#to commit MURDER to solve his problems

[starcurtain]

Hey! I apologize if this question has been asked before since it seems like a pretty obvious one, but where do you think the idea of Aventurine being a sex slave came from? Other than the obvious factor of it being something fun for the fandom to mess around with, I mean.

It's something I kind of took for granted as being true before playing his quest, but after finishing it I realized there wasn't really any indication. The only thing I can really think of is his master's comments about him having a good body. Is there anything in his behavior you can think of that would lead to this conclusion if it wasn't a popular fan interpretation already/kind of just an easy conclusion to reach with a slave character?

(also kind of related but what do you think of the idea that he sleeps around/with his clients to make deals? he's obviously willing to sexualize himself with the boob window, but that doesn't necessarily mean he goes further.)

As far as I can tell, the idea that Aventurine was involved in sexual slavery comes from three (maybe four) places:

First, the comment from the master about Aventurine's appearance. People were holding this comment up as refutable proof that Aventurine was used in sexual slavery on top of being tossed into the Hunger Games; however, the response from other players on this interpretation, especially the Chinese side of the fandom, was very mixed, with a lot of people pointing out that the context in the game probably meant the slave master was talking about Aventurine's ability to attract attention from fans watching the literal Sigonian Hunger Games, rather than having a direct sexual-slavery connotation.

Second, the comment from Sparkle about stripping naked and getting on his knees for Sunday. This one has way more implication in English than I think it might for an Eastern audience, actually. In English, this pretty much sounds like Sparkle saying Aventurine trades sexual favors for success in his gambles. However, I suspect the original intention in Chinese was more about humiliation. Western audiences don't have as much history with honor-based prostration, i.e. accepting corporal humiliation as a form of reconciliation that Eastern audiences might be more familiar with. And in any case, Sparkle is Sparkle. She probably just went for the lowest blow she could think of here.

Third, the general assumption that if Sigonian slaves were being chained, branded, beaten, sent to death matches, etc., it seems logical that they would also be taken advantage of in other ways. I honestly think this is probably the fairest take--many, many real slaves around the world faced (and still face!) sexual abuse, so if slaves from Sigonia were treated so poorly you could make them fight to the death for entertainment, it stands to reason they were probably also not safe from other forms of assault. We also have no idea what happened to Kakavasha in any of the years between his being a tiny child fleeing the massacre and then being purchased as a slave as a late-teens-early-twenties person. That's a very long time for a child to have to survive on their own on an extremely hostile planet and not face risks of all kinds or end up needing to do unspeakable things to survive. So I think this is at least not that far-fetched, although it's important to say there's nothing in the game that directly confirms this.

And fourth: I read a tweet semi-recently that stated that one of the Chinese (or maybe it was Japanese) names for a quest Aventurine was involved in was actually a reference to a book about a teenage sexual assault survivor. However, when I tried to verify this myself, I couldn't find any quest Aventurine was in that was based on a book about sexual assault in either English, Chinese, or Japanese. It's possible I just missed something, but I'm taking this one with a bit of a grain of salt currently, since I can't confirm it personally.

Regarding your other question, about whether I think Aventurine sleeps around to make deals...

I definitely think he does not, for one major reason.

First, I will admit that Aventurine is definitely willing to use his appearance to his advantage. This is pretty obvious. He wears incredibly flashy clothes, baths himself in cologne, overloads on glittering golden jewels, and absolutely calls attention to his appearance when working with clients.

We see him actively doing this in his Moment Among the Stars video, where he is clearly using his looks as an equal tool (to his wealth), to daze his target.

It's not an accident that he says things like "Use me as you wish," with all the explicit connotations preserved. The implication is there. However, unless he was absolutely backed into a corner, I think that implication is all it will ever be.

The reason I think this is that the devs go out of their way to give Aventurine three fairly noticeable physical behaviors in his in-game scenes:

For one, he has some of the most closed off body language of any character in the game.

Aventurine's default conversation pose is arms crossed directly and tightly in front of himself. This is like "Defensive Body Language 101." By crossing your arms, you put a symbolic barrier between yourself and the person you're speaking to, and also ensure that your hands are up and available in case you actually need to physically defend yourself.

Virtually all of Aventurine's conversations take place from this stance, no matter who he is speaking to (from the Trailblazer all the way to Topaz). He deliberately closes his pose off and tightens up his silhouette, which just sends a glaring "Don't touch me" message.

This closing off is also blatantly apparent when you compare it to the deliberately open poses he strikes while trying to make himself seem accessible to others (like tempting clients) or seem powerful (to intimidate):

Complementing this habit of closing himself off is a second noticeable aspect of his body language: He frequently avoids eye contact to the point that he even holds conversations while entirely facing away from the person he's speaking to.

I might be a bit lenient and say maybe he's doing this to on purpose to be mysterious, whoo~~ But... in all honestly, he just does this with everyone, even with Ratio while trying to talk about an actual important issue (wanting to look into Acheron's real identity). Hell, even the fake Aventurine does it to himself!

We can even say that wearing the rose-tinted glasses in the first place is another intentional barrier, one Aventurine deliberately removes in specific moments to give people the (false) impression that he's "letting them in" to his circle:

Now, this might be a bit more complicated in Aventurine's case, because eye contact has a whole extra meaning when eyes are the defining trait of your species and come with particularly challenging racial stereotypes. So it may be that Aventurine is simply used to conducting conversation while looking away to minimize racial prejudice against his eyes' unique appearance.

However, I'd also argue that the devs deliberately turned his entire model away in cutscene after cutscene to create a clear sense of being inaccessible, unapproachable, and unwilling to engage in the physical intimacy of standing closely, directly facing, and staring at his conversation partners.

While he faces away, he controls both the figurative and the literal direction of conversation, forcing people to keep their eyes on him while he is free to move as he pleases. Over and over again, it just says "I want to be the one in control. I'm not afraid to show my back to you, but you are not welcome to come near me."

And, in fact, that's a third aspect of his character's body language that I am sure the devs did not include accidentally: More so than other characters, many of Aventurine's conversations are conducted from weirdly far distances. Like, half the time he's talking, he's standing all the way on the opposite side of the room!

This habit of speaking from a-larger-than-normal distance is apparent in the first scene with Himeko...

And then in just about every other conversation too:

The bubble is twenty feet in every direction.

Like yes, he does approach and have conversations like a normal person... sometimes... But it is significantly more noticeable with Aventurine than with other characters that he often conducts whole conversations--even with his allies--from a distance. Just genuinely weirdly far apart.

Leaving space for Gaiathra, I guess.

And it's because these significant decisions were made with Aventurine's in-game body language that, when he deliberately alters his own behavior, it is instantaneously noticeable.

In 2.0, he closes the distance, the glasses come off, and he gets directly up in the Trailblazer's face.

It's uncomfortable not just because the player is suddenly being loomed over, but because this behavior has already been subconsciously established for the player as out of character for Aventurine.

The barriers the character himself was putting up are deliberately stripped away so that he can use physicality and demanding eye contact to intimidate his target. He has to reverse his own normal body language in order to come across as domineering (and, I guess if you're into that, appealing in a domineering manner).

And ummmm, just a tiny aside here because I can't resist:

This does mean that when the game goes out of its way to demonstrate Aventurine altering his own normal habit of distant and defensive body language, it is absolutely intentional.

Yes, this is a Ratiorine post in disguise. There literally isn't any other character in the game that Aventurine is shown being comfortable standing so close to and interacting with in this manner. This doesn't occur in every one of their scenes, but Ratio is the only character that this happens with repeatedly. It's not an accident that the devs literally added "They were walking side-by-side" as flavor text.

But look, I'll be fair: There's a great example of this in Aventurine's scene with Acheron too, where he closes the distance and attempts to make eye contact with her--seeking her guidance and closeness--and she is actually the one stepping away, speaking with her back turned, demonstrating her power and control (and issues with connection!) in that scene.

Anyway, this was a whole longggg tangent into analyzing Aventurine's body language, but my point is that, overall, the devs deliberately adjusted his model's actions in-game to give the impression of a person who clearly wants to be in control of every interaction he has with other people, who insists on distance over intimacy, and whose stances and habits suggest that he is significantly less accessible and open than his "Use me as you wish" motto might suggest.

Long story longer, I think that there is almost zero chance Aventurine is willingly ceding control over himself or the actions expected of him to anyone he isn't 100% comfortable with, and I think that using physical intimacy of any kind would be an absolute last resort for him. Frankly, he comes across as more likely to shoot himself in the foot than let someone he doesn't trust lay hands on him.

To me, he reads very much as "You may look, but you may not touch."

[krickficet]

If you want a good Superman cartoon just watch Superman The Animated Series. It addresses heavier topics with much better tact than maws probably ever will. And the characters are actually well written and enjoyable.

[rhysintherain]

Honestly?

As someone who works on the logistical side of post-secondary education, the level of organisation and life skills your average drug dealer has would give most students a run for their money. They'd probably have way fewer breakdowns in the tutor's offices and be more likely to actually show up for class than your average 1st year.

Prisons/Jails vs Colleges - More prisons or more colleges?

[comicaurora]

Do you think ethics are just an attempt at being a healthier form of selfish?

In one of your Detail Diatribes where Batman confronts Catwoman and tries to stop her from killing Falcone, you highlighted the fact that his reasoning was not to protect her father, but to try and save her. Ever since, some very strange ideas about the nature of selfishness and selflessness have been rattling around my head.

It only started coming into focus when I tried to put into words why it was a bad thing that D-16 killed Sentinel Prime. My best answer right now is because it made D-16 into Megatron. Orion wasn't trying to save Sentinel, he was trying to protect the cybertronian people. Maybe if Orion focused more on saving D-16, they wouldn't have lost their friendship and all of Cybertron would be better for it. Of course, in the end, Megatron was the deciding factor in making himself, caring more about his pride than his current identity, but this highlights a strange selfish quirk in sustainable selfless behavior.

