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whosscruffylooking · 4 years ago

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The Purest Things- Repeating History

Aaron Hotchner x Female Reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Brief mentions of murder and alcohol. Canon typical violence.

A/N: this takes place during season 3 episode 11, birthright. i had a lot of fun studying this episode and making it my own. i have changed certain dialogue and who says what for the sake of the story. please enjoy!

The Purest Things Masterlist

(my gif! please credit if you use.)

january 2008

Syd Moore said, “Disregard for the past will never do us any good. Without it we cannot know truly who we are.”

+++++

Your alarm is often hushed before it even has an opportunity to set off nowadays because you usually wake up before it even has the chance.

4:25 A.M.

You groan and toss your pillow over your face. Maybe, just maybe, you can will yourself to sleep for a little longer. As if someone heard your pleas for slumber, your phone starts buzzing on your bedside table. Of course, it is unnecessary for you even to read the messages. There is a case.

+++++

"Last night in Fredericksburg, a 20-year-old woman, Molly McCarthy, was abducted," J.J. begins, "She's the third to go missing in the last 6 weeks. All disappeared from public places. No one's seen them since until now. A couple days ago, body parts with cigarette burns were recovered from a national park that was once the site of the battle of Chancellorsville."

"Were they able to make an I.D.?" you and Hotch ask simultaneously. Your eyes meet, but he breaks the contact abruptly. Flustered and insecure, you bury your focus deep into the file in front of you. The group discusses the case for a couple of minutes, but you are so concentrated on the papers that you hardly absorb any information they've shared.

There is something familiar about this case to you. Suddenly, realization strikes.

Rejoining the discussions, you say, "I remember reading about a case like this in Spotsylvania county. Similar markings on the bone. It was the winter of 1980, also in Fredericksburg. There were 5 women aged 16 to 24. They were buried in pieces."

"Same markings. Same civil war battlefield," J.J. responds in agreement.

The team agrees that this could be the works of the same killer. There are aspects of the more recent killings that would be impossible to copycat since those details had never been released to the public. But, if this is the same unsub, what's he been doing for the past 27 years?

+++++

Hotch focuses on the road while you watch out the window of the passenger seat. Occasionally, you sneak the odd peek at him. His stoicism is alluring, and you find yourself drawn to this demeanor like a moth to a flame. Piecing together the tiny glimpses you've collected thus far as if working on a mental puzzle, you scrutinize his attributes. His eyes bare the beginnings of crow's feet. Only his sideburns tease the speckling of salt and pepper undertones. His lips turn downwards at the corners, no doubt from years of scowling at unsubs.

Reid speaks up from behind you both and breaks your train of thought. Probably for the better, there's no reason why you should examine your unit chief so intently.

"It's funny--he always dumps the bodies in this battlefield, no matter what the risk."

"It's a respected landmark. He's flaunting," Aaron reckons.

"It makes him feel important," you say in agreement.

Once you have arrived at the crime scene, you follow Agent Hotchner closely. Reid trails ahead, most likely trying to keep up with his own train of thought.

"How does someone not see or hear them?" You ask the sheriff.

He turns to you with a defeated expression, "It was dark. He had the advantage. Molly's boyfriend was the last person to see her. He said she was alone for a minute, maybe less."

Hotch surveys the surroundings, "He's patient and works fast."

"He's perfected his M.O.," Reid states while looking around.

You cross your arms as a wave of unease gets the best of you as you envision the moments leading to Molly's attack.

"If our unsub's pushing 60, he's gotta be strong enough to carry her a long way without her struggling," you bring out.

Hotch looks to you with a concerned squint. You shake your head, signaling to him that it's nothing you can't get under control. He nods in response. The sheriff agrees to point out the various entrances to the park.

"I'll catch up with you," your Unit Chief states. He motions for you to step aside with him, and you comply.

"You know, ever since my wife and I had our son, I dread receiving cases involving children," he discloses to you.

Tears well up in your eyes, "I can't even imagine, but sir, why are you telling me this?"

"This job will inevitably strike close to home on some cases more than others. It's okay for you to feel overwhelmed by it all every once and a while," he assures you.

"You never lose it, though."

He sighs heavily, "Maybe I should have."

Shortly before you joined the BAU, Hotch's wife Haley left with their son Jack. You never ask questions or stick your nose where it doesn't belong. It isn't your place, and you can't blame him for not wanting to bring his family struggles to work. He deals with enough broken families on the job as it is. Mixing his own personal life into the field would only make it more challenging to prioritize. Despite all this, you cannot help but wonder what exactly led to his and his wife's separation. You hope that they can find their way back to each other. The crimes you investigate do not need to claim the Hotchner's as victims as well.

+++++

"I'll let you talk to Chrissy Wilkenson," Hotch directs you towards the kitchen. You wipe your sweaty palms against the fabric of your pants and make your way into the kitchen, Hotch following closely behind you.

"Mrs. Wilkenson," you say gently, "My name is Y/F/N. I have just a few questions about your husband. Where does Charlie usually go when he's stressed?"

"The barn," she stutters. You can tell she's anxious and afraid for the well-being of her family.

"Anywhere else, Chrissy?"

Hotch is called into the other room, and you continue questioning Chrissy. She's becoming overwhelmed, so you guide her to the dining room.

"I know this is difficult, Chrissy."

"Did the father of my child really do that to those poor women?" She cradles her baby bump.

Your heart breaks for her, and you choose to remain silent. Sometimes saying nothing speaks louder than words.

Footsteps bound throughout the house, and Hotch appears in the doorway, "The sheriff will stay here with Mrs. Wilkenson. We need you with us."

Standing up from your chair, you place your hand atop Chrissy's, "History doesn't have to repeat itself." It is almost as if she could tell you were reading her thoughts. The endless whispers that cloud her mind making her feel like she's left with only one choice, but there's always another option. That is all you are trying to remind her of.

+++++

As you and your team trek through the forest, you see a clearing.

"Hotch, this way," you beckon him to pursue your course.

Suddenly, a gunshot rings out, and you stop in your tracks. You make eye contact with Hotch and mirror each other's actions, dashing towards the opening in the trees. Your heart pounds in rhythm with your footsteps colliding against the ground. It is clear to you from your exchange with Chrissy at the house that the origin of the gunshot will shock everyone but yourself. As you reach the clearing and rush down the hill, your speculation is validated.

Chrissy Wilkenson is standing over the body of her husband, the unsub. A traumatized young man haunted by his father's past and plagued by the idea that children are trapped in the endless cycles created by their parents.

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Jesus. Now is not the time for that.

The newly widowed woman claims self-defense, yet the cops handcuff her anyways. Inside, you feel conflicted while watching her get into the back of the squad car.

Hotch appears by your side but remains silent. Again, sometimes silence speaks louder than words. You bit your lip, attempting to hide the fact that it is trembling.

"What did you say to her as you were leaving the dining room?"

"I told her that history does not have to repeat itself. I wanted her to know that even when it feels like you are backed into a corner, there is always another way out. Sometimes people don't know where to look for their out thought," you quiver.

He lightly touches your arm and gives you a reassuring tilt of the head, "Just know that you did everything you could. We will never do this job perfectly. Doing the right thing usually costs more than it pays. You did your part. I'm not a saint, and I am far from a hero, but I have integrity and honor, and I do this job to the best of my ability."

"If you can leave a case with a clear conscience," he continues, "you know you did the best you could. Any other thought process will eat away at you slowly but surely, and ultimately, it will result in the demise of your career and destruction of yourself."

+++++

After a seemingly neverending day, you all arrive back at Quantico.

"I could really go for a drink, guys. What do you say? Newbie's buying," you wave your wallet around frivolously.

"I could go for 5 drinks!" Prentiss exclaims.

"Count me in," Morgan winks at you. He never fails to make you blush.

Reid hesitates and you pout your bottom lip, "Please Reid! How could you not want a repeat of Dolly Parton night last month?"

Hotch comes down the stairs, "Dolly Parton night? Do I want to know?"

You and Derek snicker to each other as Spencer attempts to diffuse his own embarassment.

"9 to 5 is an iconic female anthem that certainly has a rather bewitching affect on a man when mixed with alcohol."

"You only drank Diet Coke that night," you roll your eyes at him.

Out of the corner of your eye, you notice Hotch forcing his way through the small group formed around the desks.

Making your way over to him, you invite him to join, "Want a beer?" You second guess yourself, but it seems as though his rather stern expression softens ever so slightly when he pivots on his heels to look at you.

"I would like that," he answers softly.

He immediately returns to his original path and hovers near the glass doors. You casually make your way over to him, joined by Dave and Emily. A man barges in through the glass doors announcing Aaron's name.

"Agent Hotchner?"

"Yes," the subject in question breaths out almost defeatedly.

The yellow package he holds in his hands is all too familiar and instantly churns your stomach into knots. You gnaw at your bottom lip, drawing a metallic taste that causes you to cringe.

"What is it?" Emily speaks up.

There's no question as to what it is. Oh Hotch. I’m so sorry.

Hotch's eyes trace the package from corner to corner in disbelief, "Haley's filing for divorce. I've been served."

When he eventually takes his eyes off of the lettering, his eyes meet yours. They lock onto you and it is in that moment that you feel as though you have been given the key to unlock his soul. His eyes are so unusual at this moment; they are more vulnerable than you have ever seen. The stoic man is gone, and instead, it is the eyes of one who is in tremendous pain. You had mistaken his bloodshot eyes for physical fatigue on the plane, but now you see that it is emotional exhaustion as well.

If only you knew how badly I want to hug you and tell you that you won't be swallowed up by this darkness. There's a long road ahead, but you have so many people here who love you and are here to support you through this. You aren't alone. Trust me, I know.

In some way, you pray that he can read into your soul and see the pain you feel for him. Once more, your shared silence proves to speak for itself.

At last, he breaks eye contact with you and finally releases the breath that you had been holding in. Dave grabs onto your arm, seeing the clear impact Hotch's news has on you, no doubt having also noticed Hotch's immediate response in looking at you.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can join you tonight," he excuses himself and escapes to the seclusion of his office.

Maybe history does have a way of repeating itself.

Tag List:

@chellybear98 @destiny-tsukino @wanniiieeee @sweetiecake180 @vampiracontessa @weexinling @spaghetti-dad187 @hothskies @star-stuff-in-the-cosmos @mac99martin @clairedragonessbaker @cecemariee7302 @halloweenwithreid @megans-txmblr @theoldestguard @purpledragonturtles @chazubagi @frogrrylovebot @agentaaronhotass @obsssedwithjustaboutanything @mcntsee @ssagube @softhetixx @kenzies-mr-j @peachyotps @cat11-2 @prettylittlemoonlight @ravenmoore14 @gubs-boobs @spencerreidsoulmate @joyclubie

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lovely-necromancy · 3 years ago

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A Cure for Insomnia CH 1.

This is a reader insert I originally started posting on AO3. I’m cross posting here because I know some of the fandom still lives here.

Quick Disclaimer:

This is a fic I'm writing for my own comfort.

I was inspired by RaeBees (you can check out their works over on Quotev and AO3), and how they characterize the "proxies". Having always seen the characters different than most of the fandom I've interacted with I never really shared my thoughts until now. This work is only placed in the Creepypasta tag so it reaches its demographic. However, I am fully aware of the fact that no main character is considered a Pasta.

It may also appear to lean more Toby X Protag in the beginning but end goal is protag with all three, and Brian and Tim already in a relationship. How I picture it now is a slowburn but Toby and Protag will be in a friends with benefits relationship before either has any feelings, so I think that counts. Some may be confused by the asexual protag tag but it'll be explained in story, as an Ace myself I get frustrated with media that only show one version and say it goes for us all. That being said I don't represent the whole Ace community but I hope to provide a bit more representation for some others out there.

Protag will be depicted as agender, and will have a few tics that stem from their Autism. Again I don't speak for any others with Autism but I hope to provide some representation for those in similar positions.

Tags will be updated as the story progresses. Canon-Typical violence and mental health issues are to be expected if you feel uncomfortable with those aspects I advise you to not engage. This story will also have a lot of NSFW themes and scenes so I highly discourage anyone under the age of 18 from viewing this work. You will get warnings on chapters with NSFW and I will make it skippable as well.

