very short amount of time.

Que Sera, Sera by wigglebox (G) 4.3k, Castiel/Dean Winchester. A few months into his new human life, Cas comes down with a fever and cough. Usually, that wouldn't be a concern, but now there's a contagious, new illness spreading across the country, and the anxiety that comes along with it.

I Don’t Understand These References by CeliPuff, Winchesterlovr0508 (M). 1.5k. Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam Winchester. Dean says the president extended the quarantine so Sam suggested I make a journal. I suspect it’s a ploy to keep my hands off his brother but being extremely old, I’m entitled to do what I want. And I happen to have eons of experience in multitasking.I prayed to Gabriel to run some interference. I believe this is a foolproof plan.

Apocalypse by Maleyah (Katherine_Kat) (E) 36k WIP, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Gabriel/Sam, Michael/Adam Milligan. Dean moves through Cas’ kitchen with the ease of familiarity, as he sets about re-heating the leftovers. Ironically Cas’ kitchen is better equipped than the one in his apartment. It’s just that he’s been pouring all his money into The Roadhouse. The apartment is a rental anyway.“You have got to be shitting me!”His eyebrows shoot up at the language. Cas doesn’t curse often, but given the fact that the world is slowly descending into madness, he has a good guess what is provoking it. He glances behind him, across the counter that connects the open kitchen to the living room, where Cas is staring at the television. 

THE MAGICIANS

hard rain, honey, and the sweet sun by Allegria23 (E), 7k, Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh. Eliot and Quentin are staying in their apartment. They both have some ideas.

THE WITCHER

Love in the Time of Video Conferencing by Elizabeth (M), 15.6k, Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier. Pestilence is a bitch, and the entire university has had to shift to e-learning overnight. Jaskier is a systems admin being forced to pick up slack for the overwhelmed help desk. Work ended hours ago, so why is he on a support call with the most technologically-incapable history professor he's ever met? And really, what is the deal with this guy?Based on the "OMG they were Zoommates" prompt from the AO3 comment Tumblr.This is, five times Jaskier and Geralt used Zoom for tech support, and one time they used Zoom for... something else. I apologize if this upsets you; it helps me cope with the emotions, so I'm hoping to channel stress into fluff and put it out there so it can possibly help others.

YURI!!! ON ICE

Music from the Heart by Multiple_Universes (G) 6.5k, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov. A curse falls over the land. It keeps people stuck indoors and will not let them out. The most powerful magician in the land seems unable to break the hold of the curse. But, as they say, love will always find a way.Inspired by videos of people singing from their balconies during the coronavirus quarantine.

[badwolfwriter]

Finding Malcolm Bright

Ok, so no one knows where the dumbest man alive is. Chances are high that the FBI is going to think Malcolm is working with John instead of having been kidnapped, so the team is going to have to go completely off the books to find Malcolm. Here’re some things that I think are likely to happen, or that I would at least like to see.

1) Gil is going to ask Martin for help: let’s start with the obvious. There’s no one better to help them find John than the guy who mentored him, and Martin does love Malcolm, even if that love is entirely narcissistic. Not to mention I’ve seen mentions of interviews that state Gil and Martin are going to be in the same room soon. The team is going to run out of leads and be forced to ask Martin for help. He’ll give it, of course. He’s going to make them grovel though. Gil is going to have to resist the urge to punch him. I’m sure there’s going to be arguing between them over who is Malcolm’s father (his biological father, or the one who actually fathered him). It’s not going to be good, but Gil is enough of a professional and dedicated enough to finding Malcolm that he’s going to push his fury and disgust aside enough to get the job done.

2) Jessica is going to go bat shit: Jess isn’t perfect, as a person or as a parent, but she does very clearly love her children, and you can bet she’s going to tear the city apart trying to find Malcolm. PI’s, check. Nagging the cops till they block her number, you betcha. Eventually only Gil is going to take her calls, and potentially then only cos Jessica knows where he lives and will show up at his door demanding answers. (Not that Gil is going home till they find Malcolm.) She’s going to react very strongly, and it’s going to be mixed, I think, with tears, anger, desperation, etc. Jessica is a tornado, and good luck to the person who tries to hurt her kids.

3) I can definitely see Jessica going to Martin too. I don’t know if it’s going to be her or Gil who suggests going to him for help, but once the idea is out there for the police to go to him, Jessica is going to take it into her own hands. It may even be the level of groveling Martin wants to cooperate. (I can see him refusing Gil, knowing that Jessica is going to come after him, simply cos he wants to see her beg.) She knows Martin can help, and Martin knows she’s smart enough to figure it out. He’s also definitely upset by her insistence that she’s done with him. What better revenge can he have than making her beg him for help to find their son, by admitting his use, not in spite of his crimes, but because of them. He’s going to try to manipulate his way back into her life, and I can see her agreeing to anything to secure his help in getting Malcolm back. The show has had her insisting she’s done with Martin as he smirks that she’ll be back far too much to not do that. Poor Jessica. 