If you are purely selfless you suffer from spending more of yourself than you have to give. If you're too selfish you can't maintain the human connections that are a requirement for being a complete and healthy person. It leaves the best options as being selfless to make your environment an easier one for you to live in. Where your actions for others are repaid by the selflessness from your community. Or, being selfish with your charity. Taking care of what you care about because their well being positively contributes to your own.

To be fair, the opening sentence now looks like an incomplete thought. It probably should be asking if you think ethics is just an attempt at being a more healthy form of selfish and selfless. Really, just asking if ethics is meant to make you better at being a person, which seems like a question that can answer itself. Still, it feels like an important insight to highlight that to be ethical isn’t about how much of your own life you're willing to sacrifice. It's hard to be a good person when you're not a person anymore.

This is a fascinatingly deep question, and I'm very tickled that our two touchpoints in it are a transforming robot tank and Batman.

My personal opinion is that ethics and morals are not reflections of some universal truth of Justice and Goodness, as they are often framed, but are instead best-practice guidelines on how to function in the big, messy world without causing undue suffering to yourself and others. A facet of this is determining, case by case, how much you need to prioritize yourself vs how much you can afford to help others - in the framing you've proposed, selfishness vs selflessness.

Taking the specific examples we're focusing on - two cases where someone attempts to prevent a revenge killing for the benefit, not of the victim, but of the avenger - I think they reflect this worldview, that the killing is not seen as some innately universally-judged evil act that must be prevented for its own sake, but that the act of killing will harm the killer in a way the person trying to stop them doesn't want to see.

For Catwoman, committing premeditated murder wouldn't solve any of her problems in any way that arresting Falcone and having him legally unraveled would. It'd just park a first degree murder charge on someone who'd up til this point only dealt with petty larceny, and it would potentially weigh her down with misery and regret as she grappled with the trauma of taking a life.

For Megatron, killing Sentinel Prime wasn't a bad action because he deserved to live. They just spent that whole fight scene tearing through enemies. They're warriors on track to spend the next four million years killing each other; the whole "taking a life" ship has already sailed. The problem is that Sentinel is a symbol and a structural part of the political narrative in the founding of the next stage of Cybertron's society. If the first thing the new regime does is bloodily avenge itself on the face of the old regime for the personal wrongs it did them, that proves that the only thing they care about is personal satisfaction of their individual desires - just like Sentinel. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. If they can instead take a step back, think of the good of Cybertron as a whole, enforce a rule of law and a fair system of justice that applies equally to everyone, even on someone they personally loathe, that would signify integrity and credibility and the hallmark of wise, just and fair leadership capable of setting aside personal feelings for the greater good. It's not about Sentinel; it's about whether the satisfaction of killing him is worth the price of enforcing forever that personal vendettas are more important than the well-being of the people of Cybertron. Which makes it really obvious which one Megatron is going to pick.

My hottest take, and I mean this very genuinely, is that most of the human perception of what constitutes goodness and justice is one thousand percent based on vibes, and is extremely susceptible to narrative reframing. We see an unsympathetic victim (Sentinel Prime, Falcone) who has gleefully caused suffering to innocent people (so judged because they are framed sympathetically, not because we've actually enumerated their lifelong actions to determine they've never done anything wrong) and we feel (feel) that it would be right and just for them to suffer consequences (emphasis on suffer) because that would balance the scales on this vibes equation and that would make us feel like justice had been served. Would this suffering lead to any material good? Not inherently. Would it heal the victims? Not usually. Would it remove the source of the problem? Categorically not, what with how negative reinforcement works (or rather does not work.) It also wouldn't do anything about the other people empowered by the same system to be just as shitty in just as many ways that just happen to be offscreen from our POV. But it feels fair. So what is justice, if it reduces down to "I want them to hurt for the hurt they've caused me"? If it can be sated with a spectacle or distracted by a long nap and a good joke to let the feeling fade? What purpose does this justice serve if it is devoted wholly to the satiation of a bone-deep chordate-brain hunger for Retributive Violence rather than towards actually ensuring that the lives of those harmed are healed and supported and built up again after being broken down? (This is the entire core character arc in The Batman, btw, I'm not just monologuing for no reason here. He calls himself Vengeance for a reason, and the reason is he's doing Batman wrong)

That feeling - that white-hot burning core of Righteous Fury - is the unexamined heart of many systems of morality that focus, not on doing good, but on exacting satisfying retribution on Bad People Who Deserve It, categorized as People Who I Can Hurt Without Feeling Bad Myself. It's a very tempting concept for people who have suffered at others' hands. That feeling, that powerful instinctual understanding of "that's unfair," is incredibly strong. In my opinion, most systems of ethics are built, not around relitigating what is Good and what is Bad per se, but in trying to shape and curb that bone-deep, unbelievably powerful desire to rend the flesh from the bones of your tormenters.

But I mentioned that feeling is susceptible to narrative reframing. This is, as I understand it, a huge part of lawyering. Tell the story of what happened using true events and adding no falsehoods, but highlight the parts that make it feel like your client is the one who is being treated unfairly. They're not an unsympathetic wrongdoer who you can punish without personal moral stain - they're a loving spouse, a parent of three adorable children, they have a really cute puppy, they donate to charity, they're a wonderful conversationalist, a kind friend, etc etc. All those things can also be true of people who do terrible things, but thinking about them defuses that White Hot Core by making us sympathize with the sympathetic parts of them.

This is incredibly well-understood in fiction. It's the whole reason the tropes Kick The Dog and Pet The Dog exist. When you want the audience to root for a character's destruction, leave aside any of their potential quiet moments of sympathy - their tragic backstory, their cute pet, their adorable relationship with their mom - and instead show them going out of their way to commit some minor act of petty cruelty, say Kicking The Dog. The audience will infer that this badness is 24/7 and they have no reason to curb their enthusiasm for Righteous Vengeance. But if the writer wants the audience to see a spark of good in them, to sympathize, to believe they can be redeemed, they'll highlight one of those small moments of charming kindness, and allow them to Pet The Dog instead.

Neither of these acts, in the grand scale, have any bearing on the morality of this person's actions. A pet dog doesn't counterbalance a razed village; a kicked dog doesn't negate a generous contribution to the local soup kitchen. Goodness and badness is not a linear scale added or subtracted to by opposing deeds. BUT showing them to an audience reframes them narratively, and THAT is what shapes the judgment of the White Hot Burning Core. In the space of fiction, this form of bottom-shelf emotional manipulation is one of the cleanest ways to get the audience to root for the messy destruction of what is ostensibly, in the universe of the fiction, a wholly complex and living person who definitely has reasons for everything they've done, even ones that could be framed sympathetically when shown.

Meanwhile, in the real world, ethics are an attempt to judge what is best in a given situation without trusting the White Hot Burning Core to make the call, no matter how compelling "but it would feel really good though" might seem. They try to give someone perspective, context, other priorities to consider. The White Hot Burning Core might want you to rip someone's arms off for driving slow when you've got important places to be, but Ethics can present a number of compelling reasons not to do that - even if it's just "ripping their arms off will definitely make me even more late." And yes, this can be a balance of Selfishness Vs Selflessness. You are one of the people whose wellbeing ethics is designed to make you prioritize improving even if it feels weird, and when all other things are equal, your own health and happiness can be the deciding factor. In a world with an overarching Moral Force that weighs the goodness of your soul by sifting through every grain of action and intent seeking negativity to punish you for, absolute selflessness to the point of self destruction would still probably be seen as Morally Wrong, simply because the universe is a better place with you in it trying your best.

Anyway, if doing the right thing was simple, easy and painless, we probably wouldn't have so many thousands of years of arguing about what it looks like. Good luck out there everybody 👍

[aaronstveit]

isaac lahey absolute character of all time. after school job as a gravedigger. not very good at writing. problem solving skills include violence and bisexuality. gets stabbed twenty times and immediately falls in love with the girl who stabbed him. wears scarves and cardigans in warm weather. arrested for his father's murder that he didn't actually commit but totally should have. invests in a leather jacket and pretends to be evil for a while. definitely in love with his boy best friend but he has a job so he can't worry about that right now. six foot two but slouches so aforementioned boy best friend doesn't feel short. moves to paris with his dead girlfriend's father after watching said girlfriend confess her love to another guy while she dies. what's not to love.

[clockwayswrites]

City Pigeons Bleed Green, Part 31 masterpost cw: strongly implied off screen murder and discussions about it

“Do you need me to pull the car over so that you can put your make-up on?” Jason asked.

Tim shot him a withering stare. “Do I look like I need you to pull over so that I can do my make-up?”

“See, I know better than to answer yes to that,” Jason said cheerily, “but I also don’t want to deal with you poking out an eye with a mascara wand.”

“I’m not going to poke out an eye putting on mascara.”

“Or bitching the rest of the drive because your lipstick is slightly crooked.”

Tim paused. “…okay, that I might do.”

“And we’re pulling over!”

“Fine,” Tim sighed, “We need to spray your skunk streak black anyways and change.”

“I can’t believe their uniforms are really all white suits,” Jason said as he looked for a convenient side road to pull of onto.

“I know, have they never heard of no white after Labor Day?” Tim asked as he dusted something over his cheekbones.

Jason snorted. “Yeah, cause that’s my problem with the all white suits. Nothing about them being impractically easy to stain.”

Tim hummed. “White is easy to bleach, think lab coats and hotel sheets.”

“That only solves the problem if they don’t have to go anywhere before they can get the stains out,” Jason pointed out.

“It works if they think that they’re immune to any repercussion of having stains,” Tim said. He set the fluffy brush he had been using down. “How often do you think they walked around with Danny’s blood like it was nothing?”