I'm also very nitpicky and gave the main characters birthdays just because it irritates me when it gets mentioned once and you have to do the math or imagine your own conversation when a birthday was too close to a character's.

Tim January 1st, home state Alabama

Toby April 28th, home state Virginia (saw this years ago no clue if it's accurate)

Protag May 13th, home state Virginia

Brian May 23rd, home state Alabama

Connor the service dog July 18th, home state Kentucky

I've referred to Protag as Protag here but in story they're referred to as YN.

Everything felt impossibly dull; your senses, the dark room you're currently in, the noise coming from the fan just to the left of the bed on which you laid. Turning to the window beside your head you stare out into that weird midnight summer sky. More of a gray than a true dark blue night, cast in an orange glow that made the night seem closer to day than it truly was. While the time was just half past twelve, you felt it may have been more accurate to say it was closer to four in the morning.

You're exhausted but that true sort of exhaustion where whatever energy you have left buzzes all around. It consumes your entire being, dances between being deafeningly loud in your ears to giving you twitches in your legs. You'd laid down hours ago thinking you'd be tired enough to sleep once your tics started to spasm in closer intervals, but to no avail were you able to rest. That buzzing preventing you from dreamland. Maybe the hum of your body was right, you didn't really need to sleep, you just wanted it to feel normal.

Knowing the battle had already been lost you push yourself off the bed and grab a pair of shorts off the floor. Slipping them on you contemplate your options for the night. Going into town was out since it was Sunday...well Monday now, but there would be nothing but bars open and you were never one for drinking. And as fun as a drive sounds right now, you feel the buzzing in your bones grow stronger, you need to move. A late night hike should keep you occupied, with it being so quiet and the middle of the night you wouldn't even have to take your headphones to cancel out the sounds of other people, you aren't likely to run into many people tonight.

Deciding on a hike you grab a mask and car keys and make your way to your yellow Kia Soul. A going away present from your parents that they gave you the moment you got your driver's license after your 24th birthday. Having anxiety throughout your life you'd never been in the head space to start driving till later on, and while you still don't enjoy driving you are pretty good at it even with your “late” start. Surfing through radio stations as you let the car warm up you find your latest obsession, it's a conspiracy theory podcast that someone in Kepler managed to blast through the limited air ways of the town. Impressive considering Kepler was in a radio quiet zone and even cell phones couldn't work in the small town, luckily you lived just outside of the zone so you could send texts and call your parents every weekend.

It seemed today's episode was a rerun, Mothman: Murderer, Man, or Myth. It was actually one of your favorites, the paranormal stories tended to be more entertaining than hearing about how a man could murder sixteen people while working as a cop ruining evidence to lead the others off his trail. Humans could be more vial and cruel than any little gray alien from the future or tall Fresno Nightcrawler could ever be. And they weren't as entertaining to hear about, nor were their exploits as impressive. You could always see patterns, either connecting clues first or finding connections no one else saw, it was never hard to tell where a certain case would lead so you'd always end up disappointed in humanity when they overlooked such obvious clues. Though that often led you down a path of deep diving for information to see just how obvious it was, more often than not you'd find that the most logical conclusion was shady public officers. After investigating so many cold cases you're sure if you're ever in trouble you'll never involve the police, in the end they'd probably just ignore you and rule your case closed if anything ever did happen to you.

'I'd haunt them if they did.' You decide and you shift gears and begin driving to the Monongahela National Forest, as the timeline of Mothman sightings and events play out before for your ears.

Instead of going through town and possibly loosing the signal of the show, you drive on the old dirt road that runs along the very edge of the town, partially covered in trees. This over grown road is the main reason Kepler doesn't see many visitors, the second someone makes their way onto it coming off the interstate they floor it until they see civilization. Over the few months you've been here you've nearly been run right off the road by spooked tourists, trying to escape whatever ghouls their wild imaginations created. The only real thing on this road was a mini mart gas station, and even though it was shady as hell the cashier didn't bug you too much when you came in in the dead of night. Plus they had a cat, how could you not stop in and say hi to little ole Magnolia?

Speaking of which you should probably get a drink for your hike, you could already feel your throat drying out. Turning into the parking lot you're happy to see no other cars around, putting your face mask on you make your way inside. As usual the store is dead at this time, and Ronnie is manning the desk. What's unusual is the man also behind the counter, he has dark brown hair that he's tied into a small and low ponytail, thick sideburns frame his face. You immediately take note of the slight imperfections of his face, most would see the slit in his eyebrow as following the current trend or even just a genetic thing, but you can see the slightly off color of a healed scar that starts just above his eyebrow and ends mid eyelid, he has a few smaller discolorations on his crooked nose, you'd guess he's had it broken at least twice.

Briefly taking a glance to his brown eyes before looking away, today is not an eye contact day. Nodding in their directions, the best acknowledgment you can give right now, you make your way to the freezers. From the freezer section you can hear Ronnie “explain” you.

“That's YN, a regular mainly at night though. A bit skittish and rarely ever says more than 'thanks have a nice day'” Even though she's whispering you can hear everything. Including the high octave her voice takes to mimic you, it feels more like mocking.

If being mocked hadn't already put you on edge the eyes boring into you have. The eyes may not be roaming over your body but the icky crawling of your skin sure makes it feel that way. The feeling of being put under a microscope has always made you sick, the stares, the leers and sneers, and the judgment just makes you want to implode on the spot. Cease existence, be swallowed into the abyss. You're about to set yourself into an anxiety attack with all these thoughts.

'Mask, mask, mask' you repeat over and over in your head, it's the only thing you can focus on. You are wearing a mask, there is one thing they can't perceive, the face is the most important for humans to perceive, your mask protects you.

Without looking you pull a water bottle from the cooler. You don't think you like this brand but the sports mouth makes up for it, and you can't focus enough to grab another. As the imaginary spiders crawl their way under your skin and your breath hitches you make your way over to the counter head down, never looking up at the employees beyond the counter. Your vision is blurring in time with the beating of your heart, you can't tell if it's due to nerves or from being up for five days in a row.

“Hey YN, how're you?” Ronnie asks, her tone is different from the past times you've been in. It's higher and has a lilt in it that you'd expect from a teasing friend. But Ronnie isn't a friend and has never spoken to you like this, you hate it. You nod to politely move on with the process, between the crawling of your skin and the buzzing underneath it you feel sick. And you're now very aware of the existence of your eyelids, you try to focus on ignoring that awareness. You need to move.

“Hmm, that's good. Anyway this is Tim! He's just started so go easy on him.” you hear the sound of a hand hitting fabric and assume she's patted Tim's shoulder as she introduced Tim to you. Why was she doing this, what purpose could introducing you two have? You nod again, was anyone going to ring you out?

“Hi, this all?” a deep voice asked, it isn't extremely deep more of a standard baritone that has a slight raspy quality, probably a reformed smoker. You don't smell cigarettes currently so he could've quit after years. Unfortunately despite your efforts to stave them off your blinking tics emerge. Making it difficult to keep your eyes open for longer than a nano second.

Startled and ticcing you look up and catch his eyes, you see pity in them, before casting your glance back to the counter. You can never tell what's worse people seeing you as weird or seeing you as something needing to be fixed. Nodding again, Tim tells you the total; a dollar fifty eight, and you hand him two dollars from your wallet.

Tim doesn't ask if you want the receipt or a bag, he prints out the receipt and hands you your change. The change goes immediately into the cat food fund for Magnolia. She got diagnosed with diabetes about a month ago and having worked in shelters and pet stores you know just how expensive her prescription food is. After folding the receipt into your wallet, Tim gently slides the water bottle over to you.

“Have a good night.” he says it so low and gentle, as if he thinks you'll shatter in front of him. As kind as the gesture seems, you aren't that fragile...or maybe you are if you have to keep repeating 'mask' over and over in your head to ground yourself. With a final nod you turn and make your way to the door, and just as you open it you hear Ronnie call out.

“Awwww, c'mon YN at least say 'Hi' to Tim.” You really don't like how she squeaked out 'hi'.

Taking a deep breath you prepare yourself, you'll show them both you can do this simple task. Even if you can't stop blinking long enough to see straight. Once you've steadied yourself you turn and look at Tim. He's sending you a look that says 'You don't have to' all that's missing is a slow head shake to complete his unease with this “peer pressure”.

But you can do this you can say 'Hi, Tim.' Two words super simple, nothing complex like 'Hi, Tim, nice to meet you.' and so much better than the option of your next meeting saying 'Hi, Tim. Sorry for spazzing out the other night.'. Yup you can do this just breathe, you open your mouth and...and you've forgotten what to say. Looking like a deer in headlights, well at least the tics stopped, you say the first thing that pops in.

“Mask.” You've said it loud and clear both cashiers heard you.

Tim stares with wide eyes and you see Ronnie failing to hide her laughter. Out of all the ways this could've gone this was probably the best outcome for her. The blinking has started up again, this time growing more frequent. You can't even hold your eyes open, to the two cashiers it must look like you're in pain or crying. And while you want to die of embarrassment, crying is a bit of an extreme for you.

So with red face and the inability to see you leave through the door, and try to make your way back to your car. Once in you lock the doors, switch the car on, and rest your head on the steering wheel. Out of every way this stop could've gone, being perceived by a new comer and Ronnie was not what you expected. While this hadn't been the worst five minutes or so of your life, it definitely would be another thing keeping you up at night for the next twenty years.

Calming down in the cool quiet dark of your car your slowly brought back to the world by the beginning of a new episode. This one talking about the Tailypo legend. A favorite story of yours from when you were a kid living on the coast of Virginia. So with yet another deep breath and the wave of nostalgia, you pull out of the parking lot and slowly coast down the old dirt road. Heading yet again for the Monongahela forest.

It's nearly two in the morning when you roll up to see an RV parked by the forgotten entrance of the park. It isn't surprising at all to find an RV out here since the Monongahela Forest is one of the most beautiful parks you've ever been to. You also don't think anything of them being parked by this unused entrance because you use it all the time since finding it accidentally. Figuring they just wanted to camp and be left to their own devices rather than use the RV sites and be bothered with other campers here for the summer.

Climbing out of your car you notice the RV isn't new by any means but it isn't a total rust bucket either, looks like it's been passed around throughout the years. There isn't anything to suggest it's been here a while, nothing left set up outside, must have just gotten into town then. You do happen to notice dog tracks around the sandy dirt you've parked in, good to know they have a dog before you slammed your car door. Closing the door gently behind you so you don't startle a pup and wake up it's owner or owners, you make your way through the woods. No real direction in mind, with no real thought in your head. Just the thought of moving and to keep on moving.

You could walk the same path every time you came through and always find something different. In fact that's exactly what happens, you're almost positive that you've deepened the imprint of the path just from walking through several times a week. Following the same winding path you usually do, climbing over the fallen tree, and through a scattering of blueberry thicket's you find yourself on the edge of one of the forest's many streams. It's your favorite spot in the forest so far, and about as far as you've gotten considering these hikes of yours take place during the dead of night.

The wind picks up and sends a chill through you, taking that as a sign you slide down to sit by the stream. Vans placed to your side as you sink your feet into the cool water. It's peaceful out here, so cool, and quiet, save for the slight noises the stream makes, various bubbling and drips. You try to think on things like your recent move, your job, the embarrassing 'mask' incident, just life in general. But you can't seem to form a single thought, this happens a lot, you've recently been conscious of the fact that you've been running on auto pilot for the past two months, hell a lot longer than that. You think everyone must get like this from time to time, but you think you've always been this way. Keen to dissociating and slipping in and out of existence.

It's quite nice really, except for the times like right now where you'd love to figure out why the silence in your head is so painfully loud. The more you think on it the louder it gets and the stronger the buzzing under your skin feels. And right now the static in your mind has been getting louder and louder for the past few minutes. You feel your head jerk to the right of it's own accord, moving back in place it happens for a second time, and then a third, then jerks up, before jerking a forth time to the right effectively cracking you neck.

