#“How could I forget my name?” Referenced in multiple works of mine

[princescar]

Me: I need inspiration to write Ryoko and/or Hajime :(

Me:*sighs and puts on CG5 Ranboo song*

[teawaffles]

It Happened One Night: Chapter 3

Two days later. This was the evening the wedding celebration would be held.

After seeing John off, Sherlock stayed in his room on the first floor, reading a newspaper he’d ordered.

Before he had left, John tried to invite Sherlock along, saying they may as well go together; but Sherlock excused himself by pointing out how it’d be troubling to leave Miss Hudson all alone in the house at night, and so he should stay behind. John couldn’t very well object after Sherlock brought her into this, so after a bit of grumbling, he reluctantly headed down to the village.

It was currently approaching midnight. The party would probably be ending right about now, and John should be on his way back.

Outside, the rain was falling in torrents. It had been sunny all day, but further into the night, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. There didn’t seem to be any strong winds, but occasionally, the raindrops lashed against the window. John would probably be covered in mud when he returned — a pitiful sight, Sherlock reflected to himself.

Resolving to treat him to something when they returned to London, Sherlock turned his attention back to the paper. As he remembered the motley and ever-changing nature of London, he bemoaned the ennui of these countryside days once again.

“More art thefts occur in London. From multiple eyewitness accounts, the Yard has surmised that the culprit fled to the west.”

An article suddenly caught his eye.

“Fled to the west”. The Cotswolds were also to the west of London.

“……No way.”

He shook his head, banishing the thought that had formed in his mind.

——However, it was times like these when the strangest premonitions came true.

As dawn approached, and the rain had begun to ease up, John returned in a panic.

“There’s trouble, Sherlock!”

As soon as he arrived at the mansion, John ran to Sherlock’s room and shook awake the man who’d fallen asleep in his chair. Sherlock rubbed his bleary eyes.

“What happened? Did you forget some of your tales?”

“That’s not it! A theft has occurred at the party! Look, there was a small shed near the inn, right? A painting was in there, and it got stolen!”

Right as John said that, Sherlock bolted upright and prepared to leave.

Those quick movements elicited a gasp of admiration from John.

“Did you have a feeling something would happen? I’d expected no less.”

“That’s not too far from the truth. Well then, let’s go. Tell me the details along the way.”

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

The rain had stopped when they left the house, and the dark clouds that blanketed the heavens had already drifted far away.

The sky was tinged with the glow of dawn, and the hills were but black shadows in the distance. Amidst the contrast of the two, the two men hurried towards the village.

Meanwhile, John summarised the events that had transpired.

The innkeeper — it seemed his name was Roy — had organised the wedding party for his daughter Patti and her fiancé Daldry. [1] Around twenty of his acquaintances had been invited, and perhaps he’d been forcibly invited like John, but for some reason, the artist Rheos was also there.

During the party, John recounted to the crowd some of the more difficult cases Sherlock had solved. It wasn’t a fantastic attempt, but it hadn’t been dreadful either; once he’d finished, his role for the night was complete. Everyone had been in a welcoming mood, and he enjoyed the food and conversation after that. Rheos had also been unexpectedly open with the guests.

“Isn’t that great? I was sure you’d tell some needless jokes that would fall flat.”

“I’m the storyteller you personally endorsed, after all. I managed to reach the end without spoiling the mood.”

Sherlock spoke as if it had been someone else’s problem, and John responded with a touch of sarcasm.

The incident occurred around one hour after that.

As night fell, the rain had turned into a downpour. Some guests had to leave regardless, but more than half of them chose to wait until the storm ended. In the heat of the excitement, some of them had gotten carried away and frolicked in the rain, and somehow Rheos had joined in as well. He’d seemed like a shy person: John distinctly remembered his surprise when he saw that happy-go-lucky side of Rheos.

Amidst all that, Patti’s fiancé Daldry had heard that the nearby shed housed some famous artists’ paintings. It seemed that this piqued his interest, and he headed to the shed alone. There, he discovered that one of the paintings had gone missing.

“……Well, it’s a bit rough, but that’s the gist of what happened.”

Sherlock hummed as he nodded.

“By the way, what were you doing before the incident occurred?”

“While everyone else was partying away, I was just sitting in the corner.”

“I see. And what did everyone do after that?”

Sherlock stared ahead as he spoke, and John also fixed his gaze on the road as he replied.

“For the time being, I’ve asked the guests to remain at the inn. The innkeeper’s contacting the police, and those who left early.”

“Good work. You acted fast; it’s a big help.”

“You’re welcome.”

Finally, the two men arrived at the village inn. Inside, the guests had been on edge as they awaited the detective and his assistant’s arrival.

“Mr Holmes!”

Suddenly, a scrawny young man — Rheos — dashed over to Sherlock.

“Please, you must find my painting quickly! You’re a famous detective, aren’t you?”

Perhaps it was because he was the victim of this case, but Rheos looked even paler than before: his pasty complexion was almost like that of a corpse. He was as timid as he’d looked, and it showed from his panic. In addition, for some reason, his clothes had been horribly stained with mud.

“Hey, please calm down. Worrying isn’t going to bring back your painting any faster.”

Rheos had worked himself into a panic, but in response, Sherlock took on an exceedingly calm attitude. His gaze then landed on the innkeeper at the back of the pub.

“Excuse me. How long until the police arrive?”

“They’re coming from the next village over, so it’ll take a while.”

“Got it. Well then, let’s do some simple interviews. Who was the the first to discover the crime?”

Sherlock promptly began his detective work. Perhaps he wanted to complete the investigation before the police trampled all over the crime scene.

A tall man raised his hand.

“It was me. I’m Daldry, Patti’s fiancé.”

“So you’re Daldry. How did you discover that the painting was missing?”

Sherlock posed his question upfront, and Daldry responded with clarity.

“Last night…… Or today, to be precise, I heard that there was an expensive painting in that shed, and it drew my interest. Art appreciation is a hobby of mine, and I think I was also a little too drunk at the time: I normally wouldn’t do such a thing, but I left the inn, and walked through the storm to the shed.”

Daldry looked around the room, as if to judge the reactions of the people around him, and then continued.

“The shed door wasn’t locked, which I thought it was a little unsafe. Then when I looked inside, I saw two easels. One held a painting that seemed to be unfinished, and I understood it to be Rheos’ work. But the easel in front of that one had nothing on it, which I thought was strange: if he was referencing another piece, then there should be a painting there. So I went back to the inn to look for Rheos, since he’s the one who borrowed the shed.”

Rheos cut in. “When I saw Mr Daldry enter the shed, I wondered what was going on, so I went after him.”

But Daldry seemed not to mind as he continued.

“I think I must’ve crossed paths with him on my way back to the inn. About a minute after I returned here, I heard a scream. We all went to the shed to find out what happened, and I saw Rheos fallen on the floor in front of the easel. That’s pretty much how I discovered the incident.”

Sherlock placed a hand under his chin as he summarised the events.

“So you’re saying that the painting was already stolen when you first entered the shed.”

“Yes; and by the way, since the party began, no one else but me went into the shed.”

Then Sherlock threw a question to Rheos.

“When did you last see the painting?”

Rheos calmed down a little.

“Um…… Right before the party began.”

“So, it was probably stolen in the middle of the party.”

Sherlock turned back to Daldry.

“John told me that there were others who went out into the rain, yes?”

“Yeah, since it was a celebration: everyone was excited beyond their years, myself included, and there were quite a few people going in and out of the building.”

Perhaps it’d been like how children get excited when a storm comes. At Daldry’s words, among the crowd, they could see people hiding their faces in embarrassment — Rheos included.

It seemed the young man was feeling awkward after remembering how he’d let himself go when he’d been tipsy. At that, John broke into a little smile, but Sherlock gazed at them with indifference.

“In that case, back then, who didn’t go outside?”

Around ten people raised their hands this time, including the innkeeper Roy.

“I was chatting with Patti and some friends,” Roy said, and a woman beside him spoke up as well.

“That’s right. I was talking with my friend Amy throughout. My father was also speaking with his friends in the vicinity. Then, we heard a loud commotion outside. Even though the atmosphere was so lively, and we were having a great time…… this just had to happen.”

“I see. So you’re Patti. I’ve got it, thank you.”

Sherlock seemed to have picked up something from her account. He looked out the window of the pub, towards the shed. Even from this distance, he could see that the bare earth had turned to mud from the rain, and the footprints of many people coming and going were clearly visible.

He turned back to Daldry.

“When you went to the shed, did you see anyone’s footprints on the ground?”

Daldry clasped his hands together, and made a troubled expression.

“About that…… I’m not really sure. It was pretty dim, and the ground was dark, so I didn’t get a good look.”

“Fair enough.”

Sherlock didn’t seem particularly disappointed, and fell silent.

An uncomfortable hush descended upon the room.

The theft could’ve been the work of an outsider. But equally, the criminal could also be hiding among the party guests. In fact, since the criminal had known there was a valuable painting in the shed, the latter was more likely. From Sherlock’s questions, at least, one could tell he was pursuing that line of thought.

It seemed the guests had caught on to that as well: they looked at one another, and no one said a word. Perhaps some of them were close friends who wanted to stick up for each other, yet no one stood up to proclaim their innocence — in all likelihood, nobody could dismiss the suspicion that the culprit was among them.

This party had been meant as a celebration of joy, yet everyone could sense the urgency permeating the room. Sherlock beckoned to his partner.

“John, let’s take a look at the crime scene. Everyone else, please wait here for now.”

He directed the guests in his usual tone of voice. Then, he and John headed to the shed.

The little hut stood alone, surrounded on all sides by bare earth. As they walked across the muddy ground, John spoke up.

“Sherlock, have you deduced anything so far?”

“Sorry to say but, I don’t have any leads yet.”

Sherlock groaned as he studied the feel of the mud beneath his feet.

“If just about everyone had stayed inside the building, then it would’ve been obvious when anyone ventured outside. But a good number of them were carousing in the rain, so it’s become harder to narrow down just who went to the shed.”

“True, and there were others who already went home — the list of potential suspects is pretty long. However, can’t we cross off those who stayed inside throughout, like Mr Roy and Miss Patti?”

“Certainly, if we can confirm that they didn’t just agree on the same story beforehand, then we can clear them of suspicion at this point. Still, they must have left the scene at least once or twice.”

“But if they went out into the rain, wouldn’t their clothes and shoes be dirty?”

“They could say that they went outside after the incident occurred to see what was going on, and got them dirty that way — it doesn’t prove anything.”

“I-I see…… In other words, just as you said, there’s a fair chance that any of them could’ve stolen the painting.”

“Exactly. But it’s pretty difficult to see the entrance to the shed from the pub, so I was hoping that someone had noticed a suspicious person somewhere……”

“Only Rheos said that he had seen Mr Daldry heading to the shed.”

“Did anything catch your eye back then?”

At Sherlock’s question, John scratched his head in anguish.

“Sorry. I was tired from all that storytelling, so I wasn’t paying attention to anyone else. To be honest, I can’t be sure that Mr Roy and the others had definitely stayed inside throughout.”

“Then, did you see Rheos join the crowd outside?”

“That, too — I did glance at the entrance of the inn at some point, and I saw him partying outside for a split second, but that’s it.”

“Alright, I got it. But you don’t have to worry about remembering all the details, y’know. It’s not like anyone could’ve predicted that something like this was going to happen.”

“Thanks.”

John gave him a small smile in return.

However, in the end, they had no proper eyewitness accounts. All they knew for certain was that they had made no progress in their inquiry thus far, and it was like this that the two men arrived in front of the shed.

Footnotes:

[1] Daldry is a rare surname (in the book it’s written as ダルドリー), but it is a real one!

[jamespotterthefirst]

Everything I Wanted (Ethan x f!MC)

Pairing: Dr. Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Lilac Allende) Word count: 2,700 + Warning: Adult language, adult situations Premise: After all this time, her social media posts have a way of captivating him...until he turns the tables on her.  Part 3 of Lovely and Ocean Eyes.

________________ Ethan walked down the corridor on a seemingly normal workday, far too aware that his steps were lighter and the smile he fought so hard to conceal made its appearance more often than not. For the sake of his reputation, he schooled his features into his usual unwelcoming and severe expression, though part of him worried that he was fooling exactly no one. 

Perhaps his face betrayed the way his pulse picked up pleasantly at the memory of the shy smile she offered him every time they crossed paths. The simple gesture was enough to brighten his mood, no matter how stressful his day. Somewhere down the line, Ethan had surrendered to the effortless way Dr. Lilac Allende drove him to distraction.  

His good mood quickly soured, however, when he walked past the locker room on the third floor. Typically, he studiously blocked out all the mindless conversations that drifted out into the hall, but a particular name caught his ear.

“Damn,” a tall, burly intern was saying as he glanced at his phone. “I knew Dr. Allende was hot but.. just wow.”

His friend closed the locker door and walked over to glance at the screen, nodding in approval. “What's her deal? She single?” 

The first intern scoffed, almost derisively. “Thinking of asking her out, Reyes?” 

Reyes looked unabashed, maintaining an easy grin that was almost arrogant. It made Ethan want to punch it right off his face. “Can't blame a guy for trying.”

“Is she still with Lahela? They were a thing a while back, I think?” 

Ethan had the mad urge to step in and correct the false statement, but he abstained. The two morons before him had no right to Lilac's personal life. 

Reyes stared at the phone screen again and gave a low whistle. “Her Pictagram is a work of art. The things I'd do–” 

“The things you're going to do, Dr. Reyes, are your actual job duties,” Ethan said through girt teeth, stepping into the room. 

Perhaps it was his sudden appearance or the downright murderous glare the older doctor was sending their way, but the pair of interns fumbled, the first one almost dropping the phone. By the time they straightened up to face Ethan, they looked far too rigid, uncomfortable, and downright terrified. The verbal lashing he unleashed on them was one for the books. In the end, there was no trace of arrogant smirks as both interns walked away, pale and with the extra workload Ethan assigned. 

Finally alone, he exhaled a sharp, steadying breath. At least there were a few guarantees in life, even if things had changed: he could still reduce grown men to tears and these damn interns were going to drive him to an early grave. 

Considerably calmer, Ethan produced his phone from his pocket and opened the too familiar Pictagram page. One glance at her latest picture and the two idiots' reactions made sense, even if they were still not justified.

Fucking hell. 

Just like his moronic predecessors, Ethan almost dropped his phone, stifling a cough. Any trace of gentlemanly thoughts vanished as his eyes took in her bare shoulder, exposed so intentionally and coyly. All he could think about was running his lips along the curve of it, his fingers slowly tugging the black robe lower until it pooled on his floor. 

Before his primal mind could add his teeth and the moans she'd reward him with to this fantasy, his eyes fell on the caption. 

Stay? 

Ethan could hardly fight back the grin the single word inspired. The previous morning, as she had stopped by his office to use his coffee machine, he pointed out how useless Pictagram was. Lilac was quick to remind him that he seemed to be enjoying it, referencing the reaction he'd had to her previous posts. Determined to save face, Ethan had blurted that he might even delete his account.

A smug smile over her shoulder had been her reply along with a sultry promise. “I bet I can make you change your mind.”

She had accomplished just that along with taking root in his every thought. The need to see her became so acute, that he sought her out in every hallway he turned into. Finally, he found her in one of the break rooms, laughing and chatting with her intern, Dr. Ortega. 

 “This coffee machine is the worst,” he heard Ortega complain. She rattled the cup as though the action would force it to hurry. “I can't believe I'm going to be late because of shit coffee.”

Lilac laughed. “Shit coffee is better than no coffee.” 

“Spoken like someone who has a mysterious coffee source.” 

With another laugh, Lilac mimed zipping her lips shut. Dr. Ortega snorted with laughter, which was a rare enough sight. 

“At least rounds are not with Dr. Ramsey this morning,” Ortega continued as she sniffed disapprovingly at her cup. “I'd be dead meat for being even two minutes behind.”

“And that's considering the guy's mellowed out in the past few months,” a nurse chimed in from his place at the loveseat. “He was far grumpier before. Something or someone is putting that man in a good mood every night.”

Ethan felt his neck flare up, his eyes solely on Lilac, looking as lovely as ever and utterly unfazed. 

“That poor soul,” Lilac commented so convincingly, Ethan almost believed it. “Whoever that is.”

The nurse had no reaction, invested in his newspaper as he was and Ortega threw a hesitant smile at Lilac. 

“I always kind of thought you two had a thing,” she confessed. 

Lilac did not even react, taking a sip of her to-go cup. “Because I'm his so-called favorite?” When Esme nodded, Lilac shrugged. “Being on his radar comes with its cons.”

