#this stuff is something me and emily throw around a lot so luckily i knew this

[kukurubean]

the anon gremlin hears death headcanons and strikes: _do you have any others_ for the ala mhigans? or the thaumaturges? (pretty please?)

This is gonna turn into a quick lore post because I feel like that might be more helpful! There isn’t much, but there’s enough that I think is interesting.

If you visit a grave site in Gyr Abania, you’ll notice small offerings and mementos beside the graves. Swords, pugilist weapons, Ananta bucklers, and—most commonly—containers. This screenshot is from a quest where food offerings were made close to Hidden Tear. (Note: Hidden Tear is a shrine specifically made for offering prayers to the dead!) 

Beyond that, ceremonies for honoring the dead were normal before occupation. These rites are mentioned to be mandated by the Fist of Rhalgr, but you do not need a proper monk to perform them.

“The Lochs are now haunted by a host of restless shades who were denied their last rites. And sadly, brute force is the only way to banish them.”

“I should have performed the ceremony, and the Empire’s laws be damned. I should have had more courage. But I was so afraid to die…”

- A Rite to Rest, Betha

The huge amount of specters in Gyr Abania is the result of Garlemald’s occupation. But obviously, this doesn’t happen nearly as much in other places. An M tribe member offers that it “has somethin’ do to with the aether” in Gyr Abania. To which I say we need Erik brought in immediately.

As far as THM, I suggest checking out the 4.0 ALC quests here! It deals with Niellefresne, Heartstrike, and mentions some interesting details about Ul’dahn burials in the meantime. Erralig’s Burial Chamber was made accessible for this quest!

One of the relevant tidbits I can remember atm involve the Immortal Flames leaving Ul’dah though Gate of Thal during the Calamity in hopes to cheat death (Nanamo’s Tales from the Calamity). People who are exiled or spurned are also told to leave out that gate.

The other concerns Warburton, Minfilia’s father. I seriously recommend checking out this quest from 1.0. It involves the characters in the 4.0 ALC questline and has some cool points on the Order of Nald’thal. Some quick facts from that quest and related ones are:

Funerals are extremely expensive. The quote for Warburton’s funeral was 1,500,000 gil.

Those who are not citizens of Ul’dah must appeal to the Ossuary to make arrangements.

The Ossuary is allowed to buy and take ownership of bodies. 

Mourners can be hired to show up and cry at funerals.

They are hosted in the Ossuary itself; Warburton’s coffin was situated in front of the statue of Thal.

Only the most “virtuous” are placed inside Erralig’s Burial Chamber. AKA whoever paid enough!

[sapphicmsmarvel]

JJ: Booktube

premise: dating jj and being a booktuber. 

masterlist 

Lets ignore the fact that JJ would be fired without a doubt from the FBI if this stuff actually happened and her life would be threatened by criminals.

-She knew that you were really into books. 

-She just didn’t know how much. You two had met through tinder believe it or not, she was sick of being alone at night and didn’t want a fling. Luckily, you felt the same way and you two matched. 

-The team did know that she was on Tinder, but not that she had officially met someone. 

-Reid was sitting at a table on the plane, watching something on his laptop. But then she heard your voice, your upbeat, happy voice. She glanced back to see your bright and beautiful face holding a book. “What’re you watching?” JJ asked. Which grabbed the attention of Emily.

“A video on what books to read if you want to get into ‘young adult’ books.” Reid said, thoroughly focused on the beautiful woman on his screen. 

“She’s pretty.” Emily saw you. 

“She is.” Reid mumbled, blushing. 

“Who’s pretty?” Morgan said, leaning over the back of the seat, “oooh who’s the cute nerdy girl?” 

“A youtuber, and be nice.” JJ said crumpling a piece of paper and throwing it at him. 

“Her shirt literally says ‘Nerdy Bitch’, I think she knows she’s one. She's hot too.” 

-JJ quickly sent a picture of the screen to you. “My teammates think you’re pretty, have to say I agree.” 

“OMG, please tell me you aren’t watching my videos 😭” 

“I am now baby 😉” 

“FUCK.”

She huffed a small laugh at your response, then continued watching with Reid. 

-Little did she know you tweeted to your followers, “THE GIRL I’M DATING IS WATCHING MY YOUTUBE VIDEOS FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH HER COWORKERS. PLS KILL ME.” 

-When she came home from that case, she wanted to hear all about your job, which you happily told her and tried to ignore your embarrassment over how she found out. 

-Since then she has been a loyal subbie. 

-You met the team and they were all very shocked that it was you that they were watching on their computer screen. They also all subscribed, and you had to make Rossi and Hotch youtube accounts because they didn’t know how. 

-Your viewers knew of her, knew how you always called her “Rapunzel,” and she always called you, “Flynn” in response. 

-But because you explicitly said you won’t be showing her because she asked you not to, you got hate comments for respecting your girlfriends privacy. 

-When she came over one night, she saw all of the publishing houses boxes on your front step. She knocked on your door because she saw that your car was in the driveway. She got her key out of her pocket and opened your door. Then, she carefully put all the boxes into your foyer, as well as her overnight bag and shut the front door. 

-What she saw next warmed her heart, you had fallen asleep on the couch with a book on your chest. She saw your tripod and camera, she realized you were filming a timelapse for a reading vlog. She remembered you telling her that you were filming one this week. 

-She decided not to turn off the camera, instead, she gently took the book off your chest, placed a bookmark to mark your spot. Then she crawled on top of you. You were laying on your back, she laid her head in the crook of your neck, she giggled as she felt you wake up. You wrapped your arms around her, “hey baby.” You croaked. 

-You felt her whisper against your skin, “you left the camera on, thought I’d give a little show of affection for those subscribers who think I’m a bad girlfriend.” 

You sighed, “please tell me you haven’t been reading the comments.” “No, well, sometimes I do. Garcia sees them and gets mad.”

“So she’s the commenter, TheBlackQueen causing fights on my channel. Gotcha.”

JJ laughed, “oh god, I didn’t know she was doing that.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve been liking her comments, not deleting them.” 

JJ laughed at that, then you continued, “you want me to get up and turn off the camera? It should turn off in…” she didn’t have to open her eyes to know that you were looking at the red light on the camera and the clock on the wall behind it. “Oh jeez, five minutes maybe, it has a 40 minute timer before it automatically turns off.” 

“No,” JJ shook her head, “I really need to just stay here, Y/N.” 

“Okay.” 

-When the video was posted, she saw the comments on it. There was not a negative one, of course there were ones making a comment about why JJ was just showing herself on Y/N’s channel. 

-After that, she was slowly showing herself in your videos more. Handing you something, delivering a package to your little library in your home. 

-She made a lot of appearances in your moving vlogs for your channel because you two moved in together. The kids also made a brief appearance but very vague, you didn’t show their faces. 

-She was memed within your fanbase because of the faces she pulled while you were moving books, and her helping you move them, she was like “????” 

-When she knew she wanted to propose to you, her and Garcia watched a couple of YouTube videos to learn how to use your camera, then they devised a plan to vlog the engagement together. The ring picking, her talking to the camera and introducing herself. “Hey as you can tell I am not Y/N, I’m her girlfriend, as you guys know we’ve been together for some time but I’m gonna propose to her!” She cheered, then the team in the background were like “finally!” and cheering as well. 

Then she broke down the plan to them, “so, we’re gonna go to our favorite greenhouse in D.C. I shot some footage of picking her ring, which I’ll have her insert here,,,,gah I’m no good at this.”  Then she continued, “so we have a friend who’s hiring some professional photography, which is exciting.” She did a lil shimmy, then Prentiss popped in, “hey! This is a friend of theirs and the reason our friend is hiring photographers is because we’re gonna be sobbing too much to take good photos, as well as he’s rich as fuck” 

Everyone laughed at that. 

“And, well, we’re going tonight, so wish me luck!” JJ gave an awkward peace sign to the camera and turned it off. 

-She then handed the camera to Garcia who would hide and record the footage, the photographers that Rossi hired posed as regular ole pedestrians. The others hid in bathrooms, waiting for the text saying that JJ did it. 

-JJ almost spilled the beans that she was nervous on the way over there to you. That would’ve ruined it. 

-Luckily, the part of the greenhouse that you two had your first kiss in was empty. The fairy lights were lit inside, it looked beautiful.

-They had a flower there that the greenhouse called “the wishing lilly.” The owner of the greenhouse says that those lilies bring good luck, he wished on it then his wife was pregnant with twins, then he won the lottery and managed to build the greenhouse into something bigger. 

-Per as tradition, you both closed your eyes to make a wish, but she opened hers and got down on the ground, Garcia quietly followed you guys in with the other photographers.

“Y/N..” she trailed off, you opened your eyes to find her kneeling on the ground, your eyes instantly filled with tears as your hands went up to your mouth. “Y/N, you are the light of my life, the Flynn to my Rapunzel, will you do me the honor and be my wife?”

“Yes!” You nodded and cried. She quickly stood up and pulled you into her arms. 

-Garcia started crying and shaking, “yay!” You looked up to see her there.

“Oh my god, hi, there’s a lot of people in here.” You said seeing the two photographers and Garcia. 

“Rossi hired photographers. And the team is waiting for a text to come in and congratulate us.” JJ laughed and leaned up to kiss your head. 

“Oh god, I look like a mess!” You laughed, yet cried at the same time.

“We both do, baby. Welcome to marriage.” She slid the ring on your finger, just in time for photos to begin. 

-At the end of the video, you made an introduction part for the subbies to meet JJ. Filled with questions and such to know her. Briefly mentioning her sons as well. 

-After you two got engaged, you started filming fiance challenges, (my fiance picks my next read, my fiance tries to guess the plot of books based off their covers). Hell, you two even do some baking and cooking videos. 

-Your marriage blew up on booktube, you two were The Lady Lovers on booktube, as you had been labeled. You both loved that there were so many people resonating with your love. You shared a pre wedding video talking about the insecurities you both had, and a talk about discovering sexuality when you’re in your mid thirties after a divorce from a man and having two kids. And you, someone who’s never been in a serious relationship, giving your advice to people. 

-It was a big video and an emotional one. But it resonated with a lot of people which you both were glad for. 

-Then your wedding video came out and everyone lost their shit. People were sending in love, there was a lot of adorable footage from the wedding, people crying. 

-You even incorporated books into the wedding decor. 

-While your career was quite different then JJ’s, people saw you as a perfect fit. You stayed home all the time, writing, putting videos up, writing reviews and partnering with brands on your channel, you were able to be there for the boys when she couldn’t be. She was all over the country constantly, she made it a point that every night before bed she’d watch one of your videos, and it helped that you sent videos to her of Henry and Michael. 

-You were the calm to her storm, where her life was hectic and constantly on the move, she knew she always had a home waiting for her. 

[candycorncarl]

Right Here, Right Now

WOW!! I’m finally posting part 4! I am so sorry it took this long. I had a lot going on but I reworked this part sooo many times. I really wanted to do something similar to the toothbrush scene in bring it on and one of the priest scenes in fleabag... enjoy!! p.s there are two songs I used as inspo for this chapter fever thoughts by louis III and north by clairo! 

Warnings: alcohol, angst Word count: 4.5k

Part 4

"Couldn't our unsub choose, I don't know? A warm sandy beach?" Emily groans, zipping her coat up. You all make your way into the parking lot of the local police station.

The forecast for your stay in Maine was looking rather snowy. The town you were in was smaller than usual so they didn't have typical accommodations for many visitors. Right now the plan was to stay at the station. Something you were all hoping wouldn't actually have to happen. You don't know whose idea it was to wait outside since it was freezing, but the snow was beautiful.

"At least the scenery is pretty." You look up at the sky watching it fall, feeling yourself blinking away small flakes.

"Should we all huddle together to stay warm?" Derek smiles at the three of you. "Oh yeah you'd love that." JJ scoffs with an eye roll. Looking past the group you see Spencer standing by himself. He's struggling trying to study a map on the hood of the suv while fighting off the cold. If I was going to huddle with anyone to stay warm it would be him. He gives up on the map and looks up at the snow falling. The parking lot lamp softly lighting up his face. That constant subtle ache from missing him hurts a little more watching him take in the snow. The way it was falling made it look like he was moving in slow motion. It's not until he's made his way standing next to you in the group that you're knocked out of your trance. Diverting your eyes back to Derek, he's talking about... Chicago winters, ah okay.

"Well I know one things for sure, I am going to warm up with a nice cup of tea that Y/n will be serving about a certain someone." A big grin forms across Emily's face as she tightens her coat around her body. "Ohhh count me in." JJ says with a mischievous smile. "Oh my god." You tug down on your coat pockets feeling put on the spot. Looking down at your feet you let out a small laugh, trying to hide how uncomfortable you actually are. Please, let's talk about anything else. "Hey now, what about us?" Derek asks sounding offended, gesturing to Spencer. Your breath hitches at the thought of Spencer sitting there listening to you talk about Luke. "No boys allowed, sorry." Emily shrugs her shoulders at Derek. As your breathing returns to normal you try to avoid looking at Spencer. You can feel his eyes on you, waiting for you to say something. "Yeah, well you're welcome. If it wasn't for me you wouldn't even know who he is." Derek huffs out a laugh.

You laugh Derek off but can't help to glance up at Spencer, looking up at him feeling like a guilty puppy. His eyes dart to the ground and you watch his brows furrow together. Great, he can't even look at me. Unsure of how to reply, this is literally the last thing you wanted to talk about with Spencer around. As you awkwardly laugh trying to figure out how to respond Spencer pipes up, looking back up at the snow. The snowflakes gingerly kiss his skin, I never thought I'd be jealous of snow. "Did you guys know snow is comprised of ninety to ninety five percent trapped air? It makes for a great insulator. An igloo that uses only body heat can become around 100 degrees warmer inside compared to the outside temperature." Spencer begins to ramble, distracting the group from the previous conversation. "So... what? We should just build igloos to sleep in tonight?" JJ retorts. "Considering none of us have ever in built one, it would take too long to actually be practical for tonight. It can take anywhere from three to six-" Spencer continues. "Please tell us we all have beds to sleep in tonight!" Derek shouts over Spencer at Hotch and Rossi as they make their way back to the group. "We found a bed and breakfast that's willing to open for us." Hotch says. "They're usually closed this time of year, but thanks to a little persuasion from yours truly they agreed to take us in." Rossi raises an eyebrow while slipping his leather gloves on. Everyone quickly thanks him while rushing to the suv's.

                                                  ___________

Sitting near the cozy fireplace in the small bar area of the bed and breakfast was the perfect way to warm up. Enjoying your wine the inevitable conversation starts. "Ok, so when is date number two with Luke?" Emily sips on her wine glass, her brows perking up innocently. You roll your eyes and smile. "Well.. it already sorta happened?" You bite your bottom lip looking away from them. "I'm sorry, when? And why didn't you tell us?!" JJ tilts her head at you. "We decided to get lunch a few days ago. It was a little last minute. I got to meet his dog Roxy though! We met at the park and yeah, it was nice." You take a big gulp of wine knowing the subject wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Talking about Luke is confusing to say the least. He is someone you would be head over heels for, if you weren't already feeling that way. How do I just turn off my feelings for Spencer so soon... or at all for that matter? Ugh! It was only one night with Spencer... Get. Over. It. That night was the culmination of over a years worth of hidden feelings though. It wasn't something that was only to last as long as a match can hold a flame. You thought you knew Spencer, you thought it meant the same thing for him. How could it not?

"Oh come on! You've gotta give us more than that. Do you like him?" Emily pushes your arm, pulling out of your thoughts.

"Alright, alright fine. I mean so far he's great. He's a good dog dad, which says a lot about him. He's funny, he listens. I'm surprised by some of the stuff he manages to remember. Yeah, he's easy to talk to." You feel yourself beginning to smile, but you catch yourself. You begin to twirl your hair in your fingers feeling a little nervous from your emotions. The wine combined with your nerves is making you feel warmer by the second, you feel your cheeks heating up.

"Ok well, you can finally admit I picked a good one." JJ singsongs as she pours a little more wine into your glasses.

You shake your head in agreement, raising your glass at her before taking another big sip.

"And he's hot, let's not forget that." JJ says, raises her glass in return.

"And he's hot." Your eyes widen, and Emily raises an eyebrow noticing your facial expression.

"Oh! What does that face mean?" She leans closer as a curious smile grows across her face.

"Umm... he might've sent me a picture of him and Roxy after a hike they went on and... let me just show you." You pull your phone out searching for the photo. Biting your bottom you try to hide your giddy school girl smile. Finding the photo you hand your phone over to Emily.

"Wow! How many abs is that?" She studies the picture sharing the phone with JJ. JJ's face lights up as she tries to hide her intrigue.

"That would be at least 6." JJ clears her throat examining the photo before handing your phone back.

"Ok yeah, I think JJ wins as best wing woman." Emily chuckles.

"She does, and with that being said I need to go to bed. The wine is kicking in." You set your glass down and hop off your seat.

"I'm sure you'll be having some sweet dreams." Emily winks at you, and you all start to giggle before you make your way to the stairs.

You head up the creaky stairs, the alcohol making your legs feel heavy. Smiling to yourself as you think of your lunch date with Luke in the park. Maybe all I need to do is just give it time... Reaching your room you throw your now suffocating sweater off along with your itchy bra. Your tank top is already acting as a form of relief from the warmth of the alcohol. You're now regretting practically chugging it. Grabbing your toiletries you shuffle to the bathroom, eager to wash your face and go to bed. Opening the door you're surprised to see Spencer standing on the other side.

"OH!" You yelp in fear, swiftly slamming the door closed.

"Wait, is this a shared bathroom?" You ask, flustered through the door.

"Uh, it seems so." Spencer says, not sounding very enthused.

"Wow, they could have told us that to avoid any heart attacks." You say with your hand placed over your heart.

"I'm finishing up if you need to set your stuff down." Spencer replies, his voice slightly muffled.

Your heart shifts from a fearful thump to a now nervous thump. You haven't had any alone time with Spencer since that night in the elevator. Since he rejected you and left you in tears. Making sure to avoid eye contact you set your stuff down on the sink.

He's brushing his teeth, mouth full of toothpaste. He isn't looking at you at first but when he does decide to look up at you through the mirror he does a double take. Taking in the lack of clothing you're wearing his eyes hold an aggressive gaze on the faucet. She's going to be the death of me.

"I just need to brush my teeth too." You say shuffling through your bag, still avoiding eye contact.

Not having had a conversation with Spencer in weeks that wasn't solely work related created an awkwardness in the air that could be cut with a knife. Talking to him was somehow the last thing you were ready to do, but was still the only thing you wanted. Luckily shoving a toothbrush in your mouth saved you from any uncomfortable conversation. You shakily squeeze some toothpaste on your brush and begin swirling it around your mouth. You peek up at him in the mirror and he replies with a small eyebrow shrug. Feeling your mouth quickly filling with the frothy toothpaste, you brush for what felt like forever. At this point it feels like a contest of who can go the longest. The two of you exchanging awkward glimpses at one another waiting to see who will finish first. The quick consumption of alcohol earlier keeps your mind fuzzy from the small bit that dribbled onto your chest, attracting even more attention to your taunting tank top. Bending down to spit out the excess, you also don't seem to realize how open your tank top is hanging down.

Spencers face turns a deep shade of red watching you. The dribble slowly moving down your chest putting thoughts in his head he tries his hardest to stop. When you bend over and your tank top falls from your chest he nearly becomes undone. The situation becoming all the more agonizing for him. He finally spits his toothpaste out and tries to subtly run some water over his face.

Once you look in the mirror you finally notice the small mess on your chest. "Oh, whoops!" You let out a small laugh, blushing in embarrassment.

Spencer tries to pack his stuff up hurriedly. Doing everything he can to avoid anymore glances at you or your chest. His cheeks keep their rosy color as he fumbles with getting his toothbrush back in his bag.

"That seemed a little longer than the recommended time to brush, didn't it Doctor?" You ask trying to joke, but the word doctor slips out more flirtatiously than intended. You just want to have a pleasant ending to the rather embarrassing situation for yourself. His sudden change in demeanor is enough to make you stop wiping the toothpaste off your chest. Fuck I just made it worse.

"Please, don't call me that." He turns to face you.

"Oh I was just-" Before you can finish your sentence he cuts you off. Something he's gotten a little too good at.

"Acting like it doesn't turn you on just to say it." He nearly whispers as he lets out a small provoked laugh, shaking his head. Suddenly, his thumb meets your chin as he wipes away a tiny bit of toothpaste that went unnoticed. His eyes dart from yours to your lips. His fingers still holding your chin.

You feel dizzy from the sudden rush of blood to your face. You can't take your eyes off of his, almost out of fear. Any sudden movement would have consequences, so you stand there completely frozen in his hand. As you watch his gaze shift down your body and his brows furrow together his eyes seem to darken. A look of anger running across his face. The only thing you can hear is your heart pounding, anticipating each second. Then suddenly, without saying anything else he walks into his room and shuts the door. What the fuck?  Standing there in awe of what just happened your fingers brush over where he touched your chin. Did he really just do that? Your feet seem stuck in place so you're not sure how stepped over to his bedroom door. Should I open it? Yes. ...No. You bite your cheek, retracting your hand from the knob. What was that?! Fuck! Too many thoughts are racing through your head. Your hand grips the doorknob again out of impulse. Just as you decide to turn it you hear your phone ring in your room. Jumping back you stare at the door a bit longer. Frowning, you turn back into your room.

Spencers hand is gripping the doorknob so tight his knuckles turn white. He rests his head on the door, a long rigid breath huffing from his nose. Not only did the shared bathroom catch him off guard, the fact you're the one sharing it with him is almost too much to handle. The cherry on top being your flimsy tank top, teasing him unintentionally. Shaking his burning hand that was just caressing your chin, he sees the doorknob barely turn. He jumps back, heart beating out of his chest.  As quickly as he saw it move it stopped, and then he hears the sound of your closing door. Turning to face his room he runs his hands through his hair taking a deep sigh. He angrily fights with the buttons on his shirt, tearing it off with fervor. Knock on the door. She was about to come in. He stops walking to the door as he hears your muffled voice through the paper thin walls. The cadence of your voice revealing you're not talking to just a friend. She's talking to Luke. He pushes his bag off his bed out of frustration, FUCK!