“There we go.” you mumble, you can relax a bit as the verbal tic indicates the end of this round of tics.

Sighing you look at the sky...that can't be right. The sky has been painted it's fresh baby blues for the day, but again that can't be right. You just got to the stream, that path is a thirty minute walk meaning it should be just about two thirty in the morning, but the sky suggests it's five or six at the latest. Reaching for your water bottle you find it empty next to you. You didn't fall asleep you know that much, perhaps you did dissociate tonight. Well this hike was disappointing if you knew you were going to dissociate you'd have saved yourself that embarrassment and stayed home. Maybe done some painting or tidied up.

Sighing you push yourself off the ground, collecting you vans you're about to put them on when you notice a figure off in the distance. You freeze out of shock and stare at the figure, it stares back. The figure is about ten yards away, god your near sighted ass should really remember to not leave your glasses in the car when hiking. The figure starts to make it's way to you and after a few steps you realize it hasn't moved from it's spot. Rolling your eyes you ignore the hallucination.

You'd really needed to get sleep last night, today is day six of no sleep and though you haven't had many episodes these past few days, you have a feeling they'll start to get more prominent today. Hopefully tonight you can manage to get some rest, the longer you go without sleep the more realistic the hallucinations become. But for today you're content with the knowledge that it's just shadow like beings that you'll be seeing.

After putting on your shoes you start the thirty minute hike back to your car. You're thankful for the weather in Kepler, nothing like back on the coast. Here you can go for a morning hike through the forest while a gentle breeze passes by and the sun starts to give the area a pleasant warmth. Back on the coast you couldn't run and grab the mail without getting drenched in moisture from either sweat, humidity, or a mixture of both. The coast sucks, hell Virginia sucks altogether, you're glad to be in Kepler.

“I want to go home, home.” you say out of nowhere.

Before you reach the entrance you hear barking, oh the RV campers must be up. Should you be careful not to scare them, or just walk normally and say 'Good morning' in passing, maybe just nod your head in greeting. Oh and you've stopped just beside the entrance as you got lost in your rambling. You didn't mean to come to a stop here, and as you try to move you notice how silent it's gotten. Did the dog go inside, maybe they've already passed...no it's too quiet for that. No the silence is oppressive like the one you deal with nightly, there's a reason for the silence. The situation's making you feel uneasy, but that could be the sleep deprivation talking.

You're about to brush it off and move when you hear a whispered, “Seriously man, I don't think anyone's out there. Let's get inside.”

There's a noise of agreement before you hear shuffling. Oh no, you zoned out and now you look like a weirdo stalker. Just perfect, maybe if you wait around a little more you'll seem more normal or at least feel normal. Not knowing how long to wait you walk along the tree line for a bit, looking at the ground as you do making sure you won't step on any snakes. In you quest to not step on any snakes you spot something suspiciously off white. It seems purposefully buried under a dead blueberry bush and some fallen branches.

Having listened to too many true crime shows, you know better than to implicate yourself in a murder. Grabbing a stick off the ground you gently brush the foliage away from the supposed corpse. No way, you can't believe your luck, it's an actual fucking skull. An intact skull of a deer! That is so cool, you've only seen taxidermists on TikTok getting so lucky and finding these dudes. Since the jaw bone is connected by tissue it of course isn't with the skull but maybe it's close by? Clearly this got planted or hidden by someone, maybe they were planning on pranking a friend by 'uncovering' a skull later. Oh well, finders keepers and all that, you have way better plans for this guy, hopefully you can find that jaw bone.

You set off searching through the foliage and near by bushes with the branch while holding the skull in your other arm. After searching about three feet around and finding no more bones you decide that this is the only part of the deer's skeleton in this area. A little disappointed but still thrilled with your find, you decide it must be a good time to go back to your car.

Surely you won't look weird now. You a little forager with their treasure in hand. Looks like you'll be busy cleaning, then bleaching, and cleaning these bones today. Is that the order to treat found bones? You aren't sure but you can look into that later. Placing the skull in the trunk so it doesn't roll about and get damaged you make sure it's secure before closing the trunk and getting into your car and locking the doors.

Not once did you notice the pairs of eyes that had been watching you. One watching as you found the deer skull, and the other set seeing you place bones into your car. They kept watching as you fiddled with the radio while the car was starting up. They watched as you pulled out of the sandy dirt lot and drove back down the old road a little faster than before now that you could clearly see.

#creepypasta fanfic #ticci tobyx reader #brain thomas x reader #timothy wright x reader #masky x reader #hoodie x reader #reader insert #no clue if I'm reaching a wider audience than AO3 but I'll try this out #Crossposted #as of now 13 chapters are over on AO3 if you wanted to read #other wise I'll post a chapter every 3 days on here until I catch up with AO3 #Ao3 has priority #A cure for insomnia

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conradscrime · 3 years ago

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What Happened to Mary Shotwell Little?

August 29, 2021

Mary Shotwell Little was a 25 year old secretary at the Citizens & Southern Bank in Atlanta, Georgia in October of 1965. She was a newlywed, having just married her husband, Roy Little 6 weeks before she disappeared.

On October 14, 1965, Roy was out of town and Mary had plans to have dinner with her coworker at the Piccadilly Cafeteria in the Lenox Square Shopping Center. After the two had dinner they shopped for a few hours before parting ways. Mary said goodbye to her coworker at around 8pm, returning to her grey 1965 Mercury Comet that was parked in a parking lot.

This was the last time Mary was seen, and the following day when she did not show up to work and could not be reached, her boss named Gene Rackley, phoned the shopping centre she had been at the previous night, asking if her car was parked there. The shopping centre did not see Mary’s car.

Gene decided to go to the shopping centre himself in search of Mary or her car, and at around noon he showed up and did find Mary’s Mercury Comet in the parking lot. Gene then reported this to the police.

Many disturbing things had been found in Mary’s car. For one, there was a pair of women’s underwear, a slip and girdle neatly folded inside the car, as well as a bra lying on the floor alongside a stocking that had been cut by a knife. Mary’s car keys, purse and the rest of her clothing were not found.

There were traces of blood on the undergarments and throughout Mary’s vehicle, on the windows, windshield, seats, and even an unidentified fingerprint in blood on the steering wheel. While this seems like a lot to go off of, the amount of blood was actually very minor, with some believing it could of even been caused by something such as a nose bleed.

Another mysterious detail was that Mary’s license plate had been switched with another plate from a stolen vehicle. It was also found that there had been 41 miles put on Mary’s car that could not be accounted for, meaning someone had driven it somewhere and then driven it back to the shopping centre to park it. No one saw the car parked at Lenox Square overnight and there was even a cop who drove by the parking lot at 6am the next morning and did not recall seeing Mary’s car there.

It was found that Mary’s gas card had been used twice in North Carolina on October 15, the day after she had disappeared. The first time it had been used was early in the morning in Charlotte (Mary’s hometown) and the second time it was used was 12 hours later in a place called Raleigh. The credit slips were signed “Mrs. Roy H. Little Jr” in Mary’s handwriting.

During both of these gas trips, the gas station attendant remembered seeing a woman who looked like Mary, and she was avoiding eye contact and looked to be treating a cut on her head. In Charlotte, this woman was with an unidentified man and in Raleigh, she was accompanied by two unidentified men. The men appeared to be controlling her.

Roy Little, Mary’s husband, was of interest to the police as he did not seem extremely concerned that his wife was missing and he also refused to take a lie detector test. It was known that some of Mary’s friends were not very fond of Roy, even refusing to attend their wedding because of him. However, Mary always seemed very happy with her marriage and Roy did have a pretty good alibi on the night Mary disappeared as he was out of town, and he was ultimately ruled out as a suspect.

Shortly after Mary’s disappearance, Roy received a phone call demanding he pay $20,000 for Mary’s return. The caller told Roy to drive to an overpass in the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina where he would find further instructions posted on a sign. Instead of Roy going to this location, an FBI agent went and found a blank piece of paper attached to the sign and the caller was never heard from again.

Mary’s friends said that in the weeks before Mary had gone missing she had been getting phone calls at her work which would leave her visibly shaken up. One person overheard Mary on the phone one day saying, “I’m a married woman now. You can come over to my house any time you like, but I can’t come over there.” Mary had even received a dozen roses at her apartment from an unknown person and had never told her husband about it.

The bank at which Mary worked had recently hired a former FBI agent to investigate some potential issues with lesbian sexual harassment and prostitution that was taking place on the bank’s property. Mary’s boss, Gene, had said it was only a minor scandal and Mary had not known anything about it, but others said that Mary had mentioned the investigation to them. Whether Mary was involved or maybe knew something she was not supposed to know has never been proven.

Another interesting report came forward from a woman a few days after Mary had disappeared who said that on the night Mary went missing she was in her vehicle in the Lenox Square parking lot when a man with a brown crew cut knocked on her window and told her that her back tire was low, which it wasn’t. This occurred only a few minutes before Mary was last seen walking towards her car.

In 1966, an inmate at Georgia State Prison claimed he knew two men that were paid $5000 each to kidnap Mary. Mary had supposedly been taken to a house in Mount Holly, North Carolina where she was held captive and then murdered. The inmate did not know who had hired these two men to kidnap Mary or what the motive was and he was soon dismissed.

Perhaps the creepiest and most disturbing part of the Mary Shotwell Little disappearance is that the woman who had taken over Mary’s secretary job after she disappeared ended up getting murdered a year and a half later.

On May 19, 1967, a 22 year old woman named Diane Shields, had recently left the bank and had been working at another job. She left her workplace and was found dead in the trunk of her car several hours later. Diane had been suffocated with a scarf and a piece of paper from a phone book which had both been shoved down her throat. She was not sexually assaulted or had anything stolen from her so the motive remains unknown.

Diane’s best friend claimed that she had told her she was secretly working with undercover police to help them solve the disappearance of a woman named Mary but no one was ever able to corroborate this story.

Is it possible that Diane was helping undercover police to solve Mary’s disappearance? Perhaps that’s why she took over Mary’s position at the bank. To this day, no one knows for sure and the disappearance of Mary Shotwell Little and the murder of Diane Shields remains unsolved.

#UNSOLVED MYSTERIES #unsolved murder #unsolved true crime #unsolved #true crime #Crime #homicide #murder #mystery #disappearance #missing person

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imagineaworlds · 4 years ago

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I Love You (Part Five) -- Aaron Hotchner

Written By: @desperately-bisexual

Request: None.

Warnings: Cursing. Descriptions of murder and kidnapping. Being held hostage at gunpoint. All around mature content!

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Greenaway!Reader

Word Count: 5994

Timeline: Season 2 Episode 9. Day after part four.

In the morning, Hotch drove me, JJ, and Spencer to the precinct from the hotel. We were up bright and early, but we were still way behind Gideon and Morgan, who must have left hours before us. Granted, they were hunting a killer who preyed at night, whereas we were searching for one in the day. It made sense that they needed to collect themselves and their itinerary for the day long before us.

After spending the day in the field yesterday, Hotch and I planned on taking some time to look over the evidence for any patterns or discrepancies which would help us catch the Mill Creek Killer. No one was perfect, not even our Unsub. He had to have made a mistake somewhere. There had to be something pointing us to him past just waiting to catch him in the act of performing his ritual. Realistically, that was what we had to do. But it was weighing on me, the guilt of letting another woman be taken and killed just so we could catch one man.

We all immediately got to work at the office. JJ found Mr. Meyers, the reporter who had contact with the Hollow Man, waiting in the lobby for her. They went off to discuss the Hollow Man separately, while Hotch, Spencer, and I continued on towards the boardroom. Sheridan was waiting there for us. It looked like he hadn’t even gone home at all. His clothes were the same as the day before, and his eyes looked as though he hadn’t slept in days.

Hotch noticed right away. He patted Sheridan’s shoulder to gain his attention, then told him to go home for a few hours. Sheridan, surprisingly, didn’t argue. He must have been waiting for us to come in to start working so that he could go rest.