Jason gripped the steering wheel so hard that it creaked under his hands. “Never again.”

“No,” Tim agreed. “Never again. Not any of them.”

“I hate that we can be as final with all of them,” Jason said as he forced himself to relax his grip.

“I know, but the organization is better handled by the Titans and Justice League. Bringing the law into their end will have more lasting effects than bring an end to their agents.”

“Damn bureaucracies,” Jason grumbled. “Always someone else to fill in a spot.”

Tim hummed in agreement. “If taking out agents and bases was enough, the LOA would be long gone, trust me.”

“Oh I do, Timbit. It’s why you’re the one in this car with me. I don’t have any illusions about your hands being clean or worry your commitment wavering.”

“Good, it won’t.”

“I know.”

Jason turned the car down a road and off to the side where it was hidden between tall rows of corn. Tim leaned forward to continue his make up. He really was the best chameleon of them all, even the old man. Jason tried not to think too hard about what that meant for Tim himself. Things were better now, that was enough. He grabbed the can of hairspray from Tim’s bag.

“There’s contacts in there for you too,” Tim said. “And put in the pomade before the spray so that it doesn’t run. You need to slick your hair back for that government lackey sort of look.”

“Glamorous. Is that why your shade of lipstick is so horrific?”

“Bland yet obligatorily feminine,” Tim replied with a flutter of his eyelashes.

Jason snorted as he set about running enough pomade through his hair to make a 1930’s man proud. He stepped out of the car to use the can of spray color and clean his hands off. The dusky contacts were popped in next before he fussed with getting his hair swept over just right and the sides pressed flat against the his head.

Tim finished about the same time with his wig, so Jason grabbed both garment bags and spread the one out on the trunk for Tim. By the time they were back in the car it was like Jason Todd and Tim Drake were never there. Agent UU and Z settled easily into the seats and continued on their way.

“We’re not making a mess,” Tim—or double U— said some time later.

Jason growled.

“I know, but we need to keep this clean.” There was just the right amount of lilt to the voice to sound like a determined woman who had spent to long fitting into a ‘mans’ world. “This is just the GIW cleaning up two assets before they can be picked up and spill secrets to the cops.”

“What’s the plan then?”

“The pen in your pocket is really a needle with a very quick acting sedative. It paralyzes. Everything.”

Jason nodded. “Okay. Act like we’re extracting, get them apart to gather vital items, stab them?”

“In the neck.”

“Okay.” Jason pulled the car to a stop in front of bland suburban house.

As if they had practiced, they exited the car in sync with one another, slight tug to their white suit jackets and everything, and approached the door in a matching clipped pace. Tim was a step ahead (a woman would be better received) and rang the doorbell before crossing his arms behind his back. Jason made himself breath as the door opened.

“Dr. Fenton,” Tim said. “Agents UU and Z. It’s urgent that we come inside, the GIW is breached.”

[blairxbear]

How they react to you texting them for help, only to find out there's just a spider in your room...

UA Part 1 / UA Part 2 / Pro Heroes / Villains

Pure fluff, chaotic misunderstandings, and lots of over-the-top reactions!

Featuring: Tomura Shigaraki, Dabi/Toya Todoroki, Shuichi Iguchi/Spinner, Kai Chisake/Overhaul, Jin Bubaigawara/Twice, Atsuhiro Sako/Mr. Compress, Young All For One

Tomura Shigaraki 

Your Text:

"Tomura, HELP. I need you right now!! It’s an emergency!"

His Reaction:

Instantly on high alert.

Drops his controller mid-game, nearly breaking it.

"Who the fuck is messing with them?!"

Doesn’t even bother texting back.

MARCHES over to your place, hood up, fingers twitching.

KICKS OPEN YOUR DOOR. "Alright, who the hell am I killing?"

Sees you standing on your bed, clutching a pillow, pointing at the wall.

Sees the spider.

Absolute silence.

His eye twitches.

"…Are you fucking kidding me?"

You shake your head frantically. "IT’S HUGE, TOMURA."

Facepalms so hard, muttering about how he needs new friends.

Doesn’t even hesitate—just lifts his hand and DISINTEGRATES the wall along with the spider.

You stare at the gaping hole in your wall.

Tomura crosses his arms. "Problem solved."

You sigh. "You’re fixing that."

"Tch. Whatever. Just don’t text me like that again unless you’re actually dying."

Bonus: Next time, he replies with, "Spider or actual emergency? Answer carefully."

Toya Todoroki (Dabi)

Your Text:

"Dabi, please help! I need you NOW!"

His Reaction:

Smirks the second he sees your text.

"Heh. Guess I’m their first call for trouble, huh?"

Acts all casual but actually hurries over.

KICKS IN THE WINDOW instead of using the door.

"Alright, babe, where’s the danger?"

You frantically point at the spider on the wall.

Silence.

He just stares at you, then at the spider, then back at you.

Bursts out laughing.

"No fucking way. You texted me like you were being kidnapped—for a SPIDER?!"

You glare at him, still clinging to your bed. "It’s HUGE."

He’s still laughing, hands on his knees, wheezing.

"Babe, I set entire buildings on fire. And you want me to deal with this?"

Still laughing but casually flicks a small blue flame at the spider, incinerating it.

Turns to you, smirking. "You good now, princess?"

You pout. "I hate you."

"Nah, you love me." Winks and jumps back out the window like a menace.

Bonus: Next time, he sends you a meme of a spider before even showing up.

Shuichi Iguchi (Spinner) 

Your Text:

"Spinner, PLEASE COME FAST! I need your help!"

His Reaction:

Absolute panic.

Immediately assumes you’re in danger.

"SHIT. I GOTTA GO."

Sprints over like his life depends on it.

Barges in, slightly out of breath. "A-alright, what’s happening? Are you okay?!"

Sees you standing on a chair, shaking.

Sees the spider chilling in the corner.

Stops. Blinks. 

Realization hits.

"…Wait. You… texted me for a SPIDER?"

You nod.

You see his eye twitch like he’s having an internal crisis.

Debates whether he should be mad or find it cute.

Sighs, rubs the back of his head. "Jeez, (Y/N), you scared me."

Gently picks up the spider with his bare hands and takes it outside.

Comes back in, looking slightly exasperated. "Seriously, I thought you were dying."

You look away, embarrassed. "…It was big."

He chuckles, ruffling your hair. "Yeah, yeah. Just call me your personal Spider Slayer, I guess."

Bonus: Next time, he’s still gonna come running. But he’ll text first: "Is it an emergency or another spider?"

Kai Chisaki (Overhaul) 

Your Text:

"Chisaki, HELP. I need you right now! It’s an emergency!"

His Reaction:

IMMEDIATELY thinks you’re in serious danger.

Stops whatever he’s doing, fixes his gloves, and storms over like he’s about to commit a murder.

Slams the door open, eyes sharp. "Who touched you?"

Sees you standing on your chair, clutching a pillow.

Sees the spider on the wall.

Dead silence.

His eyes narrow.

Looks at you. Looks at the spider. Back at you.

"…You’re kidding me."

You shake your head frantically. "Chisaki, IT’S HUGE."

Scoffs, crosses his arms. "Disgusting. You made me rush over here for this?"

Reluctantly takes off his glove, touches the spider, and disintegrates it instantly.

Then disinfects his entire hand for five minutes while lecturing you.

"I deal with actual filth. And this is what you need me for?"

Glares but still stays long enough to make sure you don’t scream over another one.

Bonus: Next time, he just sends you a picture of hand sanitizer with the text: "Handle it yourself."

Jin Bubaigawara (Twice) 

Your Text:

"JIN, PLEASE HELP! I NEED YOU NOW!"

His Reaction:

Instant panic.

"OH SHIT, HOLD ON, I’M COMING—WAIT, AM I GOING? YES, I AM—NO, I’M NOT—YES, I AM!"

Rushes over at full speed, nearly trips over himself.

Slams the door open, breathing heavily.

"WHO’S ATTACKING YOU?!"

Sees you standing on the couch, pointing at the floor.

Sees the spider.

You both scream.

"AHHHHHH IT MOVED— WHY AM I SCREAMING?!"

Runs behind you like you’re supposed to protect him.

Realizes what he’s doing, clears his throat, and puffs out his chest.

"Alright, babe, I GOT THIS."

Grabs a shoe and goes to smack the spider—misses.

Now both of you are running around the room, Jin panicking while also yelling at himself.

Finally traps the spider under a cup, breathing hard.

"THAT WAS TOO CLOSE. I ALMOST DIED—WAIT, NO, I DIDN’T—YES, I DID—NO, I’M FINE!"

Hugs you dramatically. "We survived, babe."

Bonus: Now, every time you text him, he responds with "SPIDER OR ACTUAL DEATH?" before showing up.

Atsuhiro Sako (Mr. Compress) 

Your Text:

"Atsuhiro, HELP ME! IT’S URGENT!"

His Reaction:

Reads the text, raises an eyebrow.

Fixes his hat, intrigued. "Hmm. My dear needs rescuing? This sounds interesting."

Casually walks over like he has all the time in the world.

Steps inside, sees you standing on your desk.

Sees the spider.

Pauses. Tilts his head. Smirks.

"Darling… is this the life-threatening emergency?"

You glare at him. "Atsuhiro, IT’S GONNA JUMP."

Chuckles, dramatically removing his glove.

With a flourish, he flicks his wrist, and POOF—the spider is compressed into a tiny marble.

Shows it to you with a smug grin. "I believe the villain has been apprehended."

You sigh in relief, but then he just… doesn’t let it go.

Pockets the marble and smirks. "I think I’ll keep this as a reminder of how terribly brave you were."

For the next week, he casually rolls the "spider marble" between his fingers just to mess with you.