                                                        __

"Yeah?" You stumble over the bed to answer your phone before it goes to voicemail. Not checking the caller id beforehand. Your head feels like it's splitting.

"He-Hey! I hope it's okay that I called you? I wasn't sure if you'd still be working." He sounds surprised that you answered, but taken aback by how you answered.

"Oh my god Luke. Yes, yeah of course! We finished for the night not too long ago. I just got to my room." You clear your throat trying to shift your full attention to your conversation.

"If you need to go I understand, I don't want to keep you up." He shyly laughs through the phone.

"No, it's okay. Sorry it's just been a long day." You sit on the bed staring at the bathroom door.

"It's okay, I get it. Hopefully you're staying warm?" Luke asks calmly.

"Trying to. It's freezing here, beautiful, but freezing. I'm sure Roxy would love playing in all this snow." You feel a smile spread across your face thinking of how excited she would be.  

"She definitely would. I think she misses you actually." He says hesitantly. You don't often hear him sound so nervous.

"Are you sure she misses me? Or just the treats I gave her." You chortle.

"Ah, well either way I'm sure she'd be happy to see you again." Luke says, clearly petting Roxy in the background. "She's not the only one who would like to see you again." He still sounds slightly nervous.

"Oh? I'm not sure when we'll be back yet."  You bite the inside of your cheek. You just don't have it in you to flirt back right now, you can feel the guilt creeping up inside you. Your fingers somehow find their way to where Spencers just were.

"Of course, yeah. No worries." He quickly replies. There's almost a sense of embarrassment in his tone.

His tone confuses you for a second until you realize the way your reply came across. What am I saying? I do want to see him again.

"I'll let you go so you can get some sleep." Luke says after a brief pause.

"That would be nice though! Seeing Roxy, that is. I'll let you know when we're headed back."  You let out a small laugh in hopes to let him know you didn't mean to shoot him down. "Of course. Well goodnight, dulces sueños." The confidence in his voice coming back.

You say goodbye and plop your head back on the pillow. What am I doing?

                                                         ___

Sitting on the edge of his bed he can't shake the sight of you in your tank top, the toothpaste trailing down your chest, your inability to take your eyes off of his. The way you eat up his mind makes him restless. His leg shaking over the edge of the bed, he bites away at his bottom lip. It's like the worlds way of torturing him, being able to hear you talk to someone who isn't him. He doesn't even bother distracting himself with a game of chess or a book to read. He hopes for once he can just force himself to sleep. Something he's never been good at, but right now he's desperate for an escape from you. Even though you are the only place he wants to be. Laying in bed he stares up at the ceiling, images of you still flashing through his mind. He flashes back to you standing in the snow. The snowflakes getting stuck on your eyelashes, the permanent flush on your cheeks from the cold air... the guilt in your eyes when you looked up at him. Shaking that thought away he sits up. Why did she stop turning the doorknob? Did she want to come in? No, because if she wanted to she would have. Knowing you're just on the other side of the door, knowing all he has to do is walk through that door to see you, to be able to touch you again, to feel your touch again. She doesn't want me anymore. She would have come in if she did. She has... Luke. She was probably just going to tell me to leave her alone. Turning the light off he turns over glaring at the window. The unavoidable tossing and turning keeping him up all night.

                                                         ___

Your alarm wakes you up and you groggily turn over in the warm bed. That was 2 maybe 3 hours of sleep? Checking your phone you see a good morning text from Luke. You send a quick good morning back and give yourself a few more minutes in the warmth of the bed you knew you'd lose to the cold air of the room. You hear the shower turn off in the bathroom and you sit up. Spencers words from last night flood your memory, causing a melancholic nervousness to fill your stomach. You scroll through your texts finding your messages with him. His last text reading as piercing as the temperature outside.

Reid: You should go on the date.

He couldn't even talk to me about it. He just dismissed me. You feel your eyes filling with tears, as you think back to how scared you were to go to his apartment that night. It was terrifying but finally happening, and it was so much better than all the times you had dreamed about. How do I miss him this much? Scared of your feelings, you wipe your eyes dry and make your way to the bathroom. You step into the steaming shower hoping to wash this sadness off of you. Letting the warm water reset yourself. You begin to hum a song you've been listening to on repeat, the lyrics seem to be as if you wrote them. Going through the motions of your morning routine you don't even remember the walk down from your room to the breakfast area.

Grabbing a plate and filling it with food you scan over the dining area you make sure to sit away from wherever Spencer is. Finding an empty seat by Rossi you gladly take it.

"The one great thing about staying in a bed and breakfast? The breakfast." Rossi says, setting down a cup of coffee in front of you. "I have to give this place a 5 star rating for their choice of italian sausage!" He continues as he takes a seat across from you.

"Wow, 5 stars? That's almost unheard of from you." You tease him while cutting up some to try.

"Well you know the only other place I can rate so highly is where you went on your date the other night." Rossi says in a teasing way, smiling as he takes a bite.

"Oh! Yeah the food was amazing." You really didn't want to talk about your date there with Rossi, especially after the morning you've had.

"How's everything going with that?" He takes a sip of his coffee watching you fidget in your seat.

"Everything is good. We've only gone on one other date but he's great." You shove some food into your mouth and smile. Looking back at your plate you begin to push your food around.

"But?" Rossi watches your fork play with your food.

"But what?" You look up at him with a confused frown, cheeks still full of food.

"But, something is bothering you. Hence you playing with your food." He nudges his eyes at your plate.

You look around the room to see if anyone else was listening. Everyone seems engaged in their own conversations so you let out a deep sigh. The frown stays put on your face.

"It's complicated but I opened up to someone... about my feelings for them. I thought they felt the same way considering what happened between us. Except now it seems like they want nothing to do with me." You divert your eyes over to Spencer for a moment, then back to Rossi. "The problem is that all of this happened before that first date with Luke. I'm just having a hard time sorting out my feelings. It's nothing really." A tight lipped smile forms on your face as you look down at your plate.

"I see. Well, maybe this person got scared of their own emotions? If this was something that happened suddenly that is. I can't imagine they wouldn't want to be with you, bella donna." Rossi winks, "Regardless you deserve someone who can be there for you. Does Luke seems like a good guy?" His eyebrow raises as sips more of his coffee.

"He's a good guy... but so is the other one. That's my problem." You give Rossi a half grin, making yourself eat a little bit more.

"Except one knows what he wants. Just remember that." He takes another bite of food.

You spin your eggs around on your fork as his words sink in.

Spencer searches through his phone growing more agitated by the second. He looks over at you talking to Rossi. What song was she humming earlier? He could hear you through the door right before he left and the soft melody won't leave his head.

"Damn pretty boy I've never seen you spend so much time on your phone. Are you okay?" Derek asks jokingly sipping his coffee.

"Have you heard of a song that goes hmm hmmm hmm hmm hmmm..." He hums the song the same as you did, just with much more discomfort. His big brown eyes scanning their faces hoping one has the answer.

"Uhhh, no? Is that what you're doing? Looking for that song?" JJ asks, giving Derek a look of confusion.

"I've had it stuck in my head all morning and don't know what it is. I only heard that small part of it." He continues searching through his phone.

"Maybe y/n would know? She loves music." Emily turns to call you over.

"It's fine! I'll figure it out." Spencer stops her, giving her a tight lipped smile.

"Ohhhkay... well good luck trying to figure it out." Emily pops her t and exchanges looks with JJ and Derek. They shrug it off and continue their conversation finishing up their breakfast.

"Let's head out in ten." Hotch announces before heading out in his typical serious manner.

"You better eat quickly, Reid. I'm not stopping for a chicken wrap when we're an hour on the road." Derek pushes Spencer's plate closer to him before getting up.

Climbing into the suv with Emily and Rossi, you take the passengers seat. It wasn't the shortest drive to the police station and you wanted to try and hold off on anymore conversations for the morning.

"Do you mind if I put some music on?" You plug your phone in before they could say no.

"Go for it." Emily says climbing into the backseat.

"Thanks." You put on the song you were humming earlier, needing to actually hear it aloud. Staring out the window, taking in the beautifully frosted trees you let your mind wonder along with the song. Emily perks up noticing the familiar tune from Spencer. She pulls her phone out.

Prentiss: Is this your song?

Spencer hears his phone ding and frantically pulls it out. Opening the text from Emily he reads over the picture she sent. North by Clairo.

"Can I use your headphones?" He turns to look at Derek driving.

"I guess, but just until we get to the station." Derek huffs pointing to his bag in the backseat.

He grabs the bag and searches for his headphones. Plugging them into his phone he opens up his music app and searches for the song. He presses play and closes his eyes. A frown growing over him as he listens closely to the lyrics, his chest feeling tighter as the song goes on. He tightly grips his phone waiting for the part you were humming.

All I'm tryna say Is I miss you in every way Fingertips on my back Things I know that I can't have

Never seen a face like yours I got it together but my breath feels short I don't wanna close the door Maybe I should just go up north

As the song ends his eyes open and he stares down at his phone. The lyrics nearly breaking him. Is this how she feels?  He presses the replay button and listens to the song on repeat for the rest of the ride.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

[myheartrevealedocs]

Untouchable Ch 29: Amplification (S4E24)

Warnings: swearing (a lot of it), illness, hospitals

Ch 28 | Ch 30

~ ~ ~

“I’m picking you up from work. Now.”

Lydia sighed, glad that it was her break and she wasn’t in the middle of teaching class. But then again… Spencer already knew that. “Just once I’d like to get a case and be told ‘you can drop by when you’re done with what you’re working on.’ No worries. Sending out emails now.”

“Sorry. It’s local, if that helps.”

Lydia’s eyebrows knit together suspiciously. “Local? Local cases are never my cases. If it were, I probably would have heard something, right?”

“I don’t know anything about the case,” he admitted. “Hotch called and he said he needed everyone now, you included.”

Lydia shut her laptop, already stuffing it into her work bag. “I’ll meet you out front.”

~ ~ ~

Lydia had stuffed herself into the back of the elevator with Spence, Morgan, and Prentiss, so when the doors opened, she didn’t immediately see what made the three of them stop.

“What’s the army doing here?” Morgan said.

Lydia stepped to the side to get a better look at the crowd of people rushing through the BAU office.

“What the hell is going on?” Emily muttered.

Spencer was the first to set off for the conference room, Lydia joining him immediately if only to get away from the insane amount of people in the bullpen.

Inside were Hotch, Rossi, JJ, and a woman.

“Guys, this is Dr. Linda Kimura, Chief of Special Pathogens with the CDC.”

“Hello,” Emily said.

“Hello. I’m sorry to meet under these circumstances.”

“What circumstances?” Reid inquired, but Hotch stopped him.

“We need to get started.”

JJ cleared her throat, ready to take over the briefing. Lydia could tell it was going to be a quick summary, with no slides, few files to share, and no time to sit down.

“Last night, 25 people checked into emergency rooms in and around Annapolis. They were all at the same park after 2pm yesterday. Within 10 hours, the first victim died. It’s now just past 7am the next day, we have 12 dead.”

Looking over her boyfriend’s shoulder, Lydia could see large welts across the victims faces and necks. Purple rings lined the deads’ eyes.

“Lung failure and black lesions,” Morgan read aloud. “Anthrax?”

Spencer shook his head. “Anthrax doesn’t kill this fast.”

“This strain does,” Dr. Kimura admitted.

Lydia’s eyes shot to their expert. She could see why Hotch felt the need to bring her in, but a new strain of anthrax was far out of her comfort zone, especially in a time when people were dying quickly. This would take a team of people in a lab running trial after trial to find a cure. These poor people were doomed.

Lydia wouldn’t know anything about the strain, she could only come up with a vague idea about what sort of background a person would need to create this, and there were so many people already involved in whatever this was.

“What are we doing about potential mass targets?” Prentiss inquired. “Airports, malls, trains?”

“There’s a media blackout,” Hotch replied.

“We’re not telling the public?”

“We’d have a mass exodus,” Morgan explained.

“Psychology of group panic would cause more deaths than this last attack.”

“Yeah, and if it does get out, whoever did it might go underground or destroy their samples.”

“Or,” Emily tried to argue, “if they wanted attention and didn’t get it, they might attack again. Doesn’t the public have a right to know that?”

“If there is another attack, there’s no way we’ll be able to keep it quiet,” Hotch assured her. “Our best chance of protecting the public is by building a profile as quickly as we can.”

“What do we know about this strain?” Lydia interrupted, grabbing the files from Spencer to get a closer look.

Dr. Kimura answered, “the spores are weaponized, reduced to a respiral ideal that attacks deep in the lungs. Odorless and invisible.”

“A sophisticated strain,” Rossi reasoned. “Only a scientist would know how to do that.”

Lydia nodded.

“These lesions are doubling in size in a matter of hours.”

“It’s not the lesions I’m worried about,” Dr. Kimura warned. “It’s the lungs. We don’t know how to combat the toxins once they’re inside. And the reality is, we may lose them all.”

“Reid, Ambers, go to the hospital with Dr. Kimura. Reid will interview victims. Ambers, I want you in the lab updating us on blood tests and toxicology reports.”

They nodded, Spencer throwing his satchel over his shoulder.

“Morgan and Prentiss, there’s a hazmat team that will accompany you to the crime scene. There’s cipro. Everybody needs to take it before we go.”

Dr. Kimura grabbed a tray of pills from a desk along the side of the room. “We don’t know if it’s effective against this strain, but it’s something.”

Lydia picked up a plastic cup with two pills inside and glanced around. Everyone hesitated, knowing that for the rest of this case, they’d be risking a lot. This wasn’t chasing down bad guys with guns, but rather with immunity. Their kevlar vests wouldn’t protect them from the air.

“Jin dan,” Rossi said, raising his cup. “May you live 100 years.”

~ ~ ~

Spencer was fidgeting in the passenger seat of the car as they drove to Walter Reed hospital with Dr. Kimura. “What did you tell your students, Lydia?”

She shrugged. “What I normally do. Just that I was called into work by the FBI. They don’t normally ask where I’m headed or why. It’s strange. For the first time since I became a professor, I’m worried about them.”

“I guess you’re right,” he mumbled. “This is going to affect everyone in the DC area.”

“I mean, what would a cure for this even look like? The only person who has any idea how it differs from normal anthrax is our unsub. He’s got to have some kind of antidote, right?”

“Let’s hope he does,” Spencer replied. “For now, building the profile is Hotch and Rossi’s doing. Our job is to find out what we can about the victims and their symptoms.”

~ ~ ~

“How many more have died since this morning?”

“Five,” Spencer admitted. “We’re up to 17 dead.”

“It’s no good,” she sighed, having stepped out of the lab momentarily to call him. “The drug combinations are useless. We don’t know anymore about this strain than they did this morning.”

“Dr. Kimura says the strain duplicates every 30-45 minutes, poisoning the lungs and causing organ failure.”

“Extreme bacterial amplification,” she replied. “That’s insane.”

“I’m thinking whoever created this had to have gone through the trouble of testing it.”

“That would make sense, but who’s to say the park wasn’t his test run?”

“It’s too risky. Human tests are done on a much smaller scale. What do you know about illnesses that have similar symptoms to anthrax poisoning?”

“Not much,” she admitted. “I’ll talk to Garcia and do some digging about weird medical deaths in the area.”

“Thanks.”

~ ~ ~

“Tell me you got something good, Spice.”

“I rarely find myself giving out good news, Sugar,” Garcia admitted. “However, I did find some strange deaths for you. Two days ago, three people in the Baltimore area checked into 3 different ERs, slipping into comas and dying within 3 hours. The COD on all three was meningitis, but they were never tested for anthrax. Is that what you were looking for?”

“Possibly. The respiratory problems would be similar, but the lesions would have definitely signalled to the doctors it was something else. You said they died within 3 hours?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“That’s fast. They likely had to have inhaled a high concentration of anthrax if that were the case. But, it would also make it harder to identify. See if those three were in the same place that day and contact Hotch.”

“On it.”

~ ~ ~

“Lydia?”

She huffed. “What’s up, Derek?”

“Don’t get pissy on me,” he teased.

“All I’ve done all day is answer calls and get told once an hour that someone else has died. My mood has limits.”

“I’m pulling you from the hospital. We’re going to the house of a Dr. Lawrence Nichols. Fits our profile.”

“Great.” As she spoke she slipped out of the hospital lab and towards the elevator. “What’s this profile?”

“Fanatical,” he summarized. “Dr. Nichols got booted from Fort Detrick after the Amerithrax case. He was afraid of anthrax being weaponized against the US and was preaching stronger protection from the government.”

“If he was against anthrax, what makes you think he’d use it?”

“A warning. He was told that we couldn’t spend billions of dollars to fight against an attack that may never happen. This is his way of saying, ‘You should have listened to me. Now it’s too late.’”

“Got it. I’ll meet you outside Walter Reed.”

“Good.”

Hanging up, she sent a quick message to Spencer to let him know she was leaving the hospital, then made a break for the front entrance.

~ ~ ~

“It’s quaint,” Lydia said, stepping out of the SUV and waiting for Morgan to walk around the car and join her.

The Nichols house had cute rose bushes around the front and all the windows had white trim. Classic suburban look.

“Nicer than a hospital, I bet.”

She huffed. “I cannot thank you enough for getting me out of there. I don’t know how Reid is able to talk to these people, knowing that they’re doomed.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Morgan countered. “To make sure they aren’t doomed.”

A team in protective gear had arrived before them to search the house. There was no one there, luckily enough, as Nichols was supposedly at work. And the team had yet to notify them of any contamination, but until they were certain, she and Morgan had to stay outside.

The two of them wandered towards the backyard, looking at all the greenery and sweeping for anything suspicious, but frankly, if Nichols was harboring anthrax, he would have kept it at his lab. As soon as the team inside was done, all she and Morgan had to do was the usual profiling stuff. Does this man have a motive to commit mass murder and all that jazz.

Lydia was so caught up in the difference between the well trimmed front lawn to the overgrown backyard that she didn’t hear Morgan’s cell start ringing, nor did she take notice of the fact that he stopped walking to answer it.

There was a small stone fountain, which was completely dry, in front of a decaying garage in the back. The shed was designed exactly like the house, but its paint was faded and chipping and the plants clung to it like it had been long abandoned in the weeds.

It didn’t look like anyone had been in there for years, and yet all the doors and windows were open.

As she crept towards the sliding glass door along the side, her hand went to the gun at her belt. He should be at work, but frankly, unsubs were never where you expected them to be. So, to be careful, she unclipped her weapon and kept a hand on it as she leaned inside.

“Hello? Dr. Nichols? It’s the FBI!”

Nothing…

Hesitantly, she stepped inside and didn’t take a moment to realize how bad of an idea that was. Directly across from the door was clearly a work desk, and yet, she didn’t take into consideration that he might have worked on his toxins at his house.

And so, as she stepped around the corner to find Dr. Nichols’s body with a shattered tube of white powder on the floor, it took her a moment to process what this meant.

Powder… anthrax… deadly. The AC was on, meaning the toxin was circulating the air and she had most certainly been exposed.

Deadly.

Her hand shot up to her mouth, quickly covering it with the fabric of her shirt to filter out some of the powder from the air. Funny enough, the dead body was the furthest thing from her mind. Her next plan of action was to cover the broken pieces of glass so that whatever powder was left on the floor wouldn’t be swept up into the air. She could worry about the AC in a second.

“Ambers?”

Fuck, Morgan.

She couldn’t let him inside. It was too dangerous. But if she left, the BAU might never get the chance to search the lab before the rest of the infected died. It would take too long to clear the garage. No, she had to stay, even if it meant increasing the concentration in her lungs.

Flipping around, she shut the sliding door, locking it just as Morgan appeared.

“Ambers!”

“Get back!” she insisted, looking around wildly for the closest open window to shut, one hand still holding her shirt over her face. “Get out of here!”

“What are you doing?! What’s wrong?”

He rushed over to the window with her, but wasn’t fast enough. “Don’t! STAY AWAY, MORGAN!”

“Tell me what’s going on!”

“I’VE BEEN EXPOSED!”

His face and Lydia’s heart both dropped at the same time. 

What had she done?

“Morgan,” she started, trying to keep her mind off of her death sentence, “I need you to tell the team that Nichols is dead.”

“He’s what?!”

“He’s been murdered,” she explained, stepping away from the window so that he could see the body behind her. “Blunt force trauma to the head. I have to stop the anthrax circulation in the room and then I can start to profile what happened.”

“What? No! Lydia, you have to get out of there so we can take you to the hospital!”

“Derek, Dr. Kimura said the only thing they can do at the hospital is give me morphine! If we wait for a team to clear the room before we profile, those people at the hospital will die. I might die. If I stay here, maybe I can find a cure.”

“I don’t like this, Lydia,” he grumbled. “Think about Spencer-”

“I am! We’ve seen what this toxin does to people. I have a few hours before I become incapable of doing my job. My chances of surviving increase tremendously if I spend those hours doing work. Trust me. I can do nothing from the hospital.”

He nervously gave her a once over, as if he’d be able to see how bad it was, before pulling out his cell and stepping away from the garage.

~ ~ ~

By the time Hotch got there, Lydia had turned off the AC unit, found a lab mask to cover her face, and given Morgan a rundown on the state of Nichols’s body. There was no way he was responsible for the attack at the part, because he had been dead for at least 2 days. The fact that he had anthrax here likely meant someone had murdered him to take his samples.

“Ambers,” Hotch answered his phone from across the backyard, looking at her through the window.

“Does Spencer know yet?” she demanded.

“Yes. He’s on his way now.”

“How did he take it?”

“How do you expect, Lydia?” Morgan hissed, clearly listening in on the conversation.

