#the gang is all here we have a series long theme on our hands

[appleciders]

Warrior Nun Season 1 + “trust”

[chuuyrr]

HI CHUU!! can i request a oneshot with baby scarlet witch disappearing from toman's sight so they call tenjiku just to find out she's gone?? like everyone despairs and looks for her quickly only to find her along with brahman/black dragons (please no dead characters and no family problems here 🥺) thank you!!!

scarlet witch! baby fushiguro! reader with brahman

jujutsu kaisen x reader x tokyo revengers

masterlist of the series

╰➤ CW(s): nobody dies au & no family problems, possible spoilers for tokyo revengers, izana swearing and speaking in tagalog because i just know he does when he's panicking, everyone losing their sh!t because you went missing, major themes of fluff and crack, definitely ooc characters lmao

╰➤ PAIRING(s): platonic! tokyo revengers x reader (mainly toman, tenjiku and brahman)

hello!! :) thank you so much for requesting and for being patient, and no worries, i got'chu haha get it? 'cause my screen name is *gets hit by a slipper* anyway, enjoy ♡

takemichi was well aware that he was holding your hand tightly while mikey and the rest of toman dealt with a gang. he only looked away for a fraction of a second, and when he looked back, the weight on his hand was gone, and so were you. it was as if you'd disappeared into thin air.

oh no, this cannot be. takemichi's mind went completely blank. he took a look around, panic rising in his throat, fearful that you had slipped into the conflict between the two gangs fighting in this abandoned lot.

the frantic faux-hawk blonde haired boy cried out, scanning the area. "[name]-chan?!"

"takemitchy! what are you yelling for?" mikey yelled, but only after landing a sharp high-roundhouse kick on a delinquent he was facing. his dark eyes widened as he realized takemichi was empty-handed. "where's [name]-chan?"

"[name]-chan's missing!!" takemichi yelled back, his voice resonating across the parking lot.

when toman heard you were gone, they came to a halt for a split second, as if a switch on their backs had been flipped. each of them was now emitting an ominous aura.

toman immediately began speeding up things. the opposing gang was bewildered and eventually beaten to the bone as toman went crazy with fists and kicks while asking them if they had seen a [color]-haired child with [color] eyes and even threatened them, thinking they had kidnapped you from takemichi.

"oi! you better give us back [name]! we will fucking kill you, ya' here us?!" baji violently shook the delinquent he was gripping by the collar. "give us back our kid. now."

before being pummeled to the ground, the poor young man sputtered out, "w-we didn't take the kid from you! we swear!"

however, by the time they were done, you still weren't found.

"well, crap. they really didn't take [name]." draken scoffed, scratching the back of his neck as he looked down at the unconscious bodies of the entire gang they had just fought.

"weren't you holding her hand at all?" pah-chin's eyes narrowed into a glare that was directed to takemichi.

takemichi gulped as he waved his hands in the air defensively, "i was holding her hand! i promise, i was!"

"let's not point fingers." mitsuya said, letting out a long sigh and placing a hand on takemichi's and pah-chin's shoulders. "this was bound to happen eventually. [name] isn't from our world, remember? she's a baby with telekinetic powers who comes from a world of curses."

"do you think she returned back to hers?" chifuyu inquired, blinking.

kazutora folded his arms across his chest, "if she did, she would have told us. [name]-chan always says her goodbyes."

"maybe her powers acted up for some reason? [name]-chan doesn't exactly have full control of her powers. she can only do so much at her own will," takemichi speculated.

"either way, it's not safe for [name]-chan to be here on her own. she's still a kid. even if she has the powers of a god, she can still get hurt," mikey exclaimed before turning to the rest of his gang members besides takemichi and the founding members, "everyone, look for [name]! go!"

gang members flooded the streets of shibuya, each one calling out your name, but you were never found. toman even checked your favorite places, from the pier to your favorite restaurants and parks. as everyone returned empty-handed to mikey, he was forced to call his adoptive older brother, who he knows rules yokohama with his own, much larger gang. tenjiku was, after all, close to you.

"mikey? what do you want?"

a gruff, almost agitated voice came from the phone mikey had brought to his ear. it was izana. he didn't particularly like mikey, or at least that's what mikey thinks considering how cold and blunt izana was with him almost all the time.

"[name]-chan's missing." mikey swallowed thickly as he scratched the nape of his neck, "we don't know where she went. we looked everywhere. is [name]-chan there?"

"putangina ano? [name]'s not here with me!" when izana learned of your disappearance, he found himself raising his voice, "how could you lose her? since when?!"

"just earlier, izana-nii." mikey said sadly, "i thought [name]-chan might go there to see you and tenjiku."

"tch, you should have paid her more extra careful attention. the last time [name] was here in yokohama we found her standing on top of a construction beam!" izana deeply sighed, "i'll have my men look for her, but don't stop looking for her there, alright?"

"we won't izana-nii, promise. not until [name]-chan is found." mikey answered firmly.

with that, you had not only toman looking for you, but also tenjiku, yokohama's largest and most dangerous gang. at this point, everyone is in full blown panic. after several hours, you were still missing. you were not to be found in shibuya or yokohama, and that is certain, because you were in shinjuku.

you were on your own when you collided with a figure, causing you to fall on your bum from the impact.

"oh, no! are you okay?" the person rushed to your aid, gently pulling you up and inspecting you for injuries. "you're not hurt, are you?"

as you lifted your head and faced the young woman with big, curious [color] eyes, her green eyes widened as she realized who you were. you were fushiguro [name], the same kid who's close with toman, the same one that her older brother talks about, and you too, recognized who you just bumped into. she was akashi senju, or better known as kawaragi senju. you've seen her around mikey and emma's house before apart from baji and haruchiyo, hanging out there and being good friends with the sano's.

"senju-nee?"

as you recognized her, a smile spread across your face. "senju-nee!" you exclaimed joyfully, wrapping your tiny arms around her waist and burying your face in her abdomen like an affectionate cat.

"hey, isn't that [name]?" takeomi, senju's other older brother, peered over her shoulder.

"it really is you! what are you doing here in shinjuku, [name]-chan?" senju smiled softly at you, gently patting your head and allowing you to embrace her. "but where is mikey? is he with you or are you with takemichi?" she asked, looking left and right.

"it's just me!" you explained before making grabby-hands to her. "up-up."

"eh? how did you get here, then?" senju's face lit up with surprise as she picked you up and carried you in her arms.

"i used my wiggly-woos!" you chirped, showing her your red glowing hands.

"you mean to tell me this kid came here all by herself?" the purple-blonde haired man, who was with senju and takeomi, blinked as the dango stick he had been chewing fell from his mouth.

"right, i forgot you had powers; mikey, takemichi, and haru-nii mentioned them to me before," senju sighed, shaking her head before smiling at you. "but you shouldn't show your wiggly-woos magic out here in the open, okay? it's not safe, so put those away."

you nodded in understanding and immediately dissipated your red psionics. "okay!"

your stomach had let out a small growl, causing a blush to spread across your cheekbones, just as senju and the rest of the men accompanying her should have been interrogating you further.

"heh, looks like someone’s hungry." the tall, muscular, platinum blonde-haired man pointed out, softly chuckling.

"you haven't eaten yet, have you?" senju inquired, giggling as she booped your nose before you shook your head in shame. "you poor thing! don't worry, my big bro will buy you food. right, take-nii?" she looked past her shoulder to face takeomi.

"okay, let's get the kid something to eat first," takeomi sighed at his little sister before reaching out his hands to you, "i'll carry her for you, senju."

"no! i want senju-nee!" you immediately wrapped your tiny arms around senju's neck and pressed your cheek against senju's, mustering up the best glare you could muster, even if it just made you look even cuter. "i don't know you!"

"oh, right. you haven't met take-nii before, have you [name]-chan?" senju pointed out, smiling as she gently patted your back, to which you responded by shaking your head. "this is takeomi, he's my older brother," she said, motioning to the tall and slender man with a slicked-back black and blond mullet and a scar across his right eye.

"i thought haru-nii was your brother." you furrowed your brows, still feeling intimidated.

"ah, he is. both of them are my older brothers." senju explained to you briefly. "take-nii is just as nice as haru-nii, i promise."

a frown deepened on your face, "he doesn't look like you and haru-nii at all. he looks scary."

as the two other men with senju and takeomi burst out laughing at your statement, takeomi held a rather surprised and slightly offended but amusing expression.

"am i really that intimidating?" takeomi sweat-dropped as he pointed at himself, and you nodded repeatedly in response.

"what about us, do you recognize us?" as the four of them walked with senju carrying you in her arms, the man with purple-blonde hair gently tapped your arm, lazily smiling at himself and the other.

you took a brief look at the two of them, blinking as you took in their appearance. you noticed how the man with purple and blonde hair reminded you of ran and rindou, the haitani brothers you adored from tenjiku, particularly with his droopy lilac eyes. the muscular man with platinum blonde hair was as intimidating as takeomi, but he seemed softer for some reason. nonetheless, you shook your head. you've never seen them before.

"this is wakasa, and that's benkei." senju introduced you promptly, "i thought for sure you'd recognize them. "especially takeomi. they're friends with mikey's older brother."

"zana-nii?" you tipped your head in confusion.

"ah, no. the other older brother who lives with mikey and emma, shinichiro." senju corrected, instantly knowing you were referring to izana.

your eyes lit up in recognition, "oh, shin-nii!"

they eventually brought you to a restaurant in shinjuku and couldn't stop staring at how you ate with your cheeks all puffed up adorably as you shoveled spoonfuls of food into your mouth.

instead of asking you questions, senju, takeomi, wakasa, and benkei ended up telling you about them while you ate. you learned that senju has a gang called brahman in shinjuku, and that takeomi, wakasa, and benkei used to be in a gang called black dragons, with shinichiro as the leader, but that was before shinichiro retired and went run a bike shop owned by himself. they, as first generation members, offered their assistance when senju expressed her desire to create brahman, which you thought was cool.

senju and them were on their way to return you to mikey in shibuya after eating with them when you ended up dragging them to an amusement park along the way. takeomi, wakasa, and benkei ended up taking you to the said amusement park, letting you and senju play games and ride attractions because they didn't have any other options, especially since senju is equally childish and playful as you.

the two gangs have decided to join forces in order to better search for you, and the amusement park has become frantic as a massive horde of people dressed in red and black gang uniforms, riding motorcycles speeding through, calling out your name in desperation. toman and tenjiku were conducting a search, and mikey and izana were on the front lines.

"[name]-chan?! [name]-chan!!"

toman and tenjiku would almost certainly be reported for flooding the amusement parks with their yelling and bikes, but that was the least of their worries right now.

"hey, isn't that [name]-chan?!" takemichi pointed at you from a distance.

toman and tenjiku were completely speechless when they saw you on wakasa's shoulders. takeomi and benkei were wearing amusement park headbands like wakasa and holding a bunch of animal balloons while senju was eating and handing you the other half of her twin ice pop. it was a sight to see the former and first generation black dragons to be so domestic with you and senju. to be fair, it's not something you see every day.

"[name]-chan!!"

everyone yelled for you as they dismounted their motorcycles, causing senju and the first generation black dragons to turn and gasp at the sheer number of toman and tenjiku charging at them at once.

brahman screamed in unison before being flooded by the onslaught of gang members from both gangs, "toman?! tenjiku?!"

"are you guys, okay?" senju sweat-dropped as she looked at each of them, noting how they all had tears in their eyes, especially takemichi.

"w-we were looking for [name]-chan everywhere!" takemichi sobbed, sniffling as he brought an arm to cover his eyes. "i was holding her hand earlier when s-she just disappeared without a trace."

izana exclaimed, pointing to his adoptive younger brother who stood beside him. "tangina, akala ko talaga may nangyari kay [name]. muntikan na siya malintikan sa akin."

"why did you run off like that, [name]-chan? you gave us the scare of a lifetime." mikey buried his face in his hands, not wanting to cry in front of hundreds of people at the sight of you being okay.

you tilted your head to look at mikey, izana, takemichi, and the other gangs who sought out to find you, before happily smiling and giggling innocently, clearly unaware of the chaos you had just caused.

"i got hungry!"

[shoutascoffeepot]

Chapter One: Pilot

The Art of Deception: The Deadly Dance - Series

Pairing: Aizawa Shouta x Female Original Character Themes: Mafia, psychological, age gap, cultural differences.

!!!Trigger Warnings!!!: Age gap, stalking, kidnapping, clubs, murderings, guns, mention of drugs, mention of stress.

To run his life, he had to kill. The first time was unintentional, a reflex, yet it’s his first kill, a bullet to the head of the yakuza who was threatening his small thug gang when he was sixteen if they didn’t oblige. After that it all became memories and history. Somehow his group of thugs grew, got their own business of hitmen and substance-smuggling. By the age of twenty one he had enough to open up an official business in the market, alongside running the one in the dark. 

  Killing is a profession, it needs talent, it needs someone ready to shed memories and skins on a daily basis especially when he was already in deep, living the life whilst applying his own ethics in his work out of law’s report. His life was neon lights and starry nights, he’s the most sober at all times. In present time, he’s thirty two with Japan wrapped around his fingertip, the most powerful Yakuza who erases the existence of those who dares to oppose him or his ways. A man with tired, judging eyes and an intimidating aura to his gruff, unhinged presence. 

  On the other hand, someone living the princess life, saw life all in pale pink tinted sunglasses, was a foreigner who had never stepped foot in Japan once in her life. In average height, shoulder trimmed ebony hair that curtained a fringe over her round, ivory flushed face, she’s dancing across the kitchen while making milk tea, unbothered and carefree. 

  While taking her cup Lilith’s phone rings. She answers while putting it on speaker, it’s her best friend. 

“Good morning babyyyyyy!” The feminine distorted voice cheered from the phone as Lilith leans back on the sofa and sips carefully from the warm mug. 

“Good morrnningggggg~” She replied with a chuckle hitched in her voice. 

“Have you rested well?” 

“Hm, can’t tell, I’m too excited to go out. When will you show me around?” 

“So I’ve got all day free, I was thinking we could get lunch, you work your magic on our faces with your witchcraft of makeup, then I got a club appointment~” 

“You do know I don’t really like those places right?” 

“It’s not a cheap ass place where people harrass you, the bookings are always full two months ahead. Come ooooon, it'd be fun to let stress off. My treat.” 

“Fine, but don’t get too drunk on me. I won’t be drinking.” 

“What time should I drop by to pick you up?” 

“It’s already one in the afternoon, It won’t take me too long to get ready if it’s just lunch. Plus we’ll be back to actually glam up.” 

“Okay I’ll just change and be right over.” 

“Put sunscreen on!” 

  But she already hung up. Lilith changed into black skinny jeans and a loose-fitting graphic tee. She applied sunscreen and patted some cream blush and concealer in to look more alive and less like a zombie. By the time she was picking out her converse there was a knock at her door. When she opened up the door a smaller figure jumped into her arms, she hugged back with the brightest smile. 

“I missed youuuuuuu!” The muffled, shorter girl called. 

“I missed you too Yin,”  Said Lilith, in the gentlest voice as she pulled away, “Let’s go yeah? Seeing the unpacked things here makes me crawl in my skin.”  

While they walked out and Lilith Locked up her apartment, along with noticing the outfit Lilith had on, Yin noticed how her best friend’s expression was off. 

“What happened? Are you okay?” Questioned Yin to which Lilith Immediately responded. 

“Yeah, just stressed, that’s all.” Lilith brushed off with a smile. “You know how it is, I’m sure some time out could wash out all those intrusive thoughts.” 

Yin’s bright smile softened, almost diluting. “Another episode?” 

The way her voice was barely a whisper, fragile and skittish to her best friend’s state, sent goosebumps all over Lilith that made her shake her head lightly. 

“It’s hard, you know how it is. But I’ll be okay.” She reassured her. 

The topic quickly faded from seriousness and into more lively chatter as they walked down the street, to the ramen house and ate. Yin asked about Lilith’s life, especially her love life with an expecting smile as Lilith brushed it off. There wasn’t anything to talk about, even ‘nice’ guys were red flags. So the whole spectrum was avoided efficiently by Lilith in pursuit of her career studies which got her here to Japan in the first place. In return Lilith teased Yin about her weird habits and they would pick on bad trends together as the conversation diluted to what makeup style they’d wear while they returned back to Lilith’s apartment.

Lilith played some music as she started with Yin’s makeup, they were both gonna have the same eyeshadow style. A soft glittery pink fade with dimension, except for yin she’d have a normal cat-eye liner and for Lilith she drew a softer extra lash since her eye is more hooded, barely called eyeliner. That, with the light base of concealer, contour, highlight and blush, set it all and they were ready. Yin wore a pink champagne metallic silk dress that finished right at the middle of her thighs. Lilith wore a black long sleeve dress that fell right above her knees yet showed cleavage, the same material as Yin’s. As they styled their hair and wore gold jewelry, they were set to go. 

It’s nine, yes it took a long time and going through a lot of playlists. That’s why they took Yin’s car and were taking selfies since they finished glowing up all the way to the club. The inside of the club was cozy yet freezing. The song ‘Ghost’ by Confetti was playing, a big droopy warm-toned chandelier was in the center of the ceiling of the copious arena. There was a shaded glass area that led to a V.I.P Section, it was lit up and the waiters and men were standing by it protectively. Waiting patiently for something. 

Rounded black marble tables were scattered over the room, and a ten by ten dance floor in the middle that glowed the same tone of gold the chandelier threw over the few people that were already there, all wearing fancy-looking clothes. Lilith’s shoulders were pushed down instead of slumping forward, curious doll eyes scanning over the place. 

“Not bad, this seems nice enough.” Said Lil, to which Yin smirked. 

“Told you-- That guy’s checking us out.” She whispered back. Lilith looked where Yin’s eyes pointed and met eyes with a fake blond with outgrown roots, his large monolid eyes slanted upwards as he bit his lip and drank from his cup. She breaks eye contact before he gets the wrong idea. 

“Not my type.” Lilith, who was now taking a step backward, stated. They both took their chosen table near the dancefloor. 

“What shall you drink tonight?” A pretty attendant came by once they sat, she had brown hair with highlights and a gold shimmery eye and a nude lip, perhaps that’s the dress code here? Since every woman working there seemed to look the same except for the hair. 

“A margarita for me and--” 

“Lemon iced tea for me. No alcohol.” Lilith swallowed her throat, it was embarrassing to be sober but so be it. She never liked the feeling of being drunk anyways. As they waited for their drinks, other songs started playing, ones Lilith wasn’t familiar with. 

“You seem tense,” Yin announced as she sipped from her drink. Lilith snapped back with a jolt as she stared at the iced tea in front of her. 

“I was zoned out, sorry. Uh, did you notice what’s there?” Lilith asked as she opened the can and poured the contents of it into the cup that had ice and mint. Yin glanced at the V.I.P section that was getting more crowded by the minute. ‘Hushhh’ by Aviva started playing.

“I don’t know..” Yin contemplated. 

“Nevermind. I know this song--” Lilith stood up and walked to the dancefloor and swayed her hips to the beat drop, letting her head fall to let some steam off. She looked too erotic to be dancing alone. Skipping her feet and caressing her thighs then trapping her index to her lip on the word ‘hush’. God she needed this, grinding to nothing but air with hands up. 

The song ended and she let out a soft laugh, the ecstasy of a good dance is more adrenaline inducing than any drink or drug. She slowly stepped back to her table and sipped her cold drink which was a contrast to her hot, pumping heartbeat in her chest. 

“You were sexy back there, that same guy was eyeing you while talking to another girl.” Yin smirked and chuckled. “Hey! Could I get two shots here?” She suddenly signaled to the attendant which came immediately with a tray of pints and set two on the table. 

“I’m not drinking.” Lilith deadpanned. 

“Who said they were for you? Both for me, this margarita is not getting me anywhere.” 

Albeit words faded, Lilith’s eyes were glued to the line of men that were standing near the V.I.P section, they were all tall and muscular under those slim-fitting suits. A profile view of one that had a bun and a sharp scruffy jawline caught her eye. 

“Quick look behind you, bun, is he hot or just tall?” Lilith looked away when the man made eye contact, noticing her long stare. “Quick-- They’re walking.” 

Yin waited two seconds to not seem suspicious after taking her shot and looked behind, no one. They weren’t there. “Where?” 

“They went inside. I swear to god they were like fifteen, all muscular and fairly tall.” Lilith empathized. 

“Well they’re gone now.” Yin took her second shot while Lilith groaned in loss. 

“Why don’t I know any songs here?” Lilith complained just as a song ended and ‘gimme more’ by Britney Spears started. She immediately stood up and took her way back to the dancefloor, Yin followed her and they both swung their bodies to the beat then rolled their hips. It was therapeutic in its own way. Lilith bit her lip and looked at the V.I.P section again, what if one of those money-loaded hot men was to watch? The mere consequence is thrilling her imagination to luxury life. She could get used to doing this every other night. 

“I’m going to sneak in there,” Lilith hinted while the song ended and they were on the way to their table. “I have to see if there is anyone worth a while, perhaps they’ll keep me there.” 

‘Harley’s in hawaii’ by Katy Perry started playing, Lilith was annoyed she’d miss this song but it was too slow to dance to alone anyways. 

“You’reeeee ditching me.” Yin raised her brow. 

“I’ll be back, I’m just gonna peek and come back back, Consider it a bathroom break.” Lilith explained. 