4) I really hope we get to see some good quality Ainsley angst. Not that I want her to suffer, but I think there are a few options for how she handles this. 1, she sits back and lets the police work. I don’t see this as likely, because, well, you’ve all seen her. 2, she uses this as a way to further her career. I don’t see how she can, at least at the moment, and I think she cares too much about Malcolm for that. 3 is the most likely- she tries to use her influence in the media to flush John out of hiding and get any information she can find. (Yes, it’ll probably help her career, and that may or may not be in the back of her mind, but I do believe her motivation will be to find her brother.) I would love to see her and Jessica working together on this. You know Gil won’t be happy, unless it pays off (and even then), because it puts them in danger. John won’t like them moving against him. So they’re going to go on air with a picture of John, and Gil is going to yell at them, and they will both be very unapologetic. (This is one I hope will happen, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t focus on Ainsley here enough to show what she’s doing. I think Jessica will get more screen time, but the main focus will still be on the team.) 

5) I think it’s obvious to state that we’re going to have some angsty scenes with the team. They’re going to be worried. Dani has already made it clear she’s rooting for Malcolm, but this may be a turning point towards her admitting feelings for him, if the show chooses to go in that direction. Edrisa is going to be generally panicked and trying to help. I don’t see her as being good at sneaking around, but she’s sure as hell gonna try cos she knows it’s what Malcolm needs. JT is going to be forced to admit he actually likes Malcolm. Bonus points if they find him close to death and all the angst comes out then. But this is the turning point to the team “tolerating him” to admitting that they all actually like him.

6) I think this is definitely going to be the turning point for Gil and Jessica getting together. I know I’m not alone in shipping them at this point. The show is very obviously pushing them together, and I’m there for it. What better way than to have them freaking out over the boy they both raised and love, working together despite Gil’s attempts to get Jessica to stay home, and trying to comfort each other. Not to mention when they do find Malcolm and he’s inevitably in the hospital for a few days, neither of them is going to leave his side.

7) We all know the FBI is going to start by suspecting Malcolm. I’m hoping by the end they can come to peace with Malcolm, specifically Swanson. Even if they don’t part on particularly friendly terms, I want them to acknowledge that Malcolm isn’t his father, to see him for the victim he is, and to put their support behind him. It’s a TV drama though, so that probably won’t happen. They’ll probably eventually accept that he’s a victim this time, having been kidnapped, but still be suspicious of Malcolm himself. I can see them coming back in a later season if they decide to go in the direction of Malcolm being framed for murder. But I’m hoping Malcolm makes at least a couple new friends in the FBI as people finally come to see that he’s A, not crazy, and B, not a psychopath.

8) Malcolm: we gotta throw some Malcolm angst in here. Boy’s got it rough right now. Even if the team gets to him within a day, which isn’t likely, he’s going to be very traumatized, cos you know the rest of his memories regarding the girl in the box are going to come back, plus the trauma of being kidnapped. He might get tortured, I’m not sure yet what exactly John wants with him. But he’s also going to be forced off his meds cold turkey, and that won’t be good. He’s going to be in rough shape emotionally, mentally, and probably physically. Cos we all know he’s going to fight tooth and nail to escape and stop John, and once hallucinations set in, there’s a chance he might hurt himself without even realizing it. This is going to have long term detrimental impacts on him, which can go a lot of different ways. There could be psychiatric hospitalization in his future, either forced or voluntary. Him having a psychotic break has been foreshadowed enough that we all know it’s going to happen eventually, and him trying to deal with the fallout of this might be the last straw. His going to be reactive, and his PTSD, anxiety, and depression are going to flare big time. There’s a strong chance that he’s going to lose it on a case and be fired as a consultant. He’s going to be dealing with a lot of shit from a lot of people, and unfortunately, a lot of them are only going to see the son and potential accomplice of the Surgeon and Junkyard Killer and not victim he is. You also know that once they find who the girl in the box is, Malcolm is going to want to be a part of the notification process. That’s not likely to go well. So yeah, things aren’t looking good there. However, I think this does have the potential to bring him, Jessica, and Ainsley closer as they’re going to freak out over him. He’s going to get closer with his team, and knowing he has their support is going to be huge for him. Any degree of closure he gets is going to be good too, though the cost it’ll have on his mental health may override that. But yeah. I’m seeing a lot of possibilities for his future, and basically, no matter what direction they take him in, it’s gonna hurt.

9) Back to Ainsley again: while I think this has the potential to bring her and Malcolm closer, it might backfire eventually. Malcolm is going to get massive amounts of attention once they rescue him, and that is something Ainsley is deeply jealous of. She’s going to rebel, and hurt her family, either intentionally or not. This could be the start of her own spiral. I don’t have a clear enough picture of where the writers are taking her character yet to say.

[allonsy-yesiwill]

Tis The Season: A Family Divided

WC: 2900 ish

Pairing:  Dean x Y/N

Warnings: a little bit of angst (read is an orphan but it didn’t happen till she was an adult and hit of crap parents) torwards the end but mostly just fluffy goodness

A/N: I tend to treat the English language like a garbage bin, in public I pronounce gym phonetically cause it makes people mad, and me smile. So please if you are an English teacher just pass on all of this... cause my tenses are timey whimy to say the least. That being said if you want to Beta, let me know I could use all the help I can get... hmmm, I guess that’s just a general statement about my life really..lol.  

Get caught up here 

The next morning Y/N woke up and packed everything up, she just had a bad feeling about the day and she couldn’t bear to ruin the holiday for the rest of Dean’s family. 

“Good morning cheer, you ready for the big Christmas eve brunch,” Benny hollers from the other side of the door. 

