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amor-immortalem · 3 years ago

Text

Replaced

Genre: Heavy Angst, Angst with a somewhat happy ending.

Warning: The following piece is my take on the replaced! au with Arella. Dark themes lie ahead. If you are triggered by feelings of abandonment, suicidal ideation, or outright suicide, this mini fic is not safe for you to read. Please continue at your own discretion.

A/N: I did it guys! I actually managed to break myself with this mini fic by digging into my own abandonment issues. It was fun- cathartic almost. Please enjoy! Also, spoilers for the lesson 16 incident.

What does it feel like to be replaced? If you were to ask Arella, she’d say it felt bitter and painful. Like someone was holding a white-hot branding iron to her stomach and pushing it in to the point it ate through all the layers of her skin and was now searing through her stomach or like someone was rubbing salt into a open, festering wound.

When Diavolo had announced to the other student council officers that a new exchange student would be joining their ranks, Arella was excited- especially when she found out the new student was a female- there was only so much Arella could talk about in a house full of men and one genderless individual that they would understand, all of them having been assigned male at birth and whatnot. So, another woman among their ranks would be a breath of fresh air for her. And it was for a time being- until the brothers had taken favor to this new human.

It started within months of this new exchange student arriving. One by one, her favorite demons started hanging around her more often. It wasn't like Arella could be mad at them. This human was novel and oh so different from Arella. She was everything Arella was not, from her blonde hair to her well-developed body- even her height, which matched closer to the brothers. She was everything human world media told a girl she should be. She even looked like she fit in with them- having taken to the Devildom like a duck to water even without being able to use magic.

Arella wants to be angry with this girl, but she can’t. This girl, named Melissa, was so sweet it was almost enough to make Arella sick. She was smart, innocent, and -above all else- selfless. It was apparent the boys adored her immediately. One by one, Arella was losing them to the charms of this new girl. The first to go was Satan, clearly smitten by her love of books and knowledge of obscure but very talented authors. The second to go was Asmo, often taking her out to clubs or on long shopping trips that often lasted well past curfew. And just like that the other brothers started to follow suit. Game nights between her and Levi? Gone. Drawing up budgets with Lucifer? Not anymore. Going out with Beel to cafes? Not in her wildest dreams. Naptimes up in the attic with Belphie? Hah! Fat chance. The last and most painful to pull away was Mammon- her first man. The one who swore he would always be there for her when she needed him. And oh how she needed him.

Just like when Arella had first come to the Devildom, Mammon was given the task of watching over Melissa by Lucifer. At first Arella tried to justify it as Lucifer worrying about the girl’s safety as even though his brothers had gotten better at controlling themselves, they still had their moments.

As time went on however, she started to notice the little things. Missed movie nights between them, date nights often forgotten about in favor of showing Melissa his favorite spots around the city, the loss of any physical intimacy. Soon, he stopped seeing her all together. Things that she and Mammon did together were now reserved for Melissa: casino trips, movie nights, pranks on Lucifer that would have the eldest chasing after them, running around the city until it was nearly what could considered to be the Devildom’s equivalent of dawn. She knew he was completely gone when she walked down to the dining room for supper one evening and overheard them just casually flirting. Mammon didn’t even make any attempts to dissuade Melissa’s advances. He remembered he actually had a girlfriend, right? Right?!

Or were they even a thing anymore? It had been months since they’d spent any substantial time together outside of classes and even then, he’d moved seats to sit closer to the new human. He’d either ignore her texts or straight up just ghost her altogether. As she listened to them, she had to push down the possessive tendencies that tried to force their way out of her. She pushed them back down into the flimsily locked box they had always been contained in and burying them down in the deepest parts of her mind, forcing herself to accept that she was no longer wanted- no longer loved by the family she thought she’d found. She returned to her room for the rest of the night and for the first time since the initial weeks after arriving here on her first visit, cried herself to sleep.

The next time she interacted with any of the Avatars, it was Lucifer ordering her off to school telling her that she had better not be late and tarnish the good name Lord Diavolo and the exchange programme. Arella only nodded and promptly left the house, not even bothering to finish her morning cup of tea. The walk to school was lonely, Mammon had left earlier with Melissa and it was then, with a broken heart, Arella decided she would leave them all to their new toy. They wouldn’t bother her. They didn’t need her. At least she had Solomon and the angels, didn’t she? No, it didn’t seem to be the case either judging by the mass of unanswered texts.

As she entered class, Arella took her usual seat only hoping Mammon would choose to sit with her for once, would just choose her for once in general. But it wasn’t meant to be. Of course, it wouldn’t. Why would he bother to choose her when there was someone who was much better for him than her? Someone who wasn’t selfish or possessive or... or... worthless... She subtilty looked over her shoulder to watch as they cracked jokes and laughed together and she felt tears pool in her eyes- heart aching at the thought that she would never have that again and the sweet memories she’d made with the demon. The spot she once saved for him was now taken by another demon.

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Two months more of this- it had been eleven since Melissa joined them. None of the brothers even looked Arella’s way anymore- often forgetting she lived in the house with them in the first place. When she tried to reach out to any of them it was Melissa needs this or Melissa and I are doing this, so she just stopped. She stopped eating, stopped taking care of herself save for basic hygiene needs. No one came to check on her. There were no texts, no calls, nothing. They’d gotten all they wanted out of her and now she was like a cast aside doll. She thought about reaching out to any of them but decided against it. They were demons and she was just an insignificant human. It's not like they actually cared and Arella was a fool for allowing herself to entertain the thought.

She should just go home. But where was home? The human world held nothing for her to return to. Sure, she had that degree in biochemical engineering to fall back on but after having a taste of true happiness, would she even enjoy a life doing that? Maybe she could just go back to her original plan. The plan she had made when she first signed on to the exchange programme. 23 years was certainly long enough to experience everything life had to offer, right? She always did tell herself if the year on the exchange programme didn’t work out, she’d end it all. The idea was sounding more and more appealing by the minute.

With her mind made up, Arella swung her legs over the side of the bed. A smile was painted on her face. Her cheeks stained with tears; emerald-green eyes bleary from all the crying she’d done over the past two months. No one would miss her. They left her- abandoned for the better human like she was an unwanted pet. What did she expect though? No one ever stayed. No one ever cared. No one ever loved her enough to begin with. She was always thrown away like the trash she was after her purpose was fulfilled.

With what little strength she could muster, Arella stood as she uttered a spell and a portal opened. She gladly stepped through it, finding herself in her childhood home as it closed- a place filled with nothing but suffering and pain for her. What a fitting place for her own painful end.

“Hello, Mum, Myles... I’m... home... Isn’t it lovely... that you were right after all? I’ll be with you... soon...”

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Missing his call on her D.D.D. was the first thing that Mammon noticed. He knew he hadn’t been the best boyfriend ever since the new human arrived and the demon felt guilty for that. He’d put so much energy into helping Melissa get a date with his younger brother that he hadn’t realized how much time had actually passed- how it had been almost a year since he’d done literally anything with his girlfriend. She was probably pissed at him and rightfully so. Now that he had actually looked at his calendar, there had been so many planned dates and movie nights he had missed with her and all he wanted to do was make it up to her somehow. She probably thought he didn’t want her anymore which couldn’t have been further from the truth. He missed her- missed hanging out with her, missed the dumb jokes they would crack and the laughter that followed, missed the pranks they would play on Lucifer that often ended up with them strung up from the ceiling together. He missed the late-night cuddles and having her tucked up under his arm at night as he held her close. The bed they had once shared was considerably colder now that she was no longer there.

Mammon made his way down to her room. That was the only place she could be. Arella never left her room anymore. She always left for school earlier than anyone else too, choosing to skip breakfast outright, so Mammon couldn’t even catch her to talk then. He thought about reclaiming his seat next to his human but every morning he found her chatting up another demon that had taken his old seat. He often felt his possessiveness spike most during those times but did he even have the right to feel that way after neglecting her for the past eleven months?

As he drew closer to her room, he could see Beel knocking at her door, asking if she’d like to go visit that new café she had mentioned a couple weeks ago. When there was no answer, the Avatar of Gluttony would frown, unsure if she was just asleep or just actively ignoring him. That was the second sign something was wrong. No matter what happened, at the end of the day, Arella was always happy to entertain their whims.

“She’s not answerin’ ya, is she?” The second-born asks as the sixth-born shakes his head, looking like an abandoned puppy on the side of the road. “I’ll go in ‘n see if she’s awake. I have to talk to ‘er anyway.”

Beelzebub nodded as he left back to the kitchen- likely to eat his hurt feelings away. None of them really had the right to feel this way after they’d just ghosted their favorite human though. As he opened the door, Mammon stopped dead in his tracks. She wasn’t there, her phone lay on the bed lit up with missed texts from Asmo and Levi.

Immediately, he took off for Lucifer’s study. If anyone would know her whereabouts it would be Lucifer, right? The family patriarch had the uncanny ability to know exactly where every resident of the House of Lamentation was at any given time so long as they were still in the Devildom.

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After considering her options, Arella was left indecisive. There were a number of ways she could end her own life. She wouldn’t lie, before the exchange programme she would fantasize about the many ways she could kill herself. Would it be by hanging like she found Myles? Or perhaps she could slit her wrists like her beloved mother. If the car in the garage still worked, carbon monoxide poisoning was a valid option too. There were sleeping pills up in the medicine cabinet- a large handful of those would definitely do the trick... Ah choices, choices. As she smiled to herself, the human wondered if any of the brothers had noticed she wasn’t in the house anymore. The chances were unlikely as they were all too busy with their new human but if they had, who was it?

Would it be Asmo, Levi, Belphegor? Surely, it wouldn’t have been Mammon. He’d long since moved on, probably enjoying the start of a new relationship with Melissa. It hurt that he couldn’t have been bothered to even break up with Arella in the first place. What happened to forever? Had it all been the honeyed words of a liar?

She shook her head. It was best not to think too much on it but she still couldn’t help it. Once she was gone- once their pact faded away- would he regret this? Would he regret losing the person who loved him so unconditionally that it was almost embarrassing?

With her mind made up, Arella grabbed a knife from one of the drawers in the kitchen and carried herself up to the master bedroom where she had found her mother four years prior. As she lie on the bed, she pressed the knife to her wrist deep enough to cause substantial bleeding. She drags the blade up her arm, watching as the crimson liquid gushed from the from the wound. She thinks it’s beautiful- a fitting end for a vile creature such as herself.

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“Lucifer!”

“What, Mammon?” The eldest didn’t even bother to look up from the ever-growing stack of paperwork on his desk.

“Did Arella have plans tonight?” The Avatar of Greed asks as his brother finally looks up at him.

“Not that I’m aware of, but I also haven’t seen her all day. As her mate, you should know, shouldn’t you? As far as I’m aware, Arella hasn’t left the house and is still in her room probably practicing her mag-”

In that moment, both demons felt a sharp pain shoot up their arm as if someone had taken a knife and was drawing a line up the inside of their arm. The same pain was radiating from the places where their pact marks were located. Mammon clutched at his chest as he fell to his knees, the symbol representing his girlfriend radiating with pain that reached down to his heart. If the screams of the others were anything to go by, they felt the same thing.

“She’s not in her room!” The white-hair demon manages to gasp out. What scares him most is that he can feel their pact fading away.

Lucifer’s heart leapt up in his throat as the realization hit him. It wasn’t her practicing magic that he had sensed earlier, it was her casting a spell. She opened a portal to the human world and had gone through. He now realizes the mistake they’ve made as he remembers back to the confession she had made to him over a year ago one night when neither of them could sleep and opted for a late-night cup of tea. She had told him that he and his brothers had saved her life that first year during the exchange programme. That if things hadn’t worked out so well, she had planned to take her own life. Back then, he thought nothing much of it since the problem had resolved itself. But with how they had essentially pushed her aside in favor of Melissa, she would have felt unwanted bringing the suicidal thoughts back full force. They had to get to her and fast before it was too late.

Always fast on his feet the eldest, opens a portal of his own, knowing of only one place she would go to take her own life. Both brothers would hop through, landing in the dusty house with a thud. The smell hit them faster than either of them could process it. Blood. And a lot of it at that.

Mammon was the first to scramble for the stairs while Lucifer made a break for the phone, having forgotten his D.D.D. on his desk in the rush to get through the portal. The second-born knows the layout of Arella's house too well, having been here with her multiple times before this. Back in better times when she knew just how much he loved her. As the smell of fresh blood grows stronger, he finds her resting on the bed, a smile on her face as the knife lay between her body and the arm that was still slowly losing blood.

Faster than a flash of lightning, the demon tore his belt off and was on the bed immediately. He took her arm, fastening his belt around the upper part in a tourniquet to stop the blood flow. He shook her frantically, tears spilling down his face freely.

“Arella! Arella! C'mon, baby, wake up! Please!” His voice came out in a scream and he could only vaguely hear his brother speaking on the phone with emergency services. “We’re sorry! Don’t leave us! Don’t leave me!”

With every passing second, Mammon could feel her life slipping away through the pact that was still searing his heart. This was the price of his actions- of all their actions. Her blood was on his hands, literally. He should have done more. He should have been there. He could have called or texted or even just picked up the damn phone when she had called him, but instead just like the blood that had slipped from her arm, the Avatar of Greed let her slip through his fingers. She was gone and there was no bringing his human back this time like they had when Belphie threw her body down the stairs after he’d strangle her to death. He and his brothers had spent all that time protecting her from other demons but they couldn’t protect her from themselves.

Once the EMT’s got there, the demon stepped back from the blood-soaked bed in a state of shock- a state of disbelief. There was nothing they could do for her now. She had no pulse, no signs of life. He dropped to his knees unable to believe that his human was truly gone. His throat felt tight as more tears came. He was only just able to register the feeling of the Avatar of Pride’s embrace as they cried together- something they hadn’t done since the fall, since Lilith passed.

The two demons were informed that the coroner would arrive to collect her body shortly as they left the room. Slowly they got up, Mammon taking her body in his arms as he fought back the urge to sob. The pair returned to the House of Lamentation with Arella’s body in tow, cradled carefully in her mate’s arms. As they stepped through, they were met by their brothers and Melissa. Even the Angels, Solomon, and the Royals were there waiting.

“She’s gone,” The eldest’s voice cracked as a pained grimace formed on his face, more tears slipping down his face. Mammon couldn’t even lift his head to look them in the eyes as the crying, wailing, sobbing started.

“We didn’t deserve ‘er.” The second-born chokes on his tears, feeling utterly broken inside. “We did this to ‘er. All... All seven of us did this... She reached out to alla us ‘n we ignored ‘er.” He’s the angriest with himself.

The prince and his butler only watch on, tears in their eyes. Diavolo remembers all the good times they’ve had with Arella. The way she made the lives of the Avatars better, the fun she brought to the student council meetings, the beautiful light she’d brought to the Devildom. She’d made such an impact on the lives of all of these demons and angels. As selfish as it was, Diavolo didn’t want to let any of that go.

“Bring her back, Barbatos.” He orders and his loyal servant steps forward.

“Place her on the ground, Mammon.” Barbatos says calmly, almost as if he’s done this a thousand times and for some reason the Avatar of Greed obeys the order.

Once she’s on the ground, the green-haired demon pulls open her mouth and takes Mammon’s hand in his, producing a dagger and slicing the white-haired demon’s palm tipping it to side and allows the blood to drop into Arella’s mouth. As the crimson liquid flows down her throat, the effect is immediate- Arella's body convulsing violently before she gasps for breath as the gash along the inside of her arm heals.

Everyone- demons, angels, and humans alike- stare wide-eyed at the scene. Lucifer looks up to his longtime friend in disbelief. He had just...

“Let this teach you all a very painful lesson. I’ve given her life as a demon, do not take this chance for granted. You will not get it again. She needs rest for now, but in a day or two, Arella will reawaken.” The prince’s voice is stern as he peers down at the former human who would now become a very powerful demon. “Treat her right this time.”

It’s with that that Diavolo and Barbatos take their leave. The rest was up to the brothers now to care for her and right the wrongs they’ve made.

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The Bad Ending

Find more on my masterlist

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #obey me! shall we date?#obey me angst #mammon angst #replaced!mc au

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kravkalackin · 4 years ago

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Barry Bluejeans wasn’t a smart man. He wasn’t a strong man either. He didn’t have much skill in dexterity and he had no deep connection to nature and he certainly wasn’t blessed with any divine intervention.

He was, by all accounts, just Barry.

Which wouldn’t have been a problem, except he was trying to help people save the world here.

When they were all taken up to the moon base after Phandalin he didn’t really get a chance to object. To explain that he wasn’t actually a fighter, he couldn’t do anything. The director had been so insistent on having them all as reclaimers, and he didn’t know how to say no. No one brought up the fact that he had been useless during Phandalin’s destruction, and he really did his best to try and train before the next mission.

He’d been just as useless on the train though. Even more so, because he didn’t even have a big piece of sharp metal to flail at enemies. The only one who really brought it up was that kid.

“Uh sir, do you think you could, I don’t know, help them?” Angus had asked as Magnus, Merle, and Taako fought a giant crab. It was fair, Barry was a part of their group, and he was just standing back with the literal child and unconscious man.

“How?” he asked, the kid giving him an incredulous look at that.

“Well, what are you?” he prompted. Barry had to pull himself away from watching Taako levitate the crab into the air with a skill of magic he couldn’t help but be jealous of.

“I’m just... Barry.”

They got the oculus, but Magnus had nearly died jumping off the train. The Director was pretty clear that these missions would only get more and more dangerous, and they had managed to get to the thing before it was even used this time. Maybe next time they wouldn’t be so lucky. As far as he was concerned, it was pretty obvious what needed to happen.

He couldn’t stand around being just Barry anymore.

It took a while to figure out, and for a while he considered just asking Taako to teach him magic. If he hadn’t managed to pick up any at his age though, he doubt he’d get it now. No, the more he looked into this, the more right it felt.

He didn’t have his own power, but he could get power. He could ask for it, and if he was lucky, someone might actually answer.

The temple was small, in the middle of a cemetery. There wasn’t anyone around right now, the sun setting softly behind him. It had said sunset, the transition between day and night was the best time to try and contact her.

Laying out five black raven feathers in a circle, Barry took a deep breath, and stated to pray.

“Uh, hello? I don’t- I’m gonna be honest, I don’t really know what I’m doing here,” he began, feeling a little ridiculous as he spoke. As if a god would actually listen to him because he got some feathers and sat in front of an old statue. Still, he forced himself to continue. “My name is Barry Bluejeans, and I need your help, Raven Queen, if uh, if you’ll allow it?”

“I’m just, I’m useless on my own. My new friends though, they’re doing everything they can to save this world, and I want to help. I at least don’t want to get my ass killed on one of these missions. Like, no offense, I know death is kinda your thing, but it’s- there’s a balance, right? If everything dies, that’s no good for you. I just, I want to keep that from happening,” he continued. The longer he went the more... pointless this all felt. He wasn’t going to get an answer, a god wasn’t going to point a finger at him and grant him power.

And then there was a crack of thunder like the world was tearing itself apart, and as Barry scrambled back the large stone raven at the top of the statue moved.

‘You dare beseech me for power?’ the Raven Queen boomed, and the stone raven didn’t open its mouth but Barry could tell that she was speaking through it. She sounded pissed. He was more than a little terrified as he nodded.

“Y-yeah. I just... I just want to help,” he insisted. Barry was pretty sure the statue did not originally have individually carved feathers, but that didn’t seem to matter as they puffed up in clear rage.

“Help?! And how could one so corrupted possibly help?” she asked, and Barry blinked, his frown deepening in confusion.

“That’s why I’m asking you. I’m powerless on my own, but if you helped me I might be able to at least keep my friends alive long enough to do some good,” he tried. The stone creature continued to stare down at him, a clear indignant rage in her. “Did... did I do something wrong?” he asked after a moment.

And something about that actually seemed to give the god pause.

The bird’s head cocked to the side, and Barry had already been knocked basically onto his back. He tensed up as she flew down, landing roughly on his chest. What had once been crude stone eyes were shining gemstones that stared into his own. Although honestly he was more focused on the beak, thinking about how stone or not, it would probably do a pretty good job of removing his eyes if she wanted to.

“You are... genuine,” she said after an agonizingly long moment. It wasn’t a question, but Barry quickly nodded.

“Yeah! I’m sorry, I don’t know what I did to offend you, your uh, majesty. But I swear I just want to fix this,” he insisted. The goddess was quiet for a long time.

The noise she ended up making was rather terrifying, but Barry was pretty sure it was a laugh.

“Very well! Intriguing. Understand your end of the deal well lost revenant. Your soul belongs to the astral plane, for this power you shall do as I see fit,” she said, and that should probably be more worrying than Barry felt. He had been pretty sure she was going to kill him a moment ago, so he was feeling pretty good.

“Yeah, sounds good. I mean, that’s how it would be when I died anyway, so no skin off my bones,” he said. Again the Raven Queen laughed, like there was some joke here he wasn’t quite getting, and nodded. Jumping off his chest, the bird flew back up to the top of the statue.

“Then I shall grant you this power you seek. Use it well, Barry Bluejeans,” she declared. Without another word the bird shifted back into that unmoving, crude form on top of the temple. A pressure that had been suffocating around him before was gone, but Barry could still feel a change. Like a swirling mass of sardonic power in his chest.

Holding up a hand, he managed to channel that power into a blast of purple-blue arcane energy into the air, which exploded with a loud bang. A little stunned, Barry pushed himself up to his feet, trying to process what just happened.

He was a warlock of the Raven Queen now.

Cool.

#taz #barry bluejeans #the adventure zone #the raven queen #warlock barry #if i do a part 2 to this i'll probably upload the whole thing to ao3 #cause i love me warlock barry #yes kravitz is going to *hate this* when he finds out #i know i definitely talked about that before #long post

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helpistolethesecharacters · 3 years ago

Text

Accidentally on Purpose

Gray Fullbuster x Male Reader

Word Count: 1417

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Y/n sighed for the eighth time that morning. He was regretting ever deciding to take up magic. His family had pressured him into learning fire magic when he was younger. They had wanted him to be able to join a guild and make enough money to live comfortably, and while there was nothing wrong with the sentiment, it hadn't been what Y/n had wanted to do.

In fact, it had been nothing but trouble since then. As a fire wizard his body temperature was naturally higher than other peoples, which made it difficult to pursue his dreams.

Y/n had been to see a performance by figure skaters with a friend when he had been about to start his magic training, and from the first moment the performers had stepped out onto the ice he had been gone. It was just so beautiful. The movements of the skaters, the ambience of the arena and the awe of the crowd had taken hold of his heart and never let go.

So here he was, sitting on the stands at his local rink listening to his coach tell him for the umpteenth time that he had to either find a way to control his magic and body temperature or find another career.

"It just isn't sustainable. The harder you practice, the hotter your body gets. It's getting to the point that the ice isn't safe to be on. There has to be a way to keep your body temperature down. If there isn't, well, maybe think about joining a wizards guild and doing that instead."

His coach stood up with a sigh.

"Think on it over the weekend, okay?"

Y/n let out a heavy breath and sat back. He had no idea what he could do to fix this. He didn't want to work as a wizard. All he wanted to do was skate. He wanted to bring a little beauty and art to other people with his movement out on the ice.

Eventually the pitying looks from his friends at the rink got to be too much for Y/n and he gathered his things and left.

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The communication lacrima that the skaters each had in order to keep in contact lit up on Y/n's bedside table. He groaned as he was woken by the glow. Who would think it was a good idea to wake him up in the middle of the night?

He activated it with a glare and bit out a particularly terse response.

"What!"

"Wow, nice."

Y/n glared his bleary eyes at the lacrima. One of his friends came into view slowly as his vision cleared.

"Why are you calling me so late?"

"Nice. You should be nicer. I might not tell you the idea I had."

Y/n could tell that his friend wanted him to take the hint and ask him, but he was feeling tired and very sorry for himself after the talk with his coach that afternoon. He had come to the awful conclusion that he would have to give up on that particular dream, so to be woken up at stupid o'clock by one of his friends who wasn't going to have to give up skating, well, Y/n wasn't feeling very charitable just then.

"Good."

He closed down the connection and rolled back over to go back to sleep.

His friend was not giving up apparently, because the lacrima lit up once again.

Y/n rolled back toward it and activated it with a vicious swear.

"Just tell me what you want so I can wallow in my misery properly!"

He could see his friend shaking his head at him.

"I figured out how to solve your problem. We'll just hire an ice wizard."

Y/n stopped glaring.

"What?"

"We'll just hire an ice wizard to come in and keep the ice in tact while you're practicing. There have to be lots out there, and if you pay them enough they probably won't mind. Not to mention, there isn't any fighting or danger involved, so that's a plus!"

Y/n sat there, mind entirely blank. Why hadn't he thought of that?

His friend gave him the biggest smirk he had ever seen before.

"You're welcome!"

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Gray was confused. When he had gotten to the guild that morning he had expected to have to sit around waiting for the rest of their team to show up before having to do anything. He and Natsu would fight, get yelled at by Erza, and then, finally, decide on a job and head out to wherever it was that they needed to go.

That had not happened. He had gotten to the guild and immediately been called over to the bar by their Master, Makarov.

"Gray my boy!"

"Hey Gramps, what's up?"

"There's a job that's been posted that would be perfect for you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes, it specifically needs an ice wizard to solve their problem. I think it's something you should look into."

"Uh, alright then."

And just like that, he had been heading out to a job that he hadn't even thought to read about first. Gramps had told him the location and he had just headed out, no questions asked.

He was regretting it now, however. He was standing in the building that had been on the piece of paper that Makarov had handed him, which was notably not the job request.

Gray was starting to wish he had asked for the original job request, because he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing at an ice rink. He had a sneaking suspicion that Gramps had been drunk, or maybe he was pulling a prank on him by sending an ice wizard to an ice rink.

"Hi! Can I help you with something?"

Gray turned toward the person talking to him and took in the uniform they were wearing.

'Huh, she must work here. Maybe she knows what's going on.'

"Uh, yeah. Did you happen to request an ice wizard for something? Or know who might have?"

Her eyes lit up with understanding, and, Gray was disconcerted to notice, a little mischief.

"No, I don't think it was anyone on the staff, but I might know who would have. Follow me."

They walked out of the reception area and into the stands looking out over the rink.

The girl Gray was following headed over to a couple of people sitting in the stands.

"Did someone order an ice wizard?"

Gray was sure nothing good could come from that tone.

The two people sitting down turned to them as one, and Gray was hit with the sudden realisation that he might be in trouble. One of them was gorgeous. He had y/c/h hair and the most amazing y/e/c eyes.

Gray swallowed.

'Well, that was unexpected.'

He had gotten through jobs with people who were attractive before and he knew he would have to do it again after this, so he shoved those thoughts to the back of his head.

Gray tore his eyes off the first guy and glanced at the other one. He was giving the first guy a particularly smug look before turning to meet Gray's gaze.

"Hi, I'm Sam, and this is Y/n. We asked for an ice wizard specifically because of him. He's a fire wizard, which is messing with his ability to practice his skating. So basically, what we need is to borrow your abilities for a few hours a day while he practices for the next week. We are working on a longer term fix, but in the mean time, we only have one more week until the qualifying events start."

Gray looked at the other guy. He could sense the heat coming off of him so it made sense that he was a fire wizard.

"Man, that must suck if it affects your skating so much."

Y/n snorted.

"Yeah, no kidding."

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

The first day had gone really well, Y/n reflected silently. Whatever it was that Gray had done to fix his ice-melting problem, it seemed to have held while Y/n was practicing.

He was sitting on one of the benches, working his skates off when he felt someones presence nearby. Y/n looked up briefly and met the curious eyes of his friend.

"What?"

"You where hotter today."

Y/n couldn't help it. He blushed.

His friend burst out laughing.

"Oh that poor guy! He's having to work harder than you already needed him to just because you have a crush on him!"

"Shut UP!"

#Gray Fullbuster x Male Reader #Gray Fullbuster #Male Reader

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ernmark · 3 years ago

Text

One Possible Read of The Green Knight

I say one possible, because this is the story as I understood it as I was watching the film. When I mentioned it to my partner, he didn't take that away. I'm not saying my take on it is right or wrong (I think it's hard to say that about most reads for a movie like this), but I submit it for your consideration.