“Fine, don’t take long.” Yin said as her friend walked away to the secluded section. 

Amazing timing, the guards were busy with a drunk person picking a fight. Lilith picked a champagne glass from a walking waitress as an excuse and invited herself in. In the secluded cozy arena there was a ‘U’ shaped couch and small golden table stools scattered for drinks. There were two poles with strippers and right when the high note in the song hit, Lilith’s scanning eyes met with the guy who had the bun earlier. He lifted his head from the tray offered with lines of white powder and furrowed his brows when he laid eyes on Her.

The guards already caught up and were about to attack when the man with the bun raised his hand, a gesture for them to back off. Only then did she realize how handsome he was, with sharp chiseled features. He was roguish, in short, a dilf. 

Exactly her type of broken man. 

“Why are you here?” His deep voice vibrated more than the music that made her look away. 

“Someone uh… Wanted more champagne?” Lilith looked around innocently, the men were too busy eyeing her down, stripping her from her clothes with the longing stares of around fifty men in the room. 

“You’re a bad liar.” The man with a death stare, the handsome one, who she assumed was their leader since he sat in the middle of the U shaped couch, right ahead of her, deadpanned.

“Oh sorry, uh I should just lea--” 

“I did not dismiss you.” He argued as the guards stood in her way back. 

“Come here.” He demanded, to which Lilith’s slow steps carried her alongside the weight of dread to stand before him. “Sit.” He glared and she looked around for an empty seat that wasn't there. 

“Here.” He patted his thigh, 

She stood there flabbergasted. Her dignity wouldn’t let her. She took a step back as her cheeks heated pink. No matter how handsome, no matter how bookish, or how much of a fit any man was, she wasn’t that girl.

 “No.”

“No?” He raised one end of his brow. 

“No.” She sounded more confident, staring at his eyes with strong will. “I’d rather be killed than be treated like your object.” She put one word on the other. 

“I see.” He put one knee on the other as he drank from his whiskey and looked down at her albeit she was standing as he sat. “Then why did you act like an object by displaying yourself?”

What is happening? Why is he asking this? What’s going through his head and would he let Lilith go after he humiliates her a bit? Was she safe? These doubts ran through her head as she swallowed the lump in her throat. 

“What? Cat got your tongue?” He questioned in a low, certain tone. “Take her with us.” He spoke to the men who stood behind her who strangled her wrists behind her in a heartbeat. The champagne glass shattered on the floor. 

“WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?! LET ME GO NOW! LET ME GO--” Lilith struggled uselessly as they jabbed her shoulder with a pen. Her body was unresponsive yet her mind was numb. She was awake but she couldn't struggle or scream anymore. Tears rolled down her cheeks as it was scary just like sleep paralysis. And she soon passed into slumber. 

Yin only noticed Lilith’s long disappearance late. She made her way to the V.I.P section but it was abandoned. The strippers picking up the money thrown at them and the hosts cleaning up the place. She approached the stripper who had red rusty short hair and asked where her friend was. Describing how Lilith looked in detail. 

“Didn’t see her.”

[extraneusfictawrites]

Fallout 76 Update - New Cryptids appear Once in a Blue Moon

In the Fallout 76 universe post-apocalyptic Appachalia is chalk full of some of our favorite cryptids. From the elusive Mothman to the alien-like Flatwoods Monster, you can trek across the land to have encounters with some creatures of real life myth and even use Photomode to make sure you have evidence of the encounter with decorative frames. Bethesda’s game dev’s seem to be really aiming to please the cryptid lovers among us playing through the “Rip Daring and the Cryptid Hunt” scoreboard, as we just received news in the last few days about two new cryptids that are being introduced in the next upcoming update on April 18th. I know as something of a cryptid lover myself I’m really excited to see these two new introductions to the family in-game, so here we’re going to look a little closer at the information we have on them so far and what else we’re getting in the update. 

Yesterday, April 13th, Bethesda announced that with the “Once in a Blue Moon” update this Summer 2023 we will see the introduction of two new cryptids to the Fallout 76 family. Along with the two new cryptids we will also be getting a new Daily Ops mutation, public events, rewards, side quests and more (depending on how long you’ve been hunting in post-apocalyptic Appalachia). 

For daily quests specifically Bethesda has said that we’ll be getting a series of 7 quests that can only be completed once, listed as the “Costa Business Daily Quests” in their announcement. They appear to all be based around the Blue Ridge Caravan Company and Vinny Costa’s desire to get his employees to perform better. With them being one off quests they are going to be giving unique Blue Ridge Caravan themed rewards, ranging from C.A.M.P items to apparel for your hunter to sport in their travels. Bethesda also seems to be hinting that for long time players of Fallout 76 that completing all of these “Costa Daily Business Quests” may then grant the player access to a special side quest. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to specify how far back a player has to have completed content from to gain access to the special quest once they are done with Costa Business, so we may have to wait to find that out once players have early access.  

There are also two other possible side quests listed in the announcement, “Safe and Sound” and “Beasts of Burden”. While both appear to be dealing with sects of people settling in our in-game Appalachia that are relevant to the new update, they appear to be totally separate from the Daily Costa Business Quests.  

The first possible quest, “Beasts of Burden”, is described as Vinny Costa’s nephew, Luca, finding himself in a spot of trouble when the local Cultists steal his Brahman and his explosive cargo - and he knows that Vinny will be unhappy if he hears about it. When we go about helping him it sounds like we have the Cultists to thank oddly enough for being aware of the “strange rumblings in the woods nearby” and knowing not to disturb the wildlife. 

On the other hand we have the quest “Safe and Sound” which deals more primarily with the other major group of players in our update, the Blue Ridge Caravan Company. In this possible side quest we see the Middle Mountain Cabins renovated by Blue Ridge as their newest Braman pit-stop. Unfortunately, they have trouble keeping the local wildlife at bay because their Repeller Speaker system has been damaged. To help them retake the pit-stop we’re tasked with helping to clear out the pests and defending the Repeller, with a reward from Blue Caravan of course for the assist. 

Even with the introduction of two new cryptids into the family Bethesda is also making sure to give some love to one of the best known cryptids already in the gang, our resident Mothman. Starting April 25th (12:00pm Eastern Time) until May 9th (12:00pm Eastern Time) we’ll have the “Path to Enlightenment'' event to participate in at the top of every hour. For anyone who doesn’t already have them, the rewards for the event will include the Cultists Intricate Helmet, the Wise Mothman Throne, and more Mothman themed rewards. I know I’ll be making sure my camp is themed well after “the Winged One” as Stephen Scarberry would say. 

Last, but most certainly not least, let’s get into our two new cryptids and what we know about them so far. The first of the two new cryptids that we see in the announcement is the “Blue Devil”. In description with, “glowing eyes”, “hooked claws”, a “long muzzle” and “glistening needle-like teeth” and the Blue Devil seems to be a werewolf, so we may need to start paying more attention to the moon cycle in-game if they hold true to real world lore. I’m guessing that we’ll see the Devil in the more forested areas of the map, based on the image provided so far, and I for one am looking forward to my first werewolf encounter. 

Our second new cryptid inductee to the game has been dubbed “The Ogua” by Bethesda. The encounter described in the announcement in the Cranberry Glade indicates that it appears to blend in with its environment, so while it may stand out some, it will look like we’ve come across a strange rock until we interact with it. Once it’s up and going the Ogua looks almost dinosaur-like with the rocky spines on its back and is described as five times a vault-dweller's height while sporting a hooked beak. While Bethesda may be right that curiosity killed the Atom Cat, the Ogua may find that satisfaction brought it back. 

Unfortunately, some of us may have to wait a bit before we get our claws on the new content in the game. Bethesda does not appear to list a specific date for the content in the “Once in a Blue Moon” update to be available to everyone on every platform in their announcement, but it seems like it could be assumed that it would be in June when Season 13, Shoot for the Stars starts, is launched based on the information on the Community Calendar. Anyone who has a copy of Fallout 76 on Steam will be lucky enough to be able to get a jump start in their adventure though starting April 20th through the Public Test Server. More information on how to add yourself to the PTS if you aren’t already on it can be found in Bethesda's official announcement here. You can also check out the Community Calendar, if you haven't seen it already here, for more information on specific perks for each week in June when Season 18 starts. Until then happy Cryptid hunting vault dwellers!

[strifesolution]

The last chapter was so good!! And since you were talking about the fic's details, I was wondering about the playlist (I am listening to the main one on a daily basis) and I imagine that every songs were carefully chosen. I can guess what some songs mean about 5r6c. Like, From Eden is probably about Eden and Callie. You also mentioned that Genghis Khan is Dan and Wilbur's song.

Would you mind explaining how did you choose these songs and how some of them are related to the fic ?

(If this is too bothersome or would spoil too much of the fic, feel free to ignore the question)

LET’S GOOOO we’re so happy you like the playlist :D you’d be correct, most of the songs are chosen pretty deliberately, though a handful are more just there for the “vibe” of the AU rather than specific lyrics.

Link for anyone who hasn’t seen it; we update pretty often! I added Flu Game last night actually. Expect... a lot of art for this AU with the new Fall Out Boy songs LOL

Since there’s… a lot of songs, and a good amount of them would be kinda spoilery, we’ve both chosen one of our favs and wrote up a little analysis.

Here’s Van’s (@irished-lads) of Neon Moon by Brooks and Dun copied straight from our DM’s

~~~

fun fact, this is one of the songs i listened to on repeat while writing the earlier chapters. this is the ideal chapter 16 song in terms of story and vibe, and while an early 90's country song may have not intended to talk abt the intricacies of gay cowboy polyamory, I Sure Can Make It Do That.

peep the beginning;

There's a rundown bar 'cross the railroad track / I got a table for two way in the back / Where I sit alone, and think of losing you

thinks about kevin and sean having their degrees of feeling alone at this point. sean's always had a little bit of a thing for dan (not to mention kevin flirting with sean nigh all the time- note that kevin's only had to pay for one drink), and while kevin may be. erm. Physically Intimate (this is a pg-13 blog) with dan,he also wants more. its that disconnect that him and dan has that feels a mile long. Now. see the chorus:

Now if you lose your one and only, / There's always room here for the lonely

well hey. look at that. some of the loneliest guys in aurora sitting next to each other in a bar sharing a bottle of whiskey. they're friends, sure, but in that moment (ch 16), they recognize that they both can be more than that. to each other, and to dan. theres always room here for the lonely.

~~~~

And here’s mine (Emma here!) of STRIKE 3 by Ferry

This song is where the lyric in the fic's description comes from; it’s one from the PMV series Parties Are For Losers. You don’t need to watch the series to get the gist of the song (it is really good though!) but within the context of the narrative, the singer is voicing their frustrations as they desperately try to help those they care about who keep putting themselves in harms way. “You spin the barrel of a fully loaded gun” is just a fancy way of saying “STOP BEING RECKLESS!!!” because, y’know, it’d be a literal death sentence to play roulette if the gun is fully loaded...

In terms of 5r6c… well, one of the fics' central themes IS protecting the people you love. Dan continuously worries about what life Daithi and Brian had before this that made them criminals, and Sean and Kevin are protective of Dan, thinking Daithi and Brian are dangerous in arc 1, and suspicious of Spiff in arc 2. Here’s a bit from the first chorus…

"If there's no winning, might as well just have some fun." I want to scream, when will you get it through your skull that I will not let you drown? "The light is gone, the thought keeps running through your mind, but fearing life is easier than fighting, right?" Oh please, just hide behind this back of mine and save your helpless spite.

Which is peak sheriff’s office argument back in chapter 7...

I also really like the first verse relating to Daithi and Brian in the gang.

Channeling love through the fear of being torn apart by crowds of your barbarian peers. The human filth around us wants to trample all that is dear under the guise of watchful reason.

We learn from…pretty much every time one of them brings up Evan that it is NOT a very happy place to be, particularly in Brian’s POV of chapter 9.

Lastly, we have the pre-chorus.

A thousand years ago, it was a tepid autumn day. A lock has sealed this door— But no more.

If you recall in chapter 16, we learn the raid on the farm where Dan’s family died was in the fall (not directly, Dan always visits the bar on the anniversary and Sean makes the connection himself…but anyway)

...this is because ding ding ding of this song!