At this, Ortega nodded solemnly. “Yeah, he's harder on you, for sure.”

That was his cue. With absolutely no preamble, he marched into the breakroom, startling the three occupants with his mere presence. 

“Allende, if you are done with your morning gossip session, I'd appreciate you getting me those labs I asked for.”

Lilac pushed herself off the counter at once. “Yes, doctor.” 

They stared at one another, neither betraying a single emotion. 

“Now. It's not like lives depend on it or anything.”

Ortega shot Lilac a sympathetic look, no doubt reconsidering her previous thoughts of their involvement. Without another word, Lilac followed Ethan out of the break room. Once they were alone in a deserted hallway, Lilac raised a brow at him. 

“You didn't ask for any labs,” she said at the same time Ethan blurted out, “'That poor soul'?”

Lilac laughed and he joined her with a chuckle soon after, their bodies comfortably gravitating closer to each other. His hands throbbed with the raw, poignant need to touch her and the blinding disappointment of being unable to. The way Ethan longingly looked at her then, drinking in every one of her beautiful features, he imagined he looked like some yearning nineteenth century gentleman straight out of an Austen novel. 

“Mine was more believable,” she pointed out, that witty, playful challenge in her eyes. An Elizabeth Bennet to his hopeless and bewitched Darcy. 

“Not remotely,” he returned without missing a beat. “No one would deem the person having sex with me every night as 'poor.'”

“They would when said person could barely walk the next day.”

That made Ethan pause, the bravado slipping as his eyes fell on her rosy lips. His breath caught audibly at his throat. 

They were standing so close together now, eyes locked on each other with palpable magnetism. If anyone walked by they would be found out without a doubt. Even more so if Ethan gave into the burning urge to kiss her right there and then. 

Lilac gave him a coquettish smirk. “Did you like my post?” 

Ethan found his voice again. “It was…”

There was no appropriate word to describe the delicious, sinful perfection of it. 

“Nice?” she teased. 

“Dr. Reyes and his idiot friend definitely thought so.”

Lilac snorted. “That explains the DM that sits unopened in my inbox. Jealous?” 

“Not even a little bit.”

“Good. They're not the ones who have me in their bed every night.” 

Ethan almost stuttered like an imbecile. He fought back all indecent thoughts and returned, “You forget I have you against multiple different surfaces, Rookie.”

She paused briefly, eyes dark as they traveled down his body and back to his eyes again.

Fuck, she had him. He knew the look too well. 

“Or against no surface at all, as you proved on your birthday.” 

Ethan cursed. 

Everything in her expression suggested that she fancied herself the victor of their Pictagram debate. Matching her smug smirk with a dashing smile of his own, he decided then to give her a taste of her own medicine.

________________________

Ethan, ever the prophet, had predicted the board meeting they were both required to attend would be pointless. 

He had been right, of course. They both sat in the boardroom forty minutes into it, listening to Dr. Cyrus drone on endlessly about something that had little to do with patient care. Listening was a generous term because Lilac remained focused on her laptop, diligently updating patient files. Ethan, sitting across from her, was doing much of the same, the glare of his screen reflecting on his glasses. 

Soon, the buzzing of her phone on the table pulled her away from her concentration. Her heart leaped when she saw it was a notification alerting to his latest Pictagram post. Confused, Lilac glanced up at him but he was too invested in his work to notice. 

After ensuring no one was paying her any mind, she opened the app and regretted it at once. 

One quick glance at artfully sculpted muscles and Lilac was reduced to a coughing mess. Dr. Cyrus stopped mid sentence to glare at her. Everyone else in the room followed suit to stare. 

“Dr. Allende, are you alright?” Naveen asked with concern. 

Ethan wordlessly handed her a bottle of water, his lips quirking ever so slightly, his fingers brushing hers. After a quick sip, she mumbled, “I'm fine. Sorry.”

Convinced, they resumed the meeting. 

Lilac, meanwhile, attempted to catch Ethan's eye to throw him a glare, but he remained laser focused on his screen. Having no other alternative, she returned her attention to the picture. Soon, she was texting him. 

Your one follower approves. 

Her phone dinged almost immediately after with his reply. Her pulse spiked with excitement, which was ridiculous because she slept with the man every day. 

I am aware. We all saw. 

Cheeky bastard. 

That was a low blow, Ramsey. And with a picture I took too. 

He almost smiled when he read that. 

Pay attention, Rookie. 

She bit her lip, glancing up at him. Ethan was the perfect picture of professionalism, his stoic expression betraying nothing as he worked. Her eyes returned to the picture, her cheeks flushing. 

Oh, I am. 

To the meeting. 

Oh. Dr. Cyrus has my undivided but unwilling attention. 

Liar, he returned at once. For a man who claimed to hate texting, he was a master at sending them without anyone's notice. 

I can tell because you actually look interested in what you're doing. 

Lilac almost laughed out loud at that. She quickly turned her head away from the front of the table to avoid suspicion. 

I am studiously taking notes. 

Unless you're jotting down all of Cyrus's brown-nosing remarks to Naveen, I highly doubt that. 

This time, a small squeak of laughter escaped her. Luckily for her, she was able to mask it perfectly with a dainty cough. No one at the table gave her a second glance, except for Ethan. Handsome as ever, his mouth quirked ever so slightly. 

I don't need to take notes on that, she replied. I already know how to get on my boss's good side. 

She watched as Ethan imperceptibly read her text, having no visible reaction. 

Time to go in for the kill. 

And the best side to get on is under him. 

This time, it was Ethan who sputtered slightly and coughed. A furious blush started to color his neck and ears in a way that was entirely too satisfying. Unfortunately for him, she wasn't finished yet. 

Although he actually enjoys me on top of him too. 

Those piercing blue eyes found hers instantly, so dark and smoldering that she was struck motionless for a second. A familiar, molten heat pooled in her belly as Ethan's lustful gaze remained on her, unwavering. The longer they stared at each other, magnetized, the more evident it became that he would take her right there and then if it weren't for the company surrounding them. 

When the meeting was adjourned for a break twenty minutes later, Lilac was assured that her texts had the intended effect. The tall, hard body of her boyfriend pressed hers flush against the door of his office the second it closed. A second after that, his full lips hungrily kissed her neck, his powerful hands gripping handfuls of her hips. 

“You're determined to kill me,” he muttered darkly against her skin. 

“But what a way to go,” she said in a whisper that gave way to a moan at the last word. 

He agreed in the form of a husky groan that resonated deliciously against her throat. With almost lazy effort, he turned her body to face the door, strong hands guiding her backside to press urgently against him. 

“The way you tease me, Lilac,” he whispered hotly in her ear, sending a powerful shiver through her. His hips began guiding her toward the nearest table with ease, his fingers slowly skimming their way up her thighs and under her skirt. 

“You like it,” she challenged breathlessly. 

Ethan hummed against her shoulder, pulling her blouse down in a perfect rendition of her post. 

“It's torture.” Another searing kiss. “Seeing the way you look at me and not being able to take you against the nearest wall.”

Lilac had a witty response ready, but at that exact moment, his thumbs hooked around the lacy fabric of her underwear. 

“Are these for me?” His voice was nothing more than gravel. Lilac's legs quivered, every sense proudly dominated by him. 

“Yes,” she moaned, eyes fluttering closed in a heady rush. He had her bent over the table, her skirt bunching to indecent heights around her thighs. 

Without another word, he removed the garment skillfully, sliding it slowly down her legs and bunching it in his fist. Lilac pressed herself further against him, aching painfully for him. 

“Use them to tie me up,” she suggested in a ragged whisper. 

Ethan cursed. 

His hips jerked against hers, sliding the thick, hard column of his body against her. Lilac was so overcome with maddening need that her arms almost gave out from balancing her on the table. 

She never found out if Ethan was delirious enough to take her whispered advice because both of their pagers went off with infuriating insistence.

 “The meeting from hell that never ends,” he groaned. “Break is over.”

Lilac straightened against his chest, smirking when he made no movement to let her go. “To be continued?” 

Ethan leaned in to kiss her neck. “Your bed or mine?” 

Lilac swiveled in his hold, facing him with a smile that made her cheeks hurt. “Doesn't matter as long as it's you next to me.”

He matched her smile with an unfairly charming one of his own. 

Though they were needed at the Board meeting, they stole another minute together in each other's arms. Lilac studied his handsome face briefly, feeling her heart restart as it often did when she realized he was finally hers. Perhaps he was hers in secret for the time being but he was hers nonetheless. The thought that after all the strife and hardship, she still found herself where she belonged, in his arms, made her smile grow wider. 

“What?” he asked, genuinely curious. 

“I love you,” she told him, not for the first time. 

It was his turn to give her a smile so incandescent that it stole her breath. “That's a relief,” he said, leaning in to kiss her forehead. “Given that I am madly and desperately in love with you, Rookie.”

_____________

Author’s Note: Are we okay after those two new OH chapters?

I’m not! I have some ideas for future fics but we’ll see if the writing gods are in my favor. 

Thank you for reading this senselessness. I love you for it.

-Bree

_______________

Please let me know if I need to add/remove you. You might have asked me already but I can barely keep track of my life atm. Sorry!

@openheart12​ | @ethandaddyramsey​ | @aestheticartsx​ |  @silverlitskies​ |  @flyawayboo​ | @paulfwesley​ | @hatescapsicum​ | @myusualnerdyself​ | @thatysn​ | @choicesyouplayandmore​ | @chasingrobbie​ | @trappedinfandoms​ | @togetherwearerapture​ | @nooruleman​ | @axwalker​ | @parkerattano​ | @i-bloody-love-drake-walker | @kaavyaethanramsey​ | @edith-eggs1​ | @choices-lurker​ | @jens-diamondchoices​ | @tefigranger​ | @ethanrcmsey​ | @coffeebeandragon​ | @senator-adrian-raines-wifey​ | @binny1985​ | @mvalentine​ | @sanchita012​ | @drethanramslay​ | @ramseysno1rookie​ | @takeharryandgo​ | @aworldoffandoms​ | @desmaranj​  | @oofchoices​ | @ethxnrxmsey​ | @octobereighth​ | @kopenheart12​ | @lilyvalentine​ | @honeyandsunfl0wers​ | @enmchoices​ | @colossalpainintheass​ | @rookie-ramsey​ | @humanpokemon​ | @apphia12​ | @kiara-36​ | @eramsey28​ |  @custaroonie​ | @helloblueeyedcat​ | @dr-ramseys-rookie​ | @thegreentwin​​ | @decadentwinnerjudgedream​​ | @jeerapp​​ | @doilooklikeiknow​​ | @dulceghernandez​​

@lion-ess24 | @emotionalswift2 | @the-soot-sprite |  @angela8756

[puddygeeks]

𝑊𝑎𝑟 𝑂𝑓 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 - 𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑠, 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑟 𝑅𝑒𝑖𝑑 𝑥 𝑂𝐶 - 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 2: 𝑅𝑜𝑐𝑘, 𝑀𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒

Masterlist

Rating: Mature

Summary: 𝐴𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠. 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝐴𝑈 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦, 𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡.

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Pairing: Spencer Reid x OC

Status: Ongoing

LONG TERM ONGOING PROJECT :)

My writing is entirely fuelled by coffee! If you enjoy my work, feel free to donate toward my caffeine dependency: will work for coffee

𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: 𝐺𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟, 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 & 𝑠𝑒𝑥𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝐴𝑈'𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘. 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒�� 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤.

Eᴘɪsᴏᴅᴇ: Pʀᴇ Sᴇᴀsᴏɴ 1

Chapter Two

As I followed Penelope toward the meeting room for our afternoon briefing, I could feel a lump in my throat caused by nerves. She had decided that we should arrive first to allow her a chance to introduce me to the members of her team and I reluctantly agreed. I didn’t exactly have the most successful history with work colleagues.

We stepped into the room to find a pretty blonde woman busying herself with setting out case files and generally preparing the space for use, and though I felt awkward interrupting her, Penelope charged in without hesitation.

“What’s for dinner, mom?” She teased brightly, prompting the young woman to glance up with a fond smile. “Alice and I thought we’d help with setting up. We’ll handle the tech for you.” Penelope explained, causing the woman's brows to shoot up in surprise and she glanced over at me curiously.

“You’re Agent Hawthorne, Interpol's technical analyst?” She asked casually and though I was caught off guard by her knowledge, I nodded back politely. “I was planning to greet you on arrival, but Garcia whisked you away before I got the chance. I’m Jennifer Jareau, communications liaison for the BAU.” She introduced herself confidently, stepping forward to shake my hand and I could sense the motherly warmth in her that Penelope had referenced before, allowing it to relax me enough to manage a response.

“Yikes. You’ve got the toughest job of all. The press.” I commented, causing an appreciative chuckle. “Alice is fine. I’m not really into formalities.” I added with a smile and she eagerly returned it as she finished laying out papers.

“Great. You can call me JJ. Garcia, if you two are happy to do the rest, I’ll get everyone’s drinks ready. God only knows when they last took a break.” She offered, waiting for Penelope’s approval before beginning to collect mugs from a nearby cupboard. “I made sure to get some breakfast tea stocked for you all. Alice, do you want a cup, or are you more of a coffee girl?”

“She’s all about the tea. At this point, I’m honestly pretty sure that her blood stream is more tea than anything else.” Penelope answered before I could even open my mouth and JJ wasted no time in rushing toward the kitchen. 

I rolled my eyes at my friend’s teasing, but she didn’t display an ounce of shame at my judgement and I found myself standing around awkwardly as I awaited instruction. I was usually a proactive person, but after months of disrespect in Interpol, I’d learned to stay out of the way and mostly attempted to not cause any problems.

“I’ll get the screens ready. Alice, if you could get your laptop set up with the case files and I’ll use mine to present our plan.” Garcia instructed as she began fiddling with the display on the wall and I obediently placed my laptop on the table, before crawling underneath to plug in a power adapter to allow me to use the European device. 

Fortunately, Penelope had already thought of everything for my workspace with her, but I still needed to provide for myself everywhere else.

“My mug is missing. I left it on my desk. Have you seen anyone in my office in the past ten minutes?”

I overheard someone questioning Garcia in a stressed voice and as I slowly slid out from under the table, I noticed that the person was almost blocking my exit, giving me a clear view of their bright white trainers and blue jeans which seemed entirely too informal for the setting. Their gaze fell on me immediately as I straightened up to find an older man with greying hair and thin framed glasses examining me with a deep confusion.

“Who’s this?” He enquired toward Garcia, whilst maintaining his intense scrutiny of me and I struggled under his investigation, feeling a flood of insecurity.

“This is Alice from Interpol, Sir. Alice, this is SSA Gideon. He’s our unit chief.” Penelope spluttered, seeming equally unnerved by his arrival and he gave me a rushed handshake, before seeming distracted again. “JJ just went to make some drinks for the round table. She might have your mug, Sir.” She answered, prompting him to dart from the room impatiently.

“Gideon’s intense and at times eccentric, but brilliant. You get used to him.” Penelope muttered under her breath with a wink and I released a sigh that I’d been holding due to nerves.

We settled at the table together as we made the final preparations for our portion of the meeting and JJ returned to place a mug of tea beside me with a warm smile. She took the seat on my other side, almost as if she was protecting me from my team and I knew that she had already been reading my behaviour to identify my discomfort. My anxiety rose at the sight of the rest of my team approaching the doors, led by a man that I didn’t recognise and I prayed that their lack of faith in my abilities would not pass onto the BAU team.

They filed into the meeting room, cramping it with their bodies, followed by Reid and Gideon, who was gripping a mug of coffee rather protectively. They were deeply engaged in a hushed conversation, until the unfamiliar man stepped forward to call us to attention. 

“Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. This is our first joint agency case with Interpol in some time, so I would like to start by reminding everyone that we are now a joint task force. All required information will be shared freely and case details for both investigations will be openly available. We welcome the Interpol teams guidance as the primary investigators for this case.”

Agent Hotchner made Gideon’s expression seem thoroughly welcoming by comparison and despite his words sounding warm, his face remained set in a permanent state of disapproval. I wondered how Penelope managed to work under someone so deadly serious, despite her constant need to treat everything as a joke and decided to ask more about him later. As he paused, another agent rushed into the room, closing the door behind him and took a standing position behind Penelope.

“Morgan, did you find anything at the warehouse?” 

Agent Hotchner turned to the newcomer with a hopeful expression, only to receive a subtle shake of the head in return. I glanced over at the agent in question, sudden recognition at the name striking me and couldn’t deny that he was handsome. It wasn’t surprising that Penelope became so distracted around him, but fortunately my tastes were different enough to avoid sharing this issue. 