(Spoilers and a fairly thorough plot summary under the cut)

(Holy moly this got long)

A brief caveat:

Caveat the First: I'm basing this off a pre-existing understanding of medieval stories, which don't necessarily follow the same narrative structures as modern ones. The world they lived in was weird, so sometimes weird shit just happened for no reason, often very conveniently. (If anything, I think this movie did less of that than existed in typical medieval stories.) They also heavily relied on archetypes rather than distinct characters with backstories, as well as a pre-established understanding of the story you're listening to. Like the puppet show that shows up in the story, the kids in the audience had already heard the story enough times that they could follow it without any actual words. On that note, I've also read a version of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Caveat the Second: I immediately distrust anybody who talks about any story older than three centuries or so having an "original" version. There are some stories that have distinct authors, but often these stories were retold and rewritten to suit the tastes of their latest audience. So I refer to the version I read, not "the original". I take my reading of that story into my interpretation of what I saw. I'll note the details from the version I read where it's relevant.

The Story

We start with Gawain, King Arthur's nephew, waking up in a brothel with his sex worker lady friend. She sends him on his way back home to Camelot where his mother greets him and kindly asks him where he's been all night. Oh, off at Christmas Mass, naturally, is what he tells her. She counters that clearly he's been drinking all the communion wine, because she can smell it on his breath.

She tells him she's not feeling well, so he should go to the Christmas celebration without her and tell her all about it afterward.

[I don't recall hearing her name in the movie, but in the version I read, the Green Knight is sent by Morgana. Between his mother being described in dialogue as Arthur's sister and a known witch, I'm gonna run with that assumption and call her that.]

This is where my reading diverges: I take all of this as being almost entirely Morgana's story. And from her perspective, it's kind of hilarious. Because this isn't the story of Gawain's journey into Manhood, but of a very frustrated mother's attempts to save her beloved (if disappointing) son.

While Gawain is partying with the sickly King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, Morgana joins three of her fellow witches and they enact a spell, summoning the Green Knight and a very specifically worded challenge. The Green Knight presents a game: any one person in attendance may injure him and get his badass axe as a prize, but in a year exactly he'll have to go to the Green Knight's chapel and allow the Green Knight to return the exact same blow to him.

Arthur says he wants to do it, but acknowledges he's too sickly to do so. Gawain, already embarrassed once at this party, jumps up and volunteers to be his champion. And when he steps into the ring with the Green Knight, he cuts off his opponent's head. He'd think that was the end of it, but the Green Knight just picks up his severed head, reminds him of the deal to bring the axe back and let himself get beheaded in a year, and leaves.

[In the version I read, this was a ploy on Morgana's part just to freak out Guinevere. Seriously, that was the entirety of it. Just fucking with her rival/sister-in-law.]

In the movie, I got the vibe that Gawain was never meant to be in the line of fire. I suspect that either Arthur or one of his knights was meant to be the Green Knight's opponent, who would die after a year to get his affairs in order. Given that Gawain was Arthur's next-of-kin, that would have given him plenty of time to pass the crown to Morgana's beloved son. Unfortunately, Gawain stepping up messed up her whole plan.

During the intervening year, we see Morgana and the other witches working together to weave the Girdle of Invulnerability. As the name suggests, it's laden with magic to protect him from all harm and all blows from anyone. So long as he wears it, she explains, he'll make it home in one piece.

[In the version I read, the girdle is given to him by another woman later on at a weirdly convenient time. More on that later.]

Gawain barely makes it out when he asks directions from a young man looting the corpses on a recent battlefield. Being the idiot that he is, Gawain takes the young man's directions straight into a trap, where the young man and several other bandits are lying in wait. Despite his mother's assurances that he's invulnerable, he stands down immediately, allowing the bandits to take the Green Knight's axe, his Magic Girdle, all his money, all his supplies, etc.

During all this, three things happen: first, we see A Fox. Second, when the bandit takes the axe he goes all weird and runs off on the horse, forcing the other bandits to chase after him and leaving Gawain unobserved. Third, we get a weird vision of the future where Gawain remains where he is, tied up, until he rots away and he's left nothing but a skeleton.

My read is that The Fox is either Morgana or one of the other witches shapeshifted to keep an eye on him (alternatively, the fox is Reynard or a similar magical creature employed by them for the same purpose.) The Fox then enchants the bandit into running off with the Girdle and the Axe, leaving Gawain relatively safe. And when he fails to do anything with this spectacular opportunity, the Fox gives him the vision of what's gonna happen to him if he just waits around to be rescued.

Prompted to action, Gawain manages to free himself and continues his quest on foot. Eventually he comes across an abandoned manor. Inside, he meets a ghost who asks him to retrieve her severed head, which was thrown into the nearby spring. After some hemming and hawing, he does. When he returns to the surface with the woman's skull, the ghost is gone, but the Fox is watching him.

My take is that the ghost disappeared. They do that. The Fox, being sent to watch him, saw him actually step up and do a brave and selfless thing for once. This is what cements to the Fox that Gawain isn't a perennial fuckup, he's able to grow and mature if he's given the chance.

Gawain returns the skull to the rest of the ghost's skeleton, and he's rewarded by regaining his lost axe. (The axe placed there by the Fox, who took it from the enchanted bandit.)

So this is great, right? Gawain's fuck-upery has been cured and he's doing the responsible thing. Yay, right?

Except he's a fuckup who spends more time drinking and hanging out in brothels than doing Knightly stuff, so he doesn't know basics. Like how to start a fire or get food. Offscreen, Morgana must have been bashing her head into a wall, because her beloved son is going to get himself killed.

The Fox appears to him, and after his initial attempt to drive it off, Gawain lets it stay with him. From this point forward it stays by his side, not-so-subtly giving him directions and keeping him generally safe.

Later we meet some giants, because sometimes there are just giants. We don't question these things in Arthurian fantasy. Gawain asks them to give him a ride to his destination, but when one agrees to help him, he freaks out at the last second and refuses. The Fox speaks to the giant, quite possibly apologizing for its very rude human friend, and the giants go on their way without him.

Gawain is most of the way there by now, but it's late December in Wales, he's super cold and hasn't eaten anything but trippy mushrooms, he can't build a fire, he's been walking for days. He collapses, but the Fox urges him to go a little further and leads him to another manor house. Fortunately for him, this manor has living people in it, who clean him up, put him in a warm bed, and give him food.

We get a dreamy scene where he's being tended by his mother before he wakes up in the care of the manor. My read on it was that this manor and the people in it were sent directly by Morgana to save him. I don't think the manor was even there ten seconds before he collapsed the first time. Because Morgana loves her son, but he is REALLY bad at this.

Notably, it seems that the only people here are the Lord and Lady of the manor, as well as a blind old woman who seems to be the lady's maidservant and/or mother? Hard to tell.

Some flirting happens between Gawain and the Lord and Lady. The Lord of the manor explains that conveniently, Gawain's destination is only one day's walk away and he's several days early, so why not take some time to rest and gather his strength. The Lady shows off her library and her fancy daguerreotype-like mechanism, etc. The Lord suggests another game (mirroring the game presented by the Green Knight) : the Lord will go hunting the next day and give Gawain whatever he catches. Gawain will in return give the Lord whatever he gains throughout the day.

[In the version I read, this happens over the course of three days. Each day the Lord leaves, the Lady tries to seduce Gawain but he refuses, only accepting a kiss from her on the first two days; when the Lord returns with a hunted animal each day, Gawain gives him the kiss that the Lady gave him. On the third day, the Lady also gives Gawain a previously-unmentioned enchanted Girdle of Invincibility, which he neglects to pass along to the Lord, opting just to kiss him instead.]

In the movie, this is condensed into only one day. Gawain wakes up with the Lady creepily watching him sleep, wearing the Girdle of Invincibility that Morgana made for him. She invites him into bed and offers him the Girdle, reminding him that it can render him invincible. The scene gets a bit weird after that-- sex acts of some sort ensue, and the Lady walks away, leaving Gawain with post-coital shame and the Girdle.

Upset, Gawain grabs his stuff and makes to leave. Along the way he runs into the Lord in the middle of his hunt, and he declares that he's going to meet the Green Knight a day early. Citing their game, the Lord presents Gawain with The Fox (who is alive despite having been caught by a hunter, hmmm) and requests Gawain's "winnings" in return-- which he claims by stealing a kiss. I dunno about you, but it seemed to me that Gawain was Into It, at least before he remembers to be freaked out and runs off.

He's nearly at the place where he's to meet the Green Knight when the fox stops him. Now it starts talking, its voice shifting from masculine to feminine. It tells him that he's done a great job, and he can turn back right now and go home and nobody will know but the two of them. He doesn't have to go through with this. But Gawain, determined to fulfil his quest, drives the Fox off once again and goes the last bit alone.

Here he meets the Green Knight in the ruins of an old chapel, though because he's early the Green Knight is little more than a statue, awake but unmoving until the appointed Christmas Day. All the while Gawain just has to sit there and stew in the knowledge that he's gonna die. Finally the Green Knight stirs, asks Gawain if he's ready to die, and readies the axe that Gawain returned to him.

Throughout this, the light hits the Green Knight differently, making him look an awful lot like the Lord of the manor. After Gawain flinches away from the axe the first time, he speaks gently to him, almost tenderly.

[In the version I read, the Green Knight and the Lord of the manor are the same person, and the Lord/Knight is aware of Gawain's magic Girdle, because this was all an elaborate ruse. Because of Gawain's invincibility, the Green Knight only scratches his neck, permanently scarring him as punishment for lying about it and cheating in both their games, but doesn't hold it against him. Gawain then returns to Camelot and they keep the Girdle at the round table as a symbol that all of them have their failings.]

In the movie, Gawain flinches one more time. We then get a second very lengthy vision of an alternate future: Gawain flees the Green Knight and returns home, where he's welcomed back without external consequences. However, he's haunted by his own cowardice, giving up a difficult love in favor of living up to expectation, only to lose everything in the end anyway. His life following the cowardly route was longer, but it wasn't a better life.

He stops the Green Knight one last time, only to remove the Girdle and set it aside before declaring himself ready. The Green Knight is genuinely pleased by this, and he leans in and simply traces a finger over Gawain's throat, before happily saying. "Off with your head."

The movie ends there. Whether the Green Knight leaves him alive or kills him is up for interpretation. But even if the Green Knight wasn't on Morgana's payroll, I feel like he's way too fond of Gawain to do him real harm at this point.

And so Gawain has grown up-- he's brave, he's honorable, he's learned to keep his word and face the consequences of his actions. And Morgana, after some major struggles and a lot of called-in favors, has managed to keep her son from dying on his quest. Victory all around.

There's also an after-credits scene: just a little girl playing with Arthur/Gawain's crown. Notably, this little girl is neither of the children Gawain had in his vision of the cowardly future, so I interpreted it as a new future with a new child with potential all their own.

But that's just my take.

#gawain and the green knight #the green knight #arthuriana

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boldlyvoid · 3 years ago

Text

Hypothetically | Chapter 16-20

summary: Reader and Spencer were friends in kindergarten, she watched him grow up and explore the world while she was still trying to catch up to him. now that they work together, they fall in love incredibly fast.

friends to lovers, case of the week style story

A/N: Set between seasons 4 and 6, not following canon. all original crimes based on real-life stories.

Warnings 18+: Murderers, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Blood, Guns, mentions of autopsy, Fluff, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, bed-sharing, Riding, Unprotected Sex, Virgin Reader, Case of the Week, original crimes, Food mention, Smut, Oral Sex, Light BDSM, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Talk, obgyn appointments and info, Home Invasion, Past Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Emotional Manipulation, Grooming, Pedophilia mention, non-con oral (male receiving), Pregnant Sex, Daddy Kink, Breeding Kink, Homophobia, conversion therapy

Word Count: 10k

chapter 16

It was 7 am when they got the call. Y/N had barely gotten any sleep that night, Spencer was adamant that laying on the left side helps maximize blood flow. Meaning she faced the wall all night with him happily cuddled into her back. She hated it.

Between peeing 100 times a day and the constant heartburn, she couldn’t really pick the worst part about creating a human.

It fuckin’ sucked and no one thought to warn her.

She dragged herself out of bed, trying her best to do her morning routine with only one eye open. Spencer, on the other hand, seemed to bounce out of bed like he slept 12 hours. Dancing around the kitchen as he poured his coffee and took a smoothie out of the fridge for Y/N.

He fed the cat, changed the litter and even took out the garbage by the time she pulled herself from the bathroom and to her closet.

Her jeans didn’t fit, she let herself take a minute to cry out of frustration in the closet before she looked for anything presentable. The only pants she could get into were a pair of leggings, and at that point, she didn’t care anymore. She was probably going to stay back with Penelope anyway.

She threw on an FBI sweater to hide her bump from the rest of her co-workers, grabbed the rest of her shit and followed Spencer to the car. Getting in the passenger seat and immediately closing her eyes again.

“Wake me up when we’re at Quantico,” she told him. Leaning against the window, ignoring the world.

Maternity parking was the only bonus, she only had to walk 4 feet from her car to the elevator. She felt lazy, but she was allowed to.

“Hopefully,” Spencer finally spoke to her as they entered the elevator. “At the end of this week, your energy should return as your placenta is done developing. You’re the most tired right now because your organs are working 3 times harder than they’re used to.”

“I’m tired because I had nothing to cuddle with all night, but thanks for the insight,” she tried her best to be cheery.

The door dinged, opening to the rest of the team standing in the entryway. “What’s up?” Y/N asked them.

“Hotch got a call, we’ve got a weird one coming in, he’s in his office talking to someone right now,” Morgan said. He looked just as tired as Y/N.

“Are we going in?” She asked, walking past them and towards the bullpen.

She rushed through the room and waddled up the stairs, searching for a chair before she actually passed out. Everyone followed her soon after, patting her back as they walked around the table to their seats.

“Over the past few months 6 feet have washed up on different beaches along the coast of Maine,” Penelope started explaining the case while Hotch was still on the phone in his office.

“6 feet belonging to 6 different people, all incredibly hard to identify. Interpol, Europol, the RCMP and the FBI have all been in communication with each other as no one knows where the feet washed in from. International Water laws prohibit just one of us from taking jurisdiction until we identify the nationality of the victims.”

“How are we going to Identify the feet?” Prentiss asked.

“We’re currently running the DNA against missing persons along the east coast as well as anyone who recently travelled to North America by boat, so far we don’t have any matches. We do know all 6 feet are white so hopefully, hopefully,” Garcia repeated for extra magic help, “this isn’t a refugee transport gone wrong.”

“We’ve been seeing an increase of boating accidents from Syrian refugees recently,” Spencer added. “The wars in the middle east are continuing to push people from their homes in mass numbers, meaning a lot of the boats are overpacked and capsize mid extraction.”

“So we’re probably looking at someone from North America who is using their own boat to sail out and release victims,” Y/N added. “Do we have the ME reports on the 6 feet?”

“Oh, yeah,” Garcia said, flipping through papers and handing them to her.

She read it over carefully, trying to see through her new blurred vision. Another wonderful pregnancy symptom. “Normally when feet wash up on shore, they’re in shoes. If a body is lost in a boating accident or drowning, the rubber soles will always want to float to the surface. When a body is decaying in water long enough the bones will separate, and when the ankle bone goes, the feet float to the surface,” Y/N explained.

“How do you just know that?” Rossi asked.

“In Nevada, we had a lot of drownings in a man-made lake, people would get stuck at the bottom on tree roots. And every year a few feet would wash up,” she added. “I only explained that because it says in the ME report that the feet were cut with a sharp blade, all clean cuts with no shoes or socks. So someone is cutting these bodies up and bringing them out to sea, probably to use as bait for a big catch.”

“It’s weird to me that the feet are the only parts washing up?” JJ’s face was absolutely puzzled as she flipped through the files.

“Not really,” Y/N argued, “I’m more concerned with why he’d even cut the feet, to begin with. With most shark attacks they go for full limbs, if I was the unsub and I was cutting the body up for bait, I wouldn’t make the pieces so small. There isn’t enough blood or flesh on feet to entice a large fish or shark to take it.”

Rossi was tapping his fingers against the table, “Do you think he wants us to find the feet?”

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t look good.”

Then, Hotch finally walked in. “Which 3 of you want to travel to Maine to take a look at all the findings?” Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi raised their hands, “alright, meet me on the runway in 20. The rest of you, find a way to identify the feet.”

—

She sat at her desk most of the morning, munching on a bag of animal crackers to keep her nausea at bay. JJ brought her a cold ginger ale around 11, rubbing her back for a bit while she flipped through files.

She had a doctor’s appointment during lunch that day, so she headed downtown to give blood in the hour she was permitted. Knowing that she could be late and no one would really care.

She waited in Dr. Korrapati’s room patiently, looking at her arm as she rested it on the table. Her veins were more prominent now than they had ever been in her life. JJ insured her that they would go back down but it did make her a little self-conscious.

“Hey mama,” Dr. Korrapati cheered as she walked into the room. “How are we feeling?”

“Good, tired but good.”

“Work kicking your butt?” She asked as she prepped her arm for the blood draw. “Or just the baby?”

“Having a hard time finding a comfortable sleeping position, I’m probably going to get one of those long pillow things to help,” she rambled to take her mind off what was going on with her arm.

For someone who looked at dead bodies as her job, seeing her own blood freaked her out. Dr. Korrapati noticed she was a little stressed, “how about when I’m done here we take a look at your little person?”

That piqued her interest, she sat completely still and looked away as the nicest doctor she could’ve asked for, got the test over and done with, in record-breaking time.

“Do you have any other symptoms that are bothering you?” She asked as she wrote the exact tests down in her paperwork.

“Yeah,” she struggled with the sleeve of her shirt as she tucked her arm back in. “The nausea is driving me nuts, I’m living on animal crackers and ginger ale.”

“If you eat small meals every few hours it should settle it out,” she explained. “But if it is really bothering you we can give you some anti-nausea medication.”

“I tried that, everyone keeps bringing me snacks and trying to take care of me but I don’t want anything because I’m so tired,” she ranted as she climbed onto the exam table.

“Have you tried sleeping on the other side of the bed?” She asked.

“no, why?”

Dr. Korrapati laughed, “you sleep on the left side of the bed right?”

“Yeah?” She questioned, wondering how an OB could profile so well.

“So I'm assuming your smart and overprotective boyfriend has advised you to lay on your left side like he told JJ?” She smiled. “And because you sleep on the left side of the bed already, that means you’re not cuddled into him. He’s the big spoon now and you hate it.”

It was like a lightbulb went off in her head, “oh my god?”

They laughed at the fact it was so obvious and she never clued in. “It happens all the time, you’re so in a routine that you don’t realize you can just switch sides and it’ll work.”

“You’re so smart!”

“Ready to hear and see this baby of yours?” She asked, waiting for Y/N to raise her shirt and lower her leggings to expose her lower stomach.

“Can we?”

“Yep,” she nodded, “you’re in week 9, so you’re exiting the embryo stage and moving towards the fetal stage. We’ll be able to see the fetus and hear the heartbeat.”

“Can I record it for Spencer?” She asked, not wanting him to miss it.

“I’ll do you one better and put it on a disk for you.”

Just like that, she was smothering her stomach in warm jelly. Spreading it around with the ultrasound wand before she began to search for them. Pressing in slightly on her right side, she heard her own heartbeat whooshing. The closer she got to the centre, the more they heard the second.

Her baby’s heartbeat was strong. She saw them on the monitor, they had changed from being a jellybean to actually looking like a person. 4 strong limbs were stretching and moving, growing faster than she thought possible.

“That’s insane?” She was in such awe of it, “when will I feel the kicking and stuff?”

“In a few more months, they’re only the size of a green olive. You’ll probably feel it around Christmas?” She guessed. “You’ll be 16 weeks around then.”

“Wow okay,” she was just astounded by the magic of growing a child, she felt like absolute shit but it all made sense at that moment. In just a week, muscles and limbs formed and her baby grew the ability to self-soothe in the womb. Growing 10 fingers and toes that they already knew how to put in their mouth.

She cleaned the gel off Y/N’s stomach and began exporting the files for her. “So, I will call you when the results are in, and I can just email you guys a copy and go over it with you on the phone when you’re free? I know your job is unpredictable?”

“That would be perfect, thank you. We’re working on an international case right now so for all I know I’ll be in Ireland next week,” She laughed.

“Of course, take care of yourself make sure you’re taking all the vitamins and having 8 cups of clear fluids a day, you have to stay hydrated.” Dr. Korrapati handed her the disk in a sleeve as well as her contact card.

“Yes ma’am, I can’t wait to hear from you,” she smiled before leaving the office.

—

Y/N walked back into the BAU around 1:15, wandering down the hall to Penelope’s office to get a rundown of what she missed.

Spencer and JJ had the same idea, all turning towards the door as Y/N walked in, “hey.”

“How was it?” Spencer asked softly, beckoning her to his lap.

She sat down on him softly, “I got a DVD copy of the ultrasound.” She waved the disk around. “But, we can’t watch it until I get a rundown on what we know so far.”

“I hate how professional you are sometimes,” Penelope huffed. “Luckily, it is very important.”

“We matched a tattoo on one of the feet to a missing person’s case in Nova Scotia. So we focused our efforts on missing person’s cases who fit the same features and backgrounds as her,” JJ explained.

“Okay cool, who was she?”

“Andrea Carlton, 18. She was hitchhiking, apparently wanting to run away to meet her boyfriend in Newfoundland. I traced her transactions before she disappeared and it looks like she bought a ferry ticket, however, there are no reports of her ever getting on it,” Penelope added. “So I’ve looked into other people from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, who went missing hitchhiking or after booking a ferry ticket.”

“Smart, how many matches did we get?”

“5,” She laughed.

“You’re kidding?”

They all shook their heads, “nope. And we were able to match all the feet to them.”

Y/N handed the ultrasound video over to Penelope. “Your reward.”

She snatched it from her hands so fast, taking it out of the packaging and shoving it in her CD port. Loading the file within seconds.

She watched Spencer’s face the whole time. Already having seen the footage herself, knowing the real show would be his reaction.

He was so mesmerized, his eyes blown up in awe as tears welled. His grip on her leg was more intense, he was squeezing along to the beat of the baby’s heart, absentmindedly. He shook his head in disbelief, that was his baby in there.

The phone rang before they could really talk about it, Hotch requesting the team hop on a plane and meet them in Nova Scotia. The RCMP and the FBI have taken sole jurisdiction over the case.

Y/N was able to convince him that it would be best if they get some sleep before they go. He agreed, telling them he expected to see them in Canada at 10 am sharp.

“Before we go home tonight can you cross-reference freelance charter boats or fishermen in the area the day each victim missed a ferry? Someone desperate to get a ride might be willing to hop in a boat with anyone going where they are,” Y/N suggested to Garcia.

“I’ll run it in the background, you two go home and get some rest so my god-baby can get big and strong!” She hugged her lightly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Y/N and Spencer didn’t need to be told twice, practically running to their car. She let out the deepest sigh ever once she had her seatbelt on, so excited to go home.

Spencer drove them home, getting used to it as she got more pregnant. Soon she’d be too big to drive at all let alone stay awake the whole time.

“How are you feeling?” Spencer asked as they cleared the security check.

“Good, Dr. Korrapati is going to email us the results when they’re in and go over them with us on the phone. I told her we’d probably end up going out of the country soon,” Y/N recalled the day.

“The ultrasound was so cool,” he gushed.

“Yeah,” She smiled. Reaching to hold his hand on the centre console. “She also suggested we switch sides of the bed so that we can still cuddle while I’m on my left side.”

“She’s a genius.”

“that’s what I said!” She laughed, “literally how dumb are we?”

“187 till I become a dad and then I’m an idiot,” he smiled back at her quickly. “I’m glad you had a good day. Now we can go eat and get a full night’s rest.”

She let out another deep breath, “I can’t wait to cuddle.”

—

Garcia was waiting for them at the elevator the next morning. “Patrick Timmins.”

“Who?” Y/N asked, fully awake and ready to go, just confused by the ambush.

“I ran the perimeters that you asked for and I found a freelance fisherman slash charter service run by a guy named Patrick Timmins,” Garcia explained. “The townspeople call him Patty Tims, they think he’s fine and lovely according to his Yelp page but his criminal record tells a different story.”

“Really? I thought that was such a long shot!” Y/N was cheery from the extra sleep she got with Dr. Korrapati’s advice.

“The plane is ready when you guys are, I have all the updated info in this as well as some snacks for the plane,” she handed Spencer a cloth bag.

“What would I do without you? My pretty penny,” she kissed her friend on the cheek.

“If it means I get some sugar from you, I’ll do anything,” Garcia flirted with her in the absence of Morgan. “Go get on your plane, I will see you when you return my loves.”

They landed in Nova Scotia around 10 am like Hotch had requested. Bypassing customs and driving directly to the RCMP headquarters. They needed to come up with a plan, they had no idea how to find a man who travels by boat and lives at sea.

“We could always send undercover’s out in the areas he’s picked up before, have them dress as hitchhikers, miss the ferries and wait and see who tries to pick you up. Everyone will have a team watching and police boats on standby?” Morgan was theorizing as Spencer, Y/N and JJ walked in.

“We have report’s that he’s in the bay, if we’re going to do this we need to do it now,” An RCMP officer she hadn’t met yet announced to the room. “Who here is comfortable posing as a vic?”

JJ raised her hand, “get me some dirty clothes and I can be ready in 5.”

They raided the lost and found, they filled a backpack with random things and tried their best to dirty her fingernails and hair. She looked like she had been travelling without a proper place to stay for a while.

They managed to hide a wire on her, prepping what she was going to say if she was in danger and they needed to move in. Hiding a gun and a knife in her socks in case she needed them later.

They drove her down to the bay dropping her off 1 kilometre away, letting her walk into town while they parked closer to watch with binoculars. They planned it for her to arrive as the ferry pulled out of the bay.

She ran down the dock, trying to catch the ferry. Putting on the best performance of: “fuck, I missed the boat!” That they had ever seen.

“She’s going to win an Oscar,” Morgan whispered in the back of the surveillance van, trying to make Y/N laugh.

“Excuse me, ma’am?” They heard over the wire, trying to identify the source of the voice. The man was standing on his boat, hanging over the edge to get JJ’s attention.

“I missed the ferry, do you know when it’ll be back?” She played dumb. “I promised my mom I’d be back tonight and now I won’t be.”

“I can give you a ride, for a price,” the man suggested. “Names, Patty Tims.”

Hotch turned around from the front seat and motioned for Y/N and Morgan to head out quietly without making a scene. Listening in their headsets as JJ replied. “How much?”

They hid around the corner of the ticket booth, watching as the undercover officers walked around the civilians.

“Just a simple photo, I like to put a face to the stories I run across. Come on up,” he motioned for her to get on the boat.

She walked closer to him, “I don’t know sir, I should probably wait for the ferry.” She smiled.

“No,” he ground his teeth together and clenched his jaw, reaching for her.

She grabbed his arm and flipped him, getting into the boat and pushing him to the ground. She cuffed him by the time Morgan and Y/N could board. “What the fuck is this?” He struggled in her grasp.

“You’re under arrest for the murder of 6 people,” JJ replied, about to tell him his rights.

“Only 6?” He laughed.

JJ shoved him into the floor harder, reading him his rights before lifting him to his feet and shoving him off the boat and into RCMP custody.

Y/N lifted her hand up to high five JJ, pulling her into a half hug as they walked back to the surveillance van.

She never had a sister before, JJ was probably the only woman in her life that she felt this close to. It was mostly to do with the fact she’s always been so wonderful to Spencer. She helped him feel loved before Y/N, and that was important to her.

“Can we search the boat? Or are we still waiting on the warrant?” Y/N just wanted to check with Hotch before she barged onto the boat. Not wanting to jeopardize what they’re allowed to enter into evidence.

“We got it, you can start looking,” Hotch said, handing her a pair of gloves and a handful of evidence bags.

JJ went with her. They walked in together, noticing that he wasn’t lying about wanting a photo to go with the story. Below the deck, the entire wall was filled with Polaroids of terrified people moments before their deaths.

They bagged them all into evidence, dreading having to put them all into the system and match them to missing person’s reports. Delivering the news that someone’s loved one was gone for good was never fun.

Telling 58 families that their loved one was dead was a nightmare.

chapter 17

She’s a little confused when she wakes up to the sound of geese honking. Rolling away from Spencer’s embrace and immediately being blinded by the sunlight in the room. She sat up in a small panic.