Unfortunately I can’t really talk about the last chorus and outro without SPOILING EVERYTHING so you’ll just have to guess from there ;>

~~~

Hopefully that's some food for thought! Honestly we COULD go over every song on the playlist but then this ask would be WAY too long. Just really quick: Hell's Comin' With Me is a HUUUUGE full story song but I really can’t say who it's about without giving away everything, Ambrosia Wine is the Kiwo/Mango dynamic, and Devil's Train (not on Spotify but would be on the playlist if it was) is gonna fit really well for the next few chapters!

[walking-shadow-blog]

Stranger Things: The Hellfire Club review!

Hello Anyone-That-Might-Be-Reading-This!

You can call me Shadow!

This is not only my very first post in this corner of the tumblr, but also my very first series review in my life. So, hopefully, you will like it!

(And also: if you have any thoughts related to improving my future reviews, or thoughts about my thoughts on the episode, feel free to kindly express them in the comments below: that is, if you happen to not just stumble upon this part of the internet by happenstance).

Now, before I start my review, I want to declare that this is in no shape or form "professional" or paid review of the show. I am not affiliated with the Netflix or Stranger Things team in any way. I am writing this solely for the sake of  my own joy, as well as for the sake of those who might find this review either helpful or entertaining for them. I actually just finished watching the first episode, The Hellfire Club, and smitten with the wide range of (mostly positive) experiences and emotions that I don't have anywhere else to express (none of my invisible friends watch this series)*, and before other people's thoughts, experiences and reviews cloud my own, I decided to share my own opinions on the matter here, in my intimate corner of the internet, before I meet the others’.

*Also, because this season's episodes are very long, I will need to watch them in separate time intervals. Thus I need to fill the time between them up with something actually as interesting as the series: so what better than writing about it, right?

All this being said, I am hereby commencing my review.

I will open it by saying that the review consists of several distinct categories, each of which will be commented upon in due time. The first of these I will tackle upon is juxtapositions I observed and found interesting in the episode.

I loved how they used lots of juxtapositions to introduce the themes of this season and to set up the stage for the remainder of the season. And indeed, the first episode is mostly that: setting up the stage, introducing new characters and re-introducing old ones, establishing different plot narratives (Hawkins, California and, yet unseen, Alaska one), and introducing the arch-villain for this season: all-mysterious, but fabulous looking, Vecna.

I will comment on all of them, but first: juxtapositions. The most prominent theme, as my observational faculties allow me to notice, is the crossroad between being labeled as a "loser" for doing things that you love (in the case of our characters, that means playing D&D fantasy board game in "Hellfire Club" in their new high school) and being one of the cool popular guys, or trying to fit into that category (which is the case of Justin Sinclair, who has the chance to become famous in the basketball team he recently joined in the same high school).

So, there's that: two games; D&D and basketball; one seen as inferior to the other, fueled by the popular journalism's claims of it being for freaks and being demonic* (not to say evil), and the other seen in a more favorable light, as being popular and overall good.

*It is even called "The Cult of Vecna" by the leader of the club, Eddie. So, that does not cast the less sinister-looking light on it.

Of course, this causes a rupture between up-to-now good friends: Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson (Hellfire gang) and Lucas Sinclair (basketball gang). Where their relationship is heading to and how it will fit into the overall narrative of the season, it can only be speculated. I will reserve my judgment about it for now.

However, the juxtaposition of these scenes near the end of the episode was fantastic. On one hand, we have the basketball game in which Lucas scores the winning point, while on the other hand we have the D&D game where Lucas’ younger witty sister, Erica Sinclair, scores the winning point in the favor of her team. Their synchronization and intensity was brilliant, as well as a little bit funny, as this series always was. I am allotting 1 point to this aspect of the episode.

Another juxtaposition happened between Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers, this time to introduce another kind of relationship between characters: love. These two are separated both by distance (they are in different cities) and by different goal orientations in life: Nancy now works as a journalist in California, while Jonathan is awaiting the response from a college he applied to. However, despite this and the effort of others to imply differently, their love towards each other remains unchanged. It was interesting watching the one mean-looking journalist question Nancy about Jonathan and one Jonathan's friend (or I guess so) question him about Nancy. But they both defended each other and showed that they are still in love, even though separated. However, the worms of doubt and/or suspicion are probably planted and now rummaging through their minds, so we shall see in which direction this will go. Another point goes to this.

When it comes to the characters, Chrissy is one interesting addition to the team, who perishes too soon unfortunately. She is the popular and successful girl in the Hawkins high school, a girlfriend of a popular basketball player who plays in the team Lucas joined: Tigers. So it might be intriguing to some to find out that she wants to secretly buy drugs (their meeting place was the middle of the wood, yikesy) from Eddie: probably because she thinks that she started losing her mind from the recent visions she experienced from Vecna.*

*I speculated at the beginning of the episode that these were visions imposed by him, but by the end of the episode, it becomes apparent that something else is happening. As other fans have previously speculated, I am assuming that he somehow "captured" Chrissy's mind in, what fans called, some type of mindscape. He also said he wanted to free Chrissy from the pain she experienced. However, apart from the torment his visions caused in her mind, I didn't notice any other troubling signs or worrisome symptoms in her character. In fact, she seemed happy. So, what Vecna is actually doing, or for which reason (he doesn't seem to be evil-for-evil's sake, like Demogorgon or Mind Flayer, the previous animalistic antagonists of the series; he appears to be more human, and therefore, much more scary and intimidating) is still unclear and I will reserve my judgment for now.

I am allotting 1 point as well to the previous argument.

My favorite character in the series so far is Erica Sinclair, hats down. I love her witty humor coupled with her fierce persona, all inhabiting her ten year old tiny body. I find that amusing. However, at the same time, I think that her precocious wittiness is a little bit over the top. It somehow looks unnatural, hence I am reducing one point for this.

Another thing I thought was over-exaggerated was El's bullying. Maybe it is just me or the lack of my bullying experience, but I think that El's bullying situation in new school in California was a little bit too much. It looks unrealistic to my eyes, because I never heard of a case where so many people were so mean to a new girl in school, just because she was... new. Or, as I am not from America, maybe I am just not familiar enough with American bullying etiquette. I am reducing one point for this aspect as well.

(After all, maybe these two points were unfairly taken from the show: maybe it was their intention to over-exaggerate these things? I don't know. You be the judge for yourself.)

However, the good part of the episode was the lack of unrealistic scenes. The episode really looked very well planned, thought-out, organized and the build-up to what is to come is perfect (+1 point). At the same time, the episode suffered because it was a set-up episode: I yawned several times throughout (-1 point).

Another thing I loved is the implementation of the tiny "Chekhov’s gun" elements in the narrative: things that are introduced in the story and which seem unimportant at the beginning, but eventually have their pay-off later in the storyline. Some of these thing that I observed, based on trailers and speculative knowledge of this season: Eddie's guitar, Will's sexuality, Chrissy's introduction (at the beginning of the episode I wondered who she is and why she is important, then understood by the end of it), and Billy: she appears both in the speech of Chrissy's boyfriend and in the nightmares of Max. (+1 point)

The final thing I wanted to mention in this longish review of season four’s chapter one (I already got tired from typing this, so I don't know if I will have any energy left for writing reviews for the remaining episodes, eh) was narrative structure, which is an egg. Or a circle, if you will.

The episode was opened with, what appears to be, the brutal Massacre at Hawkins Laboratory, represented in such a way as to represent Eleven as the one who committed it. The end of an episode showed us the principal antagonist of the season (or, at least, we don't have any evidence that suggest that someone else will take that role in final two episodes, for example), and what that antagonist is capable of doing. My spine went brrrrrr after that scene.

I loved the horror aspects of the show so far, and that is the best part of this episode. They raised the horror bar for a great margin, in comparison to the previous seasons, which I LOVE.

Meanwhile, the stuff in the middle of the episode between these two horrors was mostly light-hearted and character oriented, with sprinkles of fun here and there. And yes, Vecna's visions (I will call them like that for now) would occasionally appear: but rather than being scary, I would call them wondrously enigmatic and intense. Especially the ticking-clock in the woods. It's one of those visions that inspire my imagination and, being a writer myself, maybe it will spur me to write some content of my own. The final point goes to this.

This, now, is the end of my review. I haven't mentioned every aspect or every character in this episode, but it was never my intention to do so. I simply reflected on those aspects I found intriguing, interesting or which made an impression on my Self.

All in all, this was a very good episode which I enjoyed. Based on the points allocated above, my score would be five out of 8 stars. On an imdb, that would be an eight out of ten. I am saving the nines and tens for the later episodes, which I expect to be better.

That's it from me for one. I am retreating to my shadows now and, to repeat myself once again: if you have any thoughts related to improving my future reviews, or thoughts about my thoughts on the episode, feel free to kindly express them in the comments below: that is, if you happen to not just stumble upon this part of the internet by happenstance.

[spiritsonic]

Hey there! I was wondering, do you have any concepts/concept art or storylines for gotf that you never ended up using? If so may we see? :)

Sure! There's a handful of things Okida and I have brainstormed at one time or another that I can confidently say won't happen now. Gonna put it under the cut so the post isn't super long!

Black Knight

The main one is a second Storybook Series adventure, this time focusing on Black Knight. We had a good time thinking about the changes to the setting post-game. Our version was more SatAM themed, putting "Robotnik" in the role of an invading Roman general, and "Sally" as a renegade Guinevere leading a Robin Hood-esque band fighting back from Sherwood Forest. There would have been a focus on Silver playing Galahad's role and needing to go on the Seige Perilous. Sonic and Metal were along for the ride too, but due to some magic rules bullshitting Sonic didn't get alive'd again, but instead played a haunted sword alongside Metal as a shield, both wielded by Silver.

(I would have it be known that I came up with this BEFORE Pokemon's sixth gen came out, thus Honedge didn't exist yet. Nintendo, I expect my royalty check in the mail any day now.)

Long story short, while coming up with the setting was fun the story quickly got VERY big and didn't offer a ton of opportunity for character or plot advancement so in the interest of time we decided to not do it.

GOTF Marine

While figuring out all the New Chaotix stuff, we considered adding Marine to the cast. She would have been a friend of Blaze's who was obsessed with conspiracy theories, especially relating to aliens and GUN. She was very pushy and wild, and kind of a technical/hacker genius sort, and of course like her game counterpart she would have been terrified of ghosts. In this earlier version the parents' secrets were kept longer, so the kids ended up doing an investigation on their own, I think.

(I would have it be known that I came up with this BEFORE Sonic Boom or Steven Universe had come out, so Sticks and Peridot didn't exist yet. Cartoon Network, SEGA, I expect my royalty checks in the mail any day now.)

We didn't have anything in mind for her beyond that initial arc though, and Sicily ended up filling the role of paranoid techie person so she never made it in. A bit of a bummer, she would have been fun to write.

Tarnish

Tarnish was the name of Anti-Silver from Moebius, and was considered for a much longer version of the Moebius arc. He would have been the last surviving disciple of Antique's cult, her warped protege. You already know what he would have looked like, the outfit Silver wears during the story was originally intended for Tarnish. the big difference is that when he was a child, Antique had his arms amputated so he'd be forced to develop his psychokinesis faster. So he had big weird psi-arms.

(This isn't actually a picture of Tarnish, I can't find one in my files, but you can see I re-used the arm idea here)

While cool and spooky, Tarnish really boiled down to a miniboss for the gang to fight before reaching Antique, and since Okida and I were getting really tired of being stuck on Moebius we decided to just get back home ASAP. If I ever do a "director's cut" of GOTF in prose form, I'd probably put him back in and expand on Antique's whole deal.

That one time I wrote a GOTF screenplay in college

Ok so in my first screenwriting class in community college, I in my infinite hubris decided to write an alternate version of GOTF that would be more tied to the Archie-verse. I think I was around 17? It starts off as a pretty straight redo/update of Issue 1, then the story veers off as the Zone Cops bust in, here to arrest the boys and destroy the dimension for being a fan AU disrupting the balance of the multiverse. Unfortunately, the class wrapped before I got past the very beginning of act 2... but what's there isn't that bad? It's not perfect, but does a better job explaining the premise and doing things in an exciting way. I have it saved as a PDF, if people want I could put it up on my Patreon.

The absolute worst part was when we did a table read in class. Listening to a random dudebro do a "haha you're too slow!" Sonic impression while reading GOTF Sonic's Traumatic Backstory Monologue... truly exquisite suffering. The teacher loved it, he wanted to submit my script to a college screenwriting competition.

----

Anyway, that's some scrapped GOTF stuff. There's probably more, but these are the ones that came to my mind right now!

[i-like-eyes]

Interesting Daroach Dialogue

Hey y'all, trying something different from my normal content. Recently the Kirby JP Twitter posted some Squeak Squad themed tweets regarding the characters, including what was new information to people. What was said in the tweets was information already present in Mass Attack, but most people haven't played a nearly 10-year-old spinoff DS title released at the end of the console's life span. Daroach has over 300 lines of dialogue in Mass Attack, the most out of any character in the series. Because reading wiki's are lame, I've listed some of his more note-worthy dialogue for those that are interested.

Side note: While I may or may not get to writing a separate post analyzing this (homework takes priority rn), I want to note that any and all dialogue listed is up to interpretation. I write context when needed and will sometimes explain my reasoning for why an excerpt is interesting, but Daroach's real motivations are vague. I don't think there is one "right" interpretation for this game, so have fun.

Spoilers for Mass Attack under the break!

Daroach's airship serves as a hub for the Kirby's to stay at. He has the Kirby's collect medals for him, but they are not required to finish the game. He mentions being on the Pupupu Island several times in his attempts to collect the treasure, but he needs Kirbys' help for tasks he cannot complete (like needing 10 Kirby's). He exists to give exposition and hints during the game, while also sprinkling some snarky but encouraging tid-bits.

Introduction (Despite Mass Attack coming out after Squeak Squad he still introduces himself suposedly for new players):

"Welcome, my little friend! Or should I say...friends? I am Daroach, the captain of the treasure-hunting Squeaks. I have sniffed out a stash of riches that I must possess. Medals, on this island! Would you help me collect these medals?"

If the player selects yes:

"Excellent! I have a nose for gold, so I'll be trying to find the locations of medals. Return to me anytime you need a treasure tip."

If the player selects no:

"No? Oh, I see! You are toying with Daroach, like a cat plays with a mouse. You say no when you mean yes! Daroach likes a good sense of humor. And do you know what I like even more? Medals! So help me collect them all. Return to me for hints. Now, good luck."

Once you collect all the medals (only crazy people have seen this):

"Marvelous! You've collected all of the medals! And THAT concludes my business here. Let me just take those off your hands. Now good-bye. Farewell. So long. And see you around the cosmos. Oh, don't look at me like that! You know I'm deeply thankful for all you've done... But I suppose some sort of thank-you gift is in order!"

*gives you the boss rush mode or something*

"Now I think THAT really does conclude our business! I must be off, since a treasure-hunter's job is never done. I hope we meet again someday."

Information on the Squeaks:

"My friends moving down below are known as the Squeakers. They do most of the intel gathering around here. They're the ones who found out where most of the medals are. But the Squeakers are timid, so that leaves only you to get those medals for me!"

"Below me you see Spinni, the most stylish member of my gang. And he ferrets out treasure like a pro. But he's taking a break from the biz right now. That's why I'm relying on you."

"My floating friend there, Doc, built my airship. He's a genius when it comes to machines. Right, Doc? Hmm. He's getting on in years now, but I'm sure he's got a lot of big ideas knocking around his head."

"I've seen a lot of great airships in my travels. But my floating friend Doc, there, made this one. And it's the best around."

"The fellow behind you goes by the name Storo. He's always been a big guy, but don't worry. He's really a pussycat. So to speak."

"My friend Storo behind you might seem like a brute. But would a brute brush his teeth until they're all minty fresh? So, best not to judge a book by its cover."

Hnnnnnnng:

"Seeing how close Big Birdee and the Wee Birdees are makes me tear up... My crew is my family, and they're the best around."

Mentions of "sources", probably the Squeakers:

"My sources say that there's a quirky kind of candy out there."

"My sources tell me that this island was once the place of an incredible battle."

Regarding Whispy Woods:

"I feel like I've seen the boss of this island somewhere before..."

Regarding Dedede Resort:

"This island is so tropical, yet you can ski as well. No better place for a getaway, I guess."

"I used to steal the hearts of young ladies by the seaside here. But that was long ago, before King Dedede came to spoil its shores."

"Dedede Resort has a castle that King Dedede had built. It's supposed to be beyond tacky."

(Note: While he pokes fun at the Dedede Resort he doesn't make any snarky comments when describing the actual Dedede boss fight.)

This bit from his description of Lady Ivy:

"Like all beauties, she's got a thorny side!"

Repeated hints, a little self-aware:

"What? You knew that? Then what are you waiting around for... Small talk?"

"You may hear me prattle about the same things. It's just that I'm a single-minded sort of rogue."

Leaning on/breaking the forth wall Daroach casual gamer confirmed:

"As the captain of an airship with all sorts of buttons and blinky lights... I know the value of a good manual."

"They say to always play games in moderation. That makes perfect sense to me. It leaves some time to scout out treasure!"

"If the power light on your Nintendo DS turns red, it's time to recharge the battery. Seems like a good thing to know."

"I wish I could get my hands on one of those Nintendo 3DS systems. Seems like they're worth their weight in gold."

This one is interesting for mentioning tomatoes, but not noting that he hates them; either it wasn't necessary at the time or that detail was added during Star Allies:

"Bananas are better than apples. And melons? Better yet. Maxim Tomatoes produce the juiciest results of all."

Has a playful side:

"Which is your favorite way to get to those hard-to-reach places? Jumping? Or riding a star? Me, I think I couldn't choose!"

"How's that little game go? She loves me... She loves me not... I think that game doesn't apply to some of the flowers here. They're not going to love you if you pull their petals off!"

"Seen the rainbow pinball table yet? That game is ridiculously addictive."

"I used to go to the bubble-bursting attraction at Dedede Resort all the time. But I could never pocket any medals that flew by. If you jump high enough, you can grab them."

Is very sensitive/uptight:

"I can't stand rain. It makes a slimy mess of my fur."

"Slimy stuff gives me the shakes. See? I'm shaking just thinking about it!"

"Rain rarely falls in this desert. All this dry air is making my fur itch!"

"Cemeteries give me the heebie-jeebies, because anything could pop out at you."

"It's ridiculously hot here. Too hot to be wearing a cloak."

He is so encouraging it hurts:

"I've always been a big fan of underdogs. I guess that's why I'm helping you out."

"Return here, of course, if you run into any trouble out there. Good luck to you."

"Be careful in there. It sounds bleak."

"Saving the world from darkness can be exhausting work. Don't forget to take a break now and then."

"Stay together to survive."

"Return to me safe and sound!"

Rats are canon to the Kirbyverse apparently:

"Rhino Beetles are like rats deserting a sinking ship. Those little insects are smart, all right."

Daroach, Kirby doesn't have-

"But you'll need to run toward the medal quickly, or else it will slip through your fingers."

"I bet you can trick one into blasting its treasure into your hands."

Mofo just casually mentions a moment from his childhood detailing his wacky adventures on the Pupupu Islands whereas Zan-

"I remember searching for treasure on this island when I was young. It suddenly started raining. I ducked into a cave. When I saw some plant squiggle on the ceiling... I lashed out at it, pulled it down, then found myself crashing through the floor! I fell down a hole, and when I finally landed, I saw a flicker of gold nearby. There were enemies too, and I barely escaped with my life. I wonder if that treasure is still there?"

Make of this one what you will:

"Here's a tip that's gotten me a long way in life. Steer clear of any cake that's thrown at you."

Misc:

"Necrodeus hates light and wants to steep the world in darkness. As a pirate, I can respect that. But with no light, all my treasure would cease sparkling. And I can't have that. Do everything in your power to stop him. My gold must shine!"

"A rainbow seems to be a universal symbol for harmony! But I wonder what Necrodeus sees when he looks at a rainbow? Probably gives him a headache."

"Take it from me. The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"They say that no one lives on this island. But strange voices come from one of the buildings here. Perhaps it's ghosts, if you believe in such things."

"When in doubt, hurl yourself against a tombstone and see what happens."

[flowerwrites06]

diamond trail finale — myg

Plot: The theft of his most elusive and mystery possession leads to a web of trickery that threatens every large syndicate in the country. (alternative: Yoongis’ prized possession is stolen but he’s not the only gang leader being betrayed)

Pairing(s): Mafia Boss!Yoongi x Consigliere!Y/N

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Word Count: 3k+

Genre: Mafia | Marriage | Mature Themes/Fluff/Smut

Tags & Warnings: criminal activities, mentions of past abuse (outside of the pair), explicit smut (spanking and very brief anal play), mild violence, coarse language, prostitution, slightly more graphic physical violence in this part (it’s brief but beware) 

Authors Note: here's the finale peeps! hope you like how I ended everything off! as usual, let me know what you think of this story and a like/reblog/comment go a long way!

Nectar Oak still had the same atmosphere as it did all those years ago. The smell of allspice flowers and jasmines, plumes of smoke flowing out of the customers’ mouth as their wallets emptied and cheeks glowed from excitement. All the workers held themselves up with the elegance of a geisha despite knowing they’d never be considered to such a standard. You looked up at the height of the building. How much bigger it looked when your mother used to hold your hand walk you around the streets just for some fresh air.

You felt like a ghost eerily wandering the place an old part of you died. You didn’t miss it but you could feel her. The innocence of hoping that you’d never have to work here and the relief of finding a better life. Not the best life. It was still filled with tears and suffering but at least here, she was in power. And she had the people she loved.

Silk red robe draped upon your form, resemblant of a traditional hanbok twisted and ‘modernized’ to create an erotic appeal. Golden vectors curled to accentuate your waist, the band covered your torso to enhance the curve of you breasts and you hair loosely tied by a gold clip encrusted in emeralds. You habitually touched your finger but found it empty, a small twinge of anxiety grew heavy in your chest.

*With a deep reluctant breath, you pulled off your wedding ring, hugging it to your chest before carefully placing it in a jewelry box for safe keeping.

When Yoongi saw you, a cold wave washed over him. Like the cruel turns of time twisted back to those days where he felt the walls closing in on him. Preventing him from holding onto his parents’ legacy for his mother and building his own family. His heart already dropped into the pit but he still noticed the ache. “Let’s get this over with.” He muttered under his breath.*