Bonus: Next time, he responds with, "Shall I bring my hat and perform a grand disappearing act for another spider?"

Young All for One 

Your Text:

"AFO, PLEASE HELP! I need you right now!"

His Reaction:

Reads the text, slightly irritated but also intrigued.

"Hmm. How interesting. They rarely ask for help."

Walks over like a king gracing you with his presence.

Steps inside, sees you curled up on the bed.

Sees the spider in the corner.

Pauses.

Slowly looks at you with the most UNIMPRESSED expression imaginable.

"…You summoned me… for this?"

You nod, wide-eyed. "It’s huge."

He sighs, rubbing his temple. "You are aware I command a legion of villains, correct?"

Still disintegrates the spider effortlessly, then crosses his arms.

Looks at you like he’s deciding whether to be annoyed or entertained.

"This is beneath me, but… I suppose even the strongest require assistance sometimes."

Leans down, smirking. "You owe me."

Leaves dramatically, still shaking his head.

Bonus: Next time, he’ll just text back: "I am not exterminator. Handle it yourself." (But he’ll still show up anyway.)

Ko-fi / Masterlist

blairxbear © 2024. do not copy, modify, or translate my work. you do not have permission to share my work outside of tumblr!

[divadepreshawn]

𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓

Aaron Hotchner × fem!reader ×popstar

part four Haley didn't die in this universe, they're just divorced (let's make this poor man's past less traumatic)

Garcia will want to DIE when he finds out he missed the chance to see you up close. WC: 2 556

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Aaron was sitting at his desk, staring at the card on the flowers, he wasn't sure how to react to it, it was a beautiful gesture – and a little scary –, he admits. You only had his first name and you managed – you wanted – to find him. It was a bittersweet feeling, he hadn't gotten involved with anyone after Haley – not that he was looking for someone, because that was his last concern. His priority now was Jack and work. Aaron didn't have the strength to hold grudges against Haley – it was hard at first, after all they had been together since they were teenagers. But he couldn't blame her for leaving.

A husband who was never home.

It wasn't her fault, it was his.

That's what he kept repeating to himself as a punishment, life is made of choices and consequences, he could have done more for the marriage – he should have done more. But he didn't and it ended.

"I know what you're thinking, forget it" Rossi's voice broke him out of his trance.

“I’m not thinking about anything.”

“Of course, there must be another reason why you’re looking at this arrangement as if it were the world’s greatest riddle.”

Aaron sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I can’t do this again and-”

“And nothing, the past is gone, it’s over.”

Rossi pulled up a chair and sat across from him.

“I’ll give you some advice, Aaron. The past is there to teach us, not to hold us back forever. You lie to yourself—interspersing work with the responsibilities of being a father—saying that you don’t need to move on, or meet new people, but I’ll present you with the facts. Jack will grow up, one day you’ll retire. When this is over, what’s left?”

He fell silent, looking away from Rossi and toward the flowers.

“You don’t want to repeat the same mistakes, I understand. Just the fact that you’re worried means you’ve learned from them.”

He points to the flower arrangement with a half smile.

“I’m not saying you have to get married and have ten kids with your secret admirer. I’m just saying that you should allow yourself to have a conversation that doesn’t involve murderers and school activities.”

Aaron lets out a weak laugh.

“I honestly don’t even remember how to do that.” He runs his hands over his face tiredly.

“I don’t think you need to, there’s someone who’s committed enough for both of you.”

“It’s complicated.”

“It’s not complicated, the problem is you.”

He frowns.

“But you just said-”

“Shut up and text me already.”

Aaron sighs, glancing at his phone.

“It’s been a week, what am I supposed to say?”

“Something like: hi I’m an idiot but thanks for the flowers.”

Aaron raises an eyebrow at the suggestion.

“I’m not going to write that.”

“But you should.”

“Okay, don’t you have to work?”

Rossi chuckled softly, pushing his chair back as he stood up.

“I always have time to tease you. Don’t overthink it, just text me—oh, and don’t forget my chair.” He left the room, closing the door behind him with a slight wave.

Aaron took a deep breath as he stared at his phone on the table, hoping his problems would solve themselves

It wasn’t as easy as Rossi made it sound.

It wasn’t just the fear of getting involved again—although that was a big part of it. The weight of his responsibility as a father and as a boss made any distraction feel like a threat to the fragile balance he was trying to maintain. Jack was his priority, always would be. How would he divide his attention?

What about work?

The work was never ending. He was always processing reports, psychological profiles and strategies to keep the team safe. He couldn’t make any commitments, having to leave everything behind when he had a case. Getting involved with someone would mean opening up space for one more worry, one more possible failure.

Life had hardened him, every loss, every difficult decision, every case that ended tragically.

What could he offer other than worries?

But there was a much bigger question than that that had been circling your thoughts since you gave him your number.

What did you see in him?

What – in twenty minutes of conversation – had been enough to make you want to stay? And, more than that, want to be part of his life – to the point of going to the trouble of finding out his name just to send him flowers?

Maybe it was because you were on high alert and since he helped you your brain only associated him with safety?

Do you have issues with your father?

Or maybe it was a moment when, without realizing it, he relaxed for a second and let out a genuine smile. But would that be enough for someone to want to insist?

He didn't see himself as attractive in the romantic sense. It wasn't that he didn't think he was handsome, but he never believed that his presence inspired anything other than respect—and often, fear.

His rigid posture, the controlled way he spoke, his almost always neutral expression—all of this created a barrier between him and others.

With Haley it was different. They met before the burden of responsibility that this job demanded shaped every aspect of his identity. In college, he smiled more easily, allowed himself moments of lightness—the young man who dreamed, who believed he could balance justice and happiness.

Maybe he wouldn't be able to have a relationship again—at least not now. But Rossi was right, it would be nice to talk to someone whose main agenda wasn't murder and preschool.

Before he could think too much, he picked up his cell phone and typed a message.

Still hesitant.

But not running away.

“Thanks for the flowers, but I have to admit, I’m still wondering how you found me. Should I keep an eye on you or offer you a job on my team?”

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

You were exhausted.

Rehearsing in a warehouse since early morning, repeating the choreography until your feet were blistered, making arrangements, training your breathing to hit the notes while dancing.

The last few weeks before the tour are always chaotic, dancers rehearsing without rest, sound and lighting engineers adjusting the last details, the stage structure set up to rehearse the positioning.

Every decision was made by you – from the setlist to the fabric of the dancers' clothes. Not because you didn't trust the team, but because you refused to deliver a show that was inferior to the last. Each tour needed to be bigger, better, more impactful. The pressure came from all sides – but most of all, from yourself.

Everyone is stressed – you are stressed. And you needed to take a break before you start being a bitch.

Sighing, you stop what you're doing, folding your sweatshirt until it looks like a makeshift pillow. As soon as you lay down on the floor you realized two things – the floor was freezing cold and you were more tired than you thought.

“Are you okay?” Chris’s voice broke the silence.

“Uh-huh,” you hummed in response. “I just need a minute of silence, don’t let anyone talk to me, please.”

He hesitated for a moment, as if trying to gauge your mood before continuing – the scale was kill him, fire him or just curse him out.

“Remember the favor you asked to find your mystery guy?”

You frowned and opened your eyes.

“Yeah. What about it?”

“You’re kind of going to have to pay him back today.”

Your body tensed.

“The one who recognized him and gave him the information was an event planner. And he only works with important people – politicians, judges, government agents…” He paused to let you absorb the information before continuing. "Sort of… you're performing at his event tonight."

You whimpered, rubbing your temples as you sat down.

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was."

"What if you put on a wig and go in my place?"

Chris stared at you for a while, analyzing how much truth there was in the joke.

"I don't think it would convince anyone."

You sighed, Chris held out his hand to you - helping you up.

"How many songs?"

"Only three."

You nodded slowly, preparing yourself psychologically for a long night. These events were the worst - petty people who lived in a silent struggle for power, vying for your attention in order to gain support and publicity for their projects.

"I can't believe I'm doing this because of a man, a man who didn't even bother to save my number-" The sentence dies in your throat as soon as you feel your cell phone vibrate. Your gaze fell to the notification on your messaging app – unknown number.

“Thanks for the flowers, but I must admit, I’m still wondering how you found me. Should I keep an eye on you or offer you a job on my team?”

You bit your lip in a – failed – attempt to hide a smile.

“Honestly, your smile scares me a lot more than if you were hitting me.”

“Shut up.”

You quickly thought of a response.

“I’m glad you liked it, honey, but a magician never reveals his tricks. And yes, keep an eye on me, Mr. Hot – both preferably.”

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Justice Department Gala

A yearly – and very boring – event full of formalities, speeches and ego battles. An event that Hotch had completely forgotten about. While the members could decide whether to go or make up an excuse – all of which, without exception, chose the second option – unfortunately, as the team leader his presence was mandatory.

The hall was grand, lit by imposing chandeliers that cast golden reflections on the champagne glasses. Waiters walked discreetly among the guests, offering refined appetizers that Aaron had no interest in tasting. He had already exchanged greetings with politicians, judges and some senior agents, but he was at his limit.

That was when the music started.

Not only the usual violins, now there was a piano and a sound that he thought was a drum. As the soft introduction began, the stage lights dimmed – the floor filling with smoke. He frowned; there was no show on the schedule.

Then the lights focused on the center of the stage, and there you were.

He froze.

Your strong and impotent presence was enough to silence the room. The dress molded perfectly to your body – it was impossible not to pay attention to you, your presence was mesmerizing.

And then you started to sing.

Your voice filled the room, it was a perfect mix of strength and skill, reaching and sustaining high notes with impressive ease. He had already heard some of your songs when he researched you, but nothing compared to hearing you sing live. And for the first time he allowed himself to focus solely on the music – without considering it just as background noise.

