#and also like. she feels guilty about the Knife Incident

[merge-conflict]

V to Johnny when they're alone: Where's Kerry? How's Kerry doing? Do you think he likes me or is just putting up with me? Stop being a dick to Kerry. You think if I killed his old manager he'd like me? Do you think Kerry is happy? I'm going to kill you if you if I see you being a dick to Kerry. Where's Kerry? Do you think Kerry's happy?

V to Kerry: Of course I want to sleep with you, but it's okay that you don't like me. :)

[worldofkuro]

Painted Smile

Painted Smile XXIV

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Summary: You couldn't wait to meet new friends. What you didn't expect was this smiling little boy, only one year older than you, that would take such a big place in your life.

Notes: I... I wanted to wait a little moment before publishing the first chapter of season II. But, as you know me, I'm not a patient being, so I shall give you this chapter sooner than expected. I hope you will enjoy it, season II is going to be... wild, I think, but I hope you will love it as you loved season I. TW: Rape mention, smut, blood, knife play, cheating

“ Once again, the police have found a body, the right eye missing and a smile carved into the victim’s flesh. This had been going on for years, yet, the police, led by John Felleur, still haven't found a single clue about the serial killer that haunts New Orleans’s streets. The killer seems to attack men only, so my dear fellow gentlemen, you should stay vigilant!”

“ He loves the attention doesn’t he?”

You looked at Alice, as Alastor's voice was coming through the radio.

So many things have happened since your wedding, three years ago.  Alastor and you had succeeded in creating a bond between your two souls, making you elated. The three spirits that helped you were very interested in what would happen and sometimes, Legba or Baron Samedi would pop up next to you, wanting to talk.

Your control over your power has been getting better and better. You didn’t need to raise your hands anymore if you wanted to create your shield or telekinesised something, you just needed to think about it. You could cast your soul out of your body for one hour now. You could see things in another room thanks to your eyes or your shadow. Your shadow, which you inherited from Alastor’s power, was easily tamed. It was even useful, but it would always have some kind of fight because Alastor’s shadow would tease it.

Talking about Alastor, he has become stronger and more popular. His killing methods have become even more sadistic, more evil and cunnier but you loved him for that. You still killed pigs, Alastor would stalk them, finding every information about them if they were worth killing.  He always chose the filthiest of mankind, making it a pleasure to dispose of them. 

He never injured himself, he didn’t want you to use your healing power which created a huge argument between the two of you. You would hurt yourself to learn more about your healing abilities which almost made him snap. That day, you made a deal with him, Alastor would hurt himself on purpose and you would only heal what he said you could. You didn’t like the idea but it was mostly small cuts, nothing life threatening. 

Or you would heal yourself after Alastor has played with your body and a blade.

As skillful as he was as a killer, he was now a popular radio’s host. He would get invited to fancy soirée, always bringing you with him. He would dine with high society, finding new prey there. Sometimes, Alice would ask for your skills, telling you about new people to kill because of their sins.

Speaking of Alice, your best friend was wed.  After the incident with Larry, she decided to find a nice man so she could settle down with and she founded Tray Felleur. He was from John’s family, a cousin or something, you didn’t care. He was a rich man, he looked familiar, the Felleur’s genes must be strong. You were very worried when she told you her choice, but after meeting him, you felt a little more relieved. He was a nice, intellectual man. Alice told you he never forced her to do anything, letting her do what she wanted.

Which means she would meet Alyzéee, who was also wed to a man. Most of the time, Alice would wait for Tray to leave for work and Alyzée would come so they could still live their romance. She would feel guilty, sometimes wondering if she should tell her husband where her true feelings were. You and Alastor always said it was a bad idea, you didn’t want her to be in trouble, you asked her to wait a little longer. What for? You didn’t know yourself, you just… You could feel it in your bones, she had to keep her secret.

“ Well, Alastor has always been like this right?” you smiled at her, giving her a piece of cake. “ How are you feeling?” you asked her, worried. These days, she seemed paler than usual, always tired.  

“ Tired, but that might be because of yesterday’s soirée.” she winked at you. “ You should have seen Alyzée’s dress, she looked divine.”

You smiled at her, listening to her talk, fanning yourself. This summer was really hot for some reason. You gossiped together, talking about what was going on in New Orleans.

“ You don’t need another killing?” you asked as you drank fresh water. The last man she wanted dead was a man who had raped two women in two months. You enjoyed his screams more than you thought. 

“ It seems like you are the one who needs to kill something.” she mocked you. You rolled your eyes at her, you didn’t feel the need to kill like Alastor would, but it's been a long time since you sunk your hand into someone's eyeballs. 

You turned your head toward the entrance. He was home.

You smiled when you heard the door being opened. You stood up as you heard him walking into the living room. 

“ How do you always know when he is coming home! Each time, it’s a different hour!” asked Alice, always shocked when you could tell when Alastor was coming home.

“ Good evening, Alice. What an unhappy expecting surprise to you here.” said Alastor with a mocking smile. 

“ Even after all those years, you are still not a gentleman.” 

‘ Only with my wife, right, my love?’

You smiled when you heard Alastor’s thoughts inside your mind. It was a new power you both acquired when you bond your souls togethers. You could talk in each other’s mind which created funny moments.

Be nice, Alastor. Alice is staying for dinner.

‘Of course, she is.’

You walked toward Alastor and kissed his cheeks before going into the kitchen. You have been living together since your honeymoon, buying furnitures, painting the walls. You still haven’t finished one of the bedrooms. 

“ Unfortunately, I think I can’t stay with you for dinner.”

“ What? But I was going to make your favorite dish!” you shouted, going back into the living room with a pan in your hand. “ Did Alastor say something?”

“ Honey…”

“ Do you think he could make me change my opinion?” she raised an eyebrow.

“ Right, so why? Are you still feeling unwell?” 

“No… It’s just…” She sat on the sofa, sighing. You sat next to her, taking her hands while Alastor was looking at her with his usual smile. “ I am pregnant.”

….

“ What?” you said in unison with Alastor.

“ You told me he never forced himself on you!” You stood up, your eyes flashing red. Alice just stared at you in silence. You knew she saw your eyes flashing red multiple times but she never asked you anything about it.��

“ Do you need us to kill him?” asked calmly Alastor.

“ Calm down, the both of you. He didn’t force himself on me. I wanted a child, so this has to happen. He asked me multiple times if this is what I wanted, I said yes. He didn’t do anything bad.” she stood up, taking your hands in hers. “ But there is something worrying me. I think Alyzée is being stalked by someone… She says she feels like she is being watched.”

You looked at Alastor who seemed in deep thoughts. 

What do you think?

‘ Alyzéee is the daughter of the mayor’s who have been in power forever. It’s not surprising.’

Yes, but why now?

‘ That is something we shall need to discover.’

“ We will take a look at it. You, stay at home, we wouldn’t want a future mother to get hurt, right?” he smirked at her.

You looked at Alice.

“ So, you… are pregnant. Is it good news?”

“ Yes, I’m happy.” she put her hands on her belly with a shy smile. “ I’m going to be a mother.”

You screamed in joy before rushing into hugging her. You squeezed her against you, being mindful of her belly even if she was still not showing yet.

“ How long have you known?”

“Maybe… three months?”

You looked at her with a beaming smile.

“ Is it really good news, really?” you grabbed her shoulders. “ Please, do not lie to me.”

“ It is. Alyzée knows and she is happy for me. In a way… We think of it as our child.” She smiled at you, her cheeks flushed.

“ Well, congratulations ladies. This child will be happy to have Alyzée as its mother. I’m not sure about you..”

“ Fuck you, Alastor.”

“ See ?”

You smiled as you hugged her one more time. You walked her toward the door, making sure she was alright. She smiled at you, she seemed really happy about sharing her pregnancy’s news with you. Was she scared you would judge her? You promised her you would protect Alyzée from whatever was stalking her.

“ Nothing will hurt your family.” you said to her. Alice looked at you, taking your hand in yours.

“ You know, you are part of my family as well.” she whispered to you. “ Even Alastor but never let him know that.”

“ I heard you.”

“ Fuck off!” she shouted before looking at you. “ Please, be careful. If you need anything, ask me.”

You nodded before watching her go. You looked as the cab took her home. You went back home, looking at Alastor with an exciting smile. He was looking at you, tilting his head.

“ Why are you so happy?”

“ Alice is going to be a mother! “

“ Poor child.”

“ Alastor.”

You both went into the kitchen, preparing your dinner. If someone were to see the both of you, they would mostly think they were dreaming. You were moving everything you needed in the air with your power, the plates placing themselves on the tables, the vegetables being cut while Alastor was boiling the water.

You smiled when you saw Alastor’s shadow begin, once more, to tease yours. They were fighting each other, you could see them on the wall. You looked at the clock, you weren’t hungry yet…

“ Alastor, should we finish painting the last bedroom?”  you asked, taking off your apron. “ I’m not hungry yet.”

You watched as he looked at his watch and then he nodded, following you upstairs. You walked in and looked at the remaining wall you needed to finish. You took a paintbrush and dept it in the paint. You looked as Alastor took off his vest, staying in a light white shirt. 

You both painted before an idea emerged in your mind. You smirked as you looked at Alastor who was telling you about his day. You took your brush and called his name making him look at you and threw paint on his face.

“ … Are you sure you want to play this game, darling?”

“ What game?” you tilted your head, smiling innocently. Your smile widened when you saw his smirk. 

“ Mhn…”

You yelped when you felt the shadow held you while Alastor was painting your cheeks, smirking at you. You laughed, trying to escape from the shadow. Yours was jumping on Alastor’s, taking it away from you. You looked as both shadows were happily fighting each other. You quickly took paint and threw it at Alastor as he shielded himself with his arms.

You laughed, this life was the one you would protect.

After washing yourself, you went back to the kitchen to finish your cooking. You sat on the table and began eating.

“ How should we find Alyzée’s stalker ? Should we send our shadow?” you asked as Alastor made you eat from his fork.

“ Oh, my love, no.  Do we really need to waste our power for this?” he laughed, waving his hand in the air. “ We need to kill John, remember?” 

“ How could I forget? But right now, he isn’t a threat. The stalker could be, what if he found out about Alice’s relationship?” you asked as he wiped the sauce from your lips. 

“ If this is what you wish for, we shall take care of Alyzée’s stalker. It shouldn’t take long, nor be difficult.” he said as he leaned against his chair. You smiled at him, making him raise an eyebrow at you. “ What?”

“ You are so sure of yourself, I admire that.”

“ Because no one could make me doubt my abilities,” he said before kissing your forehead. “ You should stay with Alyzée, try to see if you feel something when you are with her.”

“ Should I cast an eye on her?” you tilted your head. It was a new power you acquired, you could watch someone. It was like your eyes were watching from above. 

“ You aren’t in full control of it and it’s tiring you faster than your other powers. Just keep Alyzée some company, tell me anything that is strange.”

You nodded, you closed your eyes. It was going to be easy.

—---

“ Yes, Alice told me you would… watch me?”

“ It's just like we are used to, hanging out. I’m just being a little more… watchful while we are together, Alyzée.”

Alyzée was in front of you, her long red hair moving with each movement she made, her deep blue eyes watching you, worried. You really were surrounded by beautiful people.

“ I’m more worried about Alice, I don’t want her to be sick because she is worried for me.” she said as she drank her tea. You looked at her, drinking your hot chocolate. You weren’t very close with Alzyée, she was more of an acquaintance but the conversations were always lovely with her. 

“ Alice is strong, no need to worry. Right now, you might be in danger.” you said to her. She shrugged with a little smile.

“ Nothing that I’m not used to.”

You looked at her, observing her.

“ How is your wedding going, Alyzée?”

“ It is going well. My husband is always out working, which makes me have more time with Alice, so it’s a win-win situation. We don’t really talk to each other, we don’t… really care about each other.  I might be envious of Alice’s wedding, they are like friends.” she said with a sad smile.

“ You know she only loves you.”

“ Oh, I know. I’m not doubting Alice’s affection for me, far from it.” she smiled at you. She put her cup down.

You stared behind Alyzée, a man was now sitting on the table behind her, his hat hiding his face.. You gestured to her to keep talking, fixing your gaze on the man behind you. Was he listening to you? What did he hear? 

“ What about your wedding with Alastor?”

“ I have never been happier.” You smiled at her, still staring at the man. “ And I shall protect this happiness I gain.”

You stood up, guiding Alyzée toward the exit after paying. You told her to walk to Alice’s home, before hiding yourself in a dark alley. If the man was stalking her, he would have to pass in front of you.

You waited patiently in the dark, but you never saw the man you were looking for. Maybe it was just an error from you…

You gasped as you felt yourself being tugged by your hair, your back hitting the floor. You turned your head toward the man who was tugging you deeper into the dark alley. You couldn’t see him at all but you were sure it was the man from the coffee shop, you could feel it. 

Your eyes flashed red, your shadow moving toward the man with a hideous smile. He let you go and you didn’t wait before standing up. You looked around, there was trash all around the alley. That would do. You moved the broken pieces of glass, nails and anything that could hurt, with your mind and threw them at the man who seemed to have escaped your shadow’s wrath.

You shouted in anger as you saw him running into an alley, your flying weapon digging into the wall. You ran after him, screaming at him to stop. As you turned into the alley, you hit something so hard it made you fall back on the hard ground. You moaned in pain, trying to stand up again, you couldn’t let him go, not yet.

“ Put your hands in the air, Police of New Orleans!”

You turned your head toward the light of a flashlight behind you. When you looked back in front of you, the man wasn’t there anymore. You spat blood on the floor, your eyes turning their usual color.

“ Are you okay, lady?”

“ Yes, thank you.” You turned around as the officer brought you in the busy street. You  flinched when you saw the man. “ John, what are you doing here?”

“ There is a serial killer on the loose, we are making patrol.” 

“ From what I heard, the killer murders men, not women.”

“ Can you just thank me? I just saved your life.” John said as he gave you a tissue so you could wipe your bleeding nose.

“ Thank you, officer.” you said sarcastically. “ Can I go home now?”

“ I’ll walk you toward a hospital, to see if you are okay.” You stared at him, as he put his gun back on his hips.  John seemed to have changed, he was more serious, he seemed taller but his gaze hadn’t changed when he was looking at you. 

You sighed as John walked beside you. You were so angry at yourself to have let this man go, you were this close to have him! You wanted to tear off your hair from your head, it was so embarrassing!

‘ Did he do that? Tell me, I’ll kill him right now.’

You stopped walking when you lifted up your head, Alastor was in front of you, it seemed like he had just finished working. 

“ Mr. Felleur, please tell me why my wife is injured, next to you?” he said as he smiled like usual even if you could see anger swirling in his eyes. “ Please, answer me quickly.”

“ Mr.Sanglar, your wife has been attacked by a man, I happened to be there to save her life.” John said as you ran into Alastor’s side. Your husband stared at your face, observing every emotion in your eyes. 

It’s nothing, I think I found Alyzée’s stalker. He seemed more aggressive than I thought.

‘ What about John?’

He came in time to make him flee.

“ Well, Officier Felleur, thank you for bringing my wife to me. I shall take it from here.”

“ I need her to write if she happens to see his face. It could be the serial killer I’m after.”

You tried to hide your smile while Alastor laughed out loud.  Oh, John…

“ Oh right, but I think she would have told you if she saw something, right? But this is not the case. So, if you allow us, we shall go.” He wrapped one arm around your waist before walking away from John who just stared at you.

You looked at the tissue John has given you to wipe your blood off your face.

“ Should I give it back?”

“ No, never give something with your blood on it.”

Alastor walked you back to your car, opened the door for you before settling behind the steering wheel. You waited for him to drive but he stayed silent. You looked at him, curiously.

“ Alastor, my love ?”

You flinched when you saw him punch the steering wheel, grinding his teeth. You stared at him, your eyes wide opened. 

“ I’m okay, darling. I just… didn’t expect to see you hurt.” He said before driving toward your home.

Home…

Wait.

“ Alastor no! Alice and Alyzée are maybe in danger!”

“ Does it look like I care, my love? You are hurt.” he said, his eyes never leaving the road.

“ Alastor, stop the car!” you shouted.

Alastor stopped the car on a deserted road, the one you always used to go home. He looked at you, his smile twitching. Your eyes were red and so was his.

“ Alastor, Alice is pregnant, Alyzée doesn’t know how to fight, they need us! What if the man is already there?”

“ Love of my life, curse of my sanity, Alice's family is the RicheMont. They have maids, butlers, their houses are on the richest quartier of New Orleans. Do you really think a mere human could walk in like that?” he asked you, his grip tightening on the wheel. “ They are safe there, my shadow is watching.”

You looked at Alastor, feeling relieved. 

“ Alastor… A mere human fought me.”

“ You used your powers?”

“ My shadow and Telekinesis.” you sighed, hiding your face in your head. “ But I don’t think he saw it. He was already running away when I used it. I think he must have felt my shadow like vines or something else.. And he ran away when he saw John behind me, the gun must have scared him off.” 

“ I see…” He took your face between his hands, staring at your face before kissing your lips. You sighed against his lips as he tugged you on his laps. “ Are you trying to make me mad, coming at me with blood on your face next to this prick?” he asked against your lips.

“ No…” you breathed against his lips, kissing him more eagerly.  You felt his hands on your waist, his nails digging into your skin through the clothes.  “ I’m just… Angry at myself?”

“ Why?”

“ Because I let my prey run away.” you stared at him, anger still present in your body. He looked at you with an amused expression. He stroked your cheeks while you leaned against his palm. 

“ Not for long… This man hurted you. His death has been decided.” You kissed his lips after his sentence.

“ This is my prey, Alastor, don’t steal it from me.”

“ He hurted you, my love. You can’t ask me to just–” you kissed him once more.

“ Yes, yes, but please, let me kill him in the end.” you smiled at him when you felt him relaxed underneath you. He nodded, sighing with a smile. You kissed his lips once more when you saw his smile and went back to your seat.

Alastor started back the car, driving you home. You walked home and sigh in bliss, nothing was better than being home. You let yourself fall on the sofa, what a day.

You let your husband cook for you as you looked at yourself through the window of the living room. You stood up and walked toward a mirror and saw the bruises on your face. You quickly took off the top of your dress and winced when you managed to see the cut on your back. Was it from when the man dragged you on the floor?

You sighed before concentrating on each cut. You could feel your power healing each cut, even the bruises on your face. This cold energy was seeping through your body, like a sweet caress before taking the pain away.

You opened your eyes, looking at the purple hues that were staring back at you. You saw Alastor watching you through the mirror, his arms crossed on his chest. You tilted your head as he walked toward you. He kissed your bare back, kissing each place a bruise has been made before you healed yourself.

You smiled softly, you wondered if he was aware he was doing the same thing you used to do when he was injured. Kissing his scars… You turned to him when you felt his arms wrapped around you. He kissed your face, his eyes looking at you.

“ Don’t let others injure you my dear. This is my privilege, isn’t it?” he tilted his head, his eyes never leaving your face. You nodded when you felt his nails on your back. You sighed in bliss when you felt his nails dig into your back, the same place where the bruises had been a moment ago.

“ Please…” You looked at him, through half closed eyes. “ Mark me…”

You gasped when you felt him pin you on the table, your chest against the hardwood. You almost whined when you felt the cold blade against your back. You turned your head toward him, begging him with your eyes.

He slid the knife against your skin, tracing the cut you just have healed, the cut that wasn't from him but someone else. You closed your eyes, feeling your body relax. You wondered if it was normal to feel safe when your loved one was cutting your skin, never deep enough to hurt you, to scar you but deep enough to root you, to make you remember who was the one behind this knife. 

You moaned your husband's name as he kissed your neck, feeling the blood sliding from your back. He hummed against your skin, kissing the blood that was coming from the small cuts he made. 

You pushed your behind against his waist. You felt his smile against your skin, as you moaned.

“ I need to feel you…”

“ Mhn.. Really..?” he said, cutting your dress from your legs until he could see your bare form underneath him.

You shivered when you heard him take off his belt. You bit your lip when you felt the blade cutting your skin once more and your eyes rolled back when you felt him penetrate you slowly. You could feel every veins on his penis, your walls clenching around him.

 He kissed your neck as the blade cut your skin once more, his hips pushing against you. You were holding on the table, trying to think. All you could feel was Alastor, inside you, around you. You watched as one of his hands was next to your head, holding himself up with this hand because the other one was busy carving into your skin.

You opened your mouth before biting him hard on the wrist. You heard his breath hitch, before biting harder against his skin when you felt him set a pace that made your eyes rolled back into your skull. 

“ Fuck… !” you heard him moan, making you clench on his member.

