#(jack is the only one of this trio who probably never even considered it)

[astralpenguin]

listen to me i love castiel i am a cas person through and through but if claire had decided to kill him she would’ve had my full support and i would’ve cheered her on the entire time

[violentcurse]

it is not uncommon for any of them to stay late at night in the office, but it is rarer for hotchner or rossi to be absent while it happens. however, next monday is beth's birthday, and the team graciously offered to take care of this week's reports for hotch so that he could get away with his son and new girlfriend. as for rossi, it was decided that he would finally take his six days off in order to do whatever it is he does in his free time (write more books, probably). then, one by one, as dominos making each other fall, the rest of the team decided to get away as well, finishing their work in haste and leaving the rest for the younger ones who had no plans at all. it was becoming rarer and rarer for the workload to be low enough that they could step away from the office more than the minimal number of hours required for sleep, so they all wanted to take advantage of it. penelope and derek are currently in london, visiting emily. blake apparently had lose ties to take care off.

which leaves us with the golden trio : juno, spencer and ishtar.

the last paper to be written is ishtar's, because she spent most of the last hour thinking of silly rhymes for jack's birthday poem instead of actually writing her report. the kid is cute enough that ishtar will probably get him a toy too, but she wouldn't be herself if she didn't join a badly written handnote. she suspects juno is only staying because she is actually waiting for her, while spencer is most likely pretending to work because he refuses to be the first one to leave. wouldn't be the first time, and considering the way his eyes have barely moved across the screen, she knows he is not reading at all.

a sigh & a stretch of her arms above her head signal to the rest of the group that she is fully done, but instead of getting up to leave, she simply pivots in her chair to look at spencer, who takes a minute too late to raise his gaze and look back at her. it is obvious that whatever she is about to say is going to annoy him, for ishtar's most nonchalant grin welcomes him, soon followed by words, "darlin' doctor. truth or dare?" to which he scoffs, both at the term of endearment and the game. spencer has never been a big fan of ishtar, or rather, he has never wanted to appear to be one. the first time they met, he felt the hot scorching sensation of jealousy against the back of his neck : thank god rossi brought her & not gideon, or he would have felt completely replaced. after a few days, annoyance became the main feeling she evoked in him : how could anyone think she was of use? he saw her on cases, fingers testing for dust, moving furniture around, always looking for clues in places that would give none. and then, understanding dawned. he saw her in her "interrogation mode", which is just an expression they like to pass around because ishtar completely metamorphoses the second she steps into the metallic room. whoever is behind that one-way glass window has nothing to do with the odd kid they know. she's ruthless in her control of her image. whatever it is that the unsub desires or despises, she becomes with ease. answers, both silent & spoken, are grabbed with swift precision. the first time she came out of the room, rossi had a proud grin while the rest of the team stood there, mouths agape, as if they truly suspected she had been recruited because of her address book rather than actual talent.

sometimes, ishtar thinks reid wants her more than he is willing to want her, and that is why he fights her on absolutely everything. but that's no issue at all : as long as he comes home with juno & her at the end of the day, ishtar is willing to play the cat to his dog. she'll even meow if it gets him going.

after a moment of strong silence, meaning spencer is deliberately pretending she doesn't exist, she pivots some more to look at juno. her gaze is a bit more forgiving when she demands : "what 'bout ya, june dear, truth or dare? doc ain't no fun." she says it with a pout, completely heartbroken that her game has been faced with such rebuttal. in truth, reid's reply was more than expected, just like juno's is. after all, ishtar knows them well. @suarcz, @idi0tproverbs

[daandyli0n]

okay, i have another au. this one is a dsmp/warrior cats au. i’ve named it the ‘burnt leaves’ au

the basic premise is that everyone is cats (obviously), it focuses on tommy, tubbo, and fundy, and the trauma the trio faces, and this au should probably give people some very obvious clues that i am 100% not a c!dream apologist.

this au gets pretty dark at some points, and includes themes of animal death (because. you know, wild cats living in the woods, cats fighting each other, cats hunting smaller animals, etc), a lot of violence, traumatic experiences, the exile arc will be discussed, and a whole lot more.

(this is about the dsmp characters)

some things to note:

most characters will be given more warrior-like names. even some of the non-clan cats will be given different names (ex. techno, pre-clan wilbur, and ghostbur will be named Blade, Soot, and Kasper/Kas respectively).

warrior cat terms will be used. if y’all are confused on any terms, just let me know!

the names of the factions/locations are as follows:

the smp itself->Cloverclan

l’manburg->Pineclan (named because, if i’m remembering right, mostly spruce wood was used for the buildings)

las nevadas->Desertclan (this should be pretty obvious)

kinoko kingdom->Mushroomclan (again, pretty obvious)

snowchester, the syndicate, the badlands, logstedshire, and the prison are the only places who’s names remain the same.

the names of all the characters are as follows:

Cloverclan:

Glowsight/star (Eret; formerly a member of Pineclan)

Sheepheart (Puffy)

Lionfrost (Punz)

Nightecho (Michaelmcchill; i don’t know, the name fit for me; technically factionless, but considered part of the clan)

The Badlands:

Darkshine/star (Bad)

Antfrost

Diamondfur (Skeppy)

Lemonfang (Ponk; formerly a member of Cloverclan )

Roseflight (Hannah)

Shadowstrike (Eryn; technically technically kind of factionless, but considered part of the clan)

Desertclan:

Duckclaw/star (Quackity; formerly a member of Pineclan )

Slime/“Mosspelt” [not official name; was going to be his name] (Slimecicle; possibly deceased)

Goldenstorm (Foolish; formerly a member of Snowchester)

Foxdash (Fundy; formerly a member of Pineclan)

Mushroomclan:

Mushroomleap/“star” [wasn’t technically a leader/never received nine lives] (George; formerly a member of Cloverclan, formerly a member of Desertclan)

Blazestrike (Sapnap; formerly a member of The Badlands, formerly a member of Cloverclan, formerly a member of Desertclan)

Spiralstep (Karl; formerly a member of Cloverclan, formerly a member of Desertclan)

Carrotbloom (Tina)

Snowchester:

Beeflight (Tubbo; formerly a member of Pineclan)

Sunsong (Tommy; technically a member, but is currently on the run/in hiding due to...obvious reasons; formerly a member of Pineclan)

Sootsong/star/fall (Wilbur; technically a member, but spends most of his time near Desertclan territory; formerly a member/the leader of Pineclan)

Thunderblaze (Jack; formerly a member of Pineclan)

Spiderpaw (Shroud, because why not)

Lightkit (Michael; meant to be a mix between tubbo and ranboo’s names)

The Syndicate:

Blade (Techno)

Phil

Cherrypool (Niki; formerly a member of Pineclan, formerly a member of Snowchester)

Bluespike (Connor; he’s a member of the syndicate, right?; formerly a member of Cloverclan)

Factionless/Exiled/Unknown:

Dream (exiled/imprisoned; formerly a member/the leader of Cloverclan)

Skyclaw (Purpled; he’s known for bedwars, and bedwars takes place in the sky, if i’m remembering right; exiled; formerly a member of Cloverclan, formerly a member of Desertclan )

Stormclaw (Sam; factionless/unknown; formerly a member of The Badlands, formerly a member of Cloverclan, formerly a member of Desertclan)

Hbomb (factionless/unknown; loner/former kittypet/stray, maybe?)

Deervoice (Callahan; factionless/unknown; possibly deceased; is only known to be related in some way to XD)

Sam Bucket (factionless/unknown; possibly deceased or an otherworldly cat entity; looks nearly identical to Stormclaw; is only known to be in some way related to Egg)

Foxleaf (Seapeakay; technically factionless, but is considering joining The Badlands (definitely not for any Egg-Related reasons, no way, not at all-), named by Darkstar)

Frogsight (Boomer; factionless, named by Glowstar)

Raccoonpaw/stripe (Sam Nook, named by Glowstar)

Hare[sprint] (Aimsey; factionless, lives in Snowchester, named by Glowstar)

Deceased:

‘XD’ (Starclan; true name unknown; cause of death unknown; ‘ascended’: basically became Cat God)

Crowfrost (Mumza; Starclan; formerly a member of Oakclan; killed by fox while trying to protect Phil and the boys; ‘ascended’: is a Guide for cats going to Starclan, but don’t have anyone else to guide them)

Dusklight (Ranboo; Starclan; formerly a member of Oakclan, formerly a member of Snowchester; killed by Stormclaw during the Prison Break)

Salmondash (Sally; formerly a loner, formerly a member/the deputy of Pineclan; died from blood loss after Dream punctured her neck)

Ramstar (Schlatt; Dark Forest; formerly a loner/stray, formerly a member/the leader of Desertclan; died from eating Deathberries (look, i could still make it a heart attack, but i want to make it a bit more warrior cats-like. not saying he couldn’t still die from a heart attack, but y’know))

Egg (Yes, this is Literally The Egg. In this au, The Egg is a cat; Dark Forest; formerly a loner, formerly a member of The Badlands/Eggpire; died from Stormclaw killing him at the Banquet; is currently trying to mind control cats to rise back to power)

MD (Mexican Dream; ???/possibly Starclan; formerly a loner/stray; died from Dream attacking him after he attempted to take Sunsong away from Logstedshire and help him escape)

Vikkstar (???/possibly Starclan; formerly a kittypet/stray; previously lived in an abandoned shack; killed by Dream and Lionfrost, briefly revived, and then killed again)

Lazarbeam (???/possibly Starclan; formerly a kittypet/stray; previously lived in an abandoned shack; killed by Dream and Lionfrost, briefly revived, and then killed again)

fundy is younger than tommy and tubbo.

the events of this au are not in the same linear order that they do in the actual smp (ex. Doomsday happens almost immediately after the end of the L’manburg Independence War, Tommy’s Exile happened after Doomsday, etc.)

that’s all i’ve got for now! i might actually make this a story i put on ao3, but that’s for later.

if any of y’all have questions about the au, don’t hesitate to ask! i’d love to talk about this au of mine!

[five-rivers]

Auction

For @skellagirl

.

“Hey, Jazz,” said Danny, leaning into Jazz’s room, one hand on the doorknob, the other braced against the jamb. “Wanna help me mess with Vlad?”

“Do I?” responded Jazz, pushing her chair back. “What’s the plan?”

“Well,” said Danny, “Vlad left one of his creepy spy bugs in the kitchen again, and I was thinking we could have a loud conversation in front of it about how Mom’s going to that charity bachelor auction.”

Jazz frowned. “But she isn’t. She’s married.”

“Yeah, that’s the point. Vlad’s delusional.”

“Ah, I see,” said Jazz. “Yeah, let’s do it. Should we write a script?”

“Maybe just a backstory. I work better with improv.”

“I’ve seen your fights, Danny. You definitely do not.”

“That’s cold.”

.

Maddie was not here, and Vlad was going to commit murder. Just a little bit. The victim was already half dead, after all.

His teeth squeaked as he forced himself to smile at the vapid, crowds of rich single women below him. He could not, unfortunately, back out now without losing quite a bit of face. The only consolation he had was that he had already communicated the need to eliminate the wealthier bidders, so that Maddie’s bet would win, to his ghostly servants. If only he could get away from the crowds and duplicate himself to take care of the others…

But that would be suspicious too, wouldn’t it? He had to let at least a few bids go through. And some of them had to be high, otherwise he’d never hear the end of it from his ever-aggravating business associates.

Curse them and their golf-playing buffoonery. He didn’t even like golf. It took so long.

When his name was called, he went out onto the stage like a man expecting to be hung. Why did anyone think this kind of thing was a good idea? This was humiliating. Ninety percent of the people bidding were after his money one way or another, he was sure.

Not like Maddie.

He sighed and refused to make eye contact with anyone in the crowd as the auctioneer called higher and higher values. Finally, the number stopped climbing, and Vlad lowered his gaze to see who, exactly, he would have to waste a day with.

Well. At least it wasn’t someone who was after his money.

.

“So,” said Harriet Chin, not even bothering to hide the recorder she held in her hands, “Vladimir Masters. Do you have a statement regarding the Whole World Mission scandal?”

“Harriet,” said Vlad, “please, we’re supposed to be on a date.”

“Yes, and I get to decide our activities. And I want an exclusive interview with the elusive Vlad Masters. That’s what I paid for, after all.”

“And here I was, thinking that it was my ravishing, good looks.”

Harriet snorted. “Maybe for someone who didn’t see you and Jack in that ridiculous hot dog eating contest. Although,” she leaned back appraisingly, “you did fill out since then. Actually… I’m sort of surprised at how early the bidding topped out. Was the room filled with bitter exes, or is there some scandal I don’t know about?”

Vlad rolled his eyes. “I confess, I’m as surprised as you.”

“Now, that’s a lie,” said Harriet.

“Excuse me?”

“You still have that tell from college,” said Harriet, smugly.

“Excuse me? I do not have a tell.” If he did, he had to identify and get rid of it as soon as possible.

“You do,” said Harriet, still grinning.