Spencer went digging into one of the boxes for a piece of paper he wanted to scan; meanwhile, Hotch and I sat down at the table to start reviewing everything the detective and his team had collected before calling us in for help. Hotch was reading while reclining in his chair and mindlessly playing with the stubble on his chin.

I leaned back in my seat and put my feet up on the table. He didn’t even look up when he told me to put my feet down. I stared at him, almost daring him to look at me, but he didn’t. I went back to the papers I was evaluating and it took him another minute or so before he told me to put my feet down again. But he still didn’t look at me.

JJ burst into the boardroom and hurried over to us. We looked up at her to see the panic plastered to her face. “We just got a call about another missing woman. Merideth Dale. 25.”

I slid my feet off the table and sat up straight. “Does she match the appearance type of the other victims?”

“Perfectly. She was supposed to meet her friend for a bike ride this morning, but disappeared after calling from the trail.”

“Mark Twain National Forest?”

JJ nodded while handing both Hotch and I new case files. We both accepted them and hastily began flipping through the pages. There was a picture of Meredith Dale attached, and JJ was entirely right. She matched the description perfectly. It had to be our guy.

I flipped to the next page to find a mini map of where Meredith’s phone was found. She had been traveling on her bike along a fairly popular path before stopping at a bench to call her friend. That was where her friend found her phone and decided to call the police.

Spencer came back and Hotch caught him up to speed. I spun around in my chair to face the bigger map of the forest that was pinned to the wall. When I realized that the path was near where the second victim was found, I stood from my chair and approached the map so as to get a better look.

“What do you see?” Hotch questioned.

I squinted and got real close to the map before pointing to something with my index finger. I glided the tip of my nail along the paper as I followed the path Meredith was last seen on, all the way down to where the second body was found. Then I traced it to where the first victim was taken then found. And so on.

Hotch realized that I was spotting something important. He grabbed a spool of string from the table and came over. As I continued to trace the path between all of the victims, Hotch followed my finger with the string, marking the spots of the kidnappings and murders with pins. When we had marked all of them, I dropped my finger from the map and took a step back to get a clearer view of our work.

The Unsub was rotating between sectors of the park, but only a few number of them that were close to the highway. The paths he was taking and the sectors he was staying in were all easy to access and easy to escape from quickly. The parking lot nearby was huge, which meant that his car would blend in easily, and he had direct paths to the park where Ellen Carroll was taken, the bike path where Meredith Dale was taken, and all of the woods where the bodies were found.

But why rotate like that? And how the fuck had we missed this?

I snapped behind me while still staring at the map. “Spencer, call Garcia. Ask her to check the park rangers’ forest search schedules.”

“What are you thinking about?” Hotch asked me quietly.

I broke my concentration with the map for a second to make eye contact with Hotch. It was the first time that he had looked at me since I asked him about having more kids yesterday. For a moment, I got lost in his eyes. I didn’t think that I could miss them so much… Yet, even just a day without them made me yearn for all of his love. I thought about how I never wanted him to look away. But not all wishes come true. He broke eye contact first to look back at the map before I began my explanation.

“He’s staying relatively in the same area with the abductions and murders. And depending on the day, he takes the bodies to a certain sector of the forest,” I said.

“Yeah, but the first one is way deeper into the forest. It would take nearly three hours to get there, while the rest of them take not even an hour. So why the change after the first one?”

“He was nervous. He wanted to be cautious to not get caught with the first body because he was unsure of how to go about hiding it at that point. But once he knew what he was doing, he got more confident, and decided to stay closer for convenience and easy escape. And he only takes them from the most populated sectors, but takes them to the more secluded ones.”

“So, then, he knows about how the forest rangers operate. He knows when the parks open, when people will be around, when officers will be on patrol, and where to put the bodies so that they won’t be found for a few days. But how could he be sure that those sectors are safe?”

I pointed back at Spencer, who immediately took the cue to repeat what Garcia was saying over the phone. “The forest is broken up into six districts, and each of them are patrolled every…” Spencer paused as a realization dawned on him after Penelope told him something. He started interrupting and thanking Garcia for her help before hanging up and running to the map. “These sections are patrolled every three to five days, officially, but with department cutbacks, they’ve had to spread out the searches even more. Now they’re only being checked every five to eight days.”

“Approximately how long it took to find the bodies,” Hotch said, the realization dawning on him, too. “That’s why he’s rotating. He's dumping the bodies in the sectors that have just been checked so that he has the longest period of time to spend time with the bodies without being distrubed.”

“So we know where he’s going to dump Meredith Dale.”

“If he hasn’t already,” I added.

“The question is, where in the sector is he dumping the body? He can’t do it anywhere near where the last body was found.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem for him. The sectors are hundreds of square miles large. He could leave the body even five miles away from the first one and we still wouldn’t be able to find her in time,” Hotch said.

I turned away from the map and slowly went to sit back down. My mind was racing for answers. The Mill Creek Killer had to know that we were looking for him. And he had to know that we were close. He wouldn’t have rushed to take another woman if he didn’t think that way. That was his first mistake, though. He rushed and it gave us time to find him.

The mini map on the desk was staring at me for some reason. There was something I was missing in that map. Something important about where the Mill Creek Killer would have taken Meredith Dale. Where could he have taken her? Supposedly her friend was just up the path, which meant that right after the call ended, he would have approached her, taken her, and run before being seen.

The hiking path.

Just across from the bench where Meredith was last reported to have been was a small hiking path that led straight into the woods. It wasn’t a popular path, and it wasn’t clearly marked. Locals and experienced hikers liked to take it, though. At least that was what the park ranger explained to us yesterday when talking to us about the forest.

“Spencer, where does the path across from the bench where Ms. Dale went missing lead to?”

“Uh…” He started to trace the map. “Saltgrass Cove.”

“That’s where we’ll find her.” I stood back up, grabbed the case file, and hurried towards the door with Hotch and Spencer following closely.

Hotch drove the undercover cop car with the lights and sirens on. We arrived at the scene first, Sheridan and his team right behind us once we called from the car. By the time we got out of the car, found the path, and ran deep into the woods, the K-9 unit had released their dogs in search of a body.

We knew where we needed to look, it was just a matter of pinpointing the exact location. The dogs would certainly help, but we couldn’t just stand around while they searched. The team and the group of officers following us tried to keep up with me as I stepped off the path and started racing through the woods.

Hotch called after me to slow down, and I tried, but when we heard one of the search dogs barking south of our location, I started sprinting again. The dog kept barking to call over the entire force until his handler commanded him to stop.

I stopped at the edge of the clearing around Saltgrass Cove when I saw what the dog had found. Hotch came speeding up behind me, taking a few extra steps past before stopping, too. Spencer and JJ stopped behind us.

We were too late.

Meredith Dale’s body was lying in the middle of the clearing, covered with leaves, just as Ellen Carroll had been found. Only this time, Dale’s face wasn’t exposed. It could have been because the last body was tampered with before we got to the scene, or maybe it was because the Mill Creek Killer hadn’t come back yet to prepare or defile the body.

Detective Sheridan approached the body and pushed the leaves covering the face to the side. He cursed under his breath then started pushing the rest of the leaves away. Hotch sprang into action, running over and telling the detective to stop immediately. Sheridan halted, but didn’t move away. He looked up and Hotch asked why they shouldn’t examine the body.

“We need to leave the body as it is. He hasn’t completed the ritual yet, which means that he has to come back. And when he does, we’ll be here, waiting for him.” Hotch turned to the rest of the officers standing around, “Search the nearby area, find spots to hide in the treeline. If we’re going to catch the Mill Creek Killer at any point, it’s going to be today. Please, do not touch anything that you might think is evidence. Leave it all as it is for now. Once we catch this bastard, we’ll start to proceed with crime scene protocol.”

Everyone threw their hands up and groaned or sighed. They didn’t understand like we did how important it was to not touch a single thing. If the Mill Creek Killer was as smart as we profiled him to be, he would know if anything was out of place. Perhaps he would even know if one leaf on Meredith’s body was out of place. But by the time he would be able to get close enough to notice, we would have him. So Hotch leaned down and started covering the body again.

Everyone dispersed except for our team. We waited for Hotch to come talk to us. When he was done resetting the body, he dusted his hands off and approached us. “He’ll be back soon. She looked like she hasn’t been dead more than an hour or so. The blood was still fresh and her skin was only just now starting to grow cold. He’s rushing the process now, so we’ll likely see him in the next hour or so.”

“Should we set up watch times?” JJ questioned.

Hotch shook his head, “No. We need all eyes on this guy. It’s easier to trick people when they aren’t in large groups. We have the upperhand if we all stay. JJ and Spencer, why don’t you guys take up the north side of the clearing, Y/N and I will take this side.”

“Sure,” JJ and Spencer answered almost in unison. They smiled at each other after realizing what happened. Then, they left together to walk across the clearing towards where Hotch wanted them to stay for the next hour while we would wait.

Hotch pointed to a fallen log hiding behind a patch of bushes. “Let’s go there.”

We strolled over around the bushes and sat on the log. I wiped off the dirt from the hem of my pants. While running through the forest, mud had collected there, which was less than ideal. And we had some time to spare with stupid things like that. Besides, it was nice to not think about the dead girl a few feet away from us.

“I’m sorry,” Hotch began hesitantly. I raised a brow, but continued picking at the mud. “About yesterday…” My brow fell. “I didn’t mean to snap.”

“It’s alright,” I responded, sitting upright. “You were right. I shouldn’t have asked about it and certainly not while we’re trying to focus on a case. It was out of line.”

We both knew that this job came first for us. We had worked too damn hard to get where we were in our careers, and even though we loved each other very much, we had to respect that our careers were just as important to us. When we first started dating, we made sure to be very clear with one another that the cases come first, not our relationship. That might sound odd to others, but it was what worked for us. It was what made sense for us. It was how we made our relationship work.

“It wasn’t that.” Hotch took my hand and flipped my palm over in order to clean the dirt off my fingertips. I stared at his jawline as he stared at my hands. “Truth is, I’m scared to have that conversation right now. Ever since Haley left, I haven’t been so confident about the idea of raising a family. I hardly ever get to see Jack as it is. I couldn’t imagine having another kid and not being able to see them just as often.”

“Aaron... You don’t have to be afraid of having a family. The right person should just�� get it. Your job is important to you, but, of course, you’re going to make the time you have with your family special. You do it with Jack every time you have custody of him. I don’t think for a second that Jack hates you for doing your job. In fact, I think he admires you.”

“Yeah, but we’re both gone all the time. When would we ever make time for a kid—”

“There’s someone coming,” Sheridan whispered from the trees nearby.

Hotch and I pushed ourselves off the log we were sitting on and turned towards the clearing. The Unsub had come from the direction of the hiking trail. And he approached Meredith’s body with intent, not like a civilian who had just happened upon the pile of leaves and was curious to see what was underneath. This had to be our guy.

As the Unsub crouched and reached out to brush away the leaves, we made our move. JJ and Spencer jumped out of the treeline to the north with their guns raised, while Hotch, Sheridan, and I jumped out from the south. Once we revealed ourselves, the other cops came forward from their hiding spots, too.

“FBI! Put your hands on your head and step away from the body!” Hotch shouted.

The man hunched over the body immediately put his hands behind his head and stumbled back from the body. JJ holstered her weapon, pulled out her handcuffs, and grabbed the guy. She pushed him against the tree and turned him around to get a good look at the bastard's face. We all expected her to cuff the guy then and there, and we would call it a day, but she hesitated.

“Meyers?” she questioned. We all looked around to each other for answers, but none of us had any except for JJ. “This is the reporter who has been talking to the Hollow Man,” she told us. “You’re the Mill Creek Killer?”

“What? No!” he exclaimed defensively.

“Then how the hell did you find this place?” I asked.

“I got another letter from the Hollow Man. He told me that the Mill Creek Killer had struck again and where to go for the scoop. I showed up here thinking that I was going to meet the guy, get an exclusive or something.”

JJ’s grip on Meyers fell and she took a step back. “How did he tell you this?”

“He sent me a letter. Here, take a look at it yourself.” Meyers pulled out a piece of paper from his back pocket, and while shaking harder than a chihuahua, handed it to JJ. “I swear, I didn’t do this.”