She had forgotten that they stayed the night at the new house.

The large windows in the bedroom faced the water. She could see the sun’s reflection on the lake as it stretched over the house from the east. It was absolutely stunning. She could get used to waking up early with a screaming baby if this was the view.

Then she remembered it was the day they got their test results, she bounced a little as she reached for her phone to check her messages.

“Morning bunny,” Spencer’s groggy morning voice startled her a little.

“Bunny?” She questioned, never hearing him call her any form of nickname before.

He reached out of her, wrapping his arms around her growing belly, resting his head in her lap. “Have you ever noticed you hop a little bit when you get excited?”

“Yeah, it’s called Asperger’s,” she smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair. “It’s honestly better than bugs bunny though, just don’t throw carrots at me okay?” She laughed to herself as she recalled the childhood trauma.

It was a little funny, looking back now.

“Never, you’re my bunny. I love my bunny.”

He was so soft in the mornings. Snuggling in against her skin as he slowly woke up. He stretched and yawned a bit, making the cutest little sounds as he did so.

She kept her fingers in his hair, twirling the ends every once and a while. Mostly running her nails along his scalp, soothing that big beautiful brain of his that she loved so much.

“We find out what the sex is today,” she reminded him.

He lifted up her shirt to expose her belly. Kissing the skin as she laid back against the pillows.

“What’s going on in there today?” She asked softly.

“They’re the size of a prune,” he mused. “speaking of, as you enter the fetus stage this week you’re going to get constipated.”

She couldn’t help but laugh, “thanks that’s exactly what I wanted to know!”

“Right now the fetal development is focusing primarily on the bones, tummy and teeth,” he explained with the largest smile on his face.

“There we go.”

He hovered over her, brushing the hair from her face so he could look at her, “You look so beautiful right now.”

He said that as if he wasn’t blocking the sun from her view, perfectly casting a halo glow around him. She placed her hand on his cheek, “I love you.”

He leaned in and kissed her, pressing his body softly against her’s. “I love you,” he whispered between kisses. Covering her face and neck with small pecks, making her laugh as he covered her body in kisses.

The phone rang on Spencer’s night table causing him to press his forehead against her hip, letting out a deep sigh. Y/N reached over and picked it up. “Doctor Spencer Reid’s phone,” she answered. “He can't come to the phone right now, can I take a message?”

“Funny,” Penelope replied.

“We have a case,” Morgan added.

“What time do we need to be on the plane by?” She asked.

“Uh, it’s 7:46 now, so you’ve got an hour, tops?” Penelope guessed, “why?”

“I said he was busy. I’ll see you later.” She hung up.

“You did not just do that?” He looked absolutely horrified, his whole face turning pink.

“They could either think you got some, or you could actually get some?” She teased. “We have an hour.”

—

“All 3 Vic’s had been strangled and raped before they were wrapped in plastic and released into the river,” Garcia explained to the team over the laptop as they travelled through the sky. “Washing away all of the unsub’s DNA, however, they did find carpet fragments under the victim’s finger-“

“Like the ’84 Oklahoma Child Murders,” Y/N cut her off.

“What?” Garcia asked.

“Oklahoma 1981 to 1984. Local black children between the age of approximately 6 and 17 were being abducted, raped and murdered. Their bodies were mostly discovered in wooded areas and along the edges of the river, never submerged. The BAU worked the case, only ever being able to solve the last 2 murders before the Oklahoma governor, I think, kicked you off the case, right? They cared more about the money going towards the investigation than the black children going missing,” She explained.

“Gideon and I tried,” Rossi said. Still very bothered by the ending. “We wanted to catch the guy, the last 2 murders were so different from the others and yet the local cops considered it the same guy. Much like this new unsub, he raped young men before strangling them and dropping them in the river. All the way down to the carpet fibres.”

“It ended up being a local man named Oscar Pope, they caught him dumping an older male victim at a police checkpoint. They matched carpet fibres at his house to the 2 rivers Vic’s, but none of the children,” Prentiss cut in. “This has to be a copycat right?”

“We don’t know that,” Y/N added. “The BAU was working the angle that a local boy who knew the majority of the victims was in on it. Um, Daryl Livingston, he was in foster care at the time. He was the 7th boy to go missing and then every one of his friends was found dead after that. However, his body was never found. They suspected that he formed a bond with his captor and offered to bring him, other boys, if he let him live.”

“Any chance that this unsub could be the same kid, using Pope’s tactic to get our attention back on him?” Morgan asked.

“I was about to say that too,” JJ cut in. “they might’ve even been a team back then as well. That would explain why the murders stopped when Pope was caught but they still never found that boy.”

“That’s possible. They concluded that the last victim Pope dropped into the river was a long-time, secret boyfriend of his who found out what he was doing to the children. His MO changed when he didn’t want people to tie the murders together,” Spencer provided the extra information. “Only backfiring when local cops patrolling the river heard a splash.”

“Garcia, can you see if any of the Vic’s have any relation, contact or even geographical coincidences with the original murders?” Rossi asked. “If this is a victim continuing Pope’s work we need to find out who knew him.”

“Sir, Oscar Pope is still alive in a local correctional facility,” Garcia added. “I’m going to run background checks on all contact he’s had in his entirety at the prison, it might take a while but I’ll get it.”

“Garcia, I can go to the facility and just read everything they have there. It might not be all digital yet,” Reid offered.

“Good idea, take Y/N with you. You two bounce ideas off each other better than the rest of us,” Hotch agreed. “Morgan and Rossi join the search teams at the rivers. JJ and Prentiss, we’ll set up communication with the locals and go through old case files.”

“Reid’s good at bouncing somethin’ off her, alright,” Morgan teased him. “You were on speaker this morning.”

Spencer turned bright red once again, burying his face into the table as everyone laughed, reaching across the aisle to give Y/N high fives.

—

Being in a prison was always weird for her.

Having to hand in her gun just to read papers in a dusty office made her uncomfortable. She understood the protocol and she knew the guards would keep them safe, but knowing she was near men she helped put away, that scared her slightly.

“I’m not finding anything,” Spencer sighed. “There was a flood 2 years ago that destroyed most of the files near the ground. Including the Pope documents.”

“We can always just go ask him?” Y/N suggested, “he’s in D cell, he’s behind bars. We can just talk to him from the hallway unofficially. Pretend we’re here for someone else. I’ll say I never thought he really did those murders and gain his trust, see what happens.”

“I don’t like it but, I think we have to,” he agreed. Opening the office door for her to lead the way, “after you.”

Spencer felt very protective, she could tell. He was never pushy or controlling with her, but for some reason, he was now manhandling her. Making sure she walked on the inside of the hallways, closer to the brick walls so that no one could get her through the bars.

“So Doctor Reid,” she picked up the conversation as they hit the D block. “I was reading the book you lent me about engineering.”

“Oh,” he tried to play along. “How did you like it?”

“It was good,” she replied while trying to look at each inmate she passed. “I loved page 187— oh my gosh?” She stopped at Pope’s cell.

“You’re Oscar Pope?” She pointed at him.

“and you’re?” The old man questioned her. “A fed?”

“We’re here for something political, nothing to concern yourself with,” she lied, getting closer to the bars, whispering. “I just want you to know I never thought you did all 16 of the child murders back in the day.”

“Thank you,” he was suddenly enthusiastic. “Now why can’t all the fed’s be as smart as you?”

She laughed, tapping his arm through the bars. “How are you doing? Is there anything I can get you while I’m here?”

“Phone privileges!” He answered quickly, “the mail’s taking forever and I’ve got people to talk to before I croak in here.”

“I’m sure you do sir,” she smiled at him. “I’ll pull some strings, you have a good day!”

“You too, beautiful!”

Spencer placed his hand on her hip and led her away from the bars, she waved as they walked away.

“Agent Y/L/N,” a voice stopped her at the end of the hall.

She turned to see a man sitting cross-legged on the cell floor. His orange jumpsuit gathered around his waist as he sat in an undershirt. She glanced over his body, stopping at his face. She’d know those eyes anywhere.

“Didn’t I say only good boys get to talk to me, Bitch?” She snapped at him.

“Congratulations on the little one.” He replied. Laughing as Spencer placed his hand over her small stomach and led her out of the room, through the big metal doors.

“Keep walking with me,” Spencer insisted. “Or I will turn around and I will kill him.”

She huffed and continued down a narrow hallway with him. “We need to call Hotch.”

“Yeah,” he flipped his phone open and hit the speed dial.

“Reid?” She heard Hotch answer.

“We couldn’t get any of his information from forms, they all had water damage so Y/N and I walked past Pope’s cell and struck up a conversation,” He explained.

“And?”

“She got on his good side, pretending that she could get him a favour while she’s here for political reasons. He said he’s desperate to make a phone call today.”

“I’m on my way, get Garcia to prep paperwork to allow us a meeting with him now,” Hotch instructed, hanging up.

Y/N dialled Garcia on her phone. “How’s it going love birds?”

“Not good,” she replied. “We need you to get the paperwork going to allow us to sit down with Oscar Pope today. And we’re going to need to tear through his cell.”

“Oh, damn okay,” She replied. “Ask him about Cody Kollins.”

“Who?” Spencer asked as his phone rang again. He flipped it open, “we’ve got Garcia here too.” Putting it on speaker.

“Morgan and Rossi just intercepted a man dropping a body in the river,” Hotch confirmed. “I need you to rush that paperwork.”

“Sir, what was the man’s name?” Garcia asked.

“Cody Kollins.”

They sighed at each other, “let’s do this.”

—

Y/N watched him through the mirror. She could see him fidgeting. He was frustrated. He was exhibiting the exact same behaviour as he was when he was caught the first time.

“Every time we one-up him, he breaks down,” she whispered to Spencer. “Even in his interrogation tapes, he was like this. When they found the single patch of carpet left in his closet and were able to match the fibres, he lost it. He likes to play it cool and under control, he wrote the story and he wants us to stick to it.”

“How upset do you think he’d be if we went in there and told him we actually caught the original killer and he’s going to be released pending DNA testing?” Spencer suggested.

She tilted her head, biting her lip as she thought. “I think he’d be violent.”

“Sit here,” he said as he walked into the interview room.

She hated having to just watch. It helped that Pope was cuffed to the table, and the table was drilled into the concrete floor, Spencer wouldn’t get hurt. The guards are right behind the door. It’s fine.

“Sorry for the abrupt interrogation, I promise this isn’t what you think,” Spencer smiled softly. “We have reason to believe that the original killer has returned, the state is running the DNA now.”

Y/N watched as Pope’s right eye started to twitch, his finger on his leg was tapping at an odd rhythm as Spencer talked.

“The second we can prove you had no hand in any of the killing’s we’ll issue a pardon and your discharge papers will be filled out,” Spencer finished his sentence and moved to open the door once more.

“You’re a fuckin’ idiot,” he hissed. His voice was completely different than it was when they were speaking in D block.

“Why?” Spencer asked, easily playing the innocent and stupid role.

“You think some crazy-obsessed, fuck toy of mine whose doing half-assed attempts at my signature, is the real killer!!!” Pope spat his confession out. Literally covering the table in spit as he became more feral. Shaking violently.

Spencer walked right out of the room. Y/N watched as Pope smacked the table, tugging violently at the cuffs, scratching himself all up. The guards had to run in and hold him down, shooting a sedative into his neck.

“Jesus,” she whispered. Taking her phone out of her pocket to call Garcia, when she noticed the voicemail notification in the bottom corner. She ignored it, calling her friend instead.

“Hey,” Penelope answered quickly. “So turns out we were right, who would have thought, Cody Kollins is actually Daryl Livingston.”

“We just got a confession from Pope,” Y/N shared her news. “They had to sedate him so we’re going to come back to the station. Wait until tomorrow to interview him again.”

“Yeah, sounds good, Hotch and Morgan are in with Livingston right now,” she updated them. “Make sure to eat something when you get there.”

“Yes mom,” she teased, hanging up and smiling.

Spencer put his hand out in an invitation to hold it. She interlocked their fingers and followed him back to the filing room, gathering their things before exiting the prison.

She sat on the passenger side of the SUV, she and Spencer just sat there and took a few deep breaths. Processing everything the exact same way, quietly and on their own.

She cut the awkward silencer by taking out her phone and playing the voicemail. Putting it on speaker.

“Hi Y/N, this is Doctor Korrapati calling. I’ve emailed you your results. The gender is at the bottom, under the little read more button, in case you wanted it to be a surprise. Call the office and let us know when you’re free to go over the results and we’ll book you in, as far as I can tell everything looks good, so don’t feel the need to rush. Take care!”

Spencer looked over at her with a soft smile on his face, reaching out for her hand once more. Holding her hand with both of his now, “do you want to do this?”

“I’m ready if you are?”

He nodded, watching her contently as she opened her email up, finding the right one and scrolling to the bottom. Her heart fluttered a little as she looked at the read more option.

She took a deep breath and clicked on it.

Chromosomal sex: XY

“Well?” Spencer asked softly.

“I’d really love to tell you,” she bit her lip trying not to laugh, “but I don’t remember what this means?”

He laughed, shaking his head as he looked at the screen. He blinked with glossy eyes as he read it, a light chuckle escaping his lips as he cried softly.

It had to be a girl, she knew he wanted one. She convinced herself in that millisecond that it was a girl.

He reached over and placed his hand flat against her belly. “Hi Matthew,” he said softly.

“You’re kidding?” She couldn’t stop herself from crying.

Spencer wrapped her up in a hug, the two of them happily crying into each other. She wasn’t sure if she was giggling or sobbing, she just knew she was shaking in Spencer’s arms with happiness that this was her little family.

He kissed all over her one cheek as he held her close. “I love you so much,” he reminded her.

She pulled back, wiping her tears off on her shirt sleeve, laughing at the serendipity of it all. “I love you too, dad.”

“I have to drive, don’t make me cry again,” he laughed, wiping his own tears before tucking his ever-growing hair behind his ears.

“Let’s go.”

—

Y/N sat beside JJ in the break room of the police station, salad bowl in her lap, shovelling the dressing-covered leaves in her mouth.

They weren’t tasked with anything until Hotch and Morgan attempted to get some info out of the unsub. “Were you crying earlier?” She asked.

“A little,” Y/N smiled at her. “We’re having a boy,” she whispered.

“Oh my god!” JJ whispered back at her, reaching out for her arm and shaking her a little. “I have a feeling your little guy will be bigger than Henry was so he’ll fit into all Henry’s summer stuff when he’s born!”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah!” She confirmed. “By the time he grows out of everything I might have a second boy and we can rotate it around again,” she laughed. “This is going to be so fun.”

“Matthew and Henry are going to be best friends,” Y/N smiled.

“Matthew,” she repeated. “That’s a nice name, I like it.”

“My brother’s name is Levi, I thought it was a nice way to keep a family name in my baby’s life, and his middle name is going to be Gideon,” she spoiled it for Spencer.

JJ looked a little emotional, “sorry it’s just so surreal thinking about me and Spencer having kids who are friends.”

Y/N moved her dinner out of the way and hugged her then, holding her tightly. “You better not be pregnant too,” she whispered in her ear. Not wanting to give it away if she was.

JJ just laughed, rocking Y/N back and forth in her embrace, not answering. “Right?” Y/N asked again.

“We’re trying, so who knows,” JJ replied.

“Shut up?” Y/N pulled back and stared into her eyes to see if she was telling the truth or not. “Holy shit? Since when?”

“Honestly, I think the night we celebrated Canadian thanksgiving,” she laughed. “You and Spencer got us talking about babies, and you got Henry to sleep through the night, so this is technically your fault.”

“JJ,” Y/N started to cry, “I’m so happy for you.”

“They’ll only be a few months apart, so they’ll be best friends too,” JJ smiled. “This is going to be really fun.”

chapter 18

For Christmas this year, Y/N just wanted to be fully moved into their new home before they had to leave for Vegas. Spencer followed through with the present. Inviting the entire team over for drinks if they promised to stop by Y/N’s apartment and bring a few boxes to the new house. It was basically just free labour.

She spent the night nesting while her friends drank in her kitchen. They understood why she was nervous, she was going to tell her parents about the baby and the engagement, and the house, in 3 days.

It was all going to be a lot.

She was 16 weeks along as of Christmas Eve. Waking up the morning of their flight to a weird twitching sensation in her gut, like butterflies or a muscle twitch but right where the baby would be.

“Spence,” she shook him awake. “Spencer.”

“What’s wrong?” He sat right up, squinting at her as he tried to figure out what was going on.

“It’s like, I don’t know how to explain it?” She worried.

Spencer placed his hand on her belly feeling the slight flitter. “He’s kicking.”

Spencer’s early morning smile was the best, he tackled her back against the pillow and dug his face into the crook of her neck. “That’s my baby in there.”

“I wouldn’t have known,” she laughed, wrapping her arms and legs around him. “We have to go to the airport soon.”

“I know,” he mumbled into her neck.

“If you get up now, we can go get breakfast before we have to board?” She enticed him, “we can get sprinkle donuts for the flight.”

“Okay,” he said as she freed him from her grip. “Are you nervous?”

“I know they’ll be happy, just not ready for them to ask why I didn’t say anything sooner,” She explained. “I’ve been really distant since I got the job, I’m really excited to spend time with them this weekend.”

“Same,” Spencer smiled. “Come on you two.”

They took a 9 am flight one-way to Las Vegas. Y/N slept most of the ride, spending the last 45 minutes just snuggled into Spencer’s shoulder as he watched a documentary on some form of science or math. She couldn’t hear what it was about, all she saw was a man writing out numbers on a chalkboard.

She ran her hand over her belly lightly. There was no way she could walk into her mother’s house in a few minutes and just pretend it wasn’t there. It was there. So were the 5 pounds of baby weight on her hips and the swelling in her face and knuckles.

She was pretty quiet during landing and baggage claim. Thinking in her head what she was going to say to everyone, how she would explain it. She sat in a cab beside Spencer, absentmindedly following him through the airport they’ve both been through at least 20 times.

It was a short trip to her parent’s house. Spencer traced little shapes into her leg with his finger to distract her. A flower, a 4D cube, the words I love you. It was sweet, non verbal comfort was very important to her.

When they arrived, she stayed in the cab to pay while Spencer got their bags out. Taking as long as possible so she could avoid it a little longer.

Biting the bullet, she took a deep breath and walked out into her parent’s front yard. Taking the handle of her suitcase and dragging it up the walkway.

She walked right into her house, her parents and brothers all standing up from the living room and rushing into the entryway. She was wrapped up in 7 hugs within a matter of seconds.

“You look so different,” her mom said as she pulled back from her hug. Holding her arms as she examined her, “what did you do?”

“I got pregnant,” she replied, scrunching her face as she waited for their response.

She could’ve sworn she went deaf at that moment, reaching down to cover her bump as everyone cheered and jumped around her. She was pulled into a group hug before she could process anything. Laughing awkwardly at the whole experience.

“Be quiet, he can hear this week!” She laughed.

“He?” Her father inquired.

She looked back at Spencer, smiling at him. “It’s a boy,” Spencer confirmed.

“Holy shit!” Her brothers cheered, high-fiving each other. “When are you due?” Harrison asked.

“June,” she smiled. “3 days after mom’s birthday, see I do remember it.”

“Come sit,” her mom insisted, pushing everyone out of the way and dragging her to the couch. “Put your feet up, how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Y/N insisted. “You’re almost worse than my co-workers.”

“Are they taking good care of you?” Her father asked.

She waited for Spencer to join her on the couch, they had all been so excited about her they forgot he was there. “Yeah. Um, we have a lot to tell you,” She explained, holding Spencer’s hand for comfort.

“I asked Y/N to marry me,” Spencer announced. “I am so in love with her, this baby is a dream come true and I’m very excited to become a part of your family.”

Her mom cried, tossing her hand over her eyes as she sobbed. “Mom,” she was so overwhelmed with everything she started to cry too.

“You’re a wonderful man Spencer,” her father interjected. “It’s an honour to have you.”

Spencer smiled and nodded towards him, silently thanking him for the approval.

“So, it’s kind of insane how it all happened. It wasn’t intended, but we love him so much already,” Y/N glowed as she spoke. “Are we going to tell people the name yet?”

Spencer nodded, “we can.” He smiled down at her with such wonderment, the moment she had been scared of for 16 weeks turning out to be the best time she’s had with her whole family in one room.

“His name is Matthew Gideon Reid,” Y/N smiled. “After my favourite brother, no offence Harry, and Spencer’s mentor.”

Levi was her more emotional brother. He was her best friend growing up. The 5 year age difference gave them the time to grow up separately but still find common interests to bring them together. They were the closest in the family before she moved to Virginia full time it became hard to keep up with him as much.

Now they were both parents, their kids only having a 3 year age difference. Meaning next year there would be 2 little ones at Christmas.

“That’s a lovely name,” Levi smiled. “Thank you.”

“It’s whatever, don’t expect our kids to have your name either,” Harrison replied as he held his wife close, pretending he was a little offended.

“We also got a house,” she added to change the topic, “Jason Gideon, he kinda gave us his place in Virginia.”

“You’re kidding me?” Debbie gasped. “For free?”

She laughed, “it’s complicated.”

“I grew up without a father, and Gideon neglected his son for his work at the BAU,” Spencer chimed in. “We bonded, and he wanted his house to be used for good. He specifically asked for us to fill it with love and laughter. We’ve just finished moving into it. You can visit any time!” He panicked and rambled by the end.

“I don’t know if you know this,” her mom tried to joke with them. “But there’s this thing called a phone, where you can call your mother and tell her these things.”

“I wanted to!” she hurried the words out. “But I’m still working in the field, I was weary with who really knew besides the team. It’s my only weakness on the job.”

“I get it,” Debbie smiled. “Honestly, I’m so happy for you both.”

“Thanks, mom,” Y/N choked back tears. “Sorry,” she laughed. “Pregnant things, y’know.”

—

Visiting hours at the nursing home changed during the holidays. Spencer and Y/N were permitted to enter anytime between 8 am and 10 pm, giving them lots of time to spend the afternoon with Y/N’s parents before visiting her.

They borrowed her dad’s truck, driving to the nursing home with a special gift for Diana. Spencer had spent the last 2 weeks making a scrapbook page about Matthew for her, he knew how much her book meant to her and he wanted to add to it.

Her mom’s co-workers all stared at them as they walked in hand in hand. Her bump on show under the T-Shirt she chose to wear.

Diana was in her room, then walked down the long hallway to her suite. Knocking lightly on the door, waiting for her to greet them.

The door swung open, “Spencer!” She cheered. Hugging him tight in her arms.

“Hi mom,” he held her just as tight. Knowing he was a mama’s boy always made Y/N’s heart flutter.

She pulled back and looked at Y/N, “you look so nice!”

“Thank you,” she smiled. Stepping in close to give her a hug as well.

Diana welcomed them into her room, closing the door behind them. Y/N took a seat on the couch while Spencer looked around at the new things she had on display.

“I made you something,” he said softly, taking off his bag and pulling the pressed cardboard out of the protective sleeve. “here.”

She held it in her hands, looking at the ultrasound photo they got a few weeks ago at the anatomy scan. “What is this Spencer?”

“You’re going to be a grandmother,” he explained. Watching her run her fingers over the words on the paper. She was in shock, she had nothing to say. She just looked at the photo.

She quietly walked over to Y/N and sat beside her, “may I?” She asked, holding her hand up.

Y/N leaned back a little, “absolutely.”

Diana placed her hand on the bump lightly. “I was so worried I wouldn’t get to really experience this one day,” she whispered. Trying her best not to cry. “Thank you.”

Y/N cried, not realizing how special this must be for them. She was so focused on her family that she forgot that this was going to change Diana’s whole world. She now had 2 boys to love unconditionally.

“His name is Matthew?” Diana asked, running her hand over the bump softly.

“Yeah,” Y/N smiled. “He’s due in June. If you can, you can fly out and stay with us for a little?”

“I’d love to,” Diana replied. “I have enough points for a trip, and I’ve been feeling really good on my medication.”

“If your doctors clear it all, Debbie and you can fly in together,” Spencer confirmed.

“Wow,” Diana smiled like Spencer. Wide thin lips, straight white teeth, big rosy cheeks and glistening eyes. She hoped Matthew inherited it too. “This is my best Christmas yet.”

—

Y/N woke up Christmas morning with Spencer cuddled into her side in her childhood bedroom. She slipped out of his grasp and sat in her windowsill instead.

She pulled her knees to her chest as best as she could now that she was pregnant, looking at the lone swing across the street that swayed in the December morning breeze.

It should be 8 am back at Quantico, her parents must have let them sleep in while they opened presents. She could see Chloe in the front yard trying out her new car. Levi smiled as he pushed her down the road, Lizzie filming the whole thing on her phone.

Her whole life was so different from the last time she really sat on the windowsill in her bedroom. Back then she was about to move to Virginia, graduating college in Nevada and getting into the training program at the academy. Harrison was already there at Fort Meade, she was about to move into his house with his wife for the first semester before settling into DC. Levi and Lizzie had just started dating, Chloe wasn’t even conceived yet. And she had no idea when she’d run into Spencer.

She rubbed her hand over her belly as a tear rolled down her cheek. She couldn’t wait for the day that she was pushing her own child on that swing across the street. The day she and Spencer tell him about the love story that bubbled between two kids with books who looked at each other for years before they fell in love.

“What are you doing?” Spencer asked, removing her from the moment she allowed herself to have.

She wiped the tear from her cheek, “they’re happy tears. Go back to sleep.”

“Come cuddle?” He pouted, his big puppy dog eyes drawing her back to the bed.

She snuggled into him, running her fingers against his bare chest as she watched him breathe. “Can I tell you something?”

“Always,” he kissed the top of her head.

“When I was 17, I had my appendix out.” She rolled over and laid back, showing him the 3-inch scar on the right side of her stomach. “It was pretty bad, they said I would have died if my mom waited 15 more minutes to get me to the hospital. They had to fix parts of my stomach and intestines that were eaten by the ruptured appendix bile.”

“I had no idea,” he whispered, running his finger along the scar. “I always thought that was just a scratch.”

She shook her head lightly. “It was December 5th, ’98. They uh,” she took a deep breath before resuming. “They put me on a drug called Dilaudid, they told my mom it was a non-addictive version of morphine and that I’d be fine but, I kinda got addicted to the pill version when they let me out,” she scrunched her face as she told him. Not wanting his opinion of her to change.

“You’re kidding?” He asked, a chuckle fell past his lips as he sat up. “In my second year at the BAU I was kidnapped by a man with dissociative identity disorder and he drugged me.”

“Dilaudid?” She asked, sitting up too and shaking her head in disbelief.

He laughed at how absurd it was, “yeah.”

“I moved to Benadryl for the sleepy and calm effect after I couldn’t get any more refills and didn’t want to admit I had a problem, and weed in college” she added. “but I haven’t even taken a Tylenol in the last 5 years now.”

“I had a small problem with it after everything, but I’m also clean now,” Spencer smiled at her. “Why did you want me to know?”

“Because I don’t want to take any drugs when I deliver the baby, even if I beg for them I don’t want them to give in. I talked to Dr. Korrapati about it but I wanted you to know too,” she explained. “Being in here all night got me thinking about a lot.”

He wrapped his arms around her and tackled her back against the pillows. “I love you,” was all he said.

“I love you too?”

“Seriously,” his voice was so soft and low. “I’ll never stop.”

chapter 19

She woke up to the feeling of hair tickling her face. She swatted at her face to try and get it to stop before opening her eyes. She blinked into the early morning sunlight, only to Spencer looking down at her, his hair long enough to tickle her skin.

“You were snoring,” he whispers down to her. “Also, Happy Birthday.”

She smiled, pulling him down and into a hug. “Thank you.”

Every morning with Spencer for the last 10 months had been special. Something about the warmth of his body against hers, and the sunlight bouncing around their new bedroom made this morning her favourite.

It was so calm on the water. She could see the snow settling on the ice as the sun made it glisten like diamonds. The birds had all but disappeared for the winter, the stillness in the world was lovely. It was like time stopped with Spencer laying in her arms.

“What do you think Penelope has planned at work today?” She asked him softly, playing with his incredibly long hair. It was almost longer than hers now.

“She told me to bring you in after 8.”

“So does that mean you have to distract me for a little while, Doctor Reid?” She teased him.