Y/N opens it with a sigh, “Please Benny, brunch happens at 11, this is breakfast. It’s still 9 am.” She laughed a bit, “Hey Benny if I ask you to do me a favor and not tell Dean could you do that?”

“Well it depends but probably,” he smiled.

“I don’t think today is going to go well and I don’t want to destroy the actual holiday for them, and by them I mean Mary, Jess, Sam and Dean. John can go fuck himself. I packed my bags, can you just put them in the car just in case?”

“Yes but I don’t like this, I know Dean’s not the best at standing up against his dad but he’s trying.” 

“I get it and I see it. I don’t love him any less for it. It’s just not going to change. I know I had a similar relationship with my parents. And to be honest with you I don’t even think this is about Dean anymore. It’s about my own unchecked baggage with my parents,” Y/N let out with a sigh. 

“Okay cheer, but please promise me you won’t leave the state without him. It would break him.” 

“Agreed.” 

As Y/N walked into the kitchen Dean stood up and pulled out the chair next to him. Y/N looked around the table and noticed that John was missing as Dean pushed in her chair giving her a kiss on the cheek. “How did you sleep babe,” Dean asked. “Well I am pretty sure it was more of a passing out thing after all of the whiskey,” Y/N said softly noticing that the family in the room was looking at them smiling.

“Well if you need a hangover cure, I make whip you up something that will make you feel better,” Sam laughed, “I’ve done it for Dean more than once.” 

“I am not listening,” Mary smiled. 

“No Sam I am good, some fresh fruit and some OJ should do the job. Do we have a nap time scheduled today? I will probably need one of those as well,” Y/N smiled. She couldn’t believe how welcome she felt, no judgement about her words last night. She was sure the family would take John’s side. 

“We can probably arrange for that sweetheart, right mom,” Dean said, giving her hand a squeeze. 

John joined them after about 20 minutes later, stateing that he just finished a business call and wanting to know the days plans where. John did not say a word to Y/N. Didn’t look at her, didn’t acknowledge her presents. He did however make comments on the events happening, stating that they were family only. 

“Well if you excuse me, I will let you get back to your family planing,” Y/N said standing up. 

“What’s wrong Y/N, the hangover got you feeling less than humans,” John asked with a laugh, “Ladies don't drink like you did last night.” 

“No sir, I feel fine however I know when I am not welcome and I don’t want to make thing more uncomfortable for the rest of the family. As far as the lady comment, well I don’t really want to be a door mat for men to wipe their shit on. Thank you for the hospitality and breakfast,”  Y/N got up and walked out of the room. Dean was calling her name and he began to stand up, however John grabbed his arm. “She’s not worth it son,” he said. 

“How do you know, you haven’t even given her a change. All you do is cast your stupid prehistoric views on her,” Dean let out. 

“I worn you son sit down or else.” 

“Or else what, you will disown me like Y/N parents did to her?  I know you ran a background check and I am sure you think I don’t know about her history, but I do. I know everything thing she has done, how she has made the world a better place. That’s 1000 times better than any of us sitting round this table, with the exception of Jess.”Dean smiled looking at Jessica. 

“I am sorry Mom, I am going to go make sure my girlfriend is alright,” Dean said while exiting the kitchen. 

He didn’t have to go far to find her, she had stopped around the corner when she heard Dean speak up. His heart broke when he saw she was crying, “ Baby I am so sorry, come here.” 

“Dean I am not sad, did you mean all of that. Like really or was just to make your dad mad?” 

“Of course I meant every last word of it. I should have stood up last night but I didn’t I am sorry.” 

“Dean no one has ever stood up for me like that,” Y/N said as more tears fell on her face. 

Dean wrapped her in his arms whispering, “I love you so much.” When they broke apart Dean took her hand and asked, “So pool house, Christmas movies. I don’t maybe Die Hard and Elf.”

“Oh Dean Winchester you know the way to this girl's heart.” 

It didn’t take long before Y/N feel asleep on Dean as he continued to watch christmas movies enjoying the close space they shared. Before the movie was over Benny walked Mary in, “Bother, someone is here to see you.” 

Well if it’s John tell him he’s not welcome and we if we need to leave we can,” Dean said louder than he intended. 

“Can I join you,” Mary asked. 

“Yes of course, sorry mom.” 

“You know I like her. She’s strong and feisty, just what you need. You also seem happy, and that makes me happy.” 

“Thank you, where’s dad.” 

“He went to work, I don’t think he wanted to be here. After you left Sam laid into him pretty hard about how he didn't like Jess when she first started coming around. That she just distracted him from the work. Give him time he will figure it out and if he doesn’t well I will come see you,” Mary smiled softly. 

“Yeah, I should have done this the frist night. I am an awful boyfriend.” 

“Son we all have our issue and she gets yours. Don’t feel bad about it, just make sure she knows you love her. Ah the Griswolds, should we make a bet that your father will cut off knob on the top of the stairs or that he will have to cut down a tree from he front yard.”

“Ha, well let’s hope it’s neither. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse.”  They both laughed. 

“You know Dean, most families are like the Griswolds, they want everything to be perfect for their children and it’s impossible and not because we all have a cousin Eddy. There is no perfect in real life. Hell there isn’t even a normal, well outside of the setting on the dyer.”  

