#babies!! infants!! fetuses!!!

[crimeronan]

“Kill Them Kids” wasn’t the right thing to vandalize that with because aborted fetuses aren’t kids. Don’t kill actual kids. That’s not nice…

kill them kids.

[roosterzebra]

It would be REALLY COOL if I didn't keep seeing messed up discourses in my dissertation topic! Holy shit

[secularprolifeconspectus]

Quick Pro-Life Responses

Keep in mind: the fundamental disagreement between pro-life and pro-choice is on whether a fetus is being formed into a person, or if the fetus is already a person and is simply developing.

Confidently assert, “you say that because you think a fetus is not a person yet.”

They may concede fetuses are people in word, but still not conceptualize them as full people worthy of equal consideration.

“I have the right to bodily autonomy.”

Abortion is literally suffocation, poisoning, or dismemberment of a living human organism.

Abortion induces fetal demise by depriving a human of oxygen, blood, or vital function.

Bodily autonomy does not justify abuse of power and excessive force over a helpless person.

Abortion, a disproportionately brutal response to a passive threat, is aggressive violence.

��No one has the right to use my body.”

Correct. But, a prenatal person does not use a pregnant person’s body. They have no agency.

A pregnant person’s body takes care of the prenate. This care is ordinary and healthy.

Abortion is not like refusing care to a dying person, it is like murdering a healthy captive.

No one has the right to murder someone who they caused to be dependent on them.

“I have the right to revoke my consent.”

When you give consent, you agree to accept the foreseeable outcomes and risks of an action.

The creation of a bodily dependent is a foreseeable outcome of consensual intercourse.

You cannot revoke consent to outcomes. You can revoke consent to actions.

You may not violently sacrifice a helpless person to “mitigate” a risk of a consensual action.

“Anything dependent on my body is a parasite.”

If you make parasites, then you’re a parasite; it’s misogynist to suggest women are parasites.

The female body would not actively try to make pregnancy happen if it were parasitic.

Prenates never directly cause pregnant people harm; they are not aggressors or parasites.

Using developmental dependency to justify murder is simultaneously ageist and ableist.

“An embryo is just a clump of cells.”

Human embryos meet NASA’s criteria for the characteristics of distinct living organisms.

Human embryos are self-directed and their development follows a body plan.

Human embryos are organized and individual. They already have inherited capacities.

Tumors and gametes do not follow an organized body plan.

“Early humans have no cognitive capacities.”

By week 3, the embryo has a spine and is developing a nervous system.

By week 5, the embryo has a rudimentary brain that controls their pulse.

By week 8, the embryo has pain reflexes and can move their limbs.

It’s incredibly ableist to use the cognitive inabilities of a human being to justify their murder.

“If a fetus is a person, so is a brain-dead human.”

A brain-dead human is, obviously, dead. It’s an oxygenated corpse, the remains of a person.

Death occurs when human organisms stop resisting entropy and lose organic integration.

Preborn people actively resist entropy (decay) and have organic integration (unity).

An early human organism isn’t dependent on a mature brain to organize her vital functioning.

“Later abortions only happen for medical reasons.”

According to two studies by pro-abortion researcher at UCSF Katrina Kimport, this is untrue.

Kimport’s studies found that the reasons for later abortions are similar to early abortions.

Later abortions aren’t euthanasia; infants are stabbed with lethal injections and dismembered.

Perinatal hospice and palliative care relieve suffering. Dying babies deserve love, not murder.

“What about rape and incest?”

Abortion is not evidence-based treatment for sexual trauma. Abortion is traumatic as well.

A preborn child should not be condemned to the death penalty for their father’s crime.

It is safe for most menstruating children to carry pregnancies to viability with sufficient prenatal care.

Children conceived in incest are likely to have disabilities; that’s not reason to murder them.

“What about health of the mother?”

Every abortion ban in the US has exceptions for if the mother’s life or body is in grave danger.

We are not against tragic cases of triage. We are against elective induced abortion.

Some procedures coded medically as abortions aren’t legally or ethically defined as abortions.

Pro-life doctors report that the bans have not impeded their ability to treat their patients.

Your Core Arguments

There is no sound evidence or consistent logic that proves the preborn are the only class of human beings exceptional to the rule that humans are people with equal rights.

If a being is in the dynamic process of bonding with us as kin, then that being is a whole actual person by the manner of actively and inherently relating to our collective humanity.

Embryonic humans are full and equal people like us because they latently embody our same capacities and are manifesting them as we are, on account of sharing our nature.

[anamericangirl]

Up until the late 1980’s it was a commonly held belief in the medical community that babies could not feel pain. It was standard practice to perform procedures on infants without using anesthesia.

This was essentially because the professionals in the field and the studies done failed to understand pain responses in infants. But they weren’t aware they didn’t understand. They believed they were correct. Which is why several babies underwent surgical procedures with only muscle relaxants.

Some places had started using anesthesia on infants in the 70s but it was still standard practice not to use anesthesia on babies under 15 months old until 1987.

It was only recently discovered that babies can feel pain even though they were able to all along. Think of how many children were hurt because of that kind of ignorance.

So when people, even medical studies and doctors, say that babies in the womb don’t feel pain just know they don’t actually know that. They are basing that assumption on the currently held ideas about the sensation of pain. They aren’t basing it on actual knowledge on what children in the womb can perceive. There is still a lot we don’t know regarding consciousness and sensory perception in the womb.

And they could be wrong. 36 years ago they thought babies couldn’t feel pain even after being born and they were wrong. But they were convinced they were right. They didn’t know everything then and they don’t know everything now. Some recent research has even suggested that babies in the womb might be able to feel pain as early as the first trimester.

This is just to caution people against accepting and repeating claims like “fetuses can’t feel pain” uncritically when we don’t actually know that for a fact. Our understanding of pain and fetal development is something we are continuing to learn about so if you’re among the people who go around claiming babies in the womb can’t feel pain you need to stop because you don’t actually know that. No one knows that. It’s the current assumption but that assumption could very easily be wrong.

Abortion, however, is wrong regardless of whether the baby can feel pain or not. I just think it’s important to remind people that doctors are not infallible. They make mistakes all the time. Big ones. They are wrong about a lot. Medical history is filled with standard medical practices that were absolutely insane and incredibly harmful to people. So just because we know more now doesn’t mean we know everything. And the medical field is still prone to error. No one actually knows what a child in the womb can feel so if you make a definitive statement about it you’re operating from blind faith in an assumption that may very well be 100% wrong. Just like it was up until 36 years ago.

[bloodismymedium]

🔪Even More Mona Lanius Headcanons🎨

🫀 Mona speaks in a flat, monotone yet raspy/scratchy voice and is almost always speaking in a whisper, she sounds like what I imagine a ghost sounding like, unnatural yet kind of beautiful.

🫀 Mona is a chain smoker, which is a contributing factor to why her voice is so raspy sounding. Bill was an alcoholic who used alcohol to drown his violent, psychopathic thoughts but he quit after meeting Mona.

🫀 Mona genuinely smells like death, like a mix of rotting flesh and strong paint/chemical fumes. Her smelling like a corpse is caused by a combination of bromhidrosis (chronic body odor) and the fact that she constantly surrounds herself with death and decay.

🫀 Mona will often mix some of the blood of her victims in with her paints when she makes their paintings, a way of further immortalizing them and what she did to them as well as a twisted way of paying tribute to them, like she’s actually “thanking” them in being a part of her artistic endeavors.

🫀 Mona is of Ecuadorian and Romanian descent. Mona has no real sentimental connection to her heritage however as she doesn’t speak a lick of Spanish or Romanian and her parents never really taught her anything about her heritage either.

🫀 Mona is scary good in using all types of knives and other kinds of bladed implements thanks to years in learning how to use them in many contexts, such as learning how to cut and dress meat after hunting trips with her father as a child to “practicing” on her victims. She knows a fair number of knife tricks as well.

🫀 Mona and Bill started off as equals, a real Bonnie & Clyde type of duo but Bill’s deteriorating mental state caused by fully embracing his psychosis and being fed a LOT of drugs and painkillers resulted in him essentially becoming more of a guard dog. Mona is fine with this since she finds it cute and likes that she has a more dominant role now ⛓️

🫀 Mona and Bill were not going to kill Tina but rather they were planning on “adopting” her because Mona became enamored with her and wanted to “keep” her. Mona blinded and deafened Tina in order to make her 100% dependent on her and was planning on cutting her arms and legs off completely as well to achieve this.

🫀 Mona in general exhibits an odd desire to be a mother, which is exhibited in quirks such as keeping dolls and playing with them as if they were her children. This is especially apparent in the “baby” she made for herself from what she deemed as the “best parts” of the babies she killed when she blew up a daycare, she sings/hums to it, cradles it softly and even keeps it in an old Victorian stroller.

🫀 Despite this, Mona fucking HATES kids because they all remind her of all the mistreatment and abuse she took from kids in her neighborhood when she was a child, which is why what she did to the Beck twins would become what most would consider to be one of her most brutal murders. To her, it was personal.

🫀 Mona has a habit of preserving things in jars of formaldehyde whether they be internal organs, fetuses/infants, cool bugs, even stuffed animals. She only does this when something has really stood out to her, even seemingly random things she has chosen to preserve has significant, even sentimental reasons behind it.

🫀 Mona, perhaps unsurprisingly, is a huge art nerd. She has studied art since a very young age and has great knowledge of art history, she’s surprisingly insightful and engaging when she talks about art and she actually would’ve made a great art teacher. Her favorite painter as a child was Frida Kahlo.

🫀 Mona’s favorite paintings are The Garden of Earthly Delights (Heironymus Bosch), Saturn Devouring His Son (Francisco Goya), The Hands Resist Him (Bill Stoneham), The Fall of the Rebel Angels (Pieter Bruegel), The Wounded Deer (Frida Kahlo), The Anguished Man (unknown) and Night Creeper (Zdzislaw Beksinski). She’s a big fan of Beksinski’s work in general.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

Hi, can I request RoR? In Philippine Mythology?