You whined, your head swirling with arousal. How you loved when Alastor wasn’t his composed self. 

You bite his forearms once more, your teeth digging into his skin, making him lose his pace, his hips pounding into. You grabbed the end of the table, crying from pleasure, screaming your husband’s name.

I love you.

‘ I love you.’

You came on his member as he dug the knife on your back once more. You felt like the world stopped, keeping your teeth in his arms, your hands gripping at the table, your walls clenching on his shaft, you almost black out when you felt Alastor’s pace getting faster and roughter.

You gasped, breathing once more when you felt Alastor’s weight on your back, his seed filling your womb. You held his hand, trying to root yourself to him, still sensible from your orgasm. You were both panted hard, coming back to yourself.

“ Are you with me, my love…?” Panted Alastor, his hand letting go of the knife and caressing your soft skin. “ Come on, dear…”

“ Yes… Yes… I’m okay..” you squeezed his arms, reassuringly.

He leaned back, after kissing your neck one last time. You sighed when you felt him leaving your warmth. You looked at him as he admired his handiwork on your back.

“ Do you want to heal it?” he asked, stroking your uncut skin.

You softly shook your head with a fond smile.

“ No, I want to feel them a little longer…”

He smiled before leaning down to kiss your lips. You kissed him back, stroking his cheeks with your right hand. How you loved him…

“ After all the killings I have done, you are my best prey,  my love.”

You giggled at his words. You stood up slightly, sighing in bliss when you felt each cut on your skin. What delicious pain your husband had given you…

He kissed your neck with a big smile.

“ Now, how should we trap our next prey?”

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[goldenbloodytears]

Got me thinking after the last (one of??) question you've answered. How do you picture the day Danny killed the senior Johnson and the aftermath of it?

Good question. I don’t have the entire thing sketched out in my head but here’s a rough outline of the ideas I’ve had banging around inside my skull for a while.

The tome does all but outright say that Danny killed his old man on a wild impulse… so following along with that, I think it was an “accident” too.

I put the rest under a read more since I think it got a little long haha

I think Danny had long prior developed a fantasy where he would kill his dad, one where he thought out all the little minute details based on his dad’s habits. I don’t know if he would have physically written anything down plan-wise, but I view it as the originating behaviour of his later impulse and style of stalking, he just became more organized about it once he knew he would be purposefully hunting people later.

I think the situation leading up to the event was something like this. The old man tells Danny they’re going on a hunting/camping trip, whatever plans Danny has made previous to this does not matter—he is expected to drop them. They take a long drive out to the middle of nowhere, and it’s tense and awkward. They get where they’re going, setup everything…. And eventually they get into an argument. Possibly one which elevates into a physical altercation and Danny ends up pulling his knife.

I had the particularly unhinged thought last night of whether his old man would be proud of Danny attacking him or at least suddenly try to comfort him “it’s okay son it’s an accident” while he’s bleeding the fuck out in the middle of nowhere… this is admittedly where my ideas start to break down and get fuzzy.

The next part I’m not sure about, but I can see Danny trying to rig the scene afterwards… despite the fact it’s an accident. This is assuming he doesn’t just go into shock for a bit. I don’t think he would know what to do here, nor am I super sure either. Would he leave to try to flag down the cops or attempted medical help if his dad wasn’t quite dead yet? Idk.

There’s an entire alternate scenario in which Danny just buries his dad in the woods and then fucks off to new life, but that feels a little too… I’m not sure if it’s easy, but it feels rather fanciful? I kinda feel like it’s the story he would tell to make himself sound badass.

So I feel like either way he probably got caught that first time. Maybe his dad had invited some old friends of his for the thing but they only show up later to a dissociated bloody Danny and his dead dad a couple feet away.

I should probably note that I’ve been considering this incident as happening while Danny is an older teen or young adult. Within the 17-21 range. Mostly because I think part of their argument would be related to Danny’s plans for the future and his dad wanting him to follow in his footsteps.

If we do go with the outcome where he gets charged, then he ends up calling his mom to bail him out—he’s pretty understandably freaking out at this point as the reality sets in. She flys out and immediately takes over in being the mom he hasn’t had for years; she’s the one who takes care of his legal fees and finding him a really good defence lawyer. I think I’ve said it already but his mom feels massively guilty about the situation.

There’s a couple potential outcomes to the situation here, and also some things to note.

I think the resulting legal trial would be Danny’s first taste of the media’s interest in bad news on a personal level, deeper than the “oh look more bad news” when you’re watching the local news at six kinda deal. I don’t picture it gaining much more than local publicity however.

Then you have where he might get charged with a lesser count like manslaughter, rather than homicide (this is related to my thoughts about him writing out his fantasies earlier… a good prosecutor would be able to argue he had criminal intent if his writings were found, whereas a lack of prior documentation heavily pushes the legal narrative more towards voluntary manslaughter by way of emotional distress)…. regardless of what he gets charged with, I’m a little stumped as to whether he could get a full acquittal or not.

The outcome I like is where he does get an acquittal (or extremely lenient sentencing), but his mom still has Danny move in with her and the family she’s got going, and there’s a brief period where he’s going to therapy or taking self-help classes (once again paid for by mommy dearest). Everything looks normal for a bit (I think the sudden “normalcy” drives him a little crazy tbh) and he gets his first journalism job at a paper… only to end up having the epiphany that the best way for him to get anywhere in the news world is to create the news himself.

He makes the conscious decision to go forward with what he’s doing at this point, after all, isn’t he hunting humans like his old man wanted him to do?

The only contention I have is that a criminal record could make things complicated, but at the same time explains some of his idiosyncrasies—like why is his background entry for dbd so obsessed with him not leaving any dna?? Well, maybe because he already has finger prints saved in a local law agency somewhere. Why does he use fake identities? Because he has a crime associated with his legal one, and because it provided more “protection” for what he’s doing.

At the same time, I think having a near brush with the law, one where he was lucky enough to escape without a criminal record, is enough to also explain the same things.

As a final thought, he definitely carries guilt about his dad’s death, like… his lore is pretty clear that he feels like his old man deserved a “better design” which makes me wonder if the original plan he had was a lot more… peaceful for Johnson senior to experience, or whether that’s just the reflection of “wow that really sucked” and not living up to the idealized fantasy he built in his head.

Also random trivia bit but I think he calls his mom on her birthday every year and tells her about how his life is “going” (probably making it sound way better than it is). She’s always chiding him to come visit and to call more often bc she loves and misses him.

[whumpily-ever-after]

It's Okay to Not Be Okay Whump List

Summary: It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (Psycho but It’s Okay) follows three people who are each trying to fight (or ignore) their demons and make it through life. Brothers Gang-tae and Sang-tae are on the run from a traumatic past and their latest move take them back to their hometown where they are joined by Mun-yeong who keeps her own trauma buried. The three of them learn how to become a family while being forced to face the traumas of their past.   

Country: South Korea

Year: 2020

Genre: Psychological, comedy, romance, drama, fairy tale elements

Watch it on: Netflix

Note: This show does not have a lot of physical whump but it is full of emotional whump. There is so much crying. This show is also very good. It has great characters and found family. I highly recommend it.

Possible spoilers ahead...

Whumpee: Moon Gang-tae played by Kim Soo Hyun

Episode 1: Scolded because of his brother’s actions, scars on his body, pushed into a sound table, blood running down his arm, grabbed the blade of a knife, cut on hand wrapped, wincing in pain, told to stop hurting himself, forced to take the fall for an incident out of his control, loses his job, catches a helmet with his wounded hand, wincing and grunting in pain

Episode 2: Someone grabs his wounded hand by accident, wincing in pain; causes his wounded hand to bleed again, bloody bandages; flashback to the murder of his other when he was a child and him running away with his brother; told he is running away because he’s scared, called a coward, teary-eyed

Episode 3: Crying

Episode 4: Threatened; flashback to his childhood with his mother; emotional, teary-eyed; yelled at, lightly punched in the chest, slapped; crying; concern for him

Episode 5: Lets his brother hit him, holds his arm, says he got what he deserved

Episode 6: Says he is done being someone who is needed by others; his brother crashes into him, pushed him through a door and onto the ground, hit repeatedly, crying, scared, told his brother abandoned him; flashback to him falling in a frozen river as a child; crying

Episode 7: Told he whimpers like a dog when he sleeps because his heart is hurting; crying about his mother; crying, says he misses his mother

Episode 8: Crying; suspended from work

Episode 9: Water is thrown at him, his brother brings up painful memories, crying, falls to the floor, shakes his head in denial, has a breakdown

Episode 10 (this is the Moon Gang Tae downward spiral episode): (Picks up from previous episode) Has a breakdown; feels guilty for his actions as a child, asks why she saved him (from the frozen river), crying; feels guilty for doing something for himself and not focusing on his brother, crying; told to work on getting himself together, crying, says he doesn’t want to be born again; begs for his brother’s forgiveness, crying, asks not to be abandoned; sick, concern for him; worried about someone

Episode 11: Sick, cared for, sleeping; his brother bites his arm, gets into a fight with his brother, bruise on his cheek, bloody nose

Episode 12: Finds a threatening message sent to his brother, worried; hears his brother's account of their mother’s murder, thinks his girlfriend’s mother murdered his mother; punches a door, crying; wraps his hand, lashes out, crying; crying, falls to his knees

Episode 13: Concerned for his family, crying

Episode 14: Betrayed; asks if he’s ill-fated; crying; told to admit that he’s weak; asks for a hug, says that he’s scared, his brother says he’ll protect him; brother taken by the person who killed their mother, goes to meet them; concern for him; sees his unconscious brother

Episode 15: Confronts the person who killed his mother, told the story of what happened to his mother; crying, stabbed with a syringe (drugged), holding his side, stumbling back, falls to his knees, uses himself as a human shield (to protect someone he loves from hurting someone else), stabbed in the hand, collapses, passes out, concern for him, the person who killed his mother moves to stab him; unconscious in a bed, hooked up to an IV, hand bandaged; asked to leave; crying

Episode 16: He and his brother go their separate ways, crying

[callaeidae3]

what is your novel about?

Hi! 🌸 Thanks for your ask!! ~

My novel, "The Case of Kindall, K.", is a thriller / action & adventure story set in a fictional island nation kingdom, Arkala. İt's about a seventeen year old (Kyle Kindall) who's accused of manslaughter, and sent to prison. The person he allegedly killed was his classmate.

The judge of Kyle's case truthfully feels something is off about the whole thing, so he asks his friend (Yuuki, 25 yrs old, a warden at the detention centre) to help him privately investigate it. (Spoiler: the judge is very much correct - Kyle's case turns out to have something else going on behind the scenes...)

I've written out an outline of what happens during the first book - I described it to my friend the other day like this, which she enjoyed, so I thought I'd try to describe it again in that way! :)

--

İn the first half of the novel, Yuuki meets with Kyle regularly and talks with him, and tries to figure out what really happened with Kyle's case. Yuuki works at the detention centre where Kyle has been sent to.

While this is going on, a few schoolmates of Kyle's, including the judge's daughter, also come forward to give their support of Kyle's claim of innocence. Yuuki also decides he believes Kyle's version of what happened.

Both the judge and his friend are wary, however. They were both involved in a kidnapping incident the year before, and Kyle's case has something about it which feels like that. Yuuki developed PTSD from that incident. Yuuki's PTSD affects him, and he's concerned about how the solitary confinement of Kyle's imprisonment is affecting Kyle.

True to the judge's gut intinct, things start happening. Yuuki finds Kyle near death in his cell with hypothermia one morning. Yuuki carries Kyle out of the cell that day. He and the judge get Kyle an emergency clearance (which is helped by new evidence suggesting Kyle's pleading not guilty to be true).

For a few days, Kyle recovers in the homes of the judge and Yuuki's. Kyle deals with the realisations of post traumatic stress. There's lots of hurt comfort ~

İt isn't long before the Bad Guys ™ come to Yuuki's house. The antagonists try to kidnap Kyle. Both Yuuki and Kyle are rescued (by the judge and his family), but it's too dangerous to stay around. So Yuuki, Kyle, the judge and his family, as well as a few of the judge's daughter's friends - end up going on the run in the countryside.

Yuuki's arm was badly injured during the house attack. His arm was shot three times by the bad guys - they'd used him to get Kyle to cooperate and let himself be taken quietly. Yuuki's arm is too badly damaged, and they can't safely risk getting him to a hospital, so the judge's wife (who has formal field medic training) performed an amputation surgery on it.

(Note: there are no graphic descriptions of anything re the amputation!)

----

(Actual spoiler under the cut!)

What actually happened with Kyle's case now comes to light.

Among the judge's daughter's friends is eighteen year old Laura. Laura is actually a surviving royal, and has hidden her real identity as the "deceased princess" Amelia İhserh. Her family had been murdered by the country's current usurper leader, but she unbeknownstly escaped the massacre.

The Bad Guys had come close to discovering Amelia. What happened to Kyle, re his case, is that Kyle had accidentally overheard the Bad Guys talking about finding and killing Amelia. The Bad Guys sent someone after Kyle, on the same night he overheard the conversation, to kill him. The person they sent was the classmate that Kyle "killed". But Kyle fought back, and in the process, the knife ended up being driven into the classmate instead. Kyle was the one who was meant to be killed that night. But Kyle survived, and the person who meant to kill him died because of it.

--

So -- out on the run now, the group end up simultaneously trying to appeal Kyle's case, figure out exactly who's after them, and get Amelia to a place where she can declare her identity and attempt negotiations with the usurper. Yuuki's remnant limb heals without complications, but that's not to say Yuuki's recovery is easy for him. İn the aftermath of what they've both experienced, Kyle and Yuuki become closer.

The group eventually are discovered by police (who the group can't trust for their safety), and end up having to flee their safe house. Yuuki almost drowns in a river, and Kyle gets briefly caught by the bad guys. He escapes once, then gets caught again. Kyle is rescued when a few members of the group go back to search for him.

After a lot of hiking through the bush, the group make it to the palace. The palace is where the usurper leader resides. While Amelia talks with him, the rest of the group scatter (for safety). While Kyle and Yuuki are walking to their waiting place up on the hillside, Yuuki falls. Kyle catches him, but falls with him. Kyle sustains a head injury hitting his head on a rock on the way down. (The head injury is made worse when patrolling bad officers find them. Yuuki fends them off (and the officers fall out of sight down the hill).)

Meanwhile, in front of the palace, the usurper leader finally goes to shoot Amelia. But one of Amelia's group shoots him from afar with a rifle before he can fire at her.

Once the signal for the "all clear" is given, Yuuki carries Kyle on his shoulders down the hillside to safety. As soon as Yuuki gets himself and Kyle ti to safety, Yuuki passes out in exhaustion.

Once again together with the group, Yuuki and Kyle rest and recover. The judge's wife tends to Kyle with his head injury. The group move into the palace as a temporary base/shelter, to rest and to begin negotiations with the country's police force on how to proceed.

The novel ends with the judge expressing his belief of Kyle's innocence, and his promise fo help Kyle get his acquittal.

[bytchysylvy]

Oasis: 1, Latikam: 7, Casarin: 10, Hydrel: 18

(oasis) What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

Approximately 10 minutes. This assumes "nothing" does not include keeping a watch out, navigation, watching to make sure casarin is paying attention, making snide comments and flipping off other pilots while on the ship. If he's being responsible she likes to go harass alex in the back. On land she's always wandering off on her own away from casarin either picking up essentials he's forgotten again or non essentials lol. She can also be found playing "lets throw bricks at susarikas" (he loves it) to pass the time.

If there's NOTHING to do, she's trapped just waiting, she'll usually pull something she uh found in the street (finders keepers) and carve into it with her knife. No this is mine, see its got my name on it and a little pony too, oh and on this side its got a snake eating a watermelon.

(latikam) What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

The thing with living for centuries is that at a certain point, everything and nothing causes nostalgic, its the experience of every vazuvyr. BUT latikam has lived through the occupation AND does not live in his homeland anymore, in a way he is a child who remembers past lives but cannot apply any of it to this one. The biggest trigger is that mokubat learned how to cook from vokutlvek, and while they have their different styles every now and then something lines up, he can taste his brothers work in his sons. Its... a lot. Thats the taste he's known through centuries of heartache and love and pain and joy and healing, yet for once he's not here for it. The person who's always been there to run to, lay his head on, and protected him isn't there this time. Somehow disorientating and grounding at the same time.

Seeing casarin and hydrel also remind him A LOT of vokutlvek and azrem. Their stupid little dramas, playing footsies at the table, shoving food into his mouth. Latikam said "I know what you are".

(casarin) What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

God why did you have pick THIS one for him how did you hone in on this choice. My man keeps repeatedly telling a very specific lie about how okay he is. "haunted" probably isnt the word Id pick exactly. During sf its less of the burden of knowing he lied and more of the fear of someone finding out the truth. And in act 2 when someone confronts him about it he doubles down on "everything is fine" until he's dragged kicking and screaming to the warm saucer of milk. At the end of his life he looks at those years and realizes how stupid he was for putting himself through it and not asking for help, especially now recognizing fjinmars and adaen saw the problem and wanted to help him but he never gave them the chance, but at this point he's too preoccupied by the good run they had and how thats going to be gone.

A specific instance he told this lie to his mother, who he never lies to because she is telepathic, clocked him immediately and he broke down about the whole thing. The thing that hurts him is that he doesnt know why he lied, mama never made him feel bad about this before, he just... felt guilty and embarrassed about all this. idk.

(hydrel) What embarrasses them?

The austisms. He's had people "just tease" him for his expressions and taking things literally and when he's last to the joke. Doesnt like to ask what people mean by things because that usually makes it worse. It's not obvious in the main script but its worth noticing how much differently he acts with his family vs with casarin. Weird. Sure its nothing. Also bringing up past incidents is the fastest way to get 🧑‍🤝‍🧑-- points with him, VERY embarrassed when he realized after the fact he overreacted or was rude when he didnt mean to be. Just let him learn and move on.

Also extremely embarrassed if you catch him farting lmao. How dare you accuse him of having a bodily function. I want a bestie divorce.

[swet99]

Hey there! This post is to tell you briefly about the novel I shared in my previous posts.

The story talks about a girl, Ange, who was raised in an orphanage but one day she started having knightmare which caused her to have insomnia. In those knightmare she saw that she wasn't actually an orphan but mistakenly got exchanged at a hospital. And according to this dream her family exist and is ridiculously rich. But all of this did not make her happy since in the dream she also saw herself. More like her future self, which was found back by her long lost family. They came to meet her and took her home. But something was not right. She realised that the attitude of her supposed family was slightly cold. They did came to take her back but they did not seemed happy or delighted to meet their lost child but the expression on their faces were the same as those people who see her face for the first time and scrunch their face in disgust due to her skin condition. She has vitiligo, a skin condition in which there are several paches of skin discoloration on the body. Seeing her family's reaction she could guess that life ahead would be far from easy. All the kids at the orphanage think that she was so lucky to have be the daughter of such a rich family. Everyday she would face her parents indifference, her older brother's hatred & disrespect of the servants as the insulted her because of her appearance and upbringing behind her back as well as on her face. The child who was raised in her place in the family was a girl same in age as her but her skin was flawless, crystal like as a glass surface. The girl was friendly towards her first & she thought that in this whole family she was the only person who showed kindness towards her. But this misunderstanding of her was cleared soon when that same girl was standing trembling in front of her, tears pouring out of her eyes as she told her older brother to let it go when her brother was accusing her of bullying the girl. The girl said to her brother to let it go again and again but didn't deny that she was bullied. Making it seem like the accusations of Ange bullying the girl were true but she is willing to let it go and be the bigger person since she was kind.

Each sentence of her was like a knife cutting through Ange's heart💔 She believed in the girl's fake display of kindness & thought of it as real. She thought that the girl pitied her & felt guilty about taking her place in the family for so many years. Ange also pitied the girl since due to her the family the girl grew up with became stranger in a single day & now she had to face the real daughter of the family every single day reminding her that the girl does not have the same blood as those people whom she refer to as family anymore.

Thus Ange felt responsible for the girl's state hence treated her with utmost care. She even gave up on her first love of her life when she came to know that the girl had feelings for her first love. Therefore she didn't think twice & immediately stepped back for her. But soon she saw the girl's true colours. The malicious grin behind that kind smile was revealed to her the day the girl directed people to believe in false accusations towards Ange. She painted Ange as a black hearted vixen while the girl showed herself as a kind soul who is willing to forgive her stepsister despite being wronged by her. After this incident her family's attitude towards her changed from indifference to violence. Emotional violence from her parents & physical violence from her brother, schoolmates that were the girl's friend & lastly were the girl's admirers. Ange was able to go on somehow but the girl's admires were the most brutal. They shamed her, grouped together to beat her & isolated her in school. Facing all of these things slowly deteriorated her mental health and self esteem. She already had insecurities due to her appearance but since all of this started she was also thinking of killing herself in different ways. There are several cut marks under her sleeves which she hides by wearing long sleeve shirts.