“I didn’t mean to do this,” she argued, glancing around the room. “But I’m going to stay and look for a cure, or at the very least, some more information on this strain and I’ll try to figure out who killed Dr. Nichols.”

Hotch took over once more. “Okay, we’re going to get a suit and mask in to you right away.”

“Don’t bother. I’m already infected. I’ve stopped the airflow for now, so my condition won’t get worse. I need to spend my time working the case.”

“Alright. What do you see?”

“He has cages stacked against the back wall, filled with dead animals,” she began, getting into work mode. “He struggled before he died. Um… there’s some oddly empty spots on shelves, which leads me to believe the murderer robbed him as well. Nothing personal in here, clearly it was only meant to be a workshop or lab of sorts. There are two desks. One is a mess but the other totally organized…”

“Two different work spaces?” It was Derek’s voice again.

“Yeah, um…” She started to flip through a journal on one of the desks and paused. “I think our unsub was working here with Nichols. These look like research notes. Stuff that Nichols would already know, considering he has a doctorate.” She ran back to the cluttered desk to look over some loose papers. “Yep. Two clearly different sets of handwriting. Maybe he took on a protege?”

“Ambers, Morgan is going to stay with you and help profile Nichols. I’m going to go back to the BAU and try to figure out who this protege might be.”

“Don’t worry about me, Hotch,” she said, hearing the edge in his voice. He didn’t want to leave her here. “I feel fine. I’m good at this stuff. If there’s a cure, I’ll find it.”

~ ~ ~

Lydia prepared herself for the worst as Spencer grew closer. Reckless together. That was her promise. Getting herself into this situation was exactly what he was talking about after the Colorado case. But she really hadn’t meant to end up here. She felt like there was no better way after being exposed. She was being as careful as she could. But their last fight hadn’t been good.

She was listing excuses in her mind. Building up a strong argument for when he got here and inevitably lost his shit on her. 

It was almost ironic that their last fight had been about her putting up walls between them and now, she was quite literally locking him out. But as she had promised to be careful, he had promised not to rush in to save her. And that included walking into a building of toxic air.

Her phone began to buzz in her pocket and she took several deep breaths before looking at the caller ID.

Spencer was here.

“Hey, love,” she said softly, not wanting to look outside and see him there. With Morgan. Probably pissed as hell.

But he matched her tone perfectly: gentle and concerned. “Lydia, how are you feeling?”

Her breath caught on all the things she was planning to say when he yelled at her. She wasn’t sure where to go with that response. “The… um… The fever’s kicking in. I’m unnaturally warm. But I’ve been super careful to lower my exposure, I promise! I didn’t mean to-”

“I know, honey. I know. Stay calm. Keep working. You’re gonna be alright.”

God, she never really knew with him, did she? Of course he wasn’t happy she was there, but he kept his promise. He was trusting her. And for the first time today, she didn’t feel like she had to convince everyone that everything was normal. They both knew her odds were unfortunately low at the moment and they weren’t going to spend this time arguing.

“Dr. Kimura came with me. She’s suiting up to come in with the decon team.”

“Good.”

There was a long pause, before he said, “Lydia, come to the window.”

She originally had thought she was avoiding his gaze because she had expected him to be angry, but stepping up to the glass and seeing him at the edge of the lawn, as close as the CDC would allow him to get, brought a new meaning to the word guilt.

She didn’t just break her promise of being with him when the bad things happened. There was a chance that in a few hours, a few painful, painful hours, she might leave him. She might die. And Spencer… he didn’t deserve that.

“Lydia,” he began, looking her over carefully. “I love you so, so much, you hear me?”

She nodded, feeling tears begin to well up in the back of her throat.

“You keep fighting in there, alright? Fight and fight until we find a cure.”

“I know,” she gulped. “I know. I- I- I-”

She froze as a violent chill ran up her spine, causing her to lose her train of thought. Spencer's face broke momentarily, giving away his fear and anguish.

“I’m sorry. I… love you, too, Spence,” she finally forced out. “More than you will ever know.”

“Hopefully in an hour you’ll be out of there and you can try to tell me.”

“Of course,” she smiled, halfheartedly. “I will.”

She had to hang up the call as she heard the decon team start to file in.

She turned around to find Dr. Kimura approaching her directly. “Dr. Ambers.”

“Dr. Kimura,” she smiled, trying to hide how nauseous she was beginning to feel. “You look nice.”

She glanced down at the red and grey suit she wore and laughed along. “I haven’t been in this outfit in a while.”

“How are the patients doing?” she asked, before mentally kicking herself. She didn’t want to know how many more had died. She didn’t need that weighing her down.

Luckily, Dr. Kimura seemed to think the same. “Let's worry about you.”

“I feel fine,” she deflected. “I don’t think I’ve inhaled that much.”

“I see you’re being careful,” she noted with a nod to Lydia’s mask, “but if you feel any pain, I can give you something.”

“Oh, I don’t think giving me morphine is a good idea.”

Dr. Kimura raised an eyebrow in her direction. “Are you sure? Some pain medication might make you feel more comfortable.”

Lydia shook her head quickly. “Don’t worry. In my line of work, you learn to focus despite your discomfort.”

Dr. Kimura still looked hesitant to let go of the subject.

“I feel fine,” she tried again. “I should work at the task at hand.”

“Ok. Tell me how I can help.”

Thank god. She could get back on track. Between Morgan, Hotch, Spence, and Dr. Kimura, she would never find the cure. Everyone would be too busy worrying about her condition.

“The team believes that there’s a cure for this strain within this lab,” she explained. “Our profile for Nichols says he’s secretive, and likely, he’s paranoid. So he would be protective of the cure. Probably hid it from his partner. Look for something totally unsuspicious.”

“Alright…” Dr. Kimura hesitated, knowing that those instructions were too broad. But Lydia didn’t have anything else. Her profiling skills didn’t go as far as the others. And she didn’t have the same information on Nichols or the partner that the others might be getting from Quantico.

Her phone rang sharply and she almost jumped at the vibrations in her pocket.

Fuck, she was succumbing quickly. Disoriented, panicked, nauseous.

“Hello?” she asked, trying not to cough violently after saying it. Her throat was starting to dry.

“How’s it going in there, kiddo?” Morgan replied.

“I’ve seen better days,” she admitted, hoarsely.

“Well, you’ve got me, Reid, and Garcia.”

“Hey, Sugar.”

Lydia couldn’t stop herself from smiling and was almost through the word “Spice” when the coughing fit finally took over.

“Lydia, stick with me. Listen, Rossi and Prentiss don’t think the partner is a coworker. Can you tell us anything else about him?”

God, she was hot. She wiped her brow and tried to run her fingers through the tangled, sweaty mess that was her hair. “I don’t… I’m not sure. I looked through all the drawers, but I can’t-”

“Come on now, kiddo. I know you’re not thinking straight, but the Lydia I know would not stop looking.”

All she wanted to do was sleep. She didn’t care if Morgan called her lazy. She didn’t care if it wasn’t like her to quit. But then she remembered all those people at the hospital who were dying. They needed a break in the case. Now. She had to at least try to give that to them.

“Alright,” she mumbled, headed straight for the partner’s desk. “We think this partner is more like a protege, right? He clearly doesn’t know as much about the chemistry of anthrax than Nichols would. So maybe he was one of Nichols’s students?”

“Nichols stopped teaching ages ago. Any of his students would likely be far more advanced now than what you described from the partner’s notes.”

She flipped through everything she had left on the desk from her last search through the doors. “You’re right. These look more like my freshman year of college notes. Basics…” A large huff escaped her lips as she desperately attempted to swallow more air. Could you drown in your own sweat? “Wait, wait- I’m looking at something here. My best guess is it’s a thesis and based on the marks in red along the sides, Nichols has been correcting it. So maybe, not one of his students, but a local PhD student, looking for help on their thesis about anthrax?”

“I can look up local PhD students,” Garcia cut in.

“Yeah, check the sciences,” Morgan told her. “Biochemistry, microbi-”

“No, wait-” Lydia cut in through another coughing fit. “A science PhD student wouldn’t have all these other notes. It’s the only part that doesn’t line up with…” She trailed off, trying to skim what he had written, but it was so hard to concentrate.

“Lydia?”

Spencer… finally.

“Lydia, you’re almost done. We’re so close to getting you out of there. Is there anything else you can tell us about this student?”

She closed her eyes, soaking in his voice, without really considering what he was asking of her. “Okay...okay…” Eyes open again, she turned the thesis back to the opening page, a table of contents. “The chapters are on setting up mobile emergencies-” She fumbled for her words. “Emergency rooms. That’s not… Science students don’t care about city preparedness.”

“Garcia, check with students in the social studies,” Spence ordered. “Public policy, urban planning. And cross check those with-”

“-Former employees and customers with grievances at the bookstore,” she finished for him. “Hot to trot. There’s a Chad Brown, school of public policy at U of M. Matches a Chad Brown, former employee at the book front.”

“That’s gotta be him,” Morgan said

“Totally. He’s been in the doctoral program on and off for five years. Nix on a steady job. Was slapped with a restraining order from his former girlfriend and has been arrested and released twice at protest rallies in DC. I’ll tell Hotch.”

Garcia spoke so fast that by the time Lydia had put Brown’s thesis down, she had already dropped off the call.

“You did good, kiddo.”

“Thanks, Morgan,” she rasped.

“Now it’s time for you to get the hell out of there,” Spencer demanded.

It wasn’t a cure, but Lydia was feeling so sick, she didn’t care. She’d done her best. Maybe it really was time to hit the hospital and succumb to the morphine.

“Yeah. Bye.”

She started to move towards the exit, knowing that they would have to decontaminate her before getting her into the ambulance, but was stopped on her way.

“Dr. Ambers!” Dr. Kimura called. “You said the cure would be hidden somewhere we wouldn’t suspect. What about Nichols’s inhaler?”

...smart.

Very smart.

“Bag it as evidence,” she ordered. “I have to hope this is it. But I can’t stay.”

The older woman nodded, likely seeing the sway as Lydia stood before her, or the sweat slipping down her neck. “Let’s get you to the hospital and I’ll have this sent to your lab.”

“Thank you,” Lydia said, smiling through the pain.

~ ~ ~

The rest of the day was a blur. Lydia had small snippets of memory: the moment Derek left to help the rest of the team, having the get hosed down and changed into a hospital gown outside of Nichols’s house, Spencer promising to meet her at the hospital. But after the fog cleared up from her mind she was positive that those would disappear as well.

She let her eyes crack open and swallowed a groan. Her nose was burning and itchy from the plastic tubes connecting her to a breathing machine and her voice was practically gone. She didn’t want to open her eyes fully because at the moment, her head was a dull ache, but she was sure the lights would cause a full blown migraine.

Spencer was holding onto her left hand with his right, his own left arm a makeshift pillow underneath his head.

On the opposite side of the room, Derek and Penelope were leaning against a wall, talking quietly. Morgan had a red Jell-O cup in his hand.

“You know, Derek,” she mumbled, softly, “I think hospital Jell-O is meant for the patients.”

They both looked over at her smiles spreading across their faces.

“Hey, kiddo,” Morgan said, matching her vocal level to not wake Spencer. “Hey doc,” he directed outside the room. “Look who’s back.”

Dr. Kimura wandered in next, standing at the edge of Lydia’s bed to speak to her. “Hey, Dr. Ambers. How are you feeling?”

“What happened?” she asked, glancing between her friends and the doctor.

“You’re gonna be alright,” Morgan prefaced. “And we got Brown. It’s over.”

“And the other patients? Did any of them…?”

“The four who were still alive are on the mend,” Garcia finally said, anxious to spread joy after the day she’d had. “You were right, Lydia. You saved them.”

“I didn’t-”

“Uh-uh,” Morgan interrupted. “I will have none of that. You put a lot on the line to find that cure. To find Brown. We all got a happy ending after what you did. Bask in it for a minute.”

She rolled her eyes teasingly and turned to check in on her boyfriend once more. He was still peacefully sleeping across his elbow, his long hair shielding his eyes from her.

“He was very worried for you,” Dr. Kimura told her.

“I was worried about him,” was all Lydia said, gently squeezing his hand.

“How long do you think you two are going to do this back and forth thing?” Morgan teased. “One of you is always worried about the other.”

“When we lose our impulse control,” Lydia replied, but stopped, thinking of something better. “When we lose our hearts.”

Tags: @kris-stuff​, @wooya1224​, @bispences​, @anotherr-fine-mess​, @eddysocs​

[miraculouscataclyyysm]

Seating plan au part 7

Sins the last update had quite a bit of Adrian/felix drama I decided this update would show more of the gangs (Mari, Felix, Alix, Kim, Max and luka) friendship because I love them

link to part 6

Marinette doodles a lot in class, she has a little notepad full of em, sometimes when the class is going mad Mari and Felix draw little cartoons of the stupidity...Felix has a few masterpieces in said notepad of Chloe and Lila yelling at each other

Felix getting a weeks detention because of an “incident” at lunch *cough cough* Lila *cough* Marinette was in the art room helping Nathaniel and marc with a project and max was outside filming Alix teach Kim some skating tricks so Felix was reading in the lunchroom alone...and sins this was a rare Occurrence Lila jumped at the opportunity “Adrian you should go ask Felix to sit with us, he’s all by himself, you don’t want to leave him all alone do you?” So obviously Adrian being Adrian smiles and get up to ask Felix who just says he’s happy alone, Lila expecting this response says “well I’m gonna go sit with him” so she waltzes over and sits next to him “hey Felix, I couldn’t bear seeing you over here all alone, I know we haven’t been the best of friends and that hurts me deeply felix, so so much, so I thought I’d come over to make a fresh start” Felix give her an emotionless look and says “no thanks” Lila- “excuse me?” Felix-“I don’t need a friend like you” genuinely shocked Lila quickly puts on a fake hurt face “did I do something to hurt you? I genuinely don’t understand why you hate me so much, Felix? Everyone else in the class is so nice to me apart from you, what did I do?” “I just don’t like compulsive liars lie-la, now if you don’t mind I’d like to get back to my book in peace” annoyed Lila snaps “well then if you don’t wanna be my friend I guess that makes you my enemy *cue Evil smirk* wich probably Make your precious Marinette my enemy too...Doesn't it” Felix looks up with a murderous glare “leave Marinette out of this” Lila just laughed all fake nice “leave her out of what Felix? Where just talking” Felix gets up slamming his food tray down and spilling his drink all over Lila “you don’t even look at Marinette, if you even breath in her direction we really will have a problem” then he leaves and Lila tells everyone she was just talking about classwork and trying to cheer him up because he seemed down when Felix flipped out and threw his drink in her...so Felix got detention, once Mari heard about everything she was ready to throw hands

After the whole detention mess Alix convinces Marinette they should get payback on lila for felix (okay its more like she mentions it once and Marinette is totally game) so after school they wait back in the locker room and alix goes into lilac locker to set up a paint bomb that would set of once the door is open, the next morning alix (who’s secretly filming) and Mari wait eagerly, Lila opens her locker and her face is instantly covered in green paint, and thanks to the schools uselessness they couldn’t prove who did it, alix sent the video to the gangs group chat, felix will never tell them this (he will eventually...he just doesn’t know that) them being the gang, Alix, Kim, Max and luka when he’s around (damn it luka why don’t you go to their school) but he’s thankful every day that he found them, before starting public school (sins he moved in with the Agreste's as a child he was also homeschooled like Adrian) he never had a real friend apart from Adrian and even their relationship has issues, but the gang has taught him what real friendship is, true support and he’s determined to never let anyone *cough* Lila *cough* hurt them

Mari made a doll version of all the hero’s so far, herself LB, chat noir, bunnix, Renard arctique (Fox Felix) carapace and viperion, and because she a cutie on one of chat noirs visits she gives him the dolls and asks him to give each of the heroes’s there doll as a thank you for saving Paris so many times (she forgot at the time this meant Chat would be giving the lb one back to her in costume) Chat Definitelyasked Marinette to also make him an LB doll as he “wants the original due”

The gang never misses one of Kim’s swimming competitions, Mari made a massive sign with his name, Kim pretends to hate it but really he loves it, and always insists Luka and Felix hold it because there the tallest and they have to make sure Kim sees them “if he can’t see us he might think we didn’t show up which might make him think we don’t care which might make him sad and might make him lose the competition and we just can’t let that happen guys!” So they hold the sign and they all cheer Kim on and after they go back to the dupain-cheng bakery for celebratory sweets

It’s when Mari and Kagami go for one of there coffee catch-ups that Mari admits her feelings for Felix for the first time, Kagami admits her feelings for Adrian in return, Mari jokes that there both In Love with two oblivious idiots and Kagami says she’s glad to have Marinette as a friend, that she has someone to talk to about this stuff

Felix is on a pretty tight leash like Adrian, not as badly as Adrian, he’s still forced to model and do music etc but because Gabriel is an asshole and sees Felix as less of a priority because he’s not actually his blood, he’s not actually an agreste (Emilie will kick your ass when she wakes up for treating her nephew/adopted son like he’s not really part of the family hawkbitch) so when the gang are having sleepovers or going to the zoo he can’t always join, luckily Over the years he’s realised if he tells Natalie he’s studying no one actually checks to see if he’s actually there studying so he can leave and come a few hours later and nobody notices he was gone, he mentions this to the gang on one occasion and they all just go silent for a moment and then hug him, after that they all start doing little things to make sure he knows they notice him, and that they care, Alix sends him cat videos if he’s not replying in the group chat, she knows that most likely means somethings gong down in the agreste mansion so she sends them as a dissertation, Kim will ask felix to help him train at the pool because he knows felix likes being out of the house as much as possible, max goes over to “study” meaning they tell Natalie that and then max and felix read in silence, max knows felix isn’t much of a talker and for him (felix) just being there in the room is enough, sometimes talking isn’t needed, luka dose something similar, except insted of silence he uses music, once a week felix goes over to the house boat and they have a jam session, luka finds that sometimes music expresses how you feel a lot better than words, that was one of the first things they bonded over, Mari has felix over for tea multiple times a week, originally it was only once but after THAT day, realising just how neglected Felix really felt (even if he didn’t realise it yet himself) she was determined to make sure he knew he had a home, that he was always welcome in the dupain-cheng house, Felix noticed after a few weeks what they were doing, he asked Marinette about it and she caved and told him “we just wanted you to know we see you, we always notice when your not there....and I wanted you to know you always have a home with me” Felix then realised something that he would tell Marinette later, once they officially got together, he realised he does have a home, she’s his home

Sins Marinette is in charge of giving out the miraculous to people when they need the extra help (this is before the part-time hero’s become full part-time hero’s with patrols and stuff) she has a password-protected document on her pc full of graphs and lists of potential miraculous that would fit people, she thought about all the miraculous and who would be most compatible with who, who could she trust most, who would be able to put the needs of Paris first, who was good and honest, some people she thought about as potential miraculous holders where Adrian using the dog miraculous, Nathaniel using the rooster miraculous and aroura with the bee, and Marc with the mouse miraculous, this is how she made the decision for Alix to have the bunny miraculous, Felix to have the fox, Nino to have the turtle, luka to have the sake and for Kagami to eventually have the dragon, Kim the monkey and max the horse

Part 8

Tags-

@7-sage-7 @spicybelladonna @akana-sama

[thorne93]

Inside the Criminal Mind (Part 11)

Prompt: You’re married to Dr. Spencer Reid of the BAU, and are a distinguished doctor yourself on the team. You’re sent down to Miami, Florida for teaching and as a side request from the FBI, to investigate a string of missing persons. When you think you’ve figured out who the unsub is, your life becomes more complicated than you ever could’ve imagined.

Word Count: 2994

Warnings: (throughout the fic –>) death, blood, gore, killings, language, disturbing mental notions, mentions of rapes/murder/etc (You know, Dexter and Criminal Minds related business)

Notes: Thank you so much to @arrow-guy​, @carryonmyswansong​, and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​ - without each of you, I couldn’t have finished, written, or properly navigated this story. Each of you helped me fish out details that were incredibly important to me. Beta’d by @carryonmyswansong and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo… Aesthetic by @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo

This is a crossover of Criminal Minds x Dexter. First time writing Dexter.

Also, the timeline is after Season 1 of Dexter, but during season 14-ish of Criminal minds into Season 15. Enjoy!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“My place. 8:30” Dexter sent around 4 o’clock. You were about to start your last class of the day when you received the text. “Wear dark clothing.”

He must mean business, you thought. 

After class ended, you rushed to your apartment, dropped off your teaching supplies, grabbed a quick shower, throwing on a black t-shirt and dark jeans, then met him at his place. You came empty handed as it was late and he’d probably already eaten.

“What’s on the agenda tonight?” you asked as he opened the door and you stepped in. 

“Tonight is the big night,” he explained. 

Suddenly your mouth went dry and your knees were weak. 

“Tonight? As in…”

“As in you’re going to help me kill someone,” he explained. “Follow me.” He led you to the bedroom. He walked over to his closet and opened the doors, talking as he did every step. “I keep my kill tools in a duffel bag in this closet. It’s got everything I need from setting up the kill room to wrapping the bodies for disposal.”

You nodded, trying not to let your hammering heart be heard. You wanted this, you knew you did, but you were about to cross a line you could never turn back from. Killing in the line of duty was one thing, wanting criminals dead was one thing, studying Dexter instead of reporting him was one thing, but now, to actually help take someone’s life…

But you knew Dexter. You watched him. He did his homework, thoroughly. Hell there wasn’t anything he didn’t do thoroughly. He was a neat freak, he did his bloodwork to the letter with detailed reports, and you’d watched him research people. He tailed them, watched them, observed them. He made absolutely sure they were guilty before hurting anyone and what more could you ask for from a serial killer? 

“Plastic,” he said, holding up a roll. “This is to ready the room so no evidence, not one drop of blood is left.” He held up a blacklight. “To make sure no DNA is left anywhere.” 

Again, you nodded, not saying anything. 

“This is my tool kit.” he unrolled a black leather knife case. “Yours will look differently. I’ll help you with that, if you’d like.”