Human Reader, a single mother of quadruplets, 2 boys and 2 girls, look like normal human babies, but if harm/hurt their loving human mother, they'll turn into a Tiyanak…

In Philippine mythology: The Tiyanak is a vampiric creature in Philippine mythology that takes on the form of a toddler or baby. Although there are various types, it typically takes the form of a newborn baby and cries in the jungle to attract unwary travelers. Once it is picked up by an unfortunate passerby, it reverts to its true form and attacks the victim. The tiyanak is also depicted to take malevolent delight in leading travelers astray, or in abducting children…

Various speculations on how Tiyanaks came to be range from babies born dead in the forest to the Catholic-influenced unbaptized stillborn infants, and later extended to vengeful murdered infants and aborted fetuses…

In local belief, various countermeasures are supposedly effective against the tiyanak. Those that were led astray by the creature's cries are believed to be able to break the enchantment by turning their clothes inside out. The tiyanak finds the method humorous enough to let go of the traveler and go back to the jungles. Loud noises such as a New Year's celebration are also thought to be enough to drive the tiyanak away from the vicinity. Objects believed to repel Aswang (vampiric shape-shifters), like garlic and the rosary rosemary are also commonly believed to be effective against the tiyanak. It's also believed that giving a name to these lost souls will bring them peace, and offering a white candle will help guide their spirit to the afterlife…

Reader's story goes like this: (You may change it if you want)

She's living in an abusive/forced marriage, she's been mistreated/used by her own family & by her husband and his family, who's rich or from a higher social hierarchy than her family, and no one can help her…

When she finds out she's pregnant, even though she's carried the children who she hates and gets mistreated by, she loves them, and she plans to raise her kids, & to escape far away from the people who mistreat her…

When she finally escapes while pregnant, she knows the risks and she'll do everything to keep her babies safe, as she's running away, her family and her husband are after trying to stop her even by shooting at her…

When she's in the wooded area (forest/jungle), trying to hide but she's caught by her husband, and he proceeded to hurt/beat her until she didn't move, her husband thought he kill her and then he leaves her bleeding…

As she is about to lose her conscious, she saw her bleeding from her legs, and she thought that her babies are dead and it's her fault and pleads to whoever is out there to save her babies, she's mourning & saying sorry to her babies & that she's a bad mother, as she loses her conscious, she saw a blur two figures coming towards…

She woke up in a house and thought that her babies are dead. a woman came to her, comforting Reader that she and the babies are well (which Reader is about to lash out) and the husband came and saw he struggling to carry 4 crying babies, that they look exactly like Reader, and he gave the babies back to Reader and Reader crying that her babies are fine…

As she recovers, she's found out that her babies did die and then became a Tiyanak and also founds out that the couples, who helped her & her babies, are mythical creatures (the Man's Syokoy and Woman's Sirena from Philippine Mythology) and they're are others or residents lives nearby and they're from the Philippine Mythology, like Kapre, Tikbalang, Duwende, & even some hostile/neutral, like Mananangal or aswang…

As she's lives and adapts to her new home and in motherhood to her babies and some mythical residents, they became friends and almost like family, as they taught her anything to do/learn (household, survival, etc.) including some mythical creatures, they became caring & protective & willing to do anything for Reader and her kids' safety and home…

One day, Reader meets (character) through her children as he's wandering around, then he and Reader get along with each other, as he and her kids are getting along as well and they consider him as their dad and the Mythical creatures met him, they get along (as they threatened him if he hurt Reader and/or her babies)…

Then Reader's abusive husband & family came back to a wooded area, where Reader and her babies live, going to destroy it for their business plan, when they're about to start it, the husband/family saw Someone, thought it's Reader, but their stopped by something else, by (character) & some mythical creatures that reside at the wooded area, in there unseen/invisible form, using their abilities to stop them and made them to never come back…

Yandere: Adamas, Beezelbub, Hades, Shiva (w/ his wives & son), Rudra, Loki, Buddha, Hercules

-The pain you bore is one that you never wanted your babies to carry the pain of abuse from your cruel husband and his family, who believed that you were basically a slave, not caring if you carried his children or not.

-You didn’t love your husband, but you loved your babies, despite them being in your belly still, and you didn’t want them to be born into pain. You had thought about killing yourself and killing them many times, so they would be safe, not caring about your own life.

-You had a chance, only once, to run and you took it, running deep into the forest, clutching your aching and bruised body, wounds old and new flaring from the strain.

-You felt yourself slip down a shallow ravine and your heart leapt to your throat and that’s all you remembered before everything went black.

-When you awoke, a man and a woman, kind people, were there for you, and your hands immediately went to your belly, a gasp leaving you, “My babies!” you went to stand but her hand was firm but gentle on your shoulder, keeping you down.

-The man disappeared for a moment as the woman sat beside you on the bed, “Your babies are safe, as are you.” Your eyes widened before her husband reappeared, holding four squirming babies, struggling to do carry them all as tears of relief welled in your eyes.

-Your babies all seemed to immediately settle down once in your arms as you wept quietly, peppering their faces with kisses, thanking your two saviors over and over again.

-The couldn’t help but smiling, sharing a small glance between the two of them, happy to see that you were all right. You looked up at them, holding your babies close, “Thank you for saving my babies! Thank you both so much!”

-You were confused as their faces fell and the woman took her seat next to you again, petting your hair gently, “Y/N, your babies didn’t make it. They are Tiyanak now.” Your eyes went wide in surprise, hearing this, as you looked down at your babies, but you didn’t care, you just smiled, pressing more kisses onto their heads.

-The man introduced himself and told you that he was a Syokoy, and the woman was a Sirena, both creatures of myth and legend, just as your babies were now, and that the five of you were now safe in their little village, a village of other mythological creatures, leaving you the only human.

-You were hesitant, but those around you didn’t really bother with you, as they had learned of your past, learned of the abuse from your family and what you did to escape, putting yourself and your babies at risk, but they respected you, seeing you as a mother wanting to keep her babies safe.

-There were some creatures in this village that warned you only once to keep your distance from them, which you respected, and in turn they left you be, despite their aversion to humans.

-Your babies were quick to grow, much faster than normal babies, but they always remained close to you, making sure you were safe and your new friends allowed you to live alongside them, building you a house and in turn they taught you how to hunt and survive, so you could provide for yourself and your children.

-You weaved baskets for the members of your village, giving back to them in any way you could, as you wanted to repay their kindness in letting you stay safe, and many admired you for that, seeing your kind heart, you weren’t like other humans.

-It was two years later when your children, who could change their forms to look like babies or like five-year-olds, came back pulling a new friend. Initially you were scared, as you were always terrified your family would come back for you.

-However, this wasn’t a human, this was a god, as Sirena was able to confirm this. You were respectful but a little nervous being in the presence of a god, but he was nothing but kind to you, seeing you for what you truly were, a scared and damaged woman, but a woman who would work hard and do anything to provide for her family.

-He was so gentle with your children, playing with them and you slowly relaxed, sitting with him and just like your children, he was quick to befriend you as well.

-He was nothing like your husband or his family, he was so kind to you, treating you like you were delicate, but also treating you with respect. You later learned from your babies that they and many of the other citizens of your village had threatened him, daring him to try anything ill willed against you.

-(Love) learned from your babies and your friends about your past, learning how cruelly you had been treated and how you ran and now working to provide for your family while living alongside creatures that nobody would probably ever see, unless if they were die immediately after, leaving no witnesses.

-This drove (Love) to be a bit more protective of you, accompanying you when you went into the forest to forage for herbs, fruits, and nuts, being on guard while you weren’t safe in the village, something your children noticed.

-It took some time for you to open up, as you were terrified at the thought of being in a relationship again, as you didn’t want a repeat of what happened, but there was something about (Love), you could tell that he would never hurt you, or your children.

-You were in the forest, (Love) and your children nearby, playing as you were collecting some berries when a twig snapped and you heard a voice you never wanted to hear again, “Y/N?! Where have you been?”

-You looked up in horror, seeing your ex-husband and his family and many other humans, going through the forest as they were looking for areas to clear out to build a new business.

-You had no time to think or run, but you didn’t have to, as (Love) immediately ran forward, scooping you up into his arms, turning you and tossed you into Sirena’s arms and she disappeared into the forest with you.

-You clung to her, tears in your eyes, “My babies- where are my babies?” she shushed you, making it back to the village that now seemed eerily empty, everyone had rushed to where you had been moments prior, hearing your babies sound out the alarm.

-She held you close, trying to calm you, “(Love) and my husband are with them, they will all be safe.” You sniffled softly, remaining on guard until your babies flew into the village, “Mama!”

-You melted, accepting their hug, holding them close as (Love) and the others all returned, all looking quite pleased with themselves. You didn’t want to ask, but (Love) saw your curiosity and he just gave you a small smile, “They’ll never bother you again, and they will never enter this forest again.”

-You thanked him and he just smiled, tapping his cheek for a kiss for payment, which made you giggle and you gave him one before your children shoved him out of the way, telling you they wanted kisses too, which made you laugh softly.

-You would never find out the truth of your ex-family ‘never coming back’, you just thought they had been scared and would never enter the forest again, that wasn’t true, but they would all keep that secret, to keep you safe.

-You were so unique, especially for a human, but he adored you for that, and seeing what a kind and gentle mother you were, it wasn’t hard to fall for you. He can see your hesitance about getting closer, but he doesn’t mind waiting, he’s got all the time in the world and is happy to wait for you at your own pace. Loves your children, finds them funny, mischievous, but very sweet and protective of you, and he has no issues become their new father figure if that is what you wish, because he knows your children will side with you, no matter what, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t help him sway your opinion a bit. Respects you and demands others, mainly other humans, to do the same, as he knows those in the village you live in, while all of them may not like you, they at least respect you because you respect them.

            -Hercules, Rudra, Shiva, Loki, and Buddha

-Had absolutely no issues getting rid of your ex-family, he did it himself personally, wanting to make sure it was done and make sure that all the suffering you had to endure was given back to them, ten-fold. He adores you, finding you fresh and full of life, but not annoying, you are a light in his life and he wants to protect that light, and he has no issues doing whatever he needs to do to make sure that happens. Adores you and your children, respects you about your aversion to entering into a relationship, but he has no issues showing you how safe you would be with him but isn’t pushy, he wants you to come to him. He finds your children charming and doesn’t mind them in the slightest and quite enjoys being a father figure to them, as he shows you that subtly as well, showing you that he’s a provider for them.

-Adamas, Beelzebub, and Hades

[fictionadventurer]

The ruling stating 24 weeks had less to do with whether life begins and more when life is medically viable. Like for premature births, 25 weeks is the point at which we can consistently help and care for premature infants. 22 weeks or less and it’s incredibly difficult/practically impossible to maintain the life of premature infants. The space between those weeks is really nebulous, and care can be very hit and miss for effectiveness depending on the infants condition. So the 24 weeks thing has more to do with viability of life outside of the mother.

Thing is though, anyone getting a later term abortion usually wanted to keep their baby, yknow? Theyre not getting an abortion that late for fun or because they couldnt be bothered to earlier. Rare occasion you might have someone who doesnt find out they’re pregnant until later, and chooses to terminate, but usually its for protecting the life of the mother or because the fetus would be born dead/only live for hours/days in excruciating pain. Its a horrible choice to have to make, and its not one that anybody but doctors and the involved parent(s) need to make.

Life only means something based on the value we give it. Whose life is worth more to you? Your mother’s, your sisters, your friends? Or the child that could maybe exist, either in agony or at the expense of the person you love?

This post does an excellent job outlining why "life of the mother" never requires an abortion.

Hospice care exists for neonates. It's a beautiful thing that gives the child as much and as comfortable a life as possible. Even if the child can live only a few hours, hospice care allows that child to experience the love of their parents, and the parents to get to know their child, for as long as possible. Abortion takes even that small amount of life away from them.

All lives have value. Every single one. Which is why we should do all we can to give medical treatment to everyone, even fetuses.

[clonehub]

If you're force sensitive and you're pregnant with a force sensitive baby can u like. Connect to the baby while giving birth. Like infants stop breathing in the birth canal can u sense their distress. When they dream (fetuses dream soon after they're able to hear i think) can u like tap into their dream or sense it?? I have so many questions

[diaryofanormalkid]

I’m so sick of the abortion debate honestly. There’s no more accountability for murderers—I mean “mothers.”

This has got to be the dumbest generation ever. Era. Whatever you wanna call it. In this essay I will— jk. But am I? I might turn this into one if I really feel like it.

“My body, my choice.” Argument is complete garbage. Because the whole argument crumbles to shreds as soon as they fall into the outcome of bringing another body into the equation.

I think they forget to realize that human rights apply also to human fetuses that grow inside women. And we have science to thank for reminding us that human life begins upon conception.

So they can deny alllll they want, saying “it’s not a baby, it’s a fetus” “it’s a clump of cells” “it doesn’t have consciousness” “it’s not developed enough so therefore it doesn’t hurt the fetus”

Alllll these points are pure BS when the facts point to a fetus being alive and a LIFE worthy of finishing its development. And this means we have to advocate for these ones who can’t speak or choose life for themselves.