From beginning till now Ange, who was witnessing her supposedly future self suffering in the knightmare, was boiling in rage. She was feeling deep hatred and strong desire to kill those people who abused her dream self. But she didn't understood why, it was just a dream but she was feeling such strong surge of emotions like all of this is not simply a dream. Disrupting her from her thoughts, Ange saw that her future self was talking to the girl but this time the girl didn't showed her fake smile but her true cunning smirk. She was mocking her future self to be a fool & an idiot who is easily manipulated. After saying some more insults she turned to her future self & told her that she knew that her future self had tried to commit suicide. She once more came closer to her future self and told her to hurry up as the girl can't wait for Ange to kill herself. At this Ange's future self snapped. The Ange who was witnessing the dream felt her blood run cold. She couldn't believe that such a person exist that is so indifferent to someone else's life. Ange was in a state of shock & disbelief when she saw her future self strangling the girl's neck with her hands. She was pressing it tightly & even digging her nails into her skin to get a firm grim to the point when blood was starting to ooze out. The girl was almost suffocated when a heavy object was struck hard on Ange's future self making her faint right away. Ange saw the face of the person who struck her future self, he was one of the admirer of the girl and their homeroom teacher. Next second Ange directed her gaze gaze on her future self who was lying motionless on the floor with thick red blood oozing out of her head. Ange crouched down near her future self with disbelief. She started intently on her future self hoping to see any type of movement or sense any breathing movement in her chest. She raised her hand to check her pulse but it passed through her future self's body like a ghost. She retreated her hand and stared at it hard. Then she was distracted by the movement of the homeroom teacher's hand towards her future self's body. He checked her pulse & heartbeat then he turned towards the girl and told in an indifferent tone that her future self died. Ange stared at the man with bloodshot eyes who stated the death of her future self with an indifferent face. She witnessed how the man calmed and assured the girl that everything will be alright & he will handle everything. The girl as usual pretending to be pitiful but was secretly smiling to herself all this time. Ange saw how the man stuffed Ange's future self's body in a luggage bag & went off with it. Later she saw him washing her body with alcohol then dumping it in a dump yard. Ange saw this scene with a calm look on her face. By observing the man's action Ange was sure that the man had killed people before and is definitely not a common teacher. But she didn't think that one day she would witness her own murder with her own eyes by a experienced killer. All of the scenes of the knightmare keep playing in her head. The experience and emotions were so vivid that she couldn't brush it off as bad dream causing her to lose several more nights sleep. In her struggle to make herself forget about the dream, next day Ange went to the library to borrow a book to read. She usually didn't read books that are out of her subjects in school but this time she chose to differ and went to the novel section. Where she found a book with no name. This piqued Ange's curiosity & she started reading the summary of the book. Reading the summary left Ange speechless for a while then she reread the page to confirm again but the result was same. Can you guess what she read in the book??

Well, that's it for today. I know it's a bit lengthy to be called a summary but I wanted to explain what you are going to discover in the story. It's a mature novel & some scenes can be uncomfortable for a few people but please read through the end since as the story escalates further things starts to get more interesting.

[deaconusdelirium]

Requested by anon: “Has Crosshair ever shot you on accident?”

Um, yes. Yes he has

———

Kaller looked cold from the Marauders view, but stepping out wasn’t that bad, maybe it was because your blacks were thermo regulated. Young Caleb had called Hunter in on one of their missions, he agreed wholeheartedly. Now the whole Batch waited for Crosshair to get into position, Wrecker got too antsy and ended up rolling a boulder down the snowy hill too early, but just in time since Crosshair was already set. Hunter signaled to get down on the ground. The debris and snow created somewhat of a distraction where some clankers marched.

Sliding down the hill alongside Tech, you pulled your rifle out, then your scouter down for their heat signatures. Hunter was taking care of the droids that were too close to Depa and Caleb, while Tech took more precautions and setting charges on the confused droids, Wrecker just rag-dolled the ones he got his hands on. And Echo shot at the ones that were after him

Kneeling on your knee, you took the droids who were more open, usually the ones that the Batchers couldn’t deal with. Clearing your field, you went to help Hunter, taking the knife you had behind your back out. The battle droids fell, until there were only a few, Crosshair took some from the top. One of the droids knocked your knife out from your gasp, making you stagger back, you blocked it’s punches, it seemed to gain the upper hand, the knife was now at your boot. With a quick kick up, you grabbed it and pushed it into the clankers chest.

Crosshair had seen the trouble you were in, he needed to make sure you could handle yourself before helping you. But he told himself, if he didn’t help now, then something could go wrong, and he didn’t want things to fan out and paint red. Taking the shot, he threw his sniper down, pushing his body up as the droid had already fallen to the ground before he shot. He reached his hand out slightly, as if he tried to stop what had already been done. He felt his breathing stop as it hit your head, and your body fall. “Y/n!” Tech yelled, closer to you, but he couldn’t leave just yet. The enemy grew into a squad, then into a battalion once again.

Crosshairs eyes widen, seeing you fall on your back and into the snow. But soon let out a breath of relief, one he didn’t know that he was holding in. Your hand came up to your helmet, feeling the warm sizzle of the blaster shot indent that grazed by. Your HUD went off and on for a few seconds, then coming back on, readjusting to the light it was exposed to before. While your hand was up there, you pushed the scouter back into place. Taking a look around you, you seen that the battle was still continuing. Reaching to your side to grab your knife that fell from your hands again, and your rifle that was laying behind you. The Batch seen what had happened, but continued the mission.

—

Once the droids were clear, and the tanks were thrown off the cliff. You all regrouped, Tech stomping his way over to you as you grew worried at his body language. “Let me see.” he pulled your head down, looking at the indent that was very prominent on your helmet now, “Woah, what happened?” Wrecker asked, looking at your helmet as well. “She was shot” Echo explained, it wasn’t anger than was in his voice, it was stern, like it always was. Crosshair walked over with Hunter, “you alright Y/n?” Hunter asked, Tech showed the damage that had been done to you, then checking your body for any further injuries in his own hands. Tech cared very much about everyone, more so you, since you were partially new. “I’m fine Hunter” you responded, breaking away from Techs firm grip on the back of your helmet.

“You realize you could have killed her” Tech informed Crosshair, but the marksman was quiet, they knew he wasn’t one for apologies, yet they also knew he felt guilty. “who cares? She’s fine” Wrecker butted in, shoving Tech to follow Echo and Hunter “I care, don’t you realized she would have died?” They argued back and forth, it was more Tech who argued and Wrecker who made a joke out of it. They already made their way to both Jedi’s, well, one soon to be Jedi. It was Crosshair and you who had stayed behind, “hey, don’t take those guys’ words so hard. It’s just a small ‘scratch’.” Trying to lighten the mood

He remained quiet, but on the inside, he was mad at himself. Cursing as he could have killed you. “That small ‘scratch’ would have costed your life” he corrected, “come on, what’s a little fun without danger?” You asked, shifting your weight to one foot and crossing your arms, imitating your comrade. “But like I said, I’m fine, good actually. You just missed, nothing to blame you for” you tried to reassure him, he stood tall, looking down at you. The situation was now starting to become awkward, he said nothing, and you were the only one doing the talking. “Um, yeah… I’m good” you mumbled to yourself, most likely not getting through him.

You walked off, going to Hunter and the rest. The snow crunching under your feet distracted you from the incident, seemingly, more than you had let on. Since you were yanked back by your upper arm, “if you say you’re fine, I’ll take it, but that doesn’t mean I believe you” he spoke, making you look up and down at him, “it didn’t even hit me, just the helmet” trying once again, he hummed, now looking at you. “Fine… meet me in the Marauder afterwards for inspection” “inspection? But only-” he let go, then head-butted you gently on the front of your helmet. Making you blush madly underneath the helmet, did he just-

A small yelp escape your mouth, and Crosshair snickered at it, walking off and leaving you a clumsy mess. Your heart rate had gone up severely as your helmet did a full body scan, something Tech installed, it felt like you just had the wind knocked out of you. You glared at Crosshair, who strolled towards the Batch, running up behind him. “Crosshair, what was that? Why did you-” he cut you off again with another kiss to your head, he watched with a smile, an actual smile as you had spun around. Your back exposed to him as he seen your breathing increase rapidly, judging by how your upper armor moved up and down. Stepping away from you, now actually making his way to the Batch, “oh, and Y/n?” He turned his upper body to look at you.

Your head was in your hands, turning to look at him and trying to regain your lost breath that had suddenly left your lungs. It felt like you ran miles, klicks even, nonstop. “Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum” he gave a small salute with two fingers, walking off hearing you curse to yourself. “Crosshair!” You yelled out, watching him ignore the call of his name. He was going to be the death of you.

———

I had so much fun with with this👀

Requests are open, my DM’s are open for your Star Wars rants or just talking. Which could also be used for ‘anonymous’ (don’t worry, I vibe with everything)

[adinosaurnamedmittens]

Hot take! Kris is DEFINITELY NOT EVIL, you’re misreading the hints.

Spoilers for chapter 2, obviously.

First off, yes, the soul-ripping moments are framed as evil, and Kris does genuinely do some shady shit. But they are in no way the mastermind to any sinister plot.

So Kris rips their soul out 3 times in game. Let’s go over each one:

1. CHAPTER 1, BEDROOM

Kris throws their soul into the birdcage. They then eat an entire cinnamon-butterscotch pie by themselves. Some people also theorize they create the Cyberworld dark fountain, but that’s not confirmed.

2. CHAPTER 2, BATHROOM

Kris throws their soul into the sink cabinet. They crawl out the window and we overhear Toriel and Suzie’s conversation. Toriel mentions that this isn’t the first time Kris has “done something like this.” Kris returns and takes back their soul. Later, Toriel calls the cops, telling them her tires were slashed and she say someone lurking in the forest. It’s highly implied that Kris was responsible for this incident.

Here’s the thing about each of these moments: Kris gets something they like. In the first, they get to eat the pie they enjoy. In the second, they get to spend more time with their friend, Suzie. In the third, they will get to go on a new adventure in the dark world with their friends.

3. CHAPTER 2, LIVING ROOM

Kris stuffs their soul in between the couch cushions, taking a hint from Suzie finding the remote in them. They then create a dark fountain by stabbing their knife into the floor.

For confirmation that Kris likes Suzie, all we need to do is look at their reaction to drinking Suzie Tea in chapter 2:

The tea is more effective the closer the people are. For example, Noelle heals 10 from Ralsei Tea, who is essentially a stranger to her. But she heals 400 from Suzie Tea, who is her crush. Kris heals 120 from Suzie Tea, which shows that Kris really does think of Suzie as a close friend.

(Little sidebar about Ralsei Tea: That only heals 60 for Kris, which implies that Kris doesn’t like Ralsei as much. Personally, I think it’s because Ralsei reminds them so much of their brother, who left them. BUT ANYWAYS-)

As for confirmation that Kris likes spending time in the Dark World? While that’s a little harder to come by, we can make some educated guesses. First off, that’s where Suzie and them really connected and became friends, so there’s bound to be positive feelings attached to it. Even if not, they were willing to slash their mom’s tires to spend time with Suzie. Making a world with a dark fountain that they plan on closing later doesn’t seem too far away from that. Also, everyone was on board with creating a new dark fountain before Ralsei told them about the Roaring. So it’s clear their friends enjoy their time there.

FURTHERMORE- Kris ripping out their soul is not a new thing. The text on the birdcage say “Looks like it’s seen quite a few crashes.”, and there’s a stain on the floor next to it. Also, in response to Kris missing the pie-making, Toriel says Kris “does this sometimes.” This is clearly not just a response to the player’s control.

So why has Kris been ripping out their soul? I think it’s because Kris doesn’t want the guilt to stop them from doing things that make them happy. They are a bit of a troublemaker, so they’ve most likely gotten the guilt-trip before. But now, with the stress of Asriel being gone, they’re likely desperate to avoid those negative feelings, and just have fun. It could also be a really intense self harm thing, but uh... I’m not going there rn.

TLDR: Kris is not ripping out their soul so the player doesn’t stop them from doing evil. They just want to do things that make them happy, and may be trying to avoid feeling guilty. It’s not a response to the player, as they’ve been doing it for a while now.

[writingsonawall]

Falling, fallen chapter 3

Pairings: Spencer Reid x OFC

Story summary:  Spencer randomly meets Leah at the library and their first encounter was supposed to be just that; a random one-time occurance. When an unsub lands Spencer in the very same hospital she works at, she feels obligated to take care of him. But what happens when his team notices her everlooming presence and theorises that perhaps she could be the unsub they’re looking for?

Chapter summary: The BAU start developing a profile which leads them to investigate Leah. 

Warnings: Recalling a violent incident, bit of blood but not too bad. 

Wordcount: 12,6 k

A/N: This chapter is written from Emily’s POV just to get a different perspective on the story. 

Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7,

Emily shot Reid a knowing look as she stepped through the door before turning her head slightly to watch the nurse shuffle down the corridor. She was pretty, that much was for certain and she knew Reid thought so, too. She took a seat by his bed, dropping the bag to the floor. She had just gotten back from his apartment, finally having had the time to collect the things he’d asked for earlier that same morning. She decided not to comment on the nurse any further as the three of them went back to work, trying to piece together a profile with the mess of details they had. 

“What if we’re looking for two unsubs?” The first break came about an hour after Emily had returned to Reid’s room and they all peaked up at Rossi’s suggestion. 

“What makes you say that?” Morgan’s voice sounded through Garcia’s phone now and Emily wondered the same thing. 

“Look at the bruisings around Anita Thorne’s throat. That’s pretty large hands, don’t you think? Probably from a man. But the stabwounds on Gomez’ body were hesitant and shallow, not a lot of force behind them,” Rossi explained his thinking and Emily followed easily while she flipped through her files. 

“So, you’re thinking whoever killed Gomez was a woman?” J.J. spoke up this time. Morgan didn’t even give Rossi time to answer.

“But the stabbing was all over the place and brutal. It was overkill. Do you really think a woman would be capable of doing that?” 

“Maybe our unsub was hesitant about killing Gomez? Not knowing what to do or how to do it correctly? Maybe he was trying to establish a MO?” Reid spoke up now and his words surprised Emily. Anita Thorne had been killed a week and half before Gomez, so if the unsub was the same person then he was definitely accustomed to killing. It made no sense for him to brutally strangle Thorne, then hesitate when it came to Gomez. Unless there was a connection between Gomez and the unsub which they hadn’t made yet. That seemed unlikely since there was no sign of the unsub’s remorse anywhere on the body or at the crimescene. It didn’t feel personal. 

Emily voiced her thoughts and the team agreed with her. She got a little concerned about Reid. He seemed to have gotten confused by such a simple thing as the timelines of the different victims. That was the kind of mistake Reid would never do. She was afraid he wasn’t in the right headspace to be working this case, but she didn’t speak her concern just yet. 

“Typically in a killer-duo one part to be more dominant and the other more submissive. We shouldn’t assume that the female is the submissive one just because she’s the weaker sex. In fact we should assume the opposite, especially if we still regard our previous theory that at least one of them has some sort of medicaltraining. Healthcare is widely dominated by females after all,” Reid rambled on in his usual manner, but something still seemed… Off about him. Like he was trying to hide his privous slip up. 

“So, you think we’re looking for a man and woman, and that the woman is the dominant person here?” Rossi asked. 

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time. In traditional gender roles the man is depicted as the dominant type, when it in reality is the female who holds all the power. She controlls access to sex, decides what’s for dinner, has the most influence over the kids… Even though men typically are physically stronger than women, it’s still the women who control them, so I wouldn’t say it’s odd,” Reid explained further and by the way he was fiddling in the bed Emily could tell he had a lot more to say on the matter. 

“Well, it fits,” J.J. butted in. “If the woman is dominant we can only assume she decides who gets to live and who doesn’t.” 

“But how does she decide that?” Emily asked out loud. 

“Garcia’s already looked through all the workers in both hospitals and no one crossrefranses,” Morgan interjected. 

“I sure have, Sweetcheeks,” Garcia spoke up. 

“There’s got to be something here that we’re missing,” Morgan mumbled. 

“Garcia, start off by looking into hospitalemployees who might match our profile who’ve had contact with more than one of our victims. The dominant would be meticulous, so look for anyone with a clean record, we can also assume she’s reserved with few sosial contacts. We still don’t know how she decides who dies so look for anyone who stands out, employees who pay close attention to the victims, who check on them more than necessary, anything that screams unnatural behavior.” Hotch said and at that last bit Garcia’s fingers paused over the keyboard. Emily knew what she was thinking, because she was thinking the exact same thing. 

“Does that mean employees who’s worked with Reid as well?” Garcia sounded guilty as she spoke and Emily noted that she gave Reid an apologetic look. 

“What have you got Garcia?” Hotch’s answer fell to deaf ears because Reid lashed out. 

“I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong!” He all but yelled. 

“Spence!” J.J. sounded concerned, but she too was ignored. 

“She didn’t do this. I know her and she didn’t do this.” Emily almost felt bad for him. The nurse had seemed like a sweet girl and either she’d played him like a fool or they were wrongfully accusing her of being a killer. There was no way she’d come good out of this one. 

“Hold on! Who are we talking about?” Morgan asked at the same time as someone, Emily couldn’t tell who, asked “What do you mean you know her?” It was silent after that, this kind of silence that was just waiting for someone to break it. Emily realized then that she was staring blankly at Reid, still not used to him lashing out like that. 

“I met her last night at the library,” Reid finally said after a reluctant sigh. That made Emily’s eyes go wide. Why hadn’t he said something before? “And I know what you’re all thinking, but it wasn’t her. She left way before I was shot. Garcia can probably verify that with an easy search, she got to work before 10 P.M. I know how bad that looks, but I’m telling you it’s not her. Hotch…” Reid’s voice was almost pleading towards the end and now Emily felt really bad for him. He wanted so desperately to believe it wasn’t her that he couldn’t see what was right in front of him. Even though Emily hadn’t spent that much time at the hospital she had reacted to the nurse, feeling like there was something... off about her. She hadn’t even thought that the young woman might be the unsub, but when she thought it now; it just fit. 

“What’s her name?” Hotch asked, his tone of voice unreadable. Emily wondered what he was thinking. 

“Leah Clarewater,” Reid sighed, probably knowing he’d lost the battle. If he hadn’t said anything, Garcia would’ve found out anyway.

“Alright. Garcia, run her and see what pops up.” Hotch almost didn’t have the time to speak because Reid interrupted him. 

“Get out,” He spoke, his voice quiet but his words were harsh. 

“Reid,” Emily reached forward to lay a hand on his arm but he shied away from her. 

“I said, get out. I’m not even on this case and I’m telling you it’s not her, but no one’s listening. I don’t want to hear anymore, so please��� just get out.” He sounded almost completely broken, as if his whole life had just been flipped upsidedown and it made Emily frown. 

“Garcia, Prentiss… You heard him.” Hotch’s voice was clear and Garcia sat there frozen for a second before quickly gathering her stuff and rising from her chair. 

“Reid,” Emily tried again. 

“What, Emily?” He snapped at her. “I’m telling you it’s not her, and it’s not just something I want to believe; it’s something I know for a fact. And when you eventually realize that you’re all wrong I am the one who’s gonna have to look her in the eyes and live with that guilt. So no, I don’t want to hear what you find out when you do a search on her, because it’s not my place to know unless she tells me herself.” He was almost panting with rage when he finished his rambling and the room once more fell in an awkward silence so thick it could practically be cut through with a knife. His words were laced with venom and she then realized that this wasn’t all about the nurse. Most it was, sure, but he was obviously still not over everything that happened with Emily and Doyle. She had felt horrible about lying to him and the rest of the team like that, but she had thought they had all worked through it by now. Reid obviously hadn’t, because that lash out was a whole lot of unresolved tension. 

Emily escorted Garcia out of the room without another word. They found a secluded area in the waitingroom outside of the ICU and Garcia seemed a little reluctant about continuing.

“Sir. I must say that this doesn’t feel right,” she mumbled, the rest of the team still on the phone even though they had gone silent after Reid’s blow up. 

“I know, Garcia, but just see what you can find out,” Hotch said. 