“Yes, please,” you said through a tight throat. 

“Alright, let’s see. Ah! Black trash bags to put the body parts in, reciprocating saw to dismember the body. Personally, I have a scalpel, slides, and a dropper. It’s part of my ritual, yours may be different. Have you thought about your ritual at all yet?” 

You shook your head. “I… I wasn’t sure I needed one? I just want to kill them and move on.” 

“Well, you may find that a certain part of the process is missing something -- your signature. The cut on the right cheek is mine. It’s not so much the cut, but the blood that I collect from it.” 

“I… I don’t want anything to remember them by, is that okay?” 

He looked away for a second, nodding. “Sure. Everyone’s different.” 

Then he went back to the inventory list, naming everything he was bringing and its purpose.

“Finally, the clothes. I wear the same thing, again, habit, ritual. However, I do wear a plastic face mask, apron, gloves up to the elbow, and coveralls.”

“That’s a lot of blood, how do you keep that from showing up?”

“I stuff it in separate bags when I’m done, leave in my hunting outfit, and I wash them as soon as I get home.” 

You nodded. 

“One more thing. I bring pictures of their victims. I tell them what I do. I tell them why they’re there. I want them to understand exactly how they ended up on my table. You might be different.” 

“Okay, so what do you need from me tonight? Do I just watch or do you want me to help or…?” 

“Actually, tonight I think you could help me capture him.” 

“Decoy?”

“Exactly. You’re going to talk to him as he comes out of his restaurant, I’ll come up behind him, stick him, and we’ll put him in the trunk. From there, you’ll help get me in his house. Don’t worry, he lives alone, and for the past week, he hasn’t had any visitors.” 

“Okay. Let’s do this then.” 

“You seem nervous, you alright?” 

“I’m just… first time, you know?” you said, your hands getting sweaty, your eyes darting around. 

“Don’t worry, I’ve don’t this dozens of times. It’ll be easier than you think.” 

“Okay,” you said, unsure, nodding. 

“It’ll be new for me too, having a partner,” he said, trying to assuage some of your worry. “We’ve got this though.” 

Again, you nodded.

“Shall we?” 

“Lead the way.” 

With that, he threw his duffel bag over his shoulder and you followed him to his car. The two of you drove in utter silence on the way, your mind whirling with thoughts, worries, concerns.

What if you got caught? You’d be sent to prison, Dexter probably put on death row, Spencer would divorce you in a heartbeat, he’d hate you. You’d ruin his trust in everyone. Everything you worked for would be gone in a flash. Your family would disown you. The BAU would be disgraced. Garcia’s heart would be broken. Emily would hate you. 

Your life would be over. Everything you’d built would be for nothing.

Finding a new courage though, you swallowed it down, taking a deep breath.

And that’s why you’d never get caught. 

“Okay, we’re almost there. He’s going to come out of the backdoor around 10. You need to approach him. I don’t care what guise you use, just keep him looking away from the car as long as you can.” 

“Cameras?”

“None, already checked.”

“Other employees?” 

“Should already be gone. We’ll canvass the parking lot first to make sure.” 

You nodded and he pulled into the small parking lot behind the bistro the chef owned. Your heart was about to pound out of your chest. Part of this felt so wrong. But then again, it felt so wrong that innocent restaurant patrons had to bury their loved ones because of this guy. 

That’s all it took to steel your nerves. 

“See anyone in any of the cars?” Dexter asked as he tried to peer around.

You looked at each car for five seconds for movement. There was none.

“I don’t see anything.”

“Alright. Let’s get our man.” He turned to you just as the chef walked out of the backdoor, trying to lock it. “You’re up.”

Taking a deep breath, you nodded and got out of the car. You walked up, trying to think of a good ruse. 

“Excuse me,” you said sweetly coming up behind him. 

He spun, slightly startled. 

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I’m a pastry chef student. I’m about to graduate and I just adore your work and I was wondering if you had any openings for me?” 

“I’m not looking to hire anyone,” he informed gruffly. “Good night.” He started to move to go around you but you stepped in his path, glancing to Dexter who was moving silently between a few cars. He was just ten feet away now. 

“I really beg you to reconsider. I’m a great chef--”

Dexter was behind him in an instant, the needle in the chef’s neck, and the guy went limp. He caught him easily. 

“And a great liar,” you mocked as you smiled to Dexter. He grinned back.

“Pull the car around,” Dexter commanded gently.

You dashed to the car and brought it over before helping Dexter put him in the trunk. You got back in the passenger seat and Dexter got behind the wheel to lead you back to the guy’s place. Luckily, he had a driveway that went way back, far from prying eyes. Dexter picked the lock and ordered you to grab his tools and go into the dining room. You did as you were told, moving quickly. 

Dexter drug the chef in and you shut the door. 

“He’ll be out cold for the next thirty minutes. Help me put up the plastic, please.” He opened his duffel bag and grabbed the rolls. The two of you draped the plastic on all four walls, going over the table. 

“Now, we have to disrobe and wrap him in plastic and tape him to the table.”

“He’s… We’ve got to have him get naked?” you asked incredulously. 

“Well, yeah. I can’t tear through clothing. I could but…” 

Agan, you swallowed your aversions and set to help him, pulling the clothing off this guy. It felt really weird undressing an unconscious man, and even weirder seeing a guy naked that wasn’t your husband. 

“Now what?”

“Now, we put him on the table, and strap him down.” 

You grabbed the ankles and Dexter grabbed under his arms, and the two of you lifted him up and onto the table and began wrapping and duct taping. 

“Alright, that should do it,” he noted, clearly proud of the work as he stepped back.

“So what now?” 

“Now, I get dressed, and you do too.” He put on his coveralls, his long gloves, and apron. Then he handed you something similar. “Might be too big, sorry.” 

You shook your head. “No need to. Do I need to go out and get my own stuff? For next time?” 

“Probably be best that you’re in clothing that fits you best.”

“Right.”

The two of you stood there quietly. Everything was done. The kill room was staged, the victim on the table was prepped, Dex had gotten out the photos of his victims and taped them up, the slides and dropper were ready, and the kill tools were all set out. 

“Now we wait for him to wake up. From there, I would appreciate it if you just watched, until I say otherwise.” 

You nodded. “Can do.”

Five minutes later, the chef woke up and your heart began to race again. Now, you watched Dexter shift into, well, himself. This was all Dexter, in his truest form. He was honest, real, and open with you, sure, but this was him in his element. He fit here, he belonged here. 

“You’re awake,” he noted in an even, almost somber tone. 

The chef looked around, he saw you, he saw Dexter, he tried to move and began to panic. “What the hell is this? Who are you? What’s going on?” 

“What’s going on is you run a restaurant where the customers need to worry about more than normal food poisoning,” Dexter said as he stalked the table like a predator. 

“The hell are you talking about?” 

“Them!” Dexter said sternly, pointing to the pictures of his victims. “They went to your restaurant and died. The autopsy all show heart attack. Funny, since only one of them was over fifty.” 

The chef just glared at him. 

“Why do it? Why kill random people that come into your restaurant?” he asked as he cut his cheek and got the drop of blood. 

With a defiant voice, he said, “Because I like it. I like the power. I like knowing that the next person who takes a spoonful of my clam chowder might die.”

Dexter appeared lost in thought. “So a god complex.” 

“Yes,” he all but seethed. “There, happy? Now let me the fuck go!”

Dexter put down his face shield and said, “I’m not happy. Not yet.” He looked to you and gestured with his head for you to come over. You carefully walked over to the opposite side of the table, unsure what was about to happen. 

He poised a large hunting knife over his chest, and held the tip there. “I cut here, stops the blood flow quickly, and there isn’t any spatter.”

You nodded. 

“Put your hand on the handle,” he instructed. 

Your eyes went wide. “What? No. I can’t do that. Not… not on my first.” Panic wrapped you in a tight cocoon. You thought you’d just be watching tonight, not participating. 

“Y/N,” he said firmly, his voice grounding you, “I need you to do this with me. Alright? I can’t have you getting your first victim, and realizing you can’t do it. Then we are left with a bigger mess. I can’t kill your victims, it goes against my code.” He spoke slowly and clearly, so you understood the gravity of the situation. 

You nodded. “I know but, couldn’t we wait until--”

He shook his head. “No, Y/N. You’ve got to do this. You’ll have to do it eventually, you might as well do it now.” 

You chewed your lip, knowing he was right. It was either now or never. 

Without another word, you placed your hands on the handle of the knife, replacing his. He put his hands over the tops of yours. You’d never touched Dexter before, so this felt… foreign, yet warm, and comforting. 

“You’ll have to push,” he reminded. 

Taking a deep breath and closing your eyes, you pushed, but the man started to scream so you stopped. 

“You’ll have to do it fast and hard, otherwise, it’ll only prolong this.” 

You nodded, and finally, with all your strength, you tried to shove the knife straight down into his chest. You were ready to remove your hands, but Dex tightened his grip on yours, gazing at you. 

“Feel his heartbeat slow down,” he commanded in a low voice. 

So you did. The two of you waited for a short moment, the heart beat strong, then with every beat it got slower and slower, fainter and fainter. Finally, it stopped altogether and you looked at the chef’s eyes - they were lifeless. 

Dexter let you go immediately and you ripped your hands away from the knife. 

“Are you okay?” he asked tentatively. 

You nodded, not sure if you could speak yet. 

“So what did you think?” 

“It’s…. Not as bad as I thought it would be.”

He somewhat smiled. “So you’re not ready to run screaming, turning me into the feds?” 

“Not just yet,” you mused with a smile. 

“Well,” he started, looking at the body, “this is where I dismember him. Did you want to be here for that part?”

“Do I need to do that to… mine?” 

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” 

With that, you bobbed your head, pressing your lips together. 

“If you don’t want to watch, I’d understand.” 

At this, you thanked him, and turned around. The sound wasn’t pleasant, but you just tried to go to your happy place and ignore it. When it was all said and done, Dexter had black trash bags in the trunk of his car, the two of you driving to the restaurant. Dexter would drive the chef’s car back home, you would follow in Dexter’s car. He’d make sure there was no DNA evidence in the car, and you two would head -- wherever he said to go next. 

The exchange of the cars was made, and you and Dexter were quiet. 

“So where to now?”

“Now we dump the body.”

He parked at a marina, and he ordered you to help him hoist the bags out. This wasn’t as appalling to you as you could just pretend it was a bag of normal trash. 

The two of you hauled the bags onto his boat and he helped you get in. 

“So, now where?” 

“I’ve got a special spot, out in the ocean.”

All you did was bob your head, with Dexter glancing over to you. “You feel alright?” 

“Yeah. It’s a bit surreal, but… I don’t regret it,” you stated. This was true. This guy was no longer hurting people. 

“I didn’t realize how nice it was to have help,” he suddenly noted with a smirk.

You let out a small laugh. “Yeah?” 

“Yeah. Carrying the body, having help with the kill room, it’s all time savers,” he said with a smile.

“Well I hope I was a good assistant. I’m sorry about the whole hesitating with the knife thing,” you said, apologizing as the ocean breeze hit your face and you tried to take in the warm air, admiring the black water. 

“It’s your first time, and you’re driven by morals, I’m driven by something different. I didn’t really expect you to just go all psycho on him the first time.” 

A sigh of relief escaped you. “I’m glad. I was worried I might’ve gotten in the way.”

“On the contrary, you make me regret not seeking out a partner a long time ago.” 

You couldn’t help but smile at this. Next thing you knew, the boat was slowing down and Dexter informed you this was where you were going to dump the bodies. He made sure you had your gloves on, and the two of you dumped them. 

“Speaking of partners,” Dexter began, “when was the last time you talked to your husband?”

You thought. “I guess I haven’t really called him since I got back.” 

“So you haven’t called Spencer since you got back on Sunday?”

“No, but I mean we’ve been texting. He’s been on a case.” 

Dexter sighed, shaking his head. “That’s not good.” 

“Why?” 

“You’re calling him less.” 

“So?” you demanded. “I’m spending time with you. We have to focus.” 

“If I have to explain to the world’s best profiler why ignoring your husband is a bad idea, then we’ve got a problem.”

You narrowed your eyes at him while you crossed your arms. You clicked the pieces into place. “Spence would never think that.” 

“I don’t care what you think he might think, we don’t need him getting suspicious and investigating, right? The less questions we raise, the better.” 

For a long while, you just stared at him but you could tell he wasn’t backing down from this. 

“Alright, I’ll call him tonight.”

“Good. Be sure to keep up communications.” 

“Will do, captain.” You saluted him and he rolled his eyes but smiled. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[jessefandomunited]

Alternate Reality (Part3)

Spencer Reid X OC

I sprinted into the meeting room , horrified at the call I had gotten. When I woke up to an empty house I didn’t think anything of it , I thought Piper had just gone out for a walk or back to her house, but minuets later I got a call that changed everything. Now the talk me and Piper had had last night seemed like a prophecy, she was going to die, but I refused to let that happen. I’d do everything in my power to get her back though my brain had been malfunctioning ever since I got that call. I stumbled into the conference room and looked at the screen everyone else was looking at and saw Piper bound to a wooden beam in the center of this shack like room. “ what is this,” I said incredulously. “ I got this stream emailed to me,” when I went back I found that he had….beat her till she gave it up,” Garcia said holding back tears. “ Is all this live,” I asked feeling sick. She nodded , “ yeah… I believe so.” Suddenly Piper yelled, “ Hey if you guys are watching please please don’t let a certain genius watch, please.” My heart cracked as the man responded, “ oh is that him.” I felt faint and left the room. Derek followed me , “ Hey man this guys is a classic narcissist he’s just trying to get under her skin, we’re going to find her.” “ But what if we don’t ,” I said louder than I intended, “ what if she dies, what if I can’t save her!? What then?!” “ One thing at a time,” Derek said calmly, “ come on use that big brain of yours where is she being held.” I tried to think about the construction and how it compares to houses around the area but suddenly the only thing I was seeing was Piper strapped to that beam and all I could hear was her yelling for me to stop watching. I opened my eyes and shook my head, “i...i can’t think...all I can see is her...” Derek put a comforting hand on my shoulder and I was wondering if she had seen this exact scene played out with another girl. “ I GOT SOMETHING,” I heard Garcia yell.

…..

I tasted blood in my mouth and I wasn’t sure what it was from. He had been knocking me around a lot and I think he was beginning to get tired of my attitude. I kept trying to guess where we were and I was hoping they were picking up on things because I was starting to get a bit delirious. I was aching all over just like I am after a good fight so if anything this was just fueling my fire the second I got my watch back it was all over for this guy. The punches were fine, the cuts on my face and arms were awful but easy enough to dissociate from, but the shock collar, that was my least favorite thing . Its like my whole body was trying to get away from itself. He was taking a break and it looks like answering some comments on his stream. I looked at the state of myself, my shirt was stained with blood and which made it look more punk than it already did. My fishnets were torn in a few places, i’d probably have to tear it a lot more to even it up, my boots had blood on them and were scuffed a bit but otherwise not too bad. I didn’t even want to see how my face looked. I was curious at what he branded on me. He surprised me by getting up quickly and walking to the table. “ can we not do this I need to breath,” I said rolling my eyes, then I saw he had my necklace in his hand, “ what is this?” It was indestructible so I wasn’t worried about that but I needed to find a way for him to be compelled to put it on me. “ It’s nothing , just… throw it out he’d hate to see me wearing that in this state,” I stuttered then looked away quickly like I didn’t want him to hear that. He got that smug grin on his face and walked up to the camera . “ CUT IT OUT,” I yelled trying to add a hitch in my voice for good measure. “ look mr genius I have this little symbol of your love for eachother and just wait till you see her in it.” I shook my head , “ stop please no.” I pushed back and he forced it on, “ did I just find your breaking point?” “ No ,” I gasped, “ I found your weakness , FAIL SAVE TRANSPORT.” In an instant I was a few yards outside the building. I was going to go back like I promised but I had to get out of the ducktape. I felt my neck jolt and I fell back, the stupid collar was still activated. Luckily I was able to rip off the ducktape holding my arms and I quickly unlatched the collar , throwing it as far as I could . Then I ripped off the tape holding my legs and steamed, if he thinks i’m done with him he’s got another thing coming . I teleport back in to find the door wide open and him running around pressing the shock collar button I crouched in front of the screen and said, “ to all you sick bastards watching, this is what I call a fair fight , and to the BAU, i’m turning on his location get me the hell out of here.” I tapped a few buttons and stood up and yelled, “ HEY DUMB ASS, MISS ME,” He turned shocked to see me in his house I kicked the door shut and grabbed all his knives and hid them , a fair fight means no weapons.He started banging on the door wildly. “ Whos there,” I sang. “ I’M GONNA KILL YOU YOU LITTLE BITCH,” he snarled. “ sorry this little bitch is busy wrecking all your stuff.” I stepped back thought so he could come in. He kicked open the door and rushed at me with fire in his eyes. I ducked at the last moment and slashed my foot out to trip him. I was in so much pain but the adrenaline kept me fighting. I jumped on his back and grabbed his hair smashing his face into the floor with im sure surprising force to him. Then I kicked him in the side avoiding his hands that reached for me, “ no no no see It’s my turn now, and I don’t like hurting people but for scum like you I make an exception . In a burst of rage he grabbed my leg and yanked It out from under me. My head smacked against the floor again but my shoulder took the brunt of the blow. I sharply kicked at him with my free foot connecting with his nose again causing him to shriek. “Crying out already I just got started ,” I laughed , suddenly I heard the familiar ,” FBI GET DOWN!” I quickly looked over and unfortunately thats all he needed to grab me from behind, holding a knife to my neck, I must have missed one. I gasped, “ loosen up a bit man you’ve lost.”  “ Shut up,” he growled, “ Which one is your boyfriend?” “ Sir please put the knife down, we don’t need this stream learning about how weak you were when you were younger do we,” It was Emily talking. I opened my mouth to teleport but he pressed harder making my snap my mouth shut. “I want to talk to this girls boyfriend,” He growled. “ I don’t,” I started but he broke skin and a trickle of blood ran down my neck.  “ He’s not here,” Emily lied , I could see him outside arguing with Derek to let him go in. “ Is that him,” He asked me gently kissing my cheek. I gagged , “ no .” “ I don’t like lairs,” He concluded, “ bring him in in five seconds or i’ll cut her neck 5 4.”  “ REID,” Emily yelled . I watched as Spencer broke out in a run towards the shack. I suddenly felt self contentious which was so stupid at a time like this . “ There he is,” He chuckled darkly . “ Yes I am now put her down,” Spencer said calmly , “ what is one insignificant girl, you’ve killed how many?” He was playing into his narcissism good. “ did you hear that princess he called you insignificant, he doesn't love you anymore , how does that make you feel?” I suddenly was getting flashbacks of Spencer being forced to say he didn’t love Maeve and I choked out a sob, I hope this doesn’t end like that. “ she was impossible to train,” Spencer continued , “ it’s useless to try, you’ve trained better than her.” “ Damn right I did,” He said loosening the grip on the knife a bit, it was working. I knew what I needed to say to make him drop me but if I was wrong i’d probably die. “ Kill me,” I sobbed, “ he dosen’t love me I… I can’t live like this.” Spencer said nothing but his eyes grew wide and his gun hand wavered. The man laughed and pulled me close, “ I don’t think I will you’ll have to live with that the rest of your miserable life.” He threw me to the side and dropped the knife . I felt all the emotions that had been gathering the past however many days I was here  burst. I began sobbing as they drug him away. In a minuet I felt someone pick me up and yell, “ MEDIC, we need to get you to a hospital.” “ NO..no hospital I can’t I can’t please please don’t make me Spence please promise me,” I blubbered holding onto him for dear life. “ Okay,” Okay,” He said gently He held me close as I cried and drifted off to sleep.

[ariamariedilaurentisx]

Gone missing.

"I love you." Hearing those words and feeling his lips to her temple Aria DiLaurentis turned over to face him a small smile curving at her lips. "You don't have to go." she murmured as she pulled him closer. Hearing him laugh made her smile even more. "I love you too by the way." she added. She kissed him softly knowing he couldn't stay. Watching as he got up she reached a hand out and she sighed softly as their fingers parted ways. The bed they shared would definitely feel a lot bigger with him not in it until she got up. She smiled a little as he exited the room. She heard him on the monitor that was still in their son's room. "Be good buddy. Take care of your mom while I'm away." Liam didn't answer but she could hear him stir a little as well as see thanks to the monitor. Looking at her phone she groaned softly. It was way to early.

She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew there was a two year old in her bed. "Mommy!" Aria could feel the little boy as he jumped on her. "Oof!" she opened her green eyes she was met with a more piercing green stare. She smiled up at the little boy before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. "Good morning bear." she grinned. "Mornin' mommy." his voice still full of sleep. He pulled away from her so that he could look down at her. "Where's daddy?" the boy asked. Aria looked over to Jason's side of the bed and she slowly sat up. "Daddy had to go on a trip for work." she replied softly. She pulled her phone off the bedside table and she looked at it and she smiled to see that she had a message from him. Smiling to herself she set the phone down to look at their son. "What do you want for breakfast?" she asked before stretching.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed she grabbed the phone as she stood up. She turned to face the bed and she managed to grab Liam as he jumped to her. She laughed softly. "Pancakes!" Hearing her son say he wanted pancakes she smiled. "You know.. That sounds great. Let's go!" she carried him down the stairs and she set him down in the kitchen. She grabbed him a cup and her one as well. She set hers in the Keurig and she opened his and set it on the counter. She made her way to the refrigerator and she got out the milk before pouring it into his cup. After putting the milk away and putting the lid on his cup she handed it to him before starting her own coffee. While her coffee was pouring she read the message from her husband. "I love you both. It's only for one night. I'll be home tomorrow evening. Can't wait to see you." Once she read that message she grinned.