Mary stayed and finished the movie with them. Y/N woke up before the ending with both Mary and Dean making jokes about sleeping beauty. Mary let Y/N know that she fully excepted her at the family dinner and to be part of the family photo tonight, a Winchester tradition. Mary also let her know that a dress would be delivered for her an hour before the dinner. 

“Dean, please stay in the guest house for the rest of your trip. I know John will be less than pleased, but seeing your smile I just couldn’t say no.” 

The day was peaceful for both Y/N and Dean. It was the perfect christmas eve. When they hear Benny knock on the door they both sighed knowing dinner was close. 

“Alright kids, so Mary let me bring two outfits. However we talked and we really think both of you should go with this one,” Benny let out hand over a garment bag. 

“Oh my god what is this,” Y/N laughed. 

“Mary and I talked about it and it’s fun and joyful, that’s something she seemed to think you were Y/N and that she knows Dean is. She might have used the world childish.” 

“Ha, well you’re not wrong, I love it.” 

“Hey now, same team,” Dean laughed. 

The outfits where a matching over the top christmas print. Y/N dress and Dean’s suit were both a dark green, and decorated to make them look like christmas trees. 

Looking in the mirror Y/N admired their reflection, “ We look perfectly horrible, I love it,” 

“Well I think you got the perfect part right babe.” 

Before dinner the gathered in the living room around the tree. While John had yet to show up Mary insisted on taking pictures. Everyone loved Dean and Y/N outfits, Jess and Sam even suggested next year they all coordinate. 

As John walked into the room it was clear he disapproved of Y/N sitting on Dean’s lap. Lucky Ellen walked in around that time announcing dinner is ready. They all sat down a the formal dinning room table, Y/N was nestled on the corner next to Mary and Dean, far away form John. 

“Alright family, John will lead us in grace and it looks like you Sam are going to be the frist to say what you are most thankful for this year and what you look forward to in the next year,” Mary said. 

As Sam started speaking Y/N’s mind went off the rails. She was most grateful for Dean, but could she say that. But she had to say it, it’s true. There were a few other things on her list but Dean was on the top. She took a deep breath and listened to everyone speak before her it was her turn. 

“Honestly, I am so very grateful for Dean. Even when we were just friends he alway made me feel valued and that’s not something I am used to. It was also because of Dean’s help that was I able to mentor two homeless youths and help them get off the streets and be productive member of the community.” 

“That’s amazing Y/N,” Mary let out. 

“Was that Kyle and Abby,” Dean asked. 

“Yeah,” she smiled. 

“I, I didn’t know they were homeless,” Dean said with a sad smile. “Alright I guess it’s my turn. So I am most grateful to running into this quirky little bartend in NW Portland. I asked her out on a date more than once, she always said no. Then I started to hangout with her as friends and she showed me a world I didn’t know about. And how she was making the world a better place, also how I could make the world a better place. Y/N you inspire me to be a better human and I hope I can have a fraction of the impact you have had on this world.” When Dean finished he look and Y/N, and kissed her deeply and passionately. John said nothing. 

Sam’s boys went next and then it was John’s turn. 

“Well I love and I am also grateful for my family. But right now I am more thank for our private investigator Azazel. Because of him I know that Y/N over there is a gold digging whore. 10 years ago she was in a relationship Dick Roman and when that relationship ended he had to giver her 25k to get off the hook. It looks like her father set them up on a date, them being business associates and when it was all over her family disowned her. So clearly she’s just a whore looking for money. If Mr Roman couldn’t make her happy, I don’t think you can.” 

“Are you done John or is there more,” Y/N asked. 

“There is more, I knew your mother before she died. I didn’t know till well Azazel found it but I remember her. I remember her talking about  her freeloading daughter that never did anything to help the family succeed. She was ashamed and disappointed in you 15 years ago and I think she would still be today.” 

“Well clearly John you believe removing me for the picture is more important than your family's happiness so you would probably be a good friend to my mother. My father actually negotiated a deal for me to marry Dick. I wanted nothing to do with it. At first he was respectful however after a year that all changed. There was physical abuse and he would bring in his own medic’s to patch me up, there was rape that no one would believe when I went to the police. The only reason I am probably alive is because Dick’s lawyer saw what was happening and offered me a life line, Crowley. The first time I met Crowley my eye socket was shattered. Crowley has all of the evidence, the pictures of everything that happened. I just wanted to be free, Crowley got me my freedom and a lump sum of money. He is the only one who keeps that evidence incase something where to happen to me. When I was at Crowley’s my parents came for me multiple times and I didn’t understand why. It was then that Crowley found out my parents had pretty much sold me to Dick and Dick was coming after the money he gave them. Crowley helped me disappear into a bar in Portland where no one I know would find me. And with that I think I am done for this evening. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve,” she said standing up and walking out. The dinning room was quite. Not a word everyone taking everything in. Dean new about Dick but not the physical abuse, she just told him about the mental and that Crowley got her off. 

The staff was never far off and Y/N was hoping that Benny would be right there, she wasn’t disappoint. “You’re bag is still in the car, would you like to go.” 

“Yes, please, “ Y/N said as tears fell down her face. There was no noise form the dining room. Nothing. Y/N figured Dean would need some time to over come his anger. She never told Dean about the physical abuse or rape because Dean is an accquatice of Dick’s and that would never end well. 

“Cheer, I don’t want you to be alone tonight, Jo has the night off and Ellen will be home soon. Can I take you there. Bobby will be over before the night is over.” 