“Is someone gonna tell me who we’re talking about now?” Morgan asked and that made Emily smile. Of course he hadn't picked up on who they were talking about yet. He was a damn good agent, but sometimes he could be slow. 

“The nurse who came to get us when Reid woke up this morning,” Emily replied, leaning a little closer to her phone. 

“Oh, the ho-” Morgan stopped himself before he could finish his sentence. Emily tried to hide her snicker because she knew he was about to say ‘hot one’, but that would be highly inappropriate. 

“She seemed like a good kid,” Rossi interjected. 

“Oh, but she’s anything but!” Garcia finally spoke up again. This was the first time Emily felt a little disgusted by how excited she sounded. She knew that Garcia couldn’t always help it. She was stuck in her office all day while the rest of the team were out in the field. She loved having things to do and whenever she found something that could help, she always took that win personally. Still, this time Emily couldn’t quite feel it. Reid obviously had a thing for this girl; attraction, admiration or whatever it was… And now Garica might have found something to shatter his precious fantasy of the girl. 

“What have you got?” Hotch asked. 

“Well… Leah Singer Clarewater, born and raised in The Bronx, New York. Apparently she ran in a bad crowd in her younger years. Several of her friends were picked up on drugcharges in high school. She doesn’t really have a record herself, but we can only assume she was just as bad as her friends since, you know, they were friends… Anyway, when she was eighteen her eight year old brother disappeared without a trace and he was never found. Leah was apparently with him when it happened. Police investigated, but never found out what happened. Two years later her mother died of, oh, let’s see… Cancer and after that it seems that she and her father drifted off. I can’t see that they have any contact now and she doesn’t seem to have many friends. No social media, I mean zip zero, no Facebook, Twitter, not even YouTube. Nada. She’s basically a loner.” 

“That does fit the profile,” J.J. mumbled. Emily agreed. And the story about family could’ve been a stressor. 

“Look, guys… We have to be absolutely certain about this,” Morgan spoke up, probably feeling just what Emily was. 

“Well, she has a good medical education,” Garcia said. “I mean, like really good. She’s taken a lot of extra courses and addons to her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She’d basically just need a few hours of mandatory training and she’d be certified as a paramedic.” 

“So, she has a lot of medical knowledge?” Rossi asked. 

“That she sure does,” Garcia nodded as she spoke, even though it was just Emily there to see her. “And- Oh! Oh…” Garcia trailed off, a sad look crossing her features. Emily wondered what she had just found out. 

“What is it, Garcia?” Hotch asked. 

“She has a registered .45,” she whispered. Reid, and the other victims, had been shot with a .45. Oh, how Emily hated this. She had almost hoped for Reid’s sake that they had just jumped to conclusions and that they wouldn’t find anything on her. Now everything was pointing towards her. 

“That’s more than enough for a probable cause,” Hotch sighed into the phone, sounding just as defeated as Emily felt. “Morgan and J.J., go to her address. Rossi, I want you back at the hospital. We still don’t know if she is or who she might be working with. If she knows we’re onto her, she might come after Reid. Until we find her and question her, I don’t want Reid to be left unattended. Stand outside of his room if he doesn’t want visitors, but no one comes into that room without anyone of us knowing what happens. And I mean no one, no nurses, doctors, not even the janitor or cleaning crew. Got it?” Hotch’s message was clear and everyone agreed verbally before ending the call. Emily decided to let Garica work for a little bit and went back to Reid’s room. She knocked softly on the door before opening it. Reid met her eyes with a fierceness in his. 

“Look,” she said, closing the door behind her and leaning against it. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear and I’ll spare you the details… But this looks bad for her. We don’t know who she might be working with, so Hotch is adamant that we don’t leave you unattended. You may not like it and that’s fine. If you wanna be alone, then that’s fine too, I’ll just stay outside the door.” Emily had decided to just be frank with him. “In the mean time, do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?” She asked, still not able to shake the tension between them. 

“You’re still wrong about her.” Reid’s reply left no room for argument on that subject. 

“I mean about whatever vendetta you have against me,” she clarified. Reid narrowed his eyes at her. 

“No offense, Emily, but not everything is about you. On the contrary to popular belief I don’t carry grudges. My problem isn’t with you personally, it’s with all of you. I tell you that it’s not her, and you don’t believe me. I know her and my word, my credibility still means nothing to you.” He was getting agitated and she finally understood why. This wasn’t just about protecting the nurse, it was also about the team not trusting his judgement. Emily sighed. 

“You’ve known her for how long? Less than a day? What if you’re wrong, Reid? Just what if?” 

“I’m not.” His reply came not even a heartbeat later and his voice was certain. It was still too similar to a childish game, him not wanting to admit he might be wrong. 

“Okay, I’ll bite… Say you’re right, there’s still things you don’t know about her. She’s not this amazing person you think she is. She’s got baggage, possibly more than you can imagine. She’s trouble, Reid, whether she’s the unsub or not.” Emily had no idea how much Reid knew about her, but she somehow figured out that if he knew everything then he would be more logical about this. 

“She’s the best person I’ve met,” Reid said and she looked at him for a moment. Did he really mean that? Did she really have him so tightly twisted around her finger that he believed his own words to be the truth? By the confident look on his face, she guessed on yes to both questions. “But you’re right about one thing; I do want to be alone. Please, close the door behind you.” That was a clear sign that this discussion was over. Emily decided not to say anything else as she slipped out of the room. 

She could only begin to imagine what Reid was going through. Emily didn’t have any relatives she spoke to, no friends outside of work. Her colleagues were her family, she loved them all dearly. If any of them got implicated for murder she probably would have lost her shit as well. Still, that got her to wonder what was going on between Reid and that nurse. She had seemed professional enough the few times she’d seen her, except for the time she’d caught her hanging out in Reid’s room for the better part of half an hour before she went home. What had that been about? Reid obviously didn’t know her that well, seeing as he claimed to have met her the night before. Maybe he felt attracted to her; she was pretty after all. But then again she wouldn’t take Reid for the guy to fall head over heels for a woman he’d barely met. This couldn’t possibly be love, she must have found a way to manipulate him. 

“How’s the kid?” Rossi greeted Emily as he walked down the corridor twenty minutes later. Emily sighed heavily as he came to a stop next to her. 

“Understandably upset,” she told him with a small shrug. “He’s… He’s actually pretty mad,” she said. 

“He’ll get over it,” Rossi tried to assure her, but she could only shake her head. 

“I’m afraid this could be a breakingpoint for him. No matter what happens from now on, Reid loses. Either this girl is a killer who’s managed to wrap him around her finger or she’s not… And I’m not sure which of them is worse,” she sighed as she spoke, not knowing how to feel about all of this. 

“You don’t think it’s her?” Rossi asked, his voice slow as if he was being careful with what he said. 

“It all fits,” Emily nodded. “But there’s some questions that need answers. This case is just all over the place and when one of our own is involved it just makes it… harder, you know?” She glanced up at the older man, finding him looking back with sympathetic eyes. 

“Now you know how we felt last time you were involved.” He gave her a sad smile then and it made Emily’s stomach drop. She had realized that the whole thing with Doyle had been hard on the team, but that it had felt like this? 

“I just hope Reid’s gonna be okay,” she mumbled. 

“He’s a smart kid. He’ll pull through.” Rossi bumped his shoulder into hers, a small sign of comfort. Emily couldn’t exactly say that it helped, but she appreciated the gesture all the same. Just then her phone started blaring and she pulled it out of her pocket, noticing that it was Hotch. 

“I’ve got Rossi here with me,” she spoke up after accepting the call. 

“Morgan and J.J. came up empty-handed,” Hotch informed them, getting right to business. “They’re already headed back to the hospital. We can only assume that she didn’t leave at all or that she’s waiting for a chance to get to Reid. I’ve already called in reinforcement to guard his room, but in the meantime have Garcia on watchout. I want the two of you to do a sweep of the hospital, try to see if you can locate her. We have a warrant out for her arrest and I’m bringing it over as we speak,” he told them and that made Emily’s stomach tighten just a little more. They had enough probable cause to arrest her now. Before they could even agree to his orders he hung up the phone. Emily sighed, dropping the phone into her pocket again. She leaned forward a little, putting her hands on her knees as she tried to make sense of it all. She wasn’t in doubt that they had the right person, but something still felt… off. She couldn’t tell if it was the profile or just Reid’s feelings involved. 

“Do you need a minute?” Rossi asked, his voice hushed next to her. 

“Yeah, probably,” she nodded as a hand was placed on her hunched over back. 

“I’ll go get Garcia,” he informed her before he disappeared down the corridor. Emily took a few minutes to collect her thoughts, push all doubt so far into the back of her mind that it couldn’t possibly bother her anymore. If she started doubting, she’d make mistakes and mistakes couldn’t be tolerated, especially not on a case involving one of her own. She owed it up to Reid to make this go as smoothly as possible. 

Rossi returned with Garcia who they placed on a chair outside of Reid’s room. They didn’t dare ask him if she could sit in his room with him, so for right now they’d just have to make it work that way. Rossi and Emily started by talking to the nurse who was on call, simply asking if she happened to know when the unsub was coming back to work. She informed them that she wasn’t scheduled to work until the eveningshift the next day, and that she was supposed to work at the post operative unit instead of the ICU. Emily asked if that was normal, to work at two different units, to which the nurse only laughed saying something along the lines of “Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get a permanent full-time position as a nurse? Most of us work in two different units, at least.” 

They went down to the post operative unit next, just to make sure she hadn’t clocked in almost 24 hours earlier than when her shift started. They came up empty there as well. For the next fifteen minutes they did a quick search of three other units, asking different personnel if they’d seen her. Most people had no idea who she even was, which didn’t surprise Emily. It was a big hospital after all. 

“Hang on a second.” Emily stopped Rossi’s pace as she glanced over at the doctor who was standing and talking to the officeworker by the lobby. She could vaguely remember seeing the unsub talk to him earlier that morning by the nursingstation in the ICU. The two had seemed close, as if they were friends or close colleagues at the very least. 

“Excuse me.” Rossi must have noticed her train of thoughts because he approached the man. “Dr. Ruiz,” Rossi said once he was close enough to read the print of his lapcoat. “I’m Agent Rossi, this is my partner SSA Prentiss.” Rossi pulled out his badge and showed it to the man. 

“We’re looking for Leah Clarewater, but we’re having a hard time locating her. Have you seen her?” Emily asked. She was surprised by the doctor’s reaction. More times than not, people would get nervous or upset when they came asking about friends and family. This man seemed… happy? Relieved? 

“Well, that was quickly!” He exclaimed. “She’s down in the ER. I’m headed that way myself, so I can walk you down,” he told them. Emily gave Rossi a look, silently asking if he was noticing the strangeness as well. He only shrugged, so they followed the doctor. 

“I saw you this morning. Have you been on call for long?” Emily found herself asking as they walked down a corridor. 

“It was chaos here last night, masscollision on the highway. I got called in as an extra set of hands. I usually work in post op. but when it’s all hands on deck, it’s… Well, all hands on deck,” he laughed. 

“Did Leah get called in as well?” Rossi asked as they reached the elevator. 

“Yeah,” he told them, pressing the button which said -1. “Typically we don’t call in nurses, but Leah has a lot of extra training and she’s really good at what she does. Always handy to have around, you know?” 

“She works in the post operative unit as well. Have you known her for long?” Emily asked as they stepped out of the elevator. Dr. Ruiz nodded. 

“Yeah… For the good part… Three years, is it, now? Wow, how time flies. She’s one of the best I’ve ever seen, to be honest. Cares a lot about her patients, you know? And she’s really good at her job so she’s a thrill to be working with,” he told them. He clearly thought highly of her, just like Reid. This woman had managed to fool not only one, but two doctors. She almost deserved a medal for that. 

“Good evening, Dr. Ruiz!” A petite blonde greeted as they made it to the ER. “Are you gonna be working here today?” 

“Yeah, no… Not today, Cindy. I’m just looking for Leah, is she still here?” The doctor asked. Emily stood beside Rossi a few steps away from them, just watching the interaction. 

“Yeah, she’s down there,” Cindy answered, pointing towards the end of the giant room where a shutter had been closed all the way. “She still refuses to go up to neuro, though. Dr. Charles insisted, but she refuses,” the nurse huffed a little, as if she was annoyed. What she said made Emily’s eyebrows shoot up. 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Dr. Ruiz said and Emily noted the awardwinning smile he gave the nurse. He then turned towards herself and Rossi. “I’ll just need to check some files and then I’ll be over. You can talk to her if you want,” he informed them before walking over to the nursestation in the middle of the room. Emily shrugged at Rossi and started walking towards where the nurse had pointed earlier. She dragged the curtains open, revealing the blonde woman who was sitting at the end of the bed, feet dangling back and forth, head buried in her hands and what looked to be an icepack pressed to her forehead. 

“Leah Singer Clarewater?” Emily asked, a little uncertain about what exactly was going on. The woman slowly lifted her head, looking up at the agents. She blinked a couple of times, even the movements of her eyelids slow and sluggish and now that Emily could see her face she got even more confused. Her nose was swollen and obviously broken by the way it was leaning towards the right. She had cottonballs sticking out of each nostril, the tips of them stained with blood. She was sporting a massive bruise on her left cheek, the skin there already turned a deep purple which matched bruising around her eyes. She also had a deep gash across her forehead which had a few badges over it to keep it shut. Her throat looked red and Emily could see the indications of handprints developing there. She looked like hell, to say the least. 

“You’re… uhm, Dr. Reid’s friends,” she finally spoke up. Her voice sounded hoarse and nasal at the same time. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a few seconds, as if the light was hurting, before opening them. She seemed to have a hard time focusing on the people in front of her. 

“We are,” Rossi simply stated, probably as confused as Emily was. He glanced at her, and Emily could only shake her head because the sight in front of her was not what she had expected to find.  

“Look,” the nurse said slowly. “I’m off duty right now, and as you can see I’m in no shape to get back to work at the moment. Whatever he needs, there’s other nurses on call now who can help him.” Her voice was still slightly slurred as she spoke, as if she was drugged down or drunk. Emily assumed they had given her a cocktail of drugs for whatever pain she was in. 

“Actually, we wanted to talk to you,” Emily pursed her lips together, not knowing how to handle the situation. This woman was still a suspect, but now might not be the best time to have this conversation. They still had a warrant for her arrest, but they couldn’t possibly arrest her right now when she looked like that. There was a lot of information missing here. 

“You were with Reid the other night?” Rossi spoke up and that seemed to confuse her. Her eyes were even narrowed than they had been a second ago. 

“Oh, right… Right, at the library,” she said as the memories seemed to come back to her. Emily wasn’t a doctor, but she could clearly tell that this woman was seriously concussed. She was in no condition to be having this conversation. 

“We just want the stories straight, that’s all,” Emily said, leaving out the part of them thinking she was actually a serial killer. “But we can talk to you later if you’re not up for it right now,” she assured her. 

“Later might be a good time,” Dr. Ruiz spoke up, startling Emily a little. She hadn’t even noticed him approaching. “Leah, we’re taking you up to neuro.” 

“No, I’m fine,” she waved her hand dismissively and dropped the ice pack. She seemed to have sobered up a little bit since Emily and Rossi had walked in. “I just wanna go home, but I can talk now. Is this gonna take long?” She asked, pushing the doctors hands away as he tried to touch her. 

“Leah, seriously,” The doctor tried to make her stay still, but she pushed him off yet again. 

“Ruiz, I’m fine,” She jumped off from the bed, leaning down, probably to try to get her bag which was laying on the floor, and then collapsed forward. Emily was about to rush forward on instinct, but the doctor just barely managed to grab a hold of her. She still ended up sprawled out on the floor, but Dr. Ruiz had managed to lighten the fall so she didn’t smack right down. 

“Can you give me some space, please?” The doctor asked looking up at Emily and Rossi. He was sitting on his knees besides Clarewater, one hand supporting the back of her head while the other one was pressed against her chest. Rossi and Emily immediately took a step back. They couldn’t do anything but stand there and watch as he pulled a small flashlight out if coat, forcing one of the nurse’s eyes open to check the reflexes. 

“Fuck me, that’s bright!” She groaned, clearly not unconscious. She battled his hand away. 

“Yeah, you’re totally fine.” Emily could almost hear him roll his eyes at her. He was so done with her bullshit, and in any other situation the two of them might have been adorable. He obviously cared about her, even though she probably annoyed him at times. 

“It’s just a BP-drop,” the nurse scoffed. “Is it me or you who’s the doctor here?” 

“It’s me, and that’s why you’re going up to neuro.” His voice was stern even as he helped her up on her feet. He gently sat her down on the bed, pushing on her shoulders until she reluctantly laid down. She made small noises of discontent all the time until she closed her eyes against the blinding overheadlight. “Leah, I’ll strap you to the bed if I have to. I have two federal agents here to back me up. We’re taking that trip to neuro whether you like it or not. Doctor’s orders.” That left no room for argument and Emily felt a small smile tug on the corner of her lips, despite the seriousness of the situation. They were like a pair of siblings or an old married couple fighting. 

“Is it okay if one of us tags along so we can talk to her once she’s checked out?” Rossi asked once the scene in front of them calmed down. 

“Be my guest,” the doctor said, waving another man forward, probably a porter. He picked up the bag from the floor and placed it on Clarewater’s stomach. He unlocked the breaks from the bed and the other man stepped forward, taking his place on the other side. “neuro’s a few floors up and I’ve already called ahead for a CT and MRI, so it might take some time. But if you wanna stick around, then that should be alright.” He informed them as the two men started pushing the bed forward. 

“You go. I’ll call Hotch and tell him what’s happened,” Rossi told Emily who only nodded and moved forward to follow the moving bed down the corridors. She decided to stay silent as they traveled around the hospital. She waited outside of the room where the CT was placed, taking a seat in the chair. When the suspect, and yes she wanted to use the word suspect now since she had no idea how to read the situation anymore, was placed safely in the machine the doctor stepped out again. Emily offered him a smile as he took a seat next to her. 

“Is she gonna be okay?” Emily asked. 

“Leah? Yeah, sure,” Dr. Ruiz laughed. “She’s gotten a few blows to the head, so we’re just ruling out serious brain trauma. It’s probably just a bad concussion, but we have to make sure it’s not something more, you know?” 

“I hope it’s not anything worse,” Emily offered her concern.

“Well, it’s Leah so she’ll be fine. She always is,” Dr. Ruiz shrugged. “Sorry you had to see that back there. She’s a really nice girl, but she can be stubborn. She’s this kind of person who always gives 110 percent, you know? I constantly have to remind her to take breaks, because she refuses. Says she hates breaks because she feels like she’s useless when she’s not doing anything. I always try to sneak some treats into her pockets, like proteinbars or something, because I know if I don’t then she’ll be running on adrenaline and coffee the entire day.” 

“She seems invested in her work then,” Emily hummed. “You seem to really care about her.” She glanced up at him to see his reaction. He just smiled fondly. 

“She’s the best, honestly. She’s kinda like my workwife,” he laughed. 

“Oh, really?” Emily couldn’t help but chuckle herself. 

“Yeah, whenever we work together things just flow so smoothly, you know what I’m talking about? I mean, she annoys me to death sometimes… mostly because she refuses to look out for herself, but she’s damn good at her job. And she’s a lot of fun to be around and we work really well together. The others down at post op. call us ‘dream team’ because of that,” he laughed again. 

“Well, I can only imagine.” Emily felt a little bad about hearing him talk so highly of her when she was a suspect in a murderinvestigation. “So, you know her well then?” 

“Not as well as I’d like to,” he muttered, a little sadness lacing his tone now. “I think she buries herself in work. I mean, we were both supposed to be on the morning shift for today, but I switched things around so I could get the eveningshift instead since I had to work the night. Leah is the kind of person who prefers to work doubles. I do that occasionally, too and let me tell you this; it drains you. I think she thrives on it, the more work she has to do, the more content she is, you know? But I think it takes a toll on her social life.” He cocked his head to the side with a little shrug. Emily nodded her head slowly to his words. She had nothing to say to that, because she didn’t know what to say. 

“Do you know what happened to her?” She decided to ask instead, wondering what happened in order to give Leah those not so lovely bruises. She had her theories, but right now she had little to nothing to go on. 

“No one really knows,” Dr. Ruiz shrugged. “Another employee was headed home and found her by her car in the garage. From what I heard she was unconscious and they brought her up to the ER to get checked out. I haven’t really had the chance to talk to her yet. I was headed down to see her when I ran into you guys.” 

“Okay,” Emily nodded along and the doctor stood up from his seat. He stuffed his hands into his pockets. 

“Are you a colleague of that federal agent who was admitted last night?” He asked. Emily nodded. 