The owner of Nectar Oak became one of your connections. A solid reminder that things were not as it used to be. You talked to him like you were his equal rather than a worker. He also had enough brains to know he wasn’t talking to a random worker anymore. He was speaking to someone who could break his business in a blink. The thought of it caused sweat to drop on the sides of his temple.

“You know how to promote me, Jung,” you spoke as you two sat in his office. “Just do what you do best and your building will stay safe and funded.” A smile tugged at your lips, sadness gripping your gaze but you knew well to hide it from the likes of his kind.

Yoongi secluded himself in one of the courtesan rooms. He sat on the velvet couch, shirt sleeves rolled up and a cigarette between his fingers, burning eyes fixated on the cameras set up inside Nectar Oak. Particularly targeting you and Jungkook.

The man-child arrived in a half hour. Exactly on time. Black dress shirt and his cheeks sucking in an almost burnt out cigarette, dark hair messy and damp with the look of someone who was given everything he wanted. He blew the plume of smoke as he eyed the courtesans dressed in coloured silk.

Jung, the plump owner of the courtesan house pranced over to Jungkook with a jovial smile. “Welcome, sir!”

“Jung.” Jungkook grinned, leaning against the emerald marble counter. “What’ve you got for me?”

“Only the finest, Master Jeon.” Jung chortled, grabbing the hardcover book designed in teal and gold vectors. Inside were different pictures and descriptions of all the patrons that lived in the current courtesan house. “We have your favourite selections of curvy and petite as you well know. There’s also the special treatments if you require a little more spice.”

Jungkook scanned the book with an air of a teenager seeing a picture of a naked woman for the first time. Hungry eyes finally stopped and stared at one picture. “Who is she?”

“Uh—oh, she’s not quite available yet, sir.”

Hunger turned to determination. “Why not?”

“Well—see her prices—she’s one of our most risky patrons.”

“You’re saying I can’t afford her?”

“No, no no no!” Jung chuckled nervously without hitch of losing his act. “It’s just—only a select amount of customers have actually been able to have a session with her. She has her own ground rules, you see and some extremely challenging—eh—punishments if those rules are abided by. Experienced employee benefits.”

Yoongi had to hand it to him for his marketing skills. Anyone like Jungkook would love a challenge if someone thought they couldn’t do it.

“I’ll take her,” Jungkook said. “Whatever the price.”

“Oh, sir—”

“I don’t like waiting, Jung. Let’s not taint this friendship we have, hm?” Jungkook narrowed his gaze.

Jung let out a shaky breath and nodded. “Of course, sir. I will call her down.” He pressed on one of the buttons at his desk.

Yoongi heard the buzz from the vanity table where you sat.

You stood up from the chair, walking out of the room without sharing a glance at Yoongi so you could steel yourself. The time for softness wasn’t now.

Walking down the wooden stairs, even the echoes of your shoes were too familiar. Time rewound, bringing you right back where you started. No. You mentally shook your head and raised your chin. Your presence lit up the room, silencing the younger members and alerting the other customers. The silk train left behind exuded an air of magic, like wildflowers growing at your every step.

All the illusion of a trained courtesan in this country.

Jungkook stared at you, hunger burning in his eyes as he stamped the cigarette on the silver ashtray lain on the counter.

“Master Jeon,” you said, bowing in front of him. “Pleasure to be of your service.”

“Pleasure is all mine,” Jungkook spoke with the delicacy of a lover but the fire of a conqueror. “Jung here holds you to high regard in this establishment.” He walked close to your form until he towered over you, feeling the filmsy satisfaction for seeing your gaze lift for him. “I’m excited to see what the mystery is all about.”

You side-eyed Jung with a calculated smug smile, reddened lips and eyes moist. “He’s an enthusiastic man but not a liar, I assure you. One doesn’t make a room stand still like this without having a few skills under her skirt.” Your cheeks glowed like polished jewels.

Jungkook chuckled under his breath. “That’ll be all, Jung.”

Jung bowed with a wide grin and walked away.

You held onto Jungkooks’ hand. “This way, sir.” Nervousness faded completely as the mission at hand became your first priority. The scent of opium was thick around Jungkooks’ form as he shifted closer, nudging his nose in your hair slightly. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Master Jeon.”

“Oh? Nice things I hope.”

“Tales of conquering the higher ups and standing up for the street dwellers.” You looked over your shoulder. “You’re a hero amongst the whispers of the alley.”

If confidence had a physical form, it’d be like gold oozing down Jungkooks’ ears and mouth like tears and slobber after sex. He was young. His nerves were easy to tug and manipulate to your whim. “Do you think I’m a hero?”

You hummed with a cheeky shrug. “I like physical proof of things rather hearsay. Lingers more on the mind.”

“I can fix that soon.” Jungkook moved his hand over to your waist, squeezing and digging into the skin. You tried not to wince. “And when I’m done with you, you can watch the chaos I created soon.”

“Chaos?”

“I’ve achieved a magnificent feat of having the Queen of Gae Pa herself…” He pressed his lips against your ears. “…giving herself over to me.”

A tiniest twinge of anxiety tugged at the back of your mind but you stayed steady. “Was I really that obvious?”

“If I could steal all of the most powerful gangs’ precious items, I think I could recognize your face.” Jungkook traced a finger down your cheek. “Must say you’re a thousand times more beautiful than your pictures.” He moved his fingers down to the curve of your breasts. “Your daughter looks just like you.”

The anxiety that tugged now flooded your entire body, hot rushing in then freezing. All in confusing pattern until your head started spinning. Glossed eyes blinked slowly and your chin raised, staying strong.

“I have my own spies too,” Jungkook whispered. “There’s alleys and streets everywhere. Enough sorry souls to do anything for a new life. You understand that, don’t you?”

You swallowed the lump in your throat. “Do you have her with you?”

“Oh no…I’m not that evil.” Jungkook jutted his lips out. “She can stay happily in that cute safehouse. Except there’s eyes always on her.”

You took a deep breath to calm your nerves. A neutral expression on your face. “What’s your negotiation?”

“Nothing special. Just for all the Dons to pledge themselves to me.” Jungkook shrugged. “Especially Don Kim and your husband.” He tilted his head. “You also know just as much as I do that I have every measure possible to ensure they won’t say no.” Palm traced up her back to her neck. “And I also require your mind. Despite my little street friends running around, you have the most connections known to the underworld. Your body could be a wild bonus.” He smirked.

You raised your chin, breath sucked in and stuck in your throat. “I don’t want to talk in the hallway. Everything is being recorded.” You spoke under your breath.

Jungkook hummed as you brought him towards the bedroom.

Yoongi refrained from trying to break another mug of coffee. Instead he listened carefully. Anxiety shook through his body hearing a stranger—no, their fucking rival—speak of their daughter. But he knew what had to be done. Eyes sharp, he flickered his gaze over to the corner of the courtesan room. The bed adorned in red and gold silk sheets held a figure, both arms tied to the bedposts and his mouth gagged with cloth, stained with the blood from his fresh glistening wounds.

He stood up from his chair, hands dug in his pockets as he examined the heaving body. “You’re up, Kim.” A sinister smile flashed to Taehyung. Silent reminder on who held one of the underworlds’ pillars. The lead alpha of this country. That same terrifying individual now stood here, heated with anger and the urge to protect his family sent sizzles throughout the room.

Taehyung blinked slowly as the realization hit him.

Jungkook wasn’t coming out of here unscathed.

***

It was the best news you received in a while. They found him. Kim Taehyung.

Your notes at the auction managed to help the spies track down the buyer. Apparently they wanted to be rid of it after hearing of the murders in the other gangs. They kept it hidden in their backyard instead of displaying it. You took it off their hands and sent it to Jwi Pa.

Despite their current clean slate, the gang still had the best trackers. You needed them to find the elusive auctioneer. The moment they saw the ledger in your gloved hand, they were putty. Any request and they would abide.

Kim Taehyung lived in a private estate personally gifted by Jeon Jungkook once he rebuilt Mal Pa to its former glory. As soon as his location was exposed, it took only a couple of minutes of breaking through security and having the man in their grasp. Jungkooks’ weak spot.

Nor Yoongi or Namjoon were happy to see him. Both of them failed to push back their punches but they knew enough to keep him alive.

“There’s a high chance Jungkook will know my face,” you said.

“So send someone else,” Namjoon suggested.

Yoongi tightened his jaw, not wanting to admit the truth that was right in front of him. “She’ll know what to do better than anyone.”

“You have so many talented spies!” Namjoon gestured wildly. “Fucking hell, I hate that I’m the one who has to admit it.”

“A scenario, Namjoon.” You intertwined your fingers together. “If Jungkook sees through the operation, what do you think they’ll do to a faceless spy?”

“If it’s her then Jungkook will be distracted.” Yoongi curled his fingers into tight fists.

“Well enough for me to actually bring him to the room whether he finds out or not.”

Namjoon let out a frustrated sigh. “Why is it so annoying that it’s a good idea?”

“For the first time, Kim, I agree.”

You gave them both sharp looks. “We end this now. No hitches.”

***

Opening the door, Yoongi noticed your glossed eyes. He wanted to hold you right there and then but there was still work to be done. Yoongi knew partly you were maintaining an act. It wouldn’t finish until the curtains were closed.

“Don Min!” Jungkooks’ lips stretched ear to ear. Expression bright and confident of the achievement right in his grasp. In a split second, his gaze flickered over to the tied figure. The golden tones of his skin lost its vibrancy, grin disappeared and his eyebrows in the realization of the bleeding man. “Tae—”

Taehyungs’ groans and screams muffled by the soaked cloth. Eyes flooded with tears as Namjoon closed the door behind Jungkook. There was no way to escape.

Jungkook looked over his shoulder. Both the leaders of Gae and Sutal Pa together in the same room. Caging him in. Namjoon had a satisfied smirk, dragging the stone mallet towards him.

Out of instinct, Jungkook pulled the gun out of his holster and pointed it to your chest. A sense of accomplishment rushed through him when he saw Yoongi raise his gun frantically. He could do this. All that progress to come this far from a street rat to a gang leader. It couldn’t all end here in a second. It was too quick. He needed to breathe. "Want to see which bullet reaches first?”

Taehyung protested through his cloth, struggling out of the rope.

You pushed Jungkooks’ hand to the side with your left hand, causing a stress shot to speed past your shoulder. Right ear ringing, you used your other hand to reach for the grip. Gun now in clasped in your hand, end of the barrel pointed at Jungkooks’ heart.

Yoongi didn’t hesitate taking a shot at Jungkooks’ leg, causing him to drop on his knees with a pained grunt.

Namjoon chuckled with a raspy tone, raising his stone mallet. “What a good day.” He slammed the mallet on Jungkooks’ calf. The crack and scream that came afterwards was one that could haunt you at night. But it was nothing new in the underworld. You try to break the underworld pillars, they’ll break you back ten times worse. It was the law in this hell.

You watched Jungkook thrash on the ground, blood darkening the wooden floor. Mixed with Taehyungs’ loud sobbing. It was a nursery rhyme of nightmares. Melodies of suffering that will melt into the walls of the courtesan house. No one will speak of it but they’ll know. They’ll never forget.

***

The new dawn arrived golden and the birds sung the continuous reign of Gae and Sutal Pa. Mal Pa was once again broken down into chaos as their usurper leader stepped away from his position and hid away after the two gangs made their example clear. Taehyung, still healing from his own wounds, opted to stick by Jungkooks’ side. The new looming darkness over their faces were hard to miss.

“If it’s worth anything, Jeon, you did good.” Yoongi stood over him on the stretcher. “Just not good enough.”

Jungkook stayed silent, gaze averted to focus on Taehyungs’ shirt. “Might not be me but someone else’ll come back to do the same thing. You can’t reign forever.”

The diamond ending of every underworld devil. Every gang had it. That one day when everything falls apart before their eyes and there was nothing to do about it. A fate worse than assassination.

Sun peaked through the buildings, framing Yoongis’ silhouette and casting warmth on his cool cheek. “It’s true. But when it does, it’s gonna be by my hand.”

Jungkook blinked over at him in confusion.

Yoongi smirked, gently tapping his shoulder. “Get well.” That day for Yoongi wasn’t to be shut down by another gang or a new leader. But to throw the match in himself and see it all burn. The beautiful end to his diamond trail.

Jungkook and Taehyung were moved to secluded area, away from any kind communication with the underworld.

Street dwellers will be loyal to anyone that could promise them something good. Now that Jungkook couldn’t provide it anymore, they scurried like rats under Yoongi or Namjoons’ wing. The underworld, even in the top ranks was cruel and brutal, leaving no mercy for even the good-hearted.

When you arrived back to the manor, the first thing was to remove the god awful dressing from the courtesan house. You draped back into your work dress, letting out a sigh of relief that it was all a play.

Namjoon paid a small visit to cast a farewell. Shaded eyes scanned across the mansion, admiring the architecture and paintings. Or just staring at them to avoid eye contact with Yoongi. “So European.”

“My mother grew up travelling between France and Italy,” Yoongi said. He dug his hands into his trousers. “She really liked all the architecture of the old buildings.” His heart swelled remembering the years after their father passed away. They found a new venue and spent over a year just working on the house. It was the most time they had ever spent alone without any kind of distractions from their father.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking—what happened to your mother?” Namjoon asked. “She was quite young when she married.”

Yoongi hummed, a sad smile tugged on his face. “She wasn’t well for a long time. Since she gave birth at a young age, the stress of it had lot of side effects in the long term. She held out long enough to ensure that I wouldn’t have to live with my father alone.”

Namjoons’ expression softened. “I’m sorry. Having a good family member in the household is already a rarity in itself. I can’t imagine losing them.”

In the small silence, you stepped down the stairs. You met the two men with a kind smile, fingers intertwined together. “Nice to see you two playing nicely.”

Yoongi smiled. “Of course.”

You, Namjoon and Yoongi padded outside of the manor into the afternoon light. The black SUV glinted and the guards looked like insects scurrying to their positions so that Namjoon was protected.

Pausing at the end of the entrance stairs, Namjoon turned to face the two of you. “It was fun working with you—just lighten up a little more.”

“Not a chance,” Yoongi stated plainly. “But—it was good not being at war for once.”

Namjoon smirked, eyes flickered to you with a softened expression. “Good day, my lady.”

You nodded in acknowledgement as the male turned on his heel and climbed into his SUV. A sense of relief washed over your form. Yoongi took your hand and escorted you back into the comforts of the manor.

“The diamond gun is back in its original place.” Yoongi let out a long exhale, emptying his chest of the anxiety. “I can take a fucking nap now.” He wrapped his arms around your waist, burying his head in the crook of your neck. A silent reminder that nothing was lost in this fight. You were safe and your childs’ location was still unknown to everyone else. “I know what you were doing.”

“You did?” A smile stretched across your lips.

“Taehyung was just a final tick.” Yoongi led you over to the couch, settling down with a deep sigh. “Jungkook was more terrified at the fact that Namjoon and I actually worked together.”

“If you two fought then both the pillars would’ve been crumbling. Easy for Jungkook to break.” You traced your fingers across his raven fringes. “Maybe you two should stop bickering so much. Just in case another street dweller comes in to hurt you.”

“One step at a time, my love.” Yoongi smiled, throwing his head back against the couch. “How’s Jewel?”

Jewel was her nickname. Her eyes shone even when there was no light reflecting off them. Maybe it was just their rosy lenses but you didn’t care. “She’s been moved to another safehouse. She says she’s happy.”

“Good.” Yoongi nodded. “That’s good.” He held onto your hand and kissed it. “We’ll all be together soon for the holiday. I promise.”

“I’ll make sure of it.” You raised a brow.

Yoongi loved his new family.

<< prev chap | 

[all-that-jazz-93]

American Dragon Timeline

I’ve been trying for a while now to figure out the timeline of this show, because it makes no sense in the order that Disney Channel originally aired the episodes. It also makes no sense in the episode list on Jeff Goode’s website, which he claims to be the proper chronology of events.

I had to come up with a few convoluted headcanons to make this work, but I think I’ve finally pieced together a coherent timeline (note that for a lot of the filler episodes, it doesn’t actually matter that much when they take place, I was just trying to stick as close to Jeff Goode’s chronology as possible.)

September 2004

Old School Training

It’s implied in this episode that Jake got his dragon powers very recently. They don’t say how recently, but given how new the whole thing is to him, I’d say it’s probably only been about a week or two.

Here’s where we come up against our first issue with canon. In The Legend of Dragon Tooth, Jake says he got his dragon powers when he turned 13, and in Shapeshifter, he says he’s a Pisces, which means his birthday would be in late February, or March. There’s no way the timeline makes sense if that’s the case, so my headcanon is that Jake is just like…really bad at astrology, and he somehow confused Pisces with another star sign.

We also have the issue of how far behind he seems to be in school (he’s 14 in early season 2, but still in 7th grade). So, two more headcanons to explain that. Number one, Jake’s birthday is actually sometime in early September, so he missed the cutoff to go to kindergarten when he was 5, and had to wait until he was 6, placing him a year behind (some places don’t allow kids to start kindergarten if they turn 5 after September 1st. I knew a boy in my old youth group who was almost a year older than everyone else in our grade, because he had an October birthday). Number two, at some point in elementary school, Jake was held back a grade. So the first episode takes place shortly after Jake’s 13th birthday, at the beginning of his sixth grade year.

Since Trixie and Spud are supposed to be the same age as him, that would mean they must’ve both been held back at some point as well (that especially makes sense for Spud—anyone who’s purposely failed as many tests as he has would almost definitely have to repeat a grade).

This would also make Rose younger than them. She’s very bright, and she seems like a good student, so it’s unlikely she was ever held back. But we don’t want her to be too much younger than them, so I’ll headcanon that she also has a birthday in early September, making her a year younger than Jake. If that’s the case, she’d be 12 in season one, and 13/14 in season 2.

Adventures in Trollsitting/Fu Dog Takes a Walk

The dogcatcher says that it’s September.

 September/October 2004

Shapeshifter Dragon Breath The Legend of Dragon Tooth The Talented Mr. Long Professor Rotwood’s Thesis Act 4, Scene 15 The Long Weekend Body Guard Duty Dragon Summit

This episode has to take place after Shapeshifter, Dragon Breath, and Professor Rotwood’s Thesis, since the Dragon Council makes references back to Jake’s actions in all of those episodes. It also has to take place before The Halloween Bash, which places it sometime in September or October.

 October 2004

The Halloween Bash

Jeff Goode’s website lists this episode as taking place between Ski Trip and The Hunted, but there’s no way that’s possible, because Ski Trip takes place close to Valentine’s Day, and The Hunted takes place during the Equinox (they don’t specify which Equinox, but it would have to be the one in September; it’s the only way the timeline makes any sense, even with the generous liberties I’m taking with these headcanons). So The Halloween Bash has to take place before Ski Trip. No one in this episode makes any reference to knowing Rose’s identity, so it works out just fine.

 February 2005

The Ski Trip

Valentine’s Day was actually on a Monday in 2005, so presumably this episode takes place the weekend of February 11-13.

 March 2005

The Egg/The Heist

Easter was on March 27 in 2005. This is how I know The Hunted takes place during the Autumnal Equinox; Rose was still in the city during Easter weekend, a week after the Vernal Equinox.

Eye of the Beholder Ring Around the Dragon Jake Takes the Cake

 May 2005

Fu and Tell/Flight of the Unicorn

Flight of the Unicorn takes place on Memorial Day, which was May 30th that year

 May/June (or September) 2005

Keeping Shop

Hong Kong Nights

I know Jeff Goode’s website says this is the last episode of season one, but I absolutely cannot accept any episode besides The Hunted as the season finale, so I’m just gonna recognize that the council has made a decision, but elect to ignore it.

 September 2005

The Hunted

The Autumnal Equinox in 2005 was on September 22

 Late November/Early December 2005

Half Baked

Jake says it’s been three months since Rose left. It couldn’t be exactly three months, because that would place this episode in late December, and school would be out for the holidays. So presumably it’s late November or early December, and Jake is rounding up when he says three months.

The Academy

This one would pretty much have to take place very soon after Half Baked, like within a week or two.

 Late December 2005

Breakout

This episode establishes that 88 and 89 are in the city working as apprentices to the Huntsman, so it has to take place before the Christmas episode, which they also appear in.

Hairy Christmas

January/February 2006

(Most of these don’t actually have to take place in January or February, aside from Dreamscape and Fool’s Gold. The rest could be pretty much any time during Jake’s 7th grade year. I’m just trying to stick to Jeff Goode’s chronology, and keep at least some of the episodes in the order he listed.)

Hero of the Hourglass Bring It On Family Business Something Fishy This Way Comes The Doppelganger Gang Dreamscape Fool's Gold

 February 2006

The Love Cruise

They never explicitly say it’s Valentine’s Day, but the whole concept of the Love Cruise seems like something a school would do for Valentine’s Day. Also adds an extra layer of heartbreak, because it means Jake and Rose’s breakup happened on the one-year anniversary of Jake finding out Rose was Huntsgirl. Ouch. February has not been kind to Jake.

On the other hand, I’d prefer to headcanon that Jake and Rose got to spend the whole summer together before their breakup, going on dream dates every night and not having to set their alarms for school in the morning (can we just let them be happy for a little while? PLEASE?!?!?!?), so maybe the Love Cruise wasn’t on Valentine’s Day, and instead was just some random school event at the beginning of their 8th grade year.

 May 2006

Feeding Frenzy

They spend three days visiting Jake’s family, so it’s either Memorial Day weekend, spring break, or summertime. Most likely Memorial Day or spring break, since Jake says in this episode that he’s been the American Dragon for a year and a half.

 May/June 2006

A Befuddled Mind The Rotwood Files Haley Gone Wild Switcheroo

This one takes place after The Love Cruise, because Jake and Rose’s recent breakup is a minor plot point, so it only takes place at this point if we headcanon Love Cruise taking place in February.

Young At Heart

I know this is supposed to be a later episode, but going by this timeline, Jake would be 15 for most of his 8th grade year, and in this episode Jake, Trixie, and Spud talk about being 14, so it has to take place during 7th grade

 Summer between 7th and 8th grade

A Ghost Story

 Late September/Early October 2006

Homecoming

I never went to public school (I was unfortunately homeschooled), but it’s my understanding that middle schools don’t do Homecoming. So my headcanon is that it was actually just a junior high prom or something, but a few students on the planning committee approached Sun Park and begged her to let them model it after the Homecoming dances at their older siblings’ high schools. Sun was delighted by their enthusiasm, so of course she agreed.

 Any time during their 8th grade year

Supernatural Tuesday Siren Says Shaggy Frog Nobody's Fu Game On Bite Father, Bite Son Magic Enemy #1

 February 2007

Year of the Jake

Chinese New Year was on February 18th in 2007

 March 2007

Furious Jealousy

Trixie and Spud put together a Daylight Savings themed school event, so this episode takes place either in October of 06 or March of 07. We’ll go with March because it’s closer to the end of the series.

 June 2007

Being Human

Haley and Gramps both say in this episode that Jake is 14, but he would actually be 15 by this point (even if my whole timeline is wrong and he actually is a Pisces, he still would’ve had his 15th birthday already). Presumably the writers just weren’t paying close enough attention to their established timeline, but the in-universe explanation is…sometimes family members forget your age; my best friend keeps saying her youngest sister is 15, when in fact her sister is turning 17 this year. Sometimes you lose track.

 Summer after 8th grade

The Hong Kong Longs

Presumably this episode takes place around July or August, which means Jake and his friends would be almost 16 by this point (and Rose would be almost 15, assuming my headcanon about her being a year younger than them is accurate).

[renegadewangs]

Van Zieks - the Examination, Part 1

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Great Ace Attorney: Chronicles. Additional warning for racist sentiments uttered by fictional characters (and screencaps to show these sentiments).