Placing her phone on the counter she got out the stuff to make pancakes and she made enough for both of them. Once the pancakes were done she cut up some fruit and put it on their plates and she set him up at the table and she sat with him while they ate. She texted Jason back. When they were finished eating she smiled. She was working from home that day because she wanted to spend more time with Liam, especially with Jason out of town for the day and night. She helped him down so that he could go to the playroom by her office after cleaning him up. Whenever he left she cleaned up the kitchen before checking on him and heading into her office to work. A while later Liam came in and they took a television break. When he fell asleep Aria used that time to pick up a little. Aria had just checked on Liam when the house phone rang.

Answering the phone in her office so that she wouldn't disturb Liam she was a little surprised to hear someone asking for Jason. She thought the voice was familiar but she wasn't for sure. Jason was going near Rosewood for work so she knew he'd be staying with Alison and Emily and their kids. She was happy that he'd be with family but when someone said that Jason never showed up she panicked. "Wait what?" she replied. She pulled her cell phone off the desk and she checked to see if Jason had replied to her text. She was expecting a text or a call from him when he arrived. He hated her worrying but this wasn't helping. "He what?" She paused. "Is Jason home? He never made it.." Hearing those words Aria nearly dropped the phone. "No. He left this morning." she replied. "Look. I'm going to call him or his sister." She took down the number that she was supposed to call back and she hung up.

Aria didn't even fully hang up. She called Jason's phone and she got his voicemail. "Jason.. Where are you? What's going on? I just got a call saying you never made it.. I love you. Please call me back!" After hanging up she could feel the tears in her eyes. Without thinking to much about it she quickly called her sister-in-law and one of her best friends. When Alison picked up the phone she sighed. "Ali. Is Jason there?" She paused and listened to her. "I just got a call saying he never made it. Was he supposed to stop there first or go straight to work?" She listened again and she sighed. She could hear kids in the background. "Well when he gets there call me and have him call me too." she sighed. "Give the kids a hug for me." She paused as Liam entered the room. She pulled him onto her lap and she said goodbye to Alison before clutching her son for dear life.

"Mommy okay?" she heard him and she wiped the tears from her face as she pulled back to look at the son who looked so much like his father. She kissed the top of his head and nodded slowly. "Yes sweetheart. Mommy's okay." she sighed softly. She hated lying but there was literally nothing she could say to him. "Come on sweetheart. Let's get something to eat and then we'll play okay?" she set him on the ground and she sent an email to her boss really quick before heading to the kitchen to make lunch for them. She bit down on her lower lip while she was making food. She kept glancing at her phone and even when she sat down and barely touched her food. She sighed softly. When lunch was over she cleaned up throwing most of her own food away because she was unable to eat worried sick about where her husband was.

The rest of the day passed in somewhat of a blur. She spent it with Liam. She ended up ordering dinner because she couldn't bring herself to cook. She knew cooking wasn't safe for her or Liam. Just as she finished cleaning up from dinner her cell phone rang. Without even looking at the id she answered. It was Alison. They talked for what seemed like forever but the moral was Jason wasn't there. "I'll see you soon." She went and booked a flight for that night and she was luckily able to get on a redeye that night. She texted Alison the info so that she or Emily could pick her up at the airport with Liam. She went and packed them up and she managed to give Liam a bath and change him into something comfortable. She let him fall asleep on the couch while she made final preparations. She managed to get everything done and get them to the airport in plenty of time.

Once they'd checked in and made it to their terminal with Liam stirring a few different times she sat down with him and she kept him and their carry-on close so that maybe he'd sleep most of the way. It wasn't too much of a wait before their flight was called. She made it to the gate and she turned in their tickets and when they were let through she made her way onto the plane where she found their seats. She set him down in his and she buckled him in and then she buckled herself in while they waited for everyone else to board. Luckily they had the window seat so no one had to get around them. Once the plane was boarded and they took off she put on some music to distract her. It wasn't a long flight but she must have fallen asleep because next thing she heard they were landing. She looked over at Liam who was waking up and she smiled at him.

When they landed and were able to get off the plane she carried him to get their suitcase before trying to find Alison or Emily. When it was Emily she found she hugged her tightly. Without too much being said Emily took Liam so that Aria didn't have to carry him and their bags. Aria was thankful and she smiled a little. When they made it to the vehicle she saw the car seat and she smiled. "I'm sorry it's pink but I knew you'd need it with Liam and all.." Aria brushed it off. "The color doesn't matter. Thank you so much for picking us up." she made sure he was buckled before climbing in herself. "Thank you for letting us come stay with you guys." she added. She needed to find Jason and going home to Rosewood was definitely the best way to do that not just for her but for Liam and everyone else too.

[gainerstories]

Holiday Heft: Halloween

“Wow you look so different,” said my sister, Emily, “healthier.”

I knew full well what “healthier” meant. It meant I was fat, hairy, and pale. You see, I had checked into rehab two months ago at the beginning of September for a coke and pill addiction. I was something of a party boy, a circuit gay if you will, and the lifestyle eventually caught up to me. A few days after my thirtieth birthday I almost overdosed and woke up in a hospital covered in my own blood. The lining of my nose was falling out. After that, I checked into rehab and kicked all of my habits: drugs, booze, boys, and even cigarettes. The problem was, I picked up another habit: food. This was common in rehab, and a lot of people spoke of their extra pudge with pride because it was a sign of their recovery. I tried to adopt this outlook, despite the fear that no one would want to fuck me once I was clean. It didn’t help that I had turned thirty which meant my fuckability in the gay community was already plummeting. I checked in to the recovery program at 5’10” and 120 pounds. I stood at my parent’s doorstep at 140 pounds.

“Well you know what rehab will do to yah,” I said and slapped the bit of fat clinging to my abdomen. “And they don’t even have tanning booths there!”

We laughed and I stepped inside. It was strange to be back home in Connecticut. Once I had moved to San Francisco I rarely visited, and when I did it was for very brief periods of time. Everything looked the same in my ancestral home, but my family appeared older. My parents were welcoming, but the air was filled with disappointment. I dropped my stuff in my room and helped my mom prepare for Halloween night. She was leaving with my Dad on a business trip in a few hours and it was up to me and my sister to pass out the candy.

As the sun began to set, the first of the tick-or-treaters arrived. After handing out candy for maybe fifteen minutes, my 21 year old sister abruptly announced she had a party to go to and abandoned me. We lived in a wealthy suburb that was wildly popular on Halloween and I was a bit annoyed I was stuck here alone. It also didn’t help that I was able to watch on social media as all my friends in San Francisco got plastered. Meanwhile, I was handing out candy to kindergarteners. To distract myself I put on a horror movie and stretched out on the couch. I was craving a beer or at least some weed, but resisted and ordered a pizza instead.

My stomach was growling as I manned the door, so I decided to help myself to a few treats after each group left. I was already a bit full of candy when the pizza arrived, but I ate it anyway out of boredom. After killing the small pie in record time, I realized I didn’t feel completely satiated. My stomach had definitely grown to accommodate more when I was in rehab, leaving me with a surprising appetite. Back in the day, one slice of pizza would would leave me feeling bloated and fat. Now one slice felt like nothing. The Halloween candy was right in front of me so I absent mindedly continued to snack through my movie.

As I was choosing the next flick to put on the door bell rang. I opened up to a chorus of “trick-or-treat” and reached for some candy. I was shocked to see the bowl was nearly empty. How was that possible? Was I handing out too much? The night was still young and more kids were certain to stop by. After the kids left I dug through the kitchen looking for more candy. I knew my mom had bought three mega sized bags of Halloween treats, but they were all empty and I couldn’t find any more. I did find some bags of chocolate chips for baking, but nothing individually wrapped that I could pass out. What had happened? The only answer remaining was that I plowed through the candy myself. A wave of anxiety washed over me as I dually realized that not only was I a fat pig, but that I was going to have to turn the lights off at 8pm and hope the neighbors didn’t gossip or tell my parents. I wanted nothing more than a xanax to calm my nerves, but instead I opened a bag of the chocolate chips for some much needed comfort. What the fuck- might as well embrace being a fat ass. I put on another movie and reclined on the couch with my chocolate.

I woke up to my sister drunkenly stumbling home with a box from Pizza Hut. I looked down to see brown stains across my shirt and two empty bags of chocolate chips on the floor. Luckily, she was too drunk to notice my blatant gluttony.

“Hey brotherrr, wants join me for some dank ass pizza?”

I complied, even though I hate Pizza Hut, and she plopped down on the couch next to me. I tried to ask about her night but she could barely form words as she struggled to finish one slice. Immediately after she dozed off. I removed her shoes, covered her in a blanket, and cleaned up the house a bit. It was almost 2am but I was wide awake. My stomach was noticeably bloated from all the pizza and candy, but I figured one more slice before bed wouldn’t hurt. In fact, it would probably help me fall asleep. Before I knew it, the whole pizza was gone and my gut was distended and tight. I was uncomfortably full. It was a strange and foreign sensation that only occurred on the occasional thanksgiving. What would I tell Emily about her pizza? I destroyed the box and hid it at the bottom of the trash can. Hopefully she wouldn’t remember getting it, and if she did I would tell her there was only two slices in the box when she got home. I tried to ignore my aching stomach and not think about how out of control my appetite had become as I headed to bed.

I woke up the next morning still bloated and filled with guilt. I needed to get myself together. I decided to skip breakfast, throw on some tennis shoes, and go for a jog. It didn’t take long before I was drenched in sweat, out of breath and all around miserable. I persevered, however, and clocked three miles. I decided that my plan for the day was to make a green smoothie, go to the tanning salon, and then buy a gym membership. It was time I started looking like the old Levi, just without the excessive drugs, partying, and sex. I got home feeling refreshed and greeted Emily in the kitchen as she was making coffee. She looked super hungover.

“Fuck I’m so glad you’re home,” she said.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“How do you think?” She struggled to chuckled. “I need hangover food ASAP. Come with me to the 50s diner?”

“I was gonna make a smoothie, and then...”

“Fuck that, I need greasy food and some company. Pleeease Levi? You don’t have to order anything, just provide conversation.”

I sighed and complied. Who was I to turn her down when I’d been absent for so many years? I changed clothes and we headed to the diner. Emily ordered an excessive spread of pancakes, hash browns and a milkshake. I ordered French toast and a side of fruit.

Our food arrived and it all looked delicious, plus I was positively starving. I tried to pace myself although I couldn’t help but to gobble up every morsel of the gooey French toast. Emily claimed to be full after only a few bites and continually shoved her food onto my plate. I verbally contested this, but my actions proved otherwise. The crispness of the overdone hash browns was really hitting the spot, and I started grabbing them off her plate to drench them in ketchup and ranch. I definitely ate the majority of that dish. To Emily’s credit, she did eat most of the pancakes but I helped polish them off. The milkshake, however, was simply beyond her capacity. It was almost completely melted, but I still took it to go. It felt wasteful to leave. Plus, I had a weak spot for this diner’s milkshakes, melted or frozen. I guzzled it down halfway through the drive.

My first week back home continued in a similar fashion, which is to say it was pretty food-centric. My family took me on several sumptuous outings which usually consisted of me eating their leftovers. Furthermore, my newly sober status meant that if I wanted to hang out with any of my old friends our options for activities were pretty limited. More often than not, we would get lunch or dinner. It also didn’t help that my mom bought an excess of discount Halloween candy to put out around the house. The result was that I was almost constantly snacking on something sugary and sweet. In my defense, I did try to go jogging when I could muster the energy, but it was always a struggle. And, needless to say, I never got that gym membership.

It’s not like I was oblivious to the fact that I was developing some bad eating habits and a bit of extra padding. I could feel my shirts clinging to my poochy belly and my thighs suctioned into skinny jeans. There was no avoiding how the waist of all my pants forced the fat around my waist to bulge out and strain the lower half of my T-shirts. To avoid this I began to wear sweatpants and basketball shorts almost daily. Elastic not only alleviated the discomfort of a tight waistband, but also didn’t produce an unbecoming muffin top effect. Strangely, I was generally unconcerned about my physique. I figured I could always lose the weight and that my sobriety and family time was more important. However, this didn’t mean I wasn’t shocked when I stepped on the scale a week after Halloween to find myself clocking in at 151 pounds. That was an 11 pound gain of what was certainly pure fat. I knew I’d been unhealthy, but 11 pounds in one week? Something must be wrong. I scheduled an appointment with my doctor for the next morning.

I struggled to find clothes that flattered my figure while I getting dressed for my appointment. Eventually I settled on all black, even though the button of my jeans felt like it would burst at any moment. When I arrived, my doctor took all the usual tests and then sat me down for a conversation.

“I understand you’re concerned about your weight, but frankly you shouldn’t be. 160 pounds is perfectly healthy for someone with your age an height.”

“160?!” I responded. “My scale at home was ten less than that.”

“Perhaps a full stomach or heavier clothes can account for the discrepancy. Regardless, you shouldn’t be too worried. I’m sure you’re finding that your metabolism is not what it once was, and this is normal for men your age. You are about fifteen pounds shy of an overweight BMI, so what we want to do is maintain your current weight with healthy eating and light exercise. I know you’re aware that weight gain is often an effect of newfound sobriety, and not cause for alarm. You should really feel proud of yourself, Levi. Don’t sweat the small stuff.”

As I left the doctors office, I did feel better about myself. Still, if I wanted to ever get laid again, I needed to cut some weight. Sobriety meant a fresh start and I should start caring for myself accordingly. When I got home I busted out the razor and shaved off all my body hair. I went to Walgreens for some tanning lotion and then H&M for some better fitting clothes. I knew I had to invest in my appearance if I was going to take make lasting change. That is, after all, how I got sober in the first place.

Finally, after a full day of self-care and healthy eating I returned home for a long bath and a face mask. As I walked in the door a wonderful buttery aroma filled my nose. I knew instantly what it was: my mom was baking.

“Honey, I’m so glad you’re back! I was struck with the holiday spirit and decided to do some baking. I need you try everything and tell me how it is.”

“Mom, I’m really trying to watch my weight right now.”

“Oh silly, just one slice of each dish. I insist. There’s Oreo cheesecake, pecan pie, and my special dark chocolate banana bread that you love.”

That banana bread was my weakness and my stomach was growling after a full day of eating vegan. I had to resist if I ever wanted to get laid again. I prepared myself to turn her down and took a deep breath. I don’t know if it was the smell in the air or what, but the words coming out of my mouth were not what I intended.

“What the hell, I’ll take two slices of the banana bread.”

This was going to be a long Holiday season.

[fictionfromgames]

2019 (Buffy/Angel Eden studios)

Lawrence Myers (January)

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

The cameras never stopped, but years at the firm led to an impeccable public persona. It was a large part of how a two term representative got picked out as VP, but then again, a little help from the Senior Partners goes a long way. He gave a picture perfect smile to the judge, bigger than the tight control he normally displayed, but still just as false.

It would be a while before he got to a place of privacy, something that made him begin to clench his jaw after a while. The American people were desperately pathetic, constantly delaying anything worthwhile, and he needed to get out.

Lawrence smoothed his salt and pepper hair, the only gesture he allowed himself, and largely as a joke for the press. His assistant was hovering in the periphery, and there was nothing he’d rather be doing than delegating long-awaited tasks.

He gestured to Mallory; an hour in and it was far past time to get the hell out of there. No more shmoozing, no more firing up the very amenable base. It was time.

“Sir, we’ve got a meet-and-greet in Virginia next--” Mallory began.

“Stop and listen,” President Myers said, his genial mask slipping into the authoritative annoyance he’d honed so well, “Call my guys at Homeland Security and ICE. I want all funding to IDRS halted and deferred to them.”

“Of course,” his assistant knew better than to respond with hesitation or confusion, “We’ll work up a press release too.”

“America solves its own problems, we don’t need INTERPOL junior here doing whatever the fuck they want,” he declared, “I don’t care who it needs to go through, we’ll start with an executive order if I have to.” “Absolutely,” Mallory complied, writing everything down, “And about the rally--”

“Fucking rallies,” his brow creased, conjuring up the lines in his brow that should have been deeper at 50, “That horseshit needs to be cut in half if we’re gonna get anything done this year.”

“Of course.”

A New, Confused Hope (March)

The tones of the aggravating electric chime rang again. Probably some lookie-loo or new witch seeking locally grown sage. Luckily, it does well enough in pots, so Logan always had a supply for the newly witchy.

He sniffed. Among the incenses and minty goodness of the growing sage, he caught a distinct eau de troll, and... “Hey, Aszea, try not to get vamp dust everywhere,” he called out without looking to the front of the shop.

“Logan, is Janis in? We have a kind of a situation,” the giant woman responded.

The way Aszea said situation made his ears perk, and probably would have without extra sensitive hearing. He placed his book down and made his way to the front, and was a little surprised that there were two people, and that the young woman with the troll was actually the one who smelled of dead vampires.

“Wwwwwwwhat?” Logan looked confused.

“So this is Emily.” Aszea put a hand softly on the girl’s shoulders, “She’s a sophomore at the catholic school, and she just killed like, three vampires.”

“Wait, really?” Logan moved around the counter, “That sounds like Slayer stuff, but--” “Right, she had a little assistance,” Aszea looked indignant, “But I told her about the Augury, and that we may be able to help her learn about what’s going on, and that, while it’s weird to have adult friends...”

“Having adult employers would be a good cover for a new Potential,” Logan knew immediately. He realized he’d carried a crystal ball out from stock, and set it down on an empty stand. “Twenty hours a week of magical supervision, little to no suspicion.”

“Twenty paid hours,” Aszea pointed out.

“Can you help me?” the girl’s eyes finally flickered up from her thousand yard stare. She was still in shock over what had happened, and Logan felt all the deeply bittersweet memories of watching someone learn some truth about the world lean a little more bitter when they locked eyes.

“Of course,” he said as softly as he could, “Just let me text the boss lady.”

Bad Actors (September)

“Well, shit!” Janis cursed, double-checking her phone.

“More amateur mages mucking up the mojo?” Logan asked, leaning over the counter.

“No, this was a test,” Janis held a finger in the air, “Someone is doing this on purpose, poisoning the well, and Iiiiiiiiii...”

Her face fell as she knew she’d have to admit something.

“Don’t know what to do about it?” Logan cut into her thought break.

“Yes, thanks, I was going to say that,” Janis twisted her mouth up, “Did you find the sleep daught?”

“Yeah, but I gotta skip it, Asz said there’s an inordinate amount of undead lately so I’ll be off the leash,” he said without looking at her.

“Any better at it? Can’t have you biting our only Slayer ally,” Janis crossed her arms, partly to glower and mostly to stop staring into her phone.

“I’ll tell you when you figure out what’s going on with the Tumblr coven.”

It was often tempting to throw annoying hexes at Logan, but ever since Myers ascended to the presidency, everything had been looking worse for the magical community, and she couldn’t afford to piss off any allies, even her werewolf store clerk.

“Who’d have thought I’d be curious as to where Phil went since January, huh?” she brushed a lock of hair out of her face, a small act of control in her increasingly chaotic life.

All Saints’ Order (November)

Brian raised his hands in victory. The molotov had crashed through the heathen storefront, and a small fire began taking hold inside. The Augury would be cleansed from his city.

Around him, his brothers cheered, hoisting their various weapons into the air, yells of “Hail Myers!” amongst the more enthusiastic wordlessness. They’d save their country, he knew, they’d start the next crusade, they’d burn--

Janis ended the spell.

“What’s happening?” Emily spoke up.

“We’re minus one shop and plus one openly fascistic anti-magic movement,” Janis responded flatly.

“Fuck,” was Aszea’s whole contribution the conversation.

*****************

So the last post was a couple years ago, and I’ve been watching a lot of Buffy, so here’s some setting update.

Lawrence Myers, 46th president of the United States, was a lawyer at a little firm known as Wolfram & Hart, and spent two terms as a representative for the state of Nevada before being courted, seemingly at random, as VP. When a very unexpected death opened up a vacancy in the White House, his administration fed on the zeitgeist of right wing American concerns and interests: a desire for law and order, fed by a covert program that produced chaos in the form of systematically sired mobs of vampires; fear and revulsion at the statistics of religion, that “witch” was now outpacing the growth of more “traditional” religious tendencies (see: christian denominations); and retaliation, essentially encouraged by the White House with its failure to criticize vigilante actions against apparently “satanic” sorts, such as middle class store owners or their working class superpowered/strange employees. Meanwhile, already prestigious or successful warlocks and demonic allies remained untouched by the ignorant sycophants.

Janis Morad, witch, demonologist, former entrepreneur. “Technopagan” is a term of the past, largely discarded in favor just plain ole witch, and Janis made her first sales online when Certain Social Websites started making witchcraft aesthetic. Using mundane practitioners to fund her own actual magickal ventures, she was largely able to fly under the radar until the All Saints’ executive order, which was supposed to fund governmental policing of Weird Stuff, but also just kind of invigorated an irate and clueless portion of the populace.

Logan Benson, werewolf. He was bit shortly before going to work with Janis, and has been pacified in his wolf phases by Janis’ alchemical experimentations. He’s been more and more eager to help out Aszea on nights as she seems immune to lycanthropy and is both tough and regenerative enough to survive the more mundane mauling that happened when he and the troll first met.

Emily Szymanski, Slayer. She’s mostly around because I had an idea that I liked-- that the Slayer Potential awakening spell was for extant Slayer Potentials when it was cast, not every one of them since. That being the case (how generous of me to myself), beginning in 2018 or later is the perfect time-- as Potentials come into age fifteen years later, we could be seeing one brand new Slayer for every one that has died since s7 of Buffy. This opens things up to a classic high school Slayer experience that we’re familiar with, while also still seeing a few “grizzled” vets in their mid to late twenties. I tend to assume “The life of a Slayer is brutally short,” but you don’t have to.

Generally speaking, she’s timid, I envisioned her as a nerdy Slayer, which will be fleshed out and statted when I get to it.

Aszea, troll. She was transformed from her assigned gender at birth through a wish-- one that she did not word carefully enough despite assuming she’d been quite particular. She wished to be a woman, but not specifically a human woman, and whoops. Now she mostly patrols and is the big muscle of the group.