“Yes, and we’re investigating the case. That’s why we want to talk to your colleague, get the full picture,” she told him, leaving out the parts he didn’t need to know. 

“Do you think the same person who shot your agent came after Leah?” He asked with a frown on his face. That thought had just crossed Emily’s mind as well, but she still couldn’t be sure. Perhaps the other unsub had lashed out on her. Dominant and submissive partnerships like that hardly ever worked out, especially if the dominant didn’t include the submissive in the whole process. Or if the submissive felt too subjected. 

“That’s what we’re here to find out.” Emily offered him her best tight lipped smile. 

“You know… We worked on him when he was rushed in, before he went into surgery. She probably doesn’t want to admit it, but she was pretty shaken up about it,” he told her. This time it was Emily’s turn to frown. 

“Shaken up how?” She asked. This was news to her. 

“You know, just upset I guess,” he tried to explain, but it didn’t bring any clarity. He must have noticed that Emily needed more because he continued. “Leah… she beats herself up over… pretty much anything. I mean, if she loses a patient on her watch she takes that personally, even though it’s not her fault or responsibility. That’s her only flaw, I guess. She cares so much, too much sometimes. And when stuff like this happens, the wheels keep turning. I guess she blames herself? For not being there. She said stuff like if she hadn’t got called in then maybe she would’ve left at the same time as your agent, and maybe he wouldn’t have gotten shot. I tried to tell her to forget about it, but I guess some things you just can’t leave alone,” he shrugged his shoulders. Emily could only offer him a sad smile. She understood it a little more. If this was the kind of person Clarewater made everyone believe she was then it wasn’t weird that she had Reid fooled. But the more she thought about it, the more it made her doubt that maybe this woman wasn’t putting on an act after all. But she couldn’t go there just yet. They still needed to see this through before they could even concidder dropping her as a suspect.

The doctor bid his farewell after that, telling her he had to get back to work. She offered her gratitude before he left, to which he simply replied to with a smile. As Emily waited for their suspect to be done with her check up, she called up Garcia, gave her a heads up about what was going on and told her to see if there was any surveillance by the employee parking. If Clarewater had been attacked there then maybe the cameras had captured her assailant on video. She was just about to call Hotch to let him know as well when she spotted him at the end of the hall. Morgan and J.J. were at his side so she waved them over. 

“Dave told us what happened,” Hotch said as he approached. “Where is she?” 

“They’re doing a few tests to rule out braininjury,” Emily said as she nodded her head towards the closed door. “She looked pretty beat up so I think it’s gonna take a while until we get to interview her.” 

“Garcia just texted me and said she was attacked by her car?” Hotch asked and Emily nodded. 

“That’s where she was found,” she confirmed. “Listen, Hotch… I just gotta say… there’s something off about all of this.” 

“Yeah, I feel it too.” J.J. said. 

“Everyone I’ve talked to so far today says she’s a good girl, has her traumas, sure, but the way they describe her… I just don’t think she’s the one we’re after.” Emily felt the need to be honest with her coworkers. There were times when they’d uprehend the wrong suspect or they had their profile all wrong, and no one liked those moments. But they still needed to play this right. “Could we have made a rushed decision here?” They all looked at Hotch to hear what he had to say. He looked a little uncertain as if he too had no idea what right move was. 

“Morgan, I want you and Prentiss to head down to the garage. See if there’s anything there that might help us. J.J., I want you to check on Reid, see if Garcia might need a break. I’m taking Dave with me to the coroner’s. They’ve just re-exhumed Anthony Garland’s body to see if they can determine the cause of death. It appears it might take some time for Leah Clarewater to be ready to talk, but when she is, I want you to do it, Prentiss. You’ve talked to her coworkers, see if there’s anything that doesn’t add up with their stories versus hers. Take the garage first, though. I’ll let the doctors know we want to talk to her before she gets discharged.” Hotch’s message was clear and they all nodded their agreement. 

Emily followed Morgan to the parkingstructure next to the hospital. When they got there local authorities and CSI were already on scene. Wow, these people worked fast. They flashed their badge and gave the unit chief a runthrough of why they were there. The floor which Clarewater’s car was parked on was surprisingly empty so it wasn’t strange that no one had seen what had gone down. Including Clarewater’s Emily could spot about fifteen cars when there was probably space for closer to a hundred. 

“We think she was assaulted over here,” the unit chief said, pointing to the ground next to the driver’s side of the car. “We think the suspect came up behind her, smashed her head into the car a couple of times before throwing her to the ground,” he informed them and that seemed to be a pretty adequate guess. There was a dent on the edge by the roof of her car and some traces of blood. On the ground there were scuffmarks and a few smaller pools of blood. 

“Sir.?” A voice from the other side of the car called their attention. “Found it in the glovecompartment.” The man who spoke was standing in the space between the open passangerdoor and the car itself. He had a gun hanging from the tips of his glovecovered fingers. 

“What caliber is that?” Emily asked. 

“It appears to be .45,” the man told her. Emily turned to look at Morgan. 

“Our missing gun,” he nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “Chief, we have a murderinvestigation going on. Can you rush a ballisticstest on that gun to see if it matches?” 

“Sure can do,” he told them. “But that gun’s probably the victim’s, though, since it was found in her car.” 

“We’re aware,” Emily countered back, not offering any more information. He gave her a strange look, but didn’t say anything else on the matter. There wasn’t really much to do around the crime-scene, so Emily and Morgan decided not to hover for very long. They’d seen what they needed to and until they’d get the results from the various tests they had little to go on. They stopped by the cafeteria on their way, both in desperate need of fuel. They had been running different errands since the morning and Emily hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. They used half an hour or so for their break, briefing the rest of their team on their findings while eating. 

“Do you think it was that nurse?” Morgan asked once they finally had some peace and quiet, even with noise of other people around them. 

“Do you?” Emily countered back. She was still a little reluctant about sharing her thoughts. 

“I mean, part of me wants to just so we have the right suspect. If it’s not her, then we’re not making any headway,” he shrugged. “But I have this… feeling, like something isn’t adding up.” 

“It never really adds up, though,” Emily said. It was true, even when they were 100% certain they’d caught the right guy, there was always a minor detail or two which didn’t make sense to them. It usually always made sense to the unsub, but their logic wasn’t always rational. 

“True, but still.” Morgan huffed before taking a sip of his coffee. 

“I don’t think it’s her either,” Emily finally said, offering some sort of comfort in telling him he wasn’t the only one who experienced doubt in that moment. “She could be really manipulative with the people around her, but that doctor I talked to earlier… He said that she’d been really worried about Reid. And you can’t fake concern like that.”

“She could be worried about getting caught,” Morgan countered. This conversation really wasn’t going anywhere. They were just throwing out suggestions and the other one shooting them down. It wasn’t because none of them were right or wrong, it was just because none of them really had any idea if Clarewater was the unsub or not. And when they didn’t know for certain, no suggestion was right nor wrong. It was kind of like Schrodinger’s cat which Reid had once told her about. 

“I just feel bad for Reid,” she mumbled, followed by a sigh. 

“He’ll live,” Morgan shrugged nonchalantly, even though she knew he was just as concerned. “It’s Reid, he’ll pull through.” 

“I sure hope so,” Emily said, staring at a blank spot over Morgan’s head as she absentmindly started picking at her cuticles. 

“Hey, stop that now!” He scolded at her. “You’ll talk to her later and then you��ll know for sure. I trust your instinct. You can get the vibe whether a person is good or bad within a five minute conversation. If you think she’s the one, then she’s probably the one. If you don’t think she’s the one, then she’s probably not the one. Okay? Easy as that.” He put his hand on top of hers and she was grateful for the small gesture. It did sound awfully easy when he put it like that. 

“Okay.” She nodded, offering him a smile to tell him she was good. “They haven’t called yet, so do you wanna head up and check on Reid?” Morgan’s smile brightened at that and he agreed. They put their mostly empty trays of food away, but grabbed their still full coffeecups on the way. When they got back to the ICU Emily noted that Anderson, another federal agent, had arrived and stood stationed outside of Reid’s room. They both greeted him before opening the door and walking inside. Through the window Emily had seen that both J.J. and Garcia were sitting by Reid’s bed so she assumed he had calmed down from his previous lash out. 

“How you doing, kid?” Morgan asked. 

“Fine,” Reid’s reply was short and simple. He probably still wasn’t in the mood for talking. 

“He doesn’t want any updates on the nurse,” J.J. spoke up gently, carefully threading water. Emily’s phone vibrated in her pocket so she fished it out, seeing that there was a number she hadn’t saved. She excused herself before leaving the room. Accepting the call, she pressed the phone to her ear. 

“This is Prentiss,” she answered. 

“Hi! I’m calling from the Neurology unit at Inova Fairfax Hospital. My notes says that you wanted me to call you on an update with Leah Clarewater,” There was a man who spoke in a very high pitched voice, kind of like Reid’s. 

“Oh, yes!” Emily answered. “Is she awake?” 

“We decided to admit her for the night, just as a precaution. But she’s awake and coherent, so if you want to see her that should be fine now.” 

“Okay, great! I’ll be right over!” Emily said before hanging up the phone. She poked her head in through Reid’s door before she left, just saying she was leaving for a few minutes. Reid hadn’t wanted to know anything, so she didn’t say where she was going. Morgan would know and that was enough. 

The hospital was a maze, but she eventually found her way to Neurology. With the help of some lovely nurse she managed to locate Clarewater’s room which was at the very end of the hall. She knocked purposefully on the door, waiting a second before opening it. She poked her head in to see that the person she was looking for was laying down in the bed. 

“Hey,” Emily greeted her as she closed the door behind her. “Do you remember me?” She asked as she took a seat in one of the empty chairs. Emily thought it was strange. Clarewater was in her own clothes which  had a few stains of blood dried on them, there were no IVs or other kinds of medical equipment connected to her, nothing to indicate she was sick. While Reid had an IV hooked up constantly and a hospitalgown on he still looked far healthier than she did. It was just a funny thought. 

“I do, but I must apologise for not recalling the name,” Clarewater sighed. She didn’t sound irritated, just tired. Emily could only imagine. 

“Don’t worry about it,” she smiled. “My name is Emily Prentiss.” 

“Okay,” the blonde mumbled. “Sorry, I’m just really dizzy and my head is kind of a mess so I probably won’t be able to remember that in, like, five minutes.” 

“That’s fine,” Emily assured her. 

“You, uh… wanted to talk to me about Spencer?” She lifted her head as if she wanted to look at Emily, but she was wearing a pair of dark, huge sunglasses so it was hard to meet her eyes. Emily took note that she referred to Reid by his firstname. 

“Yes, but let’s start with what happened to you in parkinggarage.” 

“I honestly don’t remember much.” The nurse leaned forward a little in the bed and rubbed her forehead with both her hands. 

“Just tell me what you remember,” Emily offered. 

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I was just headed for my car when this guy came up behind me.” 

“Do you remember what he looked like?” Emily asked. “Was he tall? Short? Bald perhaps? Did he have any tattoos? Do you remember anything that could help us find him?” 

“He was, uhm… tall, I think? I mean, he was taller than me, but I’m, like, five-foot-two so basically everyone’s taller than me,” she explained. “And… um, I didn’t really see his face or anything. At least I don’t think so. I honestly can’t remember. Sorry, my mind’s a mess right now.” She looked up and even though Emily couldn’t see her eyes she knew she was looking sad about it. 

“That’s fine. It’s normal not to remember everything right away. And you served some pretty bad blows to the head, so really… Don’t feel bad,” Emily offered her a genuine smile. “Let’s not focus on the details. Can you remember what happened? Was he behind you the whole time or was there a time where you were facing him?” 

“No, he, uhm… He came up behind me and smashed my face into the car. Like, hard and repeatedly. Then he threw me down on the ground, on my back, and then he got on top of me. I think I must have closed my eyes or something, because I can’t actually remember seeing his face.” Clarewater explained. 

“Are you sure? Try to think really hard.” Emily told her as she made mental notes as to what she was telling her. 

“No, you don’t… It’s hard to explain. It’s not like I can’t remember what he looked like, it’s like I can’t remember if I saw him or not. I don’t know how else to explain it, sorry.” She chuckled a little at that before wincing and clutching a hand to her forehead again. 

“It’s fine, we’ll come back to that.” Emily assured her. “What happened next?” 

“Well, he… got on top of me and started strangling me. And I think I must’ve… fought back or something, because I scratched him and he didn’t like that. So he sorta… lifted me by the front of my shirt and slammed me back down, like, slamming my head against the ground. And he did that a few times and I think I passed out from that, because I… can’t really remember anything after that.” 

“Wait, you scratched him?” Emily backtracked a little. That was the most important part of her story so far. 

“Yeah, I… I think I must’ve,” she said, holding her hands out. Emily noted that her nails were clipped short, as a nurse’s nails should be, and there was a little blood and what looked like skin under a few of them. 

“I’m gonna have someone come up later and collect a sample. There might be some DNA there which can help us find this guy,” Emily informed her and Clarewater dropped her hands again. “Do you remember anything else about him? Did he say anything?” 

“Yeah, he… he did, but I don’t think it means anything.” She said with a shrug. 

“What exactly did he say?” 

“He said… He said ‘Heathens be heathens. Heathens be scapegoats’.” Her voice was slightly shaky as she spoke and that made Emily frown as well. What did that mean? 

“And that doesn’t mean anything to you?” Emily asked. 

“Why would it?” She scoffed. “I don’t know, that’s what he said.” 

“Alright,” Emily nodded. “Do you need a little break?” Emily felt the need to ask. Clarewater seemed… a little shaken up, but fine considering all things. Most victims would be a crying mess halfway through telling their stories, but she wasn’t. She seemed noticeably upset, sure, but not nearly what Emily would expect. She still couldn’t tell if it was whatever medication she might be on or the concussion or if it was something else. 

“I just wanna get this over with so I can get some rest.” Clarewater responded, sounding tired so Emily could understand her desire for sleep. “You wanted to talk about your agent?” 

“Yes,” Emily said, still a little certain about how to proceed. “We just want to get the timeline right. So, we’re looking into everyone he saw before he got shot and everyone he-” she started explaining before she was cut off. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” Clarewater shook her head a little, as if she was trying to grasp something. “What do you mean ‘looking into’?” She asked. Emily’s mouth fell open a little at the defensive tone the other woman had. “Am I a suspect? Is that what this is?” Emily could understand that she’d feel upset about the accusations, but she found herself growing frustrated as well. It was kind of like a defensemechanism for Emily. 

“Look, here’s what I know,” She said, keeping her voice stern. “You were the last person to see Dr. Reid before he was shot-”

“I was already at work when he got shot!” Clarewater interrupted. She almost screaming and that must have hurt her head, but she didn’t show it. 

“You’ve visited his room on multiple occasions after he got admitted, some of those visits unnecessary, won’t you say? You don’t seem the least bit concerned about what happened to yourself and you’re in a rush to get out of here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that screams guilty to me and I don’t know what exactly you’re guilty for but I still have to follow all leads,” Emily told her and tried to look somewhat in the center of the sunglasses as if she was trying to maintain eye contact. She looked at her for a long moment before the woman eventually took the glasses off. She winced a little, shutting her eyes for a few seconds before opening them. She blinked a little against the light before she spoke up. 

“Why would I shoot Spencer? I barely even know him. It doesn’t make any sense,” She said, her voice a more normal level now. 

“Sometimes it just doesn’t make any sense,” Emily told her, keeping her voice in a lower tone to match the other woman’s. “Listen… Is it okay if I call you Leah?” Emily asked to which the other woman just shrugged. “I’m gonna be completely honest with you. Me and my team, Dr. Reid included… We’re profilers. We investigate murders and other criminalcases and we evaluate the evidence. Based on that evidence we make a profile of what we think that killer is like, how they act, their education, social life, etcetera. And you do fit that profile, Leah. And I’m only telling you this because Reid… he thinks you’re innocent. So, I owe it to him to be honest with you so you can be honest with me.” Emily watched as her eyes glossed over. She looked genuinely upset. 

“You said murder…” She trailed off at the end. “Is Spencer… Is he dead? He was fine when I left the ICU. God, please don’t tell me he’s dead.” She started crying then and that reaction put even more doubt into Emily’s mind. One thing was telling her that she was in the same room as the unsub they were looking for, another thing told her the opposite. It was a tough case, but she remembered Morgan’s previous words and she was adamant to leave that room with more answers than questions. 

“Reid is fine, but we assume that whoever shot him might come back,” Emily decided to just be completely honest. 

“And you still think that’s me?” Clarewater asked, sniffing through her tears. “You actually think I did this?” 

“Prove it wasn’t,” was all Emily could say. 

“Yeah, because how do I prove I didn’t shoot anyone?” She laughed darkly at that, even through her tears which were falling more rapidly now. 

“How about you start with telling me why your reaction’s so off?” Emily offered. Right now that was the most pressing concern she had. 

“Why? Because I’m not curled up in the corner like some baby and feeling sorry for myself?” She scoffed. 

“That might be a good place to start,” Emily nodded. She watched as the other woman fiddled a little in the bed before moving to the end of it. 

“I just… need to move around for a second,” she sighed, slowly getting up. Emily shot to her feet, afraid Clarewater would fall again. She didn’t go to grab her, just getting ready in case something were to happen. “I’m fine,” she assured her. Once Emily was sure she was actually okay to stand on her own she let the woman move freely. 

“Take your time,” Emily said as Clarewater moved to stand by the window. She just looked out it for probably five minutes straight, her face was unreadable. She looked drained of emotions, completely numb. 

“Are you gonna tell Spencer about any of this?” She finally asked after a long moment of silence. 

“Do you want me to?” Emily asked back. 

“No, I honestly don’t want him to know.” 

“Alright, then whatever you say to me will not reach his ear. He’s off the case completely now, he said he didn’t want any involvement after we brought you up as a possible suspect,” Emily decided that if she was to get any answers she had to just be honest. She owed that to Reid and to Clarewater. 

“He’s too good, you know?” She said, turning her head so she could look at Emily. She had a sad smile on her lips. Emily wondered what she meant by that. “So, you said you’re… profilers? Does that mean you… like, did a background check on me?” 

“We did, yes,” Emily answered. 

“So, you know about Sam?” 

“That’s your brother, right?” 

“Yeah,” Clarewater sighed, making her way over to the other chair which was on the other side of the bed. She slumped down in it. She looked… exhausted, there really wasn’t any other way of putting it. “I don’t know how much you know, but I was with him the day he disappeared. And I… just never stopped blaming myself for that. He had been right there. Right there! And in a split second he was gone. And I blamed myself and eventually the police gave up looking and then my parents started blaming me as well… And all this time I still wish it was me and not him. I never got to know what happened to him, but I can only imagine. And whatever horrible things he might have experienced, I still wish it was me and not him.” She explained and Emily felt a little bad for her. She could really understand her struggles, but that still didn’t give her a clear answer. “I don’t tell a lot of people that. Actually, I’ve probably never told anyone that. I’ve told some people about Sammy, though, just not… Anyway, I think it’s clear to say I don’t really care about myself. I mean, I’m not exactly stupid and I know that when people tell me it’s not healthy to have those thoughts, I realize that they’re right, but I just don’t care. I guess I care more about other’s than I do about myself.” She finished with a shrug. 

“Leah, don’t take this the wrong way… but are you depressed?” Emily had to ask because the way she talked very much suggested that she was. Clarewater paused for a moment. 

“Look, as I said I’m not stupid. I’m not gonna sit here and lie when I’m quite literary trying to clear my name. I don’t think I’m depressed, but then again most depressed people think that… but there’s a possibility. I… tend to bury myself in work rather than feel my… emotions, feelings whatever. I don’t like feeling vulnerable, I don’t like feeling sad and I realize that I do not exactly have a healthy relationship with my emotions… but I didn’t do this. I didn’t shoot Spencer. Enough people around me have been hurt and I don’t ever want to be the reason for that again.” Tears were streaming down her face again towards the end of her speech. Emily felt the urge to hug her, something she had never done before with a suspect. 

“Leah, listen to me… You did not hurt your brother. You are not the reason he’s gone. I know it’s hard, but try to believe me when I say that you did nothing wrong. Nothing,” Emily spoke sternly, putting pressure on all the right words. Clarewater raised her eyes to look at her. 

“So… Do you believe me?” She asked. “I would never hurt Spencer, at least not on purpose. I know I’m fucked up. Sorry for cursing, by the way. I know I’m messed up, but I wouldn’t go around shooting someone. And especially not Spencer. He… he’s possibly one of the best people I’ve ever met.” Emily had to smile at that last part. 