Disclaimer: These posts are not meant to be taken as fact. Everything I'm outlining stems from my own views and experiences. I am a 30-something European woman, and therefore may not view the matter from certain angles. That said, I'm always open to more input from others. If you believe that I've missed or misinterpreted something, please let me know so I can edit the post accordingly. If we can make this a team effort, I would love that.

The purpose of these posts is an analysis, nothing more. Please do not come into these posts expecting me to either defend Barok van Zieks from haters, nor expecting me to encourage the hatred. I am of the firm belief that characters are no more than a tool created to serve a narrative purpose, therefore the question I'm posing is whether or not Barok van Zieks serves this purpose. That's all I'm doing here.

I'm using the Western release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles for these posts, but may refer to the original Japanese dialogue of Dai Gyakuten Saiban if needed to compare what's said. This also means I’m using the localized names and localized romanization of the names to stay consistent.

It doesn't matter one bit to me whether you like Barok van Zieks or dislike him. He's not real anyway, so he can't suffer from it. However, I will ask that everyone who comments refrains from attacking real, actual people. If you know you're morally in the right, there should be no need for insults to begin with. Let's keep this conversation civil and constructive! As the first post in a series, let’s first start by examining the expectations we would have for a character like this. The purpose he was meant to serve.

1: Expectations

As I said in a different Barok-related essay, the main prosecutor of any Ace Attorney game has been, and always will be, an antagonistic force. Not a villain, not even necessarily someone who exhibits immoral traits. (Hi Klavier!) Just someone who impedes the protag’s goal of getting a not-guilty verdict. In order to have an effective antagonist, they need to mirror the protag's weaknesses back at them. Ace Attorney does this quite well, as the prosecutors represent the obstacle/turmoil that the defense needs to overcome. Often times, the prosecutor is also tied to a pivotal moment in the attorney's past, making sure the strife is quite personal.

Considering the game's plot and settings, it would've been difficult for Barok to be tied to Ryunosuke's past. (He is tied to Asogi's past, funnily enough, but that's a matter I also addressed in that other Barok essay.) So instead, Barok represents Ryunosuke's struggle in more of a figurehead capacity. I've seen people dub him the 'CEO of Racism', and I'm not gonna lie, in a way that's correct. Barok was designed to be the mouthpiece of the harmful sentiments Japanese exchange students would have encountered in the 1900s. By extension, since Ryunosuke is an exchange student unfamiliar with the British courts (or even courts in general), the prosecutor would target the fact that Ryunosuke 'does not understand how things are done here'. Which he does- a lot. This makes it all the more satisfying when Ryunosuke proves him wrong by outsmarting him and using Britain's own laws (such as the closing argument) against him. So yes, you may hate Barok for uttering racist sentiments and dismissing Ryunosuke's abilities, but the ultimate goal here is that Barok's defeat is made sweeter as a result. The narrative end-game is Ryunosuke's triumph and validation in the courtroom.

Was there a different personal struggle Barok could have represented? Yes, but also no. Sure, his vendetta could have been strictly with the Asogi family and Ryunosuke could have admitted to carrying Asogi's resolve, not knowing what it meant. Though that would’ve implied very early that Asogi had a history of sorts in Britain and would’ve destroyed some of the surprise we experience in game 2. Alternatively, there was also the 'parallel' antagonist angle. The sort of villain who says the line “we're not so different, you and I.” The antagonist who shows what happens when someone with the same skills or motivations follows the wrong path, which emphasizes the right path for the protagonist. However, I can't see that working in the plot of this game.

A purposeful decision was made by the writers to have prejudice be a central theme of the plot. This is the matter that hits the hardest in an emotional sense. Therefore, having Barok be the centerpiece of this prejudice ensures he leaves the biggest narrative impact.

---

However, another long-running aspect of the AA prosecutor is the redemption arc, so let's turn our attention to that!

I'm not going to put too much effort into explaining this, I just want to talk about the requirements of a redemption arc. We all know these types of arcs, a lot of Ace Attorney prosecutors have them. We see them in fiction all over. Noteworthy examples of redemption arcs done well include Zuko from The Last Airbender, Michael from The Good Place... For argument's sake, let's toss Edgeworth in there too. I'm not saying Edgeworth's arc is done well, but at the very least it is accepted by most as something that served its intended purpose. I've never seen anyone question Edgeworth's transformation.

See, what we have here is a bit of a misnomer when it comes to what people expect to get out of these types of arcs. Redemption in itself is only 'deliverance from sin' or 'being saved from evil'. It's the thought that a horrible person can still see the error of their ways before it's 'too late'. However, when it comes to absorbing media, often a character gaining knowledge that they were in the wrong isn't enough to satisfy the audience. Would Edgeworth have had a satisfying redemption arc if he'd acknowledged his arrogance and dirty tactics, only to retire as a prosecutor? No way. We needed him to return in the following games to give us an update on his status. Standing in court as a defense attorney, at the risk of damaging his reputation, was the moment we knew he'd grown for the better.

What we require for the arc to come to a good conclusion is atonement. The character in question must not only apologize for their actions, but repent in a more active manner to show that they've changed their ways. Following that, the atonement must be acknowledged by others. So for example, Zuko joins the ATLA gang to help them in any way that he can until even the most skeptical of the group, Katara, acknowledges his transformation into a better person. Now add to this the notion that the character's atonement must be virtuous and sincere. The Good Place is a fascinating look into the debate of 'is it ever too late for a person to change?' and the moral complications of changing in the first place. If you're only doing good things because you want to be saved from damnation, are you being a good person or are you being selfish? There's such a thing as corrupt motivation; only doing good because it is expected. For example, does sponsoring a library make Magnus McGilded a good person? It does not, since he's only doing it to boost his own reputation and have people believe he's selfless.

As a final note, I want to ask: Does a redemption arc require a backstory to justify the character's immoral ways? Personally, I don't think that it does. It's good to have, since it allows an audience to empathize with the character and give them more of a reason to root for them. It turns the redemption arc into a tale about overcoming past trauma. However, it can backfire when done badly and lead to frustration. (I'm looking at you, live action Disney movies!) Some characters are evil just for the sake of being evil and even then, they can turn over a new leaf because they realize it is just so much more rewarding to be good. Just look at Michael from The Good Place.

What's more effective than a backstory, in my opinion, is smaller details to humanize a character. Humanization can also lead to empathy, perhaps even relatability, and helps us believe that they're capable of change. We need to be told that a character has their own fears, their own flaws, their own odd little habits which deviate from the norm... Again, I'll point to Michael from The Good Place for this. Another humanization tactic, which we see employed often in Ace Attorney, is to display a prosecutor's likes and hobbies outside the courtroom. Edgeworth's fanboying over the Steel Samurai, Blackquill's love for birds, Nahyuta's willingness to stand in line for hours to get his hands on a delicious burger... I've feel ya, Nahyuta. This tactic is more readily employed in Ace Attorney because it's difficult to place a prosecutor in a position of weakness before the final showdown. You can show them tending to hobbies during Investigation segments, but you can't show them waking up from a nightmare or wondering whether their father loves them. Well, not until case 5 of that game, anyway. By then, it's too late to serve as the sole humanization factor. Did Van Zieks need to be redeemed at all? The way I see it, the only correct answer is yes. What do we want to see in our world? Do we want people who hold racist prejudice to acknowledge their faults and become better, or do we want them to die clinging to their shitty moral compass? Do we want a world where everyone learns to get along, or do we want a world where people continue to be in the wrong and act like assholes until they inevitably get punished by law for something or another? Van Zieks needed to be redeemed in order to teach that valuable lesson that it’s never too late to be a good person and that it pays to be a good person.

So to summarize, what we needed from Barok van Zieks was the following:

1) Present an antagonistic (possibly immoral) force who personifies Ryunosuke's biggest personal obstacle/weakness, in this case racial prejudice. 2) Humanizing traits begin to show. OPTIONAL: A backstory to justify any immorality he has. 3) Over time, Barok has his realization and sees the error of his ways. 4) Barok atones for his immorality, not simply through apology but by taking decisive steps. 5) The cast around him acknowledges his efforts and forgives him.

This leaves us with the question: Does the game deliver on these points? Well, let's boot it up and find out! Stay tuned for The Adventure of the Runaway Room! (as a warning, it’s gonna be LONG)

[great-heropon-riki]

An analysis of Higurashi Sotsu’s new OP, “Analogy” by Ayane

Spoilers for Higruashi Gou and speculation about Sotsu under the cut

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Sotsu

A duel between loopers. Two gods intertwined and yet diametrically opposed. Feelings unspoken, and voices unheard. Another perspective on the events we had previously seen.

The difficulty of this chapter is medium. Let us conjecture on where the pieces shall fall.

Pardon me the opening, my experience through the original series was through the visual novels, so I had to. As the title says, this is an analysis of the new OP. Enjoy.

To start, we see Rika in an abyss of darkness, with a downtrodden face, and end our little opening sequence before the music picks up and the distortion on Ayane's voice is lost with Satoko falling backwards into a scenery very reminiscent of imagery used in the very end of the "Irregular Entropy" ending. This could be the starting of a theme we see a lot in which we see that Rika's approach at the loops is very passive, while Satoko with her modified powers takes a much more active roll in achieving her goal. 

In between these we see images of Keiichi, Rena, Shion, and Mion in pairs in front of backgrounds that depict their inner struggles, but of the one who is not in focus. For our first pair, we have the junkyard and Keiichi's house, alluding to their issues relating to their family, Rena's being a very rough divorce and Keiichi's being high standards placed on him that eventually broke him. Shion and Mion have something similar, with the Sonozaki main house and St Lucia, alluding to the burden that Mion carries as the heiress to the Sonozaki household and the neglect that Shion suffered. These also carry double duty in giving some visual ties to Onidamashi and Watadamashi that we will be seeing the answers arcs to soon.

Next up we get our girls Rika and Satoko. Rika closes her right eye, and across the split screen Satoko opens her left. We then see them together at the school in Hinamizawa, facing the same way with their hands together. The chairs are in disarray, some set up on the desks, some not, and one is even laying on the floor. Things were chaotic for them, but no matter what they had each other. And then, things changed. We move into the eyes closing and opening again, only this time they have that look that denotes them as loopers. The classroom this time is now what appears to be their classroom at St. Lucia, with everything very orderly, but this time the two are facing away from each other. Of course, this shows their growing distance on their way to high school.

However, we move into the next line of the song.

“I want to be with you”

We than move into a shot in the Sea of Shards where Hanyuu is... well she looks like a Fire Emblem Heroes character below half health. And when we see Eua, she’s draped on her couch, seemingly bored. I speculate that this is solidifying the connections between the two that we already have that I will go into later, as well as that Eua is some sort of usurper of some kind. Perhaps she’s holding Hanyuu hostage, stealing her powers, who knows. I know there’s speculation between Eua, Hanyuu, and Featherine, but not only do I not have the knowledge of Umineko to speculate on that, but that’s a whole essay on it’s own.

Next, we cut to this shot, zooming out to show the entire forms of Rika and Satoko as they move in to each other. Mind you, I am a VERY strong SatoRika shipper so I do have some bias (that edit where the two are kissing in the closer shot is the best), but it is very clearly that these two long for each other. Their growing distance at St. Lucia has left them yearning to be together again, and perhaps more. Most likely more. Ryukishi make it happen.

Than like all lesbians they have a Sayan battle within the Sea of Shards. Honestly, this seems to just be regarding the conflict between the two.

We then see Satoko running along the rice paddies at sunset, reaching out to Rika. This parallels a scene from “I Believe What You Said” in which Rika is running through the forest at night, reaching out to the saiguden and likely Hanyuu

This parallel here is likely to show how the two are similar in goals even if they don’t realize it, as well as conceptualizing time and that Satoko chasing after Rika here is before she got her powers.

We then see Satoko fall into a red abyss, nearly fade away into dust, but has her hand grabbed onto by what is assumedly Rika by the blazer and cuff being that of St. Lucia’s uniform. Despite everything, these two anchor each other. At the end of this whole thing, they likely will find each other again and make their way through all this trouble and chaos. I even speculate that Satoko falling into the abyss here is foreshadowing that Satoko is falling into depravity here, that Eua has corrupted her mind and actions, and that finally putting her plan into motion, especially during Tataridamashi, has led her to want to escape. The speedrun of suffering in Nekodamashi was I think Satoko breaking and wanting to get her ‘win’ in as soon as possible and return everything to a perfect world so she could cast these powers, cast this suffering, aside while also not loosing her stubbornness.

This here is.. confusing. It’s nice to see more of our gang aged up, but these faces are a bit off here. Perhaps it’s perceptions of Satoko’s regarding her friends having left her to go to high school college? Who knows.

As we near the end, we see an upwards shot of the Furude shrine, a shot through the same forest that we see Rika running through in “I Believe What You Said”, a shot of the statue of Oyashiro-sama, and than Eua in the sea of shards. To me this just feels like more tying things between our two new OPs together and further solidifying the ties between Eua and Hanyuu, whatever those may be.

Finally, we see a shot of Rika and Satoko, young, looking over Hinamizawa, holding hands at sunrise. Once again, these two care deeply for each other and will come out the other side together and stronger than ever. Again with how time has played in this OP, we go from late day at the beginning, to sunset, to night time, and now everything has cleared. The demons hide away until their next coming, but these two will be there for each other whatever may come. 

And thus concludes my analysis. Please, do leave any comments or feedback, and I look forward to seeing how things play out in the show this season. I hope you are as well.

[dindjarindiaries]

In Defense of The Mandalorian Season Two

A look into how the writing of season two actually reflects the same writing as the original trilogy, most notably The Empire Strikes Back.

DISCLAIMER: This post is in no way trying to refute the opinions of others! I know that, to many, the writing of season two was a let down. I’m simply here to share my opinion on why I thought it was well done, but I’m very open to critiques and discussions (as long as they’re started with good intentions).

Below the cut, I’ll be discussing the similarities of the plot/story’s structure to that of The Empire Strikes Back, how season two acts as a bridge between seasons, and the “dropped” items that many have been concerned with.

SEASON TWO AND THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: DEVELOPMENT AND SETUP

One of the biggest critiques I’ve seen about season two is that it set up a lot of major opportunities for the development of the story and Din and never went in depth on those. Some of these things include Din being told he’s in a cult called the Children of the Watch, the acquisition of the Darksaber, and the removal of his helmet. These are all things we caught glimpses and hints of, but we never saw any resolution for—not even any processing from Din. This left many feeling unsatisfied by the end of the season.

Much like how viewers must’ve felt at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, prior to the release of Return of the Jedi.

This sounds like a stretch, doesn’t it? But hear me out:

A BIG REVELATION: Din realizes that other Mandalorians can remove their helmets and that Mandalore may not be cursed after all. Similarly, Luke finds out he’s the son of Darth Vader. Neither one of these things is mentioned again in their respective season/movie.

A BIG QUESTION MARK: Din doesn’t know where Grogu’s being taken for training or how to contact Luke again and we also don’t know where he’s at in terms of his “helmet rule.” Similarly, Han Solo is sitting in enemy hands, captured and frozen in carbonite with an unknown fate by the time the movie ends.

IN MEDIA RES: Din’s just found out that he’s now the rightful heir to the throne of Mandalore as he wields the Darksaber and we know this is something he’ll have to acknowledge later. Similarly, Luke’s been training as a Jedi been abandoned his training to save his friends, leaving his status as a Jedi Knight unknown but hinted at being finished later down the line.

As you can see, both season two and TESB ended with huge things that were just... left there. We never get to see how they’re resolved or how exactly the characters will deal with all this information that’s been thrown at them. Instead, we’re left with the shadow of their consequences, feeling as if we’re being left on the edge of our seats.

Evidently, this plays out much differently in a show than it does in a movie because there’s a broader range of screen time/story time. That’s why some of these revelations have to come earlier in the season than they would in a movie. The timeline of season two is short as it is; truly, as far as we know, the whole thing takes place over just a few days. Naturally, then, it makes sense that Din wouldn’t have been processing events very quickly—especially with everything he has to do for Grogu at the forefront of his mind.

The idea with both these pieces is the long-run. We’re not looking at the story over just one season/movie anymore like we did with season one of The Mandalorian and A New Hope. This is going into something so much bigger and we’re truly only in the rising action of it all. We have to look past just this season and to the overall picture of Din’s story. If we got all the answers this season, there wouldn’t be much to work with in season three, especially in terms of Din’s character development. The foreshadowing with these season two events is setting up so much potential for Din’s character to be focused on as much as ever in season three, which—as a huge Din Djarin fan—is so exciting to me!

SEASON TWO AS A BRIDGE

Season three was confirmed by Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon) before season two even released. Thus, it’s obvious that in the minds of the crew, season two is a stepping stone to the future of the story. If season one was the setup of our smaller story, then season two is the beginning of the larger one. The Mandalorian universe is expanding and thus the time that the story takes must also grow with it.

We can expect that all the big ideas season two set up—Din questioning his Way, starting to remove his helmet in front of others, earning the Darksaber, etc.—will be explored in more depth in the coming seasons. While the main goal of season two was still to return Grogu to his people (which did happen!), it also started to give us hints as to what’s coming for Din’s character and story. After all, this show is called The Mandalorian. It’s about time we learn more about that character and not just his relationship with Grogu, as touching as that part of him is!

BUT WHAT ABOUT...?

THE SILVER BALL?

The silver ball has been a very touching symbol of Din and Grogu’s connection ever since season one. It’s made appearances in Chapter 3: The Sin, Chapter 6: The Prisoner, Chapter 13: The Jedi, and Chapter 14: The Tragedy. In Chapter 3, it was a symbol of how Din’s feelings towards Grogu changed during the episode, where he initially denied him access to the silver ball and then later offered it to him to play with. Yet again in season one we see Din give the ball to Grogu after his run-in with the gang. Then, we don’t see it again until Grogu takes it himself in Chapter 13 and it becomes the very thing that gets Grogu to willingly use the Force, especially with Din’s help.

While this all hints at the silver ball being a key symbol in their relationship, it’s not something that’s been absolutely imperative to their bond. It wasn’t brought up again in either season finale, much to many’s displeasure particularly in season two. I think the reason why Din ends up keeping it is because:

It gives him something to remember Grogu by.

Other than the beskar spear, it’s the only piece of the Crest Din has left.

My prediction is that, should Din buy another ship/a new model of the Crest, he may be able to put the ball in that ship—and then when he reunites with Grogu, his son will be very excited upon spotting it in Din’s new ship. Had Grogu taken it, Luke might’ve taken it away from him, too, because the little womp rat was obviously very distracted by it whenever he had it!

THE MYTHOSAUR NECKLACE?

Yet again, the Mythosaur necklace is a touching symbol of Din and Grogu’s bond. It only makes one appearance in the entire show, though—Chapter 8: Redemption. Not once is it even mentioned before or after. We only see it twice in that episode: first when Din’s dying and he hands it to Cara and second when Din realizes Grogu has it and is chewing on it.

I’m not sure the necklace was meant to have as much weight as we gave it. I believe it might’ve just been a symbol of the fact that Din’s finally accepted Grogu as his foundling, just as Din once was himself. I assume Grogu still has the necklace tucked under his robes and that’s why we don’t see it again in season two. But the fact that it only appeared very briefly in one episode means that it most likely was just a one-and-done idea, which is much different than something like the silver ball.

GROGU NOT WANTING TO LEAVE DIN AND VICE VERSA?

One of the biggest themes of this season was letting go. For Din, it was letting go of his fear over Grogu’s safety and the restrictions of his Way. For Grogu, it was letting go of his fear over using his powers and his deep attachment to Din. While obviously leaving each other was not ideal for either one of them, in the end, it’s what they had to do. Din had to do what was best for Grogu, which was to let him train so he can control his powers. Grogu had to train so Din wouldn’t be risking his life so much to protect him and so he could abandon his fear of leaving his father.

Evidently, by the time they’re saying goodbye, it’s bittersweet—because Din’s proud of Grogu and Grogu’s determined/excited to train, but they’re both obviously going to miss each other. But truly, this is where the season’s been leading us. We had hopes they might stay together, but ultimately, Grogu needs to be trained!

IN CONCLUSION

This season left a lot of unanswered questions—because it wanted to. These weren’t plot holes. These were moments of foreshadowing for later, when Din and Grogu began to have their development on their own rather than together. A big lesson we learned from season one is that every moment of screen time counts. The same goes for season two. We can expect every untied thread from season two to be tied off by the time the series ends—whether that be in season three or season four.

[teamhappyme]

a series of promising events (2/5)

aaron hotchner x female!reader

word count: 10.6k (yeah i have a spacing problem)

a/n: part 2 of this series is here! some dialogue, cases, and themes taken directly from criminal minds (S03 EP20, S04 EP01, & S05 EP08). originally, i had it planned to be 3 parts, but after editing, and looking at the word count, it makes more sense to be 5 parts. i don’t want to inundate you lovely people with massive word counts (even though 10k is massive) so this is the finalized count. because i finally got my shit together and finished this out, part 3 will be up wednesday morning, part 4 will be up friday morning, and the final part 5 will be up sunday morning. thank you to everyone who showed some love for part one, and thank you to anyone else who stumbled across my crazy writing and read along!

at the end, I’ve tagged the peeps that interacted with part 1. if you don’t want to be tagged for the other parts, just let me know :)

ok enough of my rambling inner monologue, here we go friends!

link to part 1: here

****

May 2008

We were in New York, investigating what started out as five connected shootings in the city. After twelve hours, we were up to nine fatalities.

We delivered the profile at nine thirty, finally satisfied with the outcome after a day's worth of combing over crime scene photos and witness statements. Hotch didn’t want to waste another second, making sure the profile went out before the night shift went out to patrol.

“Now, our first theory is that we’re dealing with a team.” Derek started. “In the case of the D.C. snipers, there was actually one intended victim.”

“John Muhammad wanted to kill his ex wife, but he knew if he did, he’d be the prime suspect, so he created a spree in order to mask his primary motivation.” 