Beyond this post, it’ll be set concurrent to whenever I’m writing, which is why I wanted to jump past all the time I didn’t include since the first two posts. Characters will have character sheets whenever they get their own story.

[spencexreidimagine]

Green-Eyed Monster

Request: can you do where the reader is jealous and spence has to remind her that she is the only person he is in love with and yea just a lot of fluff

Warnings: jealousy ! Fluff ;)

You and the team were all huddled up in the victim’s house in Texas for a recent case. A whole family was missing.

Everything was going by plan until the sheriff of the police department walked down the steps that led into the living room, a young petite woman following behind him. She stood behind him quietly, she didn’t look a day older than nineteen. Her dark brown hair framed over her wide doe eyes. In between her arms, she held an aged book of “Huckleberry Finn” that looks like it’s been read a thousand times.

“Sorry to bother, but I just found this young lady hiding in the bedroom closet upstairs,” The Sheriff says. By the look in Hotch’s eyes, I knew exactly who he was gonna make talk to her.

“Reid, you think you can talk to her?” Hotch questions and Spencer nods.

“Mark Twain, good choice,” Spencer comments as he leaves the living room with her.

“He’s one of my favorites,” I hear her say, a giggle following in the distance.

“He’s one of my favorites,” I whisper to myself in annoyance, using an exaggerated high pitch tone to copy her voice. I tried redirecting my mind back to the box in front of me, sorting through all the objects inside. Seems like they were moving stuff out of a boy’s room.

“You good, Y/N?” Morgan asks teasingly, a brow raised.

“I’m great,” I force a smile. You knew Spencer was a sucker for girls who were inclined to literature. You could back that claim up with his past with Maeve and you.

“Relax, green-eyed monster,” Derek laughs. “Boy Wonder over there is head over heels in love with you, he’s not leaving you anytime soon.”

“Touché to that,” JJ comments.

You huffed and left the room, files in hand to go ask the sheriff for more information about the family. And also to peak in on the conversation between Spencer and Mrs. Twain.

As you hopped up the steps, you spotted Spencer and the girl in what looks to be her bedroom. She was crying and he held her in between his arms as she did so.

“What the-” you began to stomp your way over there but someone stepped in front of you.

“Y/N, I’m stopping you from doing something you’ll regret,” Rossi scolds. “We need that girl to talk. Apparently, she’s one of the unsubs victims who managed to escape recently.”

In your opinion, this was incredibly unprofessional. But Rossi was right, the team needs a lead and if this girl is the answer to that, Spencer has to do what he has to do.

About an hour later, you and the rest of the team were back in the conference room of the police department. The second Spencer walked into the room, he found newfound perspective on the case.

“I think I figured it out,” he says quickly, rushing over to the work board. “Thanks to Leah.”

You could feel Derek’s teasing gaze on you and you turn to give him a death stare.

Spencer quickly drew up all his ideas on the board and connected all the dots within five minutes. He called up Garcia to give the team a quick biography on the life of the suspected unsub and finally, everything seemed to piece together.

***

When you and the team arrived at the unsub’s secondary location, everyone piled out of their cars, guns ready and pointed.

Spencer suggested bringing Leah after all the unsub ended up being her older brother. He was the cause of death of a previous family in the area, same exact M.O. You discovered that family was a surrogate for his actual one. This time he finally had the confidence and he kidnapped the parents and spared Leah. The boy was an outcast in his family, the only person who really appreciated him was Leah which is why she was left alone.

“Leah, you’re coming in with me, okay?” Spencer tells her as he places his hands on her biceps. “Be careful, don’t trigger him in any way. You’re the only one who can get through to him.”

“Okay,” she whimpers.

“Y/N, lead in Leah and me,” Spencer orders quickly before rushing towards the abandoned cabin.

You ignored the annoyance clawing at the back of your mind. You expected Spencer to at least tell you to be careful or that he loves you, but his usual comments of security were nowhere to be heard. And that just irked you.

You were supposed to protect everyone, yet here you were wanting to blitz attack the girl from behind. Luckily, you didn’t have to stare at the back of her head for much longer since you were supposed to lead them in.

You kicked the door down and rushed inside, gun pointed.

You made your way into the house just as soon as the unsub, Jackson, was about to kill his father.

“FBI!” You shouted. “Jackson, put the gun down, now!”

Jackson quickly whipped his father around, using him as a shield and pressing the gun against his head. The mother sat in the corner of the room, tied up, mouth taped and tears falling down her face.

“No!” Jackson shakes his head vigorously.

“Jackson, I know you don’t want to do this,” Spencer says, walking in with the gun pointed at the raging murderer.

“You don’t know what I want and don’t want,” Jackson spats.

“I know that you don’t want your sister to see you get killed,” Spencer says. “I know you don’t want her to suffer from the sight of seeing her parents being slaughtered right in front of her.”

“What do you mean?” Jackson says angrily.

“Leah!” Spencer calls and in walks Leah. You could feel the nerves radiating off of her from behind you.

“Leah,” Jackson breathes out. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at home, safe.”

“J, I was safe at home with mom and dad,” she chokes out.

“No, no mom and dad are horrible, they deserve to die!”

“No, they don’t, J,” Leah cries.

“Yes, they do!” Jackson fires a shot causing everyone to duck and cover. Another shot goes off, but it’s not coming from Jackson. You turn around to see Spencer pointing his gun at Jackson, and two bodies hit the ground.

The father scrambled off his back and crawled over to his wife, trying to rip off the ties that had her bounded. Jackson’s lifeless body lied in a growing pool of blood from the gunshot wound given to him by Spencer.

“Are you okay?” Spencer asks in worry. You turn around, thinking he was speaking to you - but he wasn’t. He was helping Leah off her feet who seemed to be in complete shock. Then finally it hit her.

“Jackson!” She screams out. Spencer holds her back from running to her brother. He holds her tight in his arms and you could see how she’s struggling to stand so Spencer falls to the ground with her.

“Y/N! Are you okay?” Emily asks you, offering you a hand to help you off the floor.

“I’m fine,” you mumble, taking her hand. You storm out of the stuffy house, ripping off your bulletproof vest and throwing it to the ground.

You went over to Hotch who was speaking to the EMT’s and waited until he was done speaking.

“May I go back to the hotel?” You ask impatiently.

“Everything is in check so yes, you may leave,” Hotch nods. “Jet won’t be ready until 6 am, you know the drill.”

“Yup,” you say curtly and turn on your heels towards one of the SUV’s.

“Y/N!” Hotch calls out. You turn around and give him a questioning look. “I don’t think Spencer realizes what he’s doing. I’ll give him until tonight before he realizes what’s wrong.”

“I don’t think he realizes either,” you agree. You hop into the SUV and quickly pull out of the police car filled lot.

You wanted nothing more than to take a hot shower, change into your pajamas and rest in bed. You were irritated and exhausted, plus Spencer being oblivious to your jealousy was a pain.

***

When you stepped out of the steamy bathroom in your oversized T-shirt and fuzzy socks, you didn’t expect to see Spencer sitting on the bed, fiddling with his thumbs.

“Why are you back so early?” You question. “I thought you still had some stuff to take care of.”

Spencer immediately caught the change in your tone of voice. He felt something was wrong earlier, but he brushed it off as you being annoyed with the case.

He felt his mood drop even more as you walked past him without a hug or a kiss, not even a smile. You just went to the other side of the bed and crawled in without acknowledging him again.

“Y/N,” he trails off, scared to ask you. “What’s wrong?”

“You don’t even know, huh?” You chuckle in disbelief. “Good night, Spencer.”

You reached over and turned off the light on the bedside table, your side of the room was now in shadows and only the light from the bathroom illuminated the dark room.

Spencer wracked his brain with different problems he might have caused between the two of you - but he kept coming up blank. He didn’t know what he did to tick you off.

Then he remembered a comment Morgan made before Spencer took off.

“Tell the green-eyed monster I say hello,” he joked.

It clicked. Spencer remembered the saying for jealousy was “green-eyed monster”. He just didn’t know why Morgan would bring it up.

Spencer looked over at you and he frowned. The green-eyed monster was you.

“I know what I messed up,” Spencer breaks the silence. “I ignored you the whole day. I put all my attention on Leah.”

You throw the covers off of you and sit up in annoyance.

“That’s not all, Spencer,” you frown. “I was annoyed yeah, but what really hurt me is what happened when we were in the unsub’s house.”

“What happened in the-” Spencer stopped mid-sentence. He remembered when the first bullet went off towards the middle of the room, instead of asking if you were okay, he went straight to Leah.

“Yeah, you know where I’m coming from now?” You say. Spencer rushed over to your side of the bed and turned on your bedside lamp. He kneeled down on the floor beside you and took your hands.

“Y/N, I’m in love with you, okay?” He begins. “I don’t know why you were jealous of Leah in the first place, I was just trying to solve the case and she was the key to it. Y/N, you’re a professionally trained law enforcement officer, I know I don’t need to worry about you.”

“But Leah, she’s perfect for you!” You exclaim quietly. “She reads the classics, she’s easygoing, she’s beautiful.”

“I think you just described yourself,” Spencer chuckles. “You’re perfect for me, Y/N. You’re more than just beautiful and intelligent, you’re the love of my life. You feel like home to me. No one is ever going to change that.”

“Do you really believe that?” You ask softly.

“I do,” he responds. “I love you, Y/N.”

You give him a small smile before leaning down and kissing his forehead and then his lips. You could hear him kicking off his shoes before he crawls into the bed with you and envelops you in his arms, never breaking the kiss.

“Maybe I should shower,” he breathes out as he breaks the kiss. “Do you know how many pathogens I could be passing onto you-”

“Shh,” you press a finger to his lips, “just enjoy the moment.”

Spencer lets out a small laugh before returning his lips to yours in a sweet and loving kiss.

A/N

ANOTHA ONE. Sorry if these aren’t that good I’m a little rusty ;( BUT IM PUTTING IN THAT WORK ! SORRY FOR ANY MISTAKES, I NEVER PROOFREAD MY STUFF

[rurounidrift]

June 14 Blurr’s Horror Stream - The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Look who’s not dead! It’s me!

Drift showed up as Blurr was welcoming Bevel to the team. He never found out that Bevel isn’t a “he,” but he DID find out that Bevel can shift to look like anyone she wants, including him. It impressed the hell out of him.

He told Blurr that there’s a high chance the Lost Light isn’t gonna be taking off again, and Blurr said he’d be happy to welcome Drift and Whirl onto his crew, if they want to come.