“I would rather be alone but I don’t have any money on me right now so I am at your disposal.” 

“Y/N, no you aren’t. If you want a first class room in this town I can get you that. But we do like you and I am worry. Dean’s going to be worried. If he finds out I left you alone I would get a beating, cheer.” 

“Okay Benny, Jo’s it is.” 

When Benny showed up a Jo’s place he messaged Mary letting her know where Y/N was and that he wouldn’t be coming back tonight. Mary was grateful for the news and insisted that Ellen and Bobby go home early to spend time with their family. When Ellen walked in she brought a few more gifts into the house with her. Mary had a feeling that this might happened so she had packed a few extra gifts for Y/N and let Bobby know. 

“Well this is wonderful,” Ellen walked in to the room seeing Jo’s arm around Y/N while Benny sat on the floor beneath them while It’s a Wonderful Life played on the TV. “I have pie who wants some?” 

As the pie was handed being finished Ellen starts to hand out gifts. 

“What’s this,”Y/N asked, “I don’t need anything.” 

“Well no one needs anything, but you deserve it,” Ellen said, “We all open one gift Christmas Eve for a reason and I think you will find you’re very useful” 

As everyone opened their gift she could see they were all christmas pj’s and Y/N smiled. “ These are the best, but how did you know I would be here Ellen.” 

“I didn’t, these are actually from Mary.” And with that Y/N couldn’t hold the tears back. Mary had gotten her a gift incase she wasn’t there. There is so much thought and work, money makes it easier but she had never felt so love in her life. Ellen held her that best a mom could and let her cry her tears of joy. 

After presents there were more holiday movies and finally eggnog and a red wine hot coco. Bobby and Ellen didn’t have much room but Y/N was more than happy with the sofa. After the family when to bed, Y/N drifted off to sleep watching the fire die down wondering how she got so lucky and hoping that Dean was okay.

Next Part (will be out Christmas Day) 

You can entertain yourself over here with my other stories

TAGS

@akshi8278

[dumb-american]

The Rebuild of Final Fantasy VII: Your Expectations Will (Not) Be Met

I apologize for the stupid title and I promise I’m going to talk about the Final Fantasy VII Remake, but I have to get this out of the way first. Sometime in the mid 2000s, acclaimed artist and director Hideaki Anno announced that he was going to remake his beloved anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion the way it should have been the first time, free from technical and budgetary restraints. Evangelion had a notoriously strange ending when the original anime aired, consisting of character talking over still images, abstract art, and simple animations. It was highly polarizing and controversial. Anno, for his part, received death threats and the headquarters of the studio that produced the anime was vandalized. Soon after the initial uproar Anno would direct The End of Evangelion, a retelling of the final two episodes of the anime, and that seemed to mostly satisfy the fanbase. Looking back now, The End of Evangelion wasn’t “fixing” something that was “broken,” no, it was a premonition: a vision of things to come. Why remake the ending when you can just remake the whole damn thing?

The mid 2000s also saw the birth of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII: a sub-series of projects expanding the universe and world of the video game that had “quite possibly the greatest game ever made” proudly printed on the back of its CD case. The Compilation consisted of three games, all on different platforms, and a film. First was Advent Children, a sequel to Final Fantasy VII, where three dudes that look like discarded Sephiroth concept art all have anime fights with our beloved protagonists, culminating in a ridiculous gravity defying sword fight between Cloud and Sephiroth. Before Crisis and Crisis Core are prequels that expand the story of the Turks and Zack Fair, respectively. Then there’s Dirge of Cerberus, an action shooter staring secret party member and former Turk Vincent. Were these projects good? I’d say they were largely forgettable. Crisis Core stood out as the obvious best of the bunch and I think may be worth revisiting.

As a business model, the practice pioneered by the Compilation would continue on and eventually brings us FFXIII (and sequels), FF Versus XIII (which would later become FFXV), and FF Agito XIII (which would later become FF Type-0). If that’s all incredibly confusing to you, I’m sorry, I promise I will begin talking about the Final Fantasy VII Remake soon. Suffice it to say, both Final Fantasy VII and Neon Genesis Evangelion have a certain gravity. They punch above their weight. They are both regarded as absolute classics, flaws and all. And yet, in both cases, the people responsible for their creation decided that their first at bat wasn’t good enough and it was time to recreate them as they were meant to be all along. I think this way of thinking about art is flawed, limitations are as much a part of the creative process as vision and intent. Yet, we find ourselves in a world with a remake of Final Fantasy VII, so I guess we should talk about it.

From this point forward, there’s going to be major spoilers for every Final Fantasy VII related media. So, be warned.

So, is the Final Fantasy VII Remake any good? To me, that’s the least interesting question, but we can get into it. FFVIIR is audacious, that’s for sure. Where Anno condenses and remixes a 26 episode anime series into four feature length films, the FFVIIR team expands an around 5 hour prologue chapter into a 30+ hour entire game. Naturally, there will be some growing pains. The worst example of this is the sewers. The game forces you to slog through an awful sewer level twice, fighting the same boss each time. This expanded sewer level is based on a part of the original game that was only two screens and was never revisited.