Spencer added before turning to SSA Joyner. “Muhammad and Malvo also left a death card at one of their scenes, just like this unsub.”

“We believe our unsubs have studied that case. They’re opening a line of communication.” 

There was an outpouring of judgement focused on us, since we were in charge of the D.C. snipers case as well. These unsubs know we’re here, and they’re trying to show they can outthink us.

“Yes, they are playing games. But what that tells us is at least one of them has some intelligence.” You tried to hold your ground, and not let their opinions get to you.

“And like I said,” Prentiss interrupted, ready to put these cops in their place. “They know these cases. He’s also studied the placement of the surveillance systems well enough to avoid detection.”

“We’ve asked officers to canvass their precincts, and look out for a father-son type of duo that fit the dominant-submissive profile.” Rossi had Reid hand out some gang related profiles, just in case the profile shifted. But we were pretty confident in our first go. 

“Talk to the people on your beats, look out for anything suspicious. And let's pray that this isn’t random.” The detective in charge finished and let his precinct disperse. 

“Hey y/n/n, we’re gonna head back in five if you want a spot in the fun suburban.” JJ teased and lightly shoved Spencer’s shoulder. 

You smiled and started packing up your backpack. “Okay. Just, leave the fragile doctor alone.” 

After packing up any files you wanted to review when you got back to the hotel room, you let Morgan and Rossi know the four of you were headed out. They weren’t much further behind with Prentiss and Garcia. 

You met Reid and JJ in the lobby, droopy eyes and mouths full of yawns adorning the three of you. It was a long day, and it was only going to be worse tomorrow. 

“Where’s Hotch?” You asked, ready to get your feet out of these narrow leather dress shoes. You were wearing your combat boots tomorrow. 

“He’s checking in with the lady friend.” JJ nodded her head toward Hotch, who was conversing with Joyner in her office. They were standing close, and you thought you caught a smile on his face. “Do you think they’re into each other?”

“She looks like she could be Haley’s twin,” Spencer added and you sighed. 

The moment the team arrived at HQ this morning, everybody noticed the resemblance to Hotch’s ex-wife. SSA Kate Joyner went pretty far back with our unit chief. They went through the academy together and had some assignments overlap over the years. If it were up to Morgan and Garcia, the two of them would be out on a date right now. But you and Rossi quickly quieted the rumors, not wanting to deal with the rage that was Aaron Hotchner if he knew we were discussing his love life. 

It had barely been six months since Haley left with Jack, and Hotch had just taken off his wedding band a few weeks ago. He didn’t tell any of you until you all witnessed him getting served in the office. It slapped you across the face, especially since you’d just met Haley and Jack for a quick lunch a month and a half before. I guess she wanted Hotch to tell you when he was ready. 

As much as you valued your three year friendship with Aaron Hotchner, you knew Haley deserved better. Hotch adored his wife and son, and would fight heaven and earth to keep them safe. Unfortunately, he was too busy fighting the demons from hell to be a present father and husband. Everyone had their breaking point, and Haley had hit hers. From what Hotch has told you, they’re still amicable, and are trying to be friends again. After all, it wasn’t a lack of love that ended their marriage. It was a lack of prioritizing his family. 

“Knock it off. He’s on his way over.” The three of you turned to one another, pretending to hold an intriguing conversation about one of Spencer’s magic tricks. Truthfully, you were always intrigued in his magic tricks; you never understood how he could pull endless quarters out of your ear. But that conversation would have to wait for another day. 

“Ready to go?” Hotch pulled the keys out of his pant pocket, and the three of you nodded as Spencer called shotgun. A smile crossed your lips, never getting over the jovial things Spencer loved to claim when his intellect wasn’t needed to solve a case.

The fifteen minute ride to the hotel downtown was silent. You were all exhausted, emotionally and physically, sick of having to watch people die over and over again. 

The four of you made it into the lobby, tomorrow morning’s papers already spread across the table. “The late edition didn’t miss a beat.” You said and picked up one of the papers, the headline reading ‘Execution Style’ with a still from one of the murders. You showed it to Hotch and he shook his head. 

“I’m glad I never stooped to this level when I was publishing.” You murmured, reading the first paragraph of the article. 

“JJ,” Spencer started and pointed across the lobby, causing all of us to turn. It was Detective Will LaMontagne Jr., JJ’s adorably chivalrous Louisiana boyfriend. 

“Will.” You could practically hear the smile on her face as she led the walk over to him.

He was supposed to fly into D.C. to visit JJ for the weekend, but came to surprise her in New York when he heard the news. Spencer and I shared a look as Hotch extended a hand to him. 

“Detective.”

“I’m sorry for showing up like this, I know you’re working. But, um. I can’t stand you being on this case. And me not being here, not with what’s going on.”

JJ shook her head in the slightest, and you started to get nervous.

“Is there a problem?” Hotch asked, concern completely taking over his voice at the thought of any harm happening to his team. The couple shared a knowing look, and your patience was starting to run thin with the information being withheld. JJ meant the world to you, and you wanted to make sure she was okay.

Reluctantly, she turned to face you all, a shy smile covering her face. “I’m pregnant.” 

Spencer looked over at you, not knowing how to react to the news. But you couldn’t help the smile widening on your face. 

“Oh my god, JJ! Congratulations!” You wrapped your arms around her and she laughed, most likely out of relief. This was a secret she kept for a long time.

“I’ve asked JJ to marry me,” 

“Will.” She cut him off as Hotch gave him a congratulatory handshake. 

“We’re working out some kinks.” He added as Spencer was next to hug your blonde friend. A baby, in the BAU. You might have been more excited than JJ.

“We’ll, uh, give you both some privacy.” Hotch started towards the elevator, and JJ was quick to follow. 

“Hotch,” She didn’t continue, you knew this wasn’t the exact situation she wanted to tell everyone she was having a baby. 

“JJ, you could have told me.”  

The tenderness in his voice could have broken your heart in two right then and there, but add on the fact that you swore you could see Hotch’s eyes tear in the slightest, you were done. You didn’t want to mention it in front of Reid, but you knew this had to do with Haley. You’d be an idiot not to notice.

The three of you filed into the elevator, leaving JJ and Will to talk in private. You all got off on the fourth floor, Reid’s room the first to come up in the hallway. 

“Night Spencer.” 

“Goodnight. Seven a.m.,” He reminded you as he opened the door with his keycard.

You and Hotch walked down another ten feet before he found his room. 

“Goodnight,” He mumbled out and reached for his key. 

“Hotch,” He closed his eyes, nodding his head in the slightest. 

“I’m tired, y/n.” You could’ve pushed harder. You could have gotten him to crack if you started nagging enough. You’d earned the title as baby sister from the team since you could whine and nag them into doing anything. But tonight didn’t seem like a good time for your skills. 

You nodded, understanding this conversation wasn’t going to happen. 

“Goodnight. Get some sleep.”

Despite your best efforts, you didn’t sleep a wink. Hotch had gone over his files and called for Kate to meet him in the lobby. But then there was an explosion, and you had to watch from your window as Hotch sat by Joyner, waiting for her to die.

Once the team had caught the second unsub and wrapped everything up at the precinct, you headed to the hospital to check on Hotch. And unsurprisingly, he was refusing any further treatment for the ringing in his ears he tried to deny. You saw him kick Rossi out of the room, the third member that couldn’t get through to him. 

“Bobo, why don’t you give it a try. Can’t yell at the baby with a broken arm.” You were the one to tackle the unsub, and landed pretty hard on the pavement downtown. Nothing a black cast covered in smiley faces from Spencer and Garcia couldn’t fix. 

“I know you can’t tell, but I’m flipping you off right now.” You responded to Morgan as you raised your casted hand toward him.

You headed to Hotch’s room, knocking on the window before you walked in. 

“I swear to god if you try to put me in another MRI,” He started to raise his voice when you interrupted him.

“Shit, I should go tell Morgan he was wrong. Boss is willing to yell at the baby with a broken arm.”

He turned around to face you, the lines on his forehead disappearing once he saw it was you and not Rossi. 

“What happened to your arm?” You smiled and glanced down at the cast. “Just another day on the job. Tackled the unsub, the pavement was not very kind to me.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to put his tie back around his neck. You scoffed, stepping over to him. 

“Why the hell would you want to put that back on?” 

“Because it’s part of my suit.” 

You knew better than to pull it out of his hands. He was holding on to any semblance of control, and his outfit was all that he had left. Instead you took a seat in the stiff chair across from him, watching as he grimaced every time he lifted his arms too high. 

“If your goal is to get me to stay another minute here under observation, you’re not gonna win.” 

You shook your head. “That’s not my goal.”

He sighed, giving up on putting his tie on. He moved to finish his top button, he was at least going to be covered. 

“You should be excited for JJ.” You started, testing the water on this subject. 

“Did I suggest otherwise?” He asked and you shook your head. 

“When was the last time you saw Jack?” His eyes widened the slightest, and you regretted asking the question. You gripped the arms of the chair, ready to be ripped a new one. 

Instead, Hotch let out a sigh, and you snapped your head up. “Two weeks. Haley went to visit her mother for a week, and then we went from Florida to New York in three days.”

He was already away from Jack half the week when they were still living under the same roof. Now he was lucky if he got to say goodnight on a weekend. 

“Why don’t you take some time off? I’m sure you have weeks saved up. I’ve been here three years and have never seen a tan on you.” 

He shook his head. “Strauss would never approve of it.”

“Hotch,” 

“Y/n, I really want to get out of this hospital room and call my son.” You shook your head, crossing your arms over your chest. 

“Fine. But you’re not flying home. You have a choice between Morgan and Rossi to drive you home. My recommendation would be Morgan, you don’t want to sit through four hours of Opera music.” 

You stood up, refusing to meet his eye. You were sick of dealing with stubborn men. 

“I’ll see if they can fax your records to D.C. before we leave.” 

He muttered out a thank you as you left the room, shaking your head at the rest of the team.

“Nothing?” Morgan asked as you returned to them. 

“Nothing. Even the baby gets yelled at.” Spencer spared you a glance and you gave him a small smile. You would be fine. “And Derek, you’re driving him back.”

***

January 2010

You didn’t think it could get worse than seeing Hotch with nine stab wounds at the hands of Foyet. You desperately wanted to believe that it couldn’t be worse than that. But you were naive to think that he would let Aaron survive and not make him suffer.

None of you would be able to erase the image of Haley’s bloody body lying in the home where she and Aaron created their family. You wouldn’t forget the sight of Hotch beating into Foyet’s face, or the sobs that raked through his body once Derek had shaken him off. This was a tragedy that shaped the entire team.

After Haley’s death, the seven of you took turns checking in on Hotch, Jack, and Haley’s sister Jessica. She stayed close by when Hotch was on leave, helping him with Jack’s routine, and how to explain to the four year old where his mommy went. She moved back into her apartment a few blocks away before Aaron returned to work. He wanted to prove to her that he could do this on his own, that he could be the strong father that Jack deserved, and that Haley would be proud of.

While the three of them were together, the team would try and make it over every Saturday for dinner. Hotch needed to be around friends, and Jessica needed a guilt free night to spend with the people that made her feel good. He was reluctant at first, not wanting us over the apartment, complaining that it was a mess, and it was too small to fit everyone. But it was impeccably neat, the result of a widow not being able to sleep. Once he became comfortable with us coming around on Saturday’s, we’d pick two weeknights to stop by with a dinner, movie, or game to help take their minds off of the pain. Although you and JJ stopped by every friday regardless of whose week it was, Hotch really appreciated the extra company, and so did Jack.

Despite his attempts at being independent, there were one too many distressed calls being made to you or JJ if he couldn’t get a hold of Jess, or if he didn’t want to burden her with the responsibility. 

Your feelings about Jack Hotchner hadn’t changed in the four years since you met him. You would still do anything to see the adorable little boy smile. So, it was easy to say that you didn’t mind the late night phone calls worrying about Jack’s stuffy nose or when he should take the chicken out of the freezer without it going bad. Because the more he reached out to any one of you, the closer he was to finding a new normal. 

However, all of you were surprised to see SSA Aaron Hotchner in his office only a month and a half after the event. Sure, he made remarkable progress, but you all assumed he would take a little more time, maybe take Jack on a well deserved vacation. Instead, you walked into the office on a monday morning, Hotch the first one in attendance. 

That was two weeks ago. 

The readjustment period had worn off, and Hotch was back to being a drill sergeant. Even more aggressive than he was before. 

The case we were working was local, saving us the discomfort of sleeping in a hotel bed. We were in Virginia, investigating two murdered families, similar to ‘The Fox’.

“Who?” You asked, not familiar with the creepy nickname.

“Four years ago Karl Arnold, aka the fox, killed eight families.” Derek informed you. It must have been just before you started at the BAU. 

“Similar to this case he took the father’s wedding rings, except in his case he took them as trophies.” Spencer finished.

“Hotch, you gave evidence at Arnold’s trial. I think you should go see him.” Derek was acting unit chief since before Haley’s death, and continued his position even with Hotch’s return. Strauss was weary now more than ever to give Aaron the title back so quick.

“I’d like to take l/n with me.” You looked over to Hotch, his eyes resting on yours, waiting for your approval. 

You gave a small nod, placing your sunglasses over your eyes. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Hotch got the keys to a suburban and before you could meet him at the car, Prentiss pulled you back. 

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay with this?” She was always looking out for you, heck she was the one that made you pack extra barf bags for crime scenes. She knew meeting face to face with a family killer would do a number on you. But Hotch can’t face this guy on his own. Not after what happened.

“I’m good. Not the first time I've interrogated a psychopath.” She reluctantly nodded. 

“Okay. Just, let Hotch take the lead.”��

You gave her arm a squeeze. “I will. Let’s find this guy.”

The ride to Red Onion Supermax was a short and quiet one. Hotch filled you in on the particulars of Arnold’s case, making sure you knew it inside and out. This was a team effort after all. 

You couldn’t get a clean read on Hotch, however, on the ride over. He’d yet to crack a true smile or laugh in the weeks he’d been back, which normally wouldn’t be so out of character for him. But Reid had been trying to get him to crack with every magic trick he knew, even agreeing to let Derek joke about his lack of childhood and understanding of pop culture. But nothing worked. 

It worried you to see the regression he’s made since coming back. You knew how happy he was at home with Jack, that a smile crossed his face most of the day when he was playing legos with his son. You hoped he was here because he wanted to be, not because he felt like he had an obligation to the team or the Bureau. 

“Karl has a big ego. He’s going to answer every question with a question. He’ll try to gain the advantage with me by asking why I’m not wearing my wedding ring.” You looked down at his left hand, the gold band that you noticed on your first day, now gone, along with the woman he loved. “And then he will turn his attention to you.”

“So that’s why you brought me along.”

“Your presence will throw him off guard. And he’s going to want to describe to you in graphic detail every sexual act he committed with the families.”

“To freak me out?” Because you haven’t even met this sick bastard and you were certainly already freaked out. 

Hotch met your eye, and you knew this was only going to get worse. “To pull you into his fantasy.”

The guard radioed for the gate to open, and you tried to contain the tremors in your hands. This was a wing of psychotic sexual sadists, they would pick up on your nervous ticks.

You looked to Hotch once the gate opened, and he nodded for you to go in. 

“Go ahead.” You followed the guard in, surprised at the lack of noise you were welcomed with. “Keep your eyes forward. More than anything he’s going to want to see images of the children.”

“We can’t give him that.” You argued, as you started to hear the men from their cells. 

“We have to give him something or we’ll get nothing from him.” 

You’d kept your breathing under control the entire walk down the hallway, until a man crashed against the glass, causing you to flinch and spare a glance.

“Isn’t that, uh,-” 

“Derek Payne.” He finished for you, his eyes still straight ahead. 

“It’s reinforced glass.” You scoffed. Of course he wasn’t worried about another man ripping him apart.

“Easy for you to say, he tore apart fourteen women.”

The door opened to the interrogation room, and this time Hotch entered first. You were met with Karl Arnold, red bushy hair and a beard to match. He was average height, and a little stocky, not what you pictured him to look like.

“Hello Karl,” Hotch greeted him as we settled in on the other side of the table.

“Agent Hotchner,” He stood. “I wasn’t informed you were bringing a, uh,” He glanced at you, looking you up and down before turning back to Hotch. You really regretted wearing a white silk top with your dress pants today. “They just said two agents.”

“This is Agent-” 

“Y/n, l/n.” You tried to control the dilation of your eyes as he looked right through you. “I know all about you.”

Now you understood why Emily asked you if you were sure about this. He kept his eyes on Hotch as he started the interrogation, never looking you in the eyes longer than a second. Even if you directed a question toward him, he would only answer to Hotch. He was a misogynist. You don’t know why you’re so surprised at this discovery, he tortured wives and families.

When he offered up his book of dialogue between him and his fans, he smelled your perfume as you reached across the table to grab it. Hotch quickly took it for you, letting you sit back down in your seat. Your gut was no longer in your stomach, it was lodged in your throat. 

“How’d you lose your ring, Agent Hotchner?” It was beyond your level of profiling to understand how Hotch could just sit there and take the assault on his personal life from a man who ruined families, especially with what he’d just been through. You’d never mastered the art of compartmentalization quite like Hotch. But right now, you were thankful for your uncontrollable emotions.

“I can look past your refusal to answer my question, if you let me see the children. It’s the only way I can truly help you.” You gripped the files harder at the mention of the victims and looked at Hotch. 

“Can I speak with you for a second?” He nodded and the two of you stood. 

“Is there something wrong, y/n?” You bit back the sarcasm that was threatening to fall from your mouth. 

“Nothing’s wrong, Karl.”

You exited the interrogation room, still clutching the files close to your chest. 

“We cannot show him these.”

 He looked at Arnold, who seemed to find your eyes, even through the reflective mirror. “These images will be his undoing and will lead us to the killer.”

“These are not just images.” 

“That’s exactly what they are.” 

“Hotch, I am not about to parade a dead twelve year old girl in a bathing suit in front of a serial killer who gets off on it.” You raised your voice, not willing to compromise any respect you had left for these victims. 

“Then show him the others. It’ll gain his trust and get him talking. He won’t talk to me, he knows I know everything that gets him off. But he’ll want to tell you just what he would do to them. I told you, he wants to pull you in.”

You shook your head. “These are children! Helpless children whose fathers have to live with what this animal did to their families! These strangers do not get to see the torture and humiliation that they went through.”

“If you can’t stomach showing him what he desires, then I’ll do it. Because we’re not leaving until we get a name out of him. You’re either with the team or you’re not.” 

You scoffed. “You’re not the unit chief anymore. I do what Morgan says if we can’t come to an agreement.”

It was bold of you to remind him of his subordinate place. But you were equals now, despite the decade between you two. You didn’t have to listen to his orders if you felt they were wrong. 

He reached for the files, but you turned away from him. “I’m going in there. Not you. But I’m going to run the interrogation my way, not exposing these children. If you have a problem with that, you can call Morgan.”

You motioned for the guard to let you back in. You took your seat across from Karl, a smirk still evident on his face. 

“What, no Agent Hotchner?”

“You know, yours was one of the first cases I studied,” You started, trying to loosen up the muscles in your face. Going against every natural instinct in your body was making it hard to relax. “I’ve been fascinated ever since. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I was embarrassed with him in the room.”

“You’re embarrassed because you want to know what I did, don’t you.” You pushed out a smile, a little giggle behind it to entice him.

And of course it did. “Yes.”

“I can show you exactly what I did to them.” 

“Tell me.” You tilted your head to the side, pushing some hair behind your ear. You were fighting the bile rising in your throat with every word you exchanged with him.

“Children are so precious, so clean. But they need guidance, especially the girls.” 

You narrowed your eyes. “Why?”

“Girls have much more to lose than boys. It’s a fact, the female body can handle pain much better.” If this wasn’t a serial killer across from you, you’d agree with him and make some jokes about the female anatomy. But he was enjoying this, just like Hotch said. He was pulling you in.

“What did you do to them?” 

He smiled. “I showed them, what men, their fathers, and brothers, are capable of.” 

“And what is that?”

“Once I killed the children, It always amazed me how little the father fought the inevitable, the dying.”

“I never thought I would get these answers, let alone from the man himself.” You pushed out another smile, because you knew he was holding back. He was almost willing to trust you, he just needed to be groomed a little more.

“It takes a good woman, to make an honest man. And you’re prettier than Agent Hotchner.” 

He was dancing around the information now, knowing that he had your time and attention. “Karl, do you know why you killed all those families?” 

“I already told you why.”

You dropped the sweet tone, and pushed up on your elbows. “No, you told me how. And your motivations were all driven by sex, motivations you learned from your father.”

You saw him flinch, and you knew you were getting somewhere. 

“You assert your dominance by making the father, the head of the household, watch you torture, assault, and take anything you wanted from the people he’s supposed to protect. Now your admirer, they don’t have the same ambitions as you do. And normally, that would bother a man like you. You want to be adored for every single part of your mess. But like you said, they’re an admirer, not a fan. So I’m guessing it’s a woman, who you’ve really come to care for.”

He tugged on his shackled wrists, you clearly got what you were looking for.

 “Those women, those girls, they needed to be taught a lesson. How to obey who’s in charge. And you,” he laughed as he inched as far across the table as he could. “The things I would do to you if I weren’t nailed to this table. You’d be done before I could call your name.”

Before you could respond, Hotch came into the room, demanding a name. You stood up, no longer needing to play a role. 

“It must be distracting, working with such a beautiful woman everyday.” You didn’t spare him another glance as you heard him mumble out a name to Hotch, finally getting what he wanted: power over you.

“Morgan, we’ve got a name. It’s a female guard in intake. Get everybody here ASAP.” The guard led you and Hotch back down the hallway, through the lion's den, and back to the elevator. Once inside, you let out a breath. Hotch turned to look at you, but you spoke up before he had the chance. 

“Don’t ask me to do that ever again.”

You would’ve yelled at him, tore him to pieces in the elevator ride from the fourth floor to the exit, but there was a guard escorting you out. You didn’t want him to have the privilege of watching two FBI agents battle it out. And honestly, you weren’t sure if you had the heart to yell at him after all he’d been through.

But once you were escorted through the exterior gates, your team in sight, you regained the nerve to give Hotch a piece of your mind.

Not before he spoke first though. 

“You did exactly what needed to be done. I didn’t ask you to act that way toward him, and I’m sorry you feel that that was your only way in. But I’m not going to apologize for getting the name of the killer.”

“So you would have acted in the same degrading way if the roles were reversed?”

He scoffed. “Yes, I would have. Because unlike you, my feelings don’t impair my judgement or ability to do this job. You’re an asset to this team, you need to find a way to get your emotions in check.”

You stopped walking, turning around to face him. You were in the middle of the driveway now, SWAT and BAU canvassing the scene. But you were going to do this here and now.