“Remember those walls I built? Well, baby, they're tumbling down And they didn't even put up a fight They didn't even make a sound”

This was happening – unconsciously – after all.

The last note echoed through the hall and as the audience applauded, you gave a slight smile – mumbling a thank you – and bowed subtly before leaving the stage. He was in an internal battle, pondering whether or not to talk to you. But you had reached out to him, right? So the least he could do was apologize for not texting you sooner. Without realizing it, he was already heading your way – the unconscious does funny things sometimes.

As he got closer, he could see you – leaning against one of the walls –, talking to a group of men and their wives. Your smile was polite, but your eyes – especially when you looked at the man next to you – said: get me out of here. Aaron recognized you, he was the same one who picked you up at the store that day. Broad shoulders, rigid posture and observant – ex-military maybe. Definitely a bodyguard.

So you’ve come to your senses, he thought.

You nodded slightly, offering a half smile at something one of the wives said when your eyes landed on him. And then you smiled – not the polite, practiced smile you were giving the group. But a genuine smile, the kind that reached your eyes.

His chest tightened – an involuntary reflex he hadn’t experienced in a long time. He couldn’t remember the last time someone looked so happy to see him, and it affected him – probably more than he would admit out loud. You said goodbye to the group with a polite smile and started walking towards them.

“You know, I’m starting to believe it’s fate.” You tilted your head as you looked at him, your eyes shining with amusement.

He arched an eyebrow, curious.

“What?”

“Oh, you know, saving me from near-death situations.” You paused dramatically and started counting on your fingers. “The first time I almost got trampled to death. And now? I almost died of boredom.”

That got a genuine laugh out of him – something you did easily.

“That’s definitely something that could have happened, I didn’t know you sang at events like that.”

“I don’t sing. But this time I had ulterior motives. Let’s just say it was an exchange, as soon as I got your name.” You laughed at his frown, quickly correcting yourself. “It wasn’t illegal at all, I promise.”

Aaron tilted his head slightly, with an expression of disbelief – but the corners of his lips betrayed him with the beginning of a smile.

“Are you saying you negotiated a performance in exchange for information about me?”

You looked away with a thoughtful expression.

“It sounds pretty scary when you say it like that,” you muttered. “Anyway, that’s not relevant.”

He let out a low laugh. Rossi was right.

“I’ll make sure to check your background, although with your schedule, there wouldn’t be time to commit many crimes.”

“How do you know? - Oh my god, you researched me?” A disbelieving smile spread across his face.

He opened his mouth, ready to deny it, but quickly closed it. The pause was telling, he had given himself away.

“Research is too strong a word,” he replied, straightening up, “Let’s just say it was enough to get you informed.”

Liar.

You arched an eyebrow as you crossed your arms.

“Oh, is that what they call it these days?”

He scratched his throat, dismissing it with his hand.

“Anyway, that’s not relevant.”

You stared at him for a second, pretending to let it go before a mischievous smile spread across your lips.

“It’s not relevant? Because I think it’s very relevant, who has to keep an eye on who here?”

“We’re strangers, okay; let’s skip to the next part,” he said – in a failed attempt to maintain his composure. But there was an amused glint in his eyes.

“So you have topics? How many are we talking about, Agent Hotchner?”

Aaron crossed his arms, trying to keep his face impassive – despite the amusement clear in his eyes.

“You’re annoying.”

“I know,” you agreed softly, “But something tells me you like it.”

He looked away for a while, silently organizing his thoughts. Frowning, he returned his gaze to you.

“Of all the things I have to deal with, oddly enough, you’re the least annoying.”

You laughed, crossing your arms in mock offense.

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Initial apology.”

Your gaze softened, an amused chuckle escaping your lips.

“You’re terrible at this.”

“I know"

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

English is not my first language are sorry for any mistake

If you have any ideas to contribute to the sequel I will be happy to receive them :)

tag: @duchesz @midnghtprentiss @jazzimac1967 @queenofnothng @leathynn @camihotchner @yourallaround-simp @pastelpinkflowerlife @padlockedheartsreading

[mysticbby2009]

Rivals & Revisions Part 6 – This Is Worse Than Hell.

(masterlist) ; (part 1) ; (part 2) ; (part 3) ; (part 4) : (part 5)

Two hours.

You had been stuck in this library with Rafe Cameron for two whole hours, and somehow, you hadn’t committed murder yet. A miracle, honestly.

"Okay," Rafe said, stretching his arms behind his head. "Let’s test your knowledge. Quickfire round. No thinking, just answering."

You sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

"Not at all." His smirk was way too pleased. "Alright—marginal cost?"

"Change in total cost divided by change in quantity."

"Good." He tapped the table. "Law of diminishing returns?"

"As you add more of a variable input, at some point, the additional output will decrease."

"Perfect. Deadweight loss?"

"When the market is inefficient—why are you looking at me like that?" You narrowed your eyes. "Why do you look impressed?"

Rafe shrugged, but the way he was grinning made you suspicious. "Just surprised you actually retained information. You know, since my notes are so useless."

You groaned, shoving your textbook toward him. "You’re so annoying."

"Annoying, but right." He leaned forward, tapping the book. "And speaking of right, this next problem? No way you get it on the first try."

You exhaled sharply, willing yourself to focus, and started solving it. Halfway through, though—

You stalled.

You stared at the equation, pen hovering above the paper, but your mind would not cooperate.

It wasn’t just the econ problem. It was everything. The exhaustion from the past two weeks, the pressure of catching up, the weight of whatever the hell was still dragging you down.

Rafe noticed. Of course he did.

"Hey," he said, and this time, his voice lacked its usual taunting edge. "You’re overthinking it."

You clenched your jaw. "I’m not—"

"You are." He tapped the paper. "Look, you got the first part right. Just finish it."

You tried. You really did. But nothing clicked, and your frustration only grew.

"Jesus," you muttered, shoving the paper away. "I can’t do this right now."

Rafe was quiet for a second. Then—

"Want to take a break?"

You blinked. "What?"

"A break," he repeated, closing your textbook before you could protest. "You’re fried, and I refuse to be blamed when you short-circuit mid-exam."

You huffed, crossing your arms. "I don’t need a break."

"You absolutely do," he said. Then, with a teasing smirk, "Unless you’re scared you’ll fall behind me again?"

You gave him a deadpan look. "This is why people hate you."

"And yet, here we are."

You groaned, but… maybe he had a point.

Maybe, for just a second, you needed to breathe.

So, against your better judgment—

You let Rafe Cameron lead you out of the library, your unfinished problem set temporarily forgotten.

[eriexplosion]

I posted this in a random reply a few weeks ago but it continues to haunt me: semi-comedy rewrite of TBB season one where Crosshair's chip still activates but never gets boosted so he stays in that weird half Empire fanboy half loyal Batcher state and actually escapes Kamino with them. He keeps trying to commit murder to solve every problem and gets increasingly dramatically agitated when told no. Eventually he's just tremoring like a chihuahua with the desire to kill as they keep redirecting him away from ever coming into contact with Imperial soldiers. Half of Cut and Run is now dedicated to giving him various Farm Tasks to keep him distracted while they plan their next move. Everyone has to wait for him to inevitably nap to try to plan out what the fuck to do with him because no matter where they go on the Marauder he can overhear them.

When Rex shows up and sees what's wrong with him, he just fucking stuns his ass like "see how easy that was" (of course it's easy for him REX DOESN'T LIKE HIM.) The entire rest of the episode is punctuated with Rex casually stunning him repeatedly while they get set up to get the chips taken out. He's living his dream honestly.

[tossawary]

I'm only on Episode 5 of "Teen Wolf" and it's hard not to think about Stiles/Derek due to the pairing's influence as a fandom juggernaut throughout the 2010s. It has, over the years, occasionally made me intensely curious as to what was actually in the source material to spark this, versus how much of it was the migratory slash fanfiction fandom stuff.

I don't have... super strong opinions of them from the source material yet? I don't really think they have positive or negative chemistry at the moment. Their interactions are hampered by the fact that I think Derek Hale is currently kind of incoherent as a character, apparently not allowed to actually talk to anyone due to contrived drama reasons, preventing him from connecting naturally on an informational or emotional level to Stiles or Scott. Derek's backstory is still murky and largely unknown. Derek's personal goals here are also a little unclear. Some of this will be cleared up as the season goes on.

I do think that I personally would enjoy Derek more if he had actually been only a few years older than Scott and Stiles, as Stiles says in the first episode, and actually looked it as well. I think that Derek being younger, being another "teen wolf" at 19, would have 1) put him on more even footing with Scott, and 2) made him come across as more of a scared, cornered animal, lashing out at the Argents and stumbling around lost without his family/pack. Like, the traumatized lone wolf thing is apparently what's happening with Derek anyway, but I do think all that would be better communicated to the audience if Derek looked younger and more pathetic and was allowed to snap at / talk to people more and with purpose.

If Derek was younger, I also think that he would function as a better mirror / foil to Scott. Here's this kid who was born a werewolf (unlike Scott), had a big and loving family (Scott has a single, loving mother and an apparently better-absent father), and is now orphaned and homeless and friendless (unlike Scott). It would also make Kate look even more vile and I'm good with that. I know the writers are going to absolutely miss the opportunity to have Scott and Derek's relationship have some more positive give-and-take. Scott has a lot to offer Derek! Scott's kind heart is one of my favorite things about him so far!

Anyway, back to the Stiles/Derek stuff. Yeah, I would also like Stiles/Derek or Scott/Derek more as concepts if Derek was younger. Right now, from the actual canon material I've seen, disregarding the knowledge I've picked up over the years regarding Derek's life, Derek is mostly giving me Angel from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" vibes. And I really did not like Angel and especially not Angel/Buffy.