“Let's start with the basics. Shepard, I’ll let you open with your cases.” The BAU leader easily drew the attention of the meeting as he commenced conversation and Shepard got to his feet with a confidence that unsettled me.

“The group that we are looking for is a well established human trafficking ring that have been working in Europe for at least four years. They first came under our radar when their leader was murdered by his ambitious second in command, a man that we have identified as Robert Valeno.” 

Shepard brought up a photo of the man who had dominated my psyche for longer than I cared to admit. Valeno was a prominent figure in my nightmares, as he continued to be impossible to catch and I regularly obsessed over the awful things that he could be doing to people whilst we floundered around behind him.

“Valeno has expanded their operation substantially since he took control and has proven to be an expert in evading justice. Every time that we get close he vanishes, only to appear in another country. So far, we’ve managed to connect twenty missing women to him, but realistically, we estimate the number is more likely to be in the hundreds.”

Penelope set the screens to flick through the images of the victims that we had managed to identify and I felt my stomach lurch. I didn’t need to see the photos, each of their faces was burned into my mind as a waking nightmare that only worsened when I closed my eyes. Each and every one of them represented a failure to me, another girl who would never know freedom again. 

As Shepard stepped aside, JJ took his place to present the new details.

“Four months ago, local PDs in multiple states began noticing a dramatic increase in their missing persons, particularly women from the ages of fourteen to thirty-five.” JJ explained as she redirected the conversation to the American portion of the case and I was met with a new set of faces that I knew I would be unable to forget. Before she could continue, Gideon jumped in with his own opinions about our suspect.

“Valeno has mostly targeted women who were low risk. No family, no job, no connections and until now, anyone who did not meet that criteria was deemed to have been a mistake. Now, he is targeting any female who matches his desired age range. That tells us that he is growing more confident and likely catering to a wealthier clientele. He’s comfortable in his methods and clearly believes that he has successfully escaped the pursuit of law enforcement in Europe.” He revealed, having already begun speculating on the cause of this change in victimology and Morgan sat forward with interest, as if he had noticed something.

“How did he manage to even get to the States if he was on Interpol’s radar?” Morgan asked, glancing around the table in confusion and whilst the rest of my team seemed offended by the question, I noticed that Shepard was staring directly at me, as if the responsibility for this laid primarily at my feet.

“That’s where we need to start.” I stated, drawing the attention of the room and I strained to keep my nerves from showing in my demeanour as I continued.

“He wasn’t just on our radar. His picture was circulated everywhere, MI5, ESISC, border control, immigration and transport services. I blocked every known alias that he has, had software scanning CCTV for his face. We set up roadblocks, monitored drug busts and even placed digital traps. It should have been impossible for him to travel anywhere.” I explained, allowing a hint of my frustration to flow into my words and it was clear that everyone was considering the tactics used for any further ideas. Reid drew my attention as the first person that I noticed who did not seem to be blaming me for this failure, instead thinning his eyes reflectively.

“That level of evasion would indicate an exceptionally high intelligence and knowledge of law enforcement, border policies and even technical expertise. If he’s also present at the time of abduction and responsible for the transport of his acquisitions, it wouldn’t leave any time for the rest of his roles. Which means he has some high level employees with an in depth knowledge of the organisation. Have you discovered any of his accomplices?” Reid enquired, rapidly realising the flaw in my information and I smiled at how easily he had noticed the discrepancy that I had been pointing out for months, much to the teams irritation.

“The guy is a ghost. There’s no threads to follow.” I sighed, still feeling disappointed in the minimal information that I’d been able to dig up about Valeno. “What we do know is that he has at least employed technical help. The skills that I’ve encountered are far too advanced to belong to someone who has any priorities other than hacking. I can also confirm that it is not the same person that he was using in Europe.” I added, causing Shepard to furrow his brows at me. 

“How can you be sure of that?” He asked, already dismissing my opinion and I was flustered by this subtle dig against my knowledge.

“I’ve compared the logs from my laptop to the digital attacks that the BAU experienced when they tried to track him. They’re completely different.” I argued, only causing him to seem doubtful and I felt my gut twist in annoyance. 

It was one thing for him to disregard me within our own agency, but I didn’t appreciate his lack of interest in my input when we were surrounded by new people and felt my temper fuelling me to elaborate on this theory, even if I knew that my team would likely not understand the relevance.

“There are hundreds of ways to do things when it comes to cyber activity and every hacker has their own methods.” I began, attempting to simplify the experience that Penelope and I had gathered over the years into something that could assist in the profile. “Think of it like their signature. This new person operates in a more aggressive manner, whereas the original person that he was using was all defensive. He’s not waiting for us to find him. He’s seeking us out, almost challenging us. I analysed the commands that he uses and they’re much more commonly taught in the United States than any other part of the world.”

There were a few moments of silence as people processed the babble of technical talk that I had just spewed at them and Penelope smiled proudly from my side. Shepard seemed lost for words, despite his ongoing desire to undermine me and I noticed that several members of the BAU team were now watching me with interest, especially Morgan.

“So, he’s making new contacts. That gives us new opportunities to infiltrate his network.” He clarified, making it clear that he trusted my experience on this matter and I nodded at him confidently, noticing Penelope smiling at him with extra appreciation as she took over the technical talk.

“Because this new hacker is aggressive, we may be able to draw them out. Alice and I have planned a bait and switch situation. With your permission, Sir, and our combined expertise, we can have your hacker trapped and traced.” Penelope presented our plan with a faith in her leader that was unfamiliar to me and I awaited his answer with baited breath.

“Absolutely. Keep me updated.” He agreed as he permitted us without a moment of hesitation and I was shocked by how easy it had been to gain his permission. 

“Reid. Morgan. Go to the latest crime scene. We need to get an idea of how he operates. Gideon and I will take the rest of the Interpol team to the local PD.” Hotchner announced, immediately getting to his feet and setting the room into a buzz of activity. 

I was frantic as I gathered my things to follow Penelope and could still hardly believe that we hadn’t needed to fight to be able to put our plan into motion. I piled up my laptop and paperwork into my arms, and jogged to catch up to her, glad to be alone again in the hallway as the others split into their assigned teams.

“Nicely done, Ally. You hold up well under fire.” Penelope muttered, sneaking a smirk in my direction as she walked and I shook my head in denial, feeling as if I’d barely managed to avoid drowning back there. “You give yourself too little credit. This team gives a serious grilling and not everyone can hack it. You did. Even from your own unit chief. He’s a real peach, aye?”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

--⥈--

“Hey, double trouble. Anything fallen into your net?”

Morgan’s warm voice on the speakerphone filled Penelope’s remarkably quiet office, where I sat with my head in my hands. The feeling of waiting was suffocating and I was beginning to worry that even our combined experience wouldn’t be enough to catch this mystery attacker. Valeno seemed to be incredibly gifted at seeking out the best of every profession for his organisation.

“Just a huge pile of nothing. I don’t fail, Morgan. This is not a feeling that I’m used to and I don’t plan to get used to it!” Penelope pouted, seeming personally offended by the lack of response to our bait and I looked up to smile sympathetically at her. 

“Get used to it with this guy. He only hires the uncatchable.” I offered, revealing the bitterness that had begun to grow inside of me since I started on this case and Penelope huffed in a childish manner at this statement.

After a few more minutes of listening to Penelope talk to Morgan whilst I reviewed the logs of our previous contacts with our target, a bolt of inspiration struck me. I turned in my seat to face Penelope with wide eyes and she shushed Morgan as she honed in on my changed demeanour.

“Just before I spoke to you on the phone, I told Shepard that I thought we had an inside agent. It’s the only way that it made sense for Valeno to be avoiding everything.” I began, causing her to tense up in alarm, but she waited for me to finish. 

“What if they’re helping him to find staff? Every agency in the world has watch lists for people like you and I. If Valeno is working with someone inside Interpol, they would be able to recommend someone with the right skills and keep the hacker from coming up on our radar as a threat.” I thought aloud, setting Penelope into a typing spree as she pulled up countless agency lists for a search.

“They’d be right under our noses!” She exclaimed, setting up the parameters for a new scan of the lists immediately and I stared intensely at my logs to piece together details about the hackers style that we could use to identify them. “Okay, we know that they’re probably American. I’ll start with local names.” She explained for Morgan’s sake and it was clear that he was already fully invested in our guidance as he dove into adding information to our search.

“Valeno wouldn’t recruit somebody nearby. If he’s outsourcing, he likely hasn’t told them anything about what they’re doing. He’d want them distanced from the organisation. The less that they know, the less risk in using them. They won’t be near enough to see the missing girls on local news and he’s banking on them not watching anything further.” Morgan specified over the phone and I nodded along in agreement, as Penelope struggled to keep up with us.

“Then I’m looking at every other state? That’s a lot of names! We need to get more specific.” Penelope argued as her computer struggled to even load the mass of names that her search presented and I leapt into reeling off information that she could utilise.

“We know from their techniques that they are aggressive, impatient, likely seeking a challenge. The commands they use would indicate that they are self taught rather than formally educated, so rule out anyone with a relevant qualification. They don’t have a strong signature yet either, meaning that despite being talented, they are inexperienced so they wouldn’t have been on the watch list for long.” I rambled, moving to pace the room and Penelope keenly adjusted her criteria as I spoke. 

Over the speaker, I heard Reid seeming as if he were particularly surprised by the level of information that I was providing, before he provided a theory of his own.

“Aggressive and inexperienced? Statistically, it’s more common for these traits to appear in a young hacker. Someone who hasn’t matured enough to appreciate defensive methods.” Reid’s voice chimed from the phone and I stopped dead in my tracks.

“Very young. Their methods are disorganised, frantic. Penelope and I haven’t been able to predict them as they’re too chaotic. We thought it was a tactical choice, but from my experience in these kinds of circles, it’s highly likely to be a high schooler, probably a male with a superiority complex.” I theorised, feeling a crushing clarity and Penelope stopped her activity so that she could turn to face me with horror.

“Wait a second. You mean like the Rapture crew from our old forum?” She breathed, seeming disgusted that someone as young as the other hackers that we once worked alongside could be involved in something this dark. 

I practically fell into my seat as I flashed through screens in search of a specific log and an old memory of a particularly young male hacker in the Rapture group came to mind.

“Oh my god.” I muttered as I replayed the clip several times. “Penelope, look at this. This manoeuvre right here. I’ve only seen it used a few times. It’s an old method, definitely not taught officially by anyone. The only few people that I’ve ever seen use it have all had one thing in common-”

“They studied the Boston Phantom obsessively.” Penelope gasped, thinning her results down and having to fight through more red tape than I’d ever seen to unlock the records. 

“There definitely was a result here within the original content, but they were removed from the watch list six months ago and all our records of them were wiped clean.” She explained for our team members that were on the phone and I covered my mouth in shock. 

This small accusation confirmed the suspicion that I had held for some time now; someone in our team was feeding Valeno information. The call went silent for a moment as I imagined that Morgan and Reid were sharing the same realisation and Reid cleared his throat to question us, seeming somewhat less confident about technical matters.

“Is that a normal occurrence, Garcia? I thought once you were on a watch list, that was it. There was no way of returning to anonymity.” Reid queried, whilst Penelope busied herself with attempting to recover the files.

“That’s true. Unless you’re recruited as an agent.” She clarified, causing a chill to run down the length of my spine at this idea. “But nothing can be removed from my glorious all seeing skills. His name is James Miller. He’s fifteen years old and lives in Boston, Massachusetts.”

“Babygirl, you never fail to amaze me. You two are the dream team.” Morgan announced, causing Penelope to smirk in satisfaction. “Send over his details. Reid and I will pick him up now.” 

“Your wish is my command.” Penelope crooned, before the line abruptly cut off and she turned to fix me with an expression that sparkled with curiosity.

“Okay. What was that?” She asked, causing me to furrow my brows in confusion and I shrugged obliviously. “You just profiled! Alice, what are Interpol doing using you as an analyst? You should be in the field.” She exclaimed, examining me with a new sense of wonder and I shuffled awkwardly on the spot.

“And I’m sure that if I’d been recruited by any method other than arrest, I probably would be.” I commented, fiddling with my hands and she seemed to struggle to understand the correlation between these two things. “Shepard and the others barely tolerate me as it is. They feel like they’ve been dumped with a criminal, rather than an asset.”

“You’re kidding! All of the best hackers come from a risky background, don’t they know that?” She argued, thoroughly frustrated by this attitude and I chuckled under my breath. “You can’t teach what we know how to do in any classroom. They need to get over themselves and realise how lucky they are to have you!”

--⥈--

Penelope updated the BAU team and Shepard on our activities via video call, allowing me to avoid discussing my part in the situation in front of my already scowling unit chief. I was painfully aware of his disapproval for my opinion on anything that he deemed as outside of my role, but Penelope decided that it was important for me to be credited with the arrest of the hacker and ensured that she emphasised my work. 

I fidgeted in my seat, feeling bashful as she recounted the conversation and I was thankful for the webcam which dulled the power of Shepard’s glare. It seemed that the rest of the Interpol team weren’t present for the briefing and I was glad that I didn’t have to bear their scrutiny too.

“Good work. Both of you. Gideon is interviewing him shortly, so we’ll let you know what we can persuade him to reveal. In the meantime, we’ve seized all of his equipment and will be sending it over for you to analyse, Garcia. We need as much from it as possible.” Agent Hotchner announced, making me squirm from the praise and Penelope responded with yes sir immediately. 

“Alice, pack your things. Once the agent has delivered the equipment, they’ll be bringing you to the PD to assist us here.” He added resolutely and I felt my back straighten at his order. I opened my mouth to question it, but before I could get a single word out Shepard interrupted.

“Absolutely not.” He argued, turning on my newfound advocate with evident fury in his posture, but the BAU chief remained completely unmoved.

“Alice assisted in both profiling and identifying the young man who we just arrested. This is the first viable lead that we’ve discovered. Her insight would be most useful alongside my team.” Hotchner suggested, almost causing my mouth to drop open in shock at his appreciation of me and I could feel Penelope fighting not to smile beside me. “With all due respect, she has a familiarity with this case which is not being utilised by keeping her remote from the investigation; not to mention the behavioural skills that she demonstrated today which are disregarded in her current role.”

“With all due respect, Agent Hawthorne is an Interpol agent and I will dictate her activities. She is a technical analyst, not a field agent and does not have the relevant training to be based anywhere other than the office. Do I need to remind you that this is an Interpol investigation that your team is assisting on?” Shepard growled, stepping closer into his space and though I could tell that the BAU leader was angered by his disrespect, he retained his composure.

“Hawthorne. Assist with analysing the equipment.” He spat, looking toward the screen with an obvious disdain and I struggled to keep my voice even as my heart sunk.

“Yes, Sir.”

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on The Royal Heir, Book 1 Chapter 1

• We're back! Hopefully with a better series this time, but I'm not going to keep my hopes too high.

• If my QTs are clogging up your dash, I recommend you block these particular tags: #trh quick thoughts, #trh qts, and optionally #long post.

• Much like my Book 3 QTs, I will be exploring as many playthroughs as I possibly can to see how each LI's route is being written. Last book, this experiment definitely helped me figure out that they were putting more effort into some characters and less into others, and I'd still like to keep an eye out for these things as much as possible.

• I feel this QT might be shorter than my usual (edit: joke's on me - it's not!! 🙈), mostly because the opening chapter itself is...pretty light, and is mostly meant for us to spend time and have fun with our chosen LI. Plus a tiny smidgen of buildup to the premise, which is having a child in Cordonia. But I do have a theory about the overall theme that I'm going to be expanding on towards the end of the chapter.

• Okay that's it for preliminary explanations, it's time for me to start with the chapter! XD

• Ooh. Oooooooh. This loading page now has tidbits about Cordonian society!! Interesting.

• Title: Happily Ever Afterwards

Alternative Title: Be Grateful We're Letting You Have This Much Sex For Free This Week, Because That's The Last Time It's Happening.

• I'm extremely offended they're making me wear that Pepto Bismol outfit again.

•

...thanks so much for reminding me you still don't care about Hana, PB! 🙄 Everyone else remains to be some version of "loyal", but Hana is still considered more for her skills than for her own steadfastness, even though she was the most hardcore-loyal of the four (SHE LEFT HER FREAKING HOME. HER FREAKING FAMILY. FOR YOU. While the other three were certainly loyal and honorable to the MC, they definitely didn't have to completely cut ties with their families to do right by the MC).