JJ looked over the letter as the sound of a helicopter flying overhead buzzed through the trees. We all looked up to see a news helicopter hovering over the crime scene. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. That was our one chance of catching the Mill Creek Killer, and the Hollow Man ruined it. Fuck.

Hotch grabbed my arm and turned me around so that we could talk privately for a moment. “We can arrest him for interfering in a police investigation, question him back at the precinct, but I don’t know how much help it’ll be.”

“If you thought we were rushing before…” I began, thinking long and hard about what was going to happen next with the Mill Creek Killer. With the news hovering overhead, he was surely going to see it and we wouldn’t be able to set up another sting. “He didn’t finish the ritual. He was already in a hurry to find a new victim because we were close to finding him, but now that he hasn’t completed the one thing that gives him relief, he’ll be desperate for another. He won’t wait anymore than a day. We have to find this guy now.”

“I just don’t get it. If these guys are friends of some sort, why would the Hollow Man lead the press to the Mill Creek Killer’s crime scene?”

I considered his question. Like Hotch said, if they were friends, they wouldn’t have betrayed the other like this. Even if they were a master and apprentice duo, too, it wouldn’t unfold like this. If the Hollow Man wanted the Mill Creek Killer to be caught, he would have contacted us directly. But he didn’t. He wanted the media to connect him to the Mill Creek Killer’s cases. By doing so, he has injected himself into another part of the situation. He wasn’t getting the attention he wanted for killing those prostitutes, so he resorted to diverting the attention on the Mill Creek Killer to himself.

“They’re not friends. They’re competitors. They both want the media attention, but neither of them want to turn in the other because they are fascinated by the other murders. The Mill Creek Killer has to know that the Hollow Man did this to take his attention away. So not only was the ritual ruined, but the media high afterwards. That means he’s not going to be thinking when it comes to his next victim. He doesn’t care about being careful now. He only cares about the attention.”

“He’s going to start taking them off the streets.”

“Or from their homes, their jobs, restaurants. Anywhere.”

“Hotch,” Spencer said, nearing us, “I just got a call from the precinct. A woman called 911, said that a guy just tried to kidnap her off the street.”

“So we were right,” I told Hotch.

He scratched his temple. “Alright, Reid, we’ll drop you and JJ off at the precinct. Sort out this Hollow Man mess while we go to interview the woman to see if it’s connected.”

A crowd had gathered around the caution tape surrounding the scene. Cops were standing around in the middle of the street, trying to redirect traffic and deal with the worried bystanders. One cop, specifically, was standing at the border of the scene, likely under orders to only let us in since they were waiting for us to show up and question the victim. When Hotch and I showed our badges, the cop smiled lightly and lifted the tape up for us. We ducked ever so slightly under before heading over to where the victim was standing with two officers.

We flashed our badges again to the woman and dismissed the officers so that we could talk to her alone. She had obviously been through this process of questioning a few times already, so she was already keen to tell her story again before we could even ask her to. A sign that she was still anxious about what had just transpired— and rightfully so, too.

She began to give us a detailed account of the man who approached her, what he said to her, and then how he tried to take her. Just as we had profiled him to appear, she explained that he was very handsome— which was why she had stopped to talk to him in the first place. He had approached her and asked if she had a phone that he could borrow since his car wasn’t starting and his phone was dead. When she couldn’t find her phone and he offered her the chance to come look at the car with him, that was when she declined; and when she did, he tried to forcefully take her.

“I’d been watching the news, and saw that they were looking for a guy who has been taking women during the day. I didn’t know what to do besides scream.”

We thanked her for telling us what happened, then Hotch asked if she would be willing to sit with a sketch artist in order to give us a visual of what her attacker looked like. She was more than happy to do so, and we immediately sent her along with another officer who would take her to the precinct to meet with the artist.

As we headed back to the car, Hotch got a call from Gideon. I leaned against the side of the car while he answered. From Hotch’s side of the call, I was beginning to get the gist of what was going on. Spencer, Gideon, and Morgan had finally found the way that the Hollow Man and the Mill Creek Killer were saying connected: the classifieds in the newspaper. That was how the Hollow Man was able to tell Jim Meyers where Meredith Dale’s body was.

I pushed myself off of the car and turned to Hotch. He raised a brow while still on the phone, letting me know that he was aware I had something important to say. If they were communicating via the classifieds, then that was how we were going to lure the Mill Creek Killer into our next sting operation.

It was getting late in the day, we would likely only have another hour or so to put another message into the classifieds for the morning paper. And Spencer was perhaps the only one who knew their speech patterns well enough to write a convincing coded message. But it was our only shot— it was our last shot, really.

So I told Hotch the plan I had pieced together in my head over the last few seconds, and he relayed the information to Spencer and the team over the phone. Spencer would have to write a message to the Mill Creek Killer from the Hollow Man, telling him that he was sorry for ruining his plans with Meredith Dale, so he wanted to make it up to him by giving him the gift of another victim. The location would be hidden in the message, and in the morning, we would take an agent out there who matched the descriptions of his usual victims to play dead in order to lure him in. Since he was desperate to complete the ritual, he was sure to come. I had no doubts. He wouldn’t be thinking straight, so he would fall for the trap easily. But we had to hurry.

Hotch hung up the phone with the team so that they could start working on the message. We headed back to the precinct and managed to catch the tail end of them working on it. By that point, though, Spencer was rushing as the deadline was only twenty or so minutes away. Meanwhile, JJ was talking to Meyers about controlling the Hollow Man in the media for the next day or so to keep him distracted from the Mill Creek Killer sting, and Detective Sheridan was asking around for a female detective that was willing to sit in as our cadaver for the sting. Most of the women were understandably not too keen on the idea, but there were two girls who offered and were brought to me and Hotch for consideration.

We walked them both through the plan and what the Mill Creek Killer would likely do— but it would be in a controlled space and we wouldn’t let him get too far. We just couldn’t afford to have another mess up like with Meyers. We needed to make sure we got the right guy this time. And by the time we ran through it all with both of the women, one decided they weren’t brave enough to take on the task anymore, but the other didn’t budge and insisted that she was ready.

Everyone slept at the office that night. There was no reason to go to the hotel when there was still so much work left to be done. I hadn’t even intended to fall asleep at all. Morgan and Gideon were discussing their case with us since they were struggling to connect more clues with the Hollow Man. The last thing I remembered before falling asleep at the table was looking at the pictures from the most recent crime scene. The Hollow Man had killed a sixteen year old girl prostitute behind a dumpster and her friend was the one to find her. And there were still no leads.

When Hotch woke me up in the morning, I was laying down on the couch in the break room, which had practically been turned into a second board room for our team to work in. I figured that Hotch must have moved me at some point, because he was sitting in a chair that he placed right beside me, reading through another file while tracing light figure eights on my shoulder.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” he smiled at me as I sat up.

I stretched and yawned away my exhaustion. “What time is it?”

“8:30. We’re leaving in about thirty minutes.”

“Did you guys make any progress with the Hollow Man?”

He shook his head and I shrugged disappointedly. It wasn’t a shock, but it was still upsetting that we weren’t any closer. Granted, if we were going to catch the Mill Creek Killer later, he was sure to give up his competitor after some interrogation, so maybe it didn’t really matter in the end what they did or didn’t find while I was asleep.

I stood up and stretched again for extra measure, acutely aware that Hotch was staring at me out of the corner of his eye. After a moment of waking myself up, I strolled over to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup before offering Hotch one, too. He accepted the offer and I poured another cup full, then walked back over to the couch. I handed him his drink as I sat down. I leaned forward and propped both of my elbows up on his knee closest to me and kept the warm rim of the cup pressed against my lips so that I could smell the coffee while also warming up my nose from the steam.

“What are you looking at?”

“We got the sketch back from yesterday’s victim,” he answered, holding the drawing up for me to see.

He was almost exactly how I imagined him. He was definitely attractive, if you could get past the fact that he was a total sociopath. His face was square. His eyes were light, bright, and wide. His lips were perk, perfect for kissing— which was always an unconscious factor people tended to put into consideration when it came to potential partners. And most noticeable about his appearance was his hair. He was clean shaven, and his hair was short and nicely cut. He didn’t match any physical features one would expect from a textbook sociopath. But that was definitely a reason why we hadn’t found him yet and why these women were so interested in going with him somewhere private. He didn’t look at all scary. That was what made him dangerous.

“Well, at least we’ll know if we get the right guy this time,” I laughed.

Hotch chuckled slightly but bit it back when he realized that he had let it escape him. My smile faded and I stared at his cheek for a second before feeling the urge to look at his eyes again. I let go of the coffee cup with one hand and went to hold his face in my palm. His skin was so cold compared to my warm hand, and he noticed it, too, right away. I dragged my thumb down his jawline, applying slight pressure towards his chin to make him look at me. He leaned into my touch, his eyes falling shut as he relaxed.

“We’re going to get this guy,” I reassured him. “And then we get to go home and see Jack.” He smiled at the thought. “We’re going to be okay.”

He opened his eyes and leaned towards me before kissing me. “We’re going to be okay,” he whispered against my lips. I kissed him again eagerly.

The door to the break room opened. Hotch and I immediately pulled away and looked over. “Hotch, Y/N—” JJ had come in hurriedly, but was slowly realizing that she had interrupted and regretted not knocking. “Sorry… Uh. We’re getting ready to head out. You guys should gear up.”

“Thanks, JJ,” I said. She smiled politely and backed out of the room much faster than she had come in. I started laughing once the door closed behind her. Hotch looked me up and down and started laughing, too. “Well…” I shrugged before kissing him again.

At the sting operation site, a makeup artist sat with the detective who was going to lay down as the body so as to make her look convingly dead. While JJ and Spencer were covering her body in leaves, Hotch and I reviewed the plan with her one more time. It was very possible that the Mill Creek Killer would come up to her and touch her, but we wouldn’t let him get much further than that. She just had to stay still until we decided to reveal ourselves. She would be okay, we promised that much.

When she was ready, we helped her lay down without rustling any of the leaves, then covered her face. Afterwards, when she looked as the other victims had, we all retreated into the forest to hide until the Mill Creek Killer would show up. I checked my watch to see that we had only five minutes until he was supposed to show up— at least according to the note we put in the classifieds. He could possibly have been too scared to show up on time, so we had to expect that he could perhaps show up late.

Hotch and I didn’t sit down or talk this time around. The stakes were too high to think about anything other than catching this asshole once and for all. I wouldn’t let him get away again. I couldn’t. And I was sure that the rest of the team felt the same way. In fact, I knew it. JJ looked as nervous as I did, Hotch’s silence told me that he was focusing on not jumping out too soon, and Spencer was searching the treeline frantically for any sign of movement.

Nearly five more minutes after the Unsub was supposed to arrive, we heard rustling in the forest coming from across where we stood. As a man walked into the clearing, he kept his head low, focusing only on the girl covered by leaves laying before him. He chuckled to himself and giddy approached the detective. He crouched down, tore off his jacket, and pulled out a tube of lipstick from one of the pockets.

Once we saw the lipstick, we knew we finally had the Mill Creek Killer. The lipstick was his signature. He wouldn’t complete the ritual without it.

“Go,” I ordered quietly. Simultaneously, we all jumped out of the bushes and into the clearing with our weapons raised. Hotch ran at the Unsub and tackled him before he could put a finger on the detective. She sat up, her weapon pointed at him as Hotch put his knee on the Mill Creek Killer’s lower back and started handcuffing him. I turned to the detective, “You alright?” She nodded. “Good.” I held out a hand, she took it, then I pulled her up to her feet.

We did it. We won. We got the son of a bitch.

criminal minds family: @peggy1999 @gorgeousdarkangel @marvelismylifffe @alex--awesome--22

#criminal minds #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds imagines #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fanfic #aaron hotchner #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotch hotchner #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner imagines

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laylacooke · 4 years ago

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Don’t Be Suspicious || Luce & Layla

timing: Late July, Midnight parties: @divineluce & @laylacooke summary: Luce & Layla have an unexpected meeting in the woods in the middle of the night.