Besides the walk from point A to point B, watch a cutscene, fight a boss, repeat that you’d expect from a JRPG, there’s also three chapters where the player can explore and do sidequests. The sidequests are mostly filler, but a select few do accomplish the goal of fleshing out some of the minor characters. You spend way more time with the Avalanche crew, for example. Out of them, only Jesse has something approaching a complete personality or character arc that matters. The main playable cast is practically unchanged which was a bit surprising to me. I figured Square-Enix would tone down Barret’s characterization as Mr. T with a gun for an arm, but they decided, maybe correctly, that Barret is an immutable part of the Final Fantasy VII experience. Also, it’s practically unforgivable that Red XIII was not playable in the remake considering how much time you spend with him. I don’t understand that decision in the slightest.

The game’s general systems and mechanics, materia, combat, weapon upgrades, etc. are all engaging and fun and not much else really needs to be said about it. I found it to be great blend of action/strategy. Materia really was the peak of JPRG creativity in the original FFVII and its recreation here is just as good. The novelty of seeing weird monsters like the Hell House and the “Swordipede” (called the Corvette in the original) make appearances as full on boss fights with mechanics is just weaponized nostalgia. In general, the remake has far more hits than misses, but those misses, like the sewers and some of the tedious sidequests, are big misses. It is a flawed game, but a good one. If I were to pick a favorite part of the game, I’d have to pick updated Train Graveyard section which takes lore from the original game and creates a mini-storyline out of it.

If that was all, however, then honestly writing about Final Fantasy VII Remake wouldn’t be worth my time or yours. The game’s ambition goes way further than just reimagining Midgar as a living, real city. There’s a joke in the JRPG community about the genre that goes something like this: at the start of the game, you kill rats in the sewer and by the end you’re killing God. Well, when all is said and done, the Final Fantasy VII Remake essentially does just that. Narratively, the entire final act of the game is a gigantic mess, but if you know anything about me then you know I’d much rather a work of fiction blast off into orbit and get a little wild than be safe and boring.

In the original games, the Lifestream is a physical substance that contains spirits and memories of every living being. Hence, when a person dies, they “return to the planet”. It flows beneath the surface of the planet like blood flows in a living person’s veins and can gather to heal “wounds” in the planet. In the original game, the antagonist, Sephiroth, seeks to deeply wound the planet with Meteor and then collect all the “spirit energy” the planet musters to heal the wound. The remake builds on this concept by introducing shadowy, hooded beings called Whispers. The Whispers are a physical manifestation of the concept of destiny and they can be found when someone seeks to change their fate, correcting course to the pre-destined outcome. Whispers appear at multiple points throughout the game’s storyline both impeding and aiding the party. The ending focuses heavily on them and the idea that fate and destiny can be changed. We receive visions throughout the game which some will recognize as major story beats and images from the original game. After dealing with Shinra and rescuing Aerith, the game immediately switches over to this battle against destiny and fate that you’re either going to love or hate. The transition is abrupt and jarring. While Cloud has shown flashes of supernatural physical abilities throughout the game, suddenly he has gone full Advent Children mode and is flying around cleaving 15 ton sections of steel in half with his sword. The party previously took on giant mutated monsters, elite soldiers, and horrific science experiments, but now the gloves are off and they’re squaring up against an impossibly huge manifestation of the Planet’s will. Keep in mind, in the narrative of the original FFVII, the Midgar section was rougly 10%, if that, of the game’s full storyline. This is, frankly, insane, but I’d be lying if I didn’t love it.

The Final Fantasy VII Remake, with its goofy JRPG concluding chapter, is forcing the player to participate in the original game’s un-making. We see premonitions of an orb of materia falling to the ground, we see an older Red XIII gallop across the plains, we see a SOLDIER with black hair and Cloud’s Buster Sword make his final stand, we see Cloud waist deep in water holding something or someone. We all know what these images represent, they’ve been part of imaginations for decades. But the Final Fantasy VII Remake allows us (or forces us, depending on perspective, I guess) to kill fate, kill God, and set aside all we thought we knew about how the game would play out post-Midgar. The most obvious effect of our actions is the reveal that Zack survived his final stand against Shinra and instead of leaving Cloud his sword and legacy, helped him get to Midgar safely. I have my doubts and my worries about the future of this series. I’m not sure when the next part of the game will be released or what form it will come in, but I can’t believe I’m as excited as I am to see it.

Of course, part of me wishes they’d just left well enough alone. Remakes are generally complete wastes of time and effort. Not all, but most. Maybe I’m, to borrow a term from pro wrestling lingo, a complete mark here and I just love JRPGs and Final Fantasy VII so much that I’ll countenance close to anything bearing its name. I’ve tried my best to be as critical and fair as possible to the game and I hope that if you’re on the fence and reading this I’ve maybe helped you decide if it’s for you or not. I think the Final Fantasy VII Remake is worth your time if you’re looking for a good, meaty JRPG. It’s not perfect and it’s final act is insane, but that just makes me love it more.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like for Zack, Cloud, and Aerith to face Sephiroth in the Planet’s core? I know 15 year old me did. And he may get his wish.

[alphabees-writes]

Glee - S1 E1 (Pilot)

Is it a smart idea to rewatch glee again? No.

Am I going to do it anyway? You bet your sweet bippy I am!

Am I going to liveblog my garbage monkey brain thoughts along the way even though nobody asked for it? Hell yeah.

Here goes!