• The "fairytale" aesthetics of the frame story were what drew people into TRR in the first place, so it's not too surprising that the LIs and MC give a nod to the flagship series with a "once upon a time". If you're with Liam, it goes straight from "falling in love with the Prince" to what his relationship with her taught him, before the happily ever after. If you're with one of the other three LIs, it specifies that she came there for Liam but fell for someone else. Sounds a lot like Maxwell's book 😄 In Maxwell's playthrough, in fact, there is a reference to it when the MC calls him a "famous author".

•

(Screenshots organized as follows: 1 - Liam, 2 - Drake, 3 - Maxwell, 4 - Hana. Liam's and Hana's are my own. Drake's from @thefirstcourtesan, and Maxwell's from Kaitlyn Walker's YouTube channel).

The other interesting thing to note is that in Liam's playthrough, he leads the narration. While in everyone else's the MC is the one who steers it. One reason I can think of is that the narrative still treats this story as Liam's story as much as it is the MC's (if I'm right about the theme) - which...has honestly always been a sore point with the fanbase in TRR. That would depend on how us and our baby are now further involved with Cordonia in the story. Another factor for why she leads the narration...could be that essentially, the MC took initiative in the other three relationships, while in Liam's case it was he who took a more active role by proposing to her.

• The little story ends with this question from the MC:

Question: But what happens after Happily Ever After?

Answer: Mess. In Cordonia it's always mess.

• Cordonians (specifically the upper classes, since I don't know enough about the common populace to tell, since they're, yknow, practically invisible) are addicted to tea, apples and fucking shit up where they don't even need to.

• ANYWAY. What (literally) happens after 'happily ever after' is a tropical honeymoon on Liam's private island. In the case of the other three, he allows them access to the place and gives the staff instructions on making the stay comfortable for them.

• Now, since Liam owns the island and has probably visited it a could times, he shows more familiarity with it. He tells his wife that on previous trips the island had more rustic accommodations, but the villa they're now staying in was prepared recently. Additionally, the butler welcomes Hana, Maxwell and Drake as newcomers to the island, considering it's their first time. With Liam, there is an air of familiarity - he calls the butler by his name (Javier) and enquires about him and his wife (Mariana) - to show us perhaps how familiar he is with this holiday spot.

• Why the hell does everyone call Liam "Your Highness"? It's been two whole books since he became King, and the proper title for a monarch is "Your Majesty". How is it that Constantine gets to rake the MC over the coals for calling him Your Highness, yet Liam has to hear this from practically everyone. From Javier to freakin' Protocol-Monitor-Madeleine! The disrespect, I tell you!

• Okay so we're having a candlelit dinner by the ocean, and we get our first OOTD. Cute beach dress, has bright flowers and some crochet work on the bodice. I bought it because I couldn't bear to have Esther stay another minute in that Pepto Bismol of a dress.

• LOL @ all the LI responses to "this spot is right where the sharks are!"

• Tuna sashimi and pineapple aioli, huh? I have never had either so idek what that's supposed to taste like (someone on this writing team likes pineapples). I remember having to cut down on tuna during pregnancy, which meant no more Subway sandwiches since the tuna sub was the only one I liked at the time. IIRC most of my family were also cautioning me against pineapples and papaya during my first trimester!

• My gosh this butler doesn't waste much time jumping into assumptions huh?

• Also Javier, why is Cordonia's future so dependent on the well-being of my foetus even if I'm not ruling the country?

• Does Cordonia have sex ed? My money is on no. (esp in the Hana route).

• So there are two parts to the way the premise of wanting to have kids is built up in this sequence. In the first part, the LI impresses upon the MC the need to have children soon after the wedding. The second part addresses the urgency - the "why right now?" factor, and explores the LI's personal emotions towards having children. This bit also feels a bit like a follow-up to the Valtoria balcony scene in Chapter 15.

• The first part is pretty similar for Drake, Hana and Maxwell - all three of whom are now married to a Duchess and are aware that securing the duchy is important. They word it in their own distinctive styles, but the gist is pretty much the same. In Liam's case, since he is the king of the country, he speaks more about Cordonia and its tensions with neighbouring countries.

Take note of this because I'll be returning to this point later. (also who are the writers trying to convince about Cordonia's size. "Small kingdom" my ass).

• I'll be going by the LIs' personal reasons to have a baby now, one by one, along with a summary of their views on children in the Valtoria balcony scene last book (since this scene clearly references that diamond scene if you've bought it last book).

(Screenshots: Liam's and Hana's screenshots are mine, Drake's is from @thefirstcourtesan and Maxwell's is from Kaitlyn Walker's YouTube channel)

- Liam: Liam's love for family and need for children is well-known throughout the series. In Book 1, he's dropped hints about wanting to have a different kind of family dynamic from the one he'd experienced as a child, and in Book 2 there were multiple references to wanting to not be Constantine - both as a King and as a father. In the balcony scene in Book 3, Chapter 15, Liam tells us a number of things - about the value of having more heirs for succession, of him always dreaming of having at least 3 children, about Kenna, Cordonia's most legendary warrior queen which leads to an interesting factoid about how the rules of successions for both the throne and duchies are not gender-specific (he also cites Olivia and Penelope as being in line to inherit their duchies). In this sequence Liam undoubtedly has more to say about the political aspect of having an heir than the personal, but his statement about "someone missing" in their lives is of no surprise when he's been enthusiastic about kids for three books straight.

- Drake: Drake perhaps gets the lengthiest 'personal' bit of all, revolving around his eagerness to be a father and his own family history. This scene has Drake speaking of wanting a child with "your eyes and my hair", but most of all of Savannah and her little family, and wanting the happiness his sister is experiencing now. The writing often manages to tie Drake's thoughts about his future family with his past: in the Valtoria balcony scene, his memories of his father and his desire to bring up his own kids the way Jackson did are dominant in the conversation on children. He speaks at length about the absence of a proper 'home' so far in his life (stating that his room at the palace always felt like "a room in someone else's house") and how high on his priority list the prospect of having children is. The Valtoria scene shows him eager to have kids asap, and this scene builds up the same urgency. You're left in no doubt that he wants those kids now.

• Maxwell: Maxwell's route of this scene soundly pretty sudden, tbh. In his Valtoria scene, Maxwell expressed doubt and nervousness when it came to children, citing the example of Bartie ("I love palling around with little Bartie and everything, but if he bonks his head or something, I can just hand him back to Savannah. When it's your kid, you're the one people hand him to."). While this is referenced in TRH's dialogue when Maxwell jokes about forgetting diapers and baby socks - it's a pretty big jump from the man who didn't exactly feel ready to have children yet, and not enough work was done to justify that shift. This could be somewhat excused in the beginning of Book 3, when the narrative had just begun to treat him like an LI, but they've had an entire damn book and several months after to reflect on how to write him properly. That is...if they actually gave a damn.

- Hana: They don't even have the excuse of "relatively new LI" in Hana's case. Because she is the lone female LI married to a female MC, her scene should have been a lot more extensive and explored her urgency to have children so soon after their wedding, a whole lot more. There are tiny changes, like the one where she hints at the "logistical concerns" that come with two women considering a family, and where she speaks of giving her child the childhood she never had (which, frankly, is an extremely vague statement and could be applicable to more than one character in Cordonia). But there is urgency that, again, isn't properly explained in the scene. Even Hana's Valtoria scene doesn't have much that would explain why she would want a child barely weeks after her wedding. The Valtoria scene does have her outlining her dreams for the duchy (along with a joke about her enacting "Beauty and the Beast") and her happiness at the thought of being a mother (she maintains that out of the things expected of her, motherhood is the one she looked forward to). They could have spent some time thinking up a reason for why Hana would rush this, even before anything has happened, or outlined something personal and not ultra-generic. Both Maxwell and Hana deserved a lot better than this.

• Maxwell speaks about possibly forgetting diapers (PLS NO MAXWELL NO) and baby socks (um okay not as bad but depends on the climate), and one of the MC's dialogue options is to say..."diapers and socks are overrated". Guys your kid won't care how much fun you are when they have a bum rash.

• A-ha! Diamond scene. First-chapter diamond love scenes always come cheap in these series' (12 diamonds) and are usually quite a steal.

• ESTHER HAS NEW LINGERIE OMG I'M SO HAPPY I'D BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT FOR SO LOOOOONG 😭😭😭😭

• ...and it is also matches Liam's underwear. Maxwell's too 😅

• The scene is nice, there are variations between the ways the LIs work up their appetite before they finally roll in the...well, sand 😅 Maxwell has what they call an "ocean duel", Hana's fulfills her lifelong dream of carrying and spinning around her wife on a secluded beach, Drake chases the MC through the water...and Liam just enjoys being a huuuge tease, okay? 😂

• Oh God, why are they still using the old LoveHacks sexytimes music. That "DHUM-boom-ta-doom-DHUM" beat drives me nuts, and not in a good way. You have better music now, PB! Like the sexytimes tunes from RCD and PM. Use those!

• My gosh this entire group is quite horny for dominant duchesses, aren't they. Every last one of them. Each playthrough has these four gazing at the MC in wonder and telling her some variation of "I think you ordering me around is hot". Olivia could trample over them all with spiked heels and they would thank her!

• As always, when something suspicious happens, my dumbass MC goes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and never thinks about it again until shit actually goes down. This woman will never learn, will she.

• Anyway! We now move on to the rest of the honeymoon, summed up in three-four varying scenes per LI:

(Screenshots: Liam's and Hana's screenshots are mine, Drakes is HIMEME's YouTube channel, and Maxwell's is from Kaitlyn Walker's YouTube channel).

- Liam: Focused and dedicated. And insatiable as hell. Sex on a bed (SHOCKING!), sex after his wife points out what could be an apple constellation during stargazing (the MC effectively killed Liam's boner for Cordonia, I see), sex after having chocolate strawberries at a sunlit pond, sex again on a bed (Why is he getting four? 🤔). While the staff is still around somewhere on the island. This is a man with a mission.

- Maxwell: Fun and playful - kind of a "let's live wild and do daredevilry while we can!" vibe. In one Maxwell and the MC cliff dive into the ocean, debating over the wisdom of such risky adventuring when they may possibly be having a baby. In another, the MC watches, concerned, as Maxwell eats a raw squid appetizer. There is a nice callback to Maxwell's House sigil - the kraken - when he tells her that a squid would never hurt a fellow squid. The third shows them playing Strip Monopoly in the comfort of their bedroom.

- Hana: Adorable, caring and looking through every detail. Hana's three scenes involve her showing the MC the sights around the sunlit pond (which Hana and the MC lovingly call the "Hana Lee Honeymoon Itinerary"), watching the sunset under blankets, and this little scene of them choosing sperm donors for their baby:

It's a nice addition, but it still doesn't explain why they couldn't have waited a few more months. Nothing has happened yet in the timeline of the story, the women are (they believe) finally safe and happy, and while Javier seems to believe that babies born to a couple that consists of two women pop out of nowhere, I'm hoping the denizens of their duchy will have at least a little more common sense (this is Cordonia, so "hope" is the operative word).

- Drake: Langorous, relaxed and contented. Stargazing on the beach (I wonder whether this was a nod to the meteor shower scene in Book 1), whiskey on a patio/balcony/whatever in the afternoon, and eating roasted pork by the fire. Plenty of sex but also lots of outdoors, which means lots of the stuff Drake enjoys doing.

• Aaaaaand it's time for sexy scene 2! The couple are now relaxing in bed on the last day of their honeymoon, and the LI proposes a momento in the form of a sensual photoshoot (which comes with artwork of the LI in their underwear, posing for the MC) The male LIs pose with their hands at the back of their heads, smirking at the camera, while Hana strikes a coy pose, leaning against her hand. It's a quick, fun scene that's supposed to squeeze as much alone-time out of the couple as possible, because from here on the focus may shift to other things. Basically this chapter is meant to be one giant (but largely safe for readers) smutfest. I like the artwork - it's different and I guess meant to be a little more realistic than the usual full-page art in the books (like the engagement and wedding photos with your LIs last book), which is why I think it takes a little getting used to. I know it took me some time!

• Maxwell got an underwear upgrade too!

• We've now come to the end of our honeymoon, our bags packed and ready for our return to Cordonia. The chapter ends with us seeing a "familiar face", who could either be Liam (if you married someone else, and he doesn't show any expression) or an unspecified person (if you married Liam, and he looks ultra happy). Now that could either be related to some paparazzi-related stuff, if the flash of light was paparazzi-related, or it could be a fake-out and he's actually brought along the rest of the gang to surprise you. Idk and I don't want to speculate too much on this, mostly because something more interesting caught my eye.

• So that's it for my thoughts on the scenes themselves! On to the "general thoughts" section.

• General Thoughts and Potential Theories:

- As a first chapter for a new series that is still tied to an older one, it worked. It mirrors the light feel and sensibility of TRR's very first chapter, in that both chapters build an illusion of a fairytale-like place, with hints of the darkness within emerging the next chapter onwards (in this series though - since we're already familiar with Cordonia - the darkness is lightly hinted at this chapter itself). In a lot of ways I think we're going to see a lot of parallels between TRR and this new series.

- Unfortunately, one of those similarities also includes the imbalance in the writing for the LIs. Specifically with Maxwell and Hana. It's the most glaring in the dinner scene, which builds for us the premise on which this entire book stands (the topic of pregnancy). There are ways you could have them make the jump from nervous about having kids to excited, if you tried - there are elements in their storyline that could have helped us understand their urgency.

- I played Liam's route first, and was happy overall with it but I still have my misgivings. The good in terms of Liam's story is that he gets importance because the story is also about him and his country, where we are staying. He gives us some very important details in his route, and personally I like that his role as Guide To The Intricacies And Nuances of Cordonian Society still exists...but you can't deny that there were things in his storyline which should have been addressed and never were. I hope those are addressed this book. If they do the same this time around, it will only be to their detriment.

- Also, I find it highly ironic that Drake is the one to mention Savannah and Bartie when it was MAXWELL who was more involved in helping her with the child. Sure, he was - as he confessed in that Valtoria scene - more the "fun uncle" type, but he was still pretty heavily involved. Still keeping track of what Savannah needed and what Bartie would want. In his own final Book 3 scene, Maxwell is shown having an amazing rapport with little Bartie, playing peekaboo with his nose. I can barely count scenes involving Drake and Bartie with the fingers of one hand. Why couldn't Maxwell reference that last moment in Book 3, drawing up some inspirational moment from it? Like spending more and more time with Bartie changed the way he felt about kids? Or maybe that Savannah or Bertrand said something regarding the joy children bring to him. Anything that gives us some idea of when this shift happened.

Maxwell may have been new last book. It may have been a struggle to know what to do with him last book. But that isn't the case right now. By now they should have settled in their writing of him and figured out ways to make his story make sense? To give him more depth rather than simply reducing the man to the court jester? Maxwell's story was supposed to be about him growing, the scene in Valtoria was supposed to be about wanting to be a good father for his future children but fearing he might fail...yet the writers have the same man say the exact opposite. Maxwell's family history was thrown away for no good reason last book, and was replaced by Savannah drama. There was more space given to Savannah's love story with Bertrand (which didn't NEED the entire book to gain fruition) and Drake (optionally) enjoying humiliating Bertrand. That time, energy and effort could have gone in building up Maxwell, getting an insight into what happened to the Beaumonts that they became so poor...but no. The only Beaumont that mattered seems to be Savannah (and we know exactly why). And going by the fact that they're going to force an entire wedding storyline involving Bertrand and Savannah down our throats, that still seems to be the case.

- Hana's is even more worrying considering that it was poles apart from the rest of the playthroughs and therefore SHOULD have had more thought. Yes Hana loves the idea of being a mother. Yes Hana loves children and has a nurturing nature. But the urgency is still the same as the others' in her playthrough, and it made absolutely no sense. There was a clear dissonance between their current situation and the rush these two were in.

Hana's deserved at least some more time in her dinner scene. Maybe one where she could speak about growing up an only child, with no companions and not even toys. She could explain the loneliness involved in having a small family with parents who gave her more duties than affection, and then speak about giving her kid a better childhood. There isn't even any discussion about which of them should be the person carrying (we know it will be the MC, but why it has to be her in their case is anyone's guess).

What the team have done here is give Hana the bare minimum, after an entire two books of giving her even less than that. I know I'll probably be judged for thinking negatively rather than being cautiously optimistic, but the fact is that the moment this team feels they can get away with tossing scraps or less than that, they can and will do it. It's not stopped them before: not from botching up Hana's storyline, not from giving Hana fans a reception full of goof-ups and shoddy writing, not from pairing her with her bully. Perhaps last year I would have been happy and grateful to see Hana and the MC calling each other "my wife". This time...I refuse to settle for just mere scraps. If you can give thought and care to Liam and Drake's storylines, you'd better be able to do the same for Hana and Maxwell, otherwise what's the point of reviving this book? What's the point of using Hana specifically in two of your ads as bait for your lesbian/bi/wlw fans?? Might as well let the entire series rot in the trash where it belongs in that case.