He pushed himself up, leaning on his arm as he hovered over her. “Any requests?”

She spread her arms and legs out like a starfish. “Have at ‘er,” she couldn’t stop herself from laughing as Spencer just shook his head.

He dipped down to her belly, blowing a raspberry onto her protruding bump. “Good morning to you too little dude,” he whispered against her skin. “Go back to sleep.”

She shoved him lightly, not able to stop herself from smiling, “he is asleep, leave him alone.”

It was the best morning ever.

Every time she thinks that she’s reached peak happiness she discovers another level. It felt like every time he touched her, she wanted to describe it as the best she’s ever felt.

When they finally got dressed and made their way downstairs for the morning, she found it incredibly odd that he wasn’t asking her what she wanted for breakfast, like he did every morning. Very concerned that she had all her meals and then some.

She fed the cat, picking him up and giving him a little snuggle after he finished his breakfast. “You are getting so big and chunky buddy, I might have to change your food timer.”

He meowed at her, sounding really pissed, making her laugh. “Fine but when you can't climb all the stairs in this house it’s your fault.” She placed him back on the ground and watched him wander into the sunlight. Plopping onto the hardwood and stretching out. Just living the life.

“Ready to go?” Spencer asked.

“Yeah, are we stopping for breakfast?” She asked, the second trimester making her hungrier than ever before.

“Penelope has it covered,” He said, placing his hand on her back as he leads her to the foyer.

“Oh this’ll be good,” she smiled, putting her shoes on before arming the alarm and heading outside.

Spencer locked their beautiful green front door, it was colder out than they had expected. He held her hand as she shivered slightly, they walked down the 3 steps together, Spencer not wanting her to fall if it happened to be icy.

Seat heaters were a blessing from god. The car was freezing when they first got in, the heater barely kicked in by the time they reached Quantico. Living 10 minutes away now was really nice.

Up the elevator they went, she was basically bouncing with excitement. “See?” Spencer nudged her with his shoulder. “Bunny.”

“Shut up,” she smiled as the door dinged before opening.

They walked into the bullpen to find it empty. She took off her coat and placed her bag on her desk before slowly walking up the small set of stairs and heading towards the briefing room.

All her co-workers were sitting around the table waiting for her and the boy wonder to arrive. Strawberry cheesecake danishes sat on a tray on the table, a strawberry milkshake in front of Y/N‘s regular spot.

“Happy Birthday!” They cheered as she walked in.

“You guys!?” She was so flattered. Never in her life has she been thrown a party by someone who wasn’t her mother. “Thank you.”

“Sit, sit,” Penelope insisted. Placing a danish on a napkin and putting it on her spot on the table. “I know you can’t have ice coffee right now, I thought a milkshake was the next best thing.”

“I seriously love you, come here,” she pulled Penelope into a hug, kissing her right on the mouth as everyone cheered.

“See that?” Penelope blushed. “Kisses are how I should be thanked around here.”

“HR already hates us,” Hotch made everyone laugh, “don’t push it.”

They all ate breakfast together, sharing stories from their weekend. They decided to spend New Years’ apart, everyone taking time to themselves for the first time ever.

“Where did you go, Prentiss?” Morgan inquired.

“Sin to Win weekend in Atlantic City,” she sighed and leaned back in her chair.

“Oh my god?” Y/N looked at her with absolute astonishment.

“What’s that?” Morgan and Spencer asked at the same time.

“Nothing.” Emily and Y/N replied in unison. Making a look at each other that screamed: ‘tell anyone and I’ll hurt you.’

Like a saviour, the fax machine in the briefing room turned on, spitting out 15 sheets of paper in a few minutes. Penelope cleaned off the table while Hotch ran everything over.

“Last night a family in Boston had their home burned down with them inside it,” Hotch explained.

“How is that something for us to look into?” Rossi asked.

“Because the unsub broke in and turned the water off and tampered with the gas system, causing CO2 to render them unconscious. He stabbed the father to death in the bed before laying gasoline all over the floors and lighting the house on fire.”

“Damn,” Y/N whispered under her breath. “That is personal.”

“I’d say,” Hotch agreed.

“Who was the family?” JJ asked.

Garcia looked through the sheets of paper spewed across the table. “Thomas Greenway, 61. His wife Alison 43. And 2 children aged 8 and 12.”

“We need to head to Boston,” Hotch announced. “I’ll call about prepping the plane. Y/N you can stay here with Garcia if you’d like, your insight will aid her search greatly.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind,” she smiled at Garcia. “Good luck out there.”

“Wheels up in 30.”

Everyone sighed before standing up. Spencer leaned in and kissed Y/N softly before standing up. “I’ll see you later.”

“Come home to me safely Doctor Reid.”

He smiled down at her, fixing his shirt before he left with Morgan.

“I hate to see him go, but I love watching him leave,” She said softly towards Penelope, making her laugh in the process.

“Come on mama, let’s go to my office,” Garcia said, putting her arm out for Y/N, the two of them skipping down the hallway with their arms linked as the team filled the elevator.

Y/N sat in Garcia’s office and immediately put her feet up, still drinking her milkshake as she flipped through the case files. “Can I suggest possibly the dumbest thing ever?”

She laughed, “shoot.”

“So, homeboy here breaks in and knocks out a family with co2 poisoning, just to stab the father to death and light the house on fire.” She ran it down once more, “What if we just search mothers stabbed before dying in a fire and just see if this is some traumatized kid, at this point that’s what they all end up being.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Garcia said, typing away as she added the parameters. “It’s like you can see the fucking future?”

Y/N threw her head back in a laugh, “did you get something? Seriously?”

“Adele Hollis was found dead in a burning apartment building in Boston in 1978. ME reports say she was already dead from co2 poisoning before she was stabbed 6 times in the chest. The whole apartment complex went up in flames after the unsub doused the bed in gasoline and lit her up.”

“Well fuck,” Y/N replied. “Does she have children?”

“Yes, her son Cameron was at school when it happened. He was 8, he moved in with his step-dad shortly after, they ruled him out and never found the guy,” Garcia added.

Y/N leaned across the desk and dialled Hotch, the plane hadn’t even left yet. “I think I found the unsub?”

“How?” Hotch asked.

“I jokingly asked Garcia to search and see if there are any men whose mothers died in a fire after being stabbed cause we deal with sooo many traumatized kids, and we found one,” she laughed at just how insane it sounded.

“Video in and give us a rundown.” Hotch hung up. Ever the conversationalist.

Garcia and Y/N squeezed into the same frame seeing everyone gathered in the little plane seats. She gave them the basic rundown of her findings, watching them all shake their heads at the fact she solved the case already.

“Have the local PD issue a warrant and bring him in. Can you check and see if he knows the victims?” Hotch asked.

“On it sir,” she smiled, clicking away.

“How did you do that so fast?” Morgan has to ask, “it’s not human.”

She laughed again, “If I’ve learned anything in the last 10 months it’s that traumatized little boys can fuck up a lot of people’s lives.”

“Preach,” Rossi added.

“Um, guys,” Garcia’s tone changed. “Cameron Hollis’s birth father is the father who was stabbed in this case.”

“You’re shitting me?” Y/N couldn’t believe it. “Do they have any kind of relationship?”

“His father is on the birth certificate but it looks like Adele left him when Cameron was 3, after some domestic disputes that had the cops at their door. She was remarried when he was 6, it doesn’t look like they ever really talked,” Garcia explained while continuing to dig.

Y/N watched through the monitor as the team gripped their seats, the plane was taking off now. They would be in Boston with this guy in just a few hours.

“Thanks, Lady Wonder,” Morgan winked at the camera for Y/N before leaning in and turning the monitor off.

She sat back and put her feet up once more. “Best birthday ever.”

—

They had Cameron Hollis in custody with a full confession before 5 pm that day. Everyone was beyond thankful that they would be back home with their families shortly.

Y/N had said goodbye to Penelope shortly after, driving home to have some alone time. Rossi would drive Spencer home, they lived close enough now that they could all carpool if they wanted.

She had never been in their new house all alone before. She took the time to just walk around and admire everything, being thankful that her life ended up like this. Not taking a second of it for granted.

She sat down on her bed finally, taking her phone out and calling JJ.

“Hello bestie,” she answered.

Y/N smiled, “Hey, do you think Will could find a babysitter tonight?”

“Probably, why?”

“Tell him to drop Henry off and head to my place. I’m going to have pizza delivered and you can come here with Spencer when you land,” Y/N offered. “Have a date night with us.”

“That would be amazing, I’ll call Will right now. See you later,” JJ sounded happy. It made her smile.

“See you.” She hung up, laying back against her bed softly.

She changed quickly before heading downstairs, wearing a pair of leggings and an academy t-shirt. She was getting too big for almost everything she owned now.

She placed an order for a few pizzas to arrive at 8:30. Next, making sure she had more beer in the fridge, for the nights when Will wandered over with JJ. They had visited almost every weekend since she and Spencer moved in.

That’s when she saw him.

chapter 20

Previously...

The dream was always the same:

A man would get into their home, he knew their schedule, he knew when she’d be alone.

He’d get in without any trouble and he never made a sound. She wouldn’t even know he was in the room until she felt the cold metal gun press against her face, as shaking hands instructed her to tie her own behind her back.

He’d always use her supplies. Duck tape, shoelaces, scarves. Anything at his disposal that he didn’t have to bring with him. Almost as if he didn’t fully choose her to be his victim until the very last minute.

He assaulted her all for what felt like hours, stopping occasionally to cry in the bathroom or eat a snack in their kitchen. And he always showered at the end. Sometimes, he’d wrap her up in a housecoat, put her sheets in the wash and sincerely advised her to invest in a better lock for the sliding door.

Then he was gone.

Slipping into the night, on his way to become someone else’s nightmare...

There was a man in her yard, he was dressed in all black, with a backpack wrapped around his shoulders and a ski mask on his face.

He couldn’t see her from where she was in the kitchen, but she could see him. She ducked to the floor and crawled towards the stairs, booking it up the steps and grabbing her gun. She made sure it was loaded, grabbing a second clip from her nightstand and tucking it into her pocket. Then she detonated the alarm system from the remote on Spencer’s bedside table.

She crawled into her closet, making herself look like a pile of clothes.

And she waited.

She felt a little insane, she tried to convince herself that it could be anyone from a neighbour to a lost person from the trail. For all she knew, it was someone from the academy lost in the woods.

She tried to calm her breathing, calling Will with her cell phone. “Hey, JJ just filled me in-“

“There is someone in my backyard in all black with a backpack, how fast can you get here?” She panicked in a whisper.

“Fuck, okay, I just dropped Henry off at the sitter. I’ll be right over, stay put and I will call you when I’m there,” his southern accent came out more when he was stressed.

“Okay, thank you,” she hung up and took a deep breath.

She closed her eyes, listening to the sounds in her house.

She remembered what the house sounded like that morning. The stillness, the quiet peacefulness of her and Spencer in the bed only 12 feet away from where she was now hiding.

She remembered the way the floors creaked as it popped and settled with the heat, how the tree outside would sometimes tap the window, the sound of snow tumbling off their roof. Passing cars on the main road kicking up gravel, the odd bird singing in the cold breeze, her own heartbeat in her ears.

Then she heard the alarm turn off with its overly happy welcome home chime. Only knowing one man would be able to disarm her alarm system without a code, and he was in the air right now.

“Open,” she heard the alarm’s voice as the door opened.

Footsteps travelled along the hardwood floor in wet shoes. She listened to the sound of the wet rubber on hardwood explore the first floor.

There were 2 people in her house, splitting up as one went to the kitchen and one went up the stairs.

She aimed her gun at the doorway, aiming to shoot anyone who walked through the door in the leg. Not wanting to kill anyone who she knew that might’ve gotten in for a different reason, unannounced.

In the rare happenstance that this wasn’t her worst nightmare coming true.

Her hands were shaking as she kept the gun pointed for what felt like hours, just waiting for him to find her. The door handle started to turn slowly, she heard the sound of the old metal grinding ever so slowly.

The first thing she saw were his eyes, yet again. The same eyes that haunted her dreams, the eyes every woman she spoke to for 2 years remembered from behind the ski mask.

Fuck Wichita, he was her own personal nightmare. He had been for a while. Those eyes, big and black all the way around, not a single glimpse of colour or life or hope. Every single dream came flooding back as she saw him in her doorway, the same aura of death, destruction, loneliness and despair from all those months ago was now filling the most special place in her home.

He still hadn’t seen her in the closet, looking around the room carefully as she watched him. Waiting for him to get closer, and closer to where she was. Finally peeling back the wooden closet door.

“Surprise, bitch,” She said before aiming higher and shooting him between the eyes, knocking him down.

She stood and stepped out of the closet, “Travis fucking Johnson,” she shook her head as she looked at the man bleeding on her bedroom floor. Taking his pulse to ensure that he was dead.

She couldn’t hear anything for a second, trying her best to zone in on the sound of someone tiptoeing in her kitchen, “WHO ELSE IS IN MY HOUSE?” She screamed.

Suddenly she could hear the sound of a car on the gravel and then a door slamming. She stepped into the hallway, gun pointed, looking over the railing towards the front door.

“Y/N?!” Will yelled. Gun pointed as he entered her house.

“I’ve got one down, I think there’s another in the kitchen,” she replied.

“On it.”

Y/N looked down the hall, none of the upstairs rooms were open, every door exactly how it looked when she ran up the stairs. She headed down the steps when 2 shots were fired.

She quickly ran to the kitchen to see another man on her floor behind the counter, his feet the only thing she could see as he laid there, dead. Will was standing over him, taking his pulse.

“He’s gone,” Will confirmed.

Y/N finally let herself panic, shaking as she tried to catch her breath, pulling out a chair from the counter and sitting down. Her adrenalin was running wild in her bloodstream, she didn’t even know how to speak let alone think about what had just happened.

“Y/N,” Will’s soft voice brought her back to reality. He was right beside her, wrapping his big strong arms around her to try and calm her down. “Shh, it’s okay.”

“Who was it?” Is all she asks him.

“I have no idea, who was upstairs?” Will asked.

“Travis Johnson, from my first case with the BAU,” she calmed down a bit, breaking away from the hug to get off the chair.

She walked around the counter island, looking down to find another man she knew, bleeding on her brand new hardwood floors. “Oh my god,” she felt sick at the sight.

He smelled the same, stale and rotten. The same look on his face even as he slipped into eternal damnation. Empty as when he was alive, pure evil down to his core. Dead to match how he felt inside as he did those awful things to undeserving mothers.

The second worst man she’s ever come in contact with.

The Winnemucca Womb Raider.

She backed up into Will, he held her close so she didn’t drop to the floor, helping her back into the chair. “Do you know him?”

“Yeah,” she felt herself starting to cry. “How? They were both in prison?”

“We need to call the police,” Will said softly before taking his phone out.

“911 what’s your emergency?” She could hear the muffled woman’s voice as he pressed his phone to his ear.

“This is Detective William LaMontagne Jr. Two men just broke into my friend’s home and tried to kill her,” he explained the situation, making her shutter.

She watched as he talked to the woman, suddenly not able to hear anything as her body slipped into shock. She was completely numb. In the last 10 months she hadn’t fired a single shot on the job, and yet on her birthday, the one time she's alone, she has to kill someone in her own home.

The place where she was supposed to feel safe and happy. Where her new life with Spencer and Matthew was supposed to start. They promised Gideon love and laughter, having that dream stripped from them when Pure Evil stepped over the threshold.

It was just like the dream, the last one she had before Spencer wrapped himself around her, calming her down.

This time he wasn’t here, he didn’t even know that this had happened, he wasn’t always going to be there to save her. She pulled herself back into the moment, calming herself like she had all those years before him.

She wasn’t a damsel in distress, he knew that.

A man walked into her home, the one time he knew she’d be alone and vulnerable.

That was the only part of the dream that matched.

Unlike her dream, she wasn’t a victim. Not in this house. Not in her space. Not ever.

The sound of the sirens echoed in her ears finally, she turned to the commotion of officers running into her new house. Will walked them through it all, telling them who Y/N was and that this was her home. How she saw a man in her yard and hid before killing him upstairs.

“Ma’am?” A stranger in a uniform tried to get her attention. “Ma’am, can you come with me?”

She nodded, standing up and finding support in the man’s arms. He wrapped her up in a silver blanket before he led her outside and into an ambulance. She had her vitals taken and an oxygen mask placed on her to help her calm down.

“Is the baby okay?” She asked the EMT, pulling the mask off her face so he’d hear her.

“Yes,” he smiled. “Strong heartbeat, no signs of distress but you need to relax so we can keep it that way.”

Will climbed into the ambulance then, taking her hand in his, “hey doll, are you okay?”

She nodded, “just a little shook up.”

“I called Spencer,” he said softly. “They’re 30 minutes from landing, then him and the team are on their way. No one told the team about the prison break in Oklahoma, they didn’t even think to connect them back to you.”

She sighed, “two cases in 2 different states, where the offenders ended up going to a 3rd state to meet and do time together and bond over the women who put them away. Makes sense.”

“You put them both away?” He asked.

She nodded again. “I basically made it my life goal to get Travis Johnson, he’s the reason I have this job, he’s the reason I’m pregnant right now,” her words trailed off into whispers. “I saw him in November, he congratulated me when he saw the bump.”

“Who was the other guy?”

“The Winnemucca womb raider, he would kill pregnant women by strangling them before removing their wombs,” she looked at him, horrified. “They wanted to kill us...”

She wrapped her arms around her own stomach, she had almost forgotten to worry about him. To even think that she was more than just one person at the moment.

They weren’t after her, they were after the most important thing to her. Her son, her baby boy. Like all the mothers before her, like their own. They wanted her to suffer, for her son to be spared a future worse than death in their opinion.

All the images from the cases came flying back as she blinked faster and faster. Strangled women, removed wombs, thanking God for a second that Spencer was the one to see the recovered organs in his trailer. A sick feeling bubbled in her body, a chill ran deep in her bones.

Then everything went black.

—

The first thing she remembers when she gained consciousness again was that Spencer was furious. She could see him and Hotch in a heated conversation from inside the ambulance, she tried her best to wake up and zone in on what was going on.

It was too dark for her to read their lips, but he was angry.

JJ was sitting beside her now, holding her hand. “Hey, bestie.”

“Did the cat get out?” She doesn’t know why that’s the first thing she asks, “the door was left open, did he get out?” Still in shock, still trying to understand everything.

JJ shushed her, petting her hair as she leaned in close, hugging her softly. “He was in the laundry room, Will said he made sure to find him when you were getting checked out.”

“Good,” she nodded along as she listened. “I’m so overwhelmed.”

JJ let out an awkward laugh, “I can imagine.”

“I’m also starting to fall in love with your husband,” she found her sense of humour then. “He has perfect timing.”

JJ laughed a little harder, causing Spencer’s focus to shift to the ambulance. Y/N watched him run towards it and jump in.

“Y/N, oh my god,” Spencer wrapped his arms around her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she replied. “I’m safe, the baby’s healthy,” she assured him.

He kissed her all over her face, making her giggle when he wouldn’t stop, repeating kisses all over her face, her ears and her neck. She could hear JJ also laughing as she watched with Hotch just outside.

He finally stopped to catch his breath, hugging her again with his face in her neck. “I love you,” she reminded him.

“You love me?” He pulled back, “I love you so fucking much, I am never leaving you alone again.”

“Spencer,” she laughed, “I think I handled it pretty well.”

He huffed and shook his head, “you shouldn’t have had to handle this in the first fucking place! It’s not that fucking hard for someone to call the god damn FBI and say hey two psychopaths that your genius new girl put behind bars, fucking escaped!”

She finally knew what Hotch meant when he said Spencer’s anger scared him. She looked at him like he was a whole different person, “Spence, baby, I know. It’s okay, I’m fine see?”

She placed her hands on his cheeks as she looked into his beautiful hazel eyes, watching his pupils change size as he focused on her. Love and life behind them, true happiness clouded by horror at the thought of losing the love of his life.

He was what a true man was supposed to be, a real genuine person with love and kindness, and empathy. Her soulmate, her Spencer.

“We can’t control everything, that’s what you told me. We handle what’s in front of us, and we do it well,” she smiled as she reminded him.

Spencer started to cry, pulling her in close. “I can’t lose you.”

She cried at the sound of his voice, his heart shattering as he cried in her arms, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Terrified on a level she’s never seen in him before.

She rubbed his back as she held him, rocking him lightly as she shushed him absentmindedly. Soothing him as if her life depended on it, it broke her heart to see him this broken about the idea of losing her. She loved him so much it made her heart physically ache in her chest as she held him.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised, whispering against his hair. “I’ll kill a million men if it means coming home to you.”

He laughed in the middle of his cries, she could feel him smile softly as he sniffled against her shirt. “Promise?” He asked as he pulled back to look at her.

She wiped the tears from his cheeks, his beautiful eyelashes clumped together in the wetness. He was so sweet, she couldn’t help kissing him quickly, “promise.”

—

Hotch insisted they head to the BAU with the rest of the team while he handled the crime scene and the forensic clean-up, knowing on a personal level what it was like to clean Evil’s blood out of your bedroom carpet.

Y/N was sitting in the car waiting to leave when she saw Will coming out of her house with 3 pizzas. “I forgot I ordered those,” she gasped at the sight.

“You should’ve seen the look on the delivery guy’s face,” JJ laughed.

It was really bizarre having a pizza party in Rossi’s office after shooting someone in her home. Everyone was trying to be as chipper as possible to try and take the tension off the situation, but Y/N was pretty quiet.

Morgan got everyone to settle down before closing the office door, sitting close to her and Spencer. “Everyone in this room has either been shot, in danger, held hostage or worse,” he offered her some support.

“If you want to share anything, express any feeling or just tell us to fuck off, you can,” his words were soft, she watched him with soft eyes as he spoke.

“The only thing I can think of is that fate is fucked up,” she replied, the honesty slipping off her tongue like it was made of butter.

“You have the floor,” he insisted that she continue.

“I moved into a tiny apartment, farther away from my job, because I needed somewhere to live, and I found Spencer in the hallway. Spencer led me to you, and you guys helped me find Travis Johnson, my personal nightmare case of 2 years,” she explained like they never knew that. “But it’s so much more than that now.”

“We ran into Travis at the prison in Oklahoma a few months ago,” Spencer added. “He noticed that she was pregnant and congratulated her.”

“But the thing that’s fucking me up the most is that, and sorry TMI,” she warned them before continuing. “but we conceived the baby in Kansas when we caught the VICAP counsellor, only a few towns over from where we arrested Travis. Then we ran into him on a different case in Oklahoma, and he happened to be in the same prison as a man from New Mexico I put away for killing pregnant women. Something about this all lines up so perfectly... I hate that I find it so interesting.”

“That is kind of insane,” Morgan agreed. “I think it just means you and Spencer are being pulled together by something with bigger plans than you realize. And you’re a good shot, so thankfully you have nothing to worry about now.”

“Thanks,” she smiled.

She held Spencer’s hand, looking down at the ring on her finger that meant she was his forever. As much as she hated the idea of a man owning a woman, she loved the idea that Spencer was her person forever.

They were tied together in a way no one would understand, she loved him deeper than she ever thought possible.

Everything happened for a reason. Her reason just so happened to be Fate wanting her to spend the rest of her life, Happily with Doctor Spencer Reid.

—

She woke up around noon the next day, Spencer was sitting up beside her reading a book when she finally clued into where she was. They had spent the night at Rossi’s house while the forensic cleanup team handled her kitchen and bedroom.

“Good morning,” she smiled up at him, stretching against the sheets as she fully woke up.

He put his book down and joined her, wrapping her up in his arms and kissing her neck softly.

“Good morning,” he replied finally. She loved his voice when he hadn’t spoken yet. His vocal cords yearning to be used.

She smiled against his skin, holding him against her chest as she breathed him in. Her safety, her cosmic soulmate.

Everything just felt better in the world when they were pressed this close to each other. This was how they were meant to be.

“How are you feeling?” He asked after a few minutes of silence.

She rolled him onto his back, snuggling into his chest and lifting a leg over him so the baby wasn’t squished. “Good, I’m excited to go back home later.”

“You’re not scared,” his fingers ran through her hair as she felt his breath on her face.

“No,” she shook her head against him. “Yesterday could’ve been a lot worse, but I’m trained to think on my feet and the danger is gone now. I’m never going to let myself be a victim in my own home.”

“I love you,” he reminded her. “And after yesterday-“

“I want to get married soon too,” she cut him off, getting up and sitting on his hips. She ran her hands over his chest as she looked down at his beautiful, still puffy, morning face.

He beamed up at her, “I feel it too, I want to make it official. I want to shout it from the rooftops that the love of my life chose me too.”

She nodded softly, “and we agreed that in April this year we’d go to Vegas, and we’d do it. I think we still should, I just want to plan it a little.”

“Of course,” he agreed, squeezing her thighs in his excitement. “Come here.”

She held his face in her hands as she leaned down, rubbing her thumb over his bottom lip as she looked at him ever so softly. “I love you,” she said before kissing him.

His hands wandered over her back, holding her into the kiss. Breathing in deep through his nose, kissing her as if they hadn’t seen each other in months.

Spencer was desperate to love her, and she was desperate to be loved by him.

She broke the kiss to just look at him, moving his hair back and pressing her forehead against his. “The park across the street from my parents house,” she whispered.

“Mhmm.”

“I want to get married there, I want to start the rest of my life in the spot where I first really fell in love with you,” she explained, her lips close enough to him that the words could have stuck to his skin.

“I think I can pull some strings and get us a permit by April,” He smiled against her lips, “what day are we thinking?”

“The 23rd, 1 year exactly,” she said before Spencer pulled her back into another kiss, this time it’s soft and delicate. “Until forever,” she whispered against his lips.

“You need to promise me one thing,” he added. Feeling her nod as she kissed down his neck. “I know you said you’re fine, but the second you’re not I need you to tell me.”

“Okay,” she agreed, sitting back up as she straddled his hips. “You have to do the same, I can’t handle you crying in my arms like that again, it really broke my heart.”

He held his pinky out to her, she smiled as she wrapped her own around his. Both leaning in to kiss the other's knuckle, a small tradition Y/N adored.

—

They were back at their house by 5 pm. Hotch had ensured that everything was completely cleaned and there was 0 evidence that a crime had even taken place on the property. Penelope on the other hand had taken it upon herself to break into their alarm system and reset it for them shortly after everyone left.

They changed the code, closed the door and sighed at the beautiful home that felt a little different now. “I think I want to paint,” she announced.

“Yeah?” Spencer laughed at the suddenness.

“It’s too blah, y’know? I see what they were doing with the whites and beige for all the light. But, I’m thinking green in here to flow with the cabinets in the kitchen,” she walked through the foyer as she imagined the colours that would look good. “Like an olive or forest, maybe even jade. It’ll look nice with the dark wood.”

“That would be nice,” Spencer agreed. “Make it feel more like the old apartment.”

“Exactly,” she smiled. “I miss the clutter and the intimacy of the last place, and I know you miss the look of books everywhere.”

“I’m still alphabetizing them in my office,” he added. “I’d like to paint in there as well, I’ve been looking at antique chairs and couches for my reading.”

“Hotch is going to make us take 2 weeks off again,” Y/N looked at him with excitement. “We can put all our energy into this place now.”

“Let’s make it ours,” He agreed.

“Wanna go to the hardware store and look at paint samples?” She hopped with excitement, grabbing his arm and tugging on him.

He laughed, pulling her into his chest. “Sure, bunny,” he pressed his cheek to the top of her head as he held her. “What about Matthew’s room?”

“Oh, me and Penelope have it all planned, all the stuff is being delivered next month. She kinda went a little nuts,” Y/N laughed.

“He’s going to be one loved little boy,” Spencer chuckled. “Come on, let’s go.”

#hypothetically #spencer reid #spencer reid smut #spencer reid x reader

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mimisempai · 3 years ago

Text

I love you because you’re you

Summary:

Imagine Mobius confessing to Sylvie that his crush on Loki started when he watched his exploits as D.B. Cooper... Imagine Loki overhearing this conversation... That is enough to give ideas to our god of mischief to spice up their life...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32516398

2214 words - Rating T

Other oneshots in the same series : Together, For all time, Always 9/?

Sitting at his desk, Mobius was watching Loki.

When he thought about everything that had happened, everything they had been through, and reflected on where they were now, he couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.