Human rights don’t stop at the mother who holds the baby in her womb. Human rights are spread across all sectors and are meant to be EQUAL, even among fetuses that have just been conceived.

Because every fetus is human DNA that eventually grows into a uniquely designed person. So no, the mothers choice is not more important than that baby’s choice. They are both equal.

And before you say “but the mother is the one who has to live with the consequences, while the baby isn’t even born yet.” Does that mean the baby’s human rights don’t apply until birth?

Humans rights can’t vary upon the location of the human (womb or birthed), the stage of development of the human (infant or adult), or the quality of life they have (able vs disabled) or else I’m afraid we’d be going down a slippery slope by starting this rhetoric.

The baby didn’t ask to be created. This was the result/outcome of a choice made by its mother and biological father. Babies shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences of their mothers/fathers terrible decision making process.

If we really want to get into the “my body, my choice,” argument, let’s start here: the mom gets to choose 1) if she is having sex or not (in most cases), 2) who she is having sex with, no?

[obviously I’m not referring to rape/incest cases, in which I would leave these cases in a completely separate circumstance, but argue that I still don’t think abortion is the right option.]

So on that note, why is it all of a sudden a phenomenon for pro-choice individuals to drop all accountability on mothers and give them a free pass to murder if they absolutely do have a choice?

A mothers third option, whether to keep the baby or not, is essentially deciding whether she’s going to be a murderer, violate a baby’s human right, and lose her motherhood, or keep the child.

So in conclusion, my body my choice is a fair argument, so long as you actually apply that to the baby as well. Because if a mother can’t advocate for her own baby, then who will?

In conclusion, just think about what you’re really choosing when you decide to sacrifice your baby because of an irrational decision you made. Abortions really are murder.

[droctaviolovecraft]

TW: Child loss themes

ANM №: ANM-600

Identification: Ball Pit for Stillborn Babies

Danger Level: Nightmare 💀 | Contained ⭕️

Lead Researcher: Dr. Öctavio Kalev

Anomaly Type: Location, Haunted, Child-related, Trauma

Containment: ANM-600 must be enclosed within a 2.5-meter high barbed wire fence, surrounded by a 500-meter perimeter around the playground. Motion sensors must be installed along the perimeter, and any unauthorized individuals attempting to enter the site should be detained, interrogated, and amnesticized as necessary. No personnel are allowed to enter ANM-600 between 19:00 and 06:00 hours.

Any personnel showing signs of pregnancy, recent child loss, or a history of miscarriage are strictly prohibited from entering ANM-600 under any circumstances. Psychological evaluations must be conducted bi-weekly for all staff assigned to ANM-600.

A remotely operated robotic drone (DRR) equipped with cameras and audio recording devices must be used for all exploration and documentation purposes within ANM-600. Under no circumstances should personnel physically enter the ball pit area.

Description: ANM-600 is a partially abandoned playground located in Alabama, USA. The playground includes a rusty swing set, a deactivated carousel, several deteriorated benches, and a large central ball pit measuring approximately 5 meters in diameter and an unknown depth. During the day, the pit is 1 meter deep, becoming anomalous along with the site at night. The playground was decommissioned in 19██ after a series of unexplained child deaths were reported in the vicinity.

ANM-600 exhibits a strong anomalous attraction to deceased babies and fetuses, specifically those who died within a 50-kilometer radius of the playground. Regardless of burial location or preservation method, the remains of these children will anomalously manifest within ANM-600. These entities, designated ANM-600-1 to ANM-600-5, appear as partially decomposed or malformed human infants displaying varying degrees of hostility and awareness.

Documented Entities:

ANM-600-1 is a severely disfigured infant with pronounced craniofacial abnormalities and fused limbs, believed to have resulted from complications due to high consanguinity between its progenitors. ANM-600-1 exhibits constant signs of distress, including high-pitched crying and sporadic twitching. It is often seen crawling erratically across the playground, leaving a faint trail of bloody mucus.

ANM-600-2 is an infant with pronounced cases of elephantiasis, its limbs and head grotesquely swollen to unnatural proportions. ANM-600-2 is notably aggressive, displaying superhuman strength and the ability to violently thrash and crush objects within its vicinity. Despite its slow movement, ANM-600-2 has been observed to launch itself at high speeds towards any foreign objects introduced into the playground. The entity is presumed to have gained these abilities as an extension of ANM-600 reality-bending properties.

ANM-600-3 is an unnaturally elongated, skeletal infant presumed to have been aborted in the second trimester. ANM-600-3 stands at approximately 1 meter in height and is covered in a thin layer of taut, semi-translucent skin. Its mouth is permanently gaping, emitting a continuous, faint wailing sound that is particularly distressing to human females. ANM-600-3 is primarily active during night hours, often seen silently pacing around the edges of the playground before disappearing into the slide.

ANM-600-4 is a stillborn infant covered in extensive third-degree burns. The entity's flesh is charred and cracked, 600 smoldering with a faint, acrid smoke. ANM-600-4 has been observed dragging itself across the playground, leaving behind a trail of blackened soot. It emits a low, keening wail interspersed with choking coughs, and is known to react violently to sudden noises.

ANM-600-5 is an amalgamation of numerous stillborn fetuses, their bodies fused together in a grotesque mass of tangled limbs and conjoined skulls. ANM-600-5 is almost entirely immobile, residing within the ball pit and occasionally thrashing when disturbed. Individuals approaching ANM-600-5 have reported hearing disembodied whispers, pleas for help, and unsettling laughter originating from within the mass.

Anomalous Properties:

ANM-600 has a pervasive auditory anomaly that affects all living beings within a 100-meter radius of the playground. Subjects report hearing the cries, laughter, and gibbering of infants, which intensify the closer they get to the playground. Females who have experienced child loss, including miscarriage or abortion, are particularly susceptible to these auditory phenomena, often experiencing severe psychological distress, nausea, and disorientation.

The ball pit itself, designated as ANM-600-A, is the epicenter of the playground’s anomalous activity. When an individual enters the pit, the multicolored plastic balls begin to shift and churn as if stirred by an unseen force. Within moments, dozens of small, decaying limbs and umbilical cords will emerge from beneath the surface, attempting to grasp and pull the intruder downwards. Once an individual is fully submerged, no trace of them has ever been recovered.

Exploration using DRR units has revealed that the ball pit is anomalously deep, extending far beyond the physical dimensions of the playground. At depths exceeding 30 meters, footage becomes heavily distorted, and the drone is inevitably lost due to mechanical failure or signal interference. Audio captured at these depths includes faint crying, distorted lullabies, and, on one occasion, a coherent voice stating, "We are not alone."

Incident Report 600-04:

On ██/██/20██, a P-Subject (P-2983) was instructed to enter ANM-600-A. Upon submersion, P-2983 began to scream incoherently, stating that "they're pulling me apart." Approximately 12 seconds later, all contact with P-2983 was lost. An DRR unit deployed immediately after recorded the appearance of a new entity, designated ANM-600-6, emerging from ANM-600-A. ANM-600-6 is a large, humanoid infant figure approximately 2 meters in height, composed of what appears to be the mangled remains of several fetuses. ANM-600-6 was observed moving towards the perimeter before spontaneously disintegrating into a fine, particulate dust.

Following this incident, all further experimentation with ANM-600-A has been suspended indefinitely.

Addendum 600-B: Audio Log Excerpt

Recorded at 22:47, 13/07/20██, by Site-██ monitoring equipment.

> [Background static. Indistinct whispers.]

> Unidentified Voice: "...come to play..."

> [Sound of faint giggling, overlapping with crying.]

> Unidentified Voice: "Mommy… where are you?"

> [Loud, sharp sound, similar to metal scraping against concrete.]

> Unidentified Voice 2: "They’re here. They never left. They’re waiting for you."

> [Silence for 5 seconds, followed by distant, echoing cries.]

Note: Any personnel found to have entered ANM-600-A without prior authorization are to be considered lost and reclassified as KILLED. No recovery attempts are to be made. ANM-600 remains under observation for further anomalous developments.

[prairiedawn]

On the Fears and Children

The canon TMA characters believe that the Fears are relatively uninterested in the fear of children, and we see relatively few children appearing in Statements overall. Now, from a Doylist perspective that's because horror with children (under about fifteen--we're not talking about teenagers) as victims can be more disturbing in ways that the writers didn't want to get into most of the time, in the same way that they did not dwell on Fears related to sex, relying instead on the common science fiction/fantasy proxy of psychic assaults of various kinds to examine a lot of the same kinds of themes.

But in the Eyepocalypse, everyone is Watcher or Watched, including all of the children. And they're not all in the Dark--a quarter of the global population consists of children under fifteen, and I can't imagine the Fears would allow that kind of lopsided representation.

But in order for the Fears to feed, the people they feed on have to be afraid of them. This leads to the question: When, from a developmental standpoint, do each of the Fears become relevant to children, and what Fears dominate at particular ages?

Let's consider this at several different stages: Infants too young to crawl, mobile babies (under about 2), toddlers (2 and three), young school aged (4 to 6), elementary aged (7-10), and adolescent (11 and up).

So, to the youngest babies.  Newborns come prepackaged with basically three major fears:  Suffocation(the Buried), falling (the Vast), and abandonment (The Lonely). 

The Moro reflex, in which a newborn is abruptly lowered a couple of inches, whereupon it will fling out its arms, draw the back to the midline, and cry is found in all neurologically "normal" babies (and is used to help diagnose some kinds of nervous system issues).

Newborns also seek out and mimic faces and will cry when left alone (some of us neuroatypicals weren't like that as babies, but we're talking averages here), along with several other presocial behaviors that function to keep adults nearby and attentive.

Suffocation is a weird one. Most babies develop a fear of suffocation very early, but when we are fetuses, a lack of oxygen causes us to breathe slower to conserve energy, since we're only breathing for practice. Some babies don't lose that tendency--which is dangerous and why we put babies to sleep on their backs.

All that said, newborns are not intellectually or emotionally sophisticated souls, and the Fears, in an Eyepocalyptic scenario, probably get more mileage out of threatening their caregivers than they do terrifying the infants themselves.

Mobile babies. Babies who can crawl and toddle have a lot more to be afraid of. The fear of falling gets much more pronounced as babies learn to crawl. They also develop a sudden, pronounced fear of strangers (or Strangers) and can be terrified by changes as simple as a caregiver wearing sunglasses or shaving their beard.  There can be a bit of fear of the dark at this age, but it's really more fear of abandonment at this point.  Babies this age fear sharply and simply and likely aren't too tasty for the Fears either. The part of the Spiral that is purely sensory overload might be able to scare toddlers, especially ND toddlers. The Fears are likely to use these children to scare adult caregivers more than the children themselves as well.

Twos and threes:  Now we get into some genuine fear of the Dark. This is the age at which imagination usually starts to sprout--the first real solid raw material for the Fears to prey upon. The other fears don't go away--except sometimes the fear of falling (unfortunately). The earliest inklings of Desolation show up here as well--mostly in the form of changes in routine or losing loveys. If we define the Flesh loosely as including having to eat food that looks yucky, there's a little there to work with. Anyone who has interacted with a two or three year old knows how much they loathe being controlled (at the same time wanting boundaries, poor dears.) The Web could get some kid fear here--and we know the Web regularly targets children

Four through six: Some children are going to start fearing Corruption around this age, though for many, corruption won't really be something they care about for much longer. It's one of the things we deliberately train into them, with varying success. I would guess that this is about where we start seeing some fear of the Hunt--though I suspect that fear will be mostly found in kids who have actually been hunted by abusers, bullies, or in time of war. The Spiral could probably get some mileage out of the fear of getting lost.