One positive thing I will say for Stiles/Derek is that I can absolutely see where the ship originally came from. Stiles does have some very queerbait-y lines with the "am I attractive to gay guys" humor. Derek is conventionally attractive. Derek and Stiles are the only two people in on the "Scott is a werewolf" problem, helping him out, and there's maybe a dash of "pair the spares" to it, but these two people are actually interacting and cooperating to solve problems together. And "I got you arrested for a murder you didn't commit" / "you need to cut off my arm" is a hell of a starting point for a ship. That's honestly great stuff. That's a level of freak that might generally inspire me to invent chemistry for a pair of characters, just to figure out how to make that relationship work.

In conclusion, I don't personally ship it, but I get it. I totally see where it came from.

[holylulusworld]

SHG for killers (2) – You (the reader)

Summary: 6 men meet up to talk about their problems. They soon realize they need someone to help them solve their problems. This person is you. Whether you like it or not.

Pairing: Steve Kemp x fem!Reader, Lloyd Hansen x fem!Reader, Robert Pronge (Mr. Freezy) x fem!Reader, Andy Barber x fem!Reader, God, the bounty hunter x fem!Reader, Ransom Drysdale x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, hostage situation, language, kidnapping, plot twist, world building

A/N: Please consider Steve Kemp is not a cannibal in my story. This is an AU. All men are serial killers, killers, or hitmen.

SHG for killers (1) - The first meeting

Self-help group for killers masterlist

You’re fuming. No, it’s even worse. You are ready to commit murder and would regret splitting their skull with an ax.

One day. You only wanted one day off, but that’s too much to ask for. They all take days off without asking if you can cover their shift all the damn time.

“Never heard of work-life balance,” you snap at your boss. You huff as she doesn’t reply. “Yeah, you let me work overtime and didn’t pay me. But God forbid I take a day off because I’m having a terrible headache!”

“Ms. Y/L/N, you took the day off because you suffered from a hangover, not a headache. And it wasn’t the first time you stayed at home without giving us a call.”

You huff at her bitchy comment. “I wasn’t drunk or hungover.” You narrow your eyes when your colleague walks past you and your boss. She ratted you out, you know it. One drunk escapade, and you’re in trouble. “I was sick and had to stay home. It won’t happen again!”

“That’s right,” she huffs and crosses her arms over her chest. “It won’t happen again. You’re fired!”

“Fired?” You gasp loudly. “You can’t fire me! I quit, you uptight and stupid bitch!” You’re too angry to care that you just fucked your career over. Usually, you try to negotiate or talk things out, but your boss takes one step too far.

You twirl around and make your way toward your office, glaring at your colleagues on your way. None of them came to your aid. You covered for them more than once—to hell with all of them.

Walking toward your car, you sigh deeply. All that’s left of your career fits in a box. Great timing. You were about to move into a bigger apartment and buy a new car. Now that your regular income has turned to dust, you’re back to square one.

“Miss, can I help you?” You gasp when, out of nowhere, a man stands in front of you. He looks you up and down and runs his index finger and thumb over his mustache. “This looks heavy, sunshine. Let me help you.”

Out of instinct, you take a step back. This man means trouble; you just know it. There’s something in his blue eyes telling you to run.

“No, thanks,” you try to sound confident as you look around the underground car park. You can’t see other people but hear chatter coming from the other side of the underground car park. “My colleague will be here in a minute to help me, Sir.”

“Sir,” he hums. “I like it when you call me that.” He steps even closer to snatch the box out of your hands. “Why don’t we stop with this nonsense?”

He drops the box and reaches for you to grab you, but you sidestep him. The man huffs and lunges forward, but you dodge his attack.

“HELP!” You scream, but the two people you heard talk earlier ignore your screams for help. “HELP!”

“FIRE!” Now that they look your way, you wave at them, but instead of helping you, they run off, leaving you alone with the man.

“Aw, princess,” this time, he tackles you to the ground and pins you to the cold concrete. “Stop fighting me, or this will hurt you more than me.” He tries to cover your mouth with one hand and restrain your wrist with a pair of handcuffs.

No, you won’t go down easily. You use the last strength left in you and knee him in the groin. He whines for a second and bites his lower lip. The man breathes through the pain while angrily staring at you.

Even if you can’t defeat him, you fight back. You smirk behind the hand covering your mouth and glare at him.

“I love me a good romp, princess,” he purrs in your ear. “Let’s make things a little easier for me. I’d like to transport you in the backseat, not the trunk.”

Your eyes widen as he gets a syringe out. Wiggling underneath him, you shake your head. The fucker is heavy, and it feels like his body is corded in muscles. Fuck, he will bring you to a second location, and this can’t be good.

You bite the hand covering your mouth, earning a slap to your thigh. The sting distracts you long enough for the man to ram the needle into your thigh. “Easy there, princess. We can get kinky later.”

Wrapped like a package and gagged, you sit in the middle of what looks like a chair circle. The man who kidnapped you sits on one of the chairs. You don’t recognize the others, though.

“Gentlemen, here’s the solution for all of our problems. Mr. Andrew Barber’s sweet secret. I got her for us. Oh, and I grabbed some of her shit and burned down her place to make her disappearance believable—or rather her death.”

One of them cocks his head to look at you. He looks rather bored than interested. “We don’t need another member,” he says, and goes back to checking on his phone.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, God,” the guy kidnapping you says and elbows the man in the ribs. “She’s fun. Little Miss Sunshine tried to knee me in the groin. Can you believe this? She’s a firecracker. No wonder, Barber is head over heels for her.”

“She’s not too bad to look at,” one of the others says. You glare at your kidnapper and narrow your eyes, daring him to get close to you. “Good job, Hansen. So, what do we do with her?”

“What do we do—?” Hansen, your kidnapper, says. “Kemp, I thought you were a lil’ smartass. What do we do with a pretty ripe cupcake?” He smirks at you. “We eat it.”

“What’s going on here?” A familiar voice fills your ears. You jerk your head toward the new arrival and huff. Of course, it was him. The creep snapping pictures of you at the practice. Andy Barber. “Who is…”

“I got her for you… I mean us... Lloyd proudly states and points at you sitting in the middle of their chair circle.

“What the fuck! Hansen!” Andy barks. “What did you do? You’ll get us all in trouble!”

“What?” Lloyd shrugs. “You talked so much about her and whined. I did you a favor and grabbed her. Now we have a good doctor in the house.”

“Hey!” Kemp grunts. “I’m a doctor. She’s just…” He gets up to look down at you. “…a bitch talking my patient out of surgery. Hmm…she looks different in that light, though.”

“Who cares about the light?” Robert grunts. “Can she help us or not?”

“Oh, she will help us,” Lloyd crouches down next to you to cup your chin. “Right, baby cakes. You’ll sing for me when I eat that muffin.”

“Lloyd!” Andy yells to get Hansen’s attention.

“What? I’m busy here!” Lloyd yells back.

“That’s not my therapist,” Andy says while running one hand down his face. “You fucking idiot! You kidnapped the wrong woman!”

Part 3

Tags in reblog.

[atlantis-just-drowned]

A/N: Can you tell I'm obsessed with this man? In case you couldn't, here is one more x reader post about him. I wrote it all in one time. It's not even going to be the last. I wish I could say "enjoy" but 95% of my audience and probably of this website in general doesn't know about this man and couldn't care less about him. Still, enjoy my mad ramblings, losers.

CW: There will be a SFW and a NSFW part. For the SFW part: post-canon, mention of PTSD symptoms, maybe also implied cyber-bullying if you squint really hard. For the NSFW part: mention of choking, mention of death, love marks, dumbification, mention of edging, mention of being put on a leash

Damien x reader general headcanons

Please reblog to show support! Likes make posts die :(

Masterlist

SFW

Goofiest goof to have ever goofed

Damien loves being silly with you

Whether it's cracking dumb jokes, getting extra-cheesy, or even randomly spinning you around while he hums a song

He just loves to see you smile, and he can't help but be in a good mood when you're around

Delivers the worst pick up lines, but in a way that's so smooth you'd be almost admirative

Makes a lot of funny voices/tones all the time. Vocal stims go hardddd

Also lots of funny faces too

The amount of details about you he has memorized is insane, you became one of his biggest interests the moment he got a crush on you and he commit every single thing he learns about you to memory

Because of that, he also CANNOT shut up about you. Everyone on earth knows you're his partner

Shows you off on his lives, if you're at his place while he's doing a FAQ, at some point he's going to fetch you and put you on his laps so you can say hi

The first video he does after going back from Nevermoor he's talking about how he found the most perfect partner ever I swear he's down BAD

It definitely causes problem because his community is insane and not all of them are good people, but he does everything he can to protect and manage this aspect for you

I mentioned it in a previous post but I'm certain he has a 4chan account. I'm convinced that canon implies it and will die on this hill

Also, once again based on canon, I'm pretty sure he's a terrible cook, he can't make a good, healthy meal to save his life, which makes the fact that Freddie is good at it even funnier

Like, you've seen Freddie cook before (paywalled canon). It was awesome. You loved the meal. And the moment you leave this cursed place and Damien tries to cook something for you, it's burnt and terrible. The shift is so jarring it leaves you absolutely confused

His apartment is canonically an absolute disastrous mess, but once you start tagging along and you two regularly go to each other's place, he starts trying to keep it cleaner

However, the murder conspiracy boards stay ON

I think after everything that happened back in Nevermoor, he has a hard time talking about true crime like he used to

It definitely has a huge impact on his work and how he talks about those subjects

But it's also his biggest special interest and a way for him to externalize everything, so he doesn't stop his channel either

He also gets anxious and has panic attacks a lot more easily. Definitely keeps having sleeping issues (insomnia and nightmares mostly)

Expect to be treated as sleep medication. He cannot spend a good night without spooning you. You don't entirely solve his sleeping problems but he feels a lot less lonely with you by his side and it helps, in a way

Yaps at you. All the time. He loves yapping. Cannot shut up for the life of him.