“You know, he said the exact same thing about you.” She knew it wasn’t her place to tell, but she realized this woman needed to hear some positive words right now. 

“He did?” Clarewater asked. Her eyes were still glassy. “So, you believe me?” And that was the question, wasn’t it. It had an easy answer now. 

“Yes, Leah. I believe you,” Emily told her honestly. “I’m gonna be honest with you now and you need to hear this. The people we usually hunt, they’re like you. They’ve had a bad childhood or have some mental disorders, or something else to make them lash out… But not everyone who experiences trauma becomes killers. Some people are like you, they spend all their time and effort on helping others. You do need to remember, though, that you have to take care of yourself as well, okay?” 

“I try…” Clarewater said in a hushed voice. “Or actually, that’s a lie. I want to try. I guess it’s just easier to take care of others than myself.” 

“Maybe you should start by doing that, put yourself first?” Emily suggested. 

“Maybe,” she shrugged, but Emily had a feeling she wouldn’t take that suggestion to heart. It wasn’t her place to say anything on the matter, not really, but oh how she wanted to. This woman had been through enough. 

“I still have a few questions before we’re done, is that okay?” Emily asked, deciding it would best to just hurry things along so Clarewater could get some rest. “We found a gun in your car… Is there any reason you have it?” The woman fiddled a little in her seat, as if she didn’t quite want to answer the question. Emily actually believed that Clarewater wasn’t behind this, not anymore, but there were still so many questions and evidence still pointing towards her. 

“Would you buy it if I said it’s for protection?” She asked, looking up at Emily through her lashes. “I want to be honest here, but I also really don’t want to get into detail about that… I bought the gun… years ago and it is for protection. I’ve never even fired it and it has nothing to do with Spencer so do I really have to go into details?” She looked genuinely uncomfortable, so Emily decided to let it go. But she still had some things to say on the matter. 

“Hey, why you got it is actually none of my concern. It’s what you use it for that we’re interested in. I have to tell you this, since you’re still technically a suspect until we’ve ruled out everything, but we’re gonna test the gun, just to see if matches the gun we’re looking for. If it doesn’t, then there’s no problem here,” Emily informed her. She nodded shortly. “I also need to ask you about last night. We just need to hear your side of what happened after you left the library.” 

“I uhm… I was just trying to read this book at the library. And I know this is probably gonna make me sound… even more suspect, I guess, but I’m hardly ever there. I just… lately I’ve been having a lot on my mind and I already explained how I am with emotions… I just couldn’t be at home alone, so I decided to just… head out. So, I went to the library and apparently I left my card by the printer. Spencer found it and returned it to me since I was still there,” she explained. Emily nodded for her to continue. It didn’t make her more of a suspect in her eyes, especially since she now believed closer to 90% that this woman wasn’t who they were looking for. “We got to talking, because… You know, he seemed nice. We didn’t really talk that much, because I got called into work around… I’m sorry, I know when they called and I know when I arrived, but my head’s still kind of a mess.” 

“We checked and you clocked in at nine-fourty-eight,” Emily offered. Garcia had checked earlier. 

“Yeah… that sounds about right. I always clock in the minute I walk into work. And if I remember correctly then they called around half something, so probably nine-thirty. It’s in my phone, so I can just check to make sure.” She said. 

“No need, that seems to fit with the timeline.” Emily respond. “So, let’s say it took you around fifteen minutes to get from the library to work, does that sound right to you? You didn’t make any stops along the way?” The team had already checked this, estimating that with the light traffic so late at night it would probably take about ten minutes to drive that distance, and given the time it would take to park, get from the parking garage, change clothes and clock in fifteen-twenty minutes seemed more than plausible. 

“No, I just headed straight in. They said it was an all hands on deck situation, so I got here as fast as I could.” She answered. 

“Alright, that seems to match our timeline.” Emily told her. “I think that is enough for right now.” 

“That’s… it?” 

“Yeah, that’s it.” Emily offered the most reassuring smile she could muster. She had everything she needed. Sure, they’d have to wait for the ballisticstest on her gun to come back, but she already assumed that wouldn’t be a problem. “As I said before, we’re still going to check your gun, just a procedure. But if the test comes back negative then we can officially drop you as a suspect.”

“So… you actually believe me? This isn’t some kind of trick is it? Because I’ve been nothing but honest and if this-”

“Leah, I believe you.” Emily interrupted her, leaning forward in her seat a little. “Okay? I believe you.” She said it again, just to make sure Clarewater understood that she was genuine. Her initial response was to let out a shaky breath.

“Thank you,” she breathed out, her eyes watering a little again. “I mean, I shouldn’t be thanking you for not thinking I’m some lunatic who just goes around shooting random people, but… thank you.” Emily couldn’t help but laugh at that and suddenly she could see why Reid likes her so much. 

“There’s no need to thank me, Leah. I just wanted answers and you were honest with me. That’s all I needed to know.” Emily shrugged. 

“But you still thought I did this… and I still swear I didn’t, but doesn’t that… like, leave you back to square one?” Clarewater asked. 

“It kind of does,” Emily agreed. “But we’ll catch whoever is behind this.” That caught Clarewater’s attention. 

“Do you think whoever shot Spencer might be the same person who attacked me?” Emily had to purse her lips a little. 

“It’s a theory,” she said. “But you being the person who shot Reid was also just a theory. So, it might just be a theory and nothing more than a theory.” 

“I’m still a mess and that was a lot of ‘theory’s in the same sentence.” Clarewater said while shaking her head, looking a little lost. Emily found herself chuckling again. “But I think I got the point.” 

“I’m sorry,” Emily said, a little sheepishly. “I should probably let you get some rest now. It’s been a long day for you, so remember what I told you about trying to take care of yourself, okay?” She nodded, but Emily still had her doubts about wether she’d actually listen to those words. 

“I’m sorry, but what was your name again? I know it was something on ‘E’, I just think my brain is shutting down now.” Clarewater asked. 

“Emily.” She smiled. 

“Is it okay if I call you Emily or do you prefer Agent… something else I don’t remember.” Now that Clarewater was unofficially ruled out as a suspect Emily realized that she started to like her.

“Emily is just fine.” She replied.

“I know this is gonna sound really inappropriate, but can I hug you?” That was a really inappropriate request, but one that Emily couldn’t find it in herself to deny. So, she rose from her seat and the other woman met her halfway. They embraced and it wasn’t this earthshattering experience. There was no crying on the shoulder, no messing up make-up, just a comforting hug. But Emily found it that she had needed a hug just as much as Clarewater had. 

“You try to get some rest, okay?” Emily said, stroking the other woman’s back a final time before stepping back. “I’m gonna have someone come in soon so they can collect the DNA-sample from your fingernails. And we might have some more questions for you later regarding your own assault, but for tonight I think you should just rest. Is that okay?” Clarewater nodded and went back over to her bed. She laid down in it, drawing the blankets around her. 

“Hey, uhm, Emily?” She asked just as Emily was about to leave. 

“Yeah?” 

“You said if I remembered anything?” Clarewater started. “The man who attacked me… I’m pretty sure he was an addict or something.”

“What makes you say that?” Emily frowned. 

“Or maybe not addict, but he was really irrational. When he… said those words, he said it when he was slamming my head into the ground. And he… Well, he was so angry, but his voice was calm. It was like his body was full of rage, but his mind wasn’t, if you know what I mean?” Clearwater explained and Emily did. “He just… he wasn’t sane is what I’m saying. I guess that’s something important for you to know.” 

“It is.” Emily assured her. “It really is. Thank you, Leah. Now if there’s anything else, no matter how small the detail may be, then call me, okay?” Emily picked a card out of her pocket and left it on the nightstand before deciding she had occupied enough of Clarewater’s time. 

“Thank you.” She smiled. “You’ll look out for Spencer, right? He’s a good guy.” 

“Of course we will. He has a whole team behind him who cares about him very much.” 

“That’s good. He deserves that.” Clarewater smiled once more and Emily took that as her que to leave. She almost didn’t even get out of the room before she called someone to collect the DNA-sample, feeling like that might answer one question if they’d get a match. Even though she walked out of Neurology feeling ten times lighter, she still felt like the more answers she’d gotten, the more questions popped up. 

She returned to the ICU to find Morgan standing outside of Reid’s door, phone to his ear. She decided to wait for him to finish talking, so she started a friendly conversation with Anderson. 

“What’d the girl say?” Morgan asked once he’d hung up. 

“I don’t think it’s her.” Emily sighed, getting right to the important part. 

“Well, ballistics agree with you.” He informed her and Emily’s eyes went wide. 

“You got the report already?” 

“Well, I told the chief to put a rush on it and what can I say? They really put a rush on it.” He laughed. Emily felt even lighter now. 

“So, the gun didn’t match, then?” Emily asked, just to be sure. 

“No. That was the gun expert I just talked to. He said he didn’t even need to test it since the gun hadn’t been fired in a while. He actually concluded that the gun had never been fired. But he did a testround anyway just to be sure and it doesn’t match.” So, Clarewater really had been telling the truth. Not that Emily had doubted that after the heart to heart they’d had, but it was good to have a solid piece of evidence as well. 

“So, does that mean we can rule her out then?” Emily asked and Morgan shrugged. 

“I mean, we still gotta brief the rest of the team and hear what Hotch has to say, but to me it’s a pretty straight case. We have no evidence tying her to any of the shootings or murders, we’ve all had mixed feelings about her, your good peopleknowing skills speak in her favour… And Reid’s as well. I say she’s no longer a suspect.” Morgan shrugged and Emily had never once in her life been so relieved that they’d caught the wrong person. 

Tag list: 

@avada-kedavra-bitch-187​  @wooya1224​  @haylaansmi​

[all-that-tmnt-jazz]

I thought of this idea and was curious if you’d be able to do head cannons on it because your writing is amazing— how would the turtles react to having a human S/O that can turn into a mutant whenever they please?

Ooh I like this one!!

Warnings: Swearing.

Incarnation: Bayverse

Extra Info: The mutant the reader can turn into will be different for each turtle- don’t worry, I’ll explain each one.

Leo:

So, your mutation never really came up in conversation

However, it only came up because you had (accidentally) been dragged into a fight with the Foot Clan

You and Leo had been on a date when Donnie had reported Foot Clan activity not far from your apartment

He tried to convince you to lock yourself inside, but you figured it would be a good time to reveal yourself

So, you managed to be dragged into the fight a few blocks away, joined by Raph, Donnie, and Mikey

You watch the boys struggle. You want to help, but you also want to wait for the perfect time

So you wait until you’re being cornered by four Foot Clan soldiers, and the brothers are busy

Perfect.

One of the Foot Clan soldiers tries to throw a small knife at you…

And you caught it.

“Shouldn’t have done that.”

You throw the knife back and hit the soldier

Using the distraction, you turn

The next time the soldiers look at you, wings have sprouted from your back, your eyes have gotten much larger, talons had grown from your fingertips and through your shoes, and your legs had gotten longer to a scary extent.

You are a half-human half-owl mutant.

“It’s showtime.”

You jumped off of the ground and immediately grabbed two of the three soldiers that had tried to attack you

You flew up above the city, not afraid to press your talons into their skin

You unashamedly flung the two Foot Clan soldiers into the Hudson, then watched them struggle as the current pulled them

You went back to the alleyway where the turtles were, watching from far above as they were continuing to fight the Foot Clan soldiers.

It was like they didn’t notice.

You dove down into the alley and pulled up at the last second, grabbing Foot Clan soldiers as you went.

You dropped them into the Hudson as well

You went back to the turtles, who had retreated to the rooftops to converse about what jus happened.

You were able to grab Leo and brought him many, many blocks away, and he was fighting the entire time

You put him down and landed in front of him- it was weird being taller than him for once…

You turned back, and he gasped.

“Y/N… That was… You?”

You nodded.

“I figured I should tell you at some point but it never came up in conversation.”

He just looked at you, unsure of what to think

He pulled you to his plastron and held you, then pulled your chin up gently

“You’re fucking amazing.”

Raph:

Raph always noticed you looking at him

Especially since oftentimes, you would be looking sad

You knew you had to tell him at some point, but it hurt your heart too much

You had gotten cursed and your lifespan became elongated

Also known as semi-immortal

And Raph was not

You’re body has been 18 for years, but you’re actually nearing your 30s

That was why you had been so against getting into a relationship

You denied him every time he asked you, until the day he turned 19- just to be sure

That was three years ago, and you started seeing signs that he wanted to propose

And you were proven right, one night at dinner

It was just you and him at the Lair- he had talked his brothers into leaving him behind while going on patrol this night

Things were going well, yes, but you knew the reason why he wanted to be alone with you

“Y/N, I’ve loved you for years. I want to be your for the rest of my life, if you’ll let me be in the rest of yours.”

You started crying.

He smiled, thinking they were happy tears

“Raph, I… I don’t know.”

His face dropped, but he nodded

“It’s okay, Darling. You aren’t ready, and I shouldn’t-”

“I’m not mortal, Raph.”

There was a long silence between you two

You tried to stop crying

“I’m semi-immortal, Raph. I… I got cursed years ago. I stop aging and will die eventually, just later than you because my life span will be longer… Much longer… Maybe even by centuries, I don’t know…”

He just stared at you, confused, and almost hurt

The only noise was your crying

You didn’t know what to do

Raph kneeled on the ground in front of you, all possible hurt gone from his face

“Y/N, how old are you really?”

“Um… 29. I’ve been physically 18 for-”

“11 years?” Raph asked you, shocked.

You could only nod.

“That’s why you kept saying no- it felt wrong to you.”

You nodded again. 

He hugged you. You tensed, but soon relaxed into him when you realized he wouldn’t be letting go

“Is there anything you can control?”

“I… Just… Yeah.”

“May I ask what it is?”

You hiccupped- you had a bad feeling of where this was going.

“Age manipulation…”

“What?”

“Age manipulation. I can accelerate or reverse the age of organisms and non-living objects…”

You knew the lightbulb went off in his head the moment you said it

He let go of the hug, but remained holding your shoulders

“Raph, I know what your thinking, but no! It can backfire and you-”

“I don’t care-”

“You could forget memories, people, places. You could forget your brothers, even me!”

There’s another long silence

You see the light drain slowly from his eyes

You shrugged his hands from your shoulders and put your face in your hands

“I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have let it come this far…”

He hugged you again, pulling you off of your chair to put you in his lap

“You’re worth that risk, Y/N.”

“Raph, your brothers-”

“I can’t forget them- I have too many scars and too many memories to forget those assholes.”

You chuckled dryly. 

“I’m sorry for not telling you.”

“It’s okay. You were scared… I know it’s easy to be scared when you have such a big secret to hide.”

You nodded against his plastron and snuggled as close as you could

“I love you, Raph,” you tell him. “I really do.”

“I love you forever.”

You smiled- genuinely.

“Then, yes.”

“Yes?” he asked. “What do you mean?”

“To your proposal. I’m saying yes.”

He held you even tighter

Donnie:

Despite loving Donnie with your whole heart, it was hard to be around him while he was in his lab

He had so many thoughts running through his head, it was hard to keep track

So, you often spent your time in the kitchen, talking to you deceased mother

You possess telepathic powers, and you are also a necromancer

You can hear thoughts and speak to the dead after a freak accident you witnessed in your mother’s lab years ago

It was the accident that killed her, but you didn’t know that until your father told you to prepare for her funeral

That was five years before you met Donnie

You were 17 when you met him four years ago, and had been dating for three of them.

You had been able to control it when you were 17, but then when you met Donnie, you had to re-learn

You had never met someone who thinks so much, and so loudly

You can listen to the thoughts of his brothers, too, and you find Leo’s is the most entertaining

(You’ve never heard him physically swear, but his mind is like a sailor)

But Donnie’s is the one who overwhelms you.

“Y/N, you need to tell him,” you mother says to you. “I can tell he’s starting to feel bad- you keep leaving without explanation.”

“I know, Ma. I just-”

“Y/N, who are you talking to?”

You’re heart stopped for a moment. You slowly looked at the doorway, where Donnie loomed

He was totally confused

Thoughts ran through his head

Are they okay? Is something wrong? Maybe they’re just talking to themself. Yeah-

“You’re wrong.” you say to him.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I know. I still heard what you were thinking.”

“I’m sorry- you heard what I was thinking?”

You glanced at your mother, who had moved to stand next to Donnie

She nodded before disappearing

“I possess telepathic powers, and I’m a necromancer. I was talking to my mom- about telling you, actually.”

Donnie looks at you, shocked

His thoughts were louder than ever and were moving faster than you had ever heard

You covered your ears and closed your eyes- like that would help

He noticed this, and realization

They way I think is like someone screaming in your ear as loud as possible?

He thinks, knowing you were listening

“Yeah. I… I’m sorry,” you whisper, not moving

He approached you, but you didn’t see.

That’s why you leave the lab so suddenly sometimes? It gets overwhelming?

You nod.

He gently removes your hands from your ears and you finally look up at him

He smiles at you, almost guilty

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Don. You can’t help it.”

He takes you into his arms and holds you close

“Thank you for telling me, Y/N. Is there anything I can do?”

Mikey:

Okay, your mutation isn’t too spectacular

But it’s a mutation nonetheless

You were a test subject of the first recreation of mutagen that Shredder ordered Sacks and Stockman to make

But the Shredder and Sacks soon realized you wanted to rebel

Besides, your body was having different effects than they had hoped

So, they released you

And you went to the police

But did they believe you? No.

But a few years later, you saw Shredder fall. You saw Sacks get arrested.

Oh, now the NYPD listens

And when the man who “saved New York” was revealed, you immediately could tell he didn’t

“The Falcon” was a fake- you were surprised that everyone believe his story

Then two more years go by, and Shredder escapes prison, and then a “threat from the sky” tried to attack

But it was stopped- supposedly by “The Falcon” again

But this time, you knew it couldn’t have been him

A week after the incident, you saw a police escort heading toward Lower Manhattan

So, you followed.

Well, hitched a ride on the back of one of the trucks- which was easy in your mutant form

You hid when they stopped, then followed the path the officers made to a boat

In your mutant form, they let you onto the boat without question

Then, you saw the things that actually saved the city, proving your point

They were four turtle-human mutants- like yourself, but different animals. Obviously.

As the boat started to leave the docks, you approached the turtles, only you knowing that you shared their status as mutants

The one wearing an orange bandana immediately started cooing at you, picking you up off of the ground

“What a cute kitty… Leo, can we keep it?” he asked the turtle with the blue bandana

“We don’t know where it’s been, Mikey,” Leo had said.

So the one holding me is Mikey…

Mikey holds you the entire boat ride- and you don’t like to mention that you loved the way he pet you

Yup. you are a house cat. Specifically, a calico Turkish Angora

So, you followed Mikey off of the boat, and he kept smiling down at you as he walked

You soon realized you were at the Statue of Liberty

You saw that most- if not the entire police force of New York was gathered, as well as the Falcon, a woman from Channel Six named April, and some Ragamuffin Hockey Player-Turned-Police Officer

Then you saw Chief Vincent standing at a podium as she started speaking about the turtles who stood next to her

She thanked them for their bravery and service to this city and gave them Keys to the City

After a while of talking, she approached them to have a small group conversation for a moment

Then, she let them into the Statue of Liberty, and let them go into the statue’s torch

You followed them, of course

After the turtle’s celebration amongst themselves, you made your presence known by rubbing against Mikey’s leg

He squatted and greeted you, petting you

You soon backed away, though, and walked to the other side of the torch

You knew he followed, so, before he caught up, you turned into your human form

When he saw you, he screamed

The others immediately rushed over, and were shocked

“Hi. I’m the cat you were petting earlier,” you said- rather casually

“How? You’re a- person!” Donatello said- you had heard Chief Vincent say his name

“Yeah, I’m a person who got screwed over by Sacks and Stockman. I got mutated just before he got arrested.”

There was a long silence.

“Prove it,” Raphael demanded.

You turned into your mutant form and sat. You licked your paw, then looked up at Raphael, who had gone pale

All of them had gone pale, really, except Mikey

“Woah- you’re kinda like us, then?” Mikey asked.

You turned back and agreed.

“Awesome, dude!”

That was nearly five years ago now. Now, you and Mikey are dating, and have been for three and a half years

You never knew you’d meet your best friends because of the mutation you had wanted so badly to hate

[fandom-imagines]

October

Fandom: Halloween

Pairing: Michael Myers X Reader

Warnings: Death, attempted rape (not by Michael), hurt. (also not proof read because it’s 4am and I’m very inspired so I’ll proof read it another day).

Summary: Y/N hates fall, but that changes upon meeting someone special.