Vlad weighed the pros and cons of simply overshadowing her and making her lose the day. She’d probably claim that he drugged her or something. Curses.

He sighed, heavily. “At least let me take you out to a restaurant instead of,” he flicked his fingers at his surroundings, “just standing here.”

“Oh, I don’t know. A person’s house can tell you a lot about someone. Didn’t your Wisconsin home blow up? What was up with that, anyway?”

“I released a statement regarding that some time ago,” said Vlad.

“Wasn’t it also raided by the government?”

“That was a misunderstanding. And I also released a press statement about that incident. It shouldn’t take you more than, oh, an hour to look it up online.” This wasn’t entirely true. Once it was out of the immediate spotlight, Vlad had spent quite a bit of money to have the whole story scrubbed. “Dinner? I am paying.”

Harriet looked thoughtful. “Alright, but I’m picking where we go.”

“Of course,” said Vlad, graciously.

.

He regretted everything.

“Harriet, I know Amity Park is small relative to, say, Chicago, but, really… There are good restaurants here.”

“Yes,” said Harriet, “but I wanted to eat here.”

Vlad grimaced and tried not to look at the booth where Daniel and his juvenile delinquent friends were sitting and filming him with a handheld camera.

“Of course,” said Harriet, apparently unbothered by the stickiness of the booth bench and the screaming of children in the other part of building, “if you wanted to go back to a more private setting so that we could continue our interview—”

“No, no, this is quite alright. I said I would get you dinner, and here we are, eating…” He glanced at the menu with derision. “Food.”

He could, just barely, call it that. Even if he’d discovered during his short-term ownership of the chain that certain of its condiments could be used as mid-grade explosives. He didn’t know how Daniel could stand it.

(On the other hand, he had to admit he was enjoying this. Just a little. He so rarely got to match wits against a competent adult.)

(Maddie didn’t count—He was trying to woo Maddie, after all. They were practically on the same side.)

Valerie Grey, looking intensely weirded out, brought their order to their table. Harriet, unperturbed by the grease leaking through the paper wrappings, began to sort though the offerings for the cheap chicken burger she had ordered. Vlad, meanwhile, stared down at his sandwich.

Someone had put an ectoplasm antagonist in the dressing. He glared at Daniel. He didn’t know how the boy had done it, but he was going to pay for it. Along with setting him up for this ridiculous ‘date.’

“Aren’t you going to eat?” asked Harriet.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Oh, stop being such a snob. I remember you and Jack living off of instant ramen.”

“That was then, this is now,” said Vlad.

.

“Seems to be going well,” said Tucker, adjusting the lens on his camera, “all things considered.”

“Kind of surprised they’re here of all places, though,” said Sam.

“I think Ms. Chin’s just trying to get a rise out of Vlad, to be honest.” He’d stopped looking at them, though, instead frowning at the kitchens. “I think Valerie put something in his food. Do you think we should do something?”

“Not really,” said Tucker.

“Yeah, I’m going to choose Valerie every day over the old rich white guy who wants to kill your dad,” said Sam. “Even if she has some slightly homicidal tendencies regarding you.”

“Fair enough,” said Danny. “Want to stalk Vlad and his date until they drive home?”

“I don’t have any other plans,” said Sam, easily.

“Same,” said Tucker.

“Cool,” said Danny.

.

“Are you frequently stalked by teenagers?” asked Harriet.

“No,” said Vlad.

“And isn’t that Jack and Maddie’s son?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Oh ho, there’s a story there, isn’t there?”

“A private matter, I assure you.”

“When you’re as wealthy as you are, Vlad, nothing’s a private matter anymore.”

“I fear I must disagree with you on that count. Where are we going, anyway?”

“It’s a surprise,” said Harriet. “Unless you want to give me that interview.”

“Ugh. No.”

It was a miniature golf course. Of course it was. He could never escape from the accursed ‘sport.’ At least the miniature version was marginally more tolerable. Or it would be, if Daniel and his pack of friends weren’t able to follow them in.

… Or maybe they wouldn’t follow them in. The trio veered off suddenly right before the exit. Vlad smirked. Not enough cash for the little badger to get in, hm?

This assumption was disastrously disproven when a ghost fight tore through the Astroturf that covered the third hole.

Harriet was very nearly thrown into the pond, but Vlad managed to catch her at the last moment.

She was blushing.

Butter biscuits.

.

“Well,” said Harriet, “that wasn’t the interview I wanted, but it wasn’t a total waste of time. Same time next week?”

“Fine, fine, whatever you want,” said Vlad. Then what he said caught up to him. “No. One date. One date was all you paid for.”

Harriet pretended not to hear him.

[mooshys]

the silver lining of bad first dates

summary: a date gone wrong. a walk in the rain. a simple conversation in a ramen shop. mundane slice of life and mutual pining with kuroo.

word count: 2.1k

author’s note and warnings: curse words galore. set in time-skip. pure word vomit. kuroo’s one of those characters that I’m so scared to even consider writing for because I feel as though I’ll never truly be able to “get” his character. whatever though, I tried.

This date fucking sucked.

Point-blank. No sugarcoating because the dude sitting on the opposite side of the dinner table was more interested in the JASDAQ than your name. Seriously, he couldn’t even be bothered to listen to you talk about your alma mater before he swooped in and started blanketing his insecurities with his recent Bitcoin investment. 

Talk about lame.

Wine and hors d’oeuvres be damned, you were making an escape before he started mansplaining the economy. Even wagyu couldn’t save this candlelit disaster.

Making no attempt to be discreet, you whipped your phone out of your bag and typed up a quick text:

Mind picking me up? Shitty date.

Ping! 

Seriously? Again? What’d this guy do this time?

Ping!

Send the address

Ping!

I swear, this is the last time I’m picking you up

You smiled at the screen, thumbs moving fast.

That’s what you said last week

A bubble with three dots appeared, disappeared, and reappeared.

Ping!

Five minutes.

───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰*.:｡✧*.｡:｡*.｡✱ ───

Like every cliché bad first date, the weather made sure to mimic the mood. The rainfall was nothing less than dreadful, a downpour that left the streets empty as most people kept indoors to avoid getting soaked.

“You’re so lucky that I didn’t have to work overtime tonight,” Kuroo began, standing close to you in an attempt to shield you both from the shower with his janky umbrella. “Otherwise, you’d be walking in the rain or sitting there having your dinner ruined from hearing that guy talk about his gains in the market.”

You laughed at the truth of his words. There really was no one else who knew you like Kuroo. 

“And you know I would’ve walked in the rain out of the two options. I can’t believe someone so dick-ish exists that I’d bail out on a free meal,” you said, raising your voice over the heavy pelting.

Without any warning, a trio of college kids rushed past you two, not paying attention to the other pedestrians walking the sidewalks as their only priority in mind was making it back home before catching a cold. They had their backpacks held up to cover their heads, but it wasn’t much help as their clothes were completely soaked.

“See that?” Kuroo jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “You would’ve been running like those kids all the way back to your apartment if I didn’t show up.”

You lightly elbowed him and rolled your eyes. Rain fell on your shoulder from the sudden movement, but Kuroo repositioned the umbrella to prevent you from getting wet. “As if,” you murmured, hugging your body in an attempt to keep warm. “Thanks for picking me up. Again.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re oh so welcome,” he waved off your words and then cackled when you narrowed your eyes at him. Sometimes he really knew how to push your buttons. “Anyway, are you trying to date a bunch of crappy guys on purpose? Because I feel like that’s what you’re trying to do.”

“It’s not like I ask to go through a bunch of crappy first dates!” you said, letting out a huff of hot air. The past month had been riddled with unsuccessful first dates. Statistically speaking, you were an outlier; the average person probably went through a handful of bad first dates in a single year: you went through that number in a mere month. Multiple standard deviations past, you were way out of the norm. “Maybe I’m just a magnet for awful guys who only have a thing for themselves.”

Kuroo scoffed. “Or maybe you just like to make my life a little bit harder.”

You smiled at his words.

“Maybe.”

Besides the realization that you were like a honeytrap to flies when it came to bad first dates, another constant came from the start of it all: Kuroo. You weren’t expecting much from the first SOS call; really, just someone to walk you back home when it was late and the taxi fares were jacked up. But you would never forget the first time he waited for you outside that overhyped bar with a bag of take-out, his tie loosened and hair messy because he had just left the office and rushed to the nearest place that sold yakisoba for a decent price.

Maybe you did make his life a little bit harder. It was selfish, but whenever you had a bad date, you actually started to anticipate your escape because that meant Kuroo would be there for you.

He was your silver lining for the past month.

Red brick walls came into view once you two rounded the corner into a more secluded alley, revealing a familiar site that made you hungry. A neon sign which turned brighter due to the haze of the rain drew you in like a moth to a flame. It flickered, but still kept its light. Another constant.

Underneath the awning of the restaurant, Kuroo retracted his umbrella and shook the excess water off of it. He shoved it in the small bin filled with umbrellas belonging to the other patrons and dragged the soles of his shoes on the mat before pulling the door open. 

“Let’s just get some ramen,” he said, ushering you inside. You took the first steps and situated yourself at a lone table. He followed and a waitress quickly took your orders, soon rushing back to the kitchen to help with the line of tickets pinned to the wall. 

“Ramen on a rainy day,” you said, giving a low whistle. “You know your stuff.”

“Duh, ramen tastes best when you’re freezing,” he replied, pulling on his necktie to loosen it. He grabbed two pairs of chopsticks along with a pair of spoons, placing a set in front of you. “And it tastes pretty good after bad dates too.”

“You’re talking to the queen of bad first dates.”

“Oh, I’ve had my fair share too, Your Highness.”

As if on cue, two bowls of ramen were brought over from the kitchen along with an extra soft boiled egg as soon as he finished his sentence. The soup had small ringlets floating at the top from the fat of the broth along with bright green scallions acting as a garnish to offer a vibrant and appetizing color. Wasting no time, you both gave thanks and started to dig in.

“You know,” he started, breaking his chopsticks apart and dipping them into the broth. He pulled up a nice amount of noodles, the steam rising up higher than before. “I really think you should quit dating guys who suck.”

Following Kuroo, you did the same and blew at your noodles. “You say it like it’s easy.”

“It is. It’s so easy.” He ate a mouthful and swallowed before speaking again. “You have your top tier guys, your average guys, and then your totally shitty guys. I mean absolute trash—these are the guys you’re dating. Avoid them and all your problems will be solved.”

“Ugh, I feel like we go through this conversation after every single mishap of a date.”

Translation: Kuroo, you sound like my nagging mother.

“Because you never learn.”

Translation: I will nag at you all I want.

You sighed. “Love’s a lot more complicated than you make it.”

“Whatever. Just find a guy who isn’t an asswipe, and then we can talk.”

As you two continued to eat, the kitchen staff remained lively. The sounds of ceramic bowls clattering together along with the static hum of an old radio buzzing some city pop tune your mom would have listened to in her youth acted as background noise while chatting. 

“So... what kind of guy do you think you are?” you asked, curious to hear his answer. Kuroo was in the middle of slurping his noodles and held a hand up to signal you to give him a second.

“Me?” He pointed at himself and you nodded. Who else would you be asking? “I’m your average guy.”

You frowned. “No way.”

“What, you think I’m an absolute trash kind of guy? Harsh.”

“No, I think you’re definitely top tier. Average guys don’t go out of their way to do stuff like this.”

Kuroo raised a brow at you and set his chopsticks down. His bowl was half finished, but he was more interested in what you had to say. “Stuff like what?”

“You know,” you motioned the space between you two, “doing this awful-first-date-rescue-at-the-drop-of-a-hat kind of stuff. No questions asked. Average guys don’t do that. Average guys just pay for your meal and maybe give you their jacket when it’s kind of cold. And sometimes they call you some gross pet name like...” You shivered at the thought. “Kitten or something.”

He looked slightly taken aback. “You don’t like being called kitten?”

“No, something about it sounds gross.”

“That’s just because you haven’t found the right guy to say it to you when—“

Not wanting to hear the rest of what he had to say, you quickly crumpled up a napkin into a ball and tossed it at him. He threw his head back, putting on an act as if you actually did any damage to him.

“Stop. Please. Enough. Don’t even finish what you’re going to say.” You went back to devouring your bowl, the noodles more soft than before. Still tasted great as you shoveled in mouthfuls. “I don’t wanf tew heur et!”

Sporting a disgusted look, Kuroo grabbed a few napkins from the dispenser and slid them to your side of the table. “Jeez, you eat like that whenever you’re on a date? Maybe I saved that guy from you.”

“Well, you’re the one stuck with all of this now,” you motioned a hand to your entirety and wiggled an eyebrow. “Consider yourself lucky.”

He held his chin in the palm of his hand and stared at you from across the table, eyes still holding a glint of amusement under the low lighting of the restaurant. His bowl was nearly finished, yet he focused his attention on you, allowing a small smile to grace his lips as he pondered your words.

You eyed him, his gaze feeling a bit different from before. “What are you doing?”