This is the last age at which most kids actually like the Eye intrinsically. "Watch me!  Are you watching me?" With the onset of school (and school shooter drills in the US) the Slaughter might have a chance to feed on this age group, but I suspect that the Slaughter isn't going to be a common Fear before the teens.

Seven to ten: This is the age at which many children start to understand death as a permanent thing that happens to everyone. The End might find some hunting here. This is also the first inklings of a sense of privacy, kids under six or seven (depending on the kid) kind of figure adults know everything anyway. This is also when kids are able to conceptualize being sane (or not), for the most part, so the Spiral could get some snacks here. Abstract thinking emerges, giving the Vast more to work with.

Eleven and up:  The constant state of middle school embarrassment should provide a rich feeding ground for the Eye. Middle schoolers frequently Do Not Want To Be Perceived. The dysphoria aspect of the Flesh is strong here. Even cis kids at this age are often appalled at the rapid changes in their bodies. The Buried can take advantage of increased expectations and responsibility, and the Web is going to make a big resurgence in this age group as well. Kids this age and older are developing the full, tasty range of emotions, in some ways more intensely than adults. Why didn't Jon see the rest of them? Think about it. He was so upset by the Dark that he almost couldn't continue. I think he chose to see what he could endure. Right up to the edge of his endurance, but not beyond it.

[secularprolifeconspectus]

BREAKING: new records expose that Planned Parenthood will sell body parts from healthy, viable babies to universities for intellectual property.

In a batch of freshly released FOIA documents, journalist David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress has pieced together a horrifying reality: Planned Parenthood harvests organs from viable, nonanomalous fetuses with documented heartbeats from abortions with labor induction for research at the University of California San Diego in exchange for IP rights. In other words, PP dissects healthy premies who are old enough to live outside the womb after making sure they are alive and delivering them intact, per their contract with UCSD, in which PP gets to keep all royalties for patents developed from experiments. And the Spanish-speaking mothers didn't give informed consent to this. In other words, and they prey on vulnerable minorities for their babies.

How do I know this is true? It's because I am the associate reporter in this video, and David emailed me the documents to read for myself.

Evidence includes:

Transfer agreement outlining the exchange of fetal tissue for ownership of research IP

Research plan approved by the UCSD Institutional Review Board requesting organ samples from nonanomalous fetuses up to 23 weeks gestation (that's nearly 6 months old; periviability begins at 21 weeks)

Same research plan calling for verification of a heartbeat immediately before the procedure to ensure the fetuses are living (this keeps their tissues fresh; the fetuses cannot be given a feticide to "euthanize" (poison) them before the procedure, because this would contaminate the tissues; this means the fetuses are either bled out or dismembered alive)

Did I mention this plan calls for up to 2,500 samples from 2,500 fetuses?

Email chain discussing the use of heavy doses of misoprostol before abortions after 12.5 weeks (forces labor contractions to deliver the baby — may result in live birth)

Donation consent forms in English which state the tissue may be used commercially, but in Spanish exclude this info entirely (San Diego has a large immigrant population, so this is racist targeting)

No, I cannot say for certain that PP actually did cut up healthy premies. But I am saying, it is documented that they were willing to do so, and that should be enough to cause alarm.

Protecting premature infants is a nonpartisan human rights issue. Everyone should be outraged about this violation of the vulnerable.

I've had folks suggest to me before that this is just a few "bad actors", but they're missing the bigger picture of how the abortion industrial complex enables these crimes. It is a natural outcome of the system, and it must be dismantled. You cannot permit elective abortion without permiting violence against premature infants. Tell your representatives to divest from Big Abortion NOW.

[unwelcome-ozian]

Hello, I remember finding something about a year ago listed online as “pre-birth programming.” I assumed it had something to do with the torture of fetuses while still in the womb since this is an established tactic by advanced groups to induce dissociation, but what it actually described had something to do with regressing someone back to a fetal state of consciousness (possibly including making sure the subject remains in the fetal position?)… I’m a little fuzzy on the details. Recently, someone close to me confided in me about being instructed re: this exact tactic while still in the network as a child, and I went to find this information again to corroborate their experience, but I can’t find it anywhere and it’s driving me crazy. I am positive I’ve seen this somewhere and I’d really like to support this system—we’re very close and they are incredibly important to me.

If you have any information about this, I would really, really appreciate if you could share it. Thank you for all the work you do.

Babies in the womb feel, taste, learn, and have some level of consciousness. Attachment also begins in the womb. The earlier the trauma occurs in the womb, the more disastrous the effects. Mothers who have suffered childhood trauma can pass this memory down to an unborn baby. This is one reason TBMC seeks to be generational.

Christiane Northrup (2005) If a pregnant mother is going through high levels of fear or anxiety she creates a “metabolic cascade.” Hormones known as cytokines are produced and the mother’s immune system is affected, including her child’s. Chronic anxiety in the mother can set the stage for a whole array of trauma based results.

Early trauma is encoded in the implicit memory of the fetus. An unborn child is a feeling, remembering, and aware being, and the 9 months between conception and birth are the crucial first phase of shaping personality and emotional development.

Therefore, the presence of trauma during the critical 9 months of pregnancy can have profound impacts on the development of the fetus.

Traumas experienced in utero for example lack of sufficient oxygen is a horrifying stressor. If it continues, death is the result. Further, it leaves the fetus with insufficient resources to combat future stress, and a lack of feelings of safety. The danger remains underlying so that any later trauma can trigger it. This can lead to anxiety reactions to seemingly non-stressful situations that do not match the current situation.

Womb-life traumas can also deplete serotonin supplies as a result the child may grow up feeling continuously uncomfortable, a chronic depression and anxiety because the readjusted set points fixed during gestation were low.

​Stress is an example of how a fetus responds to stimuli in the womb and adapts physiologically. "When the mother is stressed, several biological changes occur, including elevation of stress hormones and increased likelihood of intrauterine infection," Dr. Wadhwa says. "The fetus builds itself permanently to deal with this kind of high-stress environment, and once it's born may be at greater risk for a whole bunch of stress-related pathologies." Source

Maternal (Klaus, Kennell & Klaus, 1996) bonding during pregnancy is associated with positive infant attachment, whereas unresolved, dissociated trauma, chronic affect dysregulation, and obstetric complications during pregnancy seem to alter the bonding experience often resulting in broken bonds. The Calming Womb Family Therapy Model (CWFTM) is a comprehensive, collaborative, team-based, early intervention approach which is intended for treating mothers and their babies from conception through the first year after birth.

Source

There is growing evidence that even milder forms of maternal stress or anxiety during pregnancy affect the fetus causing possible long-term consequences for infant and child development. The mechanisms through which prenatal maternal stress may affect the unborn are not yet entirely clarified. Due to limited self-regulatory skills after birth, infants depend on sensitive behavior of their parents to regulate affective states and physiological arousal.

Source

You're most welcome. Take care, Oz

[gryfflepuffinthetardis]

The Fox

Season One Masterlist

Machismo

Natural Born Killer

Summary: There is an unsub killing families of a mom, a dad, a son, and a daughter in Maryland and Virginia who were thought to be on vacation before being found dead in their homes.

Warning: References to the death of children; Talk of unchild-like behavior; Mention of Emily Prentiss; Reference to Season Twelve Arc, Zoe being kind of mean to Garcia

"You will catch the fox with cunning and the wolf with courage." — Albanian Proverb

Doctor Thomas Fuller wrote, "With foxes, we must play the fox."

Jack Hotchner (even though Hotch had stated he didn’t want his son to have the same name as a serial killer but chose the name of one of the most infamous) was born October nineteenth, 2005, exactly nineteen days ago, the first (known) child of the BAU since Zoe and his birth had been far less scary than her own, twenty years ago. He was finally meeting his BAU family. He seemed to be so sleepy as Hotch held him.

"He's so gorgeous." Zoe said, showing a whole new side to her.

“Thank you.” Haley said, beaming with pride.

“If you find baldness and wrinkles attractive.” Spencer said.

“Look at his little witty bitty nose.” Garcia cooed.

“He is so cute. Cuter than I ever was.” Zoe said.

“Zoe, you were a cute little baby.” Alexander scolded his youngest.

“No. Zarah was the cute baby. I was the baby that everyone was concerned about and the stillborn.” Zoe deadpanned.

“Briefly! They resusitated you! Before I had a heart attack at twenty-one. And I mean, yeah, you said your first word at six months old and by nine months, you could speak full sentences. And by three years old, I found out Rossi let you interview Ted Bundy.” Alexander had to agree that Zoe did cause quite a bit of worrying with her unchildish-like behavior and fascination with true crime and serial killers.

“Well, he was being executed in January.” Zoe deadpanned like she didn't see what was wrong with that.

Garcia changed the subject as Morgan approached and JJ looked at Zoe, incredulously, “Don’t you want one of these.”

“Mm. I’ll just stick to practicing.” Morgan snarked.

"Zoe?"

Zoe looked at Garcia with an initially incredulous look that slowly formed into a deadpan look which usually meant Garcia was being unintentionally insensitive. In this case, the man who killed her mother got off on killing both pregnant women and their unborn fetuses

Elle came over and said, "Congratulations.

"Thanks. She's amazing. I'm a little terrified." Hotch said.

"Rightly so." Zoe said, obliviously, adjusting the

"Zoe." Alexander scolded his youngest.

"What?" She asked, still oblivious. "Shush! He'll get cold! Speaking of cold, colds in newborns are not usually serious but it can develop into more dangerous conditions if left untreated. A fever of 100.4 or higher under three months is considered an emergency and should go to the hospital. And babies can suffocate in unsafe sleeping positions, the safest sleeping position until age one in on their backs, this can refuse the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome by up to forty-five times and gravity makes it harder for spit up to enter their airways, which can prevent choking. And infants have a higher percentage of body water than adults and since they can't communicate their thirst, they're espeically suspceptible to dehydration.

Spencer nodded in approval, not realizing how horrified they were making everyone else. Haley looked espcially horrified.

"Are you trying to give us both heart attacks now?" Hotch deadpanned.

"Maybe." She said. "Ever heard of paternity leave?"

"Zoe."

"What? I was last BAU child, and I was a disaster." Zoe said.

"You'll be fine, Haley." Alexander reassured her. "I raised two girls who were too smart than any baby should be that their age."

"We should get going." Haley said, seeing Elle had cases in her hands.

"A pleasure seeing you, Mrs Hotchner." Spencer said, formally.

Haley put baby Jack back in the stroller and rolled him into into the elevator.

"Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?" Hotch asked Zoe.

"What?" She asked, incrediously.

Elle handed out the files with a heavy sigh.

"Bad?" Hotch asked.

"The worst." Elle said.

They arrived to the briefing room where Gideon had put up the photos of the crime scene and victims on the board. "Crawford family. Murdered three days ago."

"I saw it on the news." Morgan said, entering.

"They were found in the basement of their house." Gideon said.

"Bags packed for a vacation they never took." JJ added.

"Reporter said it was a murder-suicide? The father stabbed them all and then shot himself?"

"That's the conclusion Maryland State Police came to. The gun was found next to the father, he had gunpowder residue on his right hand."

"That's usual. Two different weapons in a murder-suicide." Zoe noted, frowning. She personally knew a person or two connected to a murder-suicide... or attempted one.