- I've heard theories about our child becoming heir to the throne, thanks to a possible future arc that may make Liam unable to have children. I personally hate this possible plot line for two reasons:

1. As it is the MC gets more importance than she deserves, whether or not she actually puts in the work. She becomes a front-runner during the social season even if she fails. She becomes a Duchess even if she lacks even the most basic skills, while Hana who has done way more than she ever had for the country gets nothing, not even a needle-point's worth of land. She becomes Champion of the Realm even if she is literal garbage throughout that book, when that title could have easily gone to Olivia or Hana instead if she didn't earn enough to get it. And now to have her kid be made an heir to the throne? For no good reason? Get outta here.

2. Forcing Liam into yet another storyline that is tragic and painful (and I'm pretty sure the writers will find yet another excuse to write a thesis on Drake Walker in the time they could be using to let Liam actually break down, or vent. If they couldn't be bothered to explore the man's feelings when his own father died, do you really think they will bother with him in this??) on top of whatever else he's had to experience so far? At this point I can do with less of that. I'm honestly sick of storylines that put Liam in very uncomfortable, painful situations with very little space for him to air out his grief. Give the man a fucking break. Let him have some breathing space to rule his goddamned kingdom, get him a fantastic therapist and get him better friends while he's at it. Pushing him into yet another messed-up situation when you've barely even scratched the surface with what his experiences have done to him, is really just drama for the sake of drama, nothing else.

- Nonetheless, since this is about a pregnancy and a future heir, I believe there will be plenty talk about succession, and about the importance given to fertility and children in Cordonian society. But as with the social season in Book 1, the engagement tour in Book 2, and the wedding + Unity Tour in Book 3, I believe the pregnancy itself is a frame story. The kind of story that justifies the glitz, the glitter, and the glamorous events...that can serve as a temporary gloss to cover the conflicts within. All while the inner stories reveals those conflicts, layer by layer (again, if it's done right. Book 3 is a good example of a great premise ruined by bad writing. I sincerely hope this book does not go in that direction).

- Remember those screenshots I put up in that dinner scene from Liam's route? About Cordonia's tensions with its neighbouring countries, and how the country may be viewed as vulnerable? I think that's where the actual theme of the story lies.

Books 1 and 2 mostly revolved around the illusion of Cordonia - the fairytale kingdom - before the MC herself is confronted with the tensions brewing within. Book 3 was about strengthening Cordonia through resolution of internal conflict. It was about learning about the intricacies of the country, its most powerful duchies, their histories and identities, Cordonia's messy, complicated history - to tackle the problems that lay within.

I feel like Book 4 would be taking a natural progression from resolving internal conflict to finally standing united as a nation against outside forces. Constantine - in his conversation with the MC in Shanghai - hints not only at groups within Cordonia that wanted to destroy the monarchy, but also foreign powers ("suffice to say there are those who envy Cordonia's prosperity...". Not the royal family's - but "Cordonia's").

Keeping a united front and showcasing strength through pride in the country - ergo 'patriotism', or perhaps 'national integration' since Cordonia is home to many different cultures and geographical locations (I originally wrote 'nationalism here, but now realize there may be negative connotations attached to that word in today's times: thanks @musicallisto!) is often viewed as an asset against alien forces. The MC is now a part of the monarchy/nobility, and will be irrevocably tied to the country's future - so it makes sense that she will now dig into the deepest and most intimate parts of Cordonia's history, and go several steps further in helping to unite the nation.

- Why do I theorize 'patriotism' or 'national integration' as being a theme? There are several reasons for this:

The Unresolved Storylines: We still have a ways to go in understanding Cordonian history. We don't know which other forces were involved in previous assassinations, and we don't have a clue what happened to Liam's mother. All we do know is that other people and groups that we have probably not even seen yet, may have been involved. Francesco (who also knew Liam's mother) and Xinghai, the only foreign delegates/visitors that we got to network with in Book 2, have minimal roles so far but SEEM to have had some influence when they were introduced earlier. Francesco particularly could have some sort of role to play, given what we were told about him in Book 2. Now would be a good time to explore why he needed contacts with these people (other than the fact that Xinghai is Hana's dad). It's possible that nothing will happen and we may not even see these two, or exchange any important information, but I'd still hope that there is some importance to their appearances in Book 2.

The Connections We Made In The Engagement Tour: Meeting Francesco in Capri was related to getting access to EU markets for Cordonian products. The engagement tour itself revolved around grabbing international attention towards Cordonian problems - one of which was the tsunami that hit Portavira, which we learn more about in Book 3. There is a possibility that these threads may be picked up in the future.

Both the above points hint at possible threats, or allies. At this point we can't exactly determine who is friend and who is foe, but it is clear that neighbouring countries - and indeed countries we have associated with in the past - will play a pretty big role in the way we view Cordonia, and in the way we direct the narrative of this country.

The Artwork: I love this part of my theory because it is the most based on actual evidence rather than guesswork. The idea of a nation depends as much on items of familiarity and symbols, as it does on history. It's why countries have national animals, anthems, fruits. Why art depicting national and local legends can often be considered almost sacred. The book has barely even begun yet, and already it is FILLED with all kinds of things symbolic to Cordonia.

Let's first take a peek at the cover art:

Now let's ignore Liam's and Drake's (busted) faces in this cover and focus on what the three are holding.

The MC holds a rattle in her hand, and the jewel within the rattle looks similar to a ruby, which has been associated more than once with apples in the story (Cordonia's most valued variety of apple is the Cordonian Ruby, Liam's wedding gift to the MC is a ruby in the shape of an apple. The same rattle shows up in the second cover [on the left] as well. It's a stretch, I know, but I've got better evidence. Stick with me).

Liam holds a onesie with a crown design on the front - and we know that "for crown and country" is a popular phrase, especially for toasts, in Cordonia. Drake holds out a toy lion: the lion is the national animal, and holds a place of pride in the national Coat-of-Arms. The throne on which the MC herself sits, is blue and gold - both considered national colours. That's at least 4 symbols related to Cordonia vying for our attention on the same cover!

I mean, even Book 3 had just two major symbols - the apple (related to Cordonia) and the phoenix gown (related to Valtoria) - featuring on its cover.

The biggest proof to me, however, is not the cover, but the loading page. To be more precise - what is written above that loading page. A number of Choices books (BB, for instance) write little factoids about the world they are building above the loading bar, which players can read while they're waiting for the chapter to load. This wasn't a common practice with TRR, but they've definitely started it now! Some of the commentary is usual stuff - about gaining advantages through outfits, welcoming you back to Cordonia, etc...but THIS TIME there are tidbits of information given to us as well. And 80% of those involve apples!

Here are a few I managed to catch. One fact on the importance of apples in Cordonian culture, two specifically on the Cordonian Ruby itself including a rare recipe, and two old proverbs (this isn't the only time we've heard apple-related proverbs in the books - in Book 3 for instance, Bertrand refers to their trip to Fydelia as 'slicing two apples with one knife'). Proverbs in general often give us an idea of what people within a region hold up as important, as so connected to their life experiences that they can use those familiar objects as motifs for things that they see in daily life (eg. proverbs in my home state, Kerala, often refer to things/animals we find locally: jasmines, coconuts, jackfruit, dogs, elephants).

The fact that the apple features so often and with such emphasis in the loading page itself - and we have already seen what this simple fruit means to Cordonia - indicates to me that this national symbol - and the idea of the nation itself - will be of great importance. Not only will we be exploring foreign relations, IMO, but we'll also be learning how to build a national narrative that will benefit and strengthen Cordonia.

What's also interesting is that the apple symbolizes fertility to the Cordonian people as well - the apple cutting ceremony during a wedding (as explained by Regina to Leo's fiancée in RoE) is "a symbol of the fruit the tree will bear - you being the tree, of course", and there are chances that the fruit may feature often within the context of pregnancy/having children as well.

• That's all for now, guys. I hope to write more and theorize more as the chapters progress! Until then, I hope you enjoy this one, and I'd love to hear what you have to say.

• I did the Hana screenshots for this chapter, since the first chapter allows me to play repeatedly within losing keys, but I won't be able to do so from Chapter 2 onwards. If there are any Hana fans out there who keep screenshots of scenes in their route and are interested in sharing, I'd love to hear from you and will definitely credit you for the screenshots I put up!

• If you'd like to be tagged in future QTs, please let me know! Tagging @nikkisha16 for now since she asked xD

• Until Saturday, folks!

[hydrus]

Version 446

windows

zip

exe

macOS

app

linux

tar.gz

I had an ok week. The client does not have a huge changelog this week, but the server has a neat privacy improvement.

The PTR is going to be doing a heap of maintenance this week. It will be 'busy' a lot, approximately one hour of busy and then three hours free. Please bear with it, and if you have a million mappings to upload, I recommend you just give it a break and come back later. I am not totally sure how long it will take. Best case it is a day, worst case it might take four or five.

null account

tl;dr: The hydrus server is now even more anon. You don't have to do anything.

As the PTR has moved to multiple accounts, we've had several good discussions about privacy. Separate accounts, despite being anon, could potentially leave a fingerprint of preferences on the server. If the server were to fall into bad hands many years from now, someone could mine those records--maybe mixed with one time you casually said 'yeah, I added that sibling'--and perhaps derive something from it.

There is no technical need to remember which account uploaded what long term, so now all hydrus servers completely anonymise their content after a certain duration, default 90 days. A new non-useable 'null' account takes possession of files, tag mappings, siblings, or parents after the delay, letting the original uploaders be forgotten. Janitors will still have time to work on recent account-based problems, but the historical record works just like the old shared public account: all merged together.

I have updated the privacy document in the help to talk a little about it. As long as you do not tag your own face in pictures or something, I think we are pretty great now, especially if you use a VPN.

https://hydrusnetwork.github.io/hydrus/help/privacy.html#account_history

It will take some time to anonymise the PTR or any other big server, as it has to go through its whole historical record to catch up. Please bear with it.

full list

misc:

fixed a typo bug in the latest pending upload routine when it was cancelled/errors out early

fixed a problem with the new subscription gap downloader, where when the page opens with the first query, it could sometimes assign 'already in db' to items in that query that were actually 'successful'. some other downloaders may have been rarely hit by this, but it was mostly the gap downloader

the client _should_ now support a service host that has path components (e.g. one hosted on a proxy), like myserver.com/hydrus_repo. the port will now be correctly inserted in the address before all requests. hydrus and ipfs both should work, fingers crossed

when an admin modifies the account types, the server now only prints the 'updated account type' log record if there were actual changes

.

downloader UI:

the confusingly named 'file import status' and 'gallery search log' in the downloader system are now renamed 'file log'/'search log'/'check log' for the file import queue, gallery downloader, and watcher respectively. the 'table' bitmap buttons are also replaced with simple easy (and easy to refer to!) label buttons.

when you open the file/search/check logs from the downloader page list right-click menu, they now spawn properly inside regular windows, not modal dialogs (which were inhibiting interaction with the rest of the program while open)

relabelled the awkward 'even if url/hash recognised' checkboxes in file import options. 'do not skip if' becomes 'force download even if', and the text matches that in tag import options for page content. also improved the tooltip on these checkboxes

all of the downloader layout boxes have also been renamed and harmonised with each other. gone are overly technical 'import queue' and 'gallery parsing'. now it is generally 'imports' up top and 'search' or 'checker' etc... below

layouts have also been harmonised a little. the url downloader page now has boxes for file vs search URLs, the hard drive import pause button is moved up as other pages have, and several off-by-a-pixel sizer layouts have been fixed

.

null account:

to further improve server privacy, particularly after the PTR's multiple account switch, all repositories now forget which accounts uploaded which content after a certain age. by default it is 90 days, but you can check in _review services_ once a server updates. this defends against a variety of hypothetical attacks where someone very clever gains access to the raw server database files, maybe years from now, and tries to crawl its anonymous account history for derivable information--now there is no history!

it will take some time to retroactively scrub a huge server like the PTR. for the PTR, it is mostly a relative no-op of moving account ids from the old public shared account to a new 'null' account, but it'll still be about 1.2 billion rows! this happens in the background, so the server will still be useable most of the time, but it will have spikes of 'busy' for about one hour every four (i.e. one hour of mostly busy, three hours of free), probably for several days. it may be a pain to try uploading a bunch of stuff in that time, so if you have a million pending mappings, you might like to just give the PTR a break for a few days. once it has fully caught up, the anonymisation should only be 20-60 seconds of 'busy' a day

the way the anonymisation works is all serverside services now have a single non-useable 'null account' that will take possession of all content after the delay. the original uploader is lost, and the whole historical record is merged together.

the privacy help doc has been updated to talk about the new anonymising system. overall, I think the null account pretty much eliminates the speculative account cross-referencing worries we had, and I am happy

.

admin/janny info:

for admins, all repositories now have an 'anonymisation period' option that you can edit in the service admin menu, defaulting to 90 days (min 1, max 360). you'll also see summary statements in the server logs as updates are anonymised. anonymisation will kick in two minutes after boot, so if you want to change this value immediately on update, get ready and be quick about it!

for jannies who can see accounts, you will see the null account pop up in reference to older content (moreso in future when I expand janny UI and permissions). it being special is highlighted, and various account modifying UI shows it cannot be edited

also for jannies/admins, I had to do some wickity woo to get the null account to work without a network update for everyone. if you try to look at the null account on 445 you may get an error. normal users won't run into this, but there's a kind of 'soft' network version update for you today

next week

The null account took most of my time this week, and I now have several extra little jobs to catch up with. So I'll bash away at that small work, and I'd really like to crack the multiple column lists that keep growing in width.

[brightstarblogs]

Pandora Park AU Part 2

(This is a re write of Pandora Hearts (Jun Mochizuki) with the South Park (Matt stone & Trey Parker) characters, I don’t own any either of these. I hope you enjoy it)

A faint music box melody broke through the darkness that surrounded the huge expanse of water. It disturbed the boy floating a few feet above the water surface. He turned his head towards where he had heard the source of the music and listened intently, it seemed very familiar to him but he couldn’t recall where. 

“What a familiar melody. Is it calling me?” the boy uttered as he put the soles of his shoes to the surface of the water and began walking towards the source of the music. He knew it would lead him somewhere important.

Tweek entered the room to greet his guests. Immediately he spotted the back of Uncle Thomas ginger hair and jogged over to him. “Unc-” He stopped when he noticed that his uncle was not alone. Talking to him was a young girl with long black hair wearing a beautiful purple dress and yellow dress shoes.

“Ahh, Tweek, sorry I didn’t see you. Let me introduce you to someone. This is the grand-daughter of duchess Testaburger, Lady Wendy Testaburger.” Tweek suddenly became very shy. He was used to talking to Mrs Red and his little sister Heidi, but with other girls he would instantly freeze. 

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir Tweek.” “Gahhh, yes, err, will you be attending the party as well?” Wendy shock her head “No, my mother is the one who should be here, but because she fell ill yesterday as her daughter, I have come on her behalf to apologize for her absence. I do wish I could attended in her place but I have yet to turn 15.”

Tweek was shocked when he heard that Wendy was younger than him, she seemed like she was at least as old as him, her speech was so much more sophisticated than his own. Tweek then saw his sister next to his Uncle, she was pouting. 

“Heidi sulking as she can’t attend the party either.” Thomas said, chuckling a little. Wendy smiled at Heidi before she turned back to Tweek “Sir Tweek, I shall be 15 in two years’ time, please do dance with me then.”

Tweek really wondered how he should respond “what would Clyde do in this situation, he’s so much better at talking to girls then me.” with a vague idea of what to say, Tweek blurted out the first thing that came into him head. “S-Sure thing babe.” Tweek instantly regretted his decision. Thomas just face palmed. Fortunately Wendy just smiled and laughed a little thinking it was just a joke 

“Well, since the party is about to begin I regret to say I must take my leave for today. Congratulations on your 15 birthday from the bottom of my heart, Sir Tweek.” As she grabbed his hand Tweek’s blush grew a shade darker “Gah..” “From this day forward, you will have the right to attend society functions so many people will approach you. Some will do so because of your enormous wealth, others to benefit from the unknown powers of a dukedom.” Wendy’s face turned serious “And everybody will see your father in you.” 