Welcome to the 'speedxstealer' room. The chat room has been cleared by the moderator. B l u r r: / shoving a cart inside and slides on his heels to slow down. Was going top speed. Smoke off the heels/ There we go. Snacks. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Frenzy coughs and waves smoke away from his face* B l u r r: Hey, Frenzy. ItsyBitsySpyers: \\SUP. HEY, SNACKS.\\ B l u r r: Mmhm. Whirl: *trots on in, bobbing his head* Sup, Teach. B l u r r: Hey, Whirl. Bevel changed their nickname to Bevel. boomtank: -peers in- Bevel: *trundles in right behind Blaster* boomtank: Hello!...um...? -forgot her name- Whirl: *gonna inspect these snacks critically before he takes his seat* Bevel: Bevel. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave tromps in after Frenzy, lopsided. One arm's long and skinny. One's regularly proportioned and buff. Apparently Rumble's not awake just yet.* ItsyBitsySpyers: *He gets settled on the couch and nods to the room at large.* Whirl: *and when he hears bevel announce her name he's gonna swivel his helm around and awkwardly try and bob it while looking backwards* Whirl: *the paragon of grace and aplomb* boomtank: Bevel. Hi. -and he's trying to not laugh at Whirl or Soundwave- B l u r r: / leans on the snack table/ Well, there's the mech. I was wondering where you were. /wiggles claws at Bevel/ Whirl: Pfft. That's a good look for you, Soundwave. Bevel: Hi! Nice to meet you. Bevel: *grins at Blurr* ItsyBitsySpyers: *He ignores both of these comments. He's already a damn rainbow when all six dock-capable minicons are on him. Weird arms are just weird arms.* ItsyBitsySpyers: ((oh, sorry, Blaster's was a narration thing. ignores Whirl's comments, then)) Whirl: Any of these brews noxious, Teach? boomtank: Nice to meet you too. I'm Blaster. B l u r r: Pardon? Bevel: Cool. Did you bring any of your minicons with you? boomtank: .................... boomtank: ((if that was directed at Blaster, then damn boomtank: ((all his are dead Whirl: These drinks. Anything really strong? Not--not grade-wise, I mean taste. Aything nigh-undrinkable? ItsyBitsySpyers: ((*gets the popcorn out*)) Bevel: [[omg boomtank: ((prepare youself Bevel: [[*faceinhands* Whirl: ((o man 8) )) ItsyBitsySpyers: ((*gets Shockwave ready with the ARE ALL DEAD sign*)) B l u r r: Hnnh... not sure. My taste pallet is a bit too specific to be the judge. B l u r r: / points to a few cubes / these are pretty strong. boomtank: -Well. He just froze. Might look a bit like a deer in the headlights about now.- I...I...I really....I really don't think I want to talk about that. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave lifts his helm and looks over at Blaster, now most curious* Whirl: *gonna huff over the cubes to get a good sniff;hmm. He probably can't taste them, but he'll take one anyway* Bevel: *oh. oh no. oh no she did the thing. rolodex tells her she needs to be more careful asking after people because a lot of times people are fragging dead.*Oh! Oh, I am really sorry. That is ok. Bevel: You do not need to talk about it. Bevel: *reassurring nod* B l u r r: / snort / boomtank: -small, aborted movement to what used to be docks before his accident- I...it's not a problem. You didn't know. B l u r r: Think you might like one, Whirl? B l u r r: [[ everyone ready? ]] Bevel: [[yes ItsyBitsySpyers: ((ye)) ItsyBitsySpyers: *...Oh. Ohhhh.* boomtank: ((yep! Bevel: I will try to remember in the future. ItsyBitsySpyers: *...Perhaps he should poke at that some time. Maybe Blaster would talk with someone who knew...?* B l u r r: [[ hang on i gotta check on something so screen gonna be black ]] Prowl: ((ye)) boomtank: ......yeah....hey, no hard feelings. boomtank: -Be prepared, he's locked those memories down- B l u r r: [[ kay. Everyone's good? Then we gon' start ]] Whirl: *clambers into the Whirl Hammock, taking a sip once he gets settled* It'll do. *he's either not noticing or pointedly ignoring the DAMN SAD CONVO that is popping up in this room* B l u r r: / scrapes claws along the snack tabletop. Yeeeah we like that nails on chalkboard sound/ ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave cringes and Rumble pops off with a wail* boomtank: -WHY!?- ItsyBitsySpyers: //Yo! Some of us was nappin'!// B l u r r: /blows claws off/ Now that I have your attention. Bevel: Ok. *awkwardly fidgets and then finally opts to smile* Wanna sit with me tonight? Bevel: *at least it wasn't Frenzy who was napping* B l u r r: My ship and I are celebrating. boomtank: Sure. -rubbing audios after Blurr's 'nails' trick- Whirl: *serenely took a sip through that whole chalkboard-sound fiasco* Oh? ItsyBitsySpyers: *Grumbles and stalks over to the hammock. Scramble scramble.* Drift: *BAM LOOK WHO JUST SHOWED UP* B l u r r: Yes indeed. You see, my crew and I are welcoming a brand new crew mate! Whirl: *shifts about to make room for Rumble and settles* B l u r r: / motions to Bevel/ B l u r r: [[ I apologize if the volume gets wonky. This film does it on its own. ]] Bevel: *oh attention on her hey* :D Whirl: *and offers a toast with his cube* Good job, Shovel. *looks as cheeky as someone with just an eye for a face can as he takes a drink* Drift: *ooh an announcement is being made. stops in the door to listen in and check out the New Crew Mate* boomtank: -small applause- Congrads ItsyBitsySpyers: //Good on ya, Big Bit.// ItsyBitsySpyers: //Bust up them expectations.// B l u r r: And, well...  That and my crew is still open for some allies. B l u r r: And... stuff. /twitches finials / Bevel: Thanks! B l u r r: / okay, business is over. Guess who's gonna lunge over this snack table in a purple streak and NFL TACKLE BESTIE AT TOP SPEED / Drift: *raises hand* What's his na—? Drift: *NEVER MIND HE'S BEING TACKLED* Bevel: *names later apparently* Whirl: *snorts as he observes this* Oh, hey. He's alive, after all. Drift: *from somewhere under the purple streak* Barely. Whirl: Ain't we all? B l u r r: / lifts helm/ Hey, I was dead last week for ten seconds! B l u r r: It's a new record. Whirl: My lack of surprise is visible from space. Drift: Dammit, what were you up to? B l u r r: Had some upgrade problems. B l u r r: I tried to install something and it didn't go well. So Axis removed it. Whirl: Ugh, WHAT did I TELL you, about those upgrades. They've been NOTHING but trouble. B l u r r: / he is legit on top of Drift / Whirl: *looks to Drift, irritably* He went catatonic for like... what? A month? Because of these stupid upgrades. Drift: ... Honestly, I'm surprised you bothered to get Axis to do it. B l u r r: That was not because of the upgrades! B l u r r: ... I wanted to try. Drift: I'm glad you didn't try. Whirl: Yeah, everyone keeps saying that but nobody can give me an ACTUAL explanation so I'm gonna assume you're all wrong. B l u r r: / pushes up off of Drift / It was not because of the upgrade. B l u r r: it didn't help, but it wasn't the core reason. B l u r r: / holds claw out to help Drift up / Whirl: Well, what was it, then? Drift: Well, I don't know what the core reason IS, so I'm with Blurr for the moment. boomtank: ...-going to find a place to sit, if Bevel is busy- Bevel: *Bevel is going to sit down now as well* B l u r r: It was... personal. Drift: *lets Blurr help him up.* "Personal." Okay. Whirl: I was actually THERE, andI'm making my decision off what I SAW, so I'm with me. Drift: So, it's either the upgrades, or something even worse. Whirl: *rolls his optic* Well, believe whatever you want. I'm telling you now--those upgrades are bad news. Your processor can't handle 'em. You're gonna get yourself killed. B l u r r: It wasn't the upgrades... Drift: So. Something even worse. B l u r r: I suppose. B l u r r: / glances at Whirl/ I was just curious. Luckily, Axis helped me out. boomtank: -datapad back up to read and shove memories back down- Whirl: *shrugs* I've done my part, offered my highly valuable advice. If you ignore it, it's on you. Drift: So. *nudges blurr* New crewmate. Who is he? B l u r r: / points at Bevel / Bevel: *waves* Whirl: ...@Bevel Hey! Do the thing. Drift: *waves back* Hey! I'm Drift. Blurr's friend. B l u r r: /Best/ friend. Drift: BEST friend. Whirl: @B: That guy, Drift, has no idea you can do that. B l u r r: / flicks Drift's helm/ Or am I demoted? Drift: *throws arm around Blurr's shoulder* Of course not. Bevel: @Whirl: Shift to look like you? B l u r r: / smirks at/ Good. Anyway, that's Bevel. Whirl: @B: Shift to look like HIM. B l u r r: [[ be careful, Blurr doesn't know that is a thing either ]] Whirl: ((omfg)) Drift: Bevel. Hey. :D Bevel: @Whirl: Oh! Whirl: ((is whirl gonna make trouble for everyone in one fell swoop)) boomtank: ((oh? B l u r r: I didn't know you were coming by. I have to get your books together, Drift. Bevel: *stays sitting where she's at and transforms so that she looks and sounds exactly like Drift.* Hey! Nice to meet you. Drift: Book—? *!!!!!!* Whirl: *lowers his head behind his cube to hide his glee* Drift: *his first instinct is to get in a fighting pose and grab the hilt of a sword.* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Soundwave sits up with both feelers out. Whoa, now.* B l u r r: / LOL UR FIRST INSTINCT? His speed mod is already charging tf up / Whirl: *sits up aburptly, alarmed* What the frag're you two DOING? Whirl: Calm down, you IDIOTS. Drift: *... And then to laugh* Bevel: *hey no one stabbed her, she's taking this as a win* boomtank: -twitched. then snickers- Oh, that was good. B l u r r: / crosses arms. Twitching digits on his arms. / Whirl: *rolls his optic* Lord. I can't believe I'M the calm and mentally balanced one here tonight. Bevel: *giggles* Whirl: What's the world coming to? B l u r r: I didn't know humans made /you/, too. Drift: Holy frag, what's—? What is this, some kind of, of... duplicator armor? I've heard of armor that mimics people. Bevel: *transforms back to her usual form* Bevel: Nope! It is just me. I can transform into a lot of different forms but I like being in this *motions to herself* most right now. Drift: ... Huh. What Blurr said, then, are you one of those—what are they called, CSI bots? KSI? The human-built ones. B l u r r: KSI. Drift: Yeah, that. Whirl: THAT looks like a problem. boomtank: ....um.... Bevel: I was created by Cybertronians. Whirl: Her beat's eating her. Whirl: ...*bed B l u r r: [[ fun fact: Almost all of her movements are real. They made a dummy of her for the bad scenes, but she was like nah i got this. So like all of it is really her ]] Drift: Was that her bed bending in on itself? Or a weight on top of the bed? B l u r r: Probably a weight. boomtank: That's...uh...what? Whirl: I think the bed itself ate her. Whirl: ..I guess that doesn't explain all her controtions. B l u r r: Huh. Well, it's just like what the KSI mechs CAN do. Whirl: But everyone needs to stretch now and then, right? ItsyBitsySpyers: [[He can confirm that she is not human made.]] B l u r r: I just wanna make sure you're not spying for the humans looking for /me/. Bevel: I want to meet one of those bots. They sound cool. B l u r r: Two live on the ship. But they aren't human made. B l u r r: Not entirely. Whirl: They're chumps. B l u r r: Dart isn't. Bevel: Aw Drift: *cool scene gone. back to the New Crewmate.* I've never seen that in a— well, Cybertronian-Cybertronian before. Rather than a KSI-Cybertronian. Whirl: *stage whisper at Bevel* They kinda are. Whirl: ...but, they helped me out when this genius over here--*gestures to Blurr* broke himself. Bevel: Still want to meet them then. B l u r r: I didn't BREAK myself. Whirl: So... two-thirds chumps. B l u r r: And you WILL meet them. If you're on the crew, you work with them Drift: Dart's okay. Just... try not to have too much to do with Nos. B l u r r: NOS is a pain... Bevel: I am a Shifter. They do not exist in every universe. Drift: Haven't seen them in mine. B l u r r: We don't have them in mine, I don't think. boomtank: ...Shifter? Like there are more like you? Whirl: Yep, not in my dimension, either. Bevel: Uh-huh. Bevel: Maybe not exactly like me but close. Whirl: I'm... trying to remember, the last time we watched a movie about possession, didn't they get some kind of cool, freaky powers out of it? Drift: *gestures at the movie* So, how come they targeted her? Usually in these things, ghosts and demons target a human for a specific reason, right? boomtank: That's cool. B l u r r: Not always. B l u r r: Sometimes they just see someone weak and want what they have. boomtank: ...that was...not...oh wow... Drift: But there's almost always, like—something that lets them in. The victim accidentally does a ritual or moves into a haunted house or her relatives sold her to a demon or something. Whirl: Wait, which movie did I miss where someone's relatives sold them to a demon? Drift: The one with the invisible demons on the cameras? Drift: They promised their first male descendant to a demon. Whirl: *squints* Whirl: Ohh, yes, I think I remember now. Drift: So everyone in the family got haunted until they got a baby. Bevel: Why did they promised their baby? B l u r r: for success. Drift: Magic power, I think. Whirl: I'd promise some dark entity my firstborn for power. B l u r r: Let's be honest... if I was offered magic powers, I think I'd give up something. Whirl: Because I don't propagate, see. Drift: I think the dark entity wouldn't make a bargain with someone that obviously couldn't keep up their end of it. Whirl: Well, what, it can see the future? That one had some bad luck with those generations of not-boys. Whirl: I'll bet they can be tricked. B l u r r: We should try it. B l u r r: I know some pretty interesting places. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Rumble nudges Whirl* B l u r r: What do you say, Whirl? Drift: Entities that are making bargains with Cybertronians probably know Cybertronians don't make offspring. Drift: ... Unless it's an entity from a different universe where they do. Whirl: *sigh* I would... but I'm already pretty tight with Heqet, I can't go around making pacts with dark, evil entities and all that. boomtank: ...what if the entity asked for you to carry the child? Bevel: Universes are weird. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Whirl: Careful whatcha say. Bevel's creators thought they couldn't propagate neither, heh. Drift: So you'd have to cross universes to get a bargain. B l u r r: Well, then come with me! I can make one. Whirl: *looks to Rumble* Yeah? B l u r r: I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Drift: An entity powerful enough to give you dark powers is probably also powerful enough to punish you when it finds out you can't keep the bargain, though. ItsyBitsySpyers: *Little nod.* Whirl: *blinks and nods* @W: Well, nobody in my universe, period, can propagate. It's a certainty here. Whirl: ...@R Whirl: ((whirl telling himself)) B l u r r: / looks at Drift / I don't know. I think I could pay it back. Whirl: Also, I can go, right now, to a universe where Cybertronians can make offspring. One of my pals recently did it. Would take me five seconds. AND if the entity gets mad... fight it with your powers. Drift: What these people need, obviously, is better doors. Demon-proofed doors. They just walk straight in. B l u r r: My debts are all paid off, actually. Whirl: At least you get a cool supernatural battle out of it. B l u r r: Kyeheheh. Right? ItsyBitsySpyers: @Whirl: //Yeah, well. Supposed to be certain here too. All I'm sayin'. Jus' don't go near no Matrix.// Drift: *looks at Blurr* If the demon asked you for your first born you could pay it back? ... What, would you give it Dart or Nos? Whirl: *antenna pins back* boomtank: ..... B l u r r: I mean, why not? Drift: ... Which one did you make first? Whirl: @R: Trust me, I WON'T. *not again, anyway* B l u r r: ... Hn. B l u r r: Dart, I think. Bevel: *the Matrix is a jerk* ItsyBitsySpyers: *Rumble nods again and kicks back to keep watching the movie* Drift: ... Offer the demon your second-born. Whirl: *nudges him back and offers the cube* @R: Wanna finish it? It's not bad, I don't think, but I can't taste it. I'm done. B l u r r: Who, NOS ? Kyeheheh. I suppose. B l u r r: There's not much of a soul to bargain with- there's only half of it left. ItsyBitsySpyers: @Whirl: //Yeah? Sure. Sorry we don't got the other stuff. Ravage's-- uh. Workin'.// ItsyBitsySpyers: *He'll pluck the leftovres outta Whirl's claws and get comfy again. Occasional sips.* Whirl: *hands it over* @R: Nah, you're good. I haven't brought anything to trade in a while. Bevel: *not really following this movie very well at all* B l u r r: So, this is basically a trial between people who don't believe scrap and people who do, huh? B l u r r: I'm on that lady's side. / points/ Drift: If she can't stand the sound of forks and spoons, then why doesn't she just eat the—? The whatchacallems. The things humans eat without forks and spoons. Drift: The McDonald things. B l u r r: Burgers? Whirl: Or just drink her food instead? Drift: Is that what they're called? Sounds wrong. B l u r r: I don't know. Fries? Drift: No, not fries. Drift: Maybe it's burgers. B l u r r: Nuggets? Drift: Definitely not nuggets. Those are the small chewy chunks. B l u r r: ... /confusion / Drift: ... But yeah, I guess she could've eaten nuggets too. B l u r r: I don't know what food you're talking about... Drift: It's the round flatish thing in layers. Whirl: Apparently, spiders. B l u r r: / hums/ sandwich? Drift: ... Well, if spiders works. Drift: Sandwich! boomtank: Uh....? B l u r r: Oh, there we go. boomtank: Ah. Uh...yikes? Whirl: Still not as wild as the craziest therapy session I'VE been to. B l u r r: I remember that one time that Soundwave tried to get all up in my head. B l u r r: He didn't like it very much. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[...Which?]] B l u r r: Oh, the one from Tyran. B l u r r: We only met once. Whirl: ((WHOA WAIT)) Whirl: ((THAT VOICE)) B l u r r: [[ yes i love her voice ]] Whirl: ((i knew i knew it she's in Mass Effect AND Destiny! THAT'S LAKSHMI-2, MY GIRL)) B l u r r: [[ mmhm! ]] Bevel: [[she's in the new ST show as well Whirl: ((omg....)) Bevel: [[or one of the movies, i'm not sure Bevel: [[Ah, it was Beyond, the tos reboot movie Whirl: ((even so, still a ST!)) Bevel: [[Gotta love ST actors Drift: ... Lots of crazy people know they're crazy. B l u r r: I don't like that word /grumbling / B l u r r: It's so overused in the wrong way. B l u r r: But, you're right. Lots of people know what they are. Drift: Well. Yeah, but you know what I mean. I'm just, disagreeing with him. B l u r r: Nah, I get you. B l u r r: That's why I'm on her side. I want her to win. B l u r r: Wait, she's the side that is defending the unrealistic, right? Drift: Yeah, she is. She's defending the demon story. B l u r r: ... Okay, I like her. B l u r r: I don't like that other guy. Whirl: I agree. *holds up claw* Speaking as someone who is vrazy and knows it. Whirl: *crazy B l u r r: I don't now why people panic when they hear things... B l u r r: I'd freak out if I didn't hear them. Whirl: Usually it means it's time to fight. Whirl: If there's a noise where you don't expect it, that is--especially if you're asleep. Drift: Most people don't have people with them all the time. B l u r r: ...Huh. B l u r r: / looks at Drift/ Isn't it too quiet? / looks around the room / Do you guys sleep in silence? B l u r r: / scratches helm / ItsyBitsySpyers: \\YOU'RE KIDDIN', RIGHT?\\ B l u r r: ...No ? Whirl: Mostly silence. Whirl: There's always some kind of noise on the ship. Drift: There's ship noises and Rodimus noises, but—mainly it's silent, yeah. Whirl: But if something loud happened, then yeah, that'd wake me up. B l u r r: Huh... I mean, I wake up to loud noises, too. B l u r r: But I've learned to tell the difference between them. boomtank: ...? Drift: If it's quiet enough, you can also wake up to medium noises. And that'll save your life. Whirl: Yep. B l u r r: Huh... /tilts helm and looks side to side / Whirl: And if you sleep with your proximity sensors on, then movement'll wake you up, too. B l u r r: / shrugs shoulders / I dunno, you guys usually talk when I'm asleep. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[He is a carrier unit. He is accustomed to resting with others or hearing their voices.]] B l u r r: / leans back / B l u r r: I don't sleep often, though, so I suppose I'm always ready for an attack. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[But he has learned not to wake to them unless it is excessive. He still wakes to other sounds and movements.]] Whirl: That's exactly why I sleep with my proximity sensors on. Gotta be ready. Whirl: And also, habit. ItsyBitsySpyers: [[Familiar.]] ItsyBitsySpyers: [[It was unwise to get too comfortable in the Pits.]] B l u r r: Hm... interesting. You all sleep so different. B l u r r: Like, in actual beds and stuff. Whirl: These days, yeah. Whirl: *he just nods at Soundwave; he was never in the Pits, but he learned his habits in similar places* Bevel: *shrugs* I sleep with noise sometimes since Rolodex and I share a room. B l u r r: Yeah? See, you guys have roommates.. Whirl: Nah, they never saddled me with one. B l u r r: You have Killer, though. B l u r r: I suppose Oberyn is my roommate...even though he likes to lay across me and crush me Whirl: Well, yeah, but it doesn't make any noises, unless it's eating. Drift: ((upside down crosses are arguably more holy than rightside-up crosses wh do movies keep using them lmao)) Whirl: ((YEP)) B l u r r: [[ omg i don't know but lmao its so funny ]] B l u r r: [[ that they get it wrong ]] Whirl: ((St Peter refused to be crucified like Jesus, he's the one who demanded and upside-down one)) B l u r r: [[ it's so cool- this movie- cause from here on out, all of this is really her ]] Whirl: *SNICKERS* boomtank: -And this is when Blaster gets up, and heads for the door- Igotstufftodog'night! B l u r r: [[ like her actress does all this crap without help ]] ItsyBitsySpyers: [[...Farewell.]] boomtank: ((because mun remembered early work tomorrow Bevel: Night, Blaster Drift: ((it's like all these demons going "i'm not even good enough to die like jesus" like okay glad u feel that way)) ItsyBitsySpyers: ((ah! sleep well)) B l u r r: / waes claw at blaster / boomtank: ((thanks for the stream, G'night! B l u r r: *waves Drift: Pfffff! There it goes. Whirl: ((gnight!)) Drift: ((gnight!)) B l u r r: [[ ni ni ]] Whirl: *still snickering* Drift: ((playing a possessed person has gotta be one of the most fun movie roles)) Whirl: ((she Whirl: s killin it too)) Drift: ((right??)) B l u r r: she isss ]] B l u r r: i love her. Even the other actors said they were terrified of her at this part ]] Drift: ... Maybe the demon's name IS one-two-three-four-five-six. B l u r r: Who would name a demon that? Drift: Someone who likes numbers? B l u r r: I mean... maybe. Drift: ... Okay, I don't know all those names, but Judas is like a... a pretty high-ranking guy. Why'd she rate a bunch of high-ranked demons? Whirl: Yeah, I'm wondering that, too. B l u r r: I think the demon with her is the same one that was with that guy? Drift: Yeah, the demons said there were six of them and the one that was with judas. B l u r r: Okay so maybe six all got together and they had a free weekend? Drift: So they decided to party in a random college girl? B l u r r: I mean.... isn't that what college is all about? B l u r r: Partying? B l u r r: According to humans? Drift: Partying and learning things. B l u r r: Well, maybe the demons have school and this is their final? Whirl: *snrk!* Drift: I'd think that the one who possessed Judas previously would've already graduated. B l u r r: Maybe he's a mentor? B l u r r: Oh, maybe he's returned for his credentials Drift: Maybe. Whirl: PFFT. Drift: Where the hell did that car come from? Whirl: *bursts out laughing* B l u r r: / snicker / Whirl: It was the deeemond, Drift! *clicks his claws ominously* B l u r r: The demon didn't pass driving school! Drift: Pff! Drift: Too much time partying at college instead of studying for the driving test. B l u r r: you see? B l u r r: This is what happens when mechs don't receive proper education. B l u r r: / looks at Bevel/ You're educated, right? Bevel: Like school? B l u r r: Yes. ItsierBitsierSpyers: ((sorry my internet hiccuped)) Drift: ((soundwave shrank)) B l u r r: [[ it okaaay ]] Whirl: ((zoop, there he go)) Bevel: Um, kinda. B l u r r: [[ smolwave]] B l u r r: /hums/ Explain. Drift: ... Is that the tree Judas died on? B l u r r: I have no idea. Drift: It looks like it. From the movie. B l u r r: Oh? B l u r r: Huh... maybe it is? Bevel: I went to school when I was really little and then I learned stuff on my own. B l u r r: ... well, when you're on my ship, you have to do more than just live here. Thundertron had you working? B l u r r: / looks at Drift/ I killed the scrap out of Thundertron, by the way. He's super dead. Drift: Oh, cool. Good job. B l u r r: /nudges Drift/ I also met that Tyran Drift. /snerk/ B l u r r: He's not that cool. Bevel: We were hired as temporary extra crew. Guard stuff mostly. Whirl: He DOES turn into a chopper... but he's not as awesome as *I* am. Drift: He's a triplechanger. He's pretty cool. B l u r r: Guard stuff, huh? Well, we can give you something much more fun to do. B l u r r: / twitches finials/ He was pretty cool... until he got me detained. Bevel: Yeah? B l u r r: Give me a list of skills you two can do. B l u r r: I'd say... within the next two days. Bevel: I can do that. B l u r r: Good. ItsierBitsierSpyers: ((i'm having internet problems y'all i'm sorry if i'm quiet))

Missed some. Drift tried to explain to Blurr and other multiversal audience members what an amica endura is (not an american endurance, amica as in amicable and endura as in enduring, because it’s an enduring relationship with someone you’re amicable with). He went on to explain some of the legal and social benefits of having an amica—they can visit you in the hospital and make decisions for you, they get to decide what’s done with your stuff when you die, etc.