Wow. The first frame of this entire show is literally of a woman who looks like she’s about 10 years above the natural lifespan of a Cheerio. Then again, I’m sure Sue’s not above holding back her best recruits for multiple years because Ohio high schools are apparently just Like That™

I also never notice this opening song was a remix of Keep Me Hangin On, wow. That’s actually kind of interesting foreshadowing of sorts, like, kind of smart. I’m glad I’m watching the part of Glee that was kind of smart.

This scene also doesn’t feature any of the Unholy Trinity as far as I can see. Are they a JV squad? Am I putting too much thought into this?

Sign #1 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Really, my guy? Driving around with your muffler dragging on the ground so bad it’s making sparks? That’s not very Road Safety of you. Fuck off. 

Sign #2 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: Wow, there’s going to be a lot of these, huh? Anyway, anybody with working eyes would clearly see how scared Kurt is right now. “Making some new friends Kurt?” Fuck off. 

KURT. FIRST SIGHTING OF THE BOY. What a delight. But also, not a delight, because he’s being bullied and he deserves better. Look at his outfit. Iconic from day fucking one. 

Finn, you’re a himbo. What’re you doing with these assholes?

Puck’s first line in the whole series is “It’s hammer time!” What a fucking dork? Who made this boy popular. 

DO MORE THAN TAKE HIS COAT, FINN. LET HIM GOOOOO!!!

I paused while they were tossing Kurt in the dumpster and, wow, got the most hilarious frame where the guy who isn’t Puck is getting a meticulously polished boot to the face. Netflix let me take screenshots, you coward.

The first shot of Quinn... My wlw bones are shaking.

Why would they use that photo for Lillian Adler...? WHO WAS BORN IN 1937, MIGHT I ADD. THAT’S NOT A REAL YEAR. 

It’s weird to see Mr Schue actually speaking competent Spanish. Why did they veto that later? The ONE likeable thing about him was his competence as a school teacher, and they really threw it out the window huh?

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE MEMBERS OF SANDY RYERSON’S GLEE CLUB??? This kid seems to really like singing. Also, welcome to the beginning of Ryerson being annoying as all hell.

Oh my gosh, the background choir stuff. This show really had style back in the day!!!

R A C H E L B E R R Y Y O U R M A K E U P ! ! !

Ken Tanaka walked so incels could run.

Jane Lynch you beauty. You absolutely impeccable beauty. 

“Since when are cheerleaders performers?” Uh... Emma...? I get that Sue’s going ham on her budget but, like, be nice to the students? They perform their butts off!

Sue really just BRAGGED about having an iPhone. I was 9 when this came out. Why do I feel old...

Sign #3 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: He hears his coworker, presumably of several years, just got fired and doesn’t even ask why. He just jumps on the glee club like a frog on hot asphalt. 

He really wants to Make The Glee Club Great Again, huh? 

MySpace was really a thing, huh? And why does this grown-ass male teacher know so much about the students having them?

I know nothing about actual American schools, but I do know that they sure as shit don’t work like this. Why does a club have to win EVERY competition to be considered an asset?

Mr Shoe really lying awake at night half-naked next to his wife thinking about the glee club already? Yeah sounds about right. Also, of course you’d think up Nude Erections for a name, you asshole. Put some clothes on.

R E S P E C T MERCEDES YES!!!

Brad the piano player was really here from day ONE... Icon.

Cellophane, Mr Cellophane... Yes Kurt bby you killed it. 

Chris Colfer looks so YOUNG here!!! 

The hair fix... I C O N I C !

Tina really wrote her stutter down, huh? And nobody ever saw through it? Amazing. 

The goth Tina look, too... Perfect... Never change...

Say what you want about Rachel Berry being generally insufferable, but I really fucking feel it when she sings On My Own. The monologue kind of kills The Drama of it, but they really solidly established her character by layering them. She really is a gold star right now.

The first-ever on-screen slushie!

The way she walks down that hall. My God you can just see how terrible she is to be around.

Never forget Rachel staring at photos of her with two men who turned out to not be her dads. Who are they? What are their stories? We’ll never know.

God, I love this stupid scene of Quinn, Santana, and a bunch of Cheerios cartoonishly typing hate comments on Rachel’s MySpace video and laughing like knock-off Disney villains. 

I like watching season 1 Artie because season 1 Artie was a good character. Mostly. And he KILLED Sit Down, You’re Rocking The Boat. Rachel wasn’t asking for a male lead who could keep up with her vocally, she was being straight up ableist and that’s a fact. I love Cory, but Kevin McHale was always a better singer.

Mercedes picking up and spinning Rachel for this little routine is something I never really appreciated before, it’s cute even though they don’t like each other yet!

I really don’t get why Rachel says they suck. Yeah, sure, she’s gunning for a solo, but the vocals were solid there. The choreo was just a little janky, possibly because it’s their first EVER rehearsal?

“There is NOTHING ironic about show choir!” Incredible.

How long did it take Mr Shoe to find Rachel out on the bleachers? Did he search the whole school first?

ARTIE! CAN! KEEP! UP! WITH! YOU! VOCALLY!

I never understood Rachel quitting so soon. How long was she in the old glee club for? Surely they were never popular either?

Ah, the first “My hands are tied” for the series. Mr Figgins is a garbage principal. 

Not going to advise the principal against referring to Artie as a cripple, William Shoestir? Alright. 

How did the Schuester marriage last as long as it has? Do Will and Terri’s insufferable personalities just cancel one another out?