“The only reason you brought me here was to appeal to that sick son of a bitch. The only thing that makes me an asset to you is the fact that I have a vagina and you don’t. You turned me from a Supervisory Special Agent into a fighting fuck toy! You watched as I drained every ounce of respect I had for myself to turn into what that psychopath desired, all because I wouldn’t show him pictures of innocent children.” He looked over your shoulder to the team, embarrassed that they were hearing this. “At least have the respect to look at me while I’m talking to you!”

Hotch had never heard you yell like this. You were the calm one, the baby, as Derek called you. No one ever pushed you so far over the edge to get a reaction out of you. At least, not until he did. 

“The next time you ask me, JJ, Prentiss, or Garcia to flirt our way into a serial killer's mind, to expect us to degrade ourselves in order to save another woman, I will not hesitate to report you to Strauss.” You could hear footsteps behind you, but you continued on as tears started to form in your eyes. “You used to say that my empathy was what made me an amazing agent. That my ability to connect with victims and families was the reason I’m here. So do not try and make me feel worthless for possessing something that you wish you could have. Because the way you act, with no capability for empathy, is a depressing way to live.” 

“Y/n,” Spencer rested a hand on your shoulder, but you shook it off.

“Figure out the man you want to be.”

Before you could say anything else, Spencer dragged you away from Hotch and towards the cars. You could feel the tears freely falling down your cheeks, but you made no effort to remove them. You ignored the stares from the rest of your team, not giving them the satisfaction of knowing what went down in that interrogation room. Instead, you got into the passenger seat of the suburban, and Spencer started the drive back to the office. 

Rationally, you knew you went off too hard at him. He never deliberately asked you to flirt with Arnold. He asked you to show him the pictures of Lucy, to get him to crack under the fantasy. But you refused. You would rather make yourself go through that pain than any young child. It’s what you’d always done.

Spencer tried to convince you they hadn’t heard the conversation. That they were all too focused on SWAT’s apprehending of the guard to pay attention.

“Spence,” You started and looked over at him. “We all had our earpieces in. You heard every word.”

And he was silent the rest of the ride back. You were exhausted, and you wanted nothing more than to go home and fall asleep on your couch with reruns playing in the background. But you had a mountain of paperwork to finish, and still needed to debrief when the team got back.

Halfway through your stack, the team came back to the bullpen. Prentiss gave your shoulder a comforting squeeze as she passed by, heading for her desk. Derek had agreed to let everyone go home without debriefing. This was the earliest we’d been done with a case so close to home. We needed to capitalize on our rest. 

JJ was the first to go home, excited to be home in time for dinner with Will and Henry. Prentiss and Rossi followed shortly after, going to celebrate the win of this case at an expensive restaurant, at Dave’s expense. 

“Come on you two, don’t make me drag you out of here kicking and screaming.” Derek addressed you and Reid as he pulled his coat on. 

“We’re right behind you boss man.” Spencer said and turned his desk light off, grabbing his cane. He should be able to ditch all mobility aids soon.

You swung your backpack over a shoulder and turned off your own light. You didn’t even make it out of your four foot space before Hotch called out to you.

“Y/n, could I see you before you leave?” He was standing in front of his office, on higher ground than the rest of us. Power move, you thought to yourself. But he wouldn’t be that petty.

You looked back to Reid and Moran, the former nodding to you before seeing himself to the elevator. Now it was just Spencer, his eyes begging for you to leave. 

“I don’t need to remind you how deeply you care for all of us. But if you keep putting yourself out there to comfort him, you’re going to get destroyed.” This was the first time Spencer had mentioned this to you. Sure, you’d been helping Hotch out at home, a little more than normal, but everybody was pitching in. His wife died for god's sake. 

“Spence, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He let out a sigh and fidgeted with his cane. You found it at a consignment shop on one of your weekends off, and bought it for him without hesitation. It had an eagle engraved in it’s clutch, something regal, medieval, and screamed Spencer Reid. You ignored the price, a forty dollars more than you would’ve liked to spend on a walking stick, but the look on his face when you gave it to him was priceless.

“You need to stand up for yourself. Nothing excuses the way he treated you today. Regardless of your decision to play a character.” 

God, could he read you. 

“No pair of rose colored glasses could cloud that. Not even yours.” He gave you one last shadow of a smile before limping his way to the elevator.

Once you regained your composure, you turned to make your way up to Hotch’s office. He was sitting in his chair, staring at the paperwork waiting to be filled out before him. You knocked on the open door, and he stood up without even looking at you. You were going to take Spencer’s advice and stick up for yourself, so you had to set the pace.

“Can this be quick? I wanted to get home before traffic started up.” He rounded the front of his desk, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he leaned against it. 

“I’m sorry for the way I treated you back at the prison.” You nodded, not wanting to verbally accept the apology that was due to you hours ago. “I was out of line and completely blinded by the case. I should’ve listened to you and taken your reservations into consideration. It was narcissistic of me to think I was the only one capable of making the right decision.”

“Thank you.” You stuttered out, still absorbing the tone of his voice. His word choice was self deprecating, a cry for help if you didn’t know any better. 

“Y/n,” He started but was interrupted by a shaky breath. “I hate that I made you feel like all you’re good for is to romance your way into their heads. You deserve to be treated with respect, to be valued because of your empathy and your psychological understanding of victims and their families. If I’ve ever made you feel like you were worthless before this afternoon, please tell me.”

“No, you’ve never made me feel that way.” 

He nodded before turning to grab a piece of paper from his desk. 

“Good. Because I’ve written up a complaint for Strauss, describing my behavior and language directed toward you today. You shouldn’t have to wait for a next time to file it.”

He extended the paper to you, and you walked until you were standing in front of him, accepting the complaint into your hands. But you didn’t even read it before tearing it in two. 

“What are you doing?”

“Hotch, I’m not filing a complaint against you. Everything that I did today was my choice. You didn’t force me into anything.” 

He ran a hand through his hair, the first time you’ve seen it tousled in the office.  

“I was uncomfortable showing Arnold those pictures. So I made the choice to play a character, to appeal to his fantasy. You weren’t in the room, and you didn’t suggest that. If anything, you tried more than anything to get me to stick to the script. Did you have some choice words for me that weren’t necessarily appropriate? Yes. But we all have our moments. After we got out of there, I felt sick that I had to do that to get a name out of him. It wasn’t the first time I’ve camouflaged myself for the greater good, and it won’t be the last. I took out the self hatred I had on you, because you were there. Because if I did it your way, I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror again without feeling ashamed. But you didn’t deserve it.”

“Yes, I do. I deserve to be ridiculed for telling you that your empathy is a weakness. I deserve to be ridiculed for yelling at Garcia for missing something on a search. I deserve,” 

His voice broke, and you froze in place. You were about to see Aaron Hotchner cry for the first time in four years. “I deserve to be punished for Haley’s death.”

Your own eyes started to water as you saw a single tear roll down his cheek. Without thinking, you reached forward and held his hands in your own. They were shaking, and he tried to pull them away from you. But you held on tight, you weren’t going anywhere.

“Hotch, look at me.” He kept his gaze on the windows, looking out onto the concrete roof. 

“Hotch, please.” You were quieter the second time, and that’s what got him to meet your eyes. 

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you could’ve prevented Haley’s death if you did one thing instead of the other. Because no matter what you did, Foyet would’ve found her, and done this all over again.” He tried to look away from you, but you tugged on his hands, begging him to stay. “But what you did prevent, was Foyet taking away the greatest thing you and Haley ever made. You saved your son, Hotch. And you ended Foyet’s reign of terror. You get to spend every day reminding Jack how amazing his mother was. How strong, resilient, and fierce she was. How she looked death in the eye and didn’t even flinch. You get to live the rest of your life for your son.”

He nodded and closed his eyes, letting the few remaining tears fall down his face. You let your own fall with the reprieve of no longer being under his stare, not wanting to fall apart when he needed you.

“I love her. I never stopped loving her. The divorce, it wasn’t because of that. It was because of this job.” 

You squeezed his hands before letting them go, letting him wipe off his face. 

“I know. And I know she never stopped loving you.”

You never thought you would get to this moment when you first met Haley. You let out a small laugh while remembering your first encounter, how pregnant and angry she was at Hotch.

“What?” You smiled and shook your head. 

“I’m just remembering the first time I met her. She was pregnant, she called you a robot, and was cracking jokes left and right to try and get you to crack.”

That got him to smile. “I could always make her laugh when we were younger. She had the funniest, most embarrassing laugh. But it was Haley. And it was addicting.” 

You wanted him to remember her like this, with a smile on her face and the loving soul she was. 

“I truly am sorry for what I said to you, but you have to know I didn’t mean it.”

You nodded. “I know you didn’t. Just apologize to Garcia in the morning, and get home to Jack. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

He gave you a small smile as you picked up your backpack.

Spencer’s words stung in your ears while you were holding Hotch’s hands. You loved everyone on this team as your family. And Hotch needed you to be there for him a lot more over the last two months. Sure, you’d brushed off some harsh conversations with him considering the circumstances, but you knew when it went too far, like today.

“Y/n,” His voice pulled you from your thoughts, stopping you at the door. “Thank you.”

You nodded. “Of course.” 

Maybe you did care too much for people. But if it helped them get back to normal, you’ll continue wearing those rose colored glasses a little while longer.

***

March 2010

“I’m grocery shopping. Because I have no food in my apartment and I never thought I’d say this, but I’m sick of eating pizza.” You threw a box of cheerios in your cart, careful not to hit the eggs on their way in. 

“That’s how you’re spending your saturday? Our first saturday off in a month?” 

“Well, unless I want to spend another twenty bucks on one meal, I’ve gotta do my grown up chores.” “You need to get your butt back home so we can go out and drink.”

Emily was relentless, to say the least. Every single weekend you had off, her number popped up on your phone the minute you got home. She hated resting in her own solitude, and tried to drag you along for any activity she could think of. Shopping, drinking, walking around the national mall, and, in desperate cases, running. But her record wasn’t stellar in getting you to attend.

“I’m spending the afternoon with my couch, a book that has taken me too long to read, and probably eat an entire bag of smartfood.” You chucked a box of granola bars in your cart too when you heard a kid cry. You turned to the end of the aisle, but the parent was blocking the child. “Besides, it’s dinner tonight at Hotch’s.”

“He canceled this morning. Rossi was supposed to call and let you know.” You rolled your eyes. Of course Dave forgot. 

“Daddy! I want the poptarts!” You heard the kid yell out again. But you knew that voice, and you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face.

“Em, I’ll see you on Monday. Have a shot for me.” 

“I’ll have two.”

You laughed as you hung up the phone, pushing the cart over to your favorite little boy on the planet. You didn’t think to give the father another glance when you didn’t recognize him, but that’s because Aaron Hotchner is never without a suit at the office. He was dressed in jeans now and a quarter zip, looking like a normal dad.

When you approached the two boys, Jack was leaning against the shelf, tears streaming down his cheeks as he kicked his feet against the ground. 

“It looks like SSA Hotchner could use some help profiling his son.”

Hotch was quick to stand up, meeting your eye. You only smiled while crouching down to Jack’s level. 

“Hey little man, what’s the problem here?” He wiped the tears from his cheeks, and your heart broke at the redness in his eyes.

“Daddy won’t let me get any pop tarts.” 

“That’s because you ate the whole box in one day without my permission.” Aaron argued back. 

You hid your laugh in your shoulder, not wanting to upset Jack any more. But Hotch had already caused him to spiral into a meltdown again. 

“Jack, have you ever had ants on a log?” He shook his head, tears continuing down his chubby cheeks. “Well, they were my favorite snack when I was little. It’s celery, peanut butter, and raisins all set up on a plate. And the best part is, you get to make it yourself! Now, I know how much you love peanut butter, and I bet if you ate this snack, Daddy will let you get poptarts the next time you go grocery shopping.”

“Okay.” He said and nodded his little head. “But I’m sick of grocery shopping.”

“Me too buddy.” I sat down next to him. “I do not like having to walk up and down these aisles searching for food. So, why don’t we sit here while daddy finishes his list?”

You spared a glance at Hotch and his practically full basket. You knew he would be done in ten minutes if you stayed here with Jack. 

“Are you sure?” Aaron asked and you nodded. 

“‘Course. I don’t need food that bad anyway.” He sighed and made his way back to his carriage.

You pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of your purse and handed it to Jack. 

“Aunt Jessica told me that you know how to write your name now. Can you show me?”

He sat up straight, laying the paper down on the floor. You watched as he made a loopy uppercase J, followed with big and small letters to spell out the rest of his name. 

“That’s awesome buddy. What about your last name?” 

“Hotchner!” He yelled out and you laughed. 

“Yeah, let me spell it out for you.” You wrote it out on the paper and it took him a few minutes to copy down.

“You’re turn now, y/n.” He handed you the pen and you wrote your name down, saying the letters as you wrote them. Jack repeated you, and it made you laugh. You forgot that kids were such sponges. 

By the time you finished writing Aaron and Haley’s names for Jack, Hotch was back with his cart. “Alright buddy, it’s time for us to go. We gotta let y/n finish her grocery shopping.” 

“No! I want y/n to come home with us for dinner. She was helping me spell everyone's names!”

You smiled as you stood up, giving Jack a hand. “Maybe next time buddy. But you gotta get home to try those ants on a log.”

“Actually, we’re making pizzas for dinner, Jack’s saturday choice. You can come over, if you don’t have any plans already.” You’d never heard Hotch this nervous before. It made you laugh a little. 

“I’d love to. Only if I get to put extra cheese on my pizza though.” 

“Of course!” Jack exclaimed and you matched his smile. 

“Awesome! I’ll let you two pay for all this food and I’ll meet you at your house okay?” Jack nodded before running to the front of the cart.

“You sure you don’t have any plans? I don’t want you to give up another saturday night at my expense,” 

“Hotch there is nothing more exciting than spending my weekends with the cutest four year old on the planet.” He smiled, but you knew he still wasn’t convinced. “Besides, every other twenty-nine year old I know is in a stuffy club in uncomfortable clothes. This is much more my pace.”

He nodded, a small smile on his face. “Okay. We’ll meet you at the apartment in a half an hour.” 

“Sounds good. See you soon Jack!” You waved to the little boy and quickly tried to finish buying the staples that could get you through a few days at home. 

You got home and quickly put your food away, making sure everything that needed to be refrigerated was chilled. You switched your t-shirt for a long sleeve tee, opting for sneakers instead of boots. Comfort was the utmost importance on days off.

It took you twenty minutes to get to Hotch’s apartment from yours, arriving at five on the dot. You were known for, and proud of your punctuality. Hotch answered the door after two knocks, and you couldn’t help but focus on the noise of three different locks unlocking. 

He greeted you with a slight nod of the head, button down replacing his quarter zip. 

“Do you even own comfortable clothes?” “This is comfortable.” You rolled your eyes, as he took the poptarts from your hands, raising his eyebrow at you.

“Didn’t I just have this fight with my four year old son about not buying these?” He asked as he let you in the house. 

“Yes, but I’m the fun dinner guest. I bring the treats for the children.” 

He tried to hide the small huff of a laugh that escaped his lips, but you still caught it. “You will be the death of me.”

You let out a laugh as he led you into the kitchen, putting them away on the top cabinet. I reached for my hip and pulled my holster off, putting it on the counter. 

“Do you have somewhere I can put this? Last thing I need is to drop it while I throw up my pizza dough.” He unlocked the drawer in his desk, placing it in there before locking it back up.

You heard tiny footsteps running down the hall. “Y/n! It’s pizza time!” 

You smiled as he tugged at your legs. “I know! I’m so excited!”

“Alright buddy, you’re up first. Show y/n how we properly throw our pizza dough in the air.” Hotch pushed a step stool over to the counter, waiting for Jack to step up. The grin on the little boy's face was ginormous as he powdered his hands with flour, taking the small ball of dough Hotch separated for him.

The two of you were on either side of Jack, each ready to follow his lead in the process. “Ok, on the count of three. One, two, three!” 

You spun the dough in your hands before throwing it in the air, watching it separate the slightest bit. Jack’s giggles filled the apartment as he let his dough fall onto the counter. Aaron shook his head, you could tell this part of the meal was always a struggle for the little boy.

You watched as Jack spread out the miniscule amount of sauce he wanted along his crust, topping it off with a mountain of cheese. You taught him the more cheese, the better, and he clearly still believed you. You added some pepperoni to your own oval shaped pie, unsuccessful in making a perfect circle crust. But, not everyone could be the perfect Italian chef like David Rossi.

While the pizza’s were in the oven, the three of you sat down to play a few rounds of Candyland. You hadn’t played since your time at DCFS, and you forgot how there was no real objective to the game. It certainly wasn’t your game of choice, but Jack was still a little young to be able to contend with you in a game of monopoly. A few more years, you thought.

Once the pizza’s were done, Jack helped you set the table as Hotch cut the pies. You felt a little out of place, crossing some very important boundaries by having dinner with just the two Hotchner boys. This saturday was much different than the ones you spent when the whole team was over, Henry and Jack putting on dance parties for the guests. 

You started to become more aware of your actions around the apartment; how you knew where the placemats were kept, that Jack used his purple cup for milk at dinner, and the strict no electronics rule at the table. However, that had been established by Haley years ago. The thought of her had a shot of guilt running through your stomach, sitting down with her family for dinner, just three and a half months after she’d passed. 

You’d been thinking a lot about what Spencer had said that night at the BAU. He was vague, too vague for the doctor that could tell you how long he’d been alive down to the second. After a few sleepless nights, you called the doctor in question and demanded he explain himself. But after his admission, you quickly regretted having all the information.

Spencer Reid has known you for almost five years now, and has seen you through the moments that have shaped your adult life. Killing Stephanie Moore, testifying in the fisher king case, being your excusing phone call from multiple dates, and holding your hand as you took in one of your former foster siblings from a bad relationship. There was absolutely nothing in your life that could be hidden from him.

So when he told you he noticed your feelings for Hotch ‘about two years ago’, you nearly stopped dead in your pacing tracks. Not because you didn’t know your own feelings for the man, but because you didn’t realize it had been that long. That he had been married to Haley, albeit only for a month longer, that you started to notice how handsome your boss was. Upon hearing the truth out loud, and from another person, you ran to the bathroom and threw up a few times. 

You were so embarrassed, so ashamed of caring for someone that couldn’t be yours. For caring for someone who’s wife you truly adored. After the third round of puking, Spencer reassured you through the phone that it wasn’t your fault. We can’t control who we love. And yes, he said love.

“Are you okay y/n?” Jack’s little voice pulled you from your thoughts. You smiled at his sauce covered face and nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. How’s your pizza, Jack?”

“Awesome! Daddy is the best pizza cooker ever!”

“You sure you’re okay? You look a little pale,” Aaron commented and referenced your plate. You hadn’t taken a bite. 

“I’m good, really. Just thinking about how I’m going to make a bigger lego tower than Jack after dinner.”

That got the little boy to laugh, successfully switching the conversation to Jack’s favorite toys. But you noticed the glaces Hotch snuck your way, not believing you for a second. You were an awful liar. 

The longer the three of you sat at the table, the larger your smile grew around these boys. Seeing Hotch being able to relax and really enjoy his time with Jack always brought a smile to your face. He was a natural father, sliding into the role of playmate and swaddler, cuddler and soother. You even remember him helping JJ out with Henry’s swaddle at work one day.

But you knew he felt guilty, not being able to be present in his son’s life everyday. You saw it in the hundred’s of views of the video of Jack’s first steps, the late night phone calls while away on a case just to say goodnight to his little boy. He missed out on a lot of the baby years, and he would be making it up to Jack for the rest of his life, with nights like these. With the whole weekend devoted to Jack Hotchner’s favorite things, minus the sugary pop tarts. Hotch had mastered the duality of being a Supervisory Special Agent for the FBI, and the loving father to Jack Hotchner. It was one of the reasons why you started caring so much for him. 

“Alright Jack, you can build one tower with y/n, then it’s bath time and off to bed.” You saw the pout on Jack’s face as Hotch cleared our plates, and you helped him off the chair. 

“Come on, maybe if we’re quick enough we can make two.”

He giggled as he led you to his room, stuffed animals and toys galore. This boy won’t want for a thing.

“Okay, you make a big blue one, I’ll do purple.” 

You finished much quicker than the four year old, but under no circumstances would he let you sit and watch him make his masterpiece. Instead, since you had nearly two and a half feet on him, you stacked your tower on top of his and continued adding pieces to make it bigger. He cheered you on as it started to reach your head, and you were getting excited yourself. Until, it came to a crashing fall with the last green piece on top. 

“Noo!” Jack yelled out, trying to catch the falling pieces. 

“It’s okay Buddy, you can always make another one.” Aaron’s voice trying to soothe his son caught both you and the little guy’s attention.

The two of you turned to see Hotch leaning in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. You wondered how long he’d been standing there. 

“And maybe next time, we can make one as big as daddy.”

 Hotch let out a laugh as Jack smiled at you in amazement. He liked how your brain worked. 

“Bath time, bud. We gotta get your face cleaned up from all that pizza sauce, and ship you off to bed.” 

“But y/n’s here,” He whined, not wanting the lego fun to end.

“Well I have to get home and take a shower too, bud. Don’t worry, there’s plenty more playdates in your future.” You said and stood up, giving the little boy a high five. 

“Go wait for me in the bathroom okay, I’m gonna walk y/n out.” 

“Okay. Bye bobo.” He said and ran off to the bathroom, leaving you speechless in his bedroom. 

“You let him be around Derek Morgan way too much.”

“Probably. But you can’t compete with the guy who brings over a new lego set every weekend.” Hotch got your gun for you, walking you back to the front door. 

“Are you kidding? You’re his hero, Hotch. He asked me last week if I was a superhero like daddy.” He cracked a smile, but his eyes were glued to the floor, unable to meet your own.

“Why did you cancel dinner tonight?” He sighed and lifted his head. You’d been wanting to ask him since you were at the grocery store. The team had been coming over for three months now, and it was something we all started to look forward to.

“I was sick of feeling like a burden to you all. I mean, asking you all to give up your Saturday nights, sometimes our only free night of the week to spend in my depressing apartment, it had been enough.” If only you could show this man how much the team cared for him through your eyes, he would never doubt his worth another day in his life. 

“Hotch, the highlight of my week is coming here to be with you all. My family. Watching Henry and Jack play with each other, listening to Spencer and Penelope fight over who the true godparent is, and getting to be on the receiving end of Rossi’s awesome cooking?” 

He nodded, mumbling an ‘I know’ a few times under his breath. But he needed to know that as much as you all come here for Jack, you guys care for Aaron and his well being just as much. 