Thomas at that moment tried to interrupt the conversation as he knew how uncomfortable Tweek’s father made Tweek feel, but Wendy continued with a smile on her face “so, please do not forget those who have always stood by your side and supported you.” She let go of Tweek’s hand and turned to leave “if you do not fail to keep them in mind you shall never lose yourself.”

Wendy walked towards the door and nodded to the man standing there who nodded back. This man stared at Tweek, his black hair covering his left eye. Tweek was a little confused as to why this man had a small towel with eyes on his shoulder and wearing a red puff ball hat inside, but he was more drawn aback to the colour of his right eye. It was the deepest blue he’d ever seen, it looked as if it was glowing. The man bowed his head to Tweek before leaving with Wendy.

Tweek turned around to his uncle who had a worried face. “Uncle remind me to nugh never use one of Clyde’s chat up lines again.” Thomas face tuned into a huge smile “I’m more concerned you need to be told that in the first place, seriously what were you thinking.” “I panicked, it just slipped out!” Thomas calmed a little before holding his hand out “Anyway, it’s time Tweek, Lets go.” Tweek nervously smiled before taking his uncle’s hand. The ceremony was starting.

Wendy looked over at her servant as there carriage headed back to the Testaburger estate. “Tweek Tweak, What did you think of him?” Her servant smiled “Well, He’s the type of baby face boy that suites your tastes, my lady, so you two are well matched.” He smirked into his sleeve. “What are you talking about” Wendy then realised she’d just gotten too worked up due to his teasing and cleared he throat before she continued. “as successor to the Tweak house, his fate is to eventually come over to our side, so you may very well end up being more involved with him then I.” “Yes that does seem to be most likely!” the man laughed again, still enjoying his previous joke.

Just then he looked up into the sky “Oh dear” “Yes?” “It’s begun to rain. Perhaps this will turn out to be a storm?”

Tweek kneeled before his uncle in the ceremony hall. Thomas put the sword on both his shoulders before continuing on with the ceremony, Tweek trying his best not to shake to hard as he normally would as he didn’t want to accidently cause his uncle to stab him. “With this baptismal sword the impurities in thy flesh have been expunged.” Thomas then motioned his head to signal Tweek to go to the clock tower at the end of the hall.

Tweek got up and started to walk, hearing only his heartbeat and the faint ticking of the pocket watch. He had yet to ask his uncle about it, but he had more important stuff on his mind. “The ‘clock tower of silence’. If I state my vows before it this nightmare of a ceremony will be over.” 

Tweek then saw as he got to the top of the a familiar face wearing the robes he’d given him a few hours earlier. The smiling face of Clyde calmed nerves that had been telling Tweek to run. “I’m so glad he came!”

“Are you in complete control of that black haired brat Dos?” “I’m using Duldum to manipulate him. We need him to open up a ‘Path’.” “Make sure Duldum doesn’t go berserk.” “I told you, I have it under control!” 

“Before the ancient clock that ceased ticking 100 years ago, the actor is taking the stage referenced in the prophecies.” “Now, Let the countdown begin!”

Tweek kneeled before the clock and recited his vows. “Until the day when Gah the crimson heartbeat of this body falls silent, I shall continue to protect the name and pride of Tweak. This I now vow upon this land and my friends.”

DONG!

The clock suddenly rang out for all to hear. Everyone was stunned. The clock was broken, and was never meant to ring again. 

“When the one whom we await descends upon the promised land the bell will toll and break the silence. There is no mistake, he is THE ONE!!!”

Tweek didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t supposed to happen “I knew this was a bad idea, It’s way too much pressure for me. Why do I always have to mess things up.” He looked at Thomas for help but for some reason the entire room was now vacant. He then heard a voice, one he had heard earlier that day.

“A ‘Path’ is about to open up.” Tweek looked behind him to see a boy, a boy wearing a blue chullo and blue frock coat. the same boy who has strangled him after he touched the pocket watch. “I came because the melody lured me here, and I can smell the crimson reapers.” Tweek didn’t know why the boy was here, or what he was talking about, he could only stare in shock. “They’re coming.” the boy smirked before disappearing again.

Suddenly Tweek was surrounded by multiple people all wearing red capes.

Tweek was about to run when someone’s arm went around his neck, causing him to fall back and lose his footing. He looked up to see Clyde. His face had an expression Tweek had never seen him wear, no hint of good was in that smile. 

One of the hooded figure spoke “The one for whom we have been waiting has appeared, and the bell has tolled. The next thing we must do is…” Tweek was then stabbed in the chest by Clyde. Tweek stayed frozen, all he could do was stare at his chest, unable to comprehend what was happening. The hooded figure continued “The blade of a friend glitters crimson and the drops carve a path to the distant place. Now then, shall we move on to the judgement!?”

Tweek could hear Clyde behind him, slowly his laughing was becoming louder and his voice becoming more distorted “Your blood is different from that of other humans, it smells delicious..” Tweek only had one thing going through his mind “I DON’T UNDERSTAND, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON!?” “I want to see MORE OF IT!!!” Clyde was now laughing uncontrollably as he raised his knife again and this time aimed for his eye.

Tweek shut his eyes to brace for the impact, but it never came. He opened his eyes to see that Clyde had been thrown across the room. The red caped figures had moved back and were looking above him. “And here I was just going to sit back and watch…”

Tweek saw a gloved hand touch his cheek and as it moved away it morphed into a huge claw. He turned round and saw the scariest site he’d seen all day.

A giant all black Guinea Pig with a blue chullo hat and frock coat was staring at him, a huge survival knife was in its right hand. This monsters spoke to Tweek “You’re really pathetic, aren’t you kid.” 

One of the hooded people spoke to the monster “Do you intend to interfere again? You Bloody Black Guinea Pig!!” The monster was now a human boy again. Standing behind Tweek he smirked putting his right foot on Tweeks shoulder, using him as a foot rest while he spoke. “How could you say that? I stopped that brat over there who went berserk.” Tweek looked to see Clyde, he was still breating but looked a little worse for wear. The boy above him continued his talk with the hooded figures. “This boy here is mine. Don’t you dare lay a hand on him, reapers.”

Tweek looked up and in the smallest voice he uttered “I’m….yours?” The boy looked down at him with his emotionless eyes before whispering so only Tweek could here “I made up my mind just now, hold your tongue.” The boy then looked back up to the others “If you’re going to kill him, I’ll do everything in my power to stop you.” The boy now put his arms around Tweek, embracing him tightly. Despite the situation he was in, Tweek was incredibly embarrassed and a light blush started to form, he wasn’t used to having his personal spaced invaded like this. “I won’t allow you to take what belongs to me.” His smirk crept back onto his face “but you don’t want to kill him, do you?”

At this point Clyde began to stir and had sat up, holding his head. He was back to normal now that the being that had possessed his body was gone. The boy that was hugging Tweek let go and also turned back into a monster, his voice now sounding more gruff “you lot are here to drop this kid into the Abyss, aren’t you?”

Tweek and Clyde looked horrified as they both remembered what Clyde had told Heidi earlier that day. “They say that a messenger from the Abyss visits those who have committed deadly sins, and takes them away to a terribly frightening place.” 

Tweek yelled at hard as he could “THIS HAS TO BE A TRICK! THAT’S ONLY A LEAGEND!” The monster behind him started to laugh. “Is that right. This kid’s coming to our side? What a joyous moment.” The monster was now firing chains with spikes on the ends at the figures. The figures were having a hard time dodging them. The monster was no longer talking as it entered battle mode.

Whilst it was distracted Clyde grabbed the cloak of the leader of the figures, Tweek saw this and called out to him “CLYDE!” Clyde didn’t acknowledge him as he started speaking to the leader. “Just what are you accusing young master of having done? THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON FOR YOU TO TAKE HIM AWAY!”

Tweek then saw the leader holding a sword and tried to warn Clyde “STOP IT CLYDE! HURRY UP AND GET AWAY!” but as the lightning and thunder struck Tweek’s plea fell on unheard ears. In the light of the flash, Clyde saw the face of the leader. Noticing this, the leader pulled his hood down more. Clyde looked shocked “You…are…” 

Tweek, desperate to help his friend saw the sword used in the ceremony on the floor and grabbed it. He leapt to his feet and ran toward the leader. He charged screaming “GET AWAY FROM CLYDE!” 

Clyde then did something that Tweek didn’t see in his blind rage, he protected the leader. “No young master, you mustn’t. This person is-!”

Tweek slashed Clyde across the chest.

Tweek looked up, snapping out of his rage, to see crimson splash onto Clyde’s clothes as Clyde fell to the ground. He wasn’t moving.

Tweek’s blood went ice cold and he shock the likes he never had before. “Cl….yde……w…wh…why…” Tweek dropped the sword and put his hands to his head. His mind was a wreck. “I…I….I..killed him..” Tweek made the most primal scream he could muster in his grief. Even the monster stopped fighting and a small hint of sadness went across its face.

Using this moment to his advantage, the leader cut the monster with his sword. The monster slowly began to fade. “Leave now, ghost of the Abyss.” The monster raised its middle finger to the leader as a sign of annoyance before shifting back to its human form.

The boy hugged the back of Tweek as he vanished, a small smile on his face “I’ll be waiting for you to come to our side. I’ve finally found my key..” and with that the boy completely disappeared.

Tweek felt broken and in no fit state to fight back when the hooded figures grabbed him. The leader spoke once more “Tweek Tweak. With my chain of condemnation I hereby pronounce judgment on you.”

“YOUR SIN IS YOUR VERY BEING!”

Tweek looked up to see a huge black winged bird. “Black wings are dragging me in.” Chains appeared all over Tweek’s body and pulled him down. His vision started to go black and he passed out….

To be continued…

Hey guys. Thank you so much for reading part 2. I hope you all enjoyed it. Apologies it’s a little late but I’ve been really busy this week. Also the amount of times I had to rewrite bits because the page refreshed was beyond annoying. Hopefully it won’t happen to much with part 3. As normal please feel free to ask me any questions and point out any errors that I may have missed. Hope you all have a pleasant day.

[inkuisitivskins]

As if I Deserve You

Fanfic prompts

2. “You love me as if I deserve you.”

@gardengeisha

Ok so I’ll admit it took a little plotting out to get a good idea for this one! I had never read or written any fic about this ship (though I do like it!) and I also haven’t ever written Riza save for tiny cameos in things, so I’m still a little nervous about if I got her in-character enough. Like, I love Riza, but there’s a reason I’ve only written Livmiles? If I was going to write something with her, it would be Royai, but even then, the fact still remains that I feel like I don’t know her as well as I should xD It’s kind of pitiful and funny at the same time that I’m worried about her being in character rather than Liv considering Liv is the one with less screen time and character development lmao. Still, if I didn’t and Riza’s ooc at all, I really apologize ;;;;

I was super excited for this ask though, because I’ve been wanting to try new ships like this :D So thank you so much for the ask and I hope you like it! I just decided on the idea of them falling in love rather than them already being together at the beginning of the fic, because I wanted to explore how their relationship would have started. It’s canon that Olivier likes Riza (and Havoc, for some reason haha) when she mentions that she doesn’t care about what happens to Roy, so I decided to use that. Also, enjoy Roy being annoying haha

As if I Deserve You on Ao3

She watched the general from her bench in silence. While joint training sessions had been held between the Eastern Command and Briggs troops before, this was the first that she had been present for. In times past, the colonel would have her stay in the office with him, and they would work on paperwork-- however, Roy had requested to participate in the training exercises this year, and naturally, he brought his adjutant with him.

Riza sipped her water as she awaited Roy’s call to fall in beside him. The East soldiers milled about around her, resting for a few minutes before the exercise would begin. Some talked amongst themselves, while others did the same as her; watching the Briggs men in silent awe. The Briggs general gave her soldiers only a few brief moments of rest between drills. The actual joint exercises had not even started yet, Riza noted; she was making her soldiers practice even before then. She didn’t even let them sit down during their short rests; she’d keep them in formation, at ease, allowing them to get a drink only if they requested permission prior. Even then, she would timethem as they ran off, quenched their thirst, and ran back to her, before saluting and requesting to rejoin the platoon. The Eastern Command soldiers around her would mutter to themselves about how iron-hard of a fist the female general ruled with, how scary she was-- Riza even heard one man say under his breath that he was glad he wasn’t under her command, calling her a derogatory name in addition. The first lieutenant shot him a nasty look, causing him to shut up, warning him about the need to respect higher-up officers. Though, in the moment, she couldn’t help the way her own thoughts contradicted those of her peers-- she wasn’t sure what they had been watching, but what she had seen was an excellent display of one of the highest forms of military prowess. Not one Briggs soldier rolled their eyes, sighed, or pulled a face when their leader would shout an order. They moved as one body, their form impeccable, and intimidating. Just through their actions, she could tell how deeply their respect for their commander was. It was admirable, and Riza could not take her eyes off of the impressive display. Not only from the Briggs soldiers, but, primarily, their general. Looking the whole part of a high-up military commander, one step below a potential spot in the Fuhrer’s cabinet, the highest-ranked woman in the military-- she was obviously very stoic, and fearsome, and regal .   The Eastern soldier was so distracted, she didn’t even notice her commanding officer step up beside the bench she was sitting on. “Lieutenant, are you about ready to start?” Roy asked, slightly startling her. Inwardly, she cursed herself for dropping her guard; something she always prided herself in holding strong. She looked up at him, “I’m sorry, sir, what was that?” “I’m just going to do a quick inspection before we join our platoons, since the actual competitive drills are later, if you wanted to go ahead and join me. Armstrong wanted us to do a few combined ones before then, and I don’t want us to get embarrassed if our men are looking shabby compared to hers,” He smiled amusedly to himself. “Though, I don’t think there's’ any topping that form of theirs, huh?” “No, sir,” Riza replied simply, stealing one last glance at the general as she yelled at her men, as authoritative commanding as a superior officer could seemingly get.   Roy followed her gaze, a small smile creeping up onto his features, “You haven’t been properly introduced yet. Let’s go say hello.” “That won’t be necessary, Colonel,” the blonde said, a little too quickly; solidifying Roy’s hypothesis. “I insist, Lieutenant. She’s a peach,” he spoke, his inflection sarcastic and playful as he started towards the Briggs soldiers. Hesitantly, yet over-obedient, Riza stood, following her commanding officer. “Olivier,” the colonel greeted once within earshot. The general, from behind, seemed to flinch at the sound of his voice, slowly turning to glance at him with one of the most sour expressions that Riza had ever seen; one to rival her own, in fact. He saluted her once she turned, Riza reflecting his gesture out of protocol and respect to a higher officer. “What do you want?” Olivier scowled back at him. “I’m busy.” “Just wanted to introduce you to my adjutant, General,” he smiled, lowering his salute. “We three will be working closely with one another, I thought it best to go ahead and have our introductions.” Olivier’s gaze flicked over to Riza, and the lieutenant immediately knew where she got her infamous name-- the Ice Queen. Her blue eyes were cold; the color a frozen-over lake, the ice thin, revealing the hue beneath. “This is First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, sharpest shooter you’ll ever find,” his dark eyes darted between the two blonde women. “Lieutenant, Major General Olivier Armstrong.” “It’s nice to finally meet you, ma’am,” She greeted the general, retaining her typical stoicism. Olivier gave her a small nod in greeting, Riza noticing her anger dissipate for a moment, before shortly returning upon her looking back unto Roy. “I don’t ever want my first name to come out of your filthy mouth again, Mustang. Now, you had better rally up your men, or mine are starting without yours,” she scowled, spinning back around and calling an order, slightly more forceful than she had been before. Roy spun as well, heading back over to the East soldiers, Riza in tow, unaware of his smirk. “If I didn’t know any better, sir, I’d say you knew the general beyond simply being officer comrades,” She offered carefully, walking slightly behind him, to his right, attempting to read his expression from the back of his head. “Chris has known the Armstrong family for longer than I’ve been alive,” Roy responded without turning back to her as he referenced his aunt. “I mean, she knows everyone , so that’s not too big of a surprise, but the general and I have at least been acquainted for quite some time.” He stopped, allowing Riza a moment to take her place beside him, “It doesn’t seem like she likes you at all, sir.” “She doesn’t,” he chuckled nervously, before smiling gently to himself. “Seems like she likes you, though.” “Excuse me?” “She hardly lets anyone call her ‘ma’am’.” Riza blinked, brown eyes widening slightly, “Was I not supposed to?” Ignoring her, Roy called the East soldiers to fall in in front of him, beginning their inspection, leading into their training.