Words: 2.8k

A/N: I’ve been obsessed with the song ‘we fell in love in October’ by Girl in Red and yeah this just kinda happened because of it.

Fall had never been Y/N’s favourite season. As a matter of fact, it was one she hated and dreaded the most each year. Well, until she met him.

They met during October, nearing Halloween.

Sure, she had heard the whispers about the infamous Michael Myers who murdered his sister and many others. Did she care? No. Not really anyway. It wasn’t like she’d ever see him… right?

Well, that’s what she thought. She had never believed that she’d ever meet him, nor see him. But, everyone can be wrong sometimes.

The stars glistened brightly as Y/N lay on a blanket, gazing at them dreamily.

It might have been cold, freezing actually, and the jacket that hung loosely from her body provided very little warmth, but she still enjoyed it. Despite hating fall, she did particularly like the late nights. Not many people would be around on the nights due to the cold weather which meant that she was able to be alone whenever she wished, except for Halloween of course when children and teenagers alike would be wandering the streets of Haddonfield.

Lost in her thoughts whilst staring at the stars, she finally realised something.

“Shit I’m lonely.” A slight chuckle left her lips at the words.

As if on cue, a sadistic voice sounded behind her causing her whole body to tense, “Do you often talk to yourself late at night?” She could almost hear the smirk through his words which was followed by numerous laughs.

Quickly climbing onto her feet, she turned to face the people, who she quickly assumed was a gang after seeing their similar outfits and weapons ‘hidden’ in their pockets.

“Sometimes, yes.” She gave a casual smile, doing her best to hide how afraid she truly was. Despite the shaking of her hand, she showed not true fear, her eyes simply filled with determination. “Can I help you gentlemen?”

“I believe you can, pretty lady.” The man, who she believed to be the leader of the gang, stepped towards her with a huge smirk on his lips.

“How so?” Y/N’s head tilted to the side, hair falling with the movement, covering her face in a cute manner that almost made the men feel guilty; key word being almost.

Nothing could really change their beliefs after it being instilled in them from being children.

All five of the men walked towards her, an action that made the girls strong stance falter. Both her stance and demeanour crumbled into tiny pieces as the first guy grasped her shoulder tightly, leaving her unable to shrug it off despite her attempts.

“Let go of me.” She mumbled, eyes darting towards the ground.

“Awe, you sound so cute when you say that.” Another man chuckled, beginning to palm himself through his, almost too tight, jeans which made her realise what was about to happen. “Say it again.” He stifled a moan at her small, afraid whimpers.

“Please.” Her tone was a pleading one, simply sparking the enjoyment and pleasure in the men’s eyes.

“Awe, she’s so cute guys. Maybe we should kee-“The leaders voice was cut short by a knife to the heart, blood quickly making its way to his mouth, pouring down his lips. Everyone, besides the perpetrator of course, stood frozen still.

Y/N watched in horror as each of the men were slaughtered in front of her.

It was only once the last man fell to the ground that she finally looked up to see the man who has rescued her.

“Michael…” The name left her lips before she could even stop herself. All she got in return was a simple head tilt from the extremely tall man. “Thank you.” She whispered to him before taking a step forward. “Even if it was a strange last sight, I still appreciate it.” Her words came out hoarse now as she realised that it was the end of her life.

Michael simply tilted his head again, looking almost like a confused puppy. In fact, it was cute to her. Sure he had just murdered five men, but he saved her and she couldn’t thank him enough for that, even if he was about to kill her.

Y/N’s eyes closed as she stood in front of Michael, his body towering over her in a way that intimidated her significantly. Her body braced herself for the stab.

One second…

Two seconds…

Three seconds…

She wasn’t sure how long she was stood there, but the stab never came. Her eyes flew open, wondering as to why she was still breathing, only to reveal Michael was no longer stood there.

That was at the start of October.

It had been over a week since then and she was still alive as well as extremely confused.

He saved her and then didn’t kill her? Michael Myers? Willingly sparing somebody’s life?

From what she had heard, she assumed that that wasn’t normal for him. But the more she thought about it, the more confused she became.

Each night was spent wondering why he spared her life; why he saved her.

Sure, maybe it was the bloodlust. But why would he spare her? She didn’t know him, he didn’t know her and he was some bloodthirsty killer.

She thought nearly every hour of every day, pondering why he spared her, but she was unable to think of a valid and reasonable answer.

Little did she know, she would receive her answer that day.

Y/N’s lips formed into an O shape as she puffed out the smoke from her lips, cigarette limp in her hand which hung beside her thigh.

The roof she was on was one she visited often.

Nobody was able to come up here, meaning that she was the only one here.

She did love to be alone, like she was right now.

Or so she thought.

Behind her stood a tall, masked man that the entirety of Haddonfield knew as Michael Myers, the guy who killed many, including five men a week ago.

He stalked towards her, knife nowhere in sight, simply store in his pocket, close to reach if he needed to grab it, but hidden enough to not scare the girl.

He watched fascinated as she lifted the lit cigarette to her lips. He caught sight of her painted fingernails, a nice shade of red. It was strange of Michael to pay attention to such simple things, tending to be focused on the colour of the blood pouring from his victims. Maybe that was why he noticed her nails; the blood red reminding him of his victims.

Michael himself wasn’t entirely sure as to why he spared her life. He had stalked her for the past week ever since the incident, the feeling in his stomach leaving him irritated. He became especially irritated when he couldn’t bring himself to force the steel knife into her chest whilst she slept soundly, oblivious as to the fact that there was a killer hovering over her, unable to strike.

There was a small part of him that understood what the feeling was, an extremely small part that he ignored.

He was infatuated with her.  

Maybe it was the way she did her best to stand up for herself, or the way she walked towards him unafraid despite having just witnessed him kill five other men. It could also be how she thanked him, despite knowing who he was. Or maybe he just liked the way his name sounded falling from her lips and he wished to hear it again.

He wasn’t sure which reason it was, maybe a combination of all of them. But he was fully aware of the fact that he couldn’t kill her; he had tried multiple times in the week following the incident but, despite the voices screaming at him to do it, he couldn’t bring himself to end her life.

Michael was now behind her on the rooftop, nearing the edge where she was stood, gaze focused on the scenery ahead of her, blissfully unaware of the shadow looming over her.

His huge hands gripped her shoulder, pushing her gently, a big enough push for her to be scared, a scream leaving her lips, but his grip tight enough making sure that she wouldn’t fall.

He didn’t want that.

Eyes wide, she spun around to face the person who had almost killed he.

Her eyes widened even more as she saw who stood in front of her,

“Michael…”

He simply nodded before leaving.

“Don’t go.” She called for him, pleading for him to stay, almost like she had pleaded for the men to stop.

She watched as his body came to a halt.

“Michael,” His body tensed, “please stay.”

He did.

That was how their relationship, if you could even call it that, began.

That was two weeks ago.

It’s only a week until Halloween.

Until Michael next killing spree.

Y/N wasn’t sure how it had happened, but Michael had ended up staying at her house nearly every night.

Sure, he crashed on the couch, surprising her, but he did stay with her.

The two grew attached to each other, even if Michael was unaware as to this fact. He was, however, aware of the fact that he couldn’t kill her; he couldn’t even harm her, even if he wanted too.

It was another night with Y/N lounging on the couch, watching some random movie that was playing on the TV. Weirdly enough, she was alone tonight. She had no idea where Michael was, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t worried. But she knew him well enough, or at least she liked to think she did, to know that he could take care of himself. He’s a big man, quite literally.

A knock on her front door pulled her attention away from her thoughts as curiosity filled her body. She didn’t know who it could be. She wasn’t exactly expecting somebody, and it wasn’t Halloween so there’d be no kids looking for free candy, something that Y/N began to curse at herself for, remembering that she had meant to pick some up today.

The knocking grew louder and more aggressive the longer she waited.

“Hello?” Her voice was confused as she greeted the weird man on her doorstep.

“Y/N, right?” He was straight to the point.

“Uhm…?”

“Dr Loomis, I need to speak to you.” He barged past her, startling her immensely and she internally begged Michael would be here soon if things went badly.

“Okay?”

She carefully closed the front door, turning to face the guy named Loomis who was now stood in the middle of her lounge.

“What is it?” Her words were cautious, chosen with extreme carefulness as she wasn’t entirely sure who this man was.

“I know of your relationship with Michael Myers.”

Crap.

“My what?” Her words sounded confused, despite her knowing exactly what. “Michael Myers? As in the killer?”

“Don’t play dumb, Y/N. I know he’s been staying here, and you’ve been letting him. In fact, I know you’ve become quite attached to him but let me tell you this, he is evil, and doesn’t feel anything for you. I’m quite sure he’s simply here for a place to stay and will kill you when he finds another place.” Loomis’s words were sharp, he wasn’t playing around.

“I seriously don’t know what you mean. Now, I think you should leave before I call the police.” Y/N demanded, walking over to swing the front door open for him to leave.

“I’ll be back to deal with you.” He spat before having the door slammed in his face.

~

Y/N wasn’t too sure how long it had been as she was curled up on the couch, wondering what she could do.

Should she tell Michael? Should she keep it from him? How did this guy even know? Why did he want to know? What should she do?

The back door swung open, Michaels way of alerting her to his presence.

She payed on attention to the noise, simply remaining in her thoughts.

It wasn’t until he was in front of her did she finally break from those thoughts, looking up at him with such fear in her eyes, shortly followed by tears leaking from them, trickling down her cheeks.

“S-sorry.” The girl hiccupped, tilting her head in order to make her hair fall in front of her face, not wanting Michael to see her like this.

Once she realised that Michael wasn’t leaving, she glanced up.

He stood there, bloody knife still in hand as though he was preparing to attack, not her but somebody else. His masked head was tilted, the same as he did when he was confused.

“I met someone today.” Y/N’s words were quiet, not noticing the way Michaels grip on the knife tightened at the sentence, knuckles turning white as his whole body was strained with anger. “He knows you’ve been staying here. He said his name was Dr Loomis.”

Michael left.

~

That was two days ago now.

She hadn’t seen him in two days, and it was safe to say that she did miss him. And, weirdly enough, he missed her also, in his own Michael way.

She wandered the streets, unaware of the gaze focused on her and her alone. Y/N had decided on a thick jumper today which hugged her body in a way that actually provided warmth this time. Her jeans were also a source of warmth. The wind blew through her H/C locks, tossing them behind her.

She looked beautiful.

The girl had arranged to meet a friend today in order to take her mind off of Michaels disappearance.

She had let Loomis’s words get to her, assuming that he had found somebody else like he had said. But, he hadn’t killed her, not yet at least.

Her steps slowed down, eventually halting as she realised something. Something she wished she hadn’t.

She loved Michael.

She couldn’t think about this for more than ten seconds before hearing her name leave somebody’s lips behind her.

“Y/N! Hey, why’re you stood still you weirdo.” Jessica, Y/N’s friend, giggled as she jogged to catch up to her.

“Hey.” Y/N’s smile was forced, the daunting realisation from moments ago still on her mind.

“How’re you doing?” The other girls smile was not forced, genuinely happy to see her friend after three weeks.

“I’m good.” Another forced smile, “How are you?” She tensed as Jessica’s arms wrapped around her friends shoulder.

~

A relieved sigh left Y/N’s painted lips as the door closed behind her.

The thought of it being unlocked didn’t even cross her mind, desperate to get inside, change into comfy clothes and just sit down. However, those plans were stopped when she felt a rough hand tug on her elbow, turning her to face him: Loomis.

“What the fuck?” She did her best to rip her arm from his grasp but to no avail, “Let go of me you creep!” She yelled, violently tugging her arm again.

“Tell me of your relationship with Michael Myers!” Loomis yelled back, refusing to let go of her, despite how hard his grip was, both of them unaware of the fact that bruises would be left.

“I don’t have one!” Another yell from her.

“Yes you do! Where is he?”

Tears began to pour down her cheeks and Y/N wasn’t sure if it was from panic, stress or the pain in her arm.

“Please let go of me.” She whispered quietly, tears falling to the ground.

“Only if you tell me where he-“ Loomis’s words were cut short due to a stab through the heart, reminding Y/N of the way Michael and her met.

She felt the grip on her arm loosen before watching the body drop to the floor, revealing a shaking, panting Michael. “Michael…”

He was covered in blood, shaking with both anger and hatred.

How dare Loomis touch what is his.

His…?

Michaels sudden realisation was similar to Y/N earlier that day.

Michael had seen that realisation happen, however he wasn’t sure as to why she simply stopped in the middle of the street.

He wanted her to be his and his alone.

He wanted her to belong to him and him alone.

No, he needed her to.

Michael showed no sign of the internal conflict he was facing as he stood in front of her.

“Are you okay?” Her words were concerned, more worried about Michael than the pain in her arm as well as the bruising.

A simple nod from him followed by a head tilt, wordlessly asking her the same.

“I’m okay.” She gulped, unable to look him in the eyes, something which irritated him.

His annoyance was evident in his stride towards her, leaving her afraid.

She gulped again once he was in front of her, watching as his arm raised towards her, hand tightly gripping her jaw, forcing her to look him in the eyes, his eyes showing a strange emotion for him.

Trust.

They fell in love in October, and that’s why Y/N loves fall.

[el-255]

What sort of benders ( from atla) I believe the Ericson students would be:

Louis: Louis would definitely be a kickass earthbender who totally uses his bending to prank people I will not be convinced otherwise

He and Mitch have earthbending competitions all the time (which he always loses but of course he only does that to prevent Willy from the disappointment of watching his brother lose, it’s definitely the only reason why he loses)

Violet definitely calls him out on that bullshit

Also his colour coordination just gives me earthbender vibes ;) the green and brown combo is just *chefs kiss*

Violet: she feels like she could be a really cool airbender; her airbending would help carry her to the watchtower and she would definitely use it to pull peoples chairs out from under them-

She’d use her bending as an extension to her body and to her it feels natural to use it in her day to day life

She’s also used the trick that the red lotus used on the earth queen before (she definitely used it on Louis and he definitely still gets pissy over it) I mean hey, if the others are allowed to use their bending however they want to she should as well

Marlon didn’t see it that way though and promptly banned her from using her bending on people which was complete bullshit in her eyes

Marlon: it feels cliche to say but I’d go with firebender

Not because of his anger issues mainly but more of the fact that I get the feeling he would hide it when he had his shit together like using it more subtly but as soon as things don’t seem to go his way his bending erupts into a full blown fire that takes a while to extinguish

I wouldn’t put it past him to have used his bending subtly to scare Brody into submission, she definitely has some burn scars from his anger

Mitch: gives me full earthbender vibes

He’s a complete gremlin with his skills as well as he pulls out bits of the earth to use for his knife carving, he teaches Willy to do it the same way as well

One time he convinced Omar that earthbenders could consume dirt for nutrition (which was definitely a lie but he wanted to have fun with his bending and Omar was an easy target) and promptly pulled some out and ate a bunch of it front of the horrified Omar

He was sick for 3 days after the dirt incident and the only ones who know that it was a lie are Willy and Louis who are all too conniving to ever breathe a word about it to anyone else; Omar still can’t look him in the eye it’s great

In a fight Mitch uses dirty (no pun intended) tricks and strategies to gain the upper hand, pulling out the earth in front of people to trip them up, trapping people in a concrete prison, it’s all the same to Mitch who simply believes in the philosophy of survival of the fittest

Aasim: it’d be a crime not to say he was a firebender after he canonically went to ericson for arson-

He rarely uses his bending as he simply sees no need to show off unlike Louis and Mitch who can’t go five seconds without bringing something up from the earth

I get the feeling he’d only really use his bending for emergencies, he’s more in control of his bending than Marlon is as he was practically reformed when the apocalypse started

He totally feels a connection to Ruby as they’re both unconventional firebenders

Brody: I get the feeling she’s a waterbender who lacks control because of her anxiety and her guilty conscience

Before the deal with the twins Brody loved her bending, every time she’d go fishing at the river she’d pick out bubbles of water; it was her way of escaping from the walkers and survival for a few minutes

Violet of course loudly complained whenever she saw Brody using her bending when she should’ve been fishing but in a way that was another thing that drew them apart, Violet could never understand her fascination with a bunch of water

After that day with the twins Brody completely shut herself off from her bending, every time she saw water all she could see were her friends terrified faces as she stood by and watched them get taken away by that man, her bending caused her nothing but pain after that

Violet was concerned when one day Brody’s fascination with the river stopped but was too embarrassed to ever show her concern (in hindsight she wishes she had said something to her clearly distraught friend)

Tenn: Tenn strikes me as a non bender who’s mainly content to have it that way, why have bending himself when he can simply observe other people’s bending?

Every so often he’ll ask one of the kids to show him their bending and though some may be more hesitant than others, they all do it because, let’s be real, Tenn doesn’t ask for a lot and most of them are happy to show off anyways

Though Tenn loves all his friends bending skills, Violet’s bending is his absolute favourite, he spends many evenings in her room watching her manipulate the air around her

Something about the way she expertly moves the air in the vicinity brings him peace that he so rarely gets to bask in

Though he may have fantasised about having bending skills in the past, he’s seen the way some of his friends struggle to cope with their bending e.g. Marlon, Tenn knows he would prefer to be a non bender and content with that than have bending he has little control over

(However, if he had to pick he’d choose to be a waterbender; he used to love how carefree Brody used to look showing him her skills before she stopped)

Omar: a very subtle waterbender, he only really uses it for his cooking and that’s the way he wants to keep it

Fighting has never really been his strong suit, in his eyes it’s better to not get too reliant on his bending in an almost opposite view to how Mitch uses his bending

It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate his abilities but more that he feels he lacks the capabilities others have in terms of their bending skills

He does however have a particular skill in creating ice that he uses in the summer to make sure their water is always cool

Ruby: while some may peg her as a waterbender with exceptional skills in healing, I think her personality better fits a firebender

She still has her talents in healing and is similar to tlok and the firebender who healed korra, having the ability to help her fellow peers when they need it makes her feel more important and helpful

She learned how to use her firebending to heal people from Ms. Martin who, while a waterbender herself, saw the potential in Ruby and taught her the essentials for healing and gave her the courage to pursue her healing talents

Willy: earthbender who uses similar tactics as Mitch

Willy was ecstatic when he learned Mitch was also an earthbender and spends most of his time learning from his pseudo brother figure, in his eyes it’s just another way he and Mitch are similar

He gets especially excited whenever Tenn asks to see his bending and uses it as an opportunity to see how far he’s come from his big brothers guidance

Willy feels a connection to his bending in a way that he’s never felt towards anything in his life, his only constant before ericson was how close a bond he felt towards nature and he never takes that for granted

[suttttton]

Don’t Feel Safe

Febuwhump, Day 2: “i can’t take this anymore

***

After the Prentiss incident—after he finds out that Gertrude was murdered—Jon starts sleeping with a knife under his pillow. His sleep is light and troubled, and every creaking noise in his small flat has him sitting bolt upright, clutching the knife in both hands.

He knows that there’s no one there. He knows that it was just his neighbors, moving around upstairs. Or the wind, or the pipes, or one of the million other things that make noises in old buildings.

But he also knows that someone has come to kill him, that they are in his flat, that any minute now they’ll come through his bedroom door, and his knife will be a very paltry defense against their gun.

It’s better, when he’s exploring the tunnels. He’s on his feet, moving, not a sitting duck. His hip aches where the worms burrowed into bone, and there’s something living in the tunnels that is probably dangerous. But if he’s going to be afraid anyway, he might as well be afraid for a good reason.

Here’s the thing: Jon knows that there is no mysterious Archivist Assassin coming after him. That’s ridiculous. He doesn’t know why Gertrude was murdered, but it’s hard to imagine a circumstance where the sole motive was her position as Head Archivist.

But.

He thinks about being shot constantly. Enough that it’s hard to think clearly about anything else. What would it feel like, for a bullet to enter his lung, his heart? What would it feel like to die?

He’s afraid, all the time, of a threat that he knows doesn’t actually exist. It’s maddening. More than once in the weeks of his ‘recovery’, it brings him to tears.

And then he goes back to work.

And.

Something.

Is.

Wrong.

He doesn’t know what it is. They all seem normal enough. Sasha, Martin, and Tim all greet him when he comes in. Elias schedules a meeting with him to discuss “strategies for moving forward” that is just as boring and pointless as every meeting with Elias. When he returns downstairs, he finds that Martin has left a mug of tea on his desk.

None of this is strange.

But something—Something is wrong.

An image flashes through Jon’s mind, of poison in the tea. Choking and dying on the floor of his office, just out of reach of help. Would his assistants even help him? Or would they just gather around, watching as the breath is slowly squeezed out of his lungs, reveling in their victory?