Very dedicated boyfriend. Does everything he can to help you around and make himself useful

So affectionate too, he tells you how much you mean to him all the time. Looks at you like you're his entire world

He won't ever admit it but you just make him melt inside. He spent so much time building his cool, chill persona only for you to make him act like a flustered, awkward nerd

Honestly his vibes are somewhere between the nerd emoji and a himbo/himbim lmao

Zero survival instinct

I headcanon him to be AuDHD

NSFW

Carries a bottle of lube with him literally everywhere. I'm sorry but him behind paywall carrying lube in the most unexpected moment will forever be proof to me

Literally down for anything anytime and anywhere if it's for you. Seeing you turned on is a huge turn on for him

He tends to dom more but can sub too from time to time

Remember how I said he can't ever shut up? Yeah. He WILL keep rambling while he fucks you. He makes less and less sense the longer you're at it

Gets desperate so so easily. You don't even have to do much to keep him going. The closest Damien gets to his own end the more his voice turns pleading

Do I even need to mention that he likes it rough? It's just (paywalled) canon at this point. He fucks into you like a madman, he can't help it. Always asking you to go harder on him when you're in charge

Also loud as fuck. He not only can't stop making noises the whole time, but said noises can be heard from outside the motherfucking apartment. Don't even get me started on how bad it gets when he cums

You tried to edge him once. You had to convince your neighbors that they didn't need to call the police because what they heard wasn't your boyfriend dying a brutal and painful death

Loves leaving marks, whether it's you marking him up or the other way around, he just loves it. Hickeys, bite marks, bruises, nail scratches, chocking marks, lipstick if you wear makeup, you name it.

Also loves to fuck you stupid. He likes it when you do it to him but there's just something incredibly arousing for him in the idea of railing his amazing, clever partner so hard they can't spell their own name

He wouldn't mind being put on a leash either. Idk why I just think he'd like it. Definitely would get embarrassed about it tho.

[liliaeth]

I was just thinking about something that keeps returning in fandom...

People acting as if Scott somehow thinks in black and white, while Stiles to them thinks in shades of grey, which they translate to 'is willing to kill'. And it's just such absolute nonsense.

A big part of the issue here that I've noticed, is something fandom often loves to ignore. Namely that from s1 on, Scott was most often the one being attacked, the one forced to deal with life or death choices. While Stiles, still got to keep seeing death as something abstract, something that happened, but wasn't a decision that he personally had to make. Stiles wasn't forced to resist the urge to kill, he didn't have some force in his head try to make him kill people, and in the early seasons, he was a foil for Scott. Someone who didn't have to face the choice between life and death. For Stiles that responsibility did not come until s3b.

Scott didn't have that privilege. Even as early on as s1, when Peter tried to control him, he was forced to feel what it would be like to maul and possibly kill someone he cared about. It might have been just a dream, but all too soon he had to find out it was a dream based on reality. the reality where Peter tried to make him kill someone. And it took all of Scott's will power to resist doing so.

And then not long after, Peter forced Scott's darkest instincts to come up, making him actually want to kill his friends. A experience that clearly horrified Scott. Because he'd already had that feeling in the first two episodes of the show, where his instincts made him go after Stiles, his best friend.

So when Peter sent Derek after Jackson, for Scott, that wasn't some abstract notion, it was reality.

It wasn't just people trying to kill him, and the fear of that, but the fear that he himself might kill others. Which is why in s5 to him, the worst thing to happen to Liam would be for him to have to live with having killed Scott. Not for Scott's sake, but for Liam's...

For Scott, killing isn't some black and white bullshit, it's real, it's a way of ending any and all other possibilities for a person.

When Scott refuses to kill, it's not because he believes in black and white, or good and evil, it's because he doesn't.

Because he knows that just because someone is an asshole, or does bad things, that doesn't mean they're evil, that doesn't mean they deserve to die. Because he believes in shades of grey. because Killing and Death are not just funny abstract threats, or exaggerations, it's something real, and it's not a decision that should be taken lightly.

Stiles can argue for killing, since he's never expected to be the one to do the deed. He can ask Scott to "consider letting [Derek] die," or to "kill Jackson, problem solved," because he's not the one who has to bear the responsibility.

Now admittedly, it's not that Stiles had no idea of how dark things really were, not after the end of s1. he'd seen dead people, Lydia’s mauled body made it more than real. His willingness to consider killing was more from powerlessness…he didn’t see many options to stop the killers without killing them. After all, in S1 his first instinct was to have Derek arrested and it didn’t work, so he suggests murder and killing, but still never has to actually make the choice to commit the killing himself

Not until s3b, and even then Stiles choice was 'lock himself up' or let the Nogitsune kill. The same choice Scott already had to make in s1.

Fandom likes to pretend Stiles could easily kill the bad guys, when the reality of the show is that when Stiles did accidentally kill, in s5, it devastated him. Because just like Scott, he came to realize that killing is final, killing is destructive, and doing so should never be a first solution.

Both Scott and Stiles had to make these choices, both of them came to the same conclusion, and that's something fandom loves trying to ignore.

[samasmith23]

How Goro Akechi effectively serves as a dark foil to the Phantom Thieves' brand of rehabilitative justice

So... I understand that Goro Akechi is a pretty divisive character within the Persona 5 fanbase (especially his pre-Royal incarnation), but I have to admit that I honestly found his backstory and role as a sinister foil to the Phantom Thieves to be legitimately intriguing. Elements which are revealed during his boss fight in the game’s “Cruiser of Pride” arc!

When the Phantom Thieves infiltrate the Meta-Verse to confront the Shadow of the corrupt ultra-nationalist politician, Masayoshi Shido, who’s palace takes the form of a gigantic yacht sailing through the ruins of a sunken Japan, they are suddenly confronted by Akechi in the ship’s engine room. Having just betrayed the team during the previous arc, Akechi is revealed to not only be the true culprit behind the mysterious wave of mental shutdowns & psychotic breakdowns (which included the deaths of two Phantom Thieves’ member’s parents, Futaba Sakura’s mother Wakaba Isshiki & Haru Okumura’s father Kunikazu Okumura respectively…) that have occurred throughout the game’s narrative as part of Shido’s conspiracy to get elected as Prime Minister, but that he is also Shido’s illegitimate child. Essentially, Akechi was the product of a dubious affair between Shido and a sex worker whom the former later discarded when he discovered that she was pregnant, driving her to depression and suicide shortly after Akechi's birth. Akechi spent his entire childhood being passed around as a “problem child” between various foster homes (highlighting Japan’s problems with how the country treats its orphaned children) before later being granted the power of a "wildcard" persona-user, as well as knowledge about the existence of the Meta-Verse by the false god of control, Yaldabaoth.

While Akechi was a societal outcast similar to the members of the Phantom Thieves, he took the wrong message from his experiences. Akechi misguidedly believes that the only way to truly oppose the status quo that looked down upon him is to not only become a part of it (i.e. caring only about his good grades & celebrity status) but to destroy everything that he hates by reducing himself to Shido's right-hand assassin in the Meta-Verse, perpetuating mental shutdowns & psychotic breakdowns on Shido’s political enemies simply to get some semblance of recognition & validation from his abusive father before exacting revenge on him (whilst exploiting his "ace-detective" celebrity status to "solve" the crimes that he himself committed).

Essentially, once Shido finally became prime minister Akechi planned to whisper the truth about being the former’s illegitimate child, telling Shido that he was only able to get where he was due to the son he abandoned and labeled as a potential “political scandal” before murdering him.

Despite Akechi and the Phantom Thieves' mutual dislike of Shido, the former is so fixated on vengeance that he does not care about the innocent lives he ruins and destroys in the crossfire to satisfy his own personal bloodlust. Instead of legitimately trying to reform society like the Phantom Thieves do, Akechi becomes a pawn of the very same systemic corruption that was responsible for his initial suffering. Akechi cares only about his own hatred & jealousy instead of empathizing with others who were also victimized by society’s ills. This contrast is visually reflected through the juxtaposition between Akechi and the Phantom Thieves’ leader, Joker, when they confront each other in the engine room of Shido’s yacht. While Joker is portrayed as standing strong alongside his teammates & friends, Akechi stands alone in the opposite end of the room, confused & angry. While there is a part of Akechi that regrets his horrible actions and even recognizes the potential for him & Joker to be friends due to their similar backgrounds, he's too far gone into his obsessive vendetta against Shido that he refuses to turn back and now desires to kill the Phantom Thieves in a misguided attempt to ease his internal conflict.

During the boss fight with Akechi in Shido's Palace, the detective prince repeatedly dismisses the Phantom Thieves' efforts to appeal to his common senses, believing that concepts like friendship and teamwork are foolish "cliched bullish*t... in this eat or be eaten world."

While this attitude of Akechi's might seem unrealistically cartoonish on the surface, it actually makes sense when considering his background of being unfairly labeled as a "throw-away child" by Japan's foster care institutions. YouTuber LadyVirgilia goes into far greater detail about this in her excellent The Truth About Goro Akechi analysis video. There, she states that an overwhelming number of Japanese orphans are incapable of being legally adopted due to impoverished parents voluntarily relinquishing them from their care while still maintaining legal guardianship over them. Additionally, LadyVirgilia discusses how violent hierarchical power structures often form among the children within these foster homes, with younger orphans sadly being subject to bullying & abuse by their older peers.