“I come here every saturday to make sure that Aaron Hotchner has not dressed in a suit for the sixth day in a row, and to make sure he knows that he’s doing such an amazing job with Jack. That he is being the best father, friend, and boss, that he can be.”

This time, his eyes were locked on yours as you got a real Aaron Hotchner smile out of him, dimples and all. You couldn’t help but make a check mark in the air, the team tally still going strong. He playfully rolled his eyes as you swung your bag across your shoulder. 

“So who’s in the lead now?” 

“Me, for the last six months. I can’t be dethroned.” You felt your cheeks grow warm, hoping he wouldn’t think too much into your stat keeping. 

“Well, that seems like a pretty accurate tally.”

You made sure it was. And selfishly, you hoped no one else could get that beautiful smile to cross his face like you could. 

“Thank you for coming over. We both had a lot of fun.” 

“I did too. I’m around anytime, my tower building skills are not occupied for many other people.” He let out a laugh as he opened the door for you.

“Goodnight y/n. Let me know when you get home.” 

“I will. Night, Hotch.”

You got home in twenty minutes, texting Aaron as you walked through your door. Quickly changing into pajamas and throwing Legally Blonde into the DVD player, your phone dinged at a new message.

It was from Hotch, a picture attached to the message. It was of Jack, towel wrapped around his head, eyes shut from grinning so wide. ‘He wanted me to send this to you. He said, ‘this is how happy I am that y/n was here tonight.’ Thanks again for everything. Goodnight.”

You couldn’t help the tears that pooled in your eyes at the sweet little boy in the picture, and his amazing dad behind the camera.

****

tags: @simplyprentiss @michaelahah @ssahotchner99 @svrgicalhands @hotchtopic @unionjackpillow @philcoolson @tommhollandzxhaz @kathleenjasmine @canimarrypizzaornah @reaperwalking @inlovewithaaronhotchner @shelbymm11 @mrshotchner23 @tropicalwrites

[linoshan]

DISTRICT 8

series

warnings: suggestive, violent themes, blood

“no entry other than the person concerned, this is the back door”

-

CHAN

tier 1

leader, royalty born, one of the twins

district 6 calling...

“chan! the council is calling, it seems urgent”, changbin yells, pointing at the tv monitor.

chan rolls his eyes, not even glancing his way. “tell them i’m busy” he deadpans, shaking his head as he refocuses back on his game of 8ball with felix.

“you should probably talk to them, you know how mad that wonpil guy gets when you ignore his orders”, felix states as he takes his shot, missing completely. 

chan chuckles.

he takes his cue and walks around the table, finding an angle. he leans down, focusing as he aims for the 8ball.

“..yes sir i understand, but he’s busy and-”

“seo, i see him right behind you”. changbin freezes, then sighs in defeat, moving out of the monitors frame to reveal a not-very-busy chan.

“MR BANG! WE NEED TO TALK! what you did last week was completely out of hand. the districts are a secrecy, it’s risky to act withou-”

clink!

the sound of the cue hitting the ball fills the room.

the 8ball goes in and chan smirks, finally looking up.

“you see. i completely understand that. but quite frankly.. i don’t care.”

-

FELIX

tier 2

the twins’ childhood family friend.

“what in the world happened here?” felix questions with disgust, walking around the half dozen people who are either unconscious or dead.

chan and ryujin laugh, both wiping the blood off of their favorite knives.

felix shivers at the sight. although he grew up with them, he still couldn’t bring himself to get used to the odd behavior of those two.

“what are you doing here lix”, ryujin smiles. “need something?”

“no,” felix says, still feeling disturbed. “i uh, brought cookies. i made them today because i had extra time and i-”

“chocolate chip?” chan interrupts.

“well duh what els-”

“YES!” chan exclaims, jumping up and walking right on the bodies as if they weren’t there.

felixs mouth drops. “oh my god dude.. really?!” he says in horror.

chan shrugs. “what?” he asks as felix shakes his head vigorously. chan reaches for the tin. “give me the cooki-”

“no!” felix says as he retracts it and holds it tightly to his chest. “you don’t deserve it, you.. you- ugh!”

ryujin bursts out laughing.

“what the fuck? you offered me cookies 10 seconds ago and now you’re not. i don’t get it” chan says, completely unaware of his actions.

felix stares at him with his lips parted, slowly shaking his head from side to side.

“i seriously don’t know how we’ve been friends for this long”. 

-

CHANGBIN

tier 2

chans lead man, family friends with royal family.

“the all mighty bang chan. the one they all fear. the son of the failure of a mafia leader,” the man tsked, “-right here, in front of me, wincing in pain” he laughs, turning around as if he’s going to walk away, but instead returns and lands another blow on chans jawline.

“like cmon! what is everyone so afraid of with you?” the man raises his arms in exaggerated disbelief. “what? should i bow?..” he stops to get on one knee “oh king i bow bef-”.

the sound of screaming behind him cuts him off. he turns his head to be met with a leather boot, completely knocking him out.

“took you long enough” chan said, immediately untying himself from the chair. “you know if you weren’t so hard headed, i wouldn’t have to go this far to get you out of the mansion” he says, rubbing his wrists from how previously tight the rope was.

changbin rolls his eyes. “when are you going to stop bothering me on saturday nights? we do violence shit all week. the least you could do is give me ONE night to relax”.

-

MINHO

tier 2

recruited assassin.

“stay away from her, this is your final warning” chan says, poking minhos chest before walking away.

“no”

chan halts his movements, turning around slowly.

“what did you say?” he says through his teeth, cocking his head to the side in disbelief. no one says no to chan, let alone look in his eyes without shivering in fear.

“i said no,” minho shrugs, unfolding his crossed arms and walking over to where chan stood. “your sister is her own person, she decides who she wants to be with for herself,” he says, smirking before continuing, “and by the way, she told me to tell you something if you tried to pull something like this”.

chan furrows his eyebrows, feeling his blood boil.

“she said,” he chuckles. “either you fuck off, or i fuck him”

“who do you think you ar-”

“however!” he cuts in, grinning.

“it’s a little too late for that proposition though, ain’t it?”.

-

HYUNJIN

tier 2

goodfella

( n; a gangster, member of a Mafia family.)

“hyunjin, you have 4 dead bodies around you right now and what you’re concerned about is the blood stain on your coat?”

“its about to be 5 if you don’t shut up. now hand over the stain remover stick.”

-

SEUNGMIN

tier 3 (by choice)

royalty born, cousin to the twins.

“cmon seungmin. we need your help for this one”, changbin says as he stands in the doorway of seungmins room.

“im sure chan can handle it” he says, not looking up from his book.

changbin rolls his eyes, moving to sit on his bed. seungmin furrows his eyebrows at the action.

“your cousin is stubborn. he just wants to act on it but we don’t even know the exact location, how much men are gonna be there, if they’re armed-”

“ok? why are you telling me this. i don’t care. i already told everyone im not about this kind of life”. seungmin says, taking off his round glasses in frustration.

“i know you aren’t. but we really need you for this one. we’re bringing the rookies for this job and i wouldn’t want them to go in blind like this”, changbin sighs.

he hands an ipad over to seungmin. “heres all the info we have about this gang. help us out. please”.

seungmins face softens at the sound of his plead.

great. now he feels guilty.

“fuck”. he groans, taking the ipad from the mans hand as he reaches back for his glasses. he puts them on and quickly swipes through the leads and notes taken by watchmen.

after a minute, changbin slowly stands up.

“thank you. i appreciate this a lot, we all do, especially the twins.. even if they don’t show it”. he looks up to see seungmin not listening, eyes glued to the screen. he sighs with a nod at the sight. “ok, just call me when your done, i’ll be in the-”

“monday, bayside harbor. at exactly 9:34pm. when you get there, there will be 6 guards at the east gate and 4 men by the pier. a shipment is coming in. lethal weapons. make sure they don’t leave with them, it’s most likely going to be used against us”. seungmin says, handing the ipad back over. “now leave. close the door behind you”.

-

JEONGIN

tier 3

just discovered as part of the royal family. clueless to his importance.

*at shipment dock

“yeah. its settled, the tier 3′s and rookies are transferring the weapons to our carrier now”, changbin says to chan on the phone as he looks around the area.

jeongin sighs, turning to jisung. “i can’t wait till i tier up. im getting tired of just transferring heavy boxes from one truck to another” he huffs.

“dude id rather be here then out with 2′s killing people everyday” jisung says, scrunching up his face. “plus.. usually ryujin comes and brings the district 5 girls to transfer locations to overlook everything. thats a win-win to me” jisung grins.

“district 5 girls?” jeongin asks.

jisung mouth drops open. “you’ve never met the district 5 girls? they’re so hot bro”.

jeongin shakes his head, continuing doing his job. “no i haven’t. but i know it’s in the rules that we shouldn’t-”

“hey boys”, yuna interrupts, a smirk evident in her voice.

jeongin turns to where the sound came from, dropping his box at the sight.

-

JISUNG

rookie

unexperienced, mysteriously recruited by chan himself

“why the fuck are there so much rules anyway? fuck the rules! aren’t we like the rebellious criminals of society?? what kind of cool badass criminal follows rules. rules are stupid. rules are pointle-”

“you do understand the serious circumstances you’re under to be here? all these rules are here to protect our circle. if you don’t want to follow the rules then fine. but that’s your fate, not mine or my families.” chan says with all seriousness.

jisung sighs.

“can you stop speaking so medieval? this is a MAFIA not ancient rome”.

“

[novantinuum]

Fandom: Steven Universe

Rating: Teen Audiences (TW: language)

Words: ~3K

Summary: Lars has no idea what he was expecting the moment Steven texted him in the middle of the night to ask if he could come over, but being immediately tackled in an intense vice-grip of a hug the second he opened the door probably wasn’t it.

Set mid SUF.

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten to write Lars’ POV before this, but it was really fun! If you read this and enjoy, I’d greatly appreciate your support through reblogs here, or kudos/comments on AO3. Thank you! <3

____

Besides the quiet lull of the TV and the electric hum of the attic’s rickety old heater, all is silent in the Barriga household. The nighttime streets outside are vacant. Not a soul roams through his section of town, not even the newer Gem arrivals, who thankfully have been informed of humanity’s biologically mandated curfew by now. Sheesh, it’s about time.

After all, silence is peace. And in this day and age, in a world where the barriers between human and intergalactic politics are becoming increasingly blurred by the hour, peace is a gift.

Which is why having free time to play whatever old video games he wants in complete and total solitude at one AM is probably the single thing keeping him sane at this moment.

Lars’ fingers expertly flick at the joysticks of the controller as if by innate memory. It genuinely feels like forever since he’s been able to lose himself for hours in a solo campaign like this, and quite honestly, if given a choice he prefers it to any other leisurely activity. Chatting with his online friends or with that Gem gang of his is fun, sure, and working the counter at his bake shop can often be emotionally satisfying, but pushed too long and any kind of social interaction feels draining. He shifts on his bed, paying little to no attention to the slight chill against his bare chest. He’s pretty sure it’s like, near freezing outside and yet somehow it’s no more an annoyance to him than having to pause to reload an ammo clip in this game. It’s weird. Really weird. But then, at this point everything about his dumb life is.

It’s the Steven effect, he thinks with a soft scoff. Weird practically orbits him and his moms, and inevitably, every person he comes in contact with is brought into the fold. He’s a good kid, though. Don’t get him wrong. Steven always tries his best to be thoughtful when dealing with people he doesn’t understand— even when initially those people just act like dicks in return— and he for one is grateful for that, for the gift of a... a second chance. He knows full well he didn’t deserve it, (he still doesn’t), but he’s grateful.

The kid’s still on his mind when his phone lights up on the nightstand beside him, like the now familiar glow of Gems synchronizing to fuse.

(And goddamnit, does a part of him still balk almost two years later that it’s so normal to be casually relating everyday things to outer space Gem stuff anyways. What is he, with his pink hair and alien friends, the main character of an anime?)

Eyes skirt away from the grainy television set he’s been playing his favorite Immortal Combat on, and glance at the new notification.

Steven, the name at the top of the text reads. Well, lo and behold. The true shounen protagonist himself. Somebody’s ears must have been burning. Though, hmm. Come to think of it, that’s actually unusual. They pass bullshit memes back and forth sometimes, yes, but he never sends him anything this late at night.

Lars frowns, failing to obscure that annoying, instinctual worry that seizes him like the long lost sensation of hunger rising from the pit of his stomach, and scoots forward on his bed to grab his phone. What’s he want at this hour, anyways?

Steven: hey, sorry i know its late but can i come over ?

His frown deepens as he glances down at himself, clad in only a pair of boxers. He doesn’t mind having an unexpected visitor— after all, it’s not like he requires sleep anymore— but he’s not exactly dressed for company, here.

yeah but gimme a mo, he types back. kinda need to put on a shirt

Steven: k

Yawning out of sheer habit, he leans over the other side of the bed and grabs the first decent smelling tee he can find off the floor. It’s got an overlapping triangular emblem on it, a symbol from one of the game series he used to be obsessed with as a kid. He quickly shrugs it and a stray pair of sweatpants on, then returns to his phone.

decent now, he updates him.

The response is almost immediate.

Steven: be there soon

With a heavy inhale, he leans back against the headboard and begins to mentally prepare himself for the passage of One Whole Teenage Boy through the portal in his hair. For the most part he’s grown used to the changes caused by Steven’s literal magic resurrection, but not this. Who the hell knows how his pet lion puts up with it all the time. Quite frankly, how that creature has remained so docile and patient after years of interloping within Steven’s chaotic world of Gems eludes him, ‘cause it sure as hell isn’t a side effect of all the death-defying space voodoo.

Also, he’s like, 97% sure that “docile” and “patient” aren’t words anyone would pick to describe him at any stage of his life, ever.

And yet, yawning in his boredom, Lars waits.

And he waits.

And he waits.

And when eventually he breaks his stubborn streak and dares to check the time on his phone to see how many minutes have elapsed, how many minutes of his thrice-damned maybe infinite lifespan he’s wasted sitting up against the far wall of his room waiting for that kid to tumble right out of the literal inter-dimensional door hidden amidst the curls atop his head, he’s mildly surprised that his first emotional response to this delay is... dare he admits... disappointment.

It’s been nearly fifteen minutes. For whatever unknown reason, it seems as if Steven may not be coming over after all. Huh. He wonders what changed his mind. Pressing his lips into a thin line, Lars decides to check his texts. It’s possible the guy wrote something else and he just didn’t see it. But when he pulls up his latest conversation, all that comes up are the last messages they sent to each other. Be there soon, he said.

He hovers hesitant fingers over the keyboard, caught in the midst of trying to decide whether or not it’s too invasive and prying to send some sort of casual check-in, when he picks up on a very timid knock on the front door downstairs. And given the lateness of the hour, there’s really only one person it could be. He blinks for a moment, his mind still doing somersaults in order to process the mere concept of Steven not gleefully taking the opportunity to explode out of his hair for once in his life, and then drags himself up to his feet. Walks out of his attic room and down the stairs, being careful not to disturb his slumbering parents. Unlatches the locks on the door.

Truth be told he has no idea what he was expecting the moment Steven texted him at one fucking AM to ask if he could come over, but being immediately tackled in an intense vice-grip of a hug the second he opened the door probably wasn’t it.

He struggles not to stumble backwards at the initial force of the teen’s silent yet yearning embrace, eventually regaining his stability and... slowly, delicately... hugging him back. Honestly, he’s never been much of a hugger himself, but eh. He’ll give the guy this one. After a brief moment Lars gives him a few awkward pats, clearing his throat.

“Uh, Steven? You good to let go, now?” he asks quietly, still keeping his voice in a whisper for his parents’ benefit.

“Oh! Y-yeah, yeah,” his younger friend stammers, immediately pulling himself away. His eyes are drawn to the floor as he wrings his hands together. Timid. “Sorry, I just— I just needed somewhere I could clear my head tonight. Thank you, by the way.”

“No problem,” he throws back, gesturing for him to follow up the stairs. “‘S not like I ever sleep a wink now anyways. So I might as well have company.”

The two of them tiptoe towards the attic, a familiar setting for both. Steven’s been in here quite a few times before, so— already knowing the lay of the land— he plops himself down in the beanbag chair Lars keeps at the foot of his bed. They don’t talk about much of anything at first, merely passing back and forth brief updates about their lives. Small talk, nothing more. As expected though, Steven’s update is infinitely more interesting than his. Apparently he went on some mission to an alien planet with that Lapis friend of his the other day and had to deal with the attitude of some stubborn terraformers who didn’t want to stop working on their shitty old Homeworld assignment. (Meanwhile, the only update he has to offer is how he’s teaching Blue Lace Agate the art of bad baking puns while at work. Gotta leave behind some sort of legacy before he leaves with his fellow Off-Colors, of course.)

When the small talk finally dries up, (which seems... uncharacteristic, given the typical enthusiasm of his current visitor), Lars offers him a second controller.

“We can play the go-kart one, if you want,” he says, knowing full well that his friend isn’t a huge fan of all his war-themed combat games. Still, he figures the guy could probably stand to blow off a little steam. He looks super stressed, with his brow all creased and his stare unnervingly glassy.

The sixteen-year-old nods, adjusting his hands around the grips of the controller as Lars switches out the disk.

They race a few rounds in relative quiet, wholly insulated by the reassuring stillness of the night all around them, before Steven decides to open up again.

“Where do you think the line is?” he asks when they finish their current course.

His whole face scrunches in confusion. “Huh?”

“Between like, doing bad things, and outright being bad?” he continues, seemingly unaware of the comedic pulse of Lars’ initial response.

Lars blinks.

Considers these words deeply and thoroughly for a moment, as any good friend should.

And then...

“Where the heck did you pull that question from?”

Steven merely shrugs, his shoulders drooping a bit lower than they had been when he first entered his house a while back. “I dunno, just musing, ‘s all.”

The edges of his mouth curl downwards as he lets this corker of a conversation starter wash over him, not so much intended as a frown at Steven, but a frown at... whatever force of this universe would lead his friend to start musing about such depressing philosophical quandaries in the first place. Acting numb and brooding at the rest of the world is supposed to be his job, not this kid’s! And sure, yes, yes, yes, he knows he can’t exactly call him a kid anymore— at least not to his face— and that he’s been a teenager for a good three years now. It’s just that... well. For all his complaints about it earlier in life, Lars kinda grew to respect and feel uplifted by his cheery, upbeat, never-give-up-hope outlook. Dare he says, he kinda misses it.

(And for Steven’s sake, he kinda hoped he’d never discover the burnout and cynicism waiting on the other side. Alas, he fears that ship has probably sailed.)

“Sorry,” the sixteen-year-old mumbles upon noting his extended silence, his cheeks flushed with shame. “Probably not something anyone wants to think about at two in the morning. Just- forget I said anything, okay? Let’s play one more round, and then I can lea—“

Eyes widening, he holds up a hand to intercept that train of thought. “No, that’s— you asked an interesting question. Deep, but interesting. It’s fine, I don’t mind. I...”

He inhales deep, collecting his wits and whatever years of wisdom he may or may not have accumulated ever since dying and coming back to life.

“I suppose in my mind, people aren’t truly bad unless they intend to cause harm, y’know?” he begins, meeting Steven’s eyes. “You can still hurt others without meaning it, and like... that’s still not great, and you should still try and make up for it however you can, but... life’s complicated. People are complicated. It’s all a huge mess of emotions and ethics and beliefs all the time.”

He pauses, a twinge of melancholy rising within his chest as he catches a glimpse of a photograph hung on one of the wooden support beams at the far wall. It’s a selfie of him and Sadie he printed out a few years back when they were still low-key dating, one that— for the life of him— he can’t bear to take down. She’s kissing his cheek. He’s caught in the middle of laughter, playfully trying to nudge her away. They look... so young.

So naive.

(So human.)

“And sometimes it can be so, so easy to convince yourself that you’re always in the right,” he continues, quieter, “that people feeling hurt because of something you did is just their problem. In that case, it’s not that you wanted to harm anyone, it’s just... that you were blind to it, I guess.”

(And he was blind for a long, long time.)

“Like I said, it’s messy.”

Lars sighs, willfully averting his glance from the photographic reminder of all the ways he ignorantly fucked up with Sadie as a friend and partner, and with everyone in his life, making the same stupid mistakes over and over with nearly no improvement until he literally died to his old self.

“So, yeah. There. I guess that’s my opinion,” he mumbles, absentmindedly fiddling with the collar of his graphic tee. “Everyone makes bad choices sometimes, but you’re not actually a bad person unless you literally want to harm others. I don’t think people are bad once and bad forever, though,” he adds, pulling his hand away from his shirt.

Inhaling deep, he splays his palm wide, admiring those same old loops and whorls at the tips of his fingers, identical in every detail to his old, living, human self... but now pink. It's haunting, sometimes.

“People can change, y’know? If they make the effort to.”

When he finally glances back at Steven, he seems thoroughly spaced out by all his impassioned rambling, his gaze walleyed and void of any identifiable emotion. He scowls, unsure whether or not he should feel offended, and gives an exaggerated shrug to defuse the sickeningly earnest atmosphere out of this room.

“But hey, I’m biased,” he mutters, letting that instinctual, age-old self-depreciation coat his tone once more. “For all I know, everything I said could be absolute bunk, and I’m still just an asshole.”

“I don’t think you’re an asshole, Lars,” Steven finally speaks up, his expression still perplexingly unreadable.

“I—“ His eyes blow wider, the sheer frankness of this comment catching him entirely off guard, overturning all of his once-impenetrable defenses. “...Thank you. I’m trying not to be.”

The conversation doesn’t advance any further from there, both parties content to fade back into the understated comfort of silent companionship. They play a few more rounds of their racing game, Lars beating Steven handily each time. (Truth be told, he’s not confident he’s bringing his A-game, though.) Then, sometime around three AM, his friend drags himself out of the beanbag chair and announces that he should probably head home and get some rest. Apparently he’s got a lot of planning to do for Little Homeschool's graduation ceremony that’s happening in a few days, or whatever. Which, is fair. Not everyone is blessed enough to be a sleepless zombie like him.

“Y’know, it’s been nice, getting to hang out, just us,” Steven says— quiet, but genuine— as Lars leads him back down the stairs. “We should do this more often.”

Purposefully, given the unusual emotional atmosphere of this whole visit, he decides not to mention the fact that he's planning to leave Earth again when his all Gem friends finally graduate. Later, he thinks, when everyone's in a better place.

“Well, if you’re ever bored, you know where to reach me,” he replies as they reach the bottom step, fondly rolling his eyes. “The good ol’ inter-hair-mensional express. Just, y’know— text me. And not during work hours.”

The teen gives his thanks once again, and then exits out the front, making sure to be extra gentle shutting the door on his way out for his parents’ sake. Huh. Seems that even when he’s (seemingly) in a funk, he’s capable of being uber courteous like that. Goodness, how does he do it?

Lars stands motionless at the entryway for a few moments after he’s gone, staring blankly at the now empty space the sixteen-year-old just occupied. His brow furrows, his fingers curling in perplexion at his side. He doesn’t have enough insight into Steven’s inner life to claim anything for sure, but he can’t help but feel like something with that boy was... off, tonight. Like, beyond your standard teenage moodiness. His demeanor, his bizarre and specific question, his relative silence... it all seems to be pointing towards something, lurking in the background. Still, there’s little he can do for a person who’s not volunteering information. And it ain’t his job to drag it out of him, either. He always hated when his parents tried to do that when he was younger, and it almost ruined their relationship entirely. That’s the last sorta scenario he’d want to force upon Steven. He’ll open up when he’s ready, in the end.

And until then... well.

He just hopes that the kid knows that— beyond the bizarre magic portal in that pink lion’s mane— he’s always got a brother on the other side who’s willing to at least listen. To be but a small source of support.

If he wants him to be.