"And now you must have some compelling reason to think that Chris Crawford didn't off his family?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah. Another murdered family, the Millers, found a month ago." JJ said and put down a photo of a family. "The mother, Reese Miller, her two children and her new husband. Again, they were found in the basement, and like the Crawfords, their suitcases were packed for a vacation."

"Both cases, the bodies were discovered five days after their vacations were supposed to have started." Gideon said.

"Yet the coroner determined that they had been dead only twenty-four hours." JJ added.

"So, for four days both families remained in the house." Spencer noted.

"Location of the bodies in both cases, the basement. That indicates a level of organization." Gideon said.

"With a quick but disorganized application of overpowering force." Morgan added.

"If these aren't murder-suicides, someone's doing a damn good job of making them look like it." Spencer said.

"Possibly this man, Eric Miller." JJ said, holding up a mugshot photo of a man. "Biological father of the Miller children. Arlington PD issued a BOLO for Miller after the bodies were discovered."

"Ex-wife Reese Miller had a restraining order against him for domestic violence." Gideon said.

"When did she get remarried?" Morgan asked.

"The week before they were killed." JJ said.

Morgan sighed and said, "Violent husbands believe their wives and children are property. Reese Miller getting remarried possibly made him snap."

"I don't know." Zoe muttered, her instincts told her it was just too easy.

"Well, the Virginia cops finally located Eric Miller last night responding to a drunken disturbance at a motel, where Miller had been hiding out." JJ said. When they found him, they discovered blood on his black leather jacket. It belonged to his children."

"Was any of his DNA found at the Crawford house?" Morgan said.

"No." Gideon said.

"Did he know the Crawfords?" Morgan asked.

"If he does, he's not saying. In fact, he hasn't said a word since his arrest." JJ said. Spencer picked up the suspect's photo and raised his eyebrows in surprise at the look of the thuggish-looking man. "The Arlington PD have asked us to interview him."

"Oof,  if anyone could apply overwhelming force, he's your man." Spencer commented.

"I want you and Zoe to find out. Talk to him." Gideon said,

"You-you want us to, uh, talk to him?" Spencer stuttered.

"Yeah, you've both done interviews before with other agents running point. You can do it together." Gideon said.

"Yeah, the last time, I was up close and personal with a criminal, he kicked my ribs in while saying some very inapporate words in Russian. This should be fun." Zoe deadpanned, causally.

"You interviewed multiple serial killers and cult leaders since you were three." Alexander deadpanned. "You spoke to Ed Kemper multiple times that you had such a rapor that he often complimented your intellect."

"And bombers and arsonists and kidnappers and terrorists. What's your point?" Zoe said with a defensive tone at the mention of the example.

"Did she just say terrorists?"

"Well, it wasn't so much an interview as them punching me and shouting at their professional torturers." Zoe said, again with that casualness.

—————————————————————————————

Spencer awkwardly fumbled with the door handle as Zoe watched before he finally opened it.

"You know, a door." She snarked.

He gave her a look before turning back to Eric Miller.

"I'm Doctor Spencer Reid and this is Doctor Zoe Noble-Valdez. We're from the FBI." He said as he opened the door for Zoe and closed it behind her.

"We'd like to ask a few questions, if you don't mind." Zoe said with a polite smile.

"You two got something you wanna ask me?" Eric spoke in a gravelly voice, "you look me in the eye, and you ask."

Zoe sat down as Spencer took his bag off and followed suit, sitting next to Zoe.

Spencer cleared his throat and looked through the file, "Three days ago..."

"You're not looking at me." Eric said.

Spencer looked him in the eye, still anxious and spoke, "Three days ago, the Crawford family was murdered."

"Is that right?" Eric said, passively.

"Did you know them?" 

"What are you getting at?" Eric asked in a soft voice that Zoe recognized not only from that of roughened criminals but of her own. The kind that foreshadowed a danger in them. The want to be intimidating to survive.

Spencer opened the file and took out a photo of one of the Crawford family's bloodied hand from the morgue, peeking under the sheet.

"They were killed in the exact same way that your family was killed."

"And?" Eric asked, "I've been slapped around all night by every cop in Virginia. What makes you think a damn photo is gonna scare me?" 

Zoe noticed he was cynical that they would actually get anything done. And as she knew from his profile, he had a long history of violence that stemmed from his childhood of near constant abuse, added in that he was an African-American in Virginia where at best he was two times more likely to be pulled over just for driving and his ex-wife, her new husband, and his children were found dead and he had their blood on him. From the look at it, his injuries weren’t just from the brawl but agitated police too.

Spencer looked down thinking and Eric hit the table abruptly with his handcuffed hands, making Spencer flinch. Zoe, however, didn't react at all, she just looked at him with the same professional, near apathy, she almost always had. "Is that what this is about, hmm?" He was getting angry.

Zoe didn't see sociopathy in him though, she saw hurt only caused by the heartache of a parental figure. She remembered that look from her childhood when Alexander would talk about Zelena. She remembered that look during the amount of the investigation for her sister after she had come back in her dad's eyes. The look in her dad's eyes when they told him that the kidnapping of Zarah Noble-Valdez had been marked a cold case. And every day since. The grief of a father.

Zoe briefly glanced down at Eric's handcuffs hands. They were brusied from throwing punches and... he was still wearing his wedding ring.

"You think I'm crazy? You think I suddenly snapped and I slaughtered my own wife and kids?" His voice broke with rage and mourning and exasperation. "You think I did this? Huh?" He slammed his fists back onto the table, making Spencer flinch again, albeit less violently as Eric furiously stood up. "IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK!?"

The guards restrained him as he stood up, making Spencer stand up, more out of fear of being attacked as his professional facade cracked as Zoe remained as calm as ever, staring up at Eric with no fear, showing more how that prison had traumatized her than at first glance. She had learned not to flinch long since before that, now it wasn't even an instinct to flinch.

Then Hotch, Elle, and Alexander came in, "Mister Miller, sit down now."

"IS THIS YOUR DADDY!" Eric shouted.

"Actually, I'm her's." Alexander said, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. “Agent Alexander Noble. Don’t you dare yell at my daughter.”

"I'M DONE TALKING TO YOU PEOPLE!" He shouted.

Zoe finally spoke, speaking as calmly as she usually did, a stark contrast to Eric's emotional screams just a moment ago, "We don't think you're crazy. We work with the Behavior Analysis Unit, we're trained to study the neurological reasonings of criminals. We are psychological profilers." Zoe nodded at Spencer, "Doctor Reid, here, is extremely socially awkward... like there's socially awkward and then several levels up there's Doctor Spencer Reid."

"Zoe." Spencer hissed.

She looked at him and nodded at Eric like, do your thing, superbrain.

"You don't have to talk. Just listen.” Spencer said, “on the—on the occasions you assaulted your wife, you were intoxicated, once the effects of alcohol wore off, you were overcome by feelings of remorse.”

“Which indicates that it’s less of what you truly wanted and more of habitual tendencies you picked up as a child.” Zoe added.

“I’m gonna tell you this just one time, you two shut your mouths!” Eric shouted at them.

“Genetic factors contribute to alcohol stress interactions. Your-your mother was an alcoholic, and she was often too drunk to stop the beatings that your father gave you."

"I think we should stop this." Elle suggested.

"They're not finished." Hotch said.

"They know what they're doing." Alexander said.

"Age six, you were orphaned to a family where the abuse continued, only..." He faltered slightly before continuing, "this time it was sexual."

"None of this was your fault but they made you feel like it was and like you were crazy if you even considered otherwise." Zoe said.

"You both shut your mouths or I'm gonna rip your faces off!" He snapped.

Alexander tensed, giving him a glare at the threat against his "surviving" daughter.

"The abuse continued well into puberty..."

"You became an angry young man, history of violence, drugs, and drinking." Zoe added.

"But my..." He glanced at Zoe, "but our one concern is, Eric, did you or did you not continue the cycle with your own children?"

Eric who had been on the verge of tears this entire time, seemed to be on the verge of breaking down now as he looked at Spencer as if the thought both horrified him but had been one he thought about much too often.

"I never laid a hand on my children. YOU HEAR ME!?"

Spencer nodded and said softly, "I hear you."

"You can't imagine what I saw." He still wasn't opening up. "You can read what I've been through but you can't understand the pain."

They were almost there, Zoe could see it. They just needed one more push. If there was one thing she understood more than criminals or mental health, it was pain caused by trauma and the darkness it inflicts upon someone.

Zoe took a deep breath and leaned forwards, placing her intertwined hands on the table. She spoke calmly but her words were filled with horror and trauma. "My twin sister was born in a hospital three days before me because a deranged madman, that my parents were chasing down, threatened to kill my newborn twin sister, forcing my dad to flee with her, and he kidnapped my mom while she was still in labor with me. He tortured her for days while she was still in labor and then he killed her, just because he could. Because he knew she would put her unborn child with no life above hers. He got off on that kind of thing. Killing pregnant women, letting their fetuses slowly die inside them. My dad found her barely alive with multiple axe wounds to the chest and I had to be delivered via emergency C-section before I died in her womb. Fifteen years later, my dad was a highly esteemed FBI agent and an UnSub who had become obsessed with me kidnapped both me and my sister and put us in different locations. So we would cooperate, becuase he knew we were smart enough to fight back but if the other was on the line, we wouldn't. We'd take whatever he did for the other. I certainly did. He killed people in front of me, he tried to brainwash me, he tried to break me. I managed escape after nearly a year but my sister hasn't been seen since. Every time I look in the mirror because I am nearly identical to her. I see my reflection and all I see is the fact that she's out there and all I have to keep me going is my twintuition that she's still alive which doesn’t exactly appeal to those who aren’t twins or the cold case intuitive or the police, still bound, still gagged, still tortured, waiting to be saved despite being marked a cold case two years ago, and I'm trying to get justice for other families before they end up like my sister, like your wife and kids, to appease my guilt of being the 'lucky' twin. I do know trauma, sir. I do know pain and darkness and heartache. I have been pushed to the brink by murderers and rapists and arsonists and professional torturers. I have been cut, stabbed, burned, starved, drugged, psychologically tortured, physically tortured, and beaten within an inch of my life. I have had every charge of assault committed onto me more times than you dare to believe because of nothing but sheer sadistic enjoyment, they weren't compelled to do it because of a mental illness, they were just sick in the head and misogynistic. I am trauma. I am pain. I am darkness. But most relevantly, I am not like most cops, I don't assume because you're a scary black man with a bad past of abuse and violence that you committed the crime, or that you're about to, while it's not great you were found with the blood on your jacket, you may still be innocent. I know people that are living proof of breaking the cycle of child abuse." Hotch and Alexander. "I just need to hear your side of the story. Your word may allow us to get justice for your children and while we cannot bring them back, we can stop any more children from dying.”

It was silent as everyone but Alexander looked at Zoe in horror and shock at her words as she stared down Eric with intense eye contact that said as much as her words did.

She had sympathy and remorse in her eyes but she kept her facial features calm and professional. Eric could see it. The darkness that infects someone's soul when someone is mercilessly cruel to them even though they had done nothing to deserve that. The darkness that corrupted an innocent life. The pain that remains. The scars that remain on someone's soul long after the physical wounds heal and the physical scars fade. Yet there was light. It was like light shining through cracked glass but it was there because she resolved to remain a good person who was pure at heart but remained a warrior on the outside to keep from getting hurt again.

"I found them like that." He confessed, he dropped his head down as he finally allowed his tears to fall, "Dead. Bloodied." He looked up as his voice broke, "My babies. My sweet, little babies." The guards let him sit back down, "I-I was crazy out of my mind. I didn't know what to do. And I knew the cops were gonna blame me, and they have."