Whether it was Loki or him, they had both had to deal with great changes in their lives. Both of them had to question themselves in a short period of time.

But they had managed to do it, together.

Mobius sometimes felt a kind of overwhelming elation when he stopped to think about their lives.

Order and chaos.

As he saw Loki walk away with the group of recruits he was training, he let out a sigh of satisfaction and dug into his files.

"Oh my... Mobius, you got it bad."

He looked up.

"Sylvie!"

The young woman was leaning against the doorframe of his office, arms crossed and looking at him with a smile, the usual spark of mischief in her eyes.

"Come in!"

She stepped forward to sit across from him.

The arrival of Loki in Mobius' life had surprisingly brought him another bond.

Sylvie had made a place for herself in Mobius' heart almost as quickly as Loki had.

He had found in her a dear friend, a sister at heart.

When you think about it, Mobius who had been betrayed by his closest friend, Loki who had never found a friend who accepted him as he was, and Sylvie who had not been able to create a bond with anyone during all her years on the run, it was clear that the bonds between them all could only be strong, whether it was friendship, love or brotherhood.

"What did you mean when you came in, or rather why did you say that?"

Sylvie leaned in, her chin in her hands.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe your goofy smile when Loki walks into a room you're in, your completely smitten look when you watch him work or do something else... Do you want me to go on?"

Mobius, embarrassed, raised his hand and said, "Stop! No! It's okay!"

"If it makes you feel any better, it's only me who sees it. After all I know you and I know perfectly well the bond between you. And even though Loki is an expert at masking his feelings, he's just as obvious as you are."

"I guess the fact that you've spent so many years running away, you've learned to watch people so you can preserve yourself." Mobius told her compassionately, fully aware that he had contributed to what had shaped Sylvie's personality.

"Mobius..." Sylvie sighed before continuing, "We've talked about this before, we each did what we had to do to survive or because it was what we thought we were made for. Now we're doing what we need to do to atone, to make sure it doesn't happen again. Know that I have long since forgiven you completely."

Mobius knew that he would still carry the guilt of what he had done at the service of the old TVA for a long time to come, and even though he didn't know at the time, that didn't stop him from being aware of his own responsibility.

He simply replied, "Thank you."

"Well! Let's pick up where we left off," Sylvie began in a lighter tone, "I'm a little curious Mobius, I have the feeling that your crush on Loki dates back long before you met him for real..."

Mobius knew that with Sylvie, there was no point in denying it, she knew him well, sometimes too well for his liking.

"Damn, why do you always have to be so perceptive?"

She shrugged, before adding softly, "it's just that you're very open, Mobius, when it comes to Loki or when you're with him."

"If you say so." replied Mobius, looking unconvinced even though he knew she was right. Odin's lie about Loki's origin had had such a negative impact on his life that Mobius was doing everything to be transparent. He would always do anything to preserve the trust Loki had in him.

"So?" insisted Sylvie, "Your little crush that became a big one… When did you realize it?"

Mobius, annoyed, replied somewhat curtly, "I didn't keep a diary you know."

"Okay, but there must be something about what Loki did or who he was that made you realize your attraction, right?"

Mobius muttered and seeing that Sylvie wouldn't let go, he reached into the only locked drawer of his desk, opened it and pulled out a file.

He took out a photo and slid it towards Sylvie.

She leaned over to take a closer look.

She gasped and her gaze went back and forth from the picture to Mobius several times.

"D.B. Cooper?!!"

Sylvie moved her chair over to Mobius' desk to be closer.

"Now, my little Mobius, I want to know everything."

Mobius sighed and rolled his eyes but complied anyway.

______

Loki had assigned their training missions to the new recruits.

"Miss Minutes, what time is it?"

"Loki, I already told you! Just because I'm shaped like a watch doesn't mean I'm here to be your clock!"

Loki chuckled, before looking at what time it was on the wall clock. He would probably never tire of teasing the IA.

He headed to Mobius' office, he had five minutes before his next assignment so he was going to take the opportunity to pay his lover a short visit, hoping Mobius would be alone.

As he approached, he noticed that the door was slightly open and he heard voices. "So much for the tête-à-tête." he muttered to himself and turned on his heels, a little disappointed.

But as he walked away, he heard his name. Of course, he went back on his steps discreetly and approached the half-opened door, taking care not to be seen. He was not able to look inside the office, but he could now hear the voices very well and recognized that of Sylvie who was conversing with Mobius.

"Okay, but there must be something about what Loki did or who he was that made you realize your attraction, right?"

He heard Mobius mutter in response, but knowing their dynamic by now, he knew he would answer.His answer was of great interest to Loki.

There was a moment of silence, then he heard Sylvie gasp and then exclaim.

"D.B. Cooper?!!"

He heard a noise, as if a piece of furniture was moving and then Sylvie's lower, but still distinct voice saying, "Now, my little Mobius, I want to know everything."

Oh yes my little Mobius, I want to know everything too.

"You didn't see the video of the whole scene where Loki pretended to be D.B.Cooper, I did. And I don't know if it's the charisma he gives off, or the suit, or the glasses, or the haircut, or that fucking wink, but it's the first time I've noticed my interest was far less professional than it should have been."

Sylvie chuckled and replied, "How? You Mobius? You the oh-so-perfect TVA employee?"

Mobius grumbled back, "Ex-employee first, and then perfect employee or not, I'm only human. I was on a diet and I ended up with a five-star meal under my nose, you can't judge me because it aroused my appetite."

Loki realized that the five minutes were over and returned to his appointment place, a little baffled by what he had just heard, but above all extremely interested.

An idea began to germinate in his head, he was not the god of mischief for nothing.

Mobius was not going to figure it out...

Loki moved forward with a much more energetic step, the prospect of an interesting evening motivating him for the rest of his day.

_______

In the evening, much later, they were making out like teenagers on the couch.

Loki had surprised Mobius with a candlelight dinner and they had spent an extremely pleasant evening and continued to prolong the harmony of the moment.

Loki had wrapped his arms around Mobius' neck and was sitting on his lap.

They separated only to catch their breath before reconnecting their lips again.

Mobius' eyes were closed. Loki swirled his tongue in his lover's mouth in an absolutely naughty way before planting kisses from his mouth to his ear and then whispering in a warm voice, "Open your eyes, love."

Unable to refuse anything to Loki in the state of arousal in which he was, Mobius complied.

He opened his eyes and gasped.

Inches away from him, looking at him through familiar sunglasses, was D.B. Cooper.

D.B. Cooper-Loki sitting on his lap.

He brought his face close to Mobius', lowered his glasses slightly and winked at him. Just like on the video.

Mobius swallowed and licked his lips.

Loki's mouth almost against Mobius', his eyes unfathomable behind the smoked glasses, Loki asked him with a deep and sensual voice, "So, is the charisma that I give off..." he gave a small perverse thrust.

"... or my suit..." he traced with his fingertips the lapel of the black jacket with a lascivious gesture.

"...my haircut" he ran his long fingers through his short hair in a suggestive way.

"...my wink," he repeated the gesture before putting his forearms on Mobius' shoulders and tying his hands behind his neck.

He whispered, "Is all this up to your expectations?" and then leant in to kiss him.

But Mobius, who had recognized the words he had said to Sylvie, had no intention of letting his god of mischief be in control any longer.

Even before Loki's lips could touch his, with a skilful twist of his back, he made them turn around and managed to reverse their position somehow.

Loki found himself lying on the length of the couch, his legs imprisoned by the knees of Mobius who ended up now astride him.

Mirroring Loki's moves, he kissed him and then in the same manner, placed a shower of kisses from his jaw to his ear against which he whispered, " Become Loki again, sweetheart."

Before his eyes, under a veil of green magic that flowed through Loki, Mobius saw his lover regain his usual features.

Loki pouted a little and asked sheepishly, "Didn't you enjoy it?"

Mobius put a finger on Loki's lips, "Shhh, I enjoyed it a lot, but there's something I want to know. How far did you spy on my conversation with Sylvie?"

"Hey!" protested Loki, "I wasn't spying, well not really. I just happened to overhear some of the conversation before I went back to work! I only heard your answer about D.B. Cooper."

"Then I'll tell you what I said to Sylvie afterwards." replied Mobius softly.

"I told him that D.B. had aroused my appetite, but the one that had captured my undivided attention and made me forget about all the others was this Loki."

He underlined his words by poking Loki's nose with the tip of his forefinger.

"So yes D.B. is handsome, but he pales in comparison to you Loki. The real Loki. D.B. doesn't have those gorgeous black curls..." he ran his hands slowly through Loki's hair, and letting them run down his fingers continued, "that are soft as silk. »

He gently stroked the outline of Loki's eyes with his fingertips, "D.B. doesn't have those indescribable blue eyes that change color with light, with time and with emotion."

He ran his thumb over the lower lip of Loki's half-open mouth, "D.B. doesn't have that smile you only have for me."

He gently kissed said smile, then resting his forehead against Loki's, he said softly, "Loki, you will never have to be someone else to seduce me, hell, you don't even have to seduce me since I am already completely seduced. I was lost the day you explained to me with a sad look that your destiny was to be a villain. Because in front of me I had the real Loki. You let me see who you were."

He closed the distance between them and put his lips on Loki's.

Unlike the previous kiss, it was a gentle and almost chaste one. A kiss of oath and renewed love to which Loki responded with all his heart.

Talk about mischief turning against himself in the most beautiful way. There were no losers tonight, only two winners.

Though a little later as his head rested on Mobius' chest, he couldn't help but ask, "So, no more D.B. Cooper?"

The hand that was stroking his head, paused for a moment before resuming as Mobius whispered with a smile in his voice, "Hm... I admit the idea of being bossed around by D.B. Cooper does raise some interest..."

"Tut-tut Agent Mobius... What a naughty boy!"

Mobius pressed a kiss on Loki's forehead and said mischievously, "It's not just you who can do and be whatever you want."

Only Loki's warm laughter against his chest answered him.

Later, lulled by the sweetness of the moment, Mobius drifted off to sleep.

The last thing he felt was a light kiss from Loki on his chest, and the last thing he heard was Loki whispering against his skin, where his heart was.

"Thank you for letting me be me."

⚠️🔞NSFW 🔞⚠️SEQUEL HERE : https://archiveofourown.org/works/32529109

_______

Not beta'd I hope you enjoyed it. 🥰

Now that I'm at the end, I'm thinking about a little sequel about DB Cooper-Loki bossing around Mobius😏😏

#lokius #lokius fic #loki #mobius #mobius m mobius #sylvie #sylvie laufeydottir #moki #wowki #loki x mobius #lokius rights #established relationship #fluff #shapeshifter #lokius as db cooper #time husbands

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bakubabes-tatakae · 3 years ago

Text

A/N: I hope you all enjoy part 1/4 of my pieces for the second day of the anniversary collab for the @konoblog-simps. You can find all the lovely pieces for the day here! Today’s theme is angst and I’ll be hitting some sadness with Zora Ideale first. Prepare your hearts for these pieces, lovelies. I’ll be spanning my four pieces throughout the next couple of hours so stay turned. You can find all the days of the collab here!

Pairing: Zora Ideale x fem!Reader

Warnings: character death, angst, violence,

Word Count: 1.2k

As you made your way through the dungeon you heard the footsteps of other people approaching. You could sense their mana as well. If there was one thing that Captain Yami had taught you, it was to always be on your toes. But as the people you were about to face made their appearance you knew that this wasn’t going to end well.

The pink haired girl stepped forward, a salamander on her shoulder. Fana.One of the members of the Third Eye.

You knew as well as she did that you didn’t stand a chance against her by yourself. You needed your team.

It was now that you felt regret. You should never have wandered off by yourself. You should never have thought that you could handle this. Honor the buddy system. That’s what your brain was now telling you.

She taunted you as she stepped closer and closer to you. “What’s the matter little girl? You know that you can’t touch me.”

You swallowed hard, wondering if your team would be able to sense the great amount of mana that was in your area and come to your rescue. That’s when his face flashed through your mind. His red hair and perfect smile. The way he made your entire world a better place. You hadn’t wanted to leave him so soon, but if the squad didn’t find you he would never see you again, at least not the way it was meant to be.

She sauntered your way and reached a hand out, letting it linger just inches from your face. “I’ve told you and your friends a thousand times, no one will even harm Licht and get away with it.”

You tried to turn and run, but you couldn’t get away.

As your feet left the ground you felt her hand press to your leg, pulling you down. Your face hit the rock ground underneath you, pain striking all your senses and making your vision blurry. Her words filled your head. “It’s over, there’s no point in trying to get away. You harmed Licht, and I’ll make you pay for that.”

Your head immediately began to pound, the pain messing with all your other senses. You tried to crawl away, but her grip on your leg tightened. Your body dragged across the rock as she pulled you toward her, chuckling to herself as she did so. “I don’t even have to use my salamander for this.”

Fana reached to the side of her and grabbed onto a loose rock, lifting it over her head and slamming it down onto your skull. More pain radiated through you as your vision blurred even more. Was this really how you were supposed to go out?

She dropped the rock as she realized that you wouldn’t be able to get away and rolled you onto your back. She wanted to look into your eyes as she did this. She grasped the rock once again and did the same. Three more blows as you struggled to keep yourself conscious. But it was futile. Your vision finally went black as the pain took over your body.

Faint hollering was what woke you from your stupor, you were still barely able to see, but the voices were familiar. Black Bulls.

Hands clutched onto your body as you recognized another voice. “Baby,” A frantic Zora had now joined you at your side. He pulled you into his lap, his tone was pleading as he looked around at the other members that stood around you.

You were just barely able to make out the figures of the other people, but you had been around all of them long enough to know who it was.

“Please,” You had never heard more hurt in his voice than in this moment. Zora had never felt anything like this either. The pain was almost unbearable for his heart. He didn’t want to let you go. A cloud of fear hovered over him as he tried to wipe some of the blood away from your face with the end of his robe. “This can’t be happening.”

You tried to speak, but no matter how hard you tried words wouldn’t come from your mouth. It was like something was holding you back.

A deep voice came from behind Zora, a hand touching his shoulder as he whipped his head around to look at who it was. “I’m so sorry, Zora.”

That’s when Zora changed. “NO!” You barely felt it, but you knew he had just tightened his grip on your body more. “It’s not over Captain. She’s not leaving me, not yet. We can get her help.”

Yami’s voice was apologetic as he tried to get Zora to realize what was happening. “Zora, we’re too far away from help. Even if we were to use Finral’s spacial magic and Noelle’s healing magic, we’d never make it to real help in time.”

Zora looked back down at you and you felt a warm drop touch your face, your eyes were still barely open, but you were able to see that he was crying. “Baby, no.” More tears fell from his cheeks and hit your face. “Don’t die on me. Please.”

He took your hand into his and squeezed, wanting nothing more than to feel you squeeze back.

You could feel it coming. You could feel your consciousness slipping away from you, but this time was different than the last.

You mustered all the strength that you had and squeezed his hand. He stopped and opened his eyes. He no longer tried to hold back those tears that were on the edge, letting them all fall now. More of your strength brought the last words you would speak to the man that you loved more than anyone in this world. “I’m sorry.”

His tone was sharp, but he tried to stop it. “Don’t you dare say you’re sorry. I should have been with you. I love you so much, I should never have let you go alone.”

Zora’s blame for what had happened started to weigh on the squad, tears starting to fall from all of them. Yami gripped Zora’s shoulder harder, knowing exactly what was about to come.

Your eyes closed as you found yourself unable to hold them open anymore. Darkness filled you as you lost consciousness again, the last time your eyes would ever close.

The scream that emerged from the redhead that was always so tough, never letting anything bother him made the entire squad break down. As he felt your grip on his hand go limp he had known exactly what had happened.

Seeing someone like Zora so vulnerable, seeing someone like Zora so crushed. Even the Captain couldn’t hold it back anymore, the loss of a comrade striking everyone with grief. The loss of a soulmate ripping one member in two, something that would change him forever. Never able to escape the deaths of the ones he loved the most.

Taglist: @monic00l @strangeinternetwasteland @rowley-with-ackerman @kyu-pine @ellechanwrites @bonnisimpparker @impinthecloset @nikiniki743 @thorinsraven @gonuclear

©bakubabes-hatake’s original content, please do not repost/modify without my permission

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bffhreprise · 3 years ago

Text

Best Friend For Hire Reprise, Entry 381

“Not tired are you?” questioned Ariadne, who had been testing my abilities and helping me understand how to use them for hours. There were differences between how to accomplish tasks, since Ariadne’s magic needed control of her emotions just as much as clear mental pictures, but her explanations really did help.

“P-Processing.” I told her, wondering if she actually thought I ever grew tired. I felt she should know better, considering she knew what I am. At the moment, I was still revising her first lesson, current lesson, and all of the ones in-between as well as considering some other possibilities for my magic. I was thankful to know that my weird ability to see other places wasn’t monstrous, since Ariadne could do it too, just not as well. Part of my mind was still coming to terms with the idea that I had been subconsciously using magic my entire life. Thankfully, Ariadne didn’t think I had inadvertently hurt anyone.

“No, Dani, I don’t think you should make requests of Raine quite yet. Let her keep practicing.” stated James in reply to something Dani had asked in her native tongue. The musical language of her people was still beyond me without lessons, but a few words seemed to make sense to me.

“But Daddy! This would be practice!” she insisted in English.

James switched to Dani’s native tongue, and Dani’s smile turned impish, a sure sign she had been caught being mischievous again.

Alma took a few steps over to hug Dani from behind before saying, “Dani, behave. Birthday girls get to make the requests here.”

“I… d-don’t mind.” I told them, moving back and forth between where they were talking and where Ariadne was, not wanting Ariadne to think I was ignoring her. I was aware of the vampire brothers watching me, probably unaccustomed to seeing someone in two different places, but playing with Papak had shown me that they were practically frozen in place compared with me, just like everyone else.

Meanwhile, Ariadne was telling me about tricks she had discovered over the years to quickly diagnose health problems in different types of creatures. I doubted some of the tricks would work quite as well for me, not having a couple thousand years of experience in recognizing different types of cellular damage, but she seemed confident that I’d get the hang of it.

James was staring at Dani, whose smile only grew.

“A playmate for Alberich!” she suggested, finally letting us know what she wanted.

Alma sighed before saying, “She probably shouldn’t attempt life yet.”

“Is that really possible?” questioned Maple.

“Of course, though creating life takes far more energy than you’d probably expect.” replied Ariadne, having finally reached them. “I certainly can’t recommend doing it until Raine is very confident in her abilities. Getting something slightly off is very easy and potentially lethal for the new creature.”

“What about creating an enhancement suit for Pufflewink?” suggested James, obviously thinking that Pufflewink could keep up that way.

For several seconds, I considered different modifications to the suits, considering how cute they could look. While considering cuteness, I also considered whether or not Pufflewink would feel comfortable. Like all kitties, Pufflewink liked warmth, and the suits were designed to ensure a certain level of warmth. Everyone else had adapted to the feel fairly quickly, so I imagined Pufflewink might as well. After letting myself enjoy numerous scenarios of my kitty playing around in her new suit, I double-checked a rather important part of this idea, asking “I c-can?”

James nodded, saying, “As long as Jarod doesn’t mind.”

“That’s an awesome idea, man-slave!” insisted Emma, grinning broadly.

“I’ll admit that I’m intrigued to see what spells go into these things.” commented Vito eagerly.

“Suit design is a trade secret, so no giving it away to anyone.” stated Jarod loudly to be heard over everyone. “Mila, would you mind adjusting the design for felines?”

“Already optimizing the fiber configuration.” she replied, sounding amused. “Master, mind if we borrow your office briefly?”

“Feel free. Raine, I think she wants you upstairs.” encouraged James, smiling as well.

I nodded to him, and then went into the office. Quest gladly accepted! At the speed of Mila, the entire room transformed into screens for me to inspect with additional screens forming up from the tiny ball things that came out of the floor. Everything from molecular composition of the substances involved to the details on how James’ spells interacted with the physical form were on display.

Downstairs, James was commenting to Jarod “I hope you know that she’ll never forget the designs.”

Jarod grinned broadly. “And I hope you realize that I have many, many plans that could use her aid.” He was doing his villain act again. On one hand, he really was good at looking like an evil mastermind. On the other hand, he was a good person and wouldn’t actually attempt anything evil.

In the free time I had between taking in the different screens, I considered if I was really capable of meeting Jarod’s expectations. Yes, I was learning to use my magic, but I didn’t have anywhere near Ariadne’s level of mastery. Sure, the best way to get there was practicing, but what if I oopsed again? Energy research could be dangerous. Would I be able to contain things? Maybe Jarod wanted safer experiments first… He’d listen if I told him I wasn’t ready for anything dangerous, right? More scenarios erupted in my mind, but I didn’t have faith in them. Jarod was very nice, but he could also be a little… obsessive.

“If she comes back with a finished suit, I’ll be most disappointed.” stated Vito with a frown.

“No need to be disappointed. I’ll gladly show you the spell.” James told him. “I just ask that you don’t utilize it for your kind yet.” When Vito nodded his agreement, James created his spell.

For once, I really studied what went into the spell, committing the entire arrangement of energy to memory. Though I didn’t have confidence in duplicating such effects with my own magic yet, I could arrange residual energy, just like the others. Mila was already showing me modifications to the spell on some of the screens, having shown me a 3D model of it already.

Emma sighed and said, “You guys really know how to bring down a party.”

“We’re partying?” questioned Noelle, seeming to have forgotten the conical hat on her head. She was so adorable, and I wondered what she was showing the others. Sadly, her magic couldn’t affect me through my own magic, so I couldn’t see.

“Yes. Today’s Raine’s birthday.” replied Dejon with a patient smile. He had been working with her lately.

I mentally danced through the room I had already prepared for them as a couple, in hopes of them dating. He liked her, paying far more attention to her than he had paid attention to anyone else, and she certainly seemed interested whenever she looked at him. I put the new memory of them together in goofy party hats up on a shelf, admiring it.

Noelle’s eyes brightened, happy as ever. “I should tell her Happy Birthday!”

I mentally thanked her again, adding another tally in my mind’s personal room for her under the times she wished me a happy birthday today as I continued studying and connecting all of the pieces Mila was feeding me.

“She’s off making something for her cat at the moment.” explained Dejon.

“She has a cat!? I love cats!” she exclaimed excitedly.

There was a whole section of Noelle’s private room in my mind dedicated to her playing with Pufflewink. The adorableness delighted me.

“Me too!” exclaimed Kayla, lifting up Alberich, who had been leaning against Alma’s leg for the past minute.

Alberich was a very proud, very small lion, but he didn’t swipe at Kayla this time. Through our chats, I had learned that Alma spoiled him far too much when he was young, which was probably why he could be a bit snooty. Luckily, even Alberich found Noelle cute, affected by her magic just like most everyone else—poor James didn’t know what he was missing. When Noelle pet him, I could imagine how easily Alberich recognized her delight.

Not long after Noelle and Kayla started playing with Alberich, Mila informed everyone that I would be indisposed for several more minutes—she could only show me things so fast. I would also need some time to practice before I would be satisfied. Everyone but me went to the ballroom to dance instead of gaming for once. There were more cat-themed party decorations in there, and I was determined to join them soon.

After I finished the material that Mila had for me, I started asking her questions and was surprised to find she liked my ideas for a few modifications in the suit. She had originally assumed that I would simply remove the suit whenever Pufflewink wanted to go potty, but agreed with me when I pointed out that my little kitty would probably get disoriented by the sudden loss of enhancements more than our friends did. With a bit of work, we came up with some alterations that should work, and Mila found some additional cleaning spells she felt would be better suited for cats. Four-hundred-and-seventy-two variations later, Mila and I were satisfied that we had a suit Pufflewink would like, so I fetched her and created the suit around her.

The difference was notable as soon as I saw my little kitty move. She was confused, but I talked to her and warned her she’d need to be a little more careful. Mila insisted the difference in strength and speed was considerable, so I took her word for it. Satisfied that Pufflewink was happy, I took her down to join the others, dancing along with her in my arms.

Mila felt the need to stick a spotlight on me the moment I arrived, but I didn’t mind. James and Alma came over to examine the suit.

“Were you successful?” he asked.

“M-Maybe.” I replied, not as confident as Mila.

He grinned as he said, “We should test it later before Alberich and Pufflewink play too much together.”

I nodded in agreement. Pufflewink would need more time to adjust to her new abilities. “I-I should… visit… with… Ariadne.” I told him after considering a number of scenarios where Ariadne examined my kitty to make sure the enhancement suit was agreeing with her.

When James and Alma moved to hug me, I was surprised, but I only considered dodging for a very brief moment. I did like hugs, and neither of them would accidentally squeeze Pufflewink too hard.

“I hope you’re having a wonderful birthday, Raine.” stated James as he hugged me.

I nodded and smiled at my friends, telling them “B-Best ever.”

“No.” stated James, making me consider what was wrong. He then clarified “We plan to make each one better.”

I probably stared at him too long when he said that and nearly let myself cry. James was such a kind, wonderful person, and I would be grateful to him forever. I was certain he underestimated how much he had done for me—modest as he was—but giving me a home where I am accepted, despite what I am, was already the best present I could receive in a lifetime.

#Best Friend For Hire Reprise #Best #Friend #For #Hire #Reprise #Jovial Times #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

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wtfevenismypage · 4 years ago

Text

Observer, Not Profiler

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!reader

Summary: You’re similar to a profiler, but you can tell almost anything about a person just from a single glance. What they had for dinner, if they took a bath or shower, their name, favorite color, if they lie, even if they’re good in bed. You’ve been running from the government ever since you got caught hacking into their systems and since then you have been diagnosed with Extreme anxiety, anxious tics, and paranoia. But now the BAU need you’re help in Identifying killers.

Warnings: panic attacks, Strong language, mentions of murder and rape.4

A/N: I have no fucking clue what I’m talking about when it comes to the fake profiling, if it’s possible, or if trauma is how it’s caused, plus I’m exhausted so just roll with it please

“We have less than two days to find this guy before he kills again. What the hell are wee gonna do?”

Everyone sat in silence, contemplating and thinking about Derek Morgan’s words.

Sighs are heard all around before A youthful genius speaks.

“What if we brought someone else in? A-another profiler? Hotch, what about that girl from a few years ago, her friends said she could tell anything about anyone from a single glance? What if we brought her in?”

Aaron Hotchner rushes to his computer, frantically typing things into the screen and looks at the rest of his team.

“That should fish her out.”

Running from the government was difficult. You couldn't be in one place for more than a year, Never make friends, stay quiet, change your numbers and any personal information every six months, and if you see the police... Run.

You’ve lived like this for six years, ever since you were fifteen.

The reason you’re running is simple, yet hilarious.

Your best friend told you to hack into the governments to see if birds really do spy on us for the government. Of course you never found an answer because they already kicked you out before getting to it.

Then they came for you, at least ten swat cops raided your house, held a gun to your head as they searched the rooms.

When a group of profilers came in, and watched as you told them what they ate for lunch the day before, when they showered last, when the last time they had sex was, and shocked faces spread all around as you did the same with the swat cops, even though they were covered.

You’re currently watching you’re small T.V in horror, watching the news come unraveled.

“This woman has brutally murdered thirteen people, please, if you know anything, don’t hesitate to call us.”

Your face was plastered all over the news, every channel had your face on it.

You’ve never killed a single person. The closest you ever got was kicking a CIA agent in the groin and banging his head against your knee, but that hurt you more than it hurt him.

The woman speaking was a blonde woman with blue eyes, she has a petite stature that tells a lot more than any normal human would think.

Jennifer.

That had to be her name. She was an interrogator when you were originally taken in.

Her face as you told everyone about the last time she had sex was hilarious.

It was even better when it was confirmed to be true.

You frantically run around, grabbing a bag of runaway essentials and an apple before rushing out of your apartment and running as fast as possible, trying to get as far away as possible from this old life.

The street was littered with cops, they were practically on every street corner, talking to everyone they can see.

Panic and stress fill your senses quickly, causing you to break into a run down an alley way.

Yet of course, a few cops see you and chase you, because they’re cops and they see everything apparently.

You keep running, even when you feel like you can’t run anymore you keep running because if you get caught you’ll see them again, you know you will.

You’ll see those profilers.

They’re still chasing, but you start to slow down, unable to speed your slow jog to a run.