The one benefit that had come out of the fidget spinner ordeal had been the ability to throw out claws and teeth when a fight came. Partially transforming hurt, but it had become easier when it came to needing protection. However, it was the fine art of fully transforming at will, that Layla was focused on. It had been something that had scared her greatly for multiple reasons. The immense pain of shifting, being one, but the fear of killing somebody again, being the biggest. It’s why her need to find a good place in her head and her heart where she could have full control over the shifting was important, and it’s why she had ventured out to White Crest National Park to try and work on her werewolf skills on her own. However, having been in the same spot trying to focus had led to nothing but frustration, which eventually led to Layla letting out a frustrated growl that echoed through the trees.

“Get back here, you piece of shit--” Luce growled as she ran through the woods, her lungs burning as she chased the creature down, her sword haphazardly rattling in its sheath as she pursued the monster. It wasn’t anything particularly hard to handle, just your run of the mill ghoul-- but still. She’d been running in the forest a few nights ago when she’d realized that she was being watched, being followed. Which is why she was back here now, turning the tables. She’d been through so much bullshit; she didn’t need to add a ghoul stalking her back to her cabin to the list. As she ran through the trees, a growl rang out through the woods, startling her. “What the fuck?” She said, as she slid to a stop, staring through the darkness around her. “Someone out there?” Luce asked. Or was it something?

Falling to her knees in pain, the young werewolf still couldn’t figure out the way to fully shift voluntarily. What was she doing wrong? Every full moon it came naturally leaving her broken and sick, until the animal took over giving her new life, but right now, all she could feel was newly formed fangs and claws which left her mouth aching and her hands sore, “Why won’t you change?!” The frustration running through her blood left her clawing and gripping handfuls of dirt before flinging it into the distance. But a voice stopped her from doing anything else. Animal instinct forcing her to sniff the air, Layla’s yellow eyes darted around looking for the culprit. The scent of a human and the sound of their heartbeat gave the young werewolf what she needed to go hunting, but she still had control and knew she had come out here for a reason, “I don’t want any trouble, okay?” Her eyes scanned the forest as she climbed back to her feet, “I just came out here to hike.” Yes, it was partly a lie, but maybe it would be enough to get the person to leave.

As Luce made her way through the trees, she saw a fallen form in the middle of the woods, clawing at the dirt. Stopping in her tracks, her hand instinctively went to the hilt of her sword. Not that she thought she’d have to use it, but… after that shit with the demon voice changing Santa in the woods and her run in Shocky Mc-Fuck-You, she was wary of things that lurked around the woods. Even though the national park was one of the safer places in White Crest, it never hurt to be careful. But, when a voice came from the crouched figure, she relaxed, hand resting on her hip instead. “You hurt or something?” She asked, wondering why this girl was out here in the middle of the night. Luce was looking for trouble, but not this kind. She was in the business of fucking up some of the ghouls and monstrous creatures that roamed the woods, not rescuing injured hikers. But, if she had to, she would. “You fall and twist your ankle?” She asked, clicking the small flashlight secured around her arm, the beam cutting through the darkness.

Layla kept her head turned and her fists clenched. The last thing she had wanted was to scare this woman, or worse, get into a fight with her. If anything, the redhead just wanted to be left alone. Find her peace and go back home. Ari and Ulf had probably been wondering where she was at, and Indy needed to be fed, “No, I was just out. Wanted to see the stars. I hear it’s pretty in this area at night.” Her face was aching from the fangs and blood seemed to drip down where they had forced their way out of her skull and gums. It was her heartbeat that was keeping them out, along with her claws. The fear of what this random person might do to her. However, before she could turn her head quickly enough out of the path of the light, she felt it hit her eyes and reflect off of her yellowed hues revealing that she wasn’t exactly human.

“Uh huh.” Luce said, nonplussed by the words. Out. To see the stars. It sounded a lot like the excuses she had made when Roland had caught her out in the woods. Well, she wasn’t a cop and she wasn’t going to go bothering some random girl in the woods if she wanted to be out here alone. With a shrug, she was about to move on with her night, make some comment about staying out of her hair when she saw the flash of yellow in the girl's eyes, a familiar shade she’d once seen glint in Ulfric’s. A werewolf. Huh. Well, how about that. “Just wanted to see the stars huh?” She said before tilting her gaze up. “The moon’s really bright tonight. Pretty.” She said with an offhand comment as she leaned back to look skywards, the sword on her hip glinting in the moonlight.

It was too late, and there was no use in turning her head. The woman had clearly seen what Layla was. It was apparent in her voice and the comments that were coming out of her mouth. The glint from the sword caught Layla’s eye, and she slowly started to back away, “Please. I’m not out here to hurt anybody. I didn’t think anyone would be out here this late, and I knew it would be a good time to...try and figure some things out.” She didn’t want to outright say what she was. It was clear this woman already knew. Her heart was beating a little harder in her chest at the fear of what might happen, and she had started to pant.

As the girl began to back away slowly, it didn’t take a genius to realize what had her spooked. Ah, shit. Luce let out a sigh and held her hands up. “I’m not a hunter, don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you. I was just out here,” She paused, not sure how to answer. She’d literally just said she wasn’t a hunter. And she wasn’t. She was just out here… trying to make the woods a little safer, deal with some pesky ghouls that had a knack for making a mess of things. “On a hike. And in a place like this? It never hurts to have protection.” She said with a shrug. “Are you sure you don’t need any help? You don’t exactly look like you’re in good shape there.” She said, glancing at the way the girl’s hands were inhuman and gnarled.

The woman had a point. The woods of White Crest weren’t exactly the safest and knowing that reasoning made her feel a little less stressed. However, Layla still wasn’t fond of being around someone with a huge sword, “I guess that’s a good point. No pun intended...” She looked down at her hands, “Um, they should heal up on their own when my stupid claws go back in.” She hated not being able to have full control over herself. It made her unsure and leery when she was forced into certain situations. Layla’s intent was never to hurt anyone. As a werewolf, she couldn’t control that hunger. She had tried, but as a human, she was determined to keep those around her as safe as possible, even if that spelled bad news or pain for herself, “So hiking in the middle of the night huh?” She was starting to become a little more comfortable knowing that the woman’s vibe wasn’t really as hostile as she once presumed it to be.

Watching as the girl looked down at her hands, Luce cracked a crooked grin at the joke. “Like I said, I’m not going to hurt you. Just gonna have to trust me on that one.” She said. There was a certain irony in the fact that she was meeting another red-headed werewolf-- seemed like Ulfric wasn’t the only ginger wolf running around in these hills. But she wasn’t about to out him to some random werewolf in the woods. “Well, as long as they heal up fine, sounds good to me.” She said with a shrug. At the further question, Luce raised an eyebrow. “That’s what I said, right? Insomnia’s a bitch.” She said. She wasn’t even going to attempt to explain what she was doing out here. Besides, she had a feeling getting rid of the local ghoul problem wouldn’t do much to reassure the girl that she wasn’t a hunter. “Besides, you’re out here too, kid.”

“Yeah, I got that. Look, these things...I can’t make them go back in.” She held up her hands flashing her claws. “That’s why I’m out here. Trying to learn how to control what I was forced to become...” Her words kind of trailed off. Layla hated being a werewolf. She had learned to forget what she most of the time, but when it would come creeping back in, the regret held heavy in her heart. Shaking off that same feeling that seemed to be coming in stronger than before, she looked Luce in the eyes, “Yeah, insomnia is an absolute bitch.” Letting out a soft sigh, she decided a truce was in order in case they were to run into each other again in the future, “Name’s Layla. Consider this my way of trying to draw some kind of truce that if we see each other out here again, we either go our separate ways or are friendly to one another. Thoughts?”

At the girl’s words, Luce’s eyebrows raised even higher. What she was forced to become? What, was she some kind of bite victim? Luce didn’t know much about werewolves outside of what Ulfric had told her over drinks from time to time, but she’d only ever known born wolves. Then again, she had no idea what Ariana was, but she wasn’t exactly going to ask the girl. She had a feeling that talking about the girl’s background might… bring up some bad memories. The thought of Celeste, of their brief date in the woods not all that far from here, came back to the forefront and Luce shifted uncomfortably. “A truce? You make it sound like I’m out here trying to start shit. I already said I wasn’t gonna hurt you. Twice, in fact. So, chill.” She said before shaking her head. “If you try and go off on me, you won’t like it. But whatever, kid. Next time I see a red wolf running around, I’ll look the other way.” Luce snorted.

Geeze, she reminds me of somebody, but I just can’t… “Uh, excuse you, I didn’t come out here sportin’ a huge ass sword. Who carries a sword anyways? This isn't King’s Landing.” Fucking bounty hunter. That’s who she reminds me of. “And I guess we’re not doing the name thing, huh?” Layla’s claws and teeth were beginning to go back in. Feeling threatened went out the window. “And if I see someone carrying a big ridiculous sword on their hip like Jaime Lannister, I’ll look the other way. So, I guess we’re on some sort of mutual ground. And don’t worry, I wouldn’t expect you to shake on it.”

At the girl’s comment, Luce let out a short sigh before shaking her head. She honestly didn’t want to start shit with a wolf, she really didn’t. Ulf had warned her that wolves could be dangerous, and here was a young girl who’d been turned and was sitting there with her claws and teeth out. Not exactly someone she wanted to fuck with. “Luce. And yeah, I’m not about to shake on it.” She made a scratching gesture with her hands before pointing at the girl’s hands. “Sure. Mutual ground works for me.” With a sigh she jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Well, if you’ve got this whole… tooth and claw situation on lock, I’m gonna go.” She said before backing away from the girl, returning into the darkness of the forest. The ghoul problem would have to wait for another night-- when there weren’t teen wolves in the woods.

#para: don't be suspicious #divineluce #wickedswriting

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emberfrostlovesloki · 4 years ago

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Guess who got into Criminal Minds

I realize that I’m about five years late to this fandom but here’s the first chapter of a story I’m working on. I plan on making Spencer the focus later in the story. The story starts sometime during the middle of season !. Hope you enjoy.

Warnings for chapter 1: Description of murder and mutilated bodies. Discrimination against sex workers.

To Be Held - Chapter One: Death in Seattle

Derek was the last member of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit to enter the bright room where the rest of the team was gathered. Hotch, J.J., and Gideon had already grabbed a file off of the table laden with paper and pictures. The late agent leaned over the table and swiped the file with the main information about the new case. “So, what are we working with here?” Derek asked. Gideon looked up from his file and replied, “Two murders, one victim female and one victim male. The female was assaulted before her death. The male was…” There was a pause in Gideon’s fact list and Spencer finished the sentence for his boss. “The male was castrated, after his death.” Derek looked up at Spencer with a surprised look, and let out a long sigh. “So what are the similarities? A male and female murdered could mean two different M.O. therefore indicating two unsubs?” It was Elle’s turn to give up the information she had gathered. “It looks like one unsub to me. I think the murders are very religiously symbolic. Apart from torturing the victims the unsub broke the wrists and feel of his targets and laid their bodies in the position of someone who had been crucified.” The team nodded their heads as they took in the new information. Gideon who had pulled out his phone looked up from the glowing screen. “The plane’s ready.Well fill in any other gaps of information on the flight to Seattle. Grab your stuff -- wheels up in ten. As the team filed out of the room Spencer was walking beside Derek and inquired, “So what made you late?” Derek looked at the genius and said, “I overslept.” Hotch turned and gave Derek a knowing look before dashing down the stairs to his desk.

The BAU team was in the air and in their regular seats. So far the team had found out the identities of the two victims. The male was Jefferson Pyne, 19, sophomore at Washington State University, he had been studying fashion merchandising, had good grades, and was in the BYX fraternity. The female was Sydney Grost, 31, she had worked as an escort in the greater Seattle and Washington area. Both Jefferson and Sydney’s bodies had been dragged into the woods where they were found two days apart by a hiker and cyclist.