Alexander was behind his daughter again, pulling her into his chest as a hug, holding on tightly to his last baby as if fearful someone would rip her out of his grip.

"So you ran?" Spencer asked.

“Of course he did, his wife had a new husband and the kids had a new father, he had a history of violence including assaulting his wife while intoxicated, they were divorced, he had their blood on his jacket, he has a history of violence before he even met her and he’s an African-American, he's three-point-five times more likely to experience police brutality than white people. Even if the evidence hadn't been stacked against him, he'd be the first one they'd suspect. It's his natural instinct to run from the police even if he didn't do anything wrong. That's why they never caught the Zodiac Killer. They drove past him, assuming that the Zodiac was a black man."

"So what have I got now?"

"You have your innocence. For the sake of your children. I believe that they, at the very least, deserve the truth." Spencer said and he closed the file.

"I can't get the image of my dead children out of my mind." Eric said as Alexander's grip tightened around the only daughter he had left, "Ty, my little boy, he was clutching a-a piece of paper. I think it was a drawing. May-maybe a painting. Please, I'd love to know what he painted, Doctor Reid, Agent Noble-Valdez."

Zoe nodded and followed Spencer out of the interrogation room, walking quickly past him, trying to swallow the emotion she had been holding back down until she nearly walked into a wall, catching sight of herself in the mirror. Of the image of her sister.

Spencer, Hotch, Alexander, and Elle caught up with her, her father pulling her along to walk with them.

"Interesting interrogation techniques." Elle told the young geniuses, "What did you two hope to accomplish?"

"Well, he was closed off, defensive, hostile." Spencer explained. "I needed a way in."

"And you?" Elle asked Zoe.

"He didn't believe we understood his pain, only that we knew of it. He's right, we can't understand his pain, we can only understand our own. He needed to hear my pain. My past. My trauma. He needed to see that I understood pain, that I sympathized with his pain by explaining my pain to him so he could sympathize with me. He needed another broken soul of abuse, trauma, and assault to empathize with him."

"He's suffered a breakdown, but I don't think he killed his family and I know he still loved his wife." Spencer continued as Zoe refused to look at them.

"Why do you say that?" Hotch asked.

"Even though, they were divorced, he still wore the wedding ring." Spencer said.

"And he never said 'ex-wife', he said 'wife'."  Zoe added, "And the murders were meticulous and organized depsite the disorganized force.  That is due to some aftermath to a  delusional, possibly. That man has no delusions. He's been the jail, he's hurt, he's broken, he's a cynic. A realistic cynic. Like I said, police will naturally blame him, he's a black criminal with a history of violence. Any crime he's committed are disorganized and violent in the moment. But he's not broken enough to kill his kids."

—————————————————————————————

Spencer, Alexander, Elle, Morgan and Zoe sat back in the office, staring at the whiteboard with the crime scene photos on it as Gideon stood in front of it, staring at them.

"I believe the UnSub had control over this family. He may have separated each family member. He tells the mother, 'If you scream, I'll kill your children'. He tells the children, 'If you cry, I'll kill Mommy'. The suspect found a way of restraining them without leaving marks." Gideon said, turning back to the team.

"Based on lividity, the ME estimates that the father was the last to die."

"Which means he witnessed the whole event." Alexander said with a heavy sigh, he reached over and stroked his youngest daughter's hair. He wasn't sure he could take that.

"If he did spend time with both families, he must have known he had the time to spend with them." Morgan said.

"Because he knew they were going on vacation." Spencer added.

"Look at travel agents, relatives, work colleagues, contract workers, children's tutors." Gideon said.

The speaker phone beeped and Hotch's voice spoke through it, "Gideon, we've been looking into the Crawford financials."

"Allison Crawford spent way more money than Chris could afford." Garcia said, "They were in major debt."

"And Chris Crawford wrote a number of cheques for a series of visits to a therapist." Hotch added.

"She had two cell phone accounts. One of them billed to a separate address in Southeast Washington, D.C." Garcia said.

"Did you get that?" Hotch asked.

—————————————————————————————

They kicked open the door of the address, very loudly. Hotch and Elle shouted, "Federal Agent" and Morgan shouted "FBI".

The place was a mess but it was familiar. It was familiarly messy. Her mind immediately went to noting a note of neurodivergence. It was the kind of mess her father would create when he would slip from his medication or when the depression would be too much, if he hadn't had Rossi, or Gideon or their significant others, it would be a lot like this.

"It's the cleanest thing in here." Elle said, referring to a blue dog bowl.

Gideon went to a framed drawing on the wall and he took it down.

"What's that?" Elle asked.

"It's a child's painting. It's a colonial house. Mom, dad, two children out front holding hands." Gideon said.

"And a big dog." Zoe noted.

"I think this is the Crawford house, it's signed by Emily.

"Strange." Spencer mused.

"Yeah, Eric Miller said he found his son clutching a painting." Zoe said. "He wanted to know what was on it."

"What was on it?" Elle asked.

"His son's blood." Gideon said.

"Well, I can't tell him that." Zoe said, irritatedly.

There was a sound of nearby clattering and then the sound of presumably Morgan kicking down a door, followed by the barking of a large dog.

"Hey! Hey, don't shoot the dog!" Zoe shouted, running down the hall.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, easy..." A voice said and whistling, calling the dog over.

It was a big man, standing where the shadows covered him.

—————————————————————————————

Zoe say next to Gideon in the interrogation room across from the man they apperhended, Frank Fielding who Zoe deduced had Bipolar disorder.

"Why am I here?" Frank asked.

"I think you know why." Morgan said.

Frank pointed to the drawing, laying on the table, "That's mine.

"The colors indicate a self-confidence with an outgoing personality. It shows an above-average intelligence. The child that painted this was left-handed. Emily Crawford was left-handed." Gideon deduced.

Morgan tossed a paper wad to Frank and Frank instictively caught it with his right hand. "You're not."

"How'd you get the painting, Frank?" Zoe asked and Frank slowly put the paper wad on the table. "Did you forget to take your meds today, Frank? For a severe manic-depressive, that's not good. My dad has it too."

"They make me feel wrong!" Frank protested.

"Wrong enough to kill the Crawfords?" Morgan asked.

Frank looked up and then back down. He seemed... hurt.

"Frank?" Zoe asked.

I-I did a-a bad thing." Frank stuttered.

"What did you do?" Zoe asked.

"I shouldn't have gone to the house. Allison told me not to. I would never, never hurt Allie. She's the only family I've got." Frank said.

"Family?" Morgan asked.

"She's my sister." Frank said, his voice broke as he repeated, "She's dead. She's dead." He was clearly in mourning. "He killed them. Chris did. I know he did it.

"What bad thing did you do?" Zoe asked, gently.

"The rule was, I was never supposed to go to the house. That was the only rule. Allison said if Chris saw me he would never let me see her again. He was gonna lock me up in the loony bin." Frank said. "He never liked me.

"You went to the house."

"She said she couldn't visit me any more. I just wanted to see her. Seeing Allison made everything better. But they cut my phone off that day. The day I went to see them, they cut my phone off!" He started to get angry, "I never would've gone to the house if they hadn't cut off the phone!"

Behind the glass, Alexander said, "Sounds like Zelena's family." Some hadn't liked him very much due to his disorder.

"There's no way this guy could've gotten into the house without a key. Knowing how Chris Crawford felt about his brother-in-law, do you see him having one?" Elle asked.

"No." Hotch said.

"Frank, you went to the house. What did you do?" Gideon asked Frank.

"It was dark and cold. I went around to the side, to look through the window. My breath steamed up the glass and I wiped it clean. And I could see them sitting down for dinner. I saw Emily and Sam... and Sam was crying. I guess he was in trouble."

"Did you see Allison?" Gideon asked.

"Yes. She was saying grace over the table and then... she looked up and saw me and she mouthed something at me. I think it was, 'Get the hell out'. So I left."

"Did Chris see you?" Gideon asked.

"No, he wasn't there, but a friend was at the head of the table." Frank recalled.

"You said, a friend?" Morgan asked.

"I saw someone." Frank nodded.

"What did this person look like?" Morgan asked.

"I didn't see their face, but tiny, really tiny."

"White or black, Frank?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know, but..." Frank said.

"What?" Morgan said, urgently.

"The hair, it-it-it was red." Frank recalled.

It wasn't Chris at the table.

If Frank saw them that day, it wasn't Chris Crawford at the table. She wasn't saying, "Go away." She was saying, "Help me."

Frank seemed to realize this too, "It-it wasn't a friend."

"Frank." Zoe said, gently.

"It wasn't a friend at all. It was him. He's the one who killed them." Guilt overcame Frank at the realization he could've helped.

"Frank."

"I-I-I-I..."

"Frank..." Zoe said, getting up, sensing a meltdown.

"No! No! No!" Frank started to hit himself in the head.

"Frank, stop." Gideon said.

"Frank, Frank." Morgan said.

Quickly, they pushed Frank against the wall and Hotch came in to help.

"No, No! No!"

"Frank!" Zoe grabbed onto Frank's arms, shouting louder than the team had heard before. "FRANK! CALM DOWN! CHILL THE EFF OUT!" She pushed him against the wall, her being the youngest, still really a child, at barely twenty years old, calmed him down slightly, enough to look at her in shock as she spoke loudly on the verge of yelling, saying each word slowly but not in a patronizing way like most people did but so it could sink in and calm him down, "Calm. Down. You hitting yourself in the head is not going to do anything. There was nothing you could've done. You didn't know. We can still catch that bastard and give Allison, and Chris, and Emily and Sam the justice they deserve and keep this bastard from hurting anymore families. He will pay for what he did to your family."

He started to sob, brokenly.

—————————————————————————————

Frank was committed out of fear of further self-harm and possible suicide due to the realization and him not taking his medications.

"Both families had a dog and both houses had a dog door." Morgan said, pointing to the board."

"Fielding said that the person he saw was small.

"Yeah, well, in order to get through that door, you'd have to be five-four, tops and real thin." Zoe said, shrugging but didn't say anymore as that was classified.

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Gideon quoted.

"Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character. Whoever did this isn't."

"Sherlock Holmes was based on a real person." Zoe said, "We can be pretty sure he's probably found himself another family by now."

When they left the room, Zoe was holding Emily's picture, looking at it.

"You okay?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah, just... I know an Emily." She said.

"Oh."

"Doctor Joseph Bell." Zoe said suddenly.

"What?"

"The person Sherlock Holmes was based on. Gideon read them to me when I was a kid. This guy's no Moriarty." Zoe said. "And isn't that quote just behavioral profiling in a nutshell.

—————————————————————————————

"He's been looking at those pictures all morning." Elle said, referring to Gideon. She looked at Zoe at her desk who was staring at pictures of Emily Crawford's drawings with headphones on, somehow simutaniously lost in thought and fully focused "And so has Zoe."

"Well, I sure hope they see a connection, because I've checked doctors, lawyers, travel agents, tutors, contract workers... I got nothing." Morgan said.

"Why target those families?" Elle asked.

"Well, to know that, we have to know how." Hotch said. "Reid, tell Zoe to pause her audiobook."

"Why do I have to do it?" Spencer frowned.

"Because last time Morgan did it, she nearly broke his wrist." Hotch deadpanned.

Spencer took a piece of Dove chocolate—Zoe had gotten him a giant bag for snacking since he often forgot to eat and threw it at her, it missed by a foot but her hand still shot out and she grabbed it. She looked up and he motioned for her to take her headphones off. She did so.