Drift: No, you don't have to. Whirl: You just do what everyone who doesn't have an amica does. B l u r r: / turns to Dodge/ I told you! B l u r r: You owe me five credits. Drift: The only "rights" you lose are things like, "rights to visit your amica in the hospital." If your amica's dead you can't visit him in a hospital so there's no longer a right to be exercised. B l u r r: Can you have more than one? Drift: Yeah. I knew someone with, uh... I think the max he had at one time was nine? ItsierBitsierSpyers: \\YA JUS' SAID YA GOTTA BE "ALLOWED" TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S DOIN' WITH TH' DEAD FRAME.\\ Whirl: Yep. B l u r r: Oh.. /turns around and council time again/ Drift: He had seventeen, but not simultaneously. War, death, all that. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Nine?]] B l u r r: I TOLD you. See? Whirl: ...hm. I never thought about that. Amica deciding what to do with your corpse... B l u r r: / swats at the air/ Velocity, no one wants to ask YOU to be their ANYTHING. Drift: Nine, yeah. He was popular. Bevel: I just have one. Nine sounds cool. I bet they were really happy. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Was he a carrier unit?]] B l u r r: / turns to Soundwave/ Wait, is THAT why you and Jazz hang out a lot? Drift: Eugh, Primus no, we don't have that in our timeline. B l u r r: You're those things, aren't you?! Whirl: *LAUGHS* Drift: Just hot spots and cold construction. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[...What things?]] Whirl: *wheezes* No, nono Drift, he means--like HIM. B l u r r: Are you guys... A-mi-ca Endura? ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Wait, no - a carrier unit. A host. Not a creator of offsp--NO.]] Whirl: *LAUGHS AGAIN* B l u r r: K-KYAHAHAHA!! ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[NO.]] Bevel: *giggling so hard* B l u r r: Well he sure seems to like you. Drift: ... Wait, isn't that the word for someone makes sparklings? A carrier? ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[In some other places. Yes. Not here.]] Pause. [[His here. Where he is from.]] Bevel: We call them creators! Drift: Huh. Bevel: I have creators but no one else has them here. We had to make a whole word up for it. Whirl: I'm going to call the one I know, "dad." Drift: "We"? You're from the... *gestures between Bevel and Soundwave* Same timeline, you two? Whirl: Like, not... me eprsonally, calling him dad. He's a dad. Drift: So what's a "carrier unit"? Bevel: Uh-huh! Bevel: *points to SW in answer* ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Jazz does not like him. Jazz likes pestering him. There is a difference.]] B l u r r: I think he likes you. Whirl: What she said. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[And he thinks you enjoy keeping your tongue. Perhaps you should silence it.]] Whirl: ...or didn't say. What she pointed. Drift: ... Okay, I'm getting that Soundwave IS one, but I still don't know what one is. B l u r r: / licks his sharp denta/ Ooh, please come tear my tongue out, I've been dying to install a new one Drift: ...... Is it the... carrying around smaller mechs thing? Bevel: Like Blaster. Drift: *paps Blurr's head* No self-mutilation. B l u r r: / is joking/ K-Kyeheheheh. I'm only hesting. B l u r r: *jesting Whirl: *raises his claw, makes a clicking noise like he's about to speak, pauses, and then just blinks* ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[He is part of a symbiotic relationship with smaller mechs. His duty is to host them - protect, work with, transport.]] Whirl: You know I... *looks to Soundwave, and then down to Rumble, since he's the closest* What IS the deal with carrier units? Drift: Huh. And that's a... thing? Whirl: *oh, wait, Soundwave's explaining* Drift: I dunno remember what sizes all his amicae were, but they weren't all way smaller than him. And I haven't heard of "carrier units" being a thing in our universe. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[It was. Then the war happened, and he eventually became the last.]] Taps his fingers. [[There may be more now.]] Bevel: Just like there are more Shifters! Whirl: *flips a lazy salute* Good luck on that. Whirl: I'll let you know if we ever figure out how to crack that problem ourselves, and if any of your types pop up. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[And, good. He has enough work to do without seven government forms.]] B l u r r: / sits back. His council is done and he is slouching / ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Gives Blurr a good staring now. That's right. You be quiet over there. Last time you went on about Jazz one showed up.* B l u r r: / twitches finials and swats at the air/ B l u r r: / stares right back/ What? ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[And yes. He's told the closest version your timelines have to him is... himself. Blaster does not count there. It is odd, in the way the multiverse always is.]] Small shrug. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Nothing. See it stays that way.]] B l u r r: Perhaps. B l u r r: / turns to his vacant side and pats the arm of the couch/ Don't worry, Dodge. We already did our thing. /mumbling/ ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Lapses back into silence, now that he's neither being teased nor pushed for data.* B l u r r: So what happens if you don't sign the paper? Does that mean you're not friends? Whirl: Nah, it just means you didn't sign the paper. Bevel: Means you have to sneak by hospital bouncers. B l u r r: Well. I don't go to hospitals so. Bevel: *she found that analogy really funny* B l u r r: You're all welcome to visit The Emperor. Drift: It means you don't have the legal benefits. Whirl: *nods* B l u r r: Oh. Whirl: I mean, in practice... I went the Frenzy route last time you got sick. B l u r r: Well. You mechs have fun with your Amica Endura business... B l u r r: / pulls up datapad / Whirl: Your chumps could've TRIED to stop me, but they did the smart thing. B l u r r: Well, they're not exactly the smartest mechs. Whirl: Smart enough to know not to pick a fight with ME. Drift: You're still friends and all, you just don't get the bonuses. And you don't get to tell people this is your amica. B l u r r: Oh...that must be nice, I guess. B l u r r: / snort/ Well, they didn't know you. Now they do. B l u r r: They just guessed right, Whirl. Whirl: Oh, no, I fully threatened them at one of your movie nights before I came to visit. B l u r r: Oh... they ran movie nights? Whirl: *utterly unrepentant* They had an idea of what they'd have to deal with. Whirl: Yeah. I stayed for one of them. Idiots held out on us until the movie was done. Bevel: Best friend sounds really important too. ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Soundwave can't tell people anyway.* B l u r r: Oh, they did? They're not that smart. B l u r r: / nods at Bevel/ I've only had two best friends in my life. B l u r r: One tried to kill me and the other hasn't yet. ItsierBitsierSpyers: \\BEST FRIEND'S BETTER. YA ONLY GOT ONE BEST. THAT OTHER FRAGGER GOT NINE AMICA, HE SAID.\\ B l u r r: / looks at Whirl/ Well, I'm sure they showed interesting movies. ItsierBitsierSpyers: \\CAN'T HAVE NINE 'BEST'. THAT'S JUST NINE 'GOOD'.\\ Drift: Well. Presumably one of your amica is gonna be your best. Drift: And that's sorta what having a conjunx is for. To promote one of your friends above the others. Drift: That's your bestest friend followed by your best friends. Whirl: *briefly contemplates, but Whirl already knows who was his one and only best friend; operative word being WAS* Bevel: I thought conjunx was for like kissing and spark stuff friend. Whirl: *antenna pins back a bit* I don't even remmeber. I didn't stay for the second night. Whirl: Something about corn. B l u r r: Ah... B l u r r: were you with me? B l u r r: / scratches helm/ I don't remember anything, honestly, and they won't tell me anything. B l u r r: They just keep insisting I had a visitor. I guess that was you. ItsierBitsierSpyers: //Eh. Good thing ya ain't got us types, I guess. We gotta go before that scrap. Probably torque off everybody.// Drift: You can do that too. Drift: But I mean—presumably the person you're in love with is also your bestest friend, right? Whirl: Yeah, that was probably me. B l u r r: You know, I think Drift's the only best friend I have, now that I think of it. My last one tried to kill me and shot my jaw off and sent me to Antarctica... B l u r r: / looks at Whirl again/ Well... thanks for visiting. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Are you not allowed more than one conjunx?]] B l u r r: I didn't think anyone would. B l u r r: Not that I was planning on the whole event. Whirl: *waves a claw* As if you could get rid of me. Drift: One conjunx limit. Bevel: Lots of bots in our universe would not like that. B l u r r: Mm... I see, I see. Drift: That's why it's above amica. It's special. Drift: ... Well, I mean. Amicae are special to. But conjunx is SPECIAL-special. ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[He imagines that must cause friction with the other lovers.]] Bevel: What if you like two bots the same above everyone else? Drift: Well that's why you should only have one lover, now isn't it. :/ Drift: *MR. VICIOUSLY MONOGAMOUS RIGHT HERE* Whirl: *snorts* Not everyone's swimming in suitors, Soundwave. B l u r r: Uh.../ yikes awkward. WELL LETS TALK TO WHIRL / ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Whirl. Whirl, no.* B l u r r: Anyway. Uhm, they didn't tell me you visited a lot , so. Whirl: *he's looking dead at you* B l u r r: I was confused if you were the one. Whirl: I visited at least once. Tried to get you o snap out of it. Whirl: Obviously, it didn't work. B l u r r: ... You did? Whirl: Yep. Bevel: Are you really, Soundwave? B l u r r: Ah, Master must have been keeping my attention... /mumbles/ ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Quietly puts his hand over his visor and vents.* Whirl: *shrugs* Or, you just COULDN'T snap out of it on your own. That's what happened to me. Bevel: Aw, it is ok. You do not have to talk about it. *see she can take a hint* B l u r r: .. I don't know. Drift: *ZOOPS TO BLURR* You mean Optimus? What—were you having visions of him or something? Whirl: *he, however, cannot* He's kicking it with Shockwave and he's officially joined Prowl's Dating Circus. B l u r r: ...Uh.. No? ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Oh thank Primus, Drift's attention transfer---DAMN IT, WHIRL.* Bevel: *twitches at the sudden Optimus drop* B l u r r: I- I didn't have vision, I just... / twitches finials. / Bevel: *SW saved* ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Check ping on Bevel. He saw the twitch.* B l u r r: If Whirl is right, then I guess I wasn't registering what was outside of... my room? B l u r r: / sweats loudly / Drift: *slowly turns to stare at whirl* Whirl: More accurately, you weren't registering what was outside of your head. Drift: ... That's the fakest thing I've ever heard. B l u r r: ... Ah. Whirl: ...Okay, I'm going to need you to clarify which thing you think is the fakest thing. Drift: Actually, I don't know what part sounds faker. Shockwave in a relationship or Prowl having a—a "dating circus"? B l u r r: It wasn't that I couldn't register it, you know. Whirl: Because I honestly can peg a few of 'em. Bevel: *have a mental :| Soundwave* Whirl: *snorts* Believe me, or don't. See for yourself sometime. Drift: You're yanking my chain. B l u r r: / oh thank god, a different subject / B l u r r: / pulls up datapad. / Whirl: *shrugs again* Like I said: believe me or don't. B l u r r: / now he don't gotta explain shyte / ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Suspiciously silent. ... er.* Bevel: Shockwave. He really likes science. Whirl: Yep. Bevel: *to Drift* Whirl: Anyway... I lost my thread here. Whirl: So, okay, what now, Teach? B l u r r: A shame. B l u r r: / glances up from behind datapad/ Me? Whirl: I'm pretty sure you couldn't register it. I got noting out of you. Whirl: *nothing Bevel: *had no where to go with that answer to Drift's statement but her moods a little sour now anyway* ItsierBitsierSpyers: //I thought yankin' yer chain was the Captain's job.// ItsierBitsierSpyers: [[Rumble, please.]] Whirl: *SNRK* Drift: Yeah. Yeah, he definitely—he really likes science. B l u r r: ... /shrugs/ Like I said, it wasn't that I couldn't. Drift: *looks Rumble dead in the optics* It's more of a gentle caress. B l u r r: I mean, I probably couldn't, but that's not why I asked them to.. uh. Yeah. ItsierBitsierSpyers: //Awww.// *Yeah, he's not even sorry.* //That's sweet. Mus' be a real romantic.// Whirl: I don't follow, Teach. Spit it out. Drift: Super romantic. B l u r r: / screws face up a little / I was having a really hard time processing everything happening to me at the same time. Whirl: *exaggerated wince* Rumble, don't encourage him. You're just inviting disaster. Whirl: HMM. You know that SOUNDS to ME a lot like a OVERWHELMED PROCESSOR--but nooo. Whirl doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm telling you--it's the mod. B l u r r: ... It wasn't the mod, Whirl, it was /me/. ItsierBitsierSpyers: //Yeah? What'd he do? Like, for real, not jokin'. I ain't pegged him for sap.// Whirl: Your brain just decided to up and quit on you? Drift: ... He'd probably kill me if I told you, honestly. B l u r r: No... I wanted it to quit. B l u r r: I asked Dodge and Velocity to make the pain stop. And it stopped. ItsierBitsierSpyers: //That mushy?// Impressed whistle. Whirl: *tilts his head, and then nods* Sort of shut youself down? B l u r r: I couldn't do it. I tried to get through it by myself- it wasn't working. So I shut down. ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Of course, you know not knowing means they're going to spread rumors about all kinds of romantic gestures. It is Their Way.* Whirl: *another nod* ...@B: Teach. What HAPPENED to you. *at long last, Whirl is starting to put two and two together. It only took him Literal Months* Drift: *annnnnnd his attention is back on blurr.* B l u r r: [[ ITS OKAY WHIRL UR SWEET ANYWAY ]] Drift: *... very slowly wraps an arm around him.* B l u r r: @W: :: A lot. A lot all at once, honestly. :: ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Soundwave is tempted to pry...* Whirl: *aloud, he says, brusquely but not unkindly* Been there. It happens. B l u r r: / flickers optic and pats Drift. / B l u r r: / he figures this is a normal hug so it's okay / Whirl: @B: I fully expect you to not tell me most of this but I got one question: WHO did it? Drift: *this is not a normal hug* B l u r r: @W: :: .. It started with Roadbuster. Then it spiralled into the fight with Thundertron, which was honestly right after that whole thing with JT, plus the struggle with the fleet and- it's a lot. :: Drift: *it is a very tight hug* B l u r r: / oh this is a tight hug okay. Pat pat ? / Whirl: *the moment Blurr mentions JT there's that very subtle shift in what's left of Whirl's face that suggests he's gone from being relatively calm to contemplating murder* @B: I see. B l u r r: / well he can hug Drift back while he's comming/ Drift: @Blurr «... If you don't wanna talk about it you don't have to. But do you wanna talk about it?» *100% oblivious to the fact that WHIRL'S ON THE OTHER LINE* Whirl: @B: Well, you took care of Thundertron. And your fleet seems to be doing fine. And last I checked, things worked out with 'Buster... so seems to me that you're bouncing back. Bevel: @SW: *ok curiosity has killed the... Bevel* Was Whirl really telling the truth? About Shockwave and Prowl? B l u r r: / OH GOD COMM CALLS ON ALL LINES / Bevel: *no one try to connect to AOL you'll knock everyone offline* ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[And you have an interest in his personal affairs because...?]] B l u r r: / looks at Drift/ @D: :: Maybe...yeah. :: B l u r r: @W: :: Sort of. Things are still rocky... But we're figuring out this reality thing. :: Bevel: @SW: Because you should be happy and Shockwave is all sciencey and everyone [Elita] says you like Prowl. Our Prowl. So a different Prowl is probably even cooler because you- Bevel: -did not try to kill each other in a war. Drift: @B «Yeah?» *will wait for blurr to elaborate, then* ItsierBitsierSpyers: *He's going to push Elita into a smelter.* Whirl: @B: Good. Well. I owe JT a lot more than a punch if I ever meet him. Bevel: *Elita would somehow survive and come back stronger, don't do it* ItsierBitsierSpyers: *You're right. He'll just continue to loathe her from afar.* Bevel: *safest option* B l u r r: @W: :: Uh... well. Maybe some day? :: B l u r r: /switches lines/ @D: :: ... Remember when I offered to give those coordinates to JT? :: Drift: *......... drift's not gonna like this* @B «Yeah?» Whirl: *metohdically flexes his claws and stares into space; he is not even trying to be subtle with his body language* @B: The moment I find him. *and, quite ominously, that's all he's gonna say* B l u r r: @W: :: Well he- wait... who's this? Wait. This is whirl. Uhm. Well... wait. :: /processing/ :: I couldn't tell you where he is. :: Whirl: @B: Don't worry about it. B l u r r: @D: :: I wouldn't advise seeking him out. :: /totally wrong line / Drift: @B «Hah. Ahh. Yeah. No. I—wasn't gonna.» ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Shockwave is "all sciency," yes. It is an attractive quality. But everyone should mind their own business. He distantly admired our Prowl's abilities. We did -not- like each other.]] B l u r r: @D: :: Wasn't gonna wha- wait... scrap. :: Drift: @B «... He got mad, didn't he. At you. Because I asked you for a favor. He took it out on you.» B l u r r: @D: :: No. No he didn't. :: Whirl: *pauses, draggig himself out of his burgeoning murderous fantasies* @B:Also, of course this is Whirl. Who else would it be? B l u r r: @W: :: I wouldn't suggest seeking him out- I got my lines crossed. :: Whirl: @B: Oh. *pauses and peers about; it's not hard to guess who else he might be talking to* @B: Well. Like I said, Teach, don't worry about it. B l u r r: @D: :: He went and killed them, so everyone got what they wanted, so it's fine! :: B l u r r: @W: :: He wasn't the sole purpose and you know it. I had a lot on my mind. :: Bevel: @SW: Duh. Prowl hates you. Drift: @B «He's mad at you. It's not fine. ... Did it—how bad is it? Between you two?» Whirl: @B: Yeah. Everything else is resolved.He's the only loose end. Besides, it's not the first time he's hurt you in some way and you KNOW it. B l u r r: @D: :: Nothing happened. It's fine. He just got annoyed, but it's fine now. :: Drift: @B «Don't give me that. I know it wasn't nothing.» B l u r r: @W: ::... Granted, yes, you're right. But we settled the issue already. :: B l u r r: / oh god he's sweating more than an operator back in the time of the switchboard/ B l u r r: @D: :: It wasn't on you though. And I told him that. I offered- and you know that's true. I did. :: B l u r r: @D: :: It was my idea. :: ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Good. May it stay that way.]] Whirl: @B: Mm-hmm. ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Slowly drifting toward the smell of MURDER on the wind* Drift: @B «Where are you two at now?» Bevel: @SW: Yeah well I hope you are happy and no one you like actually hates you. B l u r r: @W: :: It's true. :: B l u r r: @D: :: Well, we weren't talking for a while... but now we are. :: ItsierBitsierSpyers: *Oh, distracted again.* ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[That is an odd blessing. He accepts it.]] Bevel: *provides all the distraction :D* Drift: @B «... I'm sorry.» B l u r r: @D: :: It's fine- it's not a big deal. Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything. :: B l u r r: /distressed. Grips tight in hug. / Drift: @B «It IS a big deal! You were ready to DIE because I let you do a favor for me that you shouldn't have!» B l u r r: @D: :: I offered! It's - really it's okay! :: B l u r r: @D: :: Besides, I sorted it all out in the end. We're talking again and he even came over... That's sort of how we got talking- anyway. We're okay. :: B l u r r: / has not stated they're back together but u know it fine / Drift: @B «You almost DIED.» B l u r r: @D :: That's a monthly thing, though... :: Bevel: @SW: Not that odd. Hey, um, why is Dancitron open less? Drift: @B «But this time it was because you WANTED to die. And I helped cause it. I'm sorry.» B l u r r: @D: :: Oh for pit sake. :: /just hugs a lot tighter/ :: You didn't do anything. If you had, I would have taken it out on you. :: B l u r r: @D: :: I'm alive. You're alive. And you finally came to visit. That's enough for me. :: Drift: *tight hug* ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[His monitoring duties have increased since it was first opened. He needed the extra time.]] Drift: *with BOTH arms this time* Bevel: @SW: For what? ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Work, rest. The usual.]] B l u r r: / both arm hugs! Squeeze/ Bevel: @SW: ...you are really good at not answering questions. ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Yes. The Autobots used to think so too. It comes with the territory.]] B l u r r: / rest forehelms together/ @D: :: I have to tell you something else... It's not that bad. :: Drift: @B «Yeah?» Bevel: @SW: Spy territory? B l u r r: @D: ::... Roadbuster and I got together. Finally. Officially. :: Whirl: *has, in the few minutes since he spoke, calmed down a little; watching Blurr and Drift, his proverbial hackles smooth more* Drift: *perks up* @B «Yeah? That's great.» ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Yes. The borders of which happen to be secret.]] B l u r r: @D: :: He's a lot more fun now that we're not trying to beat each other up. :: B l u r r: @D: :: Maybe you can meet him sometime. :: Drift: @B «Heh. I bet he is.» Drift: @B «I'd like that.» B l u r r: @D: :: Mm...:: / tighter hugs for friendo/ Bevel: @SW: I tried to be a spy sometimes but I was not very good at it. Pretending to be people is really hard if you have to do it for a long time. Bevel: *especially since she literally can't stay in one form for very long either but also y'know* B l u r r: @D: :: But really. It's not your fault. So don't beat yourself up over it. :: Drift: @B «... Are you okay now? REALLY okay? It's fine to say if you aren't. I want to know.» Whirl: *Drift has this situation handled. Good. Gona tip back and streeetch again, careful not to tip his hammock* All right, losers, time for me to go. ItsierBitsierSpyers: @Bevel: [[Makeshift learned that one the hard way. Still. You seem to have found a calling of sorts.]] Whirl: See you lot later. *clambers up and out* ItsierBitsierSpyers: //Seeya.// Drift: See you. Bevel: @SW: I guess. Bevel: Bye, Whirl Whirl: *bobs his head to each of his well-wishers in turn* B l u r r: / waves to Whirl/ Hey! B l u r r: Thanks... again. Whirl: *he was in the doorway when Blurr called him back, and he seems a little surprised* Well. Yeah. Of course. *bobs his helm again* B l u r r: @D: :: I'm adjusting to realitty again. It was hard the first few weeks, but... I'm better. :: Whirl: And I STILL say you should go easy on the mods. Idiot. *and with that affectionate goodbye zoop he's gone* Drift: @B «Anything I can do?» B l u r r: I will... / waves again / B l u r r: @D: :: I know I stopped talking about things with everyone, but maybe sometime we can hang out again or something? :: Drift: @B «Yeah, definitely. I think my schedule's about to clear up soon. I should be able to come over more.» B l u r r: @D: :: If you want to. It's not a must. I know you're busy. :: Drift: @B «I'm about to get less busy. And I want to.» B l u r r: @D: :: If you're sure. :: /hums/ :: We'll be stationary for a while... I need to recruit. :: B l u r r: @D: :: A sleepover would be cool.:: Bevel: *Found her calling. Something about that phrase nags at her and rather than think on it, she's going to bid the room goodnight and go ask Rolodex for help on writing that list for Blurr* Drift: @B «Yeah. It would be cool.» B l u r r: @D: :: Dodge says... you don't need to feel bad. But he wanted you to know that we're all okay. So, maybe we can have a sleepover sometime. :: B l u r r: @D: :: velocity is not invited. :: Drift: @B «Pff. Good. I don't want him there.» Drift: @B «... I've got a question. Don't repeat it to Whirl, okay?» B l u r r: @D: :: I won't. What do you need? :: Drift: @B «You've fought alongside him a few times. You think he's good? Like fighting alongside him?» B l u r r: @D: :: Whirl? :: Drift: @B «Yeah, Whirl.» B l u r r: @D: :: ... Absolutely. He's a bit reckless, but what's a fight with pristine movements? He's had my back and I've had his. He's reliable and knows what he's doing. Tough, too. Real tough. Why ask? :: Drift: @B «If he asked to join the crew, would you let him?» B l u r r: @D: :: Yes. :: Drift: *nods* @B «Okay.» B l u r r: @D: :: I trust him to not kill me, so... you know. :: Drift: @B «Pff. Always important.» B l u r r: @D: :: I consider him a friend. So, I mean... I don't think he'd listen to me, but I would say yes. :: B l u r r: @D: :: ... Why? :: Drift: @B «... This doesn't go beyond you, but...» Drift: @B «Unless we have a miracle, I think it's going to be a long, long time before the Lost Light takes off again. If it does. Something's broken and the tech doesn't exist to fix it.» Drift: @B «I'm looking at a few things right now. If I'm lucky, we could be up and running again in a week. But I can't plan for that.» Drift: @B «And, Rodimus is... I'm responsible for the crew right now.» B l u r r: @D: :: Ah... well, that's unfortunate . :: B l u r r: @D: :: well, if you need supplies, I can hunt them down for you. :: Drift: @B «If the Lost Light's grounded, they'll have to—go somewhere. Do something else. Most of them can handle that. But a few of them, I... don't think they'd adjust to Cybertron. I wanna help them.» Drift: @B «If we ARE grounded... if it's alright with you, I want to join your crew. And I'm going to try to get Whirl to come with me. I don't think he'd be okay in civilian life.» B l u r r: @D: :: Ah... :: B l u r r: / excuse him, he's having a moment / B l u r r: / More like he's just staring / Drift: @B «I'll find out from our engineers what kinda supplies we need and pass the list to you. If you CAN find them, I'd—we'd all be in your debt. But I don't know if they CAN be found.» B l u r r: / blinks/ Uh... @D: :: Oh uhm... right. Yeah. :: Drift: @B «... Would that be okay with you? Whirl and I joining? Or just me, if I can't persuade him to come.» B l u r r: @D: :: ... You'd live with me.:: Drift: @B «... Yeah. I would.» B l u r r: @D: :: Like...everyday. :: B l u r r: / that's what MOVING IN MEANS BUT OKAY / Drift: @B «Yeah. Like... everyday. It's kinda a big step, I know, but... I think it'd work out. If you do.» B l u r r: @D: :: I'd get to see you all the time... :: / ;~; / Drift: *drift's gonna take that as a yes. more hugs?* B l u r r: / turns to his left/ Shut UP I AM NOT-! / oh hugs! / B l u r r: @D: :: Of course I'd say yes to both of you!! :: B l u r r: @D: :: You guys are always welcome on my ship! :: Drift: *oh now drift's getting choked up.* Drift: @B «............... Th-thanks.» B l u r r: /oh no. Uh. Pat pat / B l u r r: @D: :: You're welcome...? Did I say something wrong? :: Drift: @B «No. Just. ... S'been a hard few months. This's nice. Good news.» Drift: *he's definitely trying not to cry* B l u r r: / smirks a little/ @D: :: Well, regardless of how hard it gets, you always have a place here with us. I made a promise. :: /wiggles scarred claw/ Drift: *takes claw with scarred hand* @B «I know. Thank you.» B l u r r: / lines scars up/ @D :: Sure thing, Drift. You always have a place here. Even if I die, they know to let you on. :: Drift: @B «... But don't die though.» B l u r r: @D: :: Well, I haven't yet, so. I doubt I will soon. :: B l u r r: @D: :: Next time, Drift. Don't ask. Just show up. You don't need permission to stay here. You can walk in any time and claim a room. :: Drift: @B «Pff. Yeah, okay.» B l u r r: /Rummages in subspace. Pokes a sticker on his forehelm/ @D: :: Dork. :: Drift: *sits back and takes it off to see what it is* B l u r r: / it is a gold glittery star / Drift: *...........* Drift: *sticks it next to the rodimus star on his chest. and now he IS crying. c'mon in for a hug* B l u r r: / oh my god he made drift cry / B l u r r: / goes on in for that hug and pats his back/ Sorry... are you okay? Drift: Yeah! M'fine! *he's cryin tho* B l u r r: Uh... well, you say that, but you're kind of crying. B l u r r: / worried noises / Drift: Good crying! I'm fine. I'm fine. Drift: *only half good tbh* B l u r r: ... Are you sure? /pats a bit more and just hugs/ You know you can still talk to me. Drift: ... I'm just— Drift: Rodimus is gone and I don't know when he'll be back, and I'm running the ship while he's gone, and I don't, I'm not made to be a captain, and it's— Drift: —it's just really nice to get a gold star. B l u r r: Ah... I see. /hums and just pulls closer for a hug/ B l u r r: You're my best student, you know. Very smart mech. Drift: I don't know if disbanding the crew is the right thing. Should I buy another ship? Should we continue the quest without Rodimus? Is that what he'd want me to do? B l u r r: / hums and looks contemplative/ If you don't feel like you are Captain, then I suggest gathering the crew and asking them to vote on a list of options. Drift: ... Yeah. Yeah, that's— okay. B l u r r: Is the quest important to  you and your friends? Drift: ... It's only important to me if Rodimus is leading it. Drift: But... Rodimus likes votes. That's what he would do if he didn't know what to do next. B l u r r: / vents. Not even gonna start on the rodimus business/ Then do the voting. B l u r r: / reaches up and rests claws on shoulders/ I know this place isn't the best... but I'm telling you right now that it can be your home, whether it's temporary or permanent. If you need it. B l u r r: I'm no Rodimus... but. I'm not the worst Captain in the world. Drift: *crooked smile* It's good enough for me. B l u r r: / pokes his nasal/ It's nice to know I'm good for something. B l u r r: But... figure out what you have to first. And you can call me anytime if you need anything. B l u r r: and I mean that. Anything. Drift: Okay. I'll let you know. Drift: Same to you. Call me if you need anything. B l u r r: Mm. Sure. B l u r r: /pat pat/ Get some rest, yeah? I'll talk to you sometime soon- when you have time. You just let me know.