The plane landed smoothly on the runway. As Elle stepped out onto the tarmac she turned to J.J. and said, “Man this weather is really going to get to me. If Twilight has taught me anything from my youth, it’s that in Washington it’s always raining.” Before J.J. could make a joke about how Elle had read Twilight in her youth, Spencer chimed in with, “Actually, Twilight miscalculated how much it rains in Forks. It rains about 15% of the time, not 85% like Meyer’s implied.” J.J. and Elle tried to stifle their giggles as they both turned to look back at Dr. Reid. “You’ve read Twilight?” J.J. asked incredulously to Spencer. To her it was an almost impossible idea,that Dr. Spencer Reid, a man with three degrees and a genius level IQ had read Twilight. Spencer replied with, “Of course I have. It’s part of the cultural zeitgeist of the 21st century. I couldn’t not read it, could I?” The rhetorical question was all too much for J.J. and Elle and they turned around and giggled, quietly, but still, they had to laugh at the concept. They didn’t see Dr. Reid’s reaction, but he bit his lower lip in confusion, and wondered why reading a book that was immensely popular was funny in regards to him.

As the BAU was whisked away to the East Precinct of the Seattle Police Department. Upon arriving at the glass exterior the team was greeted by the Police Chief. Gideon stepped forward in his position of authority, extending his hand and saying, “My name is Jason Gideon, head of the Behavioral Analysis unit. This is my team, agent Hotchner, agent Morgan, agent Greenaway, agent Jareau, and Dr. Reid.” The chief replied by firmly shaking Gideon’s hand, and replying with, “My name is Officer Carmen Best, it’s a pleasure to meet you, and your team. Let’s go inside and get started.”

In a secure room of the police building the team settled down and waited for Chief Carmen to give them the general briefing which she began almost immediately after they were seated. “Two days ago we were made aware of the death of two individuals from the Seattle area. At first we assumed that there could be two different killers, due to the differences in the age and sex of the victims, as well as the method of bodily mutilation. However, after examining the bodies, the similarities were too hard to ignore. The escort company that Ms. Grost worked for is called Fantasy Girls. We've had police officers in plain clothes canvas the building a few times, but nothing seems out of place. Seattle has a lot of tourists from Canada and abroad. We fear that this might be a foreign attack and the unsub might get away before we can find and convict them. That’s all we have right now apart from the evidence you have been already given. Do you have any questions or observations so far?” Chief Carmen looked around the room to see what she was working with. Morgan cleared his throat and spoke up saying, “It’s unlikely that the unsub is not a U.S. citizen. It wouldn’t fit a typical profile. Also, I think this unsub must be older, around 30 to 50 to be precise. The technique of disposing of the bodies without anyone noticing means a more experienced killer. Likely someone who has killed before.” Everyone nodded at Morgan’s assertion. After a few seconds of silence Gideon stood and laid out the plan for the rest of the day. “Agent Hotchner and I will go out to the crime scene to see what else we can deduce there. Morgan and Elle, I want you to go out to Fantasy Girls office and profile the owner, employee’s, really anyone who might know something. Also talk to the cops that are doing the surveillance. Dr. Reid, you stay here and get started on the criminology, possible motives and areas the unsub could strike next. J.J. I need you on the media scene here. Get ahold of what the news has on this case, and keep it under wraps if it looks like a story is about to break.” With the orders given each of the separate groups went to do their jobs.

Gideon and Hotch mainly remained silent as they made the thirty minute drive to the trailhead leading to the crime scene. Gideon swerved the steering wheel quickly causing the car to drift an inch on the wet pavement. Hotch let out a small laugh under his breath. Gideon looked over at him wondering what caused such a reaction in the severe man. “You drive like my wife Jason.” Stated Hotch. The statement had both men laughing until their sides hurt. By the time the two friends had caught their breath, the undercover car was pulling into the trailhead parking lot. Vita Nova was clearly printed on a metal sign next to the map of all of the trails in Olympic National Park. Hotch looked over the map and found the path they were looking for. It was titled Journey's Start. Aaron called behind him at Gideon saying, “We had better get a move on, the crime scene is about three miles from here.” Gideon replied, “You said it boss, let’s go.” As they started their walk, the world slipped away into a lush green path. Hotch fingered his gun. The forest muffled the sounds around them and it put him on edge.

Just as Gideon and Hotchner started their hike, Elle and Morgan arrived outside the building hosting the Fantasy Girls headquarters. It was surprising to Morgan and he commented, “I was frankly expecting something more, flashy?” He gave Elle a quizzical look, hoping for clarification. Elle stated, “I imagine that this is the agency for Fantasy Girls. Escorts take men to bars and clubs all over town. Companies like this aren’t brave enough to have a facade where the girls work. It’s shady, but it keeps the company less liable for situations like this. Morgan nodded and the two exited the car and entered the crumbling brick building. The FBI agents quickly scaled the two flights of stairs to find the office door marked 308 Fantasy Girls. As they walked in and an attractive, young woman walked out holding a folder in one hand and a check in the other. She paused for a moment to look Morgan up and down before sliding out of the door and making room in the office. It was empty apart from an elderly secretary. Morgan walked forward and told the secretary, “We’re from the FBI and we need to speak to Riley Yeung.” The secretary, whose name tag said Nancy, clicked her tongue. “Mr. Riley won’t be happy to see you. He already gave a statement to the police. That was yesterday, maybe you should talk to them?” Nancy retorted. Elle stepped forward, and in a warning tone said, “Speaking to Mr. Riley is imperative to making sure more innocent people aren’t killed. We must see him.” Nancy listened with apathy to Elle before picking up the phone at her desk and hitting one. “Mr. Riley, some suits form the FBI are here to talk to you.” As Nancy listened to the response on the other line she pursed her lips. After she hung up the phone and looked up to Morgan and pointed to the door to the left of her desk. “Mr. Riley’s office is at the end of the hall. He’s ready for you.” Morgan turned at the response and opened the door for Elle. As he stepped into the dirty hallway leading to the CEO’s office he overheard a comment that Nancy said under her breath, “Innocent people, all these girls are being paid to be sluts and whores. They’ll all burn in hell on day.” Morgan thought about turning around and interviewing Nancy, but he stopped himself, instead filing the comment away for another time.

Meanwhile, back at the precinct J.J. and Reid were working at the table where the whole team had been two hours ago. J.J. was on her computer researching what the both online and print news media was saying about the murders. She was also emailing her associates in CNN, MSNBC, and FoxNews, with the information she had. J.J. was also working with the police department on when a press briefing might happen. She also was asking Spencer what he had learned so far. As she got new information she added it to a general document with all of the current information. This procedure made filing the final paperwork at the end of a case much easier. So Reid, “what have you found about the illustrious Fantasy Girls website?” J.J. asked. Spencer didn’t even look up from his laptop as he replied with, “It appears that there are three models for requesting a Fantasy Girl.” He paused and swallowed at the idea of requesting a woman. He continued saying, “You can get an individual woman, or get a group of two to four women, and lastly you can host a ‘party,’ which can have up to twelve women.” Spencer breathed out, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. Looking at a screen for too long always gave him a migraine. J.J. looked up at him and asked, “So, have you found anything on Sydney Grost, or the other girls?” Spencer replied with, “Not that I can see from the Fantasy Girls website of social media. At least this company managed to keep the identities of the other workers safe. There’s hardly anything about them apart from promotional pictures and their aliases. However, there is one girl, she seems to be in a lot of pictures with Grost.” J.J. wondered if the owner of Fantasy Girls had just recently whipped the personal information about his workers. If they would be the next unwilling victims lying dead in the words. She wrote down the first part of her thought and then had an idea. “Hey Spencer, you should call Garcia. Send her the pictures with Grost and the other girl. She can find anyone, literally. I’ve seen her do it with about fifty potential Tinder dates. She even checked out a guy for me once.” J.J. smiled at the memory. Spencer raised his eyebrows at the story, but after a second he swivelled out of his chair, grabbing his phone and stepping into the hallway to call Garcia.

“Office of the Supreme Overlord, may I inquire which of my feifs is calling?” Garcia loved the thrill of answering her calls oddly. She considered it one of the most interesting parts of her job. Of course, every once in a while she got reprimanded for her behavior, but it was alway worth the risk. When she heard, “Hey Gracia, it’s Spencer.” She replied with, “Ah, my favorite genius other than myself. How may I be of assistance?” There was a pause on the line and Spencer replied with, “I’ve sent you some photos. I need one of the women identified.” Penelope pulled up her email tab on the sleek computer system. Once she opened the attachment she couldn’t help but say, “Wow, they’re hot.” Penelope thought she hadn’t said it outloud but when Spencer responded with, “What?” she knew she was screwed. She cleared her throat and continued the conversation, “I’m assuming you want me to find the identity of the girl with black hair?” To which Spencer replied, “Yes. The other woman is Sydney Grost, aka The Violet Vixen, she was killed two days ago. I’m hoping if we can identify the other woman we can get a better profile on the unsub.” Penelope nodded along with the information. Her fingers were already flying across her keyboard, uploading the photos into a software that would analyze the basic characteristics of both girls. She hoped that the software would pick up information about both women. Even if one of them wasn’t alive anymore, it would prove that the program she had created was working. As she was working she asked Spencer one more question. “So what’s the other woman’s name?” He quickly said, “Venus Rising, of course that’s an alias. Garcia, I've gotta run and give J.J. a hand with something. Please call me back when you get something.” The line suddenly went dead. Penelope smiled. She loved that Reid never questioned that she could get something done, and he had said “‘Please.’” She took a big swig of Mountain Dew and went back to typing incredibly fast, monitoring her computer screen like the tech genius she was.

Hotch and Gideon had arrived at the scene where the bodys had been found. Gideon hunched under the yellow caution tape that quarantined the area, while Hotch looked for any clues outside of the crime scene. The scene was very clean, Jason noted on his legal pad. Meanwhile, Aaron was examining a small trail that didn’t appear to be part of the larger system of the park. “Jason, I have something here.” He called out when he noticed something unique in the dirt leading out of the crime scene. Gideon walked to Aaron and squatted down to look at what his friend was looking at. When he didn’t see anything noticeable on the earth he asked, “What am I looking for?” Hotchner cleared some of the leaves off of the ground and dug some pebbles off the same area. “There’s a shoe tread, it’s faint, but look here, there's a star imprinted.” Hotch moved his pointer finger around the shape of a star. With Hotchner’s explanation the shoe tread became clear. Gideon responded with, “This unsub is good, he covered his tracks as he left the scene, and if I’m not mistaken that’s a Doc Marten tread. Good find.” Hotch replied simply with, “Thanks.” The younger man stood up and stated, “I’m going to try and follow this path and see where it leads. Also, when I get a signal I’m going to call Chief Best and get a squad out here to rope off the area where I find prints.” Gideon knew that Hotch was as good at his job, and very aware of the situation, but he could not help saying, “Be careful and stay aware.” Before Aaron walked into the overgrown woods.

Once Hotch was out of sight Gideon went back to the scene. Now that he knew that there was something to look for. He swept the blanket of leaves off the ground with his foot. First he found one print, then another, and another. It was clear to him that the unsub had been to this location many times. He had scouted the site for the bodies, but a more important piece of information that that knowledge gave, was that the unsub had scouted his victims. As Gideon processed the information, something else caught his eyes. He leaned down, on the edge of a bush was a strand of orange rope. It was exactly where Mr. Pyne’s body had been found. Jason pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. Next he pulled on some gloves and put the organe fibers into an evidence bag for further analysis.