It was later on, during their lunch break, when Riza finally got a moment to speak with the general. They sat at their own table, away from the other officers; and, miraculously, it had been Olivier who approached her , asking if she could sit with her. The lieutenant was unsure about if it was because she had been alone at her own table, Roy having a conversation with someone else back in the mess line, or what. Frankly, she was appreciative of the company, even if Olivier had remained silent, eyes downturned to her food, for the first ten minutes of them sitting together. It was the first lieutenant who struck up a conversation, complementing the major general on how well-behaved her soldiers were. Olivier’s response was short, and polite, but very obviously guarded. Wanting her to feel more comfortable, Riza continued talking with her, and while the conversation was rather one-sided at the start, the Briggs soldier gradually opened up somewhat, the Eastern sniper noticed. She knew the general wasn’t quiet out of shyness; she was typically an excellent judge in character, and she could tell that the other blonde was just calm, and calculating. Before she knew it, their break was over, and their conversation had to stop. However, that was not the end.

Over the course of the East-Briggs joint training session, they timidly grew closer. Riza noticed that her and Olivier could relate on many occasions; probably something the general had never found in someone else before, she guessed. While Riza had experienced discrimination in the military, once she got to know the other woman, she learned how much she had also endured. Olivier, on the other hand, was in Ishval before the Civil War began, only sent to police the area during initial conflicts, but before the fatal shooting of the Ishvalan child, so she was not in the active, brutal combat-- while Riza, however, was in the thick of it. Now matter how much she wished to forget about it, that fact always returned to her. However, having someone else who understood hardship throughout multiple complex layers of her career, Riza was comforted somewhat. The admiration she watched the general with soon evolved into something more than career-oriented respect. It was a sinking pit in her chest, the stray flutter of a heartbeat; unexplained. This was foreign to her; she’d like to consider her a friend, though none of her other female friends ever evoked such feelings within her. She didn’t know what was wrong. The sinking feeling only grew worse once Olivier had to leave, bringing her men back up to their snowy fortress to further defend their northern border. Their farewell short, Olivier having been rather rancorous due to Roy being present during their goodbyes, which resulted in Riza being unable to say something about it. That, plus she was afraid. Above all else, she respected Olivier, and did wish to harm the initially unsteady friendship that had developed between them. Not to mention, the latter was her superior officer-- not directly, of course, but she was still Olivier’s subordinate in a sense. It was illegal. Still, a few months after Olivier’s departure, Riza found it in herself to send a letter, trying to drop hints. She was not expecting anything to come of it but her own closure for getting her feelings off her chest in the most subtle way and wording she thought possible. If anything, she wanted to keep their friendship alive. What she did not expect was the eagerness on the general’s part to continue their correspondence. Also a very subtle show emotion, of course, for they were similar in that way. She knew the fact that Olivier returned her letters at all already showed that she very much cared to remain friends. And Riza would gladly take that.

Several months into their letter exchange, Roy’s team was transferred to Central. Being adaptable, the change was rather easy on Riza, yet their was a hiccup in their conversations due to the address change. Though she knew it wasn’t either of their faults, the doubt slowly began to creep in; a new letter should be here by now, perhaps Olivier did not wish to speak with her any longer. Had the first lieutenant changed for the worse? She was getting more engrossed in her work, and the distance between her and her friend was a difficult burden to bear, after having grown so close to her just through written correspondence alone. However, just as she had always told herself, she would respect Olivier’s boundaries, if that were the case. As her hopes slowly faded, she finally received a letter to her new address; Olivier confiding in her the fact that she was soon being forced to travel to Central for a meeting. Riza couldn’t help but feel a rare pang of delight in her stomach as her brown eyes scanned the beautiful calligraphy of the northern general.

During Olivier’s visit to Riza’s apartment, she had to hold back her excitement. The Briggs soldier sat down on her couch, glancing curiously around the lieutenant’s living area, “Simple, I like it.” “Thank you,” Riza smiled gently, skillfully stomaching her nervousness. “I’m so glad you’re here, it’s great to see you again.” For the first time she had seen, Olivier returned the smile. It was a very small expression, but present nonetheless, “I’m happy to see you, too. Sure beats having to wait for the post to get letters back and forth.” Nodding gently, Riza offered her a drink, to which Olivier happily agreed to. As she began making the general’s coffee, she continued, “How are things at Briggs?” Olivier’s sigh granted her a glance from the other woman, “Fine. The weather hasn’t been in pleasant, so the mail is only just now fixing itself. I’m glad you got my most recent letter, but I’m sorry you missed some of the others.” “Not your fault,” Riza mustered up a pleasant tone. “Did I miss anything important?” Olivier shook her head, though Riza had her back turned as she prepared her drink, “Nothing, just checking in. I wanted to make sure you were settling in alright, but I suppose the weather plus the whole moving situation didn’t really mix well. I hope the move wasn’t hard on you, and everything went smoothly.” This brought a gentle smile to Riza’s lips, “I’m very thankful I have a friend like you, Olivier.” She avoided telling her how kind she was, just to avoid the unavoidable contradiction from her. She knew Olivier had a heart beneath the ice, thought that ice was what kept her and her men safe and strong up in one of Amestris’s most dangerous and dangerously unpredictable regions. “Don’t mention it,” Olivier shrugged lightheartedly. “No, really,” Riza turned back to her, the mug held delicately in her hands as she carefully made her way to the couch. Olivier reached out to take the coffee, gingerly taking it from the lieutenant, their fingers lightly brushing against one another. Upon noticing that the other woman had paused, staring at her, Olivier looked back up into Riza’s brown eyes, her own gaze inquisitive and questioning. 

Riza breathed in deeply, fully unaware of what she was about to say. She wanted the other woman to know how much she had grown to care about her, and how much she appreciated her friendship-- a side she knew was seldom witnessed among the Briggs soldiers. “You’ve been so kind to me, and I feel like you shouldn’t. You love me as if I deserve you.” In an attempt to soothe the general’s somewhat surprised expression, Riza gave a lighthearted laugh, trying to ease the seriousness of what she just said. That probaby wasn't the best word choice she could've used, and all at once, she feared that she had given away her feelings. “What makes you say that?” The question caused Riza to falter. She did love Olivier, and while she didn’t believe she reciprocated, she had meant platonic love, in this specific instance. “I just… Sometimes, I don’t feel like I deserve to have friends. I’ve done so many horrible things, so I suppose whenever something good comes into my life, I latch onto it,” Brown eyes turned to the carpet in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. Is the coffee okay?” Though she tried to change the subject, Olivier continued looking up at her for a moment, before carefully setting the mug down in front of her, “You don’t think I’ve done horrible things, too?” Riza was silent. " You’ve been the closest friend I’ve had in a very long time, Riza,” it was her turn to glance away. “My whole life, I’ve been used to maintaining these walls I’ve set up around me. We’ve both done many things we aren’t proud of, but we’ll pay for them in due time, when the opportunities present themselves. You may think you’re not deserving of me, but I feel the same way.” She stood, the two women now eye-to-eye, thanks to their similar height. “We both deserve to be happy in the moment. I tend to pride myself in the fact that I read people rather well, Riza, and forgive me if I’m somehow mistaken in thinking you’d agree, but,” her eyes searched hers, and while her voice was level and calm, Riza detected a flash of nervousness in her gaze. “I’d like to be more than friends. I feel comfortable around you, and you’re one of the few people who actually make me happy. When I read your letters, even though you weren’t at Briggs with me, I felt like I wasn’t alone. My men respect me, yes, but we’re still fundamentally different than one another. I never fit in with the crowd, but you make me feel as if I’m not an outlier or some sort of black sheep.” The Eastern soldier stood in stunned silence for a moment, causing the general to continue, her tone wavering with uncertainty, “If not, I understand.” A wave of relief washed over Riza all at once, and she involuntarily let out a sigh, wholly surprised. She honestly hadn’t expected this, “I can’t believe you feel the same way.” Olivier offered her a small comforting smile, Riza unable to read the other blonde’s own hidden surprise. The Briggs officer tensed nervously the moment the lieutenant gently wrapped her arms around her in a hug. “Thank you, Olivier,” she spoke softly. Olivier returned her embrace, the gesture somewhat awkward since the general wasn’t a very touchy person, though Riza was aware, so didn’t mind in the slightest, “For what?” “Everything,” Riza smiled to herself. “I’m just so happy, I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. I’ve felt this way for so long, but I was so afraid…” “I understand,” The other woman replied. “I’m sorry if I worried you.” Riza shook her head as she held her, a soft laugh coming forth, “I had no idea you felt this way. I was always so nervous about giving myself away somehow.” “That’s just after a lifetime’s worth of practice in hiding,” Olivier smiled to herself. “Though you’re very good at it, too. I had a feeling in the back of my mind for so long, but I never wanted to bring it up, just in case I was wrong. I didn’t want to drive you away.” The Eastern soldier’s head shook gently again. She embraced her a little tighter, wanting to be affectionate due to her overwhelming relief-borne happiness, though all while respecting Olivier’s uneasy space. Finally, she spoke once more;

“All that matters now is that we’re together. You were worth the wait.”

Once again, I hope you enjoyed! I really like seeing Olivier in all sorts of different ships, so this was really interesting for me to try :D

[nightglider124]

Baby girl

Sup, m’lovely!

Oh-ho-ho… a breakdown?

Absolutely. Actually, chopping it up into an organised answer with paragraphs might help me with my own process. Planning can be such a headache and it only gets worse if everything is a mess and a half.

Ahem.

Please stand by for a long ass but hopefully helpful post.

Physical Planning

By this I mean, when you actually use a pen and paper to bullet point and jot down your idea; whether it be a basic, rough draft or a deeply descriptive plan. But, it’s that very first step after an idea pops into your mind.

When inspiration knocks. Answer the damn door, you fool. Don’t tell yourself, “Oh, I’ll write it down later. I’m sure I’ll remember.” Spoiler! You won’t. I am fairly certain I am not alone when you tell yourself that and merely minutes after, it’s gone without a single trace. Then, you’re left with that pointless frustration at yourself for not remembering and it sucks. So, to combat that, always write an idea down straight away. Whether it’s on paper, a napkin, a sweet wrapper, your hand; it doesn’t matter. Just get the brief idea down somewhere to jog your memory later on when you go to write it up as a proper idea. With this, smartphones can be your best friend because the universal ‘Notes’ feaure that most of them have can come in real handy for this. Have an idea? Note it down in your phone to reference later on. Main point here is, get your idea down somewhere. You’ll kick yourself if you don’t.

Label your ideas. You don’t have to have a solid, concrete title for your story which means you also don’t have to definitively label your quickly written idea. Use a keyword that has some meaning to your idea. If it’s about… watching a sunset for example, just call it, ‘Sunset’ for the time being. This is just another way to keep things a little more set out and organised. It just really helps to label them so you don’t get confused over what you wrote. Many times have I written an idea on a scrap piece of paper at school or work, shoved it in my pocket and pulled it out when I got home, forgetting what it is and seeing no title so I’ve ended up chucking it in the bin. Labels are your pals. Embrace labelling your ideas. 

Keep them separate. It’s just good common sense to keep multiple ideas serparated from each other. Don’t note down a bunch of things about one idea on the same paper as another because odds are, ya’ll gon’ get confused as fuck. Also, it doesn’t hurt to write them in different coloured pen so you know they have nothing to do with each other. Keeping ideas apart is just yet another way of ensuring you are being as organised as you can for your own sake. Messy ideas and confusion are not the ones. 

Write them out properly. So, you’ve got your McDonalds napkin with your idea on it stuffed in your pocket and you’ve just got home. Time to write out on a fresh, normal piece of paper. You don’t have to do this but I prefer to have fresh versions as my phusocal copies of plans rather than whatever shred I wrote it down on in my moment of inspiration. This way, you can pinpoint more parts of your idea and expand and add details and make it more than just a passing thought. This is when you can write it up as an actual plan. 

Keep them neat & tidy. Guys, you’ve worked hard to make up your written draft; the least you could do is keep it nice and tidy. Don’t crumple it, don’t put holes in it, don’t let anything spill on it, don’t let it get ripped. Keep it clean. I recommend using plastic wallets as this is what I do. I pop my paper plans in a plastic wallet and then place a sticky label on the front of the wallet, again, so I am aware of which idea is which. Keeping your written ideas in a wallet will keep them fresh, clean and smooth. Perfect for when you want to go back and read over it or write it up elsewhere but I’ll get to that.

Keep them in a folder. Folders and organisational objects are a godsend. I don’t know why you wouldn’t store ideas in a folder of some description. Mine is red and actually one I used in high school for English class but now it stores any and all, properly labelled, story ideas. Have a gander.

There are original and fanfic story ideas in there so it’s a good little thing to have on hand if you’re trying to be focused and organised. It just keeps everything in it’s place which makes it so much easier for you. Life, for real, save yourself a headache and get yourself a folder. It helps a lot.

Keep them in a notebook. If you don’t like the idea of having a big ol’ bulky folder sitting on your desk or whatever, opt for a notebook that you just keep close to hand. Notebooks are wonderful and can act as both your initial scrap orrr you can write pages and pages of plans. They’re flexible. I use notebooks all the dang time. I keep them in the drawer beside my bed usually so that if I wake up with an idea or something; bam! There’s my notebook. Seriously. I have like 5 active notebooks that I just grab.

See? 

The Harley Quinn one is probably my most frequently used. I love my notebooks and they can be a good alternative to a big folder. But, they can also be great as material for initial ideas. Personally, I will get an idea and grab one of these babies and go to town, writing my ideas and plot points and what I want to create. After, I’ll tear the pages out and staple them together. Then, I’ll tuck them into a plastic wallet and pop that in my red idea folder. It’ll stay in there until later when I have the time to sit at a computer and write it up. Don’t know notebooks. They’re fabulous.

Store the notebook or folder safely. The whole reason you’re writing in a notebook or storing them in a folder is for safekeeping. Don’t ruin that hard work by leaving your stuff around to be thrown out or lost. Pop it in a place that you remember and is some place you look at all the time. Personally, I keep my folder in the drawer beneath my bed so that it’s within reaching distance when I get the urge to write up and/or expand on ideas. I mean, maybe I’m a little on the crazy side but I love things being organised; especially my ideas and stories. There are so many damn ideas; I need to lock them up somewhere other than in my head.

Digital Planning

This is definitely a personal choice but I deeply believe it’s better to have a digital version of plans for quick referencing, rather than shuffling through papers in order to write up a story. 

Now, say you’ve got three story ideas written down on paper. They’re safely stored and tucked away but you want to transfer them onto your laptop.

Word is your friend. It really is and so much better since the olden days with that godforsaken paperclip who always tried to help but was absolutely rubbish. I use Microsoft Word to write out any and all plans and chapters and oneshots. I sometimes use Zenwriter which is a cool and fairly cheap program out there which really aids a writer in forgetting the outside world and focusing on what they’re writing. Unlike Word, Zenwriter gives no distractions. As it is full screen software, it hides any buttons or toolbars for you to do a random Google search about why they’re called socks and not foot gloves. I recommend Zenwriter to all writers. It’s great they do a free trial, I believe so I’d defo tell people to give it a go at the very least.

Anyways, you have three physically written ideas. Get three Word documents open and transfer your papers ideas to each document. This is going somewhere. I promise.

Save each idea as something memorable. Labels, labels and more labels. Just like the paper version, you don’t need to have a concrete title in mind for the story idea yet. But, I usually title my plans as followed, ‘Title - Plan’. Simple yet effective. You can’t just save the file as a bunch of random numbers and letters. If you do that, there’s no point as you’ll most likely forget and lose it, not realising it is right in front of you because you’ve titled it something random.

If you’re organising plans for fanficition in particular, I would also put into a title if it’s an AU story. I do. A normal universe plan will be, ‘Title - Plan’ whereas an aulterante universe story plan will read like, ‘AU - Title - Plan’. Just little things to help yourself out is all it is, really.

Save all files in one location on your computer. So, you’ve copied your 3 paper written ideas to 3 separate Word documents and are in the process of saving them under appropriate titles. Where do you save them? Documents? Pictures? Music?

Personally, I keep everything to do with writing in a folder, accurately titled, ‘~Stories~’. This contains literally everything. Plans, stories; everything to do with writing is in this folder. This folder is also kept within Documents; a local and familiar section of Windows explorer. Please see below:

Good. As I said, for the moment, we’re just keeping all 3 ideas together so that we don’t lose track or anything. Of course, you could title your main folder as something else but this is how I label my folders.

Be extra and sort them out. You’ve got all 3 documents in your ‘Stories’ folder and you’re that much closer to being an organised genius. You’re not yet finished, however. Once inside of my ‘Stories’ folder, I have 8 folders. I know; you’re probably convinced I’m too into this organising thing but it helps me so, points for Night.