"All right, we know organised killers are often skilled workers with above-average intelligence." Morgan said, getting up from his chair as Zoe unwrapped the chocolate, "A high birth status, and in most cases, male. In the workplace, he's socially confident. And with women, sexually competent. Every offence is pre-planned. Targeting the victim is almost as pleasurable as the actual kill. These guys, they're meticulous. It's a compulsion. Everything has to have its proper place. They do exhaustive amounts of research on their victims. They watch their every move. Every last detail is observed. Everything has to be written ever so neatly in a book or possibly a journal. Like when the kids are coming home from school, when Daddy will be home. Playtime, suppertime, bath time, bedtime. Plan the work, work the plan. This is the way that he maintains control. It's also how he personalises his target. So, nothing's left to chance and absolutely nothing is left out of place. Ever. So, he plans the work. And when he's good and ready, he works that plan. He takes great pride in his job." He sat back down. "I think the workplace has to be the connection."

Gideon came up to them, holding two pictures of a house they had found one with no color in the Crawford's house and one with color they had found in Frank's possession.

"Both are by Emily. Painted months apart. This one... is full of color, life. The one I found at Emily's house has lines, dimensions. No color. I believe Emily was coerced to make this."

"It's a point of view." Zoe realized, kicking her wheelie chair over to him to take the colorless picture, too lazy to get up. "It's his point of view. It must be where the killer stood and just watched the family."

She gave the picture a rather disturbed look, like she was remembering something unpleasant. She was. So Alexander took it from her, she shook her head and rolled back to her previous spot.

Hotch spun a wedding ring on the table, "each of the dead husbands was missing his wedding ring. This is the UnSub's trophy."

"He targets a family because he lost his own." Alexander realized. "For a few days, he gets to play daddy."

"And he can do whatever he wants because no one's gonna come lookin' because they're supposed to be on vacation." Morgan added.

"Let's get forensics to check the inside of Chris Crawford's clothing. The suspect may have worn the father's clothes to..." Gideon scoffed at the word, "Complete the fantasy."

"But why kill them?" Elle asked.

"'Cause the fantasy can't last." Zoe said, darkly.

"What did you say about Miller having no delusions?" Hotch asked.

Before Zoe could reply, Spencer spoke in automatic monotone 'And the murders were meticulous and organized depsite the disorganized force.  That is due to some aftermath to a  delusional, possibly. That man has no delusions'."

"Zoe, you saw it."

"When the delusion breaks, it can anger them. Make them kill."

"Do we know anything that actually helps us identify this bastard?" Elle asked.

"Wait a minute," Morgan said and looked at a picture of the deceased Crawford family. "Chris Crawford worked for the I.R.S. and Reese Miller was a secretary at the GAO."

"That makes them both government employees."

—————————————————————————————

Zoe and Spencer went to Garcia's lab to assist her.

"We've got to stop meeting like this, Reid. People will talk." Garcia teased. "But then, talk is cheap."

"Yeah, I hear H.R.'s considering another sexual harrassment meeting based off your banter with Morgan alone." Zoe deadpanned.

She pulled up a chair with a big bag of chocolates in her lap.

"Talk's not cheap when you're talking to a therapist. The Crawfords made twelve weekly payments to the Applewood Family Center. What about the Millers?" Spencer asked and took a chocolate that Zoe was offering him.

Garcia brought up the Millers' bank records, "No, nothing here."

"How about pharmaceuticals? No one gets therapy these days without a healthy dose of medication." Spencer said.

"What're you implying, Reid?" Garcia asked.

"That everyone is medicated." Spencer said, blankly.

Garcia just looked over, "Did you just make a joke?"

"No." He said, blankly, "Statistics. They show that..."

"Reid, next time, just say 'yes', okay?" Garcia interrupted.

"Well, he's right before you so rudely interrupted him. After I was kidnapped, Dad tried to make me do children's therapy and but I instead defied everything the therapist said and Gideon's wife suggested PTSD medication."

"You were kidnapped when you were twelve?" Garcia asked, aghast.

"I don't remember any of it. And it's not the time for me to remember it." Zoe said, sharply as if trying to drill that into their brains and she didn't want to talk about it.

"Now, medication normally requires a reimbursement from the HMO and since she works for the government like we do, we share the same health care provider." Garcia said as Zoe took out her phone and started to hack Garcia's computer as ease.

"Are you hacking into the government's HMO database?" Spencer asked. "Is that legal?"

"Of course not. We'll both go to prison and you'll be someone's bitch." Garcia said. Oh, how she will regret that in twelve years. As a certain someone really rubs that in.

"Really?" Spencer asked, blankly.

"Mmm. If that ever happens, I think you'll feel like the bitch yourself. Having been to prison myself, I know you wouldn't last a week, Garcia. That's why you took this job. They don't allow unicorns." Zoe deadpanned and then she slapped Garcia's hands.

"Hey!"

"I'm a medical doctor, Garcia, unlike Mister three-PhDs here. I have access." Zoe said, typing on her phone and it brought up the HMO database on Garcia's computer.

"How'd you do that?"

"I hacked into your computer." Zoe said, blankly.

"When?" Garcia asked, seeming floored.

"Uh, like twenty seconds ago." Zoe said, "You are aware I'm the one who caught you and made the profile when you were a criminal and goth, right?

"No! How'd you do that so easily?"

"I'm a better hacker, I guess. And who do you think was the technical analysis before you? Only you get paid and as I was a child, I was not. I know these computers as well as a UnSub's mind. Look."

Zoe had been controlling the computer remotely and Garcia saw it and chose to let go for the time but to complain about it at length to Morgan later.

"Good call, Reid. Mrs. Reese Miller, Diazepam."

"Who prescribed the meds?" Spencer asked.

"Doctor R. Howard at the Applewood Family Center. Let's find out what he looks like. Here we go." A picture of a woman came up. "Doctor Howard isn't a 'he'."

"Thanks, Garcia." Zoe said, sarcastically.

"Well, how about I hack into your file!" Garcia said, pettily and then attempted to but like with most of the FBI files, they were wiped clean. "What!? How!?"

Zoe patted her on the head and walked out of the office. Spencer watched her walk out.

—————————————————————————————

Hotch, Morgan, Alexander, and Gideon went to Doctor Howard's place of work and learned the the UnSub's name was Karl Arnold.

"Of course." Zoe sighed.

"What?" Spencer asked.

"He was the child therapist I went to. He had me draw houses but there was something off about him. So naturally I sassed and defied him as much as I could. I kept drawing upside down houses or ones from books or H.H. Holmes' murder hotel. " Zoe said.

—————————————————————————————

Zoe met up with Gideon and Morgan at the next family's house, the Dunkins, on her motorcycle. The SWAT used a thermal camera to see into the house through the closed curtains. "We've got three adults and two children sitting at the dining room table. They moved in, stealthily and they kicked the door in.

"FBI! FBI!"

Jackie, the young daughter ran into the mother's arms and the mother cried, "He's got my baby!" The father was all bound and gagged.

"Ma'am, is he alone?" Morgan asked.

"Yes, he is!"

"Where's the basement?" Gideon asked.

"Under the stairs!"

Zoe took off running even when the lights went off, Karl's doing no doubt. She opened the door beneath the stairs and walked down without the flashlight. There was enough light coming through the window from her. Gideon and Morgan soon followed

"Karl? Karl, it's the FBI." Morgan called through the darkness.

He nearly jumped when he shined it on Zoe's face.

"What the... why didn't you have a flashlight?"

"Don't need it." She said, moving through the darkness of the basement.

Suddenly she clicked the flashlight on and spun around, shining the light on Karl Arnold who shushed them as he swaddled the baby, smirking.

"Karl, why don't you give me the baby?" Zoe said, calmly, approaching as she was the smallest, youngest, and less intimidating-looking, it had been years since she saw him. She saw him when she was twelve but he had creeped her out so she left to return to Harvard where her best school friend had helped more than any therapist had, and you couldn't really argue with her because she was held captive for eight months

 "Karl? Please."

Karl glared at her as she approached slowly, side-stepping, he recognized her but she had to try.

That's odd, she noted, the baby wasn't crying. Her eyes darted down and she spotted him smothering the baby. He was suffocating him.

"Karl, get your hand off the baby's mouth." She said with more authority, a note of danger in her tone.

He slowly did so and the baby started to cry.

"Okay, good. Karl, look at me. I'm gonna put my gun away... and I want you to hand me that baby." She said gently as the baby screamed and cried. 

Karl slowly stood back up as Zoe holstered her gun at the same speed and held out her arms, approaching slowly. "Give me the baby."

Then he got a deadly glint in his eyes and threw the baby at them.

"NO!" Zoe screamed and caught the baby as Karl went to fight. He brandished a knife at Morgan as Zoe handed the screaming baby to Gideon and she took out her gun.

BANG!

The bullet grazed Karl's neck.

"The next one stays in you." She threatened.

"You look familiar." He said with a somewhat mockingly curious lilt of his voice.

"Stay there."

"Have I treated you before?" He pretended to remember, "Xiomara or are you Zarah? Both left the house in February of 2001, didn't come back home to your FBI daddy."

"Shut up." She growled.

"You showed up eight months later, thinner and paler than you were before, cut and bloodied but your sister... never found. You never accepted that she was dead because of you."

Morgan slammed Karl against the wall by the throat, "You move or say one more word to her and I will break your neck."

—————————————————————————————

Zoe arrived back at the BAU before them in time, to set up the board just as Gideon had asked and wait for them.

Morgan angrily clutched the chained Karl's arm as they directed him out of the elevator.

"How'd you get here so fast?" He asked.

"Motorcycle."

"You shouldn't ride a motorcycle. They're death machines." Karl said with mocking sincerity.

"Shut up!" Morgan hissed at him, yanking him past Zoe who followed.

He was friendly to everyone he saw as if he hadn't just tried to smother a baby but they all stared at him. When he got to the glaring JJ he asked, "How are you?"

"Keep it moving." Morgan said, pulling him past JJ and Zoe and Gideon stopped

"Did he say anything?" JJ asked.

"No." Gideon said.

"Nothing helpful." Zoe said.

"Can we tie him forensically to the other crimes?" Gideon asked.

Negative on foreign DNA. He must've washed Crawford's clothes." JJ sighed.

"Then we'll need a confession." Zoe said.

"Can you get one?" JJ asked.

"Did you do what I asked?" Gideon asked Zoe.

"Yeah. He won't be able to help himself." Zoe said and went to join Morgan.

—————————————————————————————

Zoe and Gideon sat across from Karl in the interrogation room while Morgan stood.

"Emily Crawford was a very talented and gifted girl. Her brother Sam, a bright, energetic child. You watched them from the yard for days, maybe even weeks. You learned everything about them. You studied their every move and then you wrote it all down." Gideon said but Karl seemed more interested in staring at the board Zoe had set up.

"May I have a glass of water?" Karl asked.

"Something wrong?" Zoe asked with no politeness in her voice.

"No, I'm just thirsty."

"Water, please." Gideon told Morgan.

Karl held up his shackled hands, "could you remove my shackles? I'm clearly no threat to you."

"Do you think we're stupid? They stay on. You just killed two families and were about to kill another and you threw a one-year-old baby at us." Zoe scoffed.

A uniformed officer handed Morgan a cup of water and he placed it in front of Karl.

"You chose families that reminded you of the one you lost." Gideon said as Karl drank his water.