“Considering,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“...It shouldn’t take you that long to,” you mumbled and ate another mouthful of noodles. He kept at it and soon started to crack up. When you narrowed your eyes at him, he shook his head and pushed another pile of napkins your way. 

“There’s a scallion at the corner of your lips,” he tapped a hand on his bottom lip and cackled when you rushed to grab a napkin and wipe it away. Heat rose to your face and you sucked on your teeth.

“You know what? Forget about me calling you a top tier guy. It never happened.”

He placed a hand over his heart, wounded by your words. “It was kitten, wasn’t it?”

Unable to contain yourself, you laughed into your hand, shoulders shaking. You had to set your chopsticks down as you fanned your face, trying to get rid of the tears threatening to spill from the corner of your eyes. “If I ever heard that from another guy, I would walk out. The second the word came out of his mouth, I would pack up my things, leave, and never look back.”

“But you’re not right now.”

“I’m not.”

“Because I’m a top tier guy. Admit it.”

Because it’s you.

You shook your head and waved the white flag. “Right, that’s exactly it.”

Kuroo crossed his arms in front of his chest, satisfied with your answer. Like he won something from this conversation. He liked the way your lips tugged into a smile, not too tight, but enough to showcase the apples of your cheeks; he liked these nights when he could unwind after a long day of work and laugh about stupid pet names; he loved how easy it all was. 

Consideration done and over with, he went back to finish his bowl, the steam from the broth no longer visible to the naked eye.

“Eat up or it’ll get cold,” he said and sipped on the broth. It was still warm, much to his surprise. “I’ll walk you back home when we’re done.”

You took small bites, prolonging the meal in any way possible: listening to him talk about his lazy cubicle partner, ordering another side of gyoza, folding a napkin to tell him his fortune through grade school methods. Both your bowls were empty, pushed to the side with a sliver of broth left as the focus was neither the food nor the JASDAQ jerk from hours before, but rather mundane conversation that went in circles until the shop emptied out.

A hundred dates could go wrong only for Kuroo to show up and make things right.

Maybe it was time for him to become more than a silver lining.

[hyperiongremlin]

Modern au chapter 5 is up

Hi! I stayed up all night writing this one, I think it’s the longest chapter of the fic so far. This chapter does contain some triggering content including: the aftermath of r*pe, blood, injury, and discussion of trans bodies. 

because of that content I can only post a sliver here so you will have to read the rest on ao3. 

Link is as always: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37983421/chapters/109687444

“You want shotgun or you wanna sit in the back? Up to you cupcake,” Jack said. Rhys considered for a moment, on one hand the back felt safer, more secluded from outside, on the other hand, Rhys would probably get carsick if he sat in the back.

“Uh front I guess, I’m probably gonna bleed on your expensive seat though” he said, stumbling to the passenger side.

“It’s fine kitten, I’ll get it cleaned later,” Jack said. Tim took the back seat as Jack slid into the driver’s seat.

“Word of warning, he kinda treats the speed limit as a speed suggestion,” Tim said from the back. Rhys laughed a bit.

“The tickets here are so expensive though… how have you not gotten caught?” Rhys asked. Tim snorted and Jack chuckled.

“Oh Rhysie, I’m to much of a badass to get pulled over,” Jack said. Then he floored it, ripping through the residential streets.

“So where’re we going again? I thought we were headed to your place,” Rhys said.

“We are, don’t worry you’re pretty head over it,” Jack said. Rhys blushed. All of Jack’s cute nicknames and sweet talk made him feel something in his chest. As the trio left the city, Rhys’ curiosity flared up again.

“Wow I didn’t think there was anything out here honestly,” Rhys said, well there was one thing out here, the giant blurred out patch on ECHOmaps. A lot had been speculated about that patch but nothing ever confirmed. Military compound maybe? A secret corporate research site? It had long been the subject of workplace rumors. Vaughn, his friend who worked at Hyperion, swore it had something to do with the mysterious CEO of the engineering giant. For his part, Rhys didn’t really care, so long as the car didn’t bump into any escaped experiments on the way to Jack and Tim’s place.

“Long commute haha, what’s it been? 30 minutes?” Rhys said, trying to make light of the situation.

“Oh absolutely, I mean, Timtams how many miles you got on that truck now?” Jack said, flicking the turn signal and turning onto a side road that Rhys hadn’t even noticed.

“Oh man, gotta be a few hundred thousand by now,” Tim said.

“Man, I drive… well drove, s’pose i’ll be finding a new place again, like 10 minutes to work.,” Rhys said, the realization of his impending move coiling around his lungs and splashing in his stomach. He idly gazed out the window and into the thick trees surrounding them. Where were they?

“So Rhys, you’re always talking about work, how’s that going for you?” Tim asked. It was clear he was trying to distract Rhys but Rhys indulged him.

“Oh you know, the same old, one of our board members flipped the fuck out over that challenge from Hyperion, now everyone’s on damage control. It’s really interfering with my attempts to get promoted,” Rhys said.

“Haha classic Atlas, they have their heads so far up their own asses they can’t feel when progress slaps ‘em in the face,'' Jack said, laughing. It was odd that a finance teacher would not only know so much about Atlas’ ineptitude when the Atlas  pr team worked so hard to keep the companies fuck ups a secret, but also that he would even take an interest in the tech world. Rhys, wondering how this had never come up when he talked about work before, decided to pry.

“I mean all the tech world is talking about is how ballsy Hyperion is getting, this Handsome Jack guy set the entire industry on its head, what was it 11 years ago, and…” Rhys started.

“12, kitten, 12 years ago,” Jack corrected.

“Right.. But uh he’s just gotten more and more confident these past years, what do you think about that?” Rhys finished.

“Ho boy, you wanna talk about Handsome Jack, baby? Handsome Jack is the best goddamn thing to happen to Hyperion in all of company history, I mean I’m not sure how much you know about Hyperion stock and earnings and that shit but, it’s frickin’ DOMINATING the market right now,” Jack’s voice rose a bit as he got excited.

“Haha, yeah my friend Vaughn tried to explain all of that to me last time we had movie night but I was sorta too busy trying to watch The Lake, great movie by the way, really fucking scary,” Rhys said.

“Jack… I know you want to keep talking but we need to get Rhys inside,” Tim said, before Jack could chatter on about his corporate hyperfixation. That was something Tim had taught him about when Violet had been diagnosed with ADHD, though for Violet it was unicorns, not the politics of capitalism. Rhys’ thoughts speculating about Jack’s possible ADHD were cut short as he looked out the window. He hadn’t noticed but they were now inside some sort of large structure, filled with cars. Rhys nearly face palmed when he realized that a large structure with cars was a garage.

“I thought you said no hospital,” Rhys said, his voice wavering slightly. His friends wouldn’t lie to him, there had to be some other explanation.

“It’s all good, no one lied, this is just our stupidly large garage where Jack keeps his ridiculous amount of cars,” Tim said, as if that were a perfectly normal thing to say.

“Uh, what? Jack, how can you afford this?” Rhys asked, looking around at the dozens of slumbering vehicles.

[macandriley]

5x10 – A Very MacRiley "Analysis"

Well, I definitely didn't expect to be making another AVMA post, but I am a woman of my word.

Below the cut, I will be discussing last night's episode of MacGyver (2016) titled "Diamond + Quake + Carbon + Comms + Tower"—particularly in reference to the relationship between Mac and Riley (with mentions of Mac x Desi as well).

So if you haven't seen it yet, do be aware: this post contains spoilers.

Without further adieu, let's get into it.

The Cold Open

Here we see Mad Scientist Mac tooling around in his kitchen, rambling about pressurized carbon and diamonds. I won't bore you by going into details, but I will give a brief rundown:

Bozer walks in.

Bozer is weirded out by Mac's strange behavior.

Mac reveals he intends to propose to Desi with a diamond he cooked up in a box (side note: I am so here for conflict free genius diamonds).

But I digress.

I won't lie and say this entire thing was surprising. The intended proposal was a touch predictable; everyone on Twitter had been hypothesizing about it for weeks before the episode even aired.

Still, when I heard those words come out of Mac's mouth, my heart absolutely shattered.

I pictured a wedding. Having to watch them say I do while Riley stood off to the side.

And then logic set in.

Why on God's green earth would this man want to marry a woman he's only really been on good terms with for a few weeks? Why would he want to take that next step when she's been so hesitant to even call him her boyfriend?

Well, Mac himself said it best. "Ever since I lost my dad and Jack, I've been thinking about the bigger picture. And a commitment to make things work is exactly what Desi and I need."

Problem One

As Mac said, this newfound craving for marriage does not come from a genuine desire to take that next step. It's influenced by loss. By grief.

Which isn't inherently an issue. Mortality is a great motivator for soul-searching and self-discovery.

However, when it comes to matters of the heart, acting out of grief can often be more detrimental than helpful. It can cause you to cling to what you have left, sometimes in ways that are unhealthy.

Which brings me to:

Problem Two

Mac clearly does not view marriage with Desi as something he truly wants. As an act of love or genuine devotion.

To him, it seems more like a desire to force things to work. Like a business contract. "If we're married, we have no choice but to talk it out."

Which makes sense when you consider that, in 4x04, Mac admitted he and Desi were clinging to the familiar instead of actual substance. He wants to make it work because the alternative is being alone.

And to be frank, that doesn't frame MacDesi in a very good light at all.

I Probably Shouldn't Tell You This

Before Mac, Riley, and Desi are sent off on their mission to Mexico City, Bozer pulls Riley aside and, presumably, tells her about Mac's intentions to marry Desi.

I won't go into detail on that here, but it's important to later scenes, so I felt it deserved a mention for that reason alone.

Plus, it only further confirms, at least in my mind, that Riley still has enough feelings for Mac for Bozer would worry about her. So...a win?

Got A Secret, Can You Keep It?

After Mac runs off to play Murdoc's little game, Riley and Desi follow him. One thing leads to another, and the trio winds up on the roof of a skyscraper, unable to unlock the doors and get back inside.

Cornered, they are absolutely at Murdoc's mercy.

So what does this glorious psychopath do?

He tells Mac the one thing he has never been able to figure out on his own. That Riley had feelings for him and buried them deep, deep down. That having to watch him and Desi was genuinely hurting her.

I love this scene for several reasons. The most important of them being: I really don't think either of them would have said anything if Murdoc hadn't done this.

They are both so self-sacrificing. So willing to give up their happiness so that they won't get in the way of other people's' joy.

Getting that little push opened them both up to experiencing feelings they'd previously denied. Which is super important for people like them, who don't have a lot of experience with touchy-feely type situations.

And the best part?

I think Desi truly realized all of that. She wasn't mad. She wasn't bitter. She saw this happen, realized the lengths Riley went to to protect her feelings, and accepted it. She refused to let them be distracted by it, and looked after Ri like a real teammate would.

Her not holding that against them isn't something I would have expected way back when this season first started. But you could really see that, as much as she probably didn't enjoy hearing that, she understood it.

Sidebar - Desi

While I think the shift in Desi's character is abrupt and I would've preferred a more transformative storyline, I'm honestly not mad about how they're writing her.

If this continues to be how she's written, and it all remains consistent, I can personally overlook the sudden shift in behavior for her.

Because honestly, Peter Lenkov was a dick, and I can get not wanting to continue on with the toxicity he injected into D for even a moment.

Hug It Out

When all is said and done, Mac lets Riley know that they don't have to talk about it. Which is super considerate, if a little obnoxious.

She, being the wise and tired babie she is, decides it's best to be honest. So she explains what happened in Germany. And finally, after months of waiting, it's all laid out in the open. Just like that.

There is not much to analyze in this scene other than the hug itself.

Riley shuts her eyes, holding onto him like she can't quite believe he's real and Mac sighs, because god, he did not expect for his day to go like this. And he definitely didn't think he'd feel so oddly satisfied that it did.

So they just stand there, rocking slightly, comforted by each other's embrace.

The only word that came to mind when watching it go down for the first time was: safe. They almost looked like they were at home in each other's arms. At peace.

And as someone who has loved these two deeply since season one, it's so heartwarming to see them have that kind of connection with someone. Even more so to see them find it in each other.

Knock Knock. Who's There?

Mac. That's who.

Late at night, after contemplating his proposal again (boy, why?), we see Mac leave his house. He shows up at an apartment building, knocks on a door, and...

Oh look, it's Riley's place.

She's shocked.

He asks if her feelings are really gone.

And...cut to black.

I am not foolish enough to assume this will be easy. It's entirely possible she'll lie and say she's over him to uncomplicate things.

But this is the closest we have ever been to canonization. And I think it speaks volumes that Mac is the one making the first move.

We don't often get to see the more emotional aspects of this show through his point of view. It's usually the people around him who are allowed to feel things, and him who deals with the aftermath.

Yet here we are. He was the one to seek out Riley. To take the leap.

And I think that speaks a lot to his own emotional growth.

In Conclusion

Monica Macer is the bait and switch queen. 5x10 was an emotional ride I did not ask to go on, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the final destination.

Here's hoping I can write another one of these after 5x11.

[dreamsmp-au-ideas]

I’ve fallen down the Theater AU Rabbit Hole while putting off doing any of my own actual writing and I have a couple ideas to purpose.

Tommy was still a part of SMP Earth, like a canon aspect of it. It’s just that people tend to forget since Tommy was technically still in middle school at the time of SMP Earth being an on going thing. That being said he was literally there all the time which is what actually led to him joining the program when he became a freshman. While Business Bay started off as something small and a fun little joke to appease to gremlin child he ended up dragging in a couple other friends (Deo, Luke, Bitzel, and Wisp) and somehow through sheer force of will he managed to make himself a main character which ended up transferring to Dream SMP.

The Admins on SMP Earth much like Dream were considered “Gods” within the story. Wilbur was the leader of the trio who created SMP Earth. For one reason or another Tommy challenged one of the admins to a fight and because somehow he keeps winning backstage solitaire games without knowing anything about how the game works he genuinely managed to Kill God with an army of four, himself included. (Wisp still does his betrayal and improved betrayals towards Tommy’s character slowly becomes a running gag. Wisp was a senior at the time of SMP Earth and he joined Tommy for a couple sessions because he thought Tommy had a lot of potential. He turned out to be right, and the betrayal was more so a push to get Tommy to do his own thing instead of clinging to Wisp because he was a senior and Tommy kinda looked up to him. After he genuinely won against Josh the theater agreed it was a good idea and the child must stay.)

Deo was actually a freshman that Tommy had been friends with but sadly had to transfer schools once Tommy actually got to high school. Luke and Bitzel also ended up going to different high schools but the group still all keep in touch even if they can’t act together anymore.

After Techno semi canonized SMP Earth they decided to go the full mile and say that all of their plays are connected. The characters are just reincarnated again and again and SMP Earth happened a long time before Dream actually came into power and started creating the Dream SMP. Techno so far is the only one to actually remember his past lives which has aided to the Technoblade Never Dies jokes, saying that it’s actually because he’s immortal. At least half the cast thinks that, the other half doesn’t because if he was actually immortal surely he’d remember the rest of the countries which his character obviously doesn’t.

This has had an interesting side effect where if Tommy’s character ever remembers SMP Earth it’s silently agreed upon that he’ll inherit the admin powers he got from killing Josh. So far every single writer for the show including Tommy himself during the arcs he’s written has denied any possibility of his character remembering. 

This becomes especially interesting when we talk about the canon meeting theater au. C!Tommy has no clue what in the hell SMP Earth is while t!Tommy at some point looks c!Dream dead in the eyes (after t!Dream plate smashes the mask and then confiscates the remains) and tells him “Don’t make yourself the second God I’ve had to kill” and there isn’t a single person in the room who can tell if that’s a joke or dead serious. Techno is proud. 

Speaking of Techno I like the idea of c!Techno and t!Techno getting into theological debates where t!Techno always wins. T!Techno recognizes his character to be an unreliable narrator and that pure anarchy is a terrible idea. Communities created with anarchist ideals aren’t bad as long as there are ways to keep everyone from going feral, but pure anarchy is just 2b2t and t!Techno knows that. Eliminating tyranny through the abolition of all government just leads to the tyranny of those who are physically the most strongest and can subjugate everyone else. It doesn’t fix anything and this is an arguing point both Technos fight over a lot.

T!Techno much like t!Dream has also threatened both his character self and c!Dream for so much as looking at the children wrong. This Techno while still a bit awkward very much loves his racoon brother and if c!Dream lays a single finger on his Tommy then he gets to go back to the SMP without an arm. In fact, t!Techno, t!Dream, and t!Wilbur probably all just stand super menacingly in front of the Freshman while they glare down half the character versions of their friends and fellow castmates. They know Niki and Jack are trying to murder Tommy. They know everyone’s faults probably better than the people themselves do. They wrote those faults. And ain’t anything bad happening to their kids.

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

Oh these are all good. All of them are so good. Especially with the lore in this. Everyone being connected to the plays they made because of reincarnations? Perfect. And then we have c!Techno and t!Techno getting into theological debates and I love those.

All the Theater kids know their characters and their faults. Nothing bad is happening to the kids and they’ll be sure of it.

[dannys-phantoms]

Two Rings on her Finger

Everlasting Trio (Sam X Danny X Tucker) fic wherein Sam remembers how she got her promise rings. Also available here on ao3.

The first ring on her finger was thin and black, with a row of three small, understated purple gems. Danny had never specified what kind they were, so she was almost certain they were just glass. It didn’t matter to her, not in the slightest – she’d had enough money thrown at her already to last a lifetime, and it had never meant as much to her as this ring did.

He’d given her it right after they graduated Casper High. She’d still been looking at the sky, a stupid grin on her face (that totally messed with her goth girl image) watching the graduation caps tangle in the air and fall down. She’d followed her own along with her eyes until it crashed back into her arms, to see Danny kneeling down on one knee in front of her.

It wasn’t a proposal or anything like that, but the ring was a promise that just because high school had ended didn’t mean they had to. Tucker had noticed before she had, and was screaming through the two hands over his mouth, eyes wider than ever and feet tapping gleefully on the floor, like a crow tempting up worms. She was nodding her head yes before Danny even had to ask anything, then she pulled him up by the front of his gown and kissed him in a way that she’d have rathered her parents hadn’t seen.

She got Danny a ring to match a few days later, not one too much like her own but instead a band of white-gold, one blue diamond inlaid in it that matched the icy cool of his eyes and, she insisted, wasn’t too girly at all. It was from a thrift store, rather than a real jewellers; found and paid for with love rather than riches. Her mother had just rolled her eyes when she found out, but her next visit to the Fenton’s had found her in a bone crushing hug with not only Jack and Maddie, but Jazz too. They’d always been more like her family than the Manson’s, and this was just one step closer to making it official.

Not much changed after that, not really. They had mountains of work to do between job applications and ghost hunting, the former of which found her, Danny and Tucker sprawled on one of their bedroom floors and the latter meaning they were chasing each other through the streets, bad guys on all sides. There wasn’t much time for a proper date, not really, until a few months later when she and Danny had decided to finally try that new pop-up vegan restaurant before it was gone for good.

She let Danny order, because she already knew she’d love everything on the menu, and she liked to see him confused about something normal for a change. He ordered her a meat-free bolognaise and wound up with something spicy and chickpea-based for himself, which she could tell he was surprised to actually enjoy.

He’d entwined their ankles under the table, sending a ripple of goosepimples up her shin, but even so her mind began to wander. She was thinking about Tucker, at home on his own, and what he would make of this place. He’d probably be hating how good this ‘fake food’ actually was, and using all of his willpower not to admit it. Danny had a faraway look in his eye too. She knew they were both feeling the same. That’s why, after they’d paid and thanked the staff, they’d guiltily made their way over to the Foley residence to play a few rounds of Doomed. Tucker’s face lit up when he was talking about video games, and despite how much she rolled her eyes and snarked back at him when the things he was saying were so, so wrong, it was the first time all day when she’d truly felt comfortable enough to relax.

Danny’s unnatural chill seeped through her left side and Tucker’s burning fire warmed up her right, and wedged between the two she felt the perfect temperature. When the sun went down and the computer had entered rest mode, they stayed where they were, laying on each others limbs in a clump on the floor. Her boyfriend was whispering constellations in her ear, and their best friend was running his hands through their hair, until eventually it was morning and they realised they’d all fallen asleep.

Sam’s second ring came a few months later, when the facts had become just too obvious to run from any further. There was no relationship, no living or loving, without Tucker there. He was the light to her darkness, the jokes and laughter to Danny’s doom and gloom. The three of them would walk down the street all hand in hand, crossing over if someone was coming the other way rather than breaking apart to make room. Time apart from Tucker felt like being locked out of her own house, knowing that the keys were just inside the porch but stuck anyway in the biting wind.

She told Danny first, fully prepared for him to say the relationship was over. He’d sat on her bed, teeth worrying his lip, as she wore down her carpet walking circles in her room, even more nervous than she’d been before her first ever slam poetry recital. She couldn’t bear the thought of Danny being hurt, but she hated to think of hurting Tucker either, so she just had to come out and say it.

“I think I’m a little bit in love with Tuck.”

Danny blinked twice, three times, as though he’d just discovered the meaning of life written in the pattern of the carpet. “Huh. You know what? Me too.”

They cuddled in close, laughing at how they could have possibly been so stupid not to have seen it. He kissed each of her knuckles one by one, and when she asked what it all meant for them, he had a simple answer. They’d have to ask Tucker.

Predictably, Tuck was a mess. Yes, maybe they should have waited until morning before knocking on his front door, and yes, maybe they could have confessed to him with a little more grace, but standing in the Foley’s kitchen at 2am seemed like as good a time and place as any.

Her hands were shaking, but so were Danny’s, and knowing they were both scared made it easier to speak.

“Tucker, when me and Danny are together, we...”

Danny squeezed her hand. “We miss you, Tuck.”

“Oh,” Tucker said, scratching the back of his head, dressed in robot-print pyjamas but still looking naked without his hat. “Well, you know where I am.”

Sam sighed. “That’s not the point.”

She cupped his face in her hands and planted a kiss on his cheek, the skin burning up beneath her touch.

Tucker glanced between his friends, his mouth opening and closing as he considered what to say, until Danny stepped forward and kissed him too.

The tips of Tucker’s ears were red and Danny’s knees were shaking, and Sam quickly grabbed the back of his pants when they became intangible and started to fall down. She could tell he’d been wanting to do this for a long time, and so had Tucker, who was pulling him back in for a proper kiss on the lips.

“As I was saying,” Sam smiled, “we’ve missed you, Tuck.”

After another few minutes of talking it out, and a heck of a lot more kissing, Tucker ran up the stairs and came back down with two silver-looking springs.

“They’re from my ruined PDA’s,” he explained, and Sam pulled one onto her finger above the ring from Danny.

It was perfect. Danny followed suit, and now they both had two rings, from the ones they loved the most, but Tucker had none. They each grabbed one of his hands and kissed a cheek, like a Tucker sandwich.

As soon as the shops opened again they would go out and find him something, but it was still the middle of the night and they were practically swaying on their feet.

If Angela Foley was surprised to find her son and his two best friends all piled into the same single bed the next morning, she never let on.

[hotchscotchh]

We Are Definitely on a Date Right Now

Hey y’all! @peachpitfics​ gave me the idea to do this and I needed an excuse to write something other than angst :)

If you would like to be asked to my tag list, send a reply/ask/dm!

Summary: Sequel to “Are We on a Date Right Now?”

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Aaron Hotchner

Warnings: lots and lots and lots of smut

Word Count: 1.3k

Tagging: @peachpitfics​ @wheelsup​ @cloudy-reid​ 

Read on AO3

The original

 Aaron and Spencer had waited six months to tell everyone about their relationship. They had wanted to keep it quiet so they wouldn’t have to deal with Strauss and the fraternization rules until they were ready to. When their relationship was stable and they decided they were ready to tell the team, they were shocked (though they shouldn’t have been, it’s a team of profilers for god’s sake) that the team already knew (except for Rossi, he had found out months ago and helped them hide it ever since). In fact, there had been a bet going as to how long they’d been dating. JJ won. They all shared the story of how each and every one of them had found out.

Rossi

David Rossi was the first to find out, obviously. They’d had a weekend off about four months ago. Rossi had decided he would treat himself to a nice dinner out at his favorite Italian restaurant. He also may have recommended Aaron take his date there, and he was curious who it was. Aaron had asked him for the recommendation anxiously, which was out of character from him. It wasn’t like Aaron to be nervous about going on a date unless it was someone he really cared about. David had tried his hardest to get information on who it was, but his attempts were futile.

He was utterly shocked when he arrived at the restaurant and saw Spencer Reid basically sitting in Aaron’s lap. Instead of sitting at his own table and watching from afar, he made his way over to the table the pair were at to question them.

“Aaron,” Rossi made his presence known as he sat down across from them.

The two men jumped apart, Reid bumping his legs on the underside of the tabletop and spilling some of their drinks. Reid turned and looked to see who had interrupted them. When he realized it was Dave, he jumped again and slid off Aaron’s lap, sitting next to him, blushing, and smoothing down his shirt. The pair were panting.

“Dave,” Aaron acknowledged. “Did you need something or are you just here to spy on me?”

“A little of both, actually I first came to spy on you, but now I have questions.”

“Proceed,” Aaron sighed, waving his had.

“How long has this been going on?”

Spencer answered this time. “About two months. Don’t worry, he’s not holding anything over my head.”

Rossi chuckled. “I wouldn’t think so lowly of him.”

“Anything else, Dave? I’d like to get back to my date,” Aaron replied, obviously trying to usher Rossi along.

“Of course, I just be… over in that direction somewhere,” Rossi said standing and waving his hand vaguely. He spent a long time thinking that night.

JJ

JJ didn’t mean to find out. She had walked into Hotch’s office one day to find the two men sharing a brief and intimate kiss. She was momentarily stunned but they hadn’t noticed her, and she was unwilling to make her presence known. So, she backed out of the doorway and around the corner and waited a few moments before stepping back in to find both men seated in the chairs on either side of the desk discussing files.

“Hotch,” JJ said with hesitance. “We have a case.”

Aaron nodded. “Have everyone meet us in the round table room.”

She nodded back and walked off to let everyone know there was a case. Once everyone was seated in the conference room except for Hotch and Reid, JJ allowed herself to think. She was a little upset that her best friend, her little brother, the godfather of her son, didn’t tell her about his relationship. She reasoned with herself though. The relationship was probably new. There were fraternization policies. The stigma around gay couples in this FBI is high enough, forget about it being with your superior. So, when the pair finally found their way to the briefing, she pushed the encounter to the back of her mind and cleared her face of emotion, forgetting about it for the time being.

Prentiss and Morgan

They were on a case in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when they noticed. Derek had noticed that the two men had grown closer over the past few months, and he had pointed it out to Emily. There were shared looks and Reid had begun allowing Hotch a casual hand on the shoulder, or a ruffle of his air which was something usually only himself and JJ could get away with. On this case though, it was different. On the plane, he noticed the pair sitting on their couch together, their thighs pressed into each other’s when there was a lot of room left on the couch. They had no reason to be that close.

“Prentiss,” Derek whispered, pointing at Hotch and Reid, “are you seeing this?”

Emily looked over and Derek looked back, but the pair had moved apart.

“Seeing what, Morgan? Hotch and Reid sitting on a couch?”

“I swear to god they were just- you know what? Never mind. It was nothing.”

Later, in the police station, Morgan began paying closer attention to his boss and best friend. He noticed longing glances between the two, Hotch’s hand lingering on the small of Reid’s back for longer than would be socially acceptable for two friends. Every time he noticed it, he tried to point it out to Emily, but every time, by the time she looked over, they were acting normal, like nothing had happened.

It wasn’t until they case was solved and they were spending their last night in the hotel that their suspicions were confirmed. Derek and Emily were sharing a room. They’d had to pair up again. JJ was back in Quantico helping Garcia, Rossi claimed a single room because “I’m the oldest,” (none of them objected, Rossi snores) and Reid had gone with Hotch, claiming he wanted to talk about the newest paper he was writing.

This particular hotel had balconies. Morgan and Prentiss had raided the mini bar in their room and taken their findings to enjoy on the balcony in the warm summer evening. They didn’t realize, though, that Hotch and Reid were doing the same a few rooms over, just without the alcohol. Derek and Emily’s conversation had come to an end and they were enjoying the relative silence of the night when two familiar voiced wafted over to them.

“I love you, Aaron.”

“I love you too, baby. I can’t wait to go home and see Jack.”

Derek shot straight up and whispered, “Emily, you can’t tell me you didn’t hear that.”

Emily looked over at him, equally as shocked. “I guess you’re not going completely crazy, Derek.”

Garcia

Penelope found out in a completely unexpected way. She had been nestled in the corner of a quiet café, reading a racy romance novel she had found in a thrift store and drinking a piping hot cappuccino when in walked Aaron and Jack Hotchner and Spencer Reid. She didn’t notice them until Aaron’s loud, assertive voice floated out into the room when he ordered for the three of them.

She “hid” behind her book, hoping to spy on the trio, curious about what they were doing together. She was excited when they had sat at a table close enough to her that she would be able to hear some of their conversation, but they were facing away from her so she could stay hidden.

She was surprised when Aaron and Spencer sat very close to each other with Jack across from them. She heard Spencer ask Jack about how his week was at school and almost spit out her coffee when Aaron slid his arm around Spencer’s waist. She was even more surprised when Spencer didn’t pull away but leaned into Aaron’s shoulder and turned to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Garcia spent the rest of that day lost in a world of slashy fantasies (that were definitely not appropriate, especially considering who they were about).

[zeravmeta]

Arc-V 7th Anniversary

Alright fellas here it is! It’s been 7 years since Yugioh Arc-V first graced our lives, and I thought I’d celebrate this by going over my personal Top 5 Duels in the series! This list is just my opinion, and you don’t have to agree/disagree or whatever, it’s just for fun. Let’s get to it!

#5: Yuya vs Barret, Synchro Arc

This duel is probably the one that no one expected to be on this list, but it’s actually a critical moment to Yuya’s growth as a character (I know some might have expected the 227 duel here but that one serves more towards narrative parallels and foreshadowing rather than actual character growth). This duel is here for one important reason: It’s the moment where Yuya truly let go of Yusho’s ideals. The Dimensional War had only began to get more chaotic as time passed, with Academia sending no shortage of goons after them, but this is the duel where Yuya is forced to choose: Yuzu’s (and his friends) life, or Smile World (the representation of his father’s ideals). Ultimately, Yuya does choose Yuzu, but this duel is also one of the most agonized we see Yuya after because Yuzu was still kidnapped anyways. To him, he threw away both of them by being forced to choose. However, it’s also what does encourage him to finally take that first step he needed, the buildup to the entire Synchro arc of finding his own words, and challenges Jack for their last rematch

#4: Tsukikage and Sora vs Obelisk Force, Synchro Arc

Ok THIS ONE is the one that no one actually expected, but I really do like it since it’s a good bit of character building for both Sora and Tsukikage (also I didn’t want this list to just be Yuya duels). Tsukikage was a surprising dark horse in Arc V because of how much he actually was developed. His design wasn’t anything special and he was legitimately just hired help by Reiji. However, in this duel we see a ton of incredible character defining moments for him: His grudge against Sora and Academia for what happened to his brother, his commitment not just to Reiji but to the Lancers, his trust in Reira but also his concern, and the tag team with Sora where he makes clear that he never intends to forgive Sora for his involvement with Academia, but he thanks him regardless. This is also the duel that firmly cements Sora as a good guy after about 50+ episodes of him being a villain from his initial heel face turn, where he finally decides that the friends he made in Standard Dimension are too important for him to turn his back on despite Academia being a literal child military. Speaking of…

#3: Shun vs Sora, Maiami Championship

The granddaddy of all tone setting duels in this series, this duel has a lot going for it, but it is phenomenal for one reason alone: how absolutely brutal it is. Yugioh has always gone out of its way to forgive all the cartoon violence in duels as just monsters looking cool, but this duel kicks it up a notch by showcasing just how brutal the Dimensional War between the Fusion and XYZ dimensions was. And mind you, at this point in the series, it was only slightly hinted, and we later see it in more brutal detail in Shun vs Dennis (Friendship Cup) and the duels in the XYZ Dimension, but this duel has another point to its favor: Sora’s heel face turn. At this point, all we knew was that Shun was going around attacking random duelists for no reason. However, it’s when Sora breaks out his own Evil Face™ that we really see the dynamic at play here: Sora is the spy sent to lower everyone’s guards, while Shun is the compassionate avenger that’s trying to prevent another dimension from falling the way his did. No other duel Shun has ever had as much impact as this one with the exception of his duel with Dennis in Synchro, but when put side by side, this is the duel that stands out because it’s when the series truly begins to take its darker turn.

#2: Yuya vs Jack, End of Synchro Arc

This one I feel is a little controversial, but I absolutely cannot understate just how important this duel is for Yuya’s character. The Synchro arc as a whole was considered a drag by many, and while there certainly are parts that it feels as such, it is undeniable that it provides very critical development for Yuya. This entire time, Yuya has thought that he could simply parrot his father’s ideals as a way to cope with his own insecurities (shirou emiya much? Lmao). However, Jack sees right through his game and completely humiliates him in their first encounter, telling Yuya that he isn’t worthy to stand against him unless Yuya can find his own words instead of the words he borrowed. After this encounter, Yuya tries to force his ideals again, but realizes that he needs to find another way to convey the message and ideals of Duels with Smiles that he wants. His duel with Shinji, Duel Chaser 227 and Crow all had Yuya learn different ways of expressing himself and further evolving his duel, up until this final confrontation. Deciding that instead of letting Academia and The Tops having their way, Yuya squares up and challenges Jack on his own terms for a final rematch. Throughout the duel, we see Yuya apply everything he’s learned so far, but Jack still tells him that he’s holding back and using borrowed words instead of his own, until Yuya finally hits his breakthrough: Pendulum was something he didn’t borrow from anyone, and it’s HIS OWN WORDS to convey his message. With that breakthrough, Jack has finally found an opponent worthy to test himself against once more, because he’s grown so strong that no one in Synchro Dimension was able to challenge him and his drive for self-improvement. Jack in general was such a clutch character to bring back because he’s the exact type of impetus that Yuya needed: A mentor who wasn’t afraid to tell him that he’s simply hiding behind what was given to him, and rather pushed him to achieve greater heights than Yuya himself thought he was capable of.

Alright before the #1 duel, let me list some honorable mentions bc while these didn’t make my top 5, I do still believe they are important and are all fantastic duels in their own right.

Honorable Mentions:

- Yuya vs Kachidoki, Maiami Cup - Yuya vs Gongenzaka, First Match - Shun vs Dennis, Friendship Cup  - Yuya vs Yuri, Academia Arc - Yuya vs Battle Beast, Academia Arc - Yuya vs Duel Chaser 227, Friendship Cup - Yugo vs Serena, Friendship Cup - Yuzu vs Masumi, Maiami Cup - Yuya vs Shingo, Yosenju deck Maiami Cup - Shun vs LDS Trio, Start of Series - Yuto-Yuya vs Kaito, Academia Arc - Yuto-Yuya vs Edo, Academia Arc - Yuya vs Reiji, Round 1

And now...

#1: Zarc vs Lancers, Academia Arc

By and far what I consider to be the pinnacle of all duels across the ENTIRE Yugioh series (even beating out Yusei vs Z-ONE), this is less of a duel and more of an all-out war, the culmination of 130+ episodes of masterful foreshadowing and incredible build-up that results in what I consider the best final boss reveal in the series. Arc V is a master of foreshadowing across the series, and kept giving us hints that something BIG was coming, that The Professor and Academia weren’t actually the endgame villains of the series, and after the cast barely manages to eek out a victory against Yuri, it’s ultimately a failure as all the pieces are in place for Yuya to finish his IMA KOSO HITOTSU NI fusion with all his dimensional counterparts. Every single character, good guys, bad guys, and everyone in-between watch as reality falls apart, and births the monster made by their own hands, that is Zarc. I need to reiterate here that the greatest strength of Arc-V is foreshadowing because throughout this duel, we see the application of the ideals that Yuya had developed on his own, as “his own words” are what reaches to the extended cast. It was Yuya’s duty to raise them up as the Pioneer of Pendulum, now it was their job to drag Yuya back from what he has been reduced to. And all throughout, we see how Zarc was made, how he was so similar to Yuya in almost every regard, and we are reminded of all the times Yuya failed but had his friends to help him up, and how Zarc was just a Yuya who had no one to help him when he failed. Zarc who hurt people because it was demanded of him, and ultimately embraced his role as a violent villain as his ultimate act of revenge, because his audience asked for it. And yet, we also see Zarc have his absolute ass dragged by SAWATARI of all characters, and we see just how much of a coward Zarc really was. The entire duel just has so much going for it: Jack-Gongenzaka tag team, Ray and Reiji calling out to Zarc and Yuya, Zarc’s continued insistence that he’s just a monster, It’s So Damn Good. I tell people to watch Yugioh anyways because Yugioh is a great series, but this duel is so good that I would unironically tell people to watch Arc V just so they can watch this duel (outside of the many reasons I recommend arc v). It’s so good, Zarc is such a fun villain, it’s the climax of Yuya’s entire character arc, and I hold it in high regard as the best duel in Arc-V.

Thanks for taking the time to look through this little retrospective on one of my all-time favorite series, here’s to Arc-V’s 7th anniversary!

[yan-twst]

Can you do a headcanon with non-yandere first year boys and Grim doing binge-watching, like everyone spending the night at Ramshackle? I like their dynamics with MC... Thank u very much and sorry for the english!

ace trappola

ace is making a bit of a ruckus- he’s arguing over the snacks, to turn up or lower the volume, or loudly commenting on whatever is happening in the series

everyone is probably shushing him or annoyed at him, but he’s entertaining. his commentary, as obnoxious as it may seem, makes the whole experience a bit more interesting (except to sebek. sebek is not amused, at all, and he lets everyone know)

he’s a little shit, per usual- he’s gonna be pestering everyone, but mostly his dearest ramshackle prefect

ace is gonna be bragging about how he’s gonna be the last one awake- he plans to watch the whooole series! and yet, when it begins to get late, it’s quite clear he’s the first one to get a bit sleepy, although he denies it vehemently

watching him butt heads with deuce and grim is almost as entertaining as the series they’re all watching- they’re called the “idiot trio” for a good reason, but adding in the rest of the very fiery first years just adds to the ridiculousness of the arguments 

deuce spade

deuce is trying to make this a good sleepover- he’s beyond excited. this is the kind of good-natured, fun outing he should’ve been having during his childhood (instead of having been out there doing... delinquent things)

he absolutely called his mom the day before, just because he’s super pumped about it- but he tries to not look too eager, y’know?

deuce is scandalized whenever the series has any romance scenes, god forbid more “spicy” scenes. he might cover his eyes and the prefect’s- hell, at some point he does so to epel who gets angry because he isn’t “some little boy to be protected”

deuce is constantly yelling at ace to shut up during the series, which prompts sebek to try and make them shut up, which ends up with jack telling everyone else to shut up

still, deuce is very clearly super excited about this. he’s almost like a puppy- although he continues butting heads with ace and grim, making everyone a bit frustrated but entertained

jack howl

jack is adamant that this sucks. everyone is loud, he “only really gets along with the prefect and epel” (even though he’s very clearly warming up to sebek, and he’s still messing around with the adeuce + grim braincell)

he tries his best to keep order along with sebek, but even though he acts like it’s a mess, he... really likes being there

he mostly sticks to epel and the prefect’s side and actually tries to pay attention to the tv series everyone is supposed to be watching

jack’s tail is wagging very strongly even when he’s telling off everyone, or complaining about the noise

in general, he’s more of a calm one- however, don’t be fooled. the sheer energy of teenage boy idiotic impulses plus grim is enough to even make jack do silly things, even with the prefect there to try and prevent it

epel felmier

epel is, in all honesty, just absolutely happy to take up any excuse to not spend the night at pomefiore. seriously, he will take any excuse to stay away from the stifling rules. freedom! he doesn’t have to do his night skincare routine without vil throwing a fit!

besides, he finds the rowdy sleepover to be quite fun. epel isn’t paying too much attention to the series going on in the screen; he’s much more busy trying to pay attention to the chaos caused by grim firing up the first years

epel loves this kind of thing. it’s rowdy, a bit messy, and he’s surrounded by people he considers friends (or at least close acquaintances)

he’s absolutely all over the snacks and popcorn. this kind of stuff just can’t be found in his own dorm, so he’s gonna go ham when he can

he’s gonna be begging the prefect to please hold more of these sleepovers; pleasepleaseplease he is having so much fun, please!

sebek zigvolt

sebek is out of his element. like, entirely- he has never done this before. a sleepover? full of people his age (plus a talking magic cat monster)? 

the sheer mess and rowdiness that is caused by reuniting a bunch of 16 year olds by themselves with the most solid supervision being a fellow student, in a dorm where there the “leader” is said “solid supervision” is something sebek was not prepared for

he’s a bit stressed at first- weren’t they supposed to be watching a series?! why is- why is everyone screaming and chatting and??

also, he’s stressing over malleus. in the midst of a sleepover and a movie night, sebek is thinking about malleus until the prefect distracts him

it’s a bit fun to see him slowly unfold and settle in with the group; everyone is so used to sebek being so high-strung, it’s nice for him to incorporate and act more like a 16 year old than a knight for once

[olivyh]

Into Wonderland Chapter Two: Savanaclaw Part Two

They wake up in a jungle, sputtering and coughing water.

"Are you okay?" A soft voice asks them, shaking their shoulder lightly as they cough out more water. The boy pats their back soothingly as they catch their breath, leaping to their feet and searching the area.

"Ruggie?! Jack?!" They panic, no sign of their friends.

"Wait..." The boy asks, slowly approaching them. "Jack? Ruggie? Are you..." The teenage boy's expression lightens and he pulls them in for a hug. The human, shocked, awkwardly pats the boy's back.

They pull away, scanning the boy's features- Messy, orange and yellow hair, wide brown eyes, large lion ears poking out of the top of his head.

"Cheka?!" They yell. The boy winces. There was no doubt about it- aside from now being taller than the human and a lot sharper- the teenager was still the same little boy who ran away all those years ago. "We were looking everywhere for you!"

"...Really?" The boy goes quiet and slouches down, tears welling in his eyes. "'m sorry..."

"No no no!" The human reassures, now bring the one to pat the boy on the back. "It's okay! You went through a lot... I'm sure Leona will be happy to see you back!"

"Really?!" The boy's ears perk up, and the human can hear his tail thudding against the dirt. "I'm just so worried that-"

"Who in the fresh fuck are you?" A voice yelps from the bushes behind them. Mc turns, eyes widening when they see a familiar pair of ruby red eyes, a pair of bright green ones next to them. They still have their rabbit ears, despite being messy and larger than before.

"Ace! Deuce!" They exclaim, standing from their spot.

"...How do you know our names?" Deuce asks, looking at the human curiously.

"I-" Mc stammers. "You don't remember? From Wonderland? The queen of hearts almost killed us!"

"Oh!" Cheka stands between the human and the confused hares. "They're not from the Savanna!"He turns to Mc. "You're probably confusing them- it's a funny coincidence though!"

"...yeah..." The human murmurs. "Anyways- we need you back home! Everyone is really upset at Leona right now and-"

"Why?" Cheka asks.

"Because he can't get laid!" Mc exclaims, frustratedly throwing their hands in the air. "And there's no heir to the throne and-"

"Wait- throne?" Deuce gasps. "Are you seriously a prince?!" He exclaims, backing away from Cheka.

"Was!" Chela sighs. "I don't belong there any more..."

"Yes you do!" Mc stomps. "Listen, everyone back at home was upset that you went missing- Leona most of all, even if he doesn't show it-" They mutter that last part. "Either way, the stability of the pride is in danger, and so is Leona and Ruggie!"

"What do you mean?" Cheka's ears perk up. Mc explains Leona's plan to pass on his power to whoever he sees fit- and being closest to beastmen who aren't lions, how people see them, especially Ruggie, as he's the closest, as threats to their pride. They explain how if Cheka went back, he could avoid all of that and save them from anyone who could try to overthrow Leona, or worse- kill him and take the power for themselves.

Cheka goes silent for a moment, staring into the lake that sits in the middle of the jungle.

"Nobody's upset at you Cheka," The whisper softly. "None of what happened was your fault. It was just bad timing-"

"But how can I look at them the same? I ran away- even Jack would call me a coward if he saw me again. Everyone knows it-"

"Okay listen kid-" Ace steps forward, planting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "First of all, you were four. Second, you managed to survive all the way out here until you found us!"

Deuce steps forward too, ears twitching. "Yeah! And even though we'll be sad to see you go, you can still help everyone!"

"You two can come with us!" Mc suggests. They stare at them in shock.

"We're hares-" Deuce starts.

"And he's too stupid to be around others without being considered a threat-" Ace points his thumb at the navy haired boy, who jumps.

"No! Thats not it at all!"

"So? There are tons of other animals back in the pride lands. Were you not listening? We literally have a hyena in one of the highest positions! And a wolf from the North!"

"Okay, okay- we get it," Ace sighs, standing and stretching. "Let's go there, put the kid on the throne, save everyone's asses, and live happily ever after!"

"I feel like you're being sarcastic-" Mc deadpans.

"Eh, not as much as you think I am."

"Lets go!" Cheka, with a newfound burst of energy, cheers. Everyone then goes on the journey back to the pridelands, only getting lost a little bit along the way. Cheka tells Mc of all the times he'd shared with Ace and Deuce, between them finding him half dead outside of the jungle, to how he'd eaten bugs the whole time he'd been living there, to joking with Ace and Deuce about dumb stuff they'd done while raising him.

Mc smiles, watching the trio get along. Finally, they spot pride rock in the distance. Cheka slows a bit but, with a little bit of persuading from the three around him, he runs up towards the rock.

"Jack!" The boy yells, launching himself at the wolf man.

"Wow, you really weren't joking-" Ace whispers to Mc.

"Cheka?! How did you..." He looks to the side, grinning widely when he sees Mc and he rushes over to them. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I should have noticed the flood earlier and-"

Mc quiets him with a pat to the head, something he let them do only after years of being friends. "It's okay big guy. Besides, I found Cheka!"

"Ruggie! Leona!" They yell, leading the group up the side of the rock.

"Mc?!" Ruggie yelps, dropping the basket he was holding and running at them. He holds their face, forcibly moving their head from side to side, searching for injuries, as they groan.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" The swat him away. "You're like a mom..."

"I would be less worried if you weren't just taken away by a flood!" He groans, looking over to the side to see the two hares and Cheka.

"Hi Ruggie!" Cheka chirps.

"How in the-"

"Ruggie? What's taking so lo-" Leona steps out from the cave, followed by a group of other lions that lived nearby. His jaw drops as he strides over to the teenage boy, pulling at his ears as the boy laughs, wrapping his arms around the man's torso.

"Uncle Leona! I'm home! I'm home!" He cheers. Leona chuckles, bringing a calloused hand to pat the boy's head.

"Welcome home, kid-"

"What is this?" One of the lionesses steps forward. "I thought you said he was dead-"

"I'm not dead! I'm home now!" The boy laughs.

"Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?" Another man steps forward. Anxiety pools in the human's gut as Ruggie pulls them behind him, with Jack moving to stand closer to Leona.

"I never said he died!" Leona defends himself. "He went missing the day of the stampede. We all saw it. We told you he was missing, not dead."

"You're telling me we could have had an actual king this entire time!" One of the other women snarls.

"An actual-"

"We could have had someone with Farena's disposition, then everything would have been normal! We needed someone like him-" She motions towards Cheka. "The most. Not someone who makes a hyena do his bidding." She spits out the word hyena, and Ruggie shrinks down a bit, ears flattening against his head.

"Just listen to what-" Leona starts.

"We did not have to suffer- the food shortages, the humiliation! None of it had to happen if we had just gone out and found our true king!"

"Hey!" Cheka yells, only to be drowned out by the angry lions.

"I can't believe this!" The lioness charges at Leona, roaring. Mc sprints past Ruggie, who yelps and tries to grab onto their tunic. They push Leona out of the way, the man tripping off to the side. The lioness rams into Mc, sending them sliding until they slip off the edge of pride rock.

They fall downwards, screaming as Ruggie, Leona, and Jack scramble to the edge and try to grab a hold of them.

The last thing they see is Ruggie, Jack, and Leona's panicked expressions as they plummet to the ground, all three beastmen reaching their claws out at the falling human.

I feel like I've seen this before- They think, closing their eyes and preparing to slam against the ground.

They finally land, sand exploding in every direction around them.

I DID NOT EXPECT TO WRITE THIS MUCH FOR THIS ONE I'M SORRY

I also genuinely don't know how ti spell Savanna/ Savanah bc I knew a girl named Savanah and google tells me that its Savanna so idek whats happening at this point

I'm just now realizing that i forgot to add the monkey in the lion king i hate it here

[violetwolfraven]

Brooklyn Ain’t Home

In honor of the first draft of the javid portion of the Reincarnation AU being done (here comes obsessive editing! chapters 2 and 3 will probably be out within a few days!) here’s a thing that takes place after the sprace portion!

Tw: major character death mentions, grief, and referenced past death.

...

Spot was unhappy, and Race didn’t know why.

They’d found each other again after a century apart two days ago.

Well, technically, they’d found each other a couple weeks ago, but they’d only remembered two days ago.

Race was happy. He finally had Spot back, after peaceful decades floating in the void and then years not knowing who he was missing.

Naturally, his old insecurities from last time were flaring back up. That he wasn’t enough. That Spot didn’t love him as much as he loved Spot.

Race wanted to smack his insecure, angsty, 1899 15-year-old self with a broom to make him shut up.

That was still weird. Having two lifetimes in his head. Sure, the first one had been cut short, but Race remembered as much about his first life as he did about this one. He felt somewhere between the kid he’d been before remembering and the adult he’d been when he died. It was complicated.

But he was still... himself, just like each of the others were still themselves. Circumstances in this lifetime had somewhat mimicked the previous enough to preserve everyone’s personalities. Jack was still fiercely protective. Crutchie was still sarcastic yet compassionate. Romeo was still eccentric and big-hearted.

And Spot was still strategic, smart, and untrusting. Race hadn’t quite had his trust yet in this lifetime before they remembered, so he wasn’t really sure where they stood right now.

He didn’t know how to bring up this conversation, to ask what they even were, to ask if Spot was confused by his feelings or anything in this big bright world where being gay was legal, but it wasn’t currently the biggest concern.

The biggest concern was helping Spot move in with Denton, because he’d gone back to his parents’ house Saturday morning to grab a bag, and then run to the Larkin house. Since Medda had a rather strict rule about her boys’ boyfriends sleeping over, they had to look for somewhere else for him to live, which was when Jack piped up that Denton was looking at adopting a kid, and when asked, was happy to let Spot crash with him.

So far, his parents hadn’t come looking for him. They’d just have to hope it stayed that way.

And... and so far, neither Denton nor Medda were showing any signs of remembering anything. According to Davey, Sarah, and Les, neither were Mr. or Mrs. Jacobs.

Well, you couldn’t have everything. This whole reincarnation thing was trippy.

And if none of the good adults remembered, that meant none of the bad ones remembered either. At least, Race hoped so. He had to believe that. Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine Snyder the Spider would be happy about being outwitted by Jack Kelly and Racetrack Higgins in two lifetimes.

Not that Race was too worried. Medda and Denton didn’t remember, after all. And he had Spot to protect him if Snyder did somehow remember.

At least... he hoped he had Spot. He still wanted Spot.

His insecurities just weren’t sure if Spot still wanted him.

Race was thinking of all this as he and Spot sat on the couch at Denton’s house, watching a movie.

‘Watching a movie.’ Neither of them was really watching it.

Race knew what was on his mind, but he wished he knew what was on Spot’s. He didn’t know if he should ask.

“They ain’t all here.”

“What?” Race asked.

When he looked, he was alarmed by the amount of pain on Spot’s face.

“They ain’t all here,” he repeated, “Vince. Graves. Twitch. They ain’t here. Ain’t home.”

Oh. Spot had never been especially good with emotional talks. This was his rather blunt way of letting Race know he needed to talk.

“They’ll come eventu—“

“No,” Spot interrupted, “We all remembered on Friday cause we was all in one place for the first time that night since 1917. All. Everyone who came back.”

As much as Race wished he could argue, he had assumed that logic, too.

But he had known those Brooklyn kids, too. He hadn’t thought to miss them yet, but—

“Blue,” he realized, “Bluebird. She’s not—“

“I know,” Spot said tightly, “Scarf ain’t, either.”

Scarf and Bluebird had been two of the younger Brooklyn kids. The two Spot probably had felt the most responsible for, considering he’d practically raised them and had to kill once to protect each of them.

Bluebird had taken over as king when Spot aged out, because she had all his strategic mind and toughness and all Race’s charisma. The two of them had practically raised her. They’d taught her to fight after Spot killed a gangster to protect her. She’d been as close as they ever got to a daughter, or at least a little sister to both of them.

Scarf hadn’t been close with Race, the kid was so shy, but he’d moved into the Brooklyn Lodging House early, too, after Spot killed his monster of a father. He was later Blue’s second for a while.

Race remembered seeing Scarf around camp when they were at war. He remembered how devestated Spot was when he died.

Neither Scarf nor Bluebird were here. Hell, Race didn’t even know how Bluebird had died, though she must be dead by now.

“We got a choice whether to come back or not,” he said slowly, trying not to let his voice shake, “I guess... I guess not everybody took it.”

Spot nodded, clearly trying hard to control his emotions, too, “Yeah, I guess not.”

Still, a kind of morbid curiosity overwhelmed Race. It was probably a bad idea, but he needed to know.

He pulled out his phone, “Did Blue ever tell ya her last name? She only ever told me her first.”

“Yeah, it was ‘Li.’ Why?”

Athena Li. There couldn’t be that many obituaries on women named Athena Li, could there?

There were, actually, but only one could possibly be her.

A picture on the internet of a newspaper from 1918. Checking the birthdate, it matched up.

“She died not a year after we did,” Race breathed, “In the influenza pandemic.”

Spot was silent for a heavy few seconds, and his answer was choked up when he spoke.

“She did?”

Race nodded, swiping his sleeve over his eyes. God, he knew Crutchie was the last to die, but he’d really hoped Blue got a long life, too.

She was 29. Unmarried and alone. Crutchie had apparently written her obituary because nobody else alive cared enough to do it. All her friends—her family—were already dead.

“Do ya think she got the offer and just... turned it down?” Spot asked quietly.

Race shrugged, “I think we all got it ‘bout the same time, so... I guess she really ain’t comin’ back. They ain’t comin’ back.”

“I guess it’s only fair.”

“How can ya say that?”

Spot sighed, “Brooklyn and Manhattan got a second chance, but have ya seen anybody else? Huh? Those of us back, most of us died in the same unit, but what about those who didn’t? I ain’t seen any former Bronx kids back. Or Midtown, or... guess it’s only fair we don’t get everybody.”

Fair, maybe, but that didn’t make it pleasant to think about.

“Do ya know Scarf’s real name?” he asked quietly, “I could look for...”

He stopped, because Spot was already shaking his head.

“I don’t wanna know, Race. I don’t wanna know what—if anythin’—got put in a pape for him. I watched him die. And he was so skittish, I ain’t really surprised he didn’t take a second round.”

Scarf had been skittish. Race remembered that much about him. But that had never stopped him from being best friends with Bluebird, and later Les. Those three were quite the chaotic trio when they were kids, and when they got bigger, Race remembered how Les had cried when Scarf got shot. How much it had hurt to write to Blue and tell her he was...

...wait a second.

“We’s all the same age this time around,” Race realized aloud.

“Yeah, and?”

“And Les ain’t. He’s the same amount younger than Davey and Sarah as he was last time.”

Spot was silent for a second, realizing what he was saying.

“I can see Scarf not takin’ the offer,” Race admitted, “But Bluebird? You know our girl would do it. She just ain’t here cause... cause she didn’t die with the rest of us!“

“Crutchie didn’t, either,” Spot pointed out.

“Exactly,” Race grinned, “That just proves it. Crutchie got to come back, and he wasn’t in our unit—neither was Joey or York or any of your other kids that came back ‘cept Hotshot.”

“But we could only remember once everyone met each other again. Race—“

“I’s been thinkin’ ‘bout that. I don’t think that was what it was. I thinks it was Les. He was the final piece—he was with the last group of us in the war when we died.”

“Kath, too,” Spot muttered, “They were what we was missin’.”

“Exactly.”

Spot smiled hesitantly, “So... the other Brooklyn kids might be out there. And if they are, we’ll find ‘em someday. Bring ‘em home.”

“We will,” Race promised, “I’ll help ya look.”

“You don’t even know any of their real full names.”

“Shut up. I’m tryin’ to be helpful.”

“You do help,” Spot assured him, smiling softly, “Love ya, Racer.”

“I love you, too.”

[cyberaxolotl]

Tricks Over Treats

two versions woo hee

and then the writing piece to go along with it

“An Alternate Desire”

For an all popular DJ, he had a lot more to know about him than what was known to the public, some of which stayed shrouded in mystery to even his boyfriend and closest friends. One of the things he did make very clear to anyone who saw him around that time of year was that he was a HUGE fan of Halloween. Spooky jack-o-lanterns, sweets, costumes, he still thoroughly enjoyed it, even as an adult. He loved remixing classic Halloween tunes to add a more techno vibe to them, and that wasn’t going to change any time soon. And finally, he loved the scares; he was willing to be a bit sick around that time of year with his jokes, as anything scary was widely accepted and usually expected.

Especially not now, when there’s a Halloween party for all the musicians in Rhythm Heaven to attend, as well as any plus 1’s they might wish to have with them. Hosted by the rap men (obviously) and having as many different types of music as you could think of playing one after the other in the main hall, it was going to be a great party to have a good laugh. And for everyone to see any friends they had made since the Battle Of The Bands.

DJ Yellow, of course, had Blue with him. While his boyfriend wasn’t the biggest fan of that scary time of year, he still enjoyed talking to some of the others and seeing them all happy.

“I need to put my costume on in the car, but I’ll be inside in just a moment!” DJ Yellow said, nudging his partner while they were in the entrance hall.

“…Why didn’t you just put it on while we were at the apartment?” Blue asked, turning around. His costume itself was rather plain, he was just dressed as a vampire with a little bit of fake blood on his chin, but he was perfectly happy with that. It was one of the few times of year when he’d go out with his dreadlocks down, too.

“Cause! I wanted it to be a surprise for you too!” Deej gave a quick finger gun, before slipping out the door. His boyfriend sighed, feeling only mildly inconvenienced that he’d need to be alone at a party for a few minutes, and moreover very anxious. He never was one for direct social interaction.

As he walked into the main hall, he was immediately addressed. “Heeey, Blue!” A happy sounding, higher pitched voice called out to him, and he immediately knew who it was. “Where’s Yellow?” B.B. Rocker asked him, standing shorter than him and only around his chest height.

“Yellow’s in the car putting his costume on. Chances are, he just forgot to put it on at home.” He replied, looking down at his friend. They wore a costume that was… on the stranger side, but not out of character for them. It was an orange-white tabby cat suit with a denim dress put on over it, a pair of matching cat ears sitting in their ginger hair. They looked rather cute, if Blue’s bisexual ass could say so himself.

“Ah, so did J.J. He’s getting changed in the bathroom.” They turned away, looking down another hallway in the back of that room.

Blue sighed. “Oh boy…”

“What?”

“J.J.’s here, Yellow’s gonna be here soon. Chances are sometime in the night that is not going to end well.” He folded his arms, glancing away. There were certainly a lot of people there, like MC Adore and her love posse all in matching costumes, the Pop Singer Yui in a cutesy zombie outfit, and apparently even the rap women had managed to slip in, as Rosebud and Sapphie were happily talking to a trio of ghosts. What stood out to him, though, was the fact that the rap men were nowhere to be seen. If they were hosting that gig, they should’ve either been in the entrance hall greeting people, or in the main hall talking.

“Oh, you’re right. Guess we’ll just have to hope they don’t directly cross paths and say something shitty to each other, huh?” B.B. sighed as well, holding the back of their neck.

“You know it’s more likely for J.J. to say something shitty than for Yellow to. Yellow’s not an asshole, he’s just a…” Blue went quiet as he lost his words.

“…A snarky asshole?”

“That.” He motioned in confirmation to them. He looked back over at the rap women, noticing that the Big Rock Finish ghosts were leaving. “I’m gonna go ask the rap women where their brothers are, if Yellow comes in, tell him I’ll be right back.”

“Alrighty!” With that, he walked away, leaving B.B. by the entrance.

As he got closer to the snack table, he was able to tell what Rosebud and Sapphie were wearing as costumes. They were matching, as expected from the two of them, and had gone for a western theme. Rosebud was dressed as a saloon dancer, a crimson skirt falling to the back of her ankles and a corset tied around her waist. It also seemed that she had taken the opportunity to wear something only a bit more revealing than her usual outfits. Sapphie was dressed as a cowgirl, hiding her eyes in the shadow of a ten gallon hat, and wearing open bottom pants. The two certainly matched, but had their own ways of doing it, the mutual color palette between their costumes tying it together.

“Excuse me, girls?” He asked, and the two turned over to face him.

“Oh, hi Blue.” Sapphie humbly waved at him, smiling. “Do you need something?”

“I don’t, but I want to ask- where are your brothers?” The two ladies' expressions tensed.

“Jasper and Goldie? Uh…” Rosebud’s eyebrows furrowed. “…I don’t know, actually. Sapphire?” She looked up at her girlfriend.

The taller woman shrugged. “I haven’t seen either of them since they left the recording studio, but they’re probably somewhere around here. Sorry, Blue.”

“Hm.” Blue looked skeptical, glancing behind him. “Alright then. I need to go back to B.B., you two have fun.” He turned around, his dreadlocks nearly whipping him in the face.

“Bye-bye!” Rosebud said as he walked away.

When he got back over to his rock student friend, they looked confused. “Is something wrong, B.B?” He asked, and they turned to him.

“No, no, nothing. Just… JJ is taking an awful long while to put his costume on. He went in just before you arrived.” They put a hand behind their head, “We’re supposed to be a cat and a dog, so he might be struggling with the suit or something.”

“Now that you mention it, if Yellow is taking this long to put it on, then he really should’ve put it on at the apartment-“

As if on cue, the door opened, and DJ Yellow slid in overdramatically. Since nobody noticed him except BB and Blue, he got up in one quick motion, turning over to them. “Hey guys!” He said happily, walking over. His costume was made of… really dark colors, something completely out of character for him. It was all black with a dark red cape that made his neck completely covered, looking completely out of place while paired with his unaltered hair and headphones. For reasons neither of them could decipher, he also carried a lit jack-o-lantern.

“Hey Yellow..?” BB raised an eyebrow, giving a short wave.

“…” Blue spent several seconds trying to decipher what his lover was wearing, before sighing. “Yellow, what are you supposed to be?”

The DJ walked over and leaned against his taller counterpart’s arm as though he was trying to lean against his shoulder but was just too short to do so. “A surprise.”

“That’s what you said when you were putting ON the costume.” The sarcastic remark made Yellow chuckle.

“Yes, but what I’m gonna do in this costume is also a surprise.”

“Just tell us what the costume is, Deej!” The rockstar leaned in, and mysterious refusal after cryptic refusal soon descended into laughter and casual conversation. It was rare for Yellow to oblige to interact with BB, but Blue was glad that they could get along on a night like that.

But… he still couldn’t downplay it.

Something was wrong.

Or off.

Yellow didn’t sound like himself, nor did his mouth follow his words. His mouth had a delay compared to his words, as though his head and his voice box were working as two separate parts rather than as the same body. His voice sounded less like his smug and casual self was talking and more like some kind of modulation, as though a robot with his voice was reading from a script and trying to sound like a person.

Blue chalked it up to one of two things. One idea was that the tragedy striking Heaven World had hailed itself down to Earth World and struck the man right before him- they were called Alternates, and they took the places of people, making themselves look completely like them- except they had the ability to do things that were biologically impossible, like rip their head off and live, or be engulfed in flames and come out without a scar. Both of those things were examples that Heaven World had given out across the entire land, as they were things they had tried to do to kill Alternates. So far, though, the only way discovered to kill an Alternate was to stab it in the third eye, which appeared somewhere on the body and was usually a spot like the arm, neck, or leg.

What Alternates did with people was unknown, but all that was figured out was the disappearances of many, many real people, and the replacement and spreading of fake versions.

DJ Yellow was either an alternate… or pulling a sick joke and pretending to be one. It wasn’t far fetched to expect him to pull a downright awful joke like that at a Halloween party, so Blue shrugged it off like nothing, knowing that he was probably the only one at that party who paid attention to news from Heaven World. Considering that the DJ hadn’t started acting weird like that until they HAD reached the party, it seemed more logical than just immediately assuming the person before him was fake.

A few hours passed. Music played, fatty and sweet food was eaten, and musicians and their plus 1’s spoke to one another. Only a few minutes after their conversation had happened, the rap men entered the main hall from the back, dressed in matching costumes that looked like zombies. It depended on the person whether or not watching them question how the fuck their sisters had gotten in was entertaining or not, but the girls weren’t kicked out either way.

Everything seemed to be pulling together finely, until…

JJ and Yellow hadn’t seen each other at all that night, until at one point, the DJ was asked to get an alcoholic drink from the kitchen. The alcohol wasn’t out freely at the snack tables, just to make sure nobody accidentally drank liquor or beer over dyed punch, so people would usually ask their partner to get a drink for them from the back.

JJ was returning from the back hall just as Yellow was descending down it, and it seemed the rockstar couldn’t resist a small remark. “And what are you supposed to be?” He said as the two were about to cross paths.

DJ Yellow stopped in his place, a cocky smirk on his face. “The headless horseman, obviously.” He held up the jack-o-lantern, holding it in front of his head.

“You have a head, DJ.” The other musician glared, raising an eyebrow.

There was a sudden tension in the air as the two realized they were alone in that hallway, and the door to the main hall was completely shut. “You think so?” Yellow turned his head and raised an eyebrow. Before JJ could even say anything-

He thrust the jack-o-lantern backwards.

It slammed into his head and he fell backwards, the lit candle squishing against his face and setting his hair on fire, hot wax falling onto his skin. JJ was stunned silent as he watched DJ Yellow’s body stand up without his head, leaving the smoldering wax and flesh on the floor. “Isn’t this a funny costume, JJ?” All of the remnants of his original voice were replaced by the whispering, fake voice of an alternate person.

“Wh- wha- what the fuck-?!” The rockstar couldn’t scream, he could only let out hushed curses. What he saw didn’t feel real in the slightest. As the other man stood up, he could see that the place where his head and his neck had separated held no arteries or bones, but only one bloodshot yellow eye. Blood leaked down his neck as his head smoldered in flames, melting as though it in itself was made of wax.

DJ Yellow stood back up. He turned around and picked up the pile of wax, human flesh, and pumpkin flesh, shaping it back together with his hands. “The look on your face- I don’t think I’ve ever been more entertained!” He laughed, “You’d never believe how long I’ve been waiting to pull that trick. I love being in the body of someone who finds jokes funny!” With that, he put his head back on his neck, tying his cape carefully so that the blood of his neck was veiled.

He walked right up to the rockstar’s face, leaning close.

“Be lucky this isn’t Heaven World.”

so yeah there’s your “yellow becomes a fucking cryptid” writing piece lmao

[dreamofasupernaturalchamber]

Dabb's Dream of a Red Chamber: Dean, Sam, Cas, Jack, and the roles they play

In my last post, I explored how Dean starts off as Qin Keqing in S14 but becomes Lin Daiyu later on in the season. The transition point is 14x13-- the 300th episode. I always found it funny that Dabb chooses the Ruyi Baozhu to start this episode. It's a Buddhist item, and of course, SPN becomes very Buddhist toward the end (which is why everyone hates the finale). What I want to talk about today is Baozhu as both a pearl and a name.

This name appears in Dream of a Red Chamber. Who is Baozhu? One of Qin Keqing's maids who volunteers to be adopted by her after her death so she can play the role of the daughter during the funeral. She then becomes a nun after the funeral-- fitting, no, considering her name? Let me tell you this: a monk (and this gets interesting, but I'll get to that later) arrives at Lin Daiyu's home when she's young and says the only way she'll live a long life is if she becomes a nun. Obviously she doesn't choose this route. But going back to SPN--Dabb twists the Baozhu into another Buddhist message-- so why not use some other artifact from Buddhist lore? Why Baozhu?

I think it's because Baozhu is the combination of the Bao from Baoyu's name, and Zhu, which means pearl. The emphasis is on the pearl, which makes sense-- Dabb isn't going to involve yu, or jade, when Cas (the character corresponding to Baoyu) is secondary in this episode. Dean is the one who makes the wish, and so the treasure is going to represent him.

So who is associated with pearls in Red Chamber? Qin Keqing, for one-- she has maids who carry "pearl" in their names. And Lin Daiyu, who is the reincarnation of the Jiangzhu (Crimson Pearl) Fairy. She's also associated with the Jiling Pearls, which foreshadow the Jia family getting dragged into the royal family's power struggle.

But Dean is nothing like Lin Daiyu, readers might say! He's not sickly. We'll get to the sickly part later-- let's first talk about Lin Daiyu and what she represents.

First and foremost-- Lin Daiyu represents rebellion. Not literal rebellion (although if I'm not wrong, the Jia family gets into huge trouble for aligning themselves with the wrong princes), but rebellion against societal conventions and patriarchal feudalism. The last thing Baoyu wants to do is take the imperial exams and become an imperial bureaucrat-- but this is exactly what his family wants him to do. This is what Baochai, Shi Xiangyun, Xi Ren, and all the girls want him to do-- except for Daiyu. Daiyu tells him, "You should do what you want." And so they think of each other as zhiji, which I suppose can be translated as soulmate, but really means "a friend who knows me." A zhiji is a friend who knows your soul.

And this fits Dean and Cas-- Dean is the one who encourages Cas to rebel against Heaven. Dean is the one who asks Cas what he wants. Dean is the one who bucks convention; he's the subversive one, the one who represents free will.

(And as a side note, Qin Zhong, the younger brother of Qin Keqing, is another one of Baoyu's more subversive loves-- he dies just as Baoyu's oldest sister is made the highest ranking imperial concubine, which indicates that Baoyu's attempts to buck against feudalism are destined to fail and foreshadows Lin Daiyu's death. Qin Zhong, Qing Zhong-- his name tells us that Baoyu is a lover.)

Dean doesn't die from what looks suspiciously like TB, which is how Lin Daiyu dies in the last forty chapters of Red Chamber-- however, we know that those chapters are ghostwritten and doesn't fit her panci, or the poem that foretells her fate, the hints that she's married off for political purposes, or Zhiyanzhai's footnotes which indicate that she dies of a broken heart. Zhiyanzhai is very likely the coauthor of Red Chamber, and their notes indicate they were there for most of the events of the story (Red Chamber is thought to be a retelling of how the author's family fell upon hard times-- of course, there are other interpretations too, which I will talk about in a separate post). Dean dies from a broken heart two times. The second time takes.

Now let's talk about Cas and Baoyu. Baoyu is usually considered the reincarnation of Shen Ying Shi Zhe, who is a heavenly monk in another dimension. He waters the Crimson Pearl Grass every day, and she becomes a fairy as a result; it's hinted that he falls in love with her, which threatens his cultivation/enlightenment, so he runs off to the human world to gain more enlightenment, and she follows him and decides to repay her debt by crying all of her tears for him (the lyric "don't you cry no more" comes to mind). Yes, Lin Daiyu is the fairy this blade of grass becomes. Yes, Shen Ying Shi Zhe is responsible for giving her life, much as Cas is responsible for lifting Dean from perdition.

Cas also falls from Heaven to experience love, but up until Dabb took over, this was usually framed as a positive thing. I'm-- not quite sure Dabb actually frames it as a positive thing. Cas's ending calls to mind the endings of the gods/fairies who fall from grace because they fall in love in Chinese folklore-- they either become human, or they become enlightened and regain their standing in the heavens. Baoyu's real ending is unknown, but it's not hard to guess that he becomes enlightened and goes back to being Shen Ying Shi Zhe-- which would match nicely with Cas's ending.

There's another version of Red Chamber (there are multiple versions-- again, remember, this is a work of metafiction, and this will come into play later) where he's considered to be one of the rocks Nuwa was going to use to patch a hole in the sky, but was discarded. We usually interpret this rock as the piece of jade Baoyu was born with, but I do want to point out this version, because Cas, given his performance in the later seasons, also fits this description.

Then there's Sam-- he contains shades of Baoyu (he marries someone after Dean dies, but he's never happy, which is what happens to Baoyu; this is foretold in a song Baoyu hears in Bo Ming Si), but I'm going to argue that he is Baochai. Who is Baochai? The other girl in the love triangle-- Baoyu loves Daiyu, but marries Baochai instead (this plays out differently here). What does she represent? She represents money (there's the gold radical in chai, and it's often said that her union with Baoyu is a marriage of gold and jade, and her family is exceedingly wealthy). She represents adherence to tradition. She and Daiyu are like "sisters" at one point, but that falls apart because Lady Wang hates Daiyu and wants Baochai as her daughter-in-law instead. And even though Baochai and Daiyu top the first volume of the beauties, they share a poem that foretells their fate; all the other women get their own poems. And what's Baochai's fate?

It's a one liner-- a gold hairpin (chai) buried in snow. I've seen all sorts of theories flying around that she's supposed to die in the snow, but honestly, I think the ending in the ghostwritten chapters is probably close to what was planned for her. She marries Baoyu, but he leaves to become a monk and she lives alone in the Jia family. In the ghostwritten ending, she also has a son. Her room at the Jia's mansion (she lives with them)? It's compared to a Snow Hole; she's a minimalist when it comes to interior decoration.

And let's look at Sam's ending. He basically lives in a shrine to the dead with his one son, and it's clear his marriage was short-lived (no pictures of the wife). His ending is a perfect match for Baochai's.

And then there's Jack. I compared Jack to Baoyu in the previous post, and again, if you look at the stories of Shen Ying Shi Zhe and the rock (especially when you consider that Jack was born to stop the apocalypse/make the world a better place), you can see the similarities. But he also represents other characters-- Daiyu and most likely Prince Beijing, who's the head of the four princes, or the old guard; those two characters are connected through Baoyu, which makes for a nice trio of characters.

How does Jack represent Daiyu? There's the way he's not entirely welcome in his own home (Lin Daiyu lives with the Jia family, and Lady Wang dislikes her immensely.) There's the way he dies in 14x08-- from what looks suspiciously like TB, just as Daiyu dies in all the TV adaptations and in the ghostwritten chapters. He changes identities after this death -- he becomes the prince.

Let's finally talk about Prince Beijing. He's young-- under twenty. The Jia family is close to him. He clearly plays a role in the power struggle-- if we're going off the real prince he's based on, then he should be in the faction against the dowager emperor, which means he's loyal to the emperor, but most analyses claim that he's not loyal to the emperor. One piece of evidence for the latter viewpoint: he attends Qin Keqing's funeral in full regalia, which is considered disrespectful, and hands Baoyu a bracelet of Jiling pearls that the king gave him to symbolize their brotherhood. That's-- not what you do with what the emperor gives you. It's just not done. (That being said, I can see the real prince getting away with that, because he was the real emperor's favorite brother.) Baoyu then hands Daiyu those pearls, and she throws them away. Later on, Baoyu will hand Daiyu the prince's straw coat and she tosses it away again. She doesn't accept anything from Beijing until she's forced to. We can interpret this as Daiyu disapproving of Baoyu's alliance with Beijing (and there are other interpretations that assert Beijing is responsible for marrying off to distant lands, but since the last forty chapters were never written...).

This fits Jack. He's TFW's only hope against Chuck, who is both the emperor and the dowager emperor in this story. Cas has faith in him, just like Baoyu likes Prince Beijing. Dean doesn't have faith in him, just as it's implied that Daiyu doesn't have much faith in the prince either. This is where the meta gets very interesting, because who is Chuck? The writers? The network? What does it mean if he's both the emperor and the dowager emperor? I'm going to talk about this next in a post on the meta structure of SPN and Red Chamber.

What I want to point out before I end this post is that it's very likely Dabb planned these very controversial endings for Dean, Cas, and Sam-- I doubt censorship had anything to do with it. SPN may have been a story about a fight between the writers and the network, or it may have been a Buddhist story, but either way, I'm pretty sure SPN ended exactly as Dabb meant it to end.