Let’s analyse my folders, shall we?

Counting The Days - Pretty obvious, no? Because I have big plans for this series and I plan more than one story and because it’s my long-time story baby, it gets its own folder. I’m still in the process of cleaning some of these folders up by the way guys so, it does take some time and a lot of patience. Just as a heads up. Anyway, this folder will eventually be moved to that, ‘TT - Stories’ folder which we’ll come back to shortly.

Other - Anything that I’m not sure where to put so it goes in this folder so think of… a miscellaneous folder. Any random bits that you know are connected to stories somehow would go into this one. 

Prompts - These vary to meme types on Tumblr to requested ideas. This folder is literally for any written thing telling me some little ideas to inspire more or to simply give me something to write.

TT - This folder is actually a Night folder. It’s literally a Teen Titans folder full of comic panels, episodes, clips, screen grabs, fan videos etc. It is literally a content folder. This acts as an inspiration folder. It helps me get into the right mind-set to write about my fave hero dorks. This is very, very helpful for me and like I said, you don’t have to make this kind of folder but it’s a nice aid.

TT - Oneshots - This folder is for completed oneshots that have been posted online.

TT - Plans - This folder is where I keep all the story plans.

TT - Stories - This folder is where I store all finished stories that I have written through the years. Inside this folder, there is a folder for each story I have written with all chapters in the correctly labelled folder. 

Writing Help - This folder has pointers for polishing my writing skills. It’s full of piece about grammar and spelling and all that jazz. Very helpful.

Yet more folders. We’ve reached this part; you’re spoilt for choice on the golder front. You’ve got 3 separate ideas. saved under good, memorable titles and inside of your ‘Stories’ folder. You would then drag them all inside of the folder labelled, ‘Plans’ or whatever you decide to title it. I’m a stickler for a range of folders. So, inside my ‘TT - Plans’ folder, there are 4 folders. Again, I’m splitting these up a lot because that’s just how I am but you don’t need to if you don’t want to. Organising stories and plans is completely up to the individual. This is just a guide and reflection of what I personally do.

Here comes the analysis train again.

Additional for ANY plans - So this folder is for any additional documents I’ve written up that help and support my plans for specific stories as in character bios or big events that need to happen or anything like that. This folder goes for all plans; active or not.

Plans - ACTIVE - This folder is for story plans that I am currently focusing on and have a real focus on for the future. They are plans I know 100% that I will turn into a story.

Plans - COMPLETE - This folder is for plans of stories that I have already finished writing. Not necessarily needed but I like to keep them because I’m just a hoarder to be honest. 

Plans - STORAGE - This folder is for plans that I don’t really know if I’m ever going to bother going further with but also plans that I can’t quite part with yet; just in case I get the urge to pursue and expand on some of them. There are some plans that you look back on and think ugh god no’ not doing that and you just delete them but there are a few that remain in the grey are so instead of chucking them or forcing yourself to complete them; make a storage folder. You can always go back to these if you run out of active ideas anyway.

So, this is where you can deviate to how you like but I think having about 3 folders like this really helps you to differentiate between all your wonderful ideas. Then, all you have to do is move your 3 documented files into whichever folders you like.

It’s completely optional for you guys to write up plans like this. As in, it’s up to you whether or not you want to do both a paper version and digital version. I like to simply because I’m extra. I find it really helpful to have a digital version but I keep the paper versions too as backup. As we all know, technology likes to fuck us over from time to time so having a hardcopy is always a smart move.  Before I did this, I can’t tell you how many plans I lost. Like I said though, it’s up to you how you store and organise plans. This is just my process.

Actual Planning

Considering we’re already talking about how I store and organise my plans, I thought why not share my process of actually writing a plan itself?

Title and Summary. This is the very first thing I do. I will usually write my makeshift title or solid one if I’ve already got one in mind from the get go. I will then follow it up below with a brief summary containing multiple keywords; just so from a quick glance, you will remember what this idea is about. It’s a nice way of not having to read through some big fat plan without knowing what the idea itself is. Summary and then in depth version is my way to go, anyway. 

List your characters. Again, optional. I like to do: Title, summary and characters. I literally write a name, age and small bio just to help me out a little. I does help; believe me. It’s like… are they normal universe characters? Are they AU characters? Are they an OC? I usually place this just after the summary and before I go in depth with the actual plan.

More detail. This is where the real part comes in. This is the point where I usually write a full plan. I usually set it out by pinpointing the main events in my story. I will always plan it in chronological order and insert anything I miss in the right order. I wouldn’t try setting a plan with the main events of your story being all over the place, if I’m honest. Itjust makes it confusing and frustrating. This will normally be done in theformat of bullet points and small headers, but I’m flexible and I don’t do thisevery single time. Like I said; it’s down to the one writing the thing.

Expand. Alright,so you have 10 points that will act as 10 chapters, for example. At this point,expand. Go through each point and write more into it. I’ll admit, sometimes Icould very well copy and paste from my plan into an actual chapter; that’s howmuch detail I put in. Anything memorable you want in a specific chapter;whether it’s a gesture or dialogue or whatever, now would be the time to notethat in. Just expand enough so that you have a thorough understanding of what’sgonna go down in each and every chapter. You don’t want to finish off a plan,without it being very detailed and get completely stumped midway through yourstory because your plan wasn’t prepared enough.

Edit accordingly. Changethe font, colours, size, boldness or italicize until your heart’s content. Thiscan be a really helpful technique for some writers. I personally, don’t reallychange it from standard black coloured font set at default of ‘Calibri (body)’.But, I know some people find it better to work with bright colours etc. Again,do what helps you.

Add in images or short clips or references. I do this a lot with images. If I’m going to bedescribing a dress that one of my female character choices will be wearing, Igather up a bunch of images from google to help when the time comes to write itup. This goes for clips and references too. If there’s something you wanna addin that you’ve been inspired by; paste that in there. Anything that benefitsyou in the writing process, lock that down into your plan. It really will makeyou breathe a sigh of relief later on.

Use available tools. So,if you’re writing on Word - which I suggest as I personally do use Word a hellof a lot to write chapters and plans - make use of the cool features on here.There’s a nifty tool where you use ‘New Comment’ and ‘Reviewing Pane’. This isan absolute life-saver. 

Alrighty, so you’ve got your three chapters.This is just an example, I don’t think I’ve ever written a three chapter story,haha. Anyway, imagine there is more writing and they’re separated a littlemore.

Start by highlighting the first chapter. Once you’ve done that, go ahead and click new comment up the top. Don’t forgetthis tool is found under the review tab of the upper toolbar.

After doing this, you should see it do thismagical thing here. It might not turn it red; if it doesn’t, do not freak out.Word gives you an assortment of colours that you unfortunately cannot changeyourself. The colour is automatically chosen. Anyway, click in the littlecomment box and type ‘Chapter One’.

Then, go ahead and do this for the other twochapters and label them as well. Just like before. After, click that button uptop titled, ‘Reviewing Pane’.

Finally, the ‘Reviewing Pane’ will pop up onthe left hand side of the screen. If you click any one of the red bars, it’lltake you directly to that chapter. This is absolutely amazing when you have asuper longwinded plan. It saves time scrolling and scrolling through the entiredocument. I strongly recommend doing this.

Remember to save. Don’tbe a dummy. Continuously save and don’t always rely on Word’s auto savefunction. As I said, technology can be a bitch so try to be ahead of it at alltimes. As already stated earlier on, you’ll want to title it well. Nothingrandom as you’ll lose track of it. And then, all you’ve gotta do is sort yourplans into your folders.

—

So, that is all! This is everything I canpossibly think of that I see during my planning process. I hope you guys findthis helpful and like I said, it’s down to you to find a way to organise yourdocuments in a way you like. If you’re one of those people that find order inchaos and absolute mess, then I salute you as I could never do that. I’m a bitof an organising freak once I get going.

Find your pace and find your process. Thank you @fireflyxrebel for the question. This was actually really fun to breakdown forya’ll.

Much love!

[sarahnargle]

Pretty Little Liars - It’s FinAle Time, Bitches

Final Predictions:

Radley Babies - Like the Muppet Babies but more terrifying.

Summer Camp - Archery, Ali’s fan club, literally all of season 5.

Wren Kingston - OMG this has been happening the whole show.

Alison DiLaurentis - Earrings, masks, immortality: WAIT FOR IT.

Jessica DiLaurentis - Her record collection and Patsy Cline.

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

I think Spencer is the key to this: while everything seems to have revolved around Alison, that it may actually be focused on her, and I think it’s because somehow, someone believes she stole their life.

I think the babies born in Radley and adopted out were brought together (the best explanation I have is all those summer camps), a theory that can explain half the weird threads of the show, like Andrew Campbell and Noel Kahn. Noel knew Charlotte, worked with her, and his father handled at least one adoption out of Radley, while Andrew’s adoption remains an open thread. Jessica DiLaurentis was on the Radley board: she had enough control to keep her sister there and hide abuses; she had the power to set up a whole bunch of this stuff.

Alison’s story about the twins (and the appearance of the ghost girl on Halloween) is interesting. What I find fascinating is the way the twin story from the books was adapted into the TV show, with all Alison’s doppelgangers (Hanna, Sara, Cece, Bethany, anyone in an Ali mask), to reworking the second A as a sort of twin to Jason, and finally the most direct adaptation of the Courtney/Alison story with Jessica and Mary. Never forget: Alison wanted those masks “for all her friends so they could look like her.”

There have been multiple times that Alison has had someone (usually Noel) attack her to engender sympathy. Alison was the one who pushed Aria to destroy her dad’s office, putting more pressure on Byron to pay her blackmail and increasing her hold on Aria, who destroyed the nursery in an identical way. Add to that the earrings that Alison planted and the earring Spencer finds in the nursery, there’s no way those two events are not connected through Alison. Ali is focused on Aria in a different way from the other girls: while her reasons for choosing the others are more straightforward (Spencer to challenge her, Emily to love her, Hanna to remake in her own image), the reason she chose Aria has been less clear. In her diary, she wrote “She doesn't have the courage to stand up to him, that's why I picked her.“ What Alison describes as cowardice, Mona later described as compassion. 

S05E12:

ARIA: I never understood why Alison chose me, what made me so special.

MONA: When you don't feel anything, it must be really fun to mess with somebody who feels a lot. Alison picked you because you care. And she can't.

When Aria is ousted from the group, Alison takes her usual place in every scene. Alison is also first to apologize for shutting Aria out, another of Alison’s usual tactics when things aren’t going her way. I don’t think Ali totally understands Aria, as much as she believes that she does. The way AD says Aria’s name over the phone and the use of the phrase “Wait for it” point so specifically to Alison. It might also explain the discrepancy between AD’s words over the phone and the action of whoever put the body in Aria’s car.

In season 5, the archery trophy is the key piece to convict Alison in Mona’s murder trial. The archery trophy from camp, in the same episode where Andrew is shown actively working against the girls’ interest. While Andrew was set up for the Dollhouse, we know Charlotte had help (specifically Noel Kahn), and I have no doubt that the MRA manifesto found by the police was written by Andrew. One could discount Andrew as the archer attacking Ezra, Caleb and Mike by claiming that it was Charlotte, using the skills gained from the camp for troubled boys she attended with Lucas when they were children.  In the picture Ted shows Hanna of Charles, Lucas and himself, look at what’s prominently displayed on a sign behind them:

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

I don’t think Alison is Uber A, but I do think that Alison is involved, and that ‘AD’ stands for Alison’s name the same way ‘A’ originally did. I do think, considering the overarching themes of the show as a whole, that the final ‘A’ has to be a man, and Wren is both the best and only choice to fulfill that role.

Wren is there from the very first episode, and is connected to so much of the series, always on the fringes of the story. He will have been in 22 out of 160 episodes, and in most his seeming involvement in the story is fairly minimal. From the Pilot, he goes straight for Spencer, and continues to insist that fate keeps bringing them together for the rest of the series.

S02E23:

WREN: You have to agree, Fate keeps shoving us into the same path.

SPENCER: Don’t confuse fate with just, really bad luck.

His role at Radley and in aiding Cece is the only major unexplained mystery from that section of the story, and his appearance at the airport reinforces that connection. He is mentioned more by other characters than his role in the show should warrant: the move to London, the Rx pad placed in Spencer’s things, Spencer’s comment about Wren being a possible older boy for Alison to be involved with in S04E12. And after years together in London, Wren receives one call from Charlotte, and leaves Melissa immediately. In a show about the observation and exploitation of young women by older men, Wren has received no consequences for those actions, despite comments by Spencer like “Downton Grabby” (S03E11) and “I'll go make a house call to Dr. Wren. He's privileged” (S04E12). Mona also does not necessarily remember what happens when she is off her medication, which I point out because of the conversation she and Wren have in his last appearance before the airport in S04E10:

W: Let's take a break. Like you to think about whether you're gonna be honest with me.

M: Why would I ever be honest with you?

W: You used to be.

M: Well that was before I realized where your loyalties were.

W: I'm not sure what that means. But I thought we'd done a good job of establishing a sense of trust while you've been a patient here.

M: That was before I realized that you were keeping secrets from me.

And his actions throughout that episode end with this:

Archer was a British, fake doctor, which can’t just be a coincidence.

S03E22:

EDDIE LAMB: Do you believe in coincidences? SPENCER: Not as much as I used to.

Especially since this (from the Wilden Murder Board in S04E03) has never been explained:

And I trust Eddie Lamb, the character smart enough to run instead of get killed:

“Trust your instinct. Mine told me, from the minute that guy got here, it wasn't for the right reasons.”

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

All roads lead to Radley, specifically to the children’s ward. From Mona sending coded messages to dream ballets, to Spencer and Alison dancing to “I’m Your Puppet.” (While not Patsy Cline, this is the first reference to Jessica’s collection of music, later referenced again in S07E06:

EMILY: I love this song.

ALI: Yeah. My mom had quite the record collection. Mary brought a box down from the attic.)

I still think this scene might be the most important of the entire show:

ALISON: Didn't your mother have this?

SPENCER: Your mother.

A: Really, I must have left it at your house and didn't get it back. I left a lot of stuff there. Is it just me, or was sixth grade the best year ever?

S: I didn't even know you then.

A: Oh, honey, you didn't even know me when you knew me. (Music starts playing) Come on, give it up, Spence. Let's pretend that you're getting ready for your first boy-girl dance party. No one ever tells you that the practice is so much more fun than the real thing.

S: Was it Toby? Was he the one that gave you that bloody lip?

A: Toby? Oh, sweetie, girls fight much dirtier than boys. I'm lucky she didn't leave a scar.

S: She? Who?

A: You stopped dancing.

S: I don't... I don't want to dance.

A: I'll change the song.

S: No, I can't. I haven't slept in three days.

A: Come on.

S: I'm looking for something. The star on Mona's game board.

A: Oh, that. It's in there. And that is where Wren comes in, to claim he doesn’t know about Cece.

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

Spencer and Alison, S01E15:

S: Why are you making me do this? Why do you care if she knows?

A: I'm not making you do anything. I'm telling you, by tomorrow morning, Melissa will know everything... and there's nothing you can do about it except let her hear it from you first.

S: Fine. I'll tell her. You win. But this it is, because I am sick of your games. We all are.

A: Trying to get me voted off the island? It won't work.

S: Well, I don't think you'll have much of a choice.

A: I made you, Spencer. I made all of you. Before me, you were some goody-goody who did whatever mommy and daddy told her.

S: You are so full of yourself. You think just because you brought us together you can treat us like puppets?

A: But you are. Don't you see that? You don't exist without me.

S: Really, Ali? Then tell me this: What is a leader without any followers? Because it seems to me the question isn't whether we will exist without you... ...but whether you will exist without us. And as far I'm concerned, you are dead to me already.

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

If the show is coming full circle, then I see no way that Alison ends the show alive, especially considering “How the ‘A’ Stole Christmas”:

A: Do we have to watch this? It's depressing.

MONA: If you think you're depressed now, look over there.

A: When?

M: Does it matter?

A: It does to me.

M: And only you. You look pretty good, considering that they never found your legs.

A: Do I know you? Mom.

JESSICA: It's all my fault.

A: Look at me. I'm not dead.

J: They'll be coming for you soon. I'm sorry.

This episode is also the only time a character other than Alison uses “Wait for it” in this way, and (since she isn’t really dead) it’s not Mona’s ghost saying it: it’s in Alison’s head.

Hanna: Well, Mona used to say when someone shows you who they are, believe them. I don't think people change, Caleb. They just get better at hiding it. But mean girls stay mean.