"You stalked them. You bound them. You terrorized them. And once you knew if they weren't seen soon, people would get suspicious, so you killed them, one by one, making the dads watch so they would suffer, watching their families leave them like you did. " Zoe said, "We have your journals. Your serial killer memoirs. You aren't the only one who learned about me during our sessions, even at twelve I was a pretty damn good detective."

"It's my job..." Karl sighed, "to write everything down. To get to know them. I can't help them solve their problems without knowing background. And I make home visits... sometimes without their knowledge because people lie. You, of all people, should know that."

"Yeah, well, you're supposed to talk with them until they understand their emotions and open up to you, you don't stalk them. Sometimes people aren't aware of the psychological trauma and toxicity families can inflict on one another." Zoe said.

Gideon held up a picture of the Miller family and then of the Crawford family.

Karl nodded and looked pointedly at the first family he had killed, "Eric Miller was a terrible husband and father. Allison Crawford hemorrhaged money her husband didn't have. It can strain any marriage."

"That doesn't mean they had to die." Zoe said, darkly.

Gideon held up a picture of Karl with his wife and his kids, he got a somewhat annoyed look in his sociopathic eyes like, are we really bringing my family up? Isn't the psychology of what I did and its connection to my family close enough.

"On the surface, this looks like any family, USA. Two parent households, two kids, a boy and a girl. If you look a little closer, you'll see their body language tells a different story." Karl seemed to be increasingly annoyed at them pointing out the flaws of his failed marriage, "the woman and children are distant from the man. Their smiles are stiff. Their eyes are frightened. Every hair is in place, wearing their Sunday best, their own private hell being memorialized on film."

"Eric wasn't perfect at being a husband but he grew up with constant abuse from his biological and foster parents. That normalized violence in his subconscious mind and only came out when he was drunk. Sure, it's a shitty thing to do but that's what therapy is for. Not with therapists like you, good ones who didn't murder people because he judged them. He never hurt his kids. He loved his kids and because of you, not only did he grow up with constant abuse and feeling no love but he's forever traumatized with the images of finding his son and his daughter's bloodied bodies. You put him through what you went through but worse. Your children are still alive but you hurt them with your obsessiveness and need for control." Zoe monologued, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"What about your mother? You never had a mother figure."

"I don't hold a family hostage to make up for the mother who died because of someone like you."

He looked at the photos and squirmed uncomfortably but not from what he had done but from what Zoe had done... with the pictures.

"You okay?" Gideon asked.

"It isn't right."

"What isn't?"

"YOU'VE GOT THE PICTURES MIXED UP!" He screamed. "The one in the middle. That is Sam Crawford's. It should be Ty Miller's! You need... to swap them. You need to make it right."

Zoe recalled Clara's OCD and how Karl's matched up with the symptoms just as she previously theorized.

Gideon stood up and pointed to the picture of Sam Crawford's corpse's child-like foot. "This one here?"

"What the hell have I been trying to tell you?" Karl scoffed as if they were the insane ones when he held families hostage, pretending to be their "daddy" to compensate for the marriage he screwed up.

"You're right. They're switched." Gideon admitted with more calmness than Karl. "This is Sam Crawford's foot with the Miller family. But how did you know that, Karl?"

He looked at Zoe who gave him an innocent look. She had switched them, knowing he would have the near uncontrollable urge to correct them. He had confessed to the crime because they had no concrete proof that he had killed the Crawfords and Millers as he was going to do to the Dunkens. So he explained as they recorded him.

"And I watched them for a number of days, always at night. Saw how they lived. How they loved. I would keep them apart... until the last night. Till the last supper. Then I would bring them one by one. Down to the basement." As he spoke J.J. switched the photos on their board, according to the serial killer's confession, "The youngest first." He looked at Zoe, who had been the youngest of her family before it got messed up. "The father last."

"Why, Karl?" Morgan asked.

"So he could see..." His voice broke but not out of remorse but out of hurt of the ending of his family, "What happens to families when the head of the household... isn't strong. Wives wither. Children perish." JJ and Gideon started to pack up the crime evidence. "But me? I'm an excellent father.

"One family member isn't the strongest. There is no Alpha. They're strongest together. Strong where they're weak, Karl. Omegas don't last long alone but as a pack, that's how they're at their strongest." Zoe said.

—————————————————————————————

Hotch had found tapes of more than the two families, not only were there the Miller family, the Crawford family, but also the Ness family and the Linford family, and the Kegan family.

In a rusted box were the trophies...

They all sat at a table that the box laid on and Gideon emptied the box onto the table, revealing eight wedding rings. Six families they weren't aware of. This comes out to thirty-two victims if he kept the same M.O., and half of them were children.

—————————————————————————————

*Sorry, this is super late to my like zero fans of this work but I like this story and Zoe will evolve as a character and so will her relationship with Spencer... very slowly. At first, I was nervous about this chapter, I guess because of the content, this was the first Criminal Minds episode that really affected me because I had watched crime shows before but like, Lucifer, the Flash, etc. When kids were in danger, they always survived in the end but I guess that's one of the things that makes Criminal Minds different. Then I had to email my college because I hadn't been accepted yet and by the time he had accepted me, it was too late to enroll so I took another class at community college and then that class started but then a few weeks in, I was dropped because the financial aid study thing I was taking, general had been recently dropped and I had like no warning about it. Then we decided I'd just do other things for class like online and then the Mothman Festival came up and I had tickets to go see Watcher Ghost Files Live and that was just a few days ago. I've continued writing, I'm almost done with Unfinished Business and then I just forgot I hadn't been posting them. *

[zerogate]

"Men were designed for short, nasty, brutal lives. Women are designed for long, miserable ones." -- Dr. Estelle Ramey

Male expendability starts in the womb. The egg of the female inches in solitary splendor down the fallopian tube, inviting impregnation. It has no competition. On the other hand, the sperm—the male’s contribution to procreation—vigorously swim the lengthy course up the vagina and uterus, beating their long, thin tails in an effort to outrace the millions of their brothers headed for that solitary egg. Only a single spermatozoon—one literally “chosen” by the ovum—manages to finally penetrate the egg’s outer membrane and achieve the grand prize of impregnation. The losers die.

But that is merely a preview of the casual manner in which Nature tosses male lives away. Male fetuses are the primary victims of natural abortions, miscarriages, and stillbirths. When times are tough, Nature shows her preference by hiking the rates of spontaneous abortion for males to higher than normal but continuing her tendency to preserve her embryonic daughters. As James V. Neel of the University of Washington says, for males “in utero it’s a jungle.”

Things don’t get any better after birth. In their first few years of life, male babies have a higher death rate than their sisters. Then the nasty habits built into the male genes begin to take their toll. Even in a nice, civilized spot like Alameda, California, where researchers performed a longitudinal study of five thousand adults, males were nearly four times more likely to lose their lives to homicide than females. And they were twice as likely to be accident victims. Their own aggression and bravado did them in.

But cockiness is not the only thing that mows men down. They are twice as likely to be victims of lung cancer, suicide, pulmonary disease, cirrhosis, and heart disease. The immune systems of females work far more efficiently than those of males. How can you encourage the male immune apparatus to function at a higher level? There is a way, but I wouldn’t recommend it: castration. The single trick that kicks the male defensive system into higher gear is the elimination of maleness.

[...]

One result of these myriad handicaps: in every industrialized country, women live four to ten years longer than men. But why does Nature treat the lives of males with such abandon? The reasons are simple. If you did away with the vast majority of men on the planet but preserved the women, you would scarcely even dent our species’ reproductive capabilities. One man kept around as a stud could easily provide a hundred women with the wherewithal to become pregnant whenever they pleased. Every nine months a one-man, one-hundred-woman collective could produce a hundred babies.

Just how disposable males are becomes obvious in the light of statistics revealed by anthropologists William Divale and Marvin Harris in 1976. The pair scrutinized data from 561 primitive social groups. They found that societies constantly engaged in war are very selective about the babies they allow to live. They want boys—male children who can grow up to be warriors—so they weed out the female infants, killing them outright or undernourishing and overworking them. The result is that they end up with 128 male children for every 100 females. So far, it sounds like the males have made out quite well. But when the “treasured’ ‘ young boys pass the age of fifteen, their fate becomes less rosy. They are sent off to war. And there, they die. On the average, 28 out of every 128 never make it to maturity. Their lives are simply tossed away.

-- Howard Bloom, The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History

[petalsonfacesnovinesthough]

Mario Headcanons, because I've been into Mario longer than Sonic

Mario and Luigi are technically both from The Mushroom Kingdom and Brooklyn. Ettore and Caterina Garza did indeed do the do, but the Bros' "grew" as fetuses in the hidden Kingdom of Storks, where babies come from in the Mushroom Dimension(for lack of a term at the moment). As such, after Yoshi's Island(Yoshi's New Island is non-canon), the stork ended up carrying the two through the Warp Zone to Brooklyn, and dropping them off in the maternity section. Because of UNBENDING FATE, Mr. and Mrs. Garza were in that hospital that night, and thus, able to pick up their boys, shrugging off how they didn't remember any maternity stuff, nor that the doctor said Caterina was infertile. The Bros. did end up finding a Warp Pipe or two(so Yoshi's Island DS and Partners in Time can happen), but never really staying in The Mushroom Kingdom until they hit their 20s, after chasing a gorilla down into the sewers, clearing out the pipes, and finally, finding the oddest pipe in bright green.

All the Yoshis have names, they just all start with Yoshi. The mainline series Yoshi is Yoshitane, and is fluent in English. The main character of the Yoshi's Island series, and the one who's partially adopted Mario and Luigi in his heart is Yoshisar.

The Star Children and the Star Spirits are connected, with the Star Spirits declaring/deciding who they'd be. Eldstar chose Mario, Mamar chose Yoshitane(despite still being in his egg), Wario was chosen by Skolar, Muskular decided on Bowser(griping about it during Paper Mario after being freed from his card), Misstar was the one who chose Peach, Klevar decided the Garza household didn't have enough visits that night, choosing Luigi, and finally, Kalmar decided the last one would be Donkey Kong III.

Super Paper's prophesy is cyclical. Every 1,500 years, the Pixls awaken as ones who could fulfill the Dark Prognosticus hit the minimum proper age for the end of all worlds, if it is so invoked.

Luigi is so resonant with magic because of the good few hours he spent right by the most powerful Magikoopa, and thus, the strongest wand, in the Koopa Kingdom as an infant. Hence, the electricity, dream-world resonance, and minor prophetic dreams.

Toad names tend to be either a pun(i. e. Niff T.) or something to do with mushrooms(i. e. Lamella).

King Boo(the one from Luigi's Mansion, as there are more than one), originally Scone Turnovend, was once the regent of the Waffle Kingdom. During his reign, he ended up falling in love with a wizard from the Mer clan, Meredith. The two had two children, before Meredith fell ill and died. Later, their daughter, Polaria ended up going missing after finding a fallen star. Eventually, the family's heritage was blotted out when Regent Scone and his son, Quiche, trying to find Polaria, ended up crushed by Whomps, becoming the dark magic-using Boo king and one of the Boos to later be part of Boolossus. As for Polaria, she ended up partially becoming one with the stars, taking the name Rosalina, after her brother's favorite flower.

The Tribe of Darkness don't exactly speak English, so Blumiere learned it from Timpani. Because of this, he picked up her accent and eccentricities. This is why someone as high-class as Blumiere has wide "A"s.

While DooPliss had stolen Mario's name, body, and aPPearance, Luigi, via twin sense, felt rather nauseous, describing it later as if he was having an out-of-body exPerience.