One of the cops tackle you to the ground, pinning your arms behind your back before shouting a slur of words.

But you can’t hear anything over the ringing in your ears.

you were caught. They think you murdered someone. Multiple people even.

A single tear rolls down your face as they cuff you, lifting you to your feet and dragging you away.

The team stared at you from behind the two-way mirror, watching as you twiddle your thumbs and stare confused as your head jerks to the side quickly.

“What’s up with her head?”

“Anxious Ticking, she was diagnosed with extreme anxiety and minor Paranoia soon after being caught. Anxious ticking is a system of these. she’s been looking over her shoulders for six years, so it’s no wonder she has these symptoms.”

Spencer answer’s Morgan’s question while looking at the young girl.

He was so intrigued by you. Another child genius like himself, hacking into the government at 15, and you could tell anything about anyone just by looking at them, yet you didn't like being called a profiler.

He was truly puzzled by you.

Your head tics to the side again, and you feel a red heat smack itself on your cheeks.

You knew they were watching you from behind the mirror, you just didn't know who they were. And ticking was always your biggest insecurity. You hated doing it in front of other people.

The door clicks open and you jump in your seat. You look up to see who it is.

A dark man with thick black eyebrows, he has a little beard and mustache, just covering his chin and upper lip, his build is lean and muscly, but not super muscly.

“Derek. Y-Your name is Derek.”

He nods with a kind smile, sitting down in front of you.

“Your name is Y/n.”

You nod and look down at your wrists, which are chained together with handcuffs.

“I didn’t... I didn’t hurt anyone...”

You whisper out with a shaky breath and tears in your eyes.

He nods knowingly, leaning back on the chair he’s in.

“We know you didn’t. We had to get you out of hiding somehow. This was the only way.”

You stare at him for a long time, shock moving in with the fear in your stomach.

“W-why? So th-that you could a-arrest me for hacking into the- the gov-government?”

He looked at you, concern shielded by confusion as he stands, walking around you to the coffee machine. Your head swivels around, following his every move with your eyes, making sure he doesn't hurt you.

The rest of the team watches as Morgan speaks, asking you about your age.

“tw-twenty one. I’m... I’m twenty one.”

They were in awe as they watched your eyes study Morgan, you travel all over his body.

“Y-you’re thirty three...You’re name is D-Derek and you’re thirty... three.”

“How the hell does she do that?”

Everyone looked at Reid, hoping for an explanation.

“It could be an effect of a traumatic childhood, often times children learn to just pick up behaviors but there have been a few very rare cases where they learn to pick up more than that. It’s dependent on their intelligence and education though. I’ve never seen a case like this though. It isn’t just looking and getting their name magically, it’s studying everything and narrowing it down.”

“Cool party trick. But shouldn't we be asking about how she hacked into the government at 15?”

“Well for one, she’s terrified right now, she wouldn’t tell us if we asked her. Morgan’s trying to get her to calm down right now. And two, if she was skilled enough, she could hack into the government. The techies of the government should have caught her as soon as she made her first attempt. I don’t understand how she made it through all of the firewalls and blocks.”

The team continued to watch as your wrists painfully slam together twice, causing the coffee cup in your hand to splash onto your lap. An embarrassed blush crawls up your neck as you apologize three times.

Reid writes this down under your tics. So far he had head-jerking and wrist bumping.

“She doesn’t like when people watch her ticking. To her it’s embarrassing. Reassure her that it’s alright, chances are someone or multiple people have put her down about this.”

Spencer informs Morgan through the ear piece while you rub at the now warm spots on your legs.

“It’s alright, don’t apologize for it, it’s a natural instinct, we’ve seen it before.”

You turn to the two way mirror, once again made aware of the other people watching you.

“I... Ho-how many people are... Wa-watching?”

You ask, voice shaking in a low whisper that you only wanted him to hear.

“There’s six people out there, the rest of my team. You saw three of us six years ago, but two people since then have resigned.”

You nod at his words, feeling tiny again as your wrists slam together again.

There was Jason, he seemed scary, a serious look was on his face but his words were kind, he tried to calm you down.

Next was Derek, He was emotionally charged, he yelled at you every time you moved, but it was only in fear that you were going to hurt anyone else.

Then Elle. She was so kind despite carrying a gun, she held a normal conversation with you as if you were a scared girl, and not a criminal like everyone else treated you.

Next was Aaron, He scared you the most. he held a gun to you the entire time and spoke to you like you were scum, he treated you with confusion and sent tears to your eyes.

Lastly was the nameless genius. You never were able to figure out his name, you knew that he was a genius as you were, but you couldn’t tell a single thing about him.

“Is Elle there? can I talk to her?”

You speak, a small smile creeping onto your face. He chuckles and smiles, leaning forward in his chair.

“Unfortunately Agent Greenaway has resigned.”

The smile falls as you begin twiddling your thumbs again.

“W... What about the long haired man? He was very t-tall, and skinn-skinny... He-he’s smart... very smart... Am I... Am I able to talk to him?”

Derek thinks for a moment before standing up.

“let me check with the team.”

He walks away, through the door and leaving you alone in the room.

“She wants to talk with Reid.”

Morgan states as he walks into the room with the rest of his team, looking at Reid who looks pretty terrified.

“She doesn’t know his name.”

“Well it has been six years.”

“She has an eidetic memory. And it would be difficult for anyone to forget any little detail from the day she started running.”

“So should we send Reid in?”

“It’s up to you Reid. She doesn’t prove to be a threat.”

Reid stands up and looks at the girl with tears in her eyes one last time before slowly stepping into the room.

You jump at least three feat when the door clicks open, staring at the new man with wide eyes. He apologizes and sits down in front of you.

“Yo-your name is... It’s... I can’t... I can’t read you. I can’t ev-even tell how old you are...”

His eyes widen as he smiles a little bit, trying to calm your nerves.

“I’m Dr. Spencer Reid.”

You smile a little at finally discovering his name, you’ve been thinking about it ever since you got away.

“Dr. Spencer Reid.”

The tears that cloud your vision finally fall, dripping onto the table.

“I’m sorry. I-I don’t know why I’m cry-crying...”

You stutter out, looking down to wipe your tears away.

“No need to apologize, it’s understandable considering the amount of stress you’re receiving right now.”

“Um... Am I... Am I going to jail?”

He doesn’t answer for a moment, thinking about what to say before scratching his head.”

“No I don’t believe so, There was no big harm done with the hacking, so The worst you’ll have to deal with is quite a bit of questioning. No, what we brought you in for is help. We understand you have the ability to profile people with a single loo-”

“No.”

You speak in a loud tone which causes Reid to jump a little, and the rest of the team is put on edge at your sudden tone.

“I’m not... I’m not a pro- a profi... I’m not one of you.”

You curse yourself in your head for yelling, you really didn’t want any of this attention.

“I understand that. I’m sorry, You are able to identify anything about a person by just looking at them, and we need your help with that.”

You look at the mirror, staring at your own reflection for a while before asking a question.

“I don’t have a choice do I?”

His lips stretch into a thin line, his cheeks puffing out where his lips end, and he shakes his head.

“Of course you have a choice. You can say no, and you’ll be free to live your life, or you can help us, we’ll pay you a respectable amount, make sure you have a place to stay for a few months, and make sure you can see your friends again.”

Tears flowed down your face freely when he said you could see your friends. Your friends were your entire life before this. After your parents kicked you out for being an athiest, you lived with your best friend since the age of 13.

“I... I’ll help... I’ll help.”

He genuinely smiles, holding his hand out with a small item in his hands.

“Go ahead and unchain yourself, when you’re ready the rest of the team and I are right outside and we’ll brief you.”

He drops the key in front of you before standing, awkwardly waving, and then he walks out leaving you alone in the room.

You try to pick the key up, but seeing as both hands are chained underneath the table, so you sit awkwardly, your gaze switching between your hands, the key and the door, but you can’t call out for Spencer, the panic in your lungs are taking all the air, not letting you speak.

“Should someone help her?”

“No. I would like to see how she gets out of this.”

Hotch tells Morgan before watching you kick the other end of the table, bouncing the key towards you.

It slides into your lap, which you quickly thrust your hips up to get to your hands, and you get yourself out of the cuffs.

Your fist quickly comes into contact with your forehead, another new tic.

You look at the mirror again before walking to the door and grabbing the knob, twisting it open and looking inside.

Your eyes flashed over the six people multiple times, identifying their names and ages. Some from memory, and others from your knowledge.

“Thank you for agreeing to help us. If you’ll follow us please. Dave, I want you and Morgan at the crime scene again. JJ, set up a press conference. Reid And Prentiss, You two and I are working on victimology with Miss Y/n.”

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oneyeartoparty · 3 years ago

Note

I’ve been reading ur post and I just wanna request the brothers reacting to MC being fully able to fight back and win against belpie but didn’t in fear of hurting him? Probably knowing he would be a strong opponent too sorry if it’s too much😅

Hi! Its not too much at all. I hope you enjoy and thank you for the request =D

This contains: Mentions of violence, injury, being attacked, being trapped & death. Also has spoilers for Chapter 16.

Lucifer

Lucifer felt a feeling of dread, something quite rare for him, build up within him when he saw you and a floating Belphie in his demon form wrapped in chains appear before them on the staircase.

He was keenly aware of how much danger Belphie was in, and how he didn’t understand the situation at all. He was too preoccupied with attempting to free himself and hurl obscenities at anyone in range to notice he was close to being crushed.

Not wanting to see his youngest brother meet a grisly demise, he starts trying to calm you down and ensure you won’t harm Belphie.

When Lucifer learns Belphie tried to murder you, he becomes visibly angry. He might not show it outwardly often, but he has grown fond of you during your time in the Devildom, and losing you because he failed to safeguard you, from one of his brothers no less, would’ve incredibly upsetting for him.

Before Diavolo and Barbatos arrive, he’s able to convince you to slightly loosen the chains wrapped around his sibling, something he would secretly be proud of given the circumstances and your ruthlessness when it comes to defending yourself from unruly demons.

Once the truth of the situation is revealed, and everything has calmed down, and in Belphie’s case, been freed, Lucifer takes it upon himself to ensure you’re feeling ok after the incident and ensuring you get any support you need. He realises your happiness is important to him, and he’ll do whatever he can to make sure he can see your smile every day.

Mammon

When you descended the stairs with a little calf on a lead trotting behind you, Mammon was, like his brothers, incredibly confused. Where did you get that calf and how did it even get down into the Devildom in the first place?

It took him a few moments to recognize the cowhide had a pattern identical to the pillow Belphie always carried around. Had you used your magic to turn Belphie into the calf?

Of course, his human would be able to easily do something like this to one of the most powerful demons in existence. How could you not? He knew you were skilled and powerful enough to pull this off. It was hilarious when he thought about it. How frustrated must Belphie to have been turned into a helpless little calf?

But then he realised why you would’ve had to have done something like this. He knew Belphie hated humans, he was certainly capable and willing to kill one. That was the reason you had turned him, wasn’t it?

Mammon has rarely felt as much rage toward one of his brothers as he felt at that moment. Had you not been so skilled at magic, you could’ve been injured, or more likely, killed by Belphie. He was close to launching himself at his defenseless sibling when Diavolo and Barbatos burst in and revealed everything.

From many months after the incident, Mammon would keep a closer eye on you. He wanted to be there to protect you if something like this happened again. He wanted to be the one you could rely on and who could keep you safe.

Leviathan

Leviathan would never admit it, even well after the incident, but the sight of his youngest brother turned into a cardboard cut-out was hysterical to him.

The angry look on his brothers temporarily cardboard face as you tossed him from the top of the stairs and watched him slowly floated down to the floor has always bought him joy even during his saddest times.

He was keenly aware that you wouldn’t have done this unless Belphie has done something to warrant it. Since you were a human, it didn’t take Levi long to surmise that was the case, the idea confirmed by his brother’s cardboard form being in demon form with a rage-filled look on his face.

Levi didn’t blame you at all for doing this. You’d defended yourself and done so in a way that only embarrassed Belphie. He knew you could’ve done far worse, and he was glad for your restraint, though he doubted Belphie realised just how lucky he was.

When Diavolo and Barbatos finally arrived and revealed the truth behind recent events (and along with the brothers, convinced you to turn Belphie back into his regular demonic self) Levi checked on you in his way. He was both upset and overjoyed by the mix of events on that day, so he tried his best to stick close to you and make sure you were safe and happy. He even sent a few compliments your way, which was rare in more public settings.

Levi did punish his younger brother in his way for his stupid actions. Whenever the three of you played together, he’d always do his best to ensure Belphie came last, though he didn’t need to try too hard since he was usually napping 5 minutes into any game.

Satan

Satan wasn’t sure what he was expected when he and his brothers arrived back at the House of Lamentation, the last thing they were expecting was the peace they encountered. Belphie wasn’t known to be destructive, but angry demons did have a habit of smashing things unnecessarily.

When you appeared on the stairs, a book gripped in one hand he was relieved. You were unharmed, though he saw visible annoyance and fear in your expression. He knew then that something had happened, and it wasn’t good.

You walked straight up to Lucifer and handed him the book, saying in no uncertain terms that you weren’t freeing Belphie until you were certain he wouldn’t try killing you again and received a massive and genuine apology from the demon in question.

Dumbfounded, Lucifer opened the book, and Satan quickly moved beside him to get a look. The inside was a children's book, specifically the story of Snow White. The story followed the usual plot, except walking along the pages, looking angry and in his demon form, was Belphie.

He was enraged by his predicament. He was helpless in the pages, able to walk amongst the pictures but unable to change anything. He could move between pages but was unable to escape.

Later in the day, once everything was explained and Belphie was freed (and has given a substantial apology) Satan would congratulate you on easily subduing his youngest brother with ease and acknowledge your abilities.

He also vowed you would never need to use your powers in such a manner again, and he would always be by your side to defend you and keep you safe.

Asmodeus

Asmodeus must admit that the snow globe you had trapped Belphie in was both an ingenious way to contain the enraged demon and a beautifully designed piece he would gladly own if it weren’t a temporary prison.

He has wondered why of all things you were carrying the snow globe when you approached the group of demons. This wondered turned to concern when he saw the annoyed look on your face.

Once you’d explained what happened with Belphie he immediately came to your side and gave you a check over. The fact that this happened at all was atrocious, not to mention it was caused by his own younger brother.

His brothers tried to convince you to release Belphie, but Asmo doesn’t think he should be released just yet. After his actions, he deserves some punishment. He even offers to keep the snow globe in his room. He’ll be a perfect guardian of the object. Plus, he had already planned the perfect setup for some Devilgram photos including the snow globe.

He couldn’t hide his disappointment when Lucifer shot the idea down with a stern glare in his direction.

Once the truth of the situation and the truth of your origins was revealed my Diavolo and Barbatos, and Belphie freed (though Asmo still thought he should’ve been kept in there for a little longer), Asmo spends his time doting on you.

He knew situations like this could stick with someone, and he didn’t want you to feel alone or unprotected (even though he knew you could look after yourself). He also gave Belphie an earful about how stupid he was and warned him to never do that again, or he’d been dealing with both of you.

Beelzebub

Beel wasn’t concerned when you approached them with a sleeping Belphie floating along behind you on a bed of pillows. He was used to seeing his twin napping in strange situations, so this wasn’t different.

This changed when you told the group of demon brothers that Belphie wouldn’t be waking up until you had assurances that he wouldn’t try to murder you like he had just moments before.

Beel’s concern was torn between you and Belphie. Humans were fragile, and even one as powerful as you could be hurt by a demon-like Belphie, so he understood why you defended yourself and weren’t relenting. But Belphie was still his twin, even though he was wrong, he didn't want him trapped in eternal sleep.

He checks on you first, making sure you’re unhurt. He tells you he is immensely hurt by Belphies actions and hopes it doesn’t permanently ruin your relationship with him or ruin the chance of you mending things with Belphie.

After that, while his brothers are checking on you, he looks over Belphie. He is unhurt, but he is deeply asleep, far more so than he usually is. He affectionally moves some of the hair covering Belphie’s face just as Diavolo and Barbatos enter the room and reveal everything.

Once everything settles down, Beel spends his time trying to mend the relationship between you and his twin, and make sure you’re doing well, both mentally and physically. You’re both his family, and he will do whatever he can to make sure you’re both safe and happy.

Belphegor

Belphie thought you were an easy mark when you first met. A gullible, stupid human who he could easily string along to earn both his freedom and destroy the Exchange Program.

It was this arrogance that leads to him ignoring you when you talked about being a powerful magic user. No doubt you were only an expert in sleight of hand party tricks and were simply trying to impress him.

Imagine his surprise when he tried attacking you but found himself trapped in a near-transparent bubble instead.

Even his most vicious and powerful attacks in his demon form were unable to penetrate or dent the sphere now surrounding him and this only served to increase his fury.

He was so focused on trying to escape he didn’t notice you taking him down to the house’s entryway where his brothers were gathered. Their argument below quickly turned into pleading for you not to hurt him and to please let him down gently.

You were adamant though. You wouldn’t hurt him, but you wouldn’t let him down until you knew he’d stop attacking you.

You would later explain to Belphie you weren’t lying and were indeed a powerful magic user. Your abilities were spotted by the Sorcerers’ Society at a young age, and they took you in and taught you all they know.

He’s both impressed by your skills and grateful that he was never close to hurting you. He vows to himself to never again hurt you and to support you forevermore to make up forever thinking of hurting you.

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modern-naiad · 3 years ago

Text

Yachi's Ball

(Yachi x platonic!Karasuno VB team)

This was a headcanon that spiraled out of control so now its a fic I guess. I wrote it at like 1-2am, its not really proof-read. angst to fluff I guess? Obviously I would never want this to happen to my girl Yachi, but I had this idea and I thought it was kinda wholesome so... here you go, enjoy!

So let's say theres like a school dance or event going on and Yachi happens to have a crush on someone in one of her classes. She feels so lucky and happy when they ask her to go with them, she is overjoyed at practice talking to Kiyoko about it, the team overhearing, is happy she's happy. She and Kiyoko plan to go shopping for their dresses and excitedly plan for the magical night.

The night of the dance rolls around, her date told her they'd meet her there, so nervously she enters the crowded school gym. She had arrived with Kiyoko after she had helped her get ready, they both "look like a million bucks" according to Tanaka and Noya who almost too quickly upon Kiyoko's arrival stole her away to dance...it was almost as if they were waiting at the entrance for her arrival...

ANYWAY. Yachi is quick to assure Kiyoko that she can go have fun with the boys and that her date would be there soon, it had only been 10 minutes past their agreed meeting time, they were probably just running a little late. So Yachi waits, lingering near the entrance nursing a cup of punch as 10 minutes go by, then 20, then 30. As time seems to drag on and no messages come from her supposed date she starts feeling frustrated. Frustrated with how optimistically happy she was when they had asked her, frustrated by how much time she spent talking about how much she looking forward to tonight, frustrated with how much money she put into her outfit, how much time she took to do her hair and makeup, with how she had taken up Kiyokos time to help her, and of course how frustrated she was with her date. She's an understanding person, if something came up she would have understood, but not a single text was exchanged and she just felt so dumb about the whole thing.

She'd lost Kiyoko and the two rambunctious 2nd years over 40 minutes ago. In the crowd of bodies moving around her short stature and anxious nature did not help her efforts to look around for a familiar face, even with the damn heels that had been nothing but cruel to her feet. Not wanting to call her mother to come pick her up she decided to become a wallflower, finding a nice spot to lay low. She didn't want to cry, but she felt as if she were on the verge of tears, embarrassed by the whole situation, head lowered, tightly clenching her near empty cup of second refill punch by her side.

It's only then, when she is about to make a break for some fresh air outside, or an empty classroom, or maybe the volleyball gym, or literally anywhere but the cursed dance that she notices many sets of mens dress shoes appear on the floor she was so intently staring at. As she looks up there the boys volleyball team stands, dressed in their best formal wear, a certain Shōyō Hinata stands right in front of her, a hand extended towards her. "Can we have this dance?" he asks with the same determination and enthusiastic tone he has when it come to the sport he loves so much. She looks around the group, all the boys looking at her expectantly, some with sympathetic faces, others with bright smiles, and some somewhere in between. However, those faces turn to frowns as she lets the tears fall. She is quickly pulled in for a hug by Kiyoko, but as the boys begin to awkwardly apologize, she wipes them away and expresses her gratitude for the sweet boys who have tried so hard to bring a smile back to her face after seeing her standing dejectedly on a wall.

Claiming this was the sweetest thing anyones ever done for her, she smiles through the remaining (happy) tears, going in for a large group hug. The boys gladly huddle around her, when they release from a hug she thanks them again, explaining her frustrations which had lead them to this point. There are exchanges of threats and trash talk about her so called date, most notably the "piece of shit" from Kageyama and a "looks like I'll be having a little chart with someone" from Daichi. Tanaka and Noya reiterate enthusiastically that she looks so pretty, Sugawara laughs as he gives her a little twirl, showing her off. She giggles as well before stopping in front of a flustered Yamaguchi who manages to stumble out a sincere "You look beautiful Yachi-san", she flushes deeply at the compliment and thanks him. She is now smiling brightly, looking around, happy she has such great friends, when Hinata prompts again, "Now, how about that dance?". She takes his hand and exclaims, "lets go have fun, I did't get all dolled up for nothing" she jokes. With that she, Kiyoko, and the gentlemen of the boys volleyball team take to the dance floor! They dance in a group having a fun time, some (*cough* the first years *cough*) offer her solo dances when slower songs arrive, graciously accepting she dances the night away.

Her trash date isn't even on her mind, she's just happy she had such a good time with the boys who she takes care of at practice taking care of her for a night. When the dance comes to a close the group decides to go out for some late night, trash food. Tsuki offering to carry her heels as they walk through the grass outside. After their bellies are filled with food and exhaustion takes over they call it a night, but not before more thank you's and hugs are exchanged.

By the end of the night many photos and videos were taken and posted on Instagram, captions ranging from "happy I could make you smile" to a more ballsy "their loss". Yachi herself posts a series of photos, the first being a group photo of her and the boys, captioning it something along the lines of "the Karasuno Boys Volleyball team, sure know how to make a girl feel special! Very grateful to call you all my friends 🥰". Other photos are of her and Kiyoko, some solo shots of her (not pictured the boys hyping her up), a first year group photo, some duo shots, and lets not forget the pic of everyone in their formal wear chowing down on greasy fries, burgers, and milkshakes!

Needless to say when her "date" sees the post they know they missed out. Hitoka Yachi is ✨t h a t ✨girl and now everyone knows it.

I hope you all enjoyed, I know I haven't been putting out much original content, but every now and then I have some sparks of inspiration and time lol. I've been taking some summer classes, but my last one should finish up soon so I might be able to put out some more content for you guys ( I say that like a whole bunch of people read my shit and follow me lol) anyway, as always feel free to reblog, please leave a comment or like if you know, you liked it lol. Even though I don’t consider myself a serious writer I appreciate the validation 😂

also tagging my mutual, @aka-ashi-keiji (mwahahaha more fluff!)

<3 marveling

#haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu headcanons #yachi hitoka #yachi hcs #yachi fluff #kiyoko shimizu #hinata shoyo #kegayama tobio #hq tsukishima #yamaguchi #yachi x hinata #yachi x yamaguchi #haikyuu fic #haikyū!!#haikyuu x reader #marvelings fics #idk how to tag this

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baeklooming-day · 4 years ago

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Carousel of daisies | Baekhyun

🪄 Summary: A ghost who’s prison has been a magical carousel loved by kids for long decades, a ghost who will be set free only if he meets his soulmate, his daisy.

🪄 Genre: Ghost!AU, Soulmate!AU, Magic!AU, fluff

🪄 Word Count: 6.8k

🪄 A/N: Thank you Baekhyun for inspiring me. I love you.

🪄 Listen to Amusement Park 🎠

Masterlist.

1904

Amusement parks were without a bigger question a beautiful and colorful place to be, full of bedazzling joy and kids’ laughter.

Some of them were the wandering type of an amusement park, appearing and disappearing again in a particular spot, just to offer their candies and lights to everyone in town to enjoy with their loved ones.

Some people liked to call these parks „the pop-up amusement parks”, and even though usually they would announce a similar visit to make all the parents in town aware in advance of the soon to be frolics of their kids in a complete awe of the many jolly attractions which they were always so eager to try for themselves, the so awaited and cherished amusement parks used to simply move in a week or even a few days later without even caring to leave a notice to let it be known that they would be soon taking all the fun away again, leaving it a mystery if they would come back, or if another wandering amusement park was about to visit in their place anytime soon.

Apparently a lot of families thought of it to appear to be an even greater issue for the amusement parks to disappear so suddenly and quickly as if under a magical spell than to visit in the first place, so with the passing of time lots of different complaints had been filled and submitted to the mayor’s office, demanding to simply do something about it, to find a good enough solution to prevent all the kids in town from throwing big tantrums as soon as they learned that the park left, and at the same time to give them something equally as merry and bright to enjoy themselves in their leisure time.

To gift all the kids something to give them joy whenever, everyday, something what would stay and never go away, something what would always be bound to just be there no matter what.

An own amusement park was unfortunately, but unquestionably out of the question. The reason was not because the town could not allow themselves an expense of a similar level, but because there wasn’t really anyone who was actually willing to dedicate their hours during the day to look after the place and all the possible guests and screaming kids.

A simple, traditional playground had been crossed out of the suggestions list as well, alone for the fact that there already was a plenty of new colorful playgrounds around the town, and an additional one would obviously not be the most desirable thing in place of the amusement parks which the kids loved so much.

So everyone continued thinking carefully, everyone was contemplating and asking themselves what thing could possibly be the best choice out of all ideas named previously. Or perhaps the most entertaining idea had not been listed just yet?

Some well founded features had been kept in mind throughout the whole process of weekly brainstorming between the citizens, and those were that the new entertainment for kids in town should be, before anything else, something very particular and timeless.

And just as they thought that there was not such thing when nobody seemed to be able to come up with a suitable idea, someone simply threw the totally random, yet immediately enthralling suggestion.

„Let’s build a carousel.”

Almost all pairs of eyes present by the discussion snapped into the direction of the owner of the voice at the same time.

„A carousel?” Asked someone at the other side of the long table where everyone else was sitting.

„Yes, indeed.” Answered the same smooth voice. „We have a lot of playgrounds around our town, and some of them do have carousels but these are not really what I have in mind.”

„Enlighten us.”

„Let’s make it a carousel worthy of those standing in the biggest amusement parks as of now. In that way, the kids would have a piece of an amusement park everyday, but it wouldn’t be that big of a struggle to keep it together than a whole park, you know what I wanna say?” The owner of the voice slowly leaned back in his seat, waiting for a response from his fellow citizens.

„Well...” Someone started. „I know what you mean. But is it even possible to pull this off? Those large carousels are almost an artwork themselves with how they look, in all these precise tiny details and colorings, let alone the mechanism inside them to make them move. Are you sure-”

„Yes.” Responded the smooth voice. „I want to do it. I need to do it.” A small pause. „For my son.”

„For your son?”

„Yes. For Baekhyun.”

„Awe, the little Baekhyun, always all over every carousel at playgrounds, right? Alright. I think your idea is good.” Said someone else, agreeing with the idea.

The young man smiled contentedly in his seat.

What wouldn’t a parent do for their own child in order to make them happy?

When the meeting ended, everyone who became enthralled with the idea rushed to prepare plans of realization of it almost right away.

The common excitement reached its peak, when many long months later after thoroughly planning and working on the project, it finally appeared, standing in the middle of the square in all its glory.

The carousel.

All the kids in town became immediately bewitched with the news, and as soon as they came to a view of the large, strikingly colorful and joyful merry-go-round displayed right before their big eyes, the cheering couldn’t find an end.

As good as every child fell in love with the newest attraction, but one particular little someone was markedly left in awe way more than all the other children.

A very little boy, with the softest locks of hair colored like pearls, was walking around the carousel with his little mouth agape, looking at it from every angle, kneeling on the ground in his lilac trousers to take a look at that joy from down below.

„Do you like it, Baekhyun?”

„Oh, yes!” The little boy exclaimed. „I love it, dad!” He quickly pulled himself up and approached his smiling father in jumping steps. „I loooooove it! I love it so much I wanna stay in that carousel forever!”

The young man let out a soft laugh. „Be careful what you wish for, my dear Baekhyun. It might really come true, sometimes differently than you originally wanted.”