He pours out the tea in the break room sink without drinking any of it.

Martin sees, and looks hurt, and Jon feels guilty. But it’s—He can’t—

He needs to figure out what is wrong here. Then he’ll be able to trust Martin’s tea again. Then he’ll be able to sit through an entire meeting with Elias without imagining the other man suddenly pulling a gun on him.

His assistants are not planning on murdering him.

His boss is not planning on murdering him.

A third-party assassin is not planning on murdering him.

(Did Gertrude think that no one was planning on murdering her? Did she let her guard down? She was just an old lady, what grudge could anyone possibly have had—)

Jon goes through his assistants’ desks, searching for clues. Things to prove their innocence. (Things to prove their guilt.) Sasha is unhappy with him, when she catches him. She tells Tim, and now they both glare at him whenever he comes into a room. They’re waiting for him to apologize for the breach of privacy.

(He’s angered them; they’re waiting for the right opportunity to strike and kill him.)

But that’s the least of his worries, because Martin is lying to him.

(Martin murdered Gertrude, Jon is next.)

But no. That’s ridiculous. Why would Martin have murdered Gertrude?

(You’re next, you’re next.)

He follows Martin on his lunch break. He goes to a cafe, just down the street. Orders a soup and a sandwich. He sees Jon while he’s looking for a table, and Jon—runs.

When Martin comes back, he comes into Jon’s office, closing the door behind him.

(This is it, this is when he kills you.)

But… He doesn’t. Because he didn’t kill Gertrude, obviously he didn’t kill Gertrude. Martin would never kill anyone. He lied on his CV, of all things, and that’s so ridiculous and, and normal, Jon could almost laugh with it.

But there’s still Tim, and Sasha, and Elias. And something is still wrong.

He follows Sasha on her lunch break. She goes to a wax museum, which isn’t evidence, but which is… Odd. He asks her about it, and her eyes narrow in a way that lets him know he didn’t play it off casually enough. She has a new boyfriend who works there.

That makes sense.

He follows Tim on his lunch break, and Tim spots him, cornering him before he can run off. He’s angry, but also… Jon doesn’t know. Tired? Sad?

Jon is exhausted.

“You need to trust me,” Tim is saying. “You can’t honestly believe that I’m the one who killed Gertrude.”

He’s right. Jon doesn’t believe that, not really. And he really, really wants to trust Tim.

(He might kill you when you’re not in public.)

Jon goes to Tim’s flat, settles himself behind a row of trash cans, watching. It’s cold, and he isn’t even sure what he’s looking for, at this point. He just needs—something. Some reassurance. He misses Tim, misses the easy rhythm of their friendship. So he watches, and waits, and—

Tim comes out, looking angry, heading right towards his hiding place. Jon straightens and starts to walk away, trying to play it off casually. He wasn’t watching Tim’s flat, he’s just taking a walk. Happenstance.

Tim grabs his shoulder, and Jon freezes.

“Why are you watching my flat,” Tim says, his voice low.

Tim is stronger than Jon. If he wanted, he could pull Jon inside, hold him down, slash his throat with a kitchen knife. Jon’s blood would spray everywhere, and with his voice box severed, he couldn’t even cry out at the pain.

But Tim wouldn’t go for something so messy, probably. That would be hard to clean up. Hard to hide.

And Tim wouldn’t murder Jon in the first place.

(He could, though.)

“I’m not watching your flat,” Jon tries, not meeting Tim’s eyes. It’s a bad lie, and he can tell from the way Tim leans back, taking a deep, loud breath, that Tim doesn’t remotely believe it.

(Even if he doesn’t murder you, he could hurt you quite badly.)

But he won’t, it’s Tim, and he wouldn’t—

“I can’t do this any more, Jon,” Tim says. His voice is loud. “I’m not going to have you watching my home. That’s—absolutely ridiculous. I’ve asked you, again and again, to trust me. How hard is it? I’m your friend, or I thought I was, at least.”

And Jon—Jon finds that he can’t do this either. He wants to flinch away from Tim, to run off to where it’s at least marginally safer, but he’s so tired. “Do you think I like this? You think I’d—What, that I’d choose to sit outside your apartment for hours, in the dead of winter?”

“I think you very clearly are choosing that,” Tim says.

Tim says it likes it’s obvious, but it isn’t. “This isn’t my choice,” Jon says, wrapping his arms around himself. “I want to trust you,” he says. “I miss you. I keep hoping I’ll find any evidence proving that you didn’t kill Gertrude, but—”

“Jon, you’ve known me for years,” Tim says. “I’m your friend. Isn’t that evidence enough?”

“That isn’t—” Jon’s breath catches in his throat, because Tim doesn’t understand. And maybe there’s a reason for that. Maybe Jon is just being unreasonable. Maybe he does just need to—to try harder.

But god, he’s so tired already. He can’t try harder than he’s already trying. He’s losing Tim, and it’s his own fault, and—his vision blurs with tears, and he sniffs, trying to blink them away.

“Jon?” Tim says, and his voice is gentler now.

Jon just shakes his head, turning away, pulling his arms closer around him. It’s fine, he’ll be fine. He’ll go home, lay down and sleep for a while. He isn’t so scared when he’s asleep.

(If you let your guard down, the person who killed Gertrude will get you too.)

But Tim grabs his shoulder, again, and Jon almost hopes that Tim will try to kill him. Just to get it over with.

But Tim is still just talking. “Jon, I’m—Well, I’m not going to apologize, because you’re the one stalking me. But—do you want to come inside and—talk about it? I want to know what I’m missing here.”

(He’s trying to get you alone, the perfect opportunity to kill you.)

No, he’s not. That’s just what Tim is like, with his friends. Accommodating. Always wanting to understand the reasons behind all of their annoying little tics.

Jon knows that Tim isn’t going to kill him.

But his heart is hammering anyway, and he’s shaking, not from the cold, but with certainty that he is walking to his death.

But he is so, so tired.

He takes a breath. “Okay.”

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

Shut Him Up ~ R.C.

A/n: Listen give me ANY excuse to write Randall and I will

Request: “...Hamish duke or Randall x human male reader we’re one of the Wolfe’s get hurt and the reader is like the care taker of the group and he’s rambling because the guy he likes got hurt and ( which ever wolf you choose because I love them both) to shut him up kisses him because he’s also crushing on the reader and the rest of them are like “ so that’s how you shut him up”...”

Word Count: 1700+

MASTERLIST

"You idiot!" Hamish groaned, his shoulders sagging. "Now Y/n is going to be all over our asses when we get back. You realize that right?"

"Not if you don't tell him," Randall shot back immediately. He hissed at the pain in his shoulder. "It's fine. I'll be completely healed in a few seconds then we can get it cleaned and if no one says anything when we get back, Y/n won't- AH!" He screamed, his hand shooting out to hold his shoulder and his eyes widening. When he pulled his hand away again, it was covered in just as much blood as before.

The group was silent for a long time. But the bleeding didn't stop and when Randall swayed, Jack jumped in to put Randall's good arm around Jack's shoulders. "Let's get him to Y/n. He's not healing, and Y/n has been studying since all that stuff with Hamish went down." Lilith groaned, but it was light. Even Y/n's wrath was less important than making sure Randall didn't die.

The entire trek back to the Den was spent with everyone trying to come up with what to say to Y/n that would get him to freak out the least. But then, halfway there, Randall's knees gave in and Jack had to pick him up completely. Even between the three of them it was becoming more and more obvious that there was absolutely nothing anyone could come up with that would satiate Y/n's worry at seeing Randall pale, bleeding, nearly unconscious and not healing. And that was absolutely fact for two simple reasons.

One: Y/n was like the group mom. He made sure they were all eating and getting sleep and that they put aside time needed to study and shower and wash clothes and do their normal responsibilities like work and Randall's RA stuff in between all the hunting and killing and dealing with a bunch of magicians who seemed hell bent on destroying the world at the drop of a hat or the smallest inconvenience. He had spent so much time taking care of the pack that it was practically ingrained into his DNA to care about all of them. So even hearing about them getting hurt usually set off a rant from Y/n about taking care of themselves and how they needed to be more careful - ESPECIALLY since the whole knife incident with Hamish.

Two: Y/n was in love with Randall. He had only gotten involved in this whole drama, despite being human, because he had flirted with Randall time and time again, but Randall wasn't down for anything serious because Y/n was human and had enough to worry about without supernatural shit bothering him. Y/n was hyper aware of Randall though and as things got really weird and shady, Y/n went poking around. Now they were all here, and better off for it.

Lilith opened the door and called out for Y/n, who came scrambling into the room at the panic in Lilith's voice. He froze when he saw Randall, his eyes widening and his face draining of color. "What the fuck happened?" He demanded rather harshly, looking at the other wolves as if accusing them. He always got like this when it came to Randall. He was always worried about them, but there was a new level reached when Randall got hurt that made him all the more intolerable.

They all loved him of course but things were going to go wrong - why didn't he get that?

"I don't know," Hamish offered, feeling a little guilty. Of all the group, he probably understood Y/n the most. Jack and Alyssa were often at odds and it messed with their relationship. Y/n and Randall... Well, despite all the idiocy on Randall's part, they reminded Hamish a lot of how he and Cassidy used to be. "I'm sorry he just got- there was this witch, and she had a whip-"

"On the couch," Y/n ordered. Hamish obeyed, laying Randall on the couch. Immediately his blood started soaking into the sofa. Jack sucked in a breath. "Tell me what happened Hamish. I need to know so I can figure out how to treat it."

Hamish ran a hand through his hair. "Uh- well, the whip. It only barely scratched the rest of us, but it was about to take Alyssa out. And she's kind of cool sometimes so we were trying to make sure we didn't die and we heal a lot faster than she does so I guess he thought it would be fine. But... it got him really really bad and then it didn't heal. Halfway here his legs gave out. I don't know if he's going into shock or it's the blood loss or... poisoning? I don't know?"

Y/n had taken the time that Hamish talked, looking at the flesh around the cut. He went into full doctor mode, not allowing his emotions to cloud his judgement. "I'll be right back." He ran out of the room and the other three wolves were left to watch Randall begin to bleed out. It was becoming clear that whatever it was, it was moving fast, and Randall... he was about to die.

A hush of horror fell across the room as they all genuinely thought their friend was about to die right in front of them while they were helpless to do anything. Then like some kind of angel sent straight from heaven, Y/n swooped in with a bowl full of blue-purple liquid. He stood over Randall and poured it into the cut, making sure the whole cut was filled and covered in the liquid in the bowl. They all stood with baited breath, worried that Y/n had gotten it wrong or, worse, they were just too late.

Then Randall began healing.

"You're amazing Y/n," Jack sighed, shaking his head as he grinned.

Y/n wasn't amused though. The relief that had wiped all minds of the talking to Y/n had planned faded away as a stern man whose eyes were full of anger turned to the three wolves. "You fucking idiots. Just so you know, wolf's bane. The bitch with the whip coated it in wolf's bane. You're lucky that I noticed the way it look on his skin or he'd have died from magical poisoning. Which means she KNEW she was dealing with wolves." He held out the bowl he was holding, which still was half full of the liquid. "Make sure to get each and every cut you guys have. They might be small, but they'll suck away your strength slowly and never heal until you treat them. If you miss any-"

"What's all that talking about?" Randall groaned. The group looked over to see him sitting up, looking around. "What?"

"You idiot!" Y/n whacked Randall's shoulder, causing the newly awakened wolf to complain out loud about how it hurt. He didn't give the boy the time of day though. "I was just saying that your cut you dismissed? It was done by wolf's bane. I'll make more antidote if needed, so don't feel shy to use it up. If the cuts don't go away completely, put some more on. Symptoms include exhaustion, feeling like your body is really heavy, zoning out, and can get worse and lead to struggling to move or talk." He whipped around to glare at Randall. "Now, you." He reached over, dipping his fingers into the liquid. "Where did you get cut?" Randall took off his shirt, showing his scraped up back and arms. He was far, far more marked up than the others, which is probably why he had such a severe reaction. Y/n began to apply the liquid to all his wounds, but the action didn't stop him from going off. "You know who would have been absolutely unaffected by this shit? Alyssa," he began. He'd already been going on so long that the others in the room were tired. "She would have gotten a little cut and it would have been fine-"

"Y/n please," Randall sighed. "You tell me the same thing every time. I get it, you don't want us to get hurt-"

Y/n shot to his feet. "You came back DYING, Randall!"

"And you fixed me!" Randall shouted back, standing as well. "I'm fine! That's the thing about teamwork. None of us alone are good - we have to stick together!"

"And what if you're attacked when I'm in class across campus, or across the country back at my parents' house? What happens then Randall?" Y/n demanded, getting in Randall's face.

Randall scoffed. "Well you wouldn't do that unless it was for summer vacation, and we already all agreed to stay nearby since everything is hitting the fan."

It was Y/n's turn to scoff. "You know I gave up a lot of shit so I could be here to keep your ass alive?"

"I didn't ask you to do that!" Randall shot at Y/n.

"You didn't have to!" Y/n threw back. They both went quiet, breathing hard as they looked at each other. "Goddamnit Randall, you didn't have to." He closed his eyes, raising his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "But you know what? Jack's been learning lots from me, and even more from the Order. He's read the books. If I'm really so annoying then please, let me just see myself out I wouldn't want to-"

Randall suddenly snapped, rushing forward. He grabbed Y/n's face, crashing their lips together. The room was dead silent, even after the two parted. "I'm sorry," Randall whispered. "I just... I'm going to get hurt Y/n. You can't get mad at me every time."

Y/n was quiet. "I-" For the first time since they'd ever seen Y/n, his voice was soft. "I wasn't angry." He didn't ramble or rant like usual. He didn't go off in deep explanation that set off a long conversation. There was no heart to heart and crying and confessing. For the first time, Y/n stood there with all his walls down, eyes glued to Randall, and he let the silence speak for all the things he had never said.

Before Randall could say anything, the other three wolves still in the room made themselves remembered as Lilith teasingly noticed, "So that’s how you shut him up.”

Y/n threw a pillow at her, but she wasn't going to be silenced easily. For a change, Y/n was though, and that was all they got from him. For now... At least Randall had a secret weapon for the next time Y/n went off on him.

-

Male reader tags: @sheepfather​

[rahneii]

Apollo has friends surprisingly ( interactions with the VALORANT agents )

i am bored and i've been wanting to write some of these down for a while so yes have my content, this is also really long so bear with me. Apollo is usually a lone wolf but he loves interacting and socializing with other people if it weren't for her curse.

Controllers

Brimstone Ugly boomer

Apollo and Brimstone are like old friends with a silent grudge between each other. Brimstone was the first person for Apollo to meet in the Valorant Protocol but was hired by Viper instead.

Apollo likes to counter any of Brimstone's plans or ideas by either calling it stupid, old, already done it and 'Maybe we should do what I said instead' proceeds to say the same thing but with curse words and slangs and some dramatic posing.

They don't talk too much but whenever they talk its like Apollo just heard something offensive argues with him.

The way they bond is in the field, though Apollo hates him, she still protects him from any harm. Its the only reason why Brimstone ever respects the false saint.

"Apollo, stop glaring me with you two eyes open. I'm still getting used to your 3rd eye." "Are they too distracting for you? Here ill give both of them for you to confiscate."

Viper

Apollo absolutely hates this woman with a burning passion, and refuses to speak to her or give any satisfaction of a bond.

Viper was the one who removed his wings, though there were other doctors, he only remembered Viper being there.

Viper could care less if Apollo hated her but what she wanted was for him to work with her and the protocol and cause no trouble whatsoever. She still feels guilty about it sometimes.

"Mad scientist down."

Omen "We are both traumatized"

Apollo and omen surprisingly relates together in some way except for eating people and stuff.

Omen teaches Apollo how to knit, garden, cook etc. So that he can learn how to calm herself instead of being isolated in his room 24/7.

They both like to share their experiences in Kingdom, body changes and radianite. They also made inside jokes that only they could understand. "Apollo, isn't it funny how Kingdom keeps this good reputation up just for Monsters like us to be in the background"

Astra "She teaches me how to fly sometimes"

There's this one incident at HQ where Astra tried to teach Apollo how to float with his small wings and accidentally dropped him off the second floor. Apollo forgave her for the effort but they were banned from floating around HQ again.

"Apollo, my friend! We are finally out in the field together. Lets spread our wings and fly!"

Duelists

Reyna "Scary hot woman"

Reyna and Apollo share a mutual agreement on having a desire for bloodlust, Apollo sometimes even envies how Reyna handles it so well.

Apollo likes to get tips from her as well sometimes

"Reyna! you were amazing back there! You truly are a goddess!"

Yoru "Who? oh that guy"

Apollo tends to forget that he exists just because he teleports everywhere it makes Apollo have a brainfart.

Yoru only asks random stuff about him like his form and abilities. He also takes down notes about it sometimes so that he could flex about knowing an angel in real life.

"Killed the uh, blue boy..."

Pheonix "If he touches my wings again i will bite him."

Pheonix always asks the question everyone usually has when they meet an angel. And sometimes repeatedly...

Apollo tries his best to avoid the questions by letting him get distracted by something or changes the subject. Apollo loves his determination but he can do that from afar.

"Pheonix PLEASE stop trying to touch my wings. They're attached to my ears and its hard enough to take care of them."

Jett "She's very talented for sure"

Just like Pheonix, she has a lot of questions but she learns quickly.

She sometimes likes to run with Apollo and would most likely ask Apollo if he could fly.

"Apollo, could you promise me a race if you get your wings back?" "For sure that's something I would keep to heart."

Raze "She's fun to be around, but I also have a lot of questions "

Apollo likes talking to her and looking at her tech since she was always interested on how this stuff worked even back on the church days since his priest prohibited tech like this.

Raze mostly chats with Apollo a lot because of him and KJ meeting up a lot. She has also has a lot of questions to ask but keeps it simple.

"Damn Apollo! You are.. Scary. In a good way of course! It was badass"

Sentinels

Killjoy "She still has never told me if she made KAY/O or not, or I haven't been listening"

Killjoy has enough of Apollo's bullshit most of the time but also has been "threatening(?)" him to make mechanical wings that can fly like the jet.

Apollo has asked a lot of weird requests and Killjoy would just shame her about it.

Apollo is always seen with Killjoy and Brimstone whenever he has to go with Brim.

"Fine.. you win this time, ill think about making your request."

Sage "She's the calm to the storm and I admire her for that"

Apollo admires Sage's hard-work and personality, he'd hang out with her a lot too.

Sage gives her advice and sometimes help as well. She is one of the few that wasn't really scared of Apollo

"Apollo, You worry me as well. Find your inner peace in the battle."

Cypher "A charming fellow, he sometimes concerns me though."

They both know a lot of stuff about the other agents and would share that info together sometimes. They even have code names, inside jokes and etc.

Apollo thinks the guy needs a rest and made a lot of promises for this guy and has no clue if she'd ever make those true.

"Apollo, Promise me you'd be the one putting the knife to my throat *chuckles*"

Initiators

KAY/O "The robot is TOO human for his own good to be honest with you. How charming"

KAY/O is seen with Apollo outside of HQ, the living spaces, outside and almost everywhere since Apollo was being monitored after the incident (which was eating a whole ass chair and almost eating the person on the chair too). Every week of the month at least.

Apollo is funnily enough is allergic whatever KAY/O's electric fluid that creates fragments and supressor has. But She chooses to stick with him since that's the most "safest" option there is.

Their relationship is strange, you see they both share sarcastic jokes in a room and the next thing you know the robot has random makeup marks on his body.

"You fragile humans sure like to put up a fight." "snort"

Sova "I could steal his eye for... personal purposes."

Apollo would usually, try to steal his eye. And Sova would always try to stay away from him. He's a little scared of her but he can handle being in a team with him.

Apollo is also usually nice to him most of the time, and also kept a promise for him.

"Apollo, you are a saint. Please stay that way."

Skye "I love her hawk, it would sometimes bite me though"

Apollo. Loves. Animals. I mean who doesn't? But Apollo always wanted a pet so he'd go to Skye just to pet her animals.

Skye enjoys the company of the Angel but she intimidates her, The whole 3rd eye thing and all

"Skye please please PLEASE can you let me hold the bird?" "Last time you did that it exploded on your hand mate"

Breach "He's...interesting."

They both are scared of each other. Apollo with his intimidating eye and Breach's personality. All you can hear is awkward small talk if you make them talk to each other.

Breach accidentally hit Apollo with his arm once and has never stopped thinking about it. Apollo just promised to herself that he'd stay away from him now.