While these facts are not explicitly stated about Akechi's backstory within P5 Royal itself, they can easily be heavily inferred due to the game's heavy emphasis on exploring themes related to Japanese sociocultural issues. It’s implied that the institutional failings of Japan's foster care system (combined with Shido's abandonment of his son while he was still in the womb), ultimately contributed to the development of Akechi's warped perception of the rest of the world. Due to being dismissed as a "throw-away child" and being forced to grow up in an institution that is unfortunately subject to high rates of systemic abuse & neglect, Akechi spent his entire life feeling unwanted & loved. Ideals such as friendship & companionship became foreign and unrealistic concepts to him due to having experienced nothing but society's cold & uncaring apathy.

Essentially, Akechi became deeply jealous & hateful toward the rest of the world, misguidedly compelling him to want to prove his superiority over the rest of society by manufacturing his status as "the celebrity ace-detective and honors student who ultimately brought down Shido." But when Akechi encounters the Phantom Thieves and befriends their leader Joker, he begins to experience his first genuine bond of companionship. Despite developing a legitimate appreciation towards Joker, Akechi is simultaneously confused & unable to fully process these newfound feelings. Akechi becomes envious of Joker's ability to rise above his similar status as a societal outcast by befriending & protecting others like himself. Consequently, Akechi projects his own failings & inability to legitimately rise above his tragic upbringing beyond his false celebrity status onto Joker & the Phantom Thieves, cruely dismissing them as "the trash of society" and blaming them for interfering with his revenge plot against Shido. This empty & hollow existence that Akechi chooses to live is further reflected by the sole two personas that he utilizes during his boss fight: Robin Hood, who represents Akechi's false celebrity & justice-abiding gentleman facade, and Loki, who embodies Akechi’s true personality as a deceitful trickster & psychotic murderer.

I personally couldn’t help but find all of these elements to be rather interesting & insightful about Akechi’s role as an antagonist/rival to the Phantom Thieves. It honestly highlights the tragic nature of Akechi's situation, since while he had the potential to utilize his deductive knowledge & skills as a "wildcard" Persona-user similar to Joker, he instead allowed himself to be consumed by his own hatred & madness.

The parallels between Akechi & Joker are further evident through the latter also being a victim of Shido’s abuse. Specifically, the corrupt politician wrongfully sued Joker for “assault” when he tried to stop Shido from drunkenly forcing himself upon a woman. In contrast to Akechi however, Joker is motivated by his negative experiences to fight against the unjust status quo that figures like Shido represent to prevent similar abuses of power from ever occurring again to others. Additionally, we also see dualistic parallels between Akechi and other members of the Phantom Thieves, such as Makoto Nijima who similarly previously upheld the misconception that “good grades and following orders are all that truly matters to be a worthwhile member of society.” Whereas Makoto outgrows this mentality by instead choosing to utilize her status as student council president to help her suffering peers rather than for her own academic career, Akechi conversely exploits his intellect as an “ace-detective” to perpetuate societal injustices for his self-centered vendetta against Shido.

In essence, if the Phantom Thieves embody the potential benefits of rehabilitative justice then Goro Akechi embodies the dangers of retributive justice (aka, revenge). To reference two of my favorite movies, Batman Begins and Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, not only is there a strong difference between justice and revenge (one is about altruistic harmony whereas the other is about personal satisfaction), but the most surefire way to victory is by fighting to protect what you love rather than fighting to destroy what you hate...

The distinction between justice & revenge is made abundantly clear at the end of Akechi's storyline in the baseline game (i.e. before the Royal exclusive Third Semester new content), where following his defeat at the hands of the Phantom Thieves Akechi is suddenly approached by a cognitive duplicate of himself that dwells within Shido's palace. In addition to the Cognitive Akechi emphasizing the futility of Akechi's quest for acknowledgment & vengeance against Shido by revealing that the latter always intended to dispose of his right-hand assassin once he was elected prime minister, the cognitive duplicate also reveals the true depths of Shido's depravity when he states that he only ever viewed Akechi as a puppet to fulfill his own ambitions. While it is true that Akechi was so obsessed with revenge that he allowed himself to become a pawn of the corrupt status quo, it is exceptionally cruel to learn that this is how Shido has always viewed his own son (which is further punctuated by Shido later revealing to the Phantom Thieves that he secretly always suspected that Akechi was his illegitimate child due to how much he reminded him of his mother). It is this revelation in particular that allows the Phantom Thieves to better empathize with Akechi's tragic upbringing & circumstances. Even though they still seek to hold Akechi accountable for the murders that he committed at Shido's behest, the Phantom Thieves simultaneously recognize that in a sense, Akechi was also a victim of both Shido's cruelty and the systemic injustices of larger Japanese society.

This effectively culminates in the bittersweet resolution to Akechi's storyline in the base Persona 5 game. When the Cognitive Akechi duplicate offers his real-world counterpart one last chance to "redeem" himself in Shido's eyes by killing the Phantom Thieves in his stead, Akechi for the first time in his life decides to be his own person instead of being defined by the labels Shido and society had imposed upon him since birth. Choosing to no longer be a puppet of Shido's corrupt machinations, Akechi rejects his cognitive duplicate's hollow offer by instead turning his gun on the duplicate and his Shadow minions before sealing the engine room's watertight doors between himself and the Phantom Thieves. At the very end, Akechi was finally able to acknowledge that his desire for false appreciation from both his abusive father and larger society was ultimately worthless. Akechi ultimately sacrifices himself to allow the Phantom Thieves to escape, recognizing their true justice while entrusting them to do what he was incapable of by holding Shido accountable for his crimes & reforming society.

From a certain point of view, one could argue that the Phantom Thieves indirectly inspired a change of heart in Akechi by proving to him the validity of their sense of justice.

Overall, while I was initially indifferent towards Goro Akechi at the start of my playthrough of Persona 5 (and even outright skeptical & suspicious of his motives given his vocal opposition to the Phantom Thieves), by the time I got to his boss battle in Shido's palace I ended gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for what the developers at Atlus were attempting to convey with his character. Akechi effectively functions as both a cautionary tale about the dangers of allowing oneself to be consumed with thoughts of revenge, as well as a dark parallel to the Phantom Thieves who seek to legitimately reform society for altruistic rather than self-centered reasons. It was these elements that ultimately elevated Akechi into becoming one of my personal favorite members of P5's cast (right behind Makoto, Futaba & Ann...) from both a narrative and character writing perspective (especially with the Royal edition's overhauled confidant line for Akechi, which better fleshes out the latter's rivalry with Joker, and the player now has to progress manually instead of it being automatic)! And I am definitely curious to see how Royal's exclusive "Third Semester" content further fleshes out Akechi's character since I'm aware that he plays a major role in the new story content.

[downbadumu]

“I hope you’re ok”, but you’re the reason

༄𓏸ଳ˚࿔⋆ content summary: a somewhat sequel that’s set in the same universe as this, slight angst, reader is not MC, this was self-indulgent so you don’t have to read it 😊, a little yearning and a whole lot of not doing anything about it

༄𓏸ଳ˚࿔⋆ word count: 617

༄𓏸ଳ˚࿔⋆ shanna's notes: I love this man and it’s ruining my life!!!!!! (up next in the same series [maybe]! my boy only breaks his favourite toys, call me back, falling)

It was by pure chance that you bumped into a curious girl outside of your work one day. You almost spooked her bones out of her. You didn’t even bother to question her, you like to lead a “not my crime scene, not my bleach” kind of lifestyle; besides, you could practically smell how harmless she was. She stuttered out an explanation anyways, you didn’t pay attention to her until she mentioned a certain colleague and then it all clicked in your head.

This is her.

You hadn’t mean to but you studied her a little closer; she seemed kind, curious with a bit of a rebellious streak, a little more stupid than she leads on but you guess she did look a little like you at certain angles. She stared at you nervously, noting how you were taking her in so you flashed her an easy smile before walking away. “Ok, well, it was nice talking to you, sweetcakes.”

Up until now, you’ve been telling yourself you haven’t been avoiding and ignoring Caleb. Ignoring because, even though you knew him so well by heart you could accurately predict where’d he be, he still had a way of being at a corner you turn in the midst of avoiding his usual routes. He doesn’t try to talk to you anymore, but it was nice to see him around. The next logical step for you was to take on more projects that had you travelling. Problem solved.

Then, it was extra solved because after your half year long project was done, you came home wanting to settle into a slower, warmer pace; though you were never able to catch a glimpse of him again despite going out of your way to take his usual routes.

“He moved back,” Gideon said to you as he set his lunch opposite of you. You raised your eyebrow with practiced nonchalance. “Said it was his idea, insisted actually.”

How dare he.

“Which sucks because how could he have-”

You didn’t want to pay attention anymore, mind drifting off to that ditz with the boring hair you met way back when.

“-ays, he said he’d be back this Saturday for a round of ball, if you’d like to see him?” You hear Gideon question.

You shook your head. This wasn’t your crime scene anymore. You scoffed when Gideon raised his brow at you. “No, I’m committing murder on Saturday.”

Gideon had the audacity to laugh.

Caleb’s finger hovered above the call button. A series of numbers that he never saved because he didn’t think he’d need it on his phone. As he mentally double checked the numbers, a movement caught his eyes; she was tugging on the house’s hose trying to get it further out so she could water the flowers on the farthest corner of the house. Your number ran in his head, and a fond smile tugged on his lips.

But Caleb didn’t bother pressing the button, even though his finger still lingered on it. He knew that you wouldn’t pick up. He could picture you from a lifetime ago watching your phone with vacant eyes as it rang, waiting for it to stop so you could text him back. Not anymore, though. Not since you took on longer projects at faraway places, especially not since your confrontation that he ignored. You might still watch your phone ring (he wondered if you changed his ringtone yet), but you wouldn’t pick up any more, so he doesn’t bother to try. He resorts to thinking about it, the same way he used to think and guess which way you’d use to avoid him.

“Caleb!” Her voice was whiny. He sighed and held the backspace button until your number vanished from his screen, but he doesn't exit the app when he locked and set his phone down.