Sandy Ryerson really just openly brags about cheating the system for medical marijuana and dealing it? 

Matt Morrison 100% has lip fillers. Nobody’s smile curls like that naturally.

“Terri and I are trying to get pregnant” What a weird way to phrase it. What is it, a race? Who’s going to get knocked up first!

A FIFTH OF BEETHOVEN, HOW I’VE MISSED YOU... The sound design of this show at this point is just... *Chef hand kiss*

“What you’re doing right now is called blurring the lines” Oh just wait until season 4, Sue... Just you wait.

WHY is Mr Schuester so ridiculously sweaty? I didn’t need to think about that?

EVERYONE on the football team is 30.

William Schuester you can’t just watCH TEENAGE STUDENTS SING IN THE SHOWER YOU ARE A TEACHER WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR LICENSE?! 

Hearing Cory sing this always makes me emotional. What a talent!

Sign #4 That Mr Schuester Is An Asshole: I don’t think I need to say why using the weed to blackmail Finn is a shitty thing to do, do I?

“I’ll pee in a cup! ...I’ll pee...” I love Cory’s delivery. 

PRIORITY #1: HELP THE KIDS Oh season 1... I love you so.

Mr Schue you WISH you were anything like Finn Hudson. You never will be.

Ah... Finn’s first monologue. He’s such a sweetheart. AND SO IS CAROLE. Carole is a queen I will stan forever. YOU THROW THAT MILK BB!!!

All Finn wants to do is make his mom proud. What a sweetheart. Mr Schue you do NOT deserve him.

These POV shots really enhance things, why the fuck did they stop using them?

Subtly having Kurt look at Finn in the same shot as Rachel was a nice touch indeed!

RACHEL WAS REALLY DOWN WITH ROLLING ARTIE RIGHT OFF THE STAGE HUH?

Terri’s a straight up hoarder, huh? Like a raccoon but instead of collecting edible garbage, it’s monogrammed garbage.

Surely you can’t just... BECOME an accountant, right? You need some serious qualifications for that right?

Also say what you want about how insufferable Terri is but her actress is ridiculously talented and absolutely steals every scene she’s in.

Now the background choir is doing Soul Bossa Nova and I am L I V I N G why didn’t they keep that motif!!! It was so ICONIC!

I don’t need my prostate removed. RIP Carole Hudson but I’m different :/

NO MEANS NO, KEN! TAKE THE L AND MOVE ON! Way to take out the fact that a girl won’t date you on everybody else around you! Toxic bastard. The absolute stench of melodrama on this bastard is noxious.

I was going to ask why Rachel didn’t know about Finn and Quinn if they’d already been together for 4 months, but then I remembered gossiping requires friends...

“Terri rides me. Hard. And I’ve always appreciated it!” Why don’t we talk about how this line sounds more. Why doesn’t Emma bat an eye at it oh my god

HERE COMES VOCAL ADRENALINE!!! And Jesse St. James is nowhere to be seen. How convenient. Also, they’re all 30. I’m sensing a pattern.

Sorry VA, all songs popularised my Amy Winehouse legally belong to Santana Lopez

Puck, if you were stupid enough to fall for the prostate excuse, that’s on you. Or maybe it’s on the education system...

You can do better that Mr Schue, kids. Don’t mourn him.

Ok, what the fuck is this scene where he’s filling out the job app to become an accountant? There’s a dude in the row in front off him just throwing crisps around? What is this place?? Why are you here sir??? 

“Accounting is sexy” shut up you horrible married man

The Cheerios sure did have straight ponytails for like, one episode, huh?

Finn is such a good boy. He doesn’t know it yet, but he is, and saving Artie from that portapotty is his first step to figuring it out.

This shot of Finn just wheeling Artie out of there... Ugh. My HEART.

KURT WHAT ARE THOSE LAYERS? SWEATER SHIRT SWEATER? HELLO???

Pee balloons. Nailing the lawn furniture to the roof. Finn, you’re better than that!!! Stop your dudebros. 

They really had Artie be a guitar player, and a pretty good one at that, but they never mentioned it again? Artie had such potential SMH. (Also, Netflix subtitles are telling me it’s Arty, but I categorically refuse to spell it that way.)

Whyyyyy didn’t he go to KURT for the costumes as well? Look at his outfit, Finn. He clearly wants in on that job. 

Will Schuester really is just desperately clinging to his glory days in high school. I’d feel bad for him if he wasn’t such a creep about it. 

Emma, meaningfully: Do you know who that is? That’s you, Will... [FRANTIC DISCO MUSIC IN THE BACKGROUND]

I find it hilarious how the audio of Don’t Stop Believin’ just DOES NOT match the characters except for the solos... Also wow, autotune city. Am I awful for genuinely not liking this cover? 

I like watching them perform it though. Kurt’s adorable little shimmy... Rachel and Tina smiling at each other like that... Everybody having a blast... I’m here for it

LOOK AT MY BABIES TILTING THOSE MIC STANDS...

Ok the way Rachel and Finn look at each other here is making me FEEL

I know Puck’s about to join anyway but WHY is he there watching... Just to have a mysterious bad boy moment? Lol you dramatic bastard

Please let them win nationals without you, Will.

So, yeah! There’s that! Those are my thoughts and feelings, basic though they may be. Episode one is fantastic, the kids are fantastic, and William Schuester can suck a toe.