Derek looked around the filthy office of Mr. Riley. The peeling and dated wallpaper was decorated with lewd photos of naked women. Mr. Riley appeared as repulsive as his interior design aesthetic. He was responding to a question from Elle, “Ms. Greenaway, let me clearly say again that the girls I hire are not coerced in any way.” Elle was annoyed at the response and asked in a calm voice, “Would you tell me how your hiring process works, and who the girls interact with in that process.” Riley took a second, clearly trying to find a way of not totally answering the question. After Elle cleared her throat, waiting for an answer, he responded with, “The first step in becoming a Fantasy Girl is me. I make a job opportunity available on the internet. Next prospective girls will come in for an interview and a photoshoot. If I like a girl enough and I think she offers something new, I’ll give the girl a week to try the work and see if the appeal is there. Not all women want to be a sex worker, even if they think they might like it. IF the girl does well with the clients, and she likes the job, I give her a contract. A contract which she has a right to refuse.” Elle furthered the question by asking, “Who else reads the applications apart from you. Also who gets to decide if a girl is marketable?” Riley was clearly tired of questions he didn’t want to answer but said, “Nancy processes the applications and sends potential girls to me. If a girl in a trial can make at least 15% commission I’ll sign her.” Derek was both recording and transcribing the conversation in his notes. Morgan still felt put off by Riley and asked, “From your income statements it looks like you’re doing very well for yourself. If the murder of Ms. Grost hurts your profits, how are you planning on moving forward with the company?” “Agent Morgan, I’m sure I know what you’re thinking. You see this office, these photos and you're wondering how I’m lining my pockets while screwing over the girls that work for me. Sure I make a nice profit, but in the end I’m keeping these girls off the street. They get to work somewhere safe. The bars they work at have a partnership with me. If something is going wrong there’s always someone to help them. So I’m the good guy here. You have a list of all the current clients, I can’t tell you anything else.” After Mr. Yeung had finished his speech, Elle gave Derek a look that indicated they should go. She raised from her chair and said, “Thank you for the information Mr. Yeung. We’ll email you if we have any other questions.”

Derek and Elle sat in the car for a moment before Elle had to get her thoughts out. “That man is really self centered and gross. But he really does think that he’s helping the women that work for him.” Derek nodded, “He constantly referred to them as “‘girls’” like they are younger and need protecting. I mean the oldest escort is 40, she’s not really a child anymore.” Derek stated. “I think when we meet some of the escorts we may have a better read on our friend Riley.” Elle said leaning back into the seat of the car.

By the time the team had reconvened at the station the sun had set and it started raining. The pitter-patter of the storm outside could be heard above the debrief the team was going through. Hotch stated the conversation with, “I found a pair of boot imprints at the crime scene.” He tossed the picture of the tracks on the table for the team to see, “From analysing how far apart his gait is, plus the large size of the shoe, we can safely assume that the unsub is male and stands about six feel tall. The scene was very clean, too clean. I’ve requested a meeting with the coroner that performed the paperwork detailing his examination of the bodies.” Next Gideon jumped in, saying, “I also found some unique fibers at the scene.” He produced the bag of evidence. “I’ll leave these here, an analysis team is on it’s way.” Spencer took the chance to interject, “Hopefully the fibers will produce some elements we can trace back to where the unsub tortures his victims. I’ve sent some analysis out to Garcia. I’m hoping to identify a potential victim and coworker of Ms. Grost. I think she can tell me a lot about what happened.” Because J.J. had also spent the day with Spencer she went next, stating, “The media is surprisingly informed, but hasn’t really reported anything yet. There was an obituary for Mr. Pyne, but the press certainly hasn’t made the connection between the two cases yet. Probably because of the link between a sex worker and a teenager. It could look bad in a paper. I’ve contacted Mr. and Ms. Pyne and set up an interview at their house tomorrow. So far I've had no luck finding relatives of Ms. Grost. ” Lastly Elle filled in the team explaining, “Mr. Yeung is making a lot of money from his business. He may be coercing the women who work for him and he sees himself as a savior to them. He’s a misogynist, but from what I saw today he’s, nor anyone in his office would have the motive to murder one of their own employees.” The team took in the information. Spencer was writing down notes when Gideon cleared his throat saying, “This might have been a slow day, but we’ve made good progress before. If the unsub stays consistent then there will be another missing person by tomorrow. We must prevent this if we can. Let’s go get some rest and hit the ground running tomorrow. The team headed out to the cars, getting wet as they ran to the vehicles in the rain.

Across town a figure clutched a necklace. He was mumbling the same phrase over and over, it was drowned out by the sound of the wind. He became silent when a car pulled into the driveway. He waited till the man in the car got out and went into the house. The man dropped the necklace and pulled out a gun from the waistband of his pants. He moved from behind the bushes and moved with confidence toward the house. If the rain wasn’t beating down so hard a neighbor might have heard the single shot from a gun that rang out into the night.

#ciminal minds #spencer reid #dr. spencer reid #j.j.#agent hotchner #derek morgan #elle greenaway #fanfic

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cravingmarvel · 5 years ago

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American Money: Chapter One - Summertime

Bucky Barnes AU

Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Word count: 2610

Warnings: death. criminal acts, graphic scenes including blood and injuries

Summary: Going on a road trip with your best friend Bucky to Lake Erie ended quicker than you thought it would. The car crash turned yours and Bucky’s life around from living in Manhattan, to staying at different motels every night and running from the police.

“How did this happen?” A question only two people can answer. And one of them is dead.

A/N: This has been long awaited... I came up with this idea while going back home from my holiday in Bavaria. A lot of research has been going into this series and I’m scared to upload this tbh. This is obviously part one of my entry of @flannelplanet 3k follower spooky writing challenge! The prompt I chose is not in this chapter lmao but it will be in chapter two! I’m always nervous to upload something. This time is no different. I hope you guys like this as much as I looked writing this. Chapter Two is already finished so.. yeah.. enjoy :)

Prompt: “Orange isn’t just for Weasely’s.”

The tears in my eyes blurred my vision terribly, rolling down my cheeks like they’ve done for the past three hours. My eyes fixed on the dark road in front of me, the trees disappearing beside me. Only the moon and the bag of money accompanying me on my journey. I didn’t want to look, but my eyes flickered up to the review mirror of the Cadillac.

There he is, lying on the floor. Blood and dirt coating his messy brown hair. The ringing in my ears tuned out the sirens, but I could clearly see the blurry red and blue lights through my tears.

And I screamed, I yelled out to no one. Hitting the steering wheel, adverting my gaze back on the road. How did this happen?

Just how?

Five Days Earlier - Friday

“God, I love this song.” Bucky turned the volume up way too loud and waved his arms around in a poor attempt of dancing in the passenger seat.

I took my left hand off the steering wheel and lazily draped it out of the window. We drove through some very nature lenient road on our way to Lake Erie, the place we’ve been going to every year since we became friends, which was a very long time ago. I remember going there with Bucky’s parents when we were young, before we started to drive there on our own.

It’s a day worth of driving, but we’ve always had a lot of fun on the way there. So much so that the road trip there seemed to be the main event. We were passing through Allegheny National Forest, leaving Sheffield a few miles behind us. The heavy trees on either side preventing the morning sun to pass through, leaving a cold trace in the air from the night.

“Do you think we’ll be there by eleven am?” Bucky turned the volume down a little, glancing down to the watch on his right wrist.

“I hope so. Kind of tired of driving through the forest.” I took my arm away and rolled up the window, gripping the steering wheel with both hands now.

“Do you want me to take over?” He asked me, but it’s only been about three hours since I took over, so I declined his offer.

“Can you hand me one of those granola bars?” I held my hand out to Bucky, still looking at the road in front of me. Bucky placed the opened granola bar in my hand, and I started eating.

“You can eat a thousand of those if you wanted to, doll.”

“Absolutely! One of my favourite foods.”

“I know, I’m the one providing you with those things.” He looked at me

“I don’t know what you have against granola bars.” I said, taking a bite while looking over to Bucky.

He looked away again and chuckled slightly. “There is nothing worse that granola bars. Honestly the only thing worse than that is Pineapple on pizza.”

“I agree with you on the pineapple on pizza part.”

Within a split second and without realising it, my body was thrown forward, my head hitting the steering wheel so hard that I thought I would pass out. My car came to a sudden halt, stopping right in front of the car that crashed into mine. A black Mercedes, the driver’s head on his steering wheel. Blood appeared to be coating the black leather, running down his forehead. The hairs on my body rising with every second that passed. The sweat on my face dripping onto my hands. A shiver ran down my spine.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Bucky getting out and walk towards the victim’s vehicle. He stood in front of it for a few seconds before turning around to face me, his complexion worryingly pale. Bucky got back into my car, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask him if the man was ok. I couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“Drive.” Bucky spoke in a cold tone, his body stiff. The air in my car seemed non-existent, thickened by the atmosphere.

“What?” I asked him in disbelieve. Looking over to him, I saw the sweat that had started to roll down his face.

“Drive, y/n, drive.” He said once again without giving me a proper reason. I couldn’t understand why.

Despite all efforts to disobey him, I started the engine and slowly drove past the Mercedes. I didn’t pay attention to where I’m going nor did I look at the man once again. All I could do is drive.

“Bucky what do we do now? Do we call the police?”

“No, this wasn’t our fault.”

“But he needs help, if we just leave him then- “

“That’s none of our concern, y/n. Let’s look for a motel and drive back to Manhattan tomorrow using a different route.” His voice cracking every few words.

Still confused and shocked, I drove for what seemed like hours. The signs telling us that we were going in the direction of Chicago, a place we weren’t planning on going to.

After a while the world gave me a sign that it was in fact still turning and the sun started to lower on the horizon, speeding towards its’s hideout.

“Over there.” I followed Bucky’s finger pointing to a Motel. “Let’s stay there for the night.”

I followed my best friends’ instructions and left the not so busy highway, pulling into the Motel. Bucky got out, handling everything while I sat in my car leaning back. This felt like a bizarre nightmare.

He came back and gestured for me to get out with a wave of his hand. “We got room number twelve. They didn’t have a room with separate beds though.”

“That’s alright.”

“Ok, let’s go check it out.”

I followed him to our noble estate for the night, walking up the metal staircase and into the corridor looking over the parking lot. The room wasn’t too bad and cleaner than I expected.

“This is quite alright for one night.” I looked over to Bucky to see what he was thinking and from his facial expression, he also wasn’t too appalled of the room.

We placed our suitcases on the floor and got into our pyjamas, laying on the bed next to each other. With nothing to do I stared up to the ceiling, my mind wandering off to the black Mercedes. I questioned everything I did. From hitting that man with my car, to driving away without calling the cops or an ambulance. And I realised what I have done.

“I’m a criminal.” I spoke softly, quiet. Like I didn’t even believe in the words I spoke. As if someone forced me to say it. Quiet, as if saying it a little too loudly would make it even more real.

“No, you’re not.” Bucky rolled over to his side, facing me. “He drove way too fast to see he was even coming.” He put his left hand on mine, his lips curling up to a sad smile.

I closed my eyes, focusing on his warm hand. Tomorrow we’ll drive back to Manhattan and everything we’ll be alright. The police will find that man and report that he was at fault. There is no way someone would find out we were even there.

Saturday – Day One

I woke up to noises in the room and opened my eyes. Bucky stood at the foot of the bed closing our suitcases, already fully dressed. He noticed that I was awake and turned the TV of.

“Are we leaving already?”

“Do you want to stay?” Bucky smiled at me, knowing my answer.

“No, absolutely not. It’s just really early, can we at least have breakfast first?” I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

“Y/n, look.” Bucky sat next to me on the edge of the bed. “This morning I saw on the news that they’ve found that man and they think someone had something to do with it.”

“What? But they could never find out it’s us, could they?”

“I’m not sure. That’s why we must be careful. I think It’s best we don’t go back to Manhattan.”

I threw the blanket away from my legs and stared at Bucky in disbelieve. “What do you mean ‘not go back’ where should we go according to you?”

“Los Angeles.”

I got out of bed, walking up and down the room. “Are you insane, why LA?”

He stood up from the bed as well and started walking towards me. “Y/n, it’s really far away- “

“yeah no shit.”

“Look, it’s really far away and not that long of a drive. Like six days.”

“Oh yeah that’s not long at all. Totally not expensive either. Bucky we can’t just leave everything behind. It’s not like people aren’t going to be wondering where we are.”

“Then we’ll just tell them that we’ve decided to stay at Lake Erie. Everyone knows how much we love it there.”

“That’s just ridiculous! Bucky, we must go back. Do you really want to leave everything we’ve built behind?”

“If not going to jail is the option? Yes!”

“We spend the last three years working on our own Café, bringing our dream to life and now you want to leave all that behind?”

“I know this is