Baekhyun looked up, with his brown eyes seemingly confused.

„But talking is not what we are here for today, is it?” The man said briefly, putting his hand on Baekhyun’s little head, gently caressing his pearly hair. „Do you want to make the honors of the first official ride on the carousel?” He asked, a wide smile making its way back on his lips as soon as he noticed the unduly frolic expression on his son’s face.

„Yes! Yes, I do want to!”

2004

The weather was outstandingly cold that afternoon, significantly much more colder than you were able to recall remembering the whole past week.

It was very, very early but awaited spring which has finally fallen on the quiet town, and if one was observant enough, tiny and green leaf blossoms which were just about to start blooming sometime soon, as if still too timid to break through their delicate shell and spread all over the branches of the trees soaking them in green, could be seen from a distance.

The afternoon, just like the whole day, has been cold, but as if to make up for the not so particularly pleasant temperature the sun was gently throwing its reassuring and comforting gold gleams and twinkles everywhere you could look, making a soothing, almost idyllic atmosphere at the square which merely appeared before your big curious eyes.

It was the first day when the sky was not all covered with weighing dark clouds, so you were continuously emanating with clear joy knowing that even if it took you the longest time ever, you had convinced your mom to take you to the square to play in the afternoon.

And now you were finally out there, letting out a sudden squeak of joy as soon as you came to a view of what you have been longing for ever since the first time as you heard your grandmother mentioning it at their home.

The beautiful, sparkling carousel full with colors, lights, and children’s happy giggles as it moved around spinning their world on that jolly merry-go-round ride.

“Mom!” You called out to your mom with as much volume as a four-year-old little girl could master, noticing how she was left far behind you because of how slowly she proceeded to walk. “Mom, mom, mommy! Look! Walk faster, mommy!” You continued to yell.

“Heavens, Y/N.” She exhaled, shivering a little as the cold breeze blew in her smooth face. “I am not used to these temperatures, not used at all.” She added under her breath, but not loud enough for you to hear.

You gave her a questioning look with your dazzly eyes. “Are you cold, mommy?” You asked, scooting a little closer to her and wrapping your small arms around her left leg.

“Yes honey, mommy is cold. Look-” She bent down to match your level, taking your little hands in hers. “Do you feel it? Cold as ice!” She said with a smile audible in her soft voice as she watched your eyes sparkling even more.

“But I am immune to coldness!” You exclaimed proudly.

“You are my little ice queen, yeah?” She soothed the wild silky locks on your small head, messy from the wind and from running. “But I feel like I will freeze if I stay like this any while longer.” She looked to the side, her eyes becoming instantly as big and sparkling as yours when she noticed a lovely coffee and tea house with people lining up to the entrance.

Your mom said something to you then, but as much as all your focus has usually always been on your mom, you did not hear a thing whilst your attention was brought somewhere else, your eyes being glued to something what seemed like only visible to you.

People were walking past him, not giving even one look, as if he was invisible for them, whilst in the background right behind him there was the colorful object of your awe, the carousel, spinning around with other laughing kids.

He looked as if he was frozen in a motion scene, just standing there calmly and holding a flower. He was wearing a sweater in a dark shade of teal, with two visible white stripes and blue and orange flowers at the front. His hair was of a color equivalent to a real pearl, his loose light locks looking as if they radiated some mysterious kind of gleam from within, just as if made of stardust.

The boy looked at you, blinking slowly, and you looked back, deciding to send him a candy smile as you felt some weird sort of warmth filling your young heart the longer your bright eyes stayed locked with his dark ones.

You were being pulled to the carousel and to the mystical boy with pearl colored hair, or at least that was how you felt when you suddenly let go of your mom’s hand, feeling a peculiar need to run in his direction.

But before you could do so, you felt your mom’s still very cold hand clasping around your own. “Y/N, did you hear what I just said? I said that I will go really, really quickly to buy a hot steaming coffee to warm myself up, alright? You will be a good little girl and will stay by the carousel until mommy comes back, will you?” She said. “You can already get on, I will be back before the ride ends, alright?”

You only nodded eagerly, earning a comforting smile from your mom as she dashed to the coffee place which was just two steps away from where you two were standing.

You quickly turned your little head to look at the boy again, but the moment your eyes landed where you saw him just seconds ago, you immediately noticed that he was gone, nowhere to be seen, as if disappeared in thin air. Nonetheless, you decided to walk up to the carousel, not wanting to believe that this mystical person wouldn’t appear before you in a minute again.

Baekhyun immediately felt this too, in the moment you came into his vision. He would lie if he claimed that he was not taken by a complete surprise as the unforeseen wave of peculiar warmth rushed to fill his ghostly heart. There was a time when he longed for this particular feeling to find him, there was a time when he would stay alert every minute of the day and look for you himself as much as the unbreakable bond which held him close to the carousel allowed him to.

It has been one hundred years since the carousel was built.

And it has already been eighty two years since he died.

Nobody would even ever suspect that the beloved and only son of the man who gave the town that marvelous, magical carousel, would leave at the young age of just twenty two, one windy day in 1922.

Baekhyun himself wasn’t too content to recall the events which took place in that memorable for his loved ones year. The mere thought which flashed through his mind the moment everything went dull, was his careless childish wish from when he was just four years old and went to see the newly acquired carousel with his father.

When he said that he wanted to stay in that carousel forever.

His wish has been granted to him, what he learned as he woke up in the carousel, being almost violently pulled back to it every time he tried to leave, as if some angry, invisible, formless force was clasping its claws around his limbs to send him flying back to the twinkling merry-go-round which became his mocking prison.

There was one way to break this unusual link and to set himself free.

In order to be able to perform that, he needed to meet his soulmate.

He didn’t know how he even knew that, but right after his awakening in the carousel, this thought was one of the first things which appeared between his returning memories of his life which he left behind way too soon for the looks of it.

Baekhyun was full of hope at the beginning, but as the following years flew by and his soulmate didn’t appear, he started to lose the last sprinkles of hope that he had left.

That was the reason why he was feeling so dazed and confused, so flabbergasted and refusing to believe what was occurring around him the moment you looked at him with your sparkling eyes and smiled at him warmly.

He knew it was you.

His soulmate.

The happiness was unfortunately soon replaced by a bittersweet feeling of disappointment as soon as he realized that standing there and smiling at him just a few steps away was a little girl, around four years old.

Even if you found him now, you were much too young to fulfill his floating dream of love and freedom, and he was perfectly aware of that.

He knew that he would have to wait for you even longer, until you became older and could love him properly.

But that didn’t necessarily mean that he couldn’t talk to you now already, did it?

Baekhyun swirled the little daisy flower in his fingers, taking a decisive step next to you, the little girl with sparkling eyes.

You made a jumping beeline to the colorful carousel, your mouth forming a little “o” at the view of shining figures of white horses which were spinning around happily.

You scrunched your little nose unamused, as you noticed all the horses being occupied, the ride not looking like it was about to end too soon as well.

“Why is everything taken?” You asked grumpily, throwing longing glimpses at the carousel.

“Do you want to ride on the merry-go-round too?” Asked an unfamiliar, velvet like voice coming from beside you.

Your little head instantly snapped to the direction of the sound, your eyes looking up to meet those of the owner of that melodic voice speaking to you.

“Oh!” You exclaimed. “Oh! You are the starry mister!” You said in awe, pointing your little finger at Baekhyun, examining his face.

He let out a soft chuckle, kneeling beside you to be on your eye level. “Starry?” He asked.

“Your hair looks like stars! So pretty!” You said, reaching out your small hand to sloppily caress his pearl locks in a childish manner.

Baekhyun felt another wave of warmth flowing through his foggy ghost heart, feeling a loving smile spreading on his lips. Seeing your natural childish curiosity and amazement, he was happy that he could witness it when you were still a little innocent child, yet to learn lots about life.

“What is your name?” He asked.

“My name is Y/N!” You replied joyfully. “And you?”

“Baekhyun.”

“So you are the magical Baekhyun.” You stated.

“Magical? Do you like magic?” Baekhyun asked.

“Yes, I do! And I like flowers too!” You answered.

“Flowers? Which flowers do you like?” He asked you another question, before looking at the white daisy which he has been holding in his hand all that time. “Do you like daisies, Y/N?

“I like daisies!” You replied. “And I like you, Baekhyun! You are nice and you have pretty hair!” You added, giving him a candy grin.

“Is that so?” Baekhyun couldn’t help it but mirror your genuine smile. “Will you be my daisy?” He asked, holding up the flower for you to see.

Your sparkling eyes fell on the little daisy immediately. “Yes, I will be your daisy!” You reached out your arm, squealing in joy when Baekhyun placed the small flower in your open hand.

“This is a promise, okay?” He said.

“Of course!” You nodded in agreement, even though you couldn’t understand it just yet.

The little magical moment was interrupted though, when suddenly the familiar voice of your mother filled the air, reaching your ears.

“Y/N! There you are!”

“Mommy, are you warm now?”

“Yes, I bought a coffee. Look!” Your mom happily held up a steaming cup of coffee, the steam visible as a faint white cloud in the chilly air. “Have you been standing here the whole time? Didn’t you want to get on the carousel?” She asked a little bewildered.

“I was talking to Baekhyun!” You said smiling.

If your mom looked bewildered before, now she must have looked totally puzzled. “Baekhyun? Who’s Baekhyun?” She asked.

“My new friend with hair that looks like stars!” You said, but then you knitted your eyebrows. “Mommy, he is standing right next to me!”

Your mom’s eyes looked at you, then at the air beside you, before she let out a deep breath and gently took your hand.

“They told me that having imaginary friends is normal at that age, yeah, they definitely told me that.” She mumbled to herself whilst sipping on her hot coffee, leading you away from the carousel.

You quickly turned around to have one last look at Baekhyun, still standing by the spinning carousel with his hands in his pockets, his eyes following your small figure. “Bye, Baekhyun! I will come back!” You yelled, waving him goodbye with your right hand.

“Y/N, stop it! There is none there! And let’s hurry, the wind is becoming worse, ugh!” Said your mom.

Baekhyun did not move, he stood like that as long as you were still visible in the distance.

He smiled.

Of course your mother could not see him. You were usually starting to lose the ability to see beyond living beings as you were becoming older, and little kids couldn’t tell the difference between a living person and a ghost.

Baekhyun put his hand on his head where your small fingers touched his hair, smiling softly.

“Until we meet again, my daisy.”

2021

“Woah!” Said your friend, Lorena, whilst whirling around and taking in the blooming sight of lovely cherry trees being planted everywhere you could lay your eyes. “You weren’t lying, Y/N, this town legitimately looks like out of a Disney film.” She added, stopping right next to you and your other friend, Lily.

“I told you multiple times.” You said with an elfin sneer.

“You did, but when was the last time you actually visited this place?” Asked Lorena. “When you were a toddler?”

You gave her a little judging look, only for the three of you to burst out in genuine laughter not even two seconds later.

You were nearing your 21st birthday with every following day, and because this year was of a particular meaning to you for many different reasons, you decided to spend it with your two closest friends in the charming small town where your grandparents lived, and recall the memories of when you were playing there as a little child one day in early spring.

But it was not the only reason why you were walking through the old climatic streets with buildings covered in green ivy just now.

As of lately, you have been having peculiar dreams.

You never linked any meaningful value to your dreams, merely because you just didn’t believe that there was anything extraordinary to that, a dream was after all just what your brain went through to “filter” itself at night, right?

But this time was quite different. You kept having weird blurry dreams where the only thing you could really make out of it was a colorful merry-go-round full of warm lights on the background of blurred delicate shades of gold and yellow. Sometimes it was the only object visible, but sometimes you could also see something else.

In the first dream in which you witnessed it, you couldn’t really tell what it was. The figure was standing before the spinning merry-go-round, looking as if painted with delicate, but messy brush strokes on a flawless canvas, forming a mix of dark and light colors. Knowing you, you just decided to completely ignore it, not thinking too much about it the next morning when you woke up. But as the days passed, you kept seeing that mysterious figure by the merry-go-round, with the difference that with every following dream it was becoming more clear.

More clear, but not clear enough to tell every little detail. All you could really tell was that it was clearly a person, just standing there, holding something in their hand, whilst their hair seemed to be glowing under the lights of the slowly spinning carousel behind them.

When these dreams have not left you alone for a whole month, you finally decided to visit the small town you knew from your early childhood, for it was the only place you knew which you could connect with the mystical merry-go-round you saw in your dreams every night as soon as you closed your eyes.

“Ey Lily, do you think there is a Starbucks somewhere?” Asked Lorena.

“I don’t know, but I saw a really pretty coffee place somewhere as we walked here.” Answered Lily, brushing her a little too long lilac dyed bangs away from her forehead. “It looked really old school, if you ask me. Oh, look, it’s there!” She pointed to a small building between the pink cherry trees, its walls seeming to be shimmering in a beautiful rose gold color.

“Oh my, it’s even cooler than Starbucks! Let’s go in there. Y/N?” Lorena turned around to look at you, but you couldn’t hear a word she just said.

Your sparkling eyes were glued to the one and only thing standing majestically in the middle of the square you knew so well from your memories and dreams.

The carousel.

It has not changed, it has not changed even a little from what you could tell, still being as colorful and merry as the last time when you saw it all those long years ago.

There were kids spinning around and laughing, other people just walking by, the scene awakening some kind of nostalgia inside you, knowing that this view was indeed very, very familiar to you, bringing back the events of the idyllic year 2004.

You were left there in awe, admiring the happy sight, when out of nowhere you felt a little wave of a warm feeling, as if comforting warmth flowing through your heart.

You felt your eyes widening a little, when in the moving crowd of other people you noticed a person, standing still and looking straight at you, with locks of very light, glistening hair.

Subconsciously, your feet took one, two steps ahead in the direction of that mystical person, feeling the peculiar need to just run to them.

But just as you took another step closer and wanted to look more closely who it was, the person disappeared, as if instantly brushed away with a magical spell.

You stopped, confused, looking around to see if there was anyone with such a light hair color, really resembling a pearl.

But there was none, no matter how carefully you looked.

“Y/N! Where are you going? Did you hear what we just said?” Asked Lorena, placing her hand on your shoulder, looking a little bewildered. “Left unattended you just start wandering off, just like when we were in school!” She paused, before talking again. “So listen, apparently there is a newly built game arcade just around the corner, how cool is that? And apparently, they have the old school Super Mario there! So Lily suggested that we go get a coffee at that pretty store there, and then we go to the arcade seeing that the night is falling already-” She took out her phone, checking the time. “Is it a good plan or is it a super good plan?” She asked joyously, looking at you.

But you were only half listening, your eyes still looking for the person with pearly hair between the people. “Y/N?” Lorena started again, her soft voice sounding a little concerned once she noticed your dazed expression. “What are you looking at?”

You brought your attention back to your friend, looking at her with two big question marks visible in your sparkling eyes. “I just saw someone. Someone familiar.” You replied, letting out an audible gasp when once again, before the merry-go-round, you saw him.

Now you could see clearly what the mystifying person looked like.

It was a boy. More or less around your own age. He was wearing a dark teal sweater with a floral pattern on it, and his hair was resembling a shining pearl. The soft looking locks of light hair were sliding gently on his forehead as he ever so lightly tilted his head to the left, his mystical eyes not leaving yours for even a split second.

“He’s standing right there, by the merry-go-round.” You said quietly, pointing your finger to the said direction.

Lily and Lorena both followed the direction where you pointed, but soon ended up giving each other, and yourself, puzzling looks.

“Um, Y/N, boo, there is none standing by the merry-go-round.” Said Lily. “Everyone is walking, besides the kids playing there are also going home already.”

You looked at Lily in disbelief. “But Lily, he IS there, the boy with-” You paused, feeling the already familiar warmth spilling on your heart the moment the boy smiled at you. “The boy with hair like pearls.” You said, just a little above a whisper.

“I really don’t see anyone like that, Y/N.” Said Lorena, now gently taking your hand and pulling you away from the carousel. “Let’s go and have a drink, okay?”

You nodded faintly, letting your friends take you away to the coffee place mentioned earlier.

There was no way that none else beside you could see the boy with pearly hair, whilst he was clearly just standing there in one point, not moving even an inch and instead just his eyes being fixated on one point in front of him.

On you.

He had this undeniably peculiar aura to him, he didn’t seem like just any regular person you could meet around on a daily basis, not even addressing the obvious until now fact, that everybody else genuinely seemed to not be able to see him standing there.

You watched the sky through the large glass window inside the lovely coffee place, as it became always darker and darker as the night was falling above the town.

You were holding your half empty, but still steaming, dark mocha in your small hands, contemplating whether your eyes started playing tricks on you or if you indeed saw what you saw just moments ago.

“So, girls.” Started Lorena, as soon as she finished her own cup of coffee, wiping away the cream from her nude lip. “Seriously, let’s go to that game arcade. It has been so long since we all played something old school like that.”

“I told you, my ideas are always the best.” Said Lily. “Y/N?”

You were just about to give your friend an answer, when briefly you caught a glimpse of a pearly head outside by the merry-go-round.

You flinched immediately, taking the last sip of your mocha and quickly standing up from the table. “Listen, you two can go ahead to the arcade, I really need to check something first. I will join you there later, okay?” You said, not even waiting for your friends’ reply and running out of the building.

“I’m a little worried about our Y/N, to be honest.” Said Lorena. “She literally looked as if she saw a ghost.” She added.

“Me too, if I’m being honest.” Said Lily. “But something tells me it isn’t anything bad. Let’s just go to the arcade and wait for Y/N like she told us to do. If she doesn’t show up within twenty minutes we will call her or just come back here.” She added, finishing her own drink.

By the time your friends left the coffee place and directed themselves to the game arcade, you were already circling the still illuminated, but completely quiet by now, merry-go-round. You were more than totally sure that you saw him standing just here again, but by the time you got out of the store and reached the middle of the square, he was nowhere to be seen.

You sighed in disbelief, running your fingers through your long silky locks.

The otherwise full of beans big square, was now completely quiet and empty under the dark blue night sky, all covered in twinkling stars creating a real magical atmosphere.

The majestic carousel, the object of your complete acclaim when you were just four years old, was still wholly illuminated and bright presenting itself before your eyes.

“Why is everything so quiet.” You said quietly to yourself.

“Last time everything was way too crowded, wasn’t it?” Said a velvet like voice, right next to you.

You flinched, startled a little by the sudden unfamiliar voice.

Or was it really unfamiliar?

Your head instantly snapped to the direction of the sound, making your jaw drop in awe, disbelief, and total surprise all at the same time.

Right before your eyes, there was the mystical boy with shining pearly hair and chocolate brown eyes which looked at you in a longing way.

“You are-” You started, still flabbergasted. “You are the boy with hair like pearls.”

“Pearls?” Asked the boy. “But I clearly remember you used to call it hair like stars.” He said softly.

Your eyes widened a little. “What? Wait.” You paused. “Do I know you?” You asked.

“You might know my name but you do not remember the owner.” He replied.

What on earth?

You were left a little, and by a little you wanted to say a lot, dazed and confused by his words, so as silly as it might have sounded you decided to change the subject by asking him a random question. “Um-” You started. “I saw the number 1922 engraved in the carousel, was it the year it was built?” You asked, looking at him with your sparkling eyes.

Her eyes are still as sparkling as I remember.

“No.” The boy replied, his voice smoother than anything else you have ever heard. “It was built in 1904.” He added.

“Woah.” You said in a genuine amazement. “Respect to those who take care of it, it looks as if it was newly built. But why is there 1922 then? Shouldn’t it be 1904 if it was the year it was built?” You asked, tracing the fine lines of detailed colorful engravings on the carousel.

“Do you know the story of this carousel?” The boy asked.

You looked at him, shaking your head, a sign for him to continue speaking.

“One of the noblemen of this town built this carousel for his only child in 1904.” He started. “1922 was the year when his son passed away.” He said in a quiet tone.

A little frown fell on your scarlet lips. “How old was he?” You asked.

“Twenty two.”

“Just one year older than me.” You muttered to yourself. “What a waste. He had his whole life ahead of him. What was his name?” You said.

“His name was Baekhyun.” The boy replied softly.

You paused for a brief moment, frozen.

Baekhyun?

You were sure you have already heard this name somewhere.

When you didn’t reply, the boy continued talking. “This carousel was of a great meaning to him.” He said. “And during spring time, he liked to collect daisies on the hill over there when he was little.” He added, looking at you warmly.

“Daisies?” You asked, feeling as if some old, forgotten memories were coming back to you the moment he said the name of these little flowers.

“Yes, daisies.” He said, a small smile falling on his soft lips. “Do you like daisies?”

“Um, yes, I do like daisies.” You replied slowly, not knowing what was the peculiar feeling which has flown over you just now.

The boy took a decisive step closer to you, soon you felt his cold hand very gently taking yours, not breaking eye contact. “Will you be my daisy?”

And then you felt it, everything coming back as if in a flash. The cold early spring day in 2004, you with your silky locks disheveled by the wind, the beautiful carousel, and the ghostly, mystical boy holding a single daisy, invisible to all the people around, but to you.

And then you also remembered it.

You remembered it when that boy with hair like pearls told you his name.

His name was Baekhyun.

“But, but-” You started, looking at him with big eyes. “No, this is impossible. You look-” You paused, breathing in and out. “You look just the same as then.” You were still feeling the cold coming from his soft hand, you gently squeezed it as if to prove to yourself that it was not a dream. “Could you really be the same Baekhyun who I have met here all those years back?” You asked in disbelief, your sparkling eyes twinkling in the moonlight as you looked at the mystical boy before you. “Could you be the same son of the nobleman who built this carousel? The same Baekhyun who died in 1922?” You asked in a quieter tone, not believing the sight before your eyes. “Is this really not a dream?”

She remembers.

“I have waited seventeen years for you to find me again, my daisy.” Baekhyun’s chocolate eyes were now just as sparkling as yours, little happy twinkles dancing in them as he reached his other hand to very gently cup your cheek, bringing your face closer to his.

You just looked at him in awe, the familiar feeling of warmth filling your heart spilling all over you again as he tenderly placed his lips on yours.

The moment your lips touched, you immediately noticed that his equally cold hands and lips started becoming warm, living, losing the ghostly cold they held before.

Without even being aware of this, your own free hand circled around Baekhyun’s neck, letting him kiss you in the sweetest way possible and letting yourself kiss him back.

The moment his lips left yours, you suddenly heard a loud sound similar to that of a breaking glass somewhere near the carousel.

With your arm still around him, you watched as Baekhyun’s eyes fell on the carousel, or more like on the ground next to it. You looked at the ground flabbergasted yourself, when laying there, completely broken, were immense chains made of the thickest glass.

The wave of warmth flew over you one more time when Baekhyun turned his head to look at you again, a light scarlet shade starting to color his once milky and bloodless cheeks.

Your fingers lingered a brief while before gently placing themselves on his cheek, the previous cold being completely gone, instead you felt the warmth coming from within his skin.

Just as if he was wholly alive again.

He appeared to become aware of this too, when he placed his own hand over your small one, feeling his lightly flushed cheek. “Am I-” He started in disbelief, his chocolate eyes widening. “Am I alive?”

You yourself were left in a complete awe even more than before, being able to do just as much as to look him in those brown eyes and nod eagerly, repeatedly.

It was crazy, the whole day in this small town full of magic, and you were more than sure that the most people would never believe it or simply give you stupid looks.

You were more than sure that none would be in the position to actually understand the unusual events which took place by the old merry-go-round, but you wouldn’t be too surprised, because you couldn’t really understand them yourself.

All you knew was the warmth which filled your heart always more and more, the longer your sparkling eyes stayed locked with Baekhyun’s brown ones, and the longer you stayed locked in his warm embrace.

Your eyes traveled over every little detail of his handsome face, until your fingers gently brushed away his pearly bangs which fell on his eyes.

He was perfect.

“So” You started softly. “I will be happy to be your daisy.” You said.

And you could swear, that this particular smile which appeared on his lips was the most enthralling thing in the whole universe.

“You will?” He asked, smile audible in his velvet like voice.

“Yes. Yes, I will.”

You stood there, softly smiling at each other, living in the moment of a magical marvel.

All you could see in that beautiful while was all the life which was coming back to Baekhyun’s eyes, the eyes which were lifeless and foggy just moments ago.

What you failed to see were your two best friends, Lorena and Lily, standing just some feet away, observing the lovely scene in awe.

“Do you see that, Lily?” Asked Lorena. “I would suggest you and me both make an appointment by the eye doctor, that boy with hair like pearls or whatever is REAL. Y/N really saw him there, but we did not?” She said, rubbing her eyes as if to make sure that she was seeing right. “And damn, he is handsome. Holy freak, they are both beautiful. My eyes start to hurt from all this beauty.”

Lily let out a genuine laugh. “You know what, Lori, let’s just go. Something tells me that those two have a lot of stuff to catch up on.” She said, taking Lorena’s hand to gently pull her away.

“Buuuut-” Said Lorena. “I really wanna know who he is.”

“An old friend?” Said Lily, whilst leading the still talking Lorena away.

Meanwhile, you and Baekhyun were still standing in the same position next to the colorful merry-go-round.

“You know, I actually never got to get on the merry-go-round.” You said.

“Well then-” Said Baekhyun, throwing a quick look at all the empty white horses reflecting the magical lights of the carousel before looking back at you. “Do you want to go on a merry-go-round ride with me?” He asked, a little pending audible in his velvet voice.

“Yes. Yes, I do.” You replied.

If you thought that looking at the carousel alone was a magical sight, then you surely felt as if you were in another magical dimension whilst you were spinning around on one of those snow white horses with Baekhyun right next to you.

The moment was even more magical, when a very soft and pretty melody reached your ears, sounding as if it was coming from inside of the spinning carousel.

Merry-go, merry-go, merry-go-round...

Beautiful you on the merry-go-round.

The lights of the merry-go-round have indeed always been beautiful and bedazzling, but right in that moment, that warm night, nothing could be more brighter than the twinkles in your sparkling eyes, and Baekhyun’s chocolate brown ones as you spun around for the tenth time.

It was perfect.

Author’s End Note: Thank you for reading! Don’t forget to REBLOG if you liked it and leave me your opinions! It helps to improve lots! I know that the ending might not be what everyone likes, but it seemed right to me to end the story in that and not another way. I really hope you enjoyed this, and seeing that this is the first story in 2021, I wish you all the luck and wonders in this year, and I genuinely hope it will be full of magic!!

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love-takes-work · 4 years ago

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Steven Universe: End of an Era: Outline & Review

I wrote this review in October but never got around to posting it here

Steven Universe: End of an Era is far more than an art book–it’s also a collection of behind-the-scenes material, stories about the experience of working on the show, planning documents and associated background info, and both older versions of developed concepts AND concepts that never made it into the show. It's a huge fusion of all those elements, and it's definitely an experience!

Some low-quality images are included with my review just to give you an idea of what’s there--it’s not a good substitute for getting your own copy, but here’s a tour!

Like the previous concept art book, Art and Origins, I'll be giving you a description of the structure and overview, while also collecting notable information for fans. Obviously just about everything is "notable" once again, but I'll aim for unique insight or perspective on the main source material, keeping the screaming about everything new to a minimum so you can also enjoy something for yourself if you pick it up. My low-quality photos should prevent people from feeling like I'm reproducing the book in any capacity. Please grab one while you can and have your own experience!

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

OVERVIEW

The book is titled "End of an Era" for a couple reasons--obviously because it is released after the show has wrapped, but also because Gem history recently ended its "Era 2" and began Era 3--an age of prosperity and peace. The author--the person in charge of adapting all of this information into this slick, readable package--is Chris McDonnell, whose work was previously applied on the Art and Origins book.

The foreword is by N.K. Jemisin, a well-known science fiction author who's a huge fan of the show (and wrote a really excellent series that also has a weird geological connection, by the way).

And the cover, like its predecessor, is shiny and decorated with a beach scene featuring minimalistic characters--this time it's the Gems at night in front of the Temple, and on the back cover is a big pink leg ship in a cross-legged pose.

The interior covers are decorated with tons of amazing sketches of Steven and Connie on the front, and a bunch of Gem sketches on the back. Every interior page that most would leave blank is highlighted with some kind of sketch art or character exercise--it's so much to look at, so much to absorb.

The book is dedicated "For Eddie."

Its organization is different from the previous book in that it shares applicable work in chunks associated with groups of episodes rather than pertaining to different aspects of building the show.

FOREWORD

N.K. Jemisin gives us such a great introduction to the book--apparently understanding very well that the audience of this book is full of animation enthusiasts and adult fans more than it is full of kids, and explaining that bewildering journey some adults had from blowing this show off as a silly kid thing to falling in love with it hard and fast.

The important thing, Jemisin says, is being able to trust a storyteller with your heart. And it was clear to her that Rebecca Sugar knew what she was talking about and was saying important things about identity and the radical power that comes with accepting it and demanding respect.

Important also is how we handle heroes and who gets to be one in fantasy. That's part of the reason Steven Universe speaks to so many--because we see ourselves here, and know stories can be about us. Acknowledging the power we all have to MAKE THINGS BETTER with what we fight for is so important--especially if we're going to speaking to the next generation about it.

Highlighting Rose Quartz as a "born leader" who failed and Steven as a relatable scamp who did what she couldn't, Jemisin asserts that we can save the world.

1. END OF AN ERA

We start with an appeal to the audience to think about identity and the formative parts of our childhood--and how different it is if who you are and who you become is restricted, mocked, erased, or Not Allowed. Most people, if not ALL people, can relate to this, but for those of us with a special relationship with Steven Universe because of queer identity, this hits hard.

But it doesn't have to be anything grand to be something we respect--this show's authenticity comes largely from how personal everything is, drawn from real-life experiences and incidental truths from each artist's perspective, leaning hard on childhood and formative experiences.

Rebecca Sugar offers some interview bits to discuss writing philosophy and why "writing female characters" was difficult for a nonbinary person who'd been socialized as a girl and a woman. Rebecca has spoken before about how frustrating it is that marketing for cartoons was SO gendered when she was growing up (and to some extent still is).

The Gems in the story are all "she/her," but on their planet they're defined by their work, not by emotion or relationships (unlike women in our society), so having them be socialized opposite to how she was and be able to claim those emotions through choice and NOT as just an expectation "as women" was revolutionary. Rebecca wants her show to tell all marginalized people that they don't deserve to be in the margins.

Weighing in on other aspects of the show were Ian Jones-Quartey, Joe Johnston, and Miki Brewster. Ian describes feeling like at first doing SU was a thrill ride that meant they'd finally get to do all the cool stuff, but it quickly became a responsibility that he took very seriously--the need to tell a good story now that he'd been given a megaphone.

Promotional art, planning documents, character sketches, and concept art from the lighthearted to the stone serious is included, along with some very cool (sort of famous) timeline charts that track major characters' developments. It's emphasized by Rebecca that the developmental materials ARE NOT CANON (and especially are not MORE canon) compared the final show.

There are concept sketches alongside final art for Aquamarine and Topaz in "Wanted" (with Topaz labeled "Imperial Topaz"), the Zircons in "The Trial," Blue and Yellow Diamond, and the Off Colors (including Pink Lars).

And there's also a spread of "the two sides of Steven's life: Gem Magic and Rock N Roll" featuring Sadie Killer and the Suspects (referred to as "Buck's band")--as well as a cool "Crew Cameos" key and some concepts for short-haired Connie.

And then there's some more "finished" art with stills alongside concepts, including some background art, revision, and really cool "fairytale" art from some of the shadowplay storytelling bits. We get "Lars of the Stars," "Jungle Moon," and "Can't Go Back."

2. THE BEGINNING OF THE END: A SINGLE PALE ROSE

In discussing the huge reveals and Gem mysteries in the show, the pacing is examined, and emphasis is put on the intended "slow burn." One of the most difficult things in the show was to strategize so that every piece that was needed to support another piece in the future was placed properly to seed what it was supposed to.

Some of the ideas they developed were more of a group effort and were fit together collaboratively (like Amethyst's being younger than the other Gems and Jasper being from Earth), while others were intended from the beginning based on Rebecca's vision (the fundamental idea of Pink Diamond's true identity, for instance, as well as Obsidian's design and sword and our Pearl not being Pink's first).

The writing process gets a great deep dive here, including fun tidbits like how the orb in the moon base was inserted by Joe Johnston and they literally had no idea what it was for when they wrote the episode. They repurposed it when they figured out what they needed.

Rebecca credits her detailed timelines for helping keep the order straight, and discusses how other artists are sometimes flabbergasted that a storyboard-driven show can have this much detail and continuity and yet not get wrecked by the free non-scripted boarding process. But Rebecca and the Crew valued that approach and loved the way fresh eyes would handle an idea, making it come back alive, entertaining, vivid.

Several Crew members weigh in on the writing process. Lauren Hecht refers to making lots of incorrect guesses despite being on the inside. Joe Johnston recalled getting briefed on his first day and getting so excited to start working on this massive project.

Miki Brewster remembered being told Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond and being shocked--and also confused about why Ruby and Sapphire would need to be married if they're already basically married. Drew Green talks about being brought in late and getting to watch unaired episodes and a rough of the movie while eating cereal.

Ian Jones-Quartey complains about Pink Diamond's real jester-like form being leaked to the internet through a Hot Topic shirt. Rebecca piggybacks on that and says it was upsetting that the wedding was leaked because of toy fair keychains featuring Ruby and Sapphire in wedding attire. They'd always be worried about leaks, and sometimes Rebecca struggled not to talk about the reality of Pink Diamond before the reveal because she knew it would make so much more sense once the truth was out. And everything associated with Rose makes more sense once you know she's Pink--especially what happened with Bismuth, considering what we know about how Pink Diamond has a habit of treating anyone who no longer serves her interests.

When it comes to visual cues, Rebecca also talks about intentional designs to create a feeling of unity between concepts, like the flower shapes on Pink Diamond's palanquin lining up with the poofs of Steven's hair and the star imagery of the series. Steven Sugar and Mary Nash discuss how the Human Zoo incorporated this imagery, trying to look like Homeworld with a Pink Diamond touch.

Steven Sugar, as a game nerd, liked to throw in video game references from old and modern stuff to feel like he's inserting what he's enjoying and who he is from moment to moment, while Mary Nash, who related to Sadie as a basement-dwelling young person with cult interests, liked to include stuff from MST3K and cult movies. Pearl's hand gestures get a spotlight too--her reflex to cover her mouth when Pink Diamond was being discussed was analyzed here.

A "Top Secret Visual Timeline" from 2016 is included which tells us some Diamond history. It has an earlier version of Pink Pearl's fate and does not include Spinel since the movie hadn't been greenlit. The timeline includes the birth of the Diamonds, the emergence and major story beats for each major character, and some philosophy of the driving force behind each.

We're told that Pink Diamond straightened up, behavior-wise, after she lost her first Pearl, and that Yellow and Blue wanted to give her a planet but White only agreed to it to prove she would fail at managing a colony. Pearl, meanwhile, is so confused to have a Diamond who keeps asking her what she thinks when she doesn't believe she should have opinions.

And when Pink moonlighted as Rose to start conflict, she found herself leading an army to fight Pink's troops--then Yellow's, and eventually Blue's too. Lapis is said to be waiting for the conflict to end on Earth so she can terraform, but she gets trapped instead.

Pearl's love story with Rose is described as "an endless honeymoon" where she's free to love her, while Rose's is more like "I'm now the head of the family and I'm going to give everyone what they never had, so everyone is super special!"

Jasper is described as "adopted" into Yellow's army as the only successful Beta Quartz. And White Diamond knew that Pink Diamond was not dead--she thought she was just running away from home like a brat and would eventually be back.

3. THE HEART OF THE CRYSTAL GEMS

Now we discuss Rose Quartz--the original Pink Diamond. How she was selfish and selfless, never enough and always too much, and how Greg was her first partner who "challenged her" to be an equal. Rebecca describes Rose as being delighted by the idea that both she and Greg reinvented themselves, but when that leads her to want to share her past, Greg isn't interested--he only wants to know who she is now, and doesn't consider the old her to be her.

Rebecca likes Carl Jung's concept of "enantiodromia," which is the idea that extremes lead to their extreme opposite. This is demonstrated in all of the Diamonds. This narrative is interspersed with drawings of Greg and Rose being cute.

But another "heart" of the Crystal Gems is its relationships--particularly, Garnet, the fairy tale romance embodied. More psychological theories are discussed with regard to differentiation in a relationship making the relationship stronger, and how they made sure that happened for Garnet during the appropriate arc. Rebecca has struggled with the idea that she, like Ruby, went straight from a "family" group to a living-with-others situation and never lived by herself. But she also learned that you can in fact develop as a person in the context of a relationship--you don't have to be alone to do it. Ruby learned that too, and chose on her own terms to be with Sapphire.

The wedding made so much sense to Rebecca and the crew that they couldn't imagine a wholesome couple like Ruby and Sapphire not having a wedding episode. They wanted it for years: The wedding concepts always included the tuxedo for Sapphire and the wedding dress for Ruby.

But pushback (often blamed on the conservative standards of the international market) led to negotiations trying to keep Ruby and Sapphire's relationship from being explicit. Rebecca and the Crew were very tired of this double standard, and they were especially irritated by attempts to claim a wedding wouldn't be well received by a core demographic or wouldn't make sense for Steven's character. But other shows had done weddings and Steven had been established to love weddings already.

Rebecca kept adding more elements to the wedding episode to answer all the concerns, but she didn't want to back down from explicit marriage between these characters. They deserved it. And the audience deserved to see this as wholesome, like any other cartoon wedding. Eventually they got their way and were allowed to have the wedding. But the ordered episodes were also coming to a close without promise of more, so Rebecca had to request more episodes to be able to wrap up the storyline!

And of course, there is Steven, the true heart of the team. A very interesting aside discusses Garnet's leadership and how the network pushed the Crewniverse to acknowledge Steven as the leader. This was successfully resisted throughout as well--because Garnet is the leader (unless she's incapacitated, of course). It's fantastic that this concept was preserved because too often a young male chosen one is elevated above people with more experience and knowledge because of that chosen one tradition, so it's really nice to have a show acknowledge that team leadership is more appropriate for an adult.

4. ERA 3

Beginning with a discussion of the Diamonds, this chapter deconstructs the dysfunctional "family" of the Diamonds (who are said to be based on tropes about evil stepmothers and stepsisters), with the thread of dysfunction originating with White Diamond.

Yellow is physical, Blue is emotional, White is judgmental, and Pink is impulsive. Some philosophy on why Pink is naturally manipulative and why she clashes so much with White is offered.

White believes her identity is to be imposed on all because she is the pinnacle of what should be--and therefore, she has the right to make decisions and statements about and on behalf of everyone. But her secret is that she can't do what the others do--act or feel or want. In trying to be everyone, she is no one.

And this becomes very important when she confronts Steven about his identity and turns out to be wrong. The triumph of Steven being totally, fully himself is a beautiful, simple revelation that's described as far more satisfying than the theories about Pink living inside him or Rose returning from his Gem.

Also discussed is Gem architecture. A lot went into this idea, and Steven Sugar weighs in to say he had to think of what it would mean for a world to have buildings but serve no human needs. That's why it's mostly focused on transport and storage. Even the broken planet is meant to indicate a place stripped for its resources, and everything serves a function that is meant to avoid looking like the human equivalents.

And there's another layer, too: a difference between Era 1 and Era 2. Era 2 became more functional to hide Era 1's broken bits, and older Homeworld buildings still have some "ornate and ancient" feel to them. And the fact that props, tools, and even walls and doors could be living was taken from a concept Rebecca thought was horrible from old Busby Berkeley movies, where people were inanimate objects and it was portrayed as lovely. Tom Herpich helped conceptualize these living objects.

Steven dealing with "princess tropes" is discussed here too. The Pebbles (worked on with Pendleton Ward) were sort of his Cinderella's mice, and all the locked-in-a-tower, having supportive tiny friends help you, getting princess clothes made, attending a ball, having to mind your manners stuff was intentionally related to fairy tales.

The point of doing that (besides fun) was to easily invoke the feeling that Steven was being made to be someone he's not, and that he was being treated like THIS is who he really is when it isn't. White Diamond as the "evil stepmother" is discussed with regard to her detailed features and massive scale. They generally didn't put fingernails and eyelashes on characters (especially not to indicate that they were women or girls!), but they decided White would get all of these feminine markers for tradition's sake.

Rebecca also invokes several other references that were included and describes the princess tropes as "chipping away at his integrity" setting him up for the final challenge with White.

There is again tons of concept art: Homeworld architecture, Pebbles, Diamond diagrams, background Jades and Lemon Jade Fusion, Comby, Diamond extraction chambers, and White Diamond.

5. CHANGE YOUR MIND

Now we finally begin to discuss Steven's identity. The "Perfect Steven," discussed in several interviews before this book's release, was an idea back in 2013; the "ultimate Steven," beefed up and shonen-looking, was far from perfect because OUR Steven is perfect, while this alpha hero Steven idea (used in Steven Universe Future) didn't belong being idolized in such a show.

They thought about having Steven fall apart into organic half and Gem half early in the show (during "Giant Woman" after a successful fusion and unfusion, even!), but they didn't try the concept until the last episode. They didn't want the "Pink" Steven to be portrayed as "better" even though he would be more powerful, so they decided he isn't whole without his organic self and he's just as much of a shell as the organic half. They absolutely did not want any ending that required Rose to be inside him or waiting to come back. But the debates were fierce--what DOES it mean to have Rose's Gem?

Ian Jones-Quartey brings in an anecdote about his own family to emphasize some of the immigrant themes that inspired aspects of the show. He had a brother who reinvented himself elsewhere away from family without resolving issues, and all the ramifications of that were explored in the show through Rose Quartz. (He is careful to say he doesn't think his immigrant experience is like being from another planet!) But he did say you can hurt your old family even if they were toxic or didn't know the real you, and you can hurt your new family by hiding your past. The Pizza family of course was also a more direct reference to Ian's Ghanaian family.

In talking about the new Fusions from this episode, Sunstone is largely described by Miki, who also got to board the Sunstone section. Sunstone was described as a cool 1990s character and the evolution just continued into making them a fourth-wall-breaking PSA dispenser. Obsidian is also discussed, with their sword being an early concept. Steven Sugar said they totally knew it would be forged in action. Obsidian being similar to the Temple design is of course another very early detail.

The story of how James Baxter got involved with one of the final scenes (Organic Steven and Pink Steven fusing in front of White Diamond) was shared. His family was fans of the show and Rebecca Sugar took the time to drive to a birthday party for his daughter and give her a drawing. He then owed her a favor, and this was it.

Concept art is again included, this time with sample boards, promo images, a Diamond fight concept, costume design changes for the Gems, new Fusions, the so-called "Mega Diamond" ship conglomerate, some scenes from the White Diamond confrontation, Pink Steven, multiple pages of James Baxter animation, corrupted Gems and their healed selves, and photos from the "Change Your Mind" premiere and some awards. The show has won one design-related Emmy, a Peabody Award, and a GLAAD award.

6. STEVEN UNIVERSE FUTURE

The book doesn't cover the movie because it got its own book, but dives right into Future. Ian Jones-Quartey emphasizes that the movie and Future are separate and different from the original show, which ENDED. After all, after that, Steven has a neck!

Some new names are invoked now: new writers Kate Tsang, Jack Pendarvis, and Taneka Stotts. They were excited to have Steven make HIS OWN mistakes instead of trying to clean up someone else's! Now, instead of doing the usual shonen anime thing and having the final battle be a big physical rumble, Steven has to make peace with himself and take an active role in coping with what all the fighting has done to him and what effect it's had on who he is (and who he wants to be). There is no sudden "I love myself!" answer, either. It's always a process.

Drew Green and Maya Petersen, who came on board as storyboarders officially in Future, also weighed in on writing for a "mature" show, how to deal with Steven being a "moral compass" while being sort of unreliable, and what they learned as Crew that they didn't know as fans. Drew didn't know Garnet never asks questions. Jack didn't realize the show never deviated from Steven's point of view. Taneka was nervous but excited to collaborate. Kate was worried about how established the show was and what to do as a new writer to contribute appropriately.

Maya was on the old Crew but not as a storyboarder, so felt like some of the "old" ideas ended up not being appropriate for the "new" Future in an embarrassing way--and dreaded the idea of dealing with Steven's emotional problems when they were similar to stuff she'd been through. She also was personally behind the idea of Steven wanting to dump his problems by becoming Stevonnie, and got to work with Etienne Guignard on inventing the Pearl creation backstory with Volleyball.

There's some discussion of "depression hobbies," stress, and the show's pacing. And they say Etienne was entertaining at pitches. There's even some discussion of how Greg is taken off a bit of a pedestal because his terrible restrictive life in the suburbs sounded wholesome to Steven and Greg presented it negatively.

And then there is some information about how the Crew felt behind the scenes due to fan reactions and negative press. Ian discusses feeling offended when the Black characters are described as bad examples, as if their cartoonized but realistic-in-context features are automatically caricatures.

Rebecca Sugar felt beaten down by some of these narratives and began to access mental health services, inspiring some of the content of "Mindful Education." A long reflection from Rebecca discusses people's infighting about her show and what she had a responsibility to show or not show in the story. She learned a lot about bullying from Cartoon Network's anti-bullying program and learned that bullies thrive on whatever attention you give them--unless it is made clear to them by a peer group that no one is impressed by their cruel actions. Also, not all negative feedback is bullying. Constructive criticism is different. Self-awareness can help you avoid internalizing what bullies might do or say to you.

Segueing from the discussion of how people are affected by and connect with the show, we then discuss how they chose as a team what should be covered as the show came to a close. They didn't have time to do quite a few stories they wanted time for, like a Rhodonite story, a Lars side story, and Diamond "prehistory" and religion; all of it was put aside for the main arc with Steven.

They thought people would find those stories about Homeworld and Off Color history very interesting, but so much of the show had been about Steven's Gem adventures, so keeping him mostly on Earth seemed appropriate. The acknowledgment of his battle damage, of his trauma, was necessary and real, and helpful in an important way to the core audience.

Oh, and there was some stuff about a cheeseburger tree. Don't ask.

In discussing the "reverse escapism" of the original show (Gem aliens are intrigued by everyday human culture, and realism is necessary), Rebecca says her views have changed on escapism and gets why some people want a soothing feel-better show. She acknowledged also that her own escapist dreams-come-true fulfilled in the show didn't feel like escapism because they were givens to the majority of mainstream culture, but were never guaranteed to marginalized people.

Rebecca ties in her several-times-told story about "Love Like You" and how the middle bit was when she didn't feel she was worth looking up to, and the realizations she had to tie the beginning to the end. Feeling like someone will like you less if they know you more is terrible. So sometimes a show like this can be helpful in telling people that they belong when their fantasies are things like "I want to be loved" and "I want to know I exist."

In Future, Steven has to connect to who he is and love that person--and understand that person enough to finally feel that even if he's not fixing their problems or saving their world right this second, Steven deserves his family's love and support, and they WANT to give it to him.

There's a huge amount of supplemental material in this section so there's no way I could name it all. The charts for Future's timeline are pretty straightforward, though a few episodes like "A Very Special Episode," "Why So Blue," "In Dreams," and "Bismuth Casual" aren't specifically represented and a couple are in a different order ("Prickly Pair" was conceived as happening after "Fragments" and "Homeworld Bound").

Steven feeling like a monster, having intrusive thoughts, having not forgiven the Diamonds, and getting help/moving on--it's all there.

We have keys, color scripts, and boards for the new opening and some various backgrounds and storyboard art from episodes. Model sheets for Shep, Nice Lapis and Mean Lapis, Jasper, Steven Tag Gems, Pink Steven Powers, Monster Steven. New house concepts, Era 3 Homeworld concept art for the Diamond environments, and background art for the Reef.

New Connie and Greg designs. Concepts for Mega Pearl, the Rose Quartzes, Bluebird, and Morganite (who didn't get used). And there are some photos from recording and the conference room. There are even some extras from "Crossover Nexus," the crossover with OK K.O.!--including an unused cut scene that included Ruby and Sapphire fighting. The rest of the book is a bunch of adorable Crewniverse art--extras, blog drawings, promos, and gifts to each other.

NOTABLE

The first timeline chart in the book features a cool sketch of the original Off Colors, which at the time this planning document was drafted included unused Off Colors Flint and Chert.

We knew of their existence already because of an episode of the podcast, but these two unexpectedly appeared as incidental characters in the Steven Universe Future episode "Homeworld Bound," identified only in the credits. Sad to think that instead of banding with the Off Colors, these two were probably shattered for their crime (being Quartzes who don't want to fight) and that's why we see them being repaired in this episode. Later, there's some brainstorming for types of Off Colors and "a Ruby that wants to wear limb enhancers" is mentioned as well.

It looks like there was also originally more juice to the story of tracking down the events of the war culminating in Pink Diamond's assassination.

One of the timelines talks about Steven thinking it makes sense that Pearl can't talk about her involvement because she might have been a double agent, explaining why Rose Quartz always knew what Pink Diamond was doing. It seems like that bit was supposed to be included in Garnet's version of the story she believed in "Your Mother and Mine." Seems like they originally conceived Garnet's story to inspire the Off Colors to become pirates and freedom fighters, though in the show's canon this storytelling happened after Lars had already reinvented himself the way he did.

Sadie was also supposed to be sending letters to Lars via Steven, which is funny since the "Letters to Lars" episode is just a montage Steven letter. And of course it's specified that Steven was supposed to get Pink Diamond flashbacks by going to the Palace on Homeworld.

The second chart in the book makes references to Sadie's reinvention of herself as a parallel to Lars, Greg, and Pink Diamond all doing the same thing, and how positive it is to embrace such a thing--a version of yourself that YOU create.

I love that Yellow Diamond's arm ship arm-wrestling the Cluster was always part of the plan.

There's some more explicit direction to have Connie help Steven understand the Diamonds as "strict parents," and a lot more emphasis on everyone realizing Rose had been inspired by THEM rather than them all following her.

White Diamond is presented here as if she thinks of Pink Diamond as a "daughter" (whom she now understands she has "lost"). There are notes on how the Diamonds have a responsibility to their children and should attend to it before just continuing to make more.

One of the concept art images for the Off Colors features Rhodonite crouching by Padparadscha saying "Don't worry, I won't let them hurt you." It's very interesting because she DOES seem to protect Padparadscha in the show, but doesn't seem confident about it in her final version, even though it does seem like she'd be "programmed" to guard aristocratic Gems because of her Ruby and Pearl makeup. Cool.

A "Crew Cameos" spread was included, which is of great interest to some of us who loved seeing the Crew insert themselves into the show. Not every SU Crew person who's been represented in a crowd was there, but this crowd included Amish Kumar, Kat Morris, Amanda Winterstein, Angie Wang, Lamar Abrams, Emily Walus, Mary Nash, Joe Johnston, Christy Cohen, Danny Cragg, Hilary Florido, Danny Hynes, Matt Burnett, Ben Levin, Elle Michalka.

The official national flower of South Korea, Hibiscus syriacus, is the name of Pink Diamond's flower.

One of Steven Sugar's comments about the silhouette difference between humans and Gems points out that humans have ears. This seems to be pretty good confirmation that they are not supposed to have ears, despite that sometimes we'll see ears drawn on them in some frames.

Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond is characterized in this book as "self-hating" in a really interesting way, saying that because she believed she was not capable of compassion, she practically worshiped those who demonstrated that ability and thought they were so much better than her--which is described as "intoxicating" and resulted in others being drawn to her. How interesting is that!

Timelines reveal that early plans for Pink Diamond's first Pearl originally had her getting destroyed by Pink during a game, and then her destruction was rewritten as a punishment from the Diamonds after Pink Pearl defended Pink Diamond to the other Diamonds. They went back to the idea of her getting hurt by Pink for the final version, though the cracked face and control by White Diamond was not on the agenda until they started writing "Change Your Mind."

10.

The approximate ages of the major characters, based on emergence, are revealed on these timelines. It begins with a cracked-planet-looking graphic depicting four tiny Diamonds emerging at 20,000 years ago. Some suspicious "blacked out" redacting surrounds a long timeline tail that goes back before that, which may mean there are secrets they still don't want to reveal. But the dates go like this:

20,000 years ago: The Diamonds emerge.

11,000 years ago: Pearl is custom-made for Pink Diamond.

8,000 years ago: Sapphire emerges (on Homeworld).

6,000 years ago: Ruby emerges (on a colony).

5,750 years ago: Garnet is formed.

5,600 years ago: Lapis is poofed and put in the mirror.

5,200 years ago: Jasper emerges (on Earth).

5,050 years ago: The Cluster is planted.

5,000 years ago: Amethyst emerges (on Earth).

4,500 years ago: The Crystal Gems found Amethyst.

3,000 years ago: Peridot emerges (on Homeworld).

40 years ago: Pearl found Lapis's mirror at the Galaxy Warp.

And of course we know 14 years ago Steven is born!

11.

Originally the Diamonds were based on a quartet of themes: Love, Fear, Pride, and Sorrow. It got too complicated to keep and it was abandoned, with Pink's identification of "love" being described as "particularly outdated."

12.

Notes on a sketch say that Pearl was inspired to become bold and unashamed because Pink's questions drove her to have opinions, and it's said that Rose "fell in love" with her boldness.

13.

Rebecca tells the story of driving off a ridge and getting stuck in the desert, comparing this to Ruby's tumble during her Wild West adventure and using it as inspiration. She's told this story before but here it is in print. She also included the story about using the flowers from a friend's wedding to put in Ruby's hair.

14.

Rebecca describes having to "fight" notes she was given when it had to do with Ruby and Sapphire's relationship. One she describes as NOT fighting was for a signing card depicting Ruby and Sapphire dancing. It was called "too romantic" and she decided not to worry about it since it wasn't the actual show content.

She was also scolded over her book The Answer because the powers that be expected her to downplay that relationship. She always argued that queer youth deserved these things.

15.

Tom Herpich describes being inspired to name Blue Diamond's comb "Comby" because he was watching the news about Comey getting fired from the FBI. It's also a mineral-related term and I always assumed that reference was intentional, but maybe it's not and this is the only intended significance to Comby's name?

16.

Rainbow Quartz 2.0's design is not discussed, though the other two new Fusions from "Change Your Mind" (Sunstone and Obsidian) were. RQ2 has some sketches included, but no accompanying narrative in the text.

17.

A sheet of corrupted Gems and their healed selves is offered, though it doesn't appear to be final. The obelisk in "Serious Steven" is labeled Albite. The unnamed Worm Monster, Desert Glass, and Watermelon Tourmaline are included. An unnamed birdlike Gem represents the Big Bird monster from "Giant Woman." The crab monster from "Arcade Mania" is labeled Blue Chalcedony. The Tongue Monster is drawn uncorrupted but not named. The Flower Monster from "Back to the Kindergarten" is labeled Grossular Diopside or Titanite. The invisible monster from "Island Adventure" is labeled Moonstone. The Lighthouse Gem is labeled White Topaz. A form for Larimar that was used in "Change Your Mind" but changed in Future is there. The Slinker is listed as Chrysocolla. And the Crab Monster is listed as Aventurine.

On the next page, this is changed to Bixbite (as it was in Steven Universe Future), and we then also have Lace Amethyst, Blue Lace Agate, Crazy Lace Agate (Fusion), Ocean Jasper, the Mother Centipeetle Nephrite (Facet 413 Cabochon 12) and three other Nephrites, Angel Aura Quartz, a hooded Jasper, Zebra Jasper, Biggs Jasper, Watermelon Tourmaline (labeled as Fusion of Gem * Onion--huh?), Snowflake Obsidian, "Little" Larimar, and Orange Spodumene (who was the Worm).

18.

The Rhodonite side story would have been about the love story of a Ruby and a Pearl working for Morganite. Images of Morganite and her servants, unfused, are in the book. We do not get this additional information, but Rebecca said in a panel shortly before the book's release that Rhodonite's story would have been about finding out that she had been Rejuvenated 17 times because her components kept falling in love and needing to be reset.

19.

Referring to the Diamonds on one of the charts, Steven's perspective is "I can't believe I helped these" and then there's a censor bar. Welp.

20.

Some included art by Hilary Florido features Kevin with a souped-up Koala Princess car and another where Kevin is staring at himself in the mirror in front of an altar to himself.

21.

Rebecca's sweater collection is included in the Crew art.

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

#steven universe #steven universe end of an era #su spoilers #long post #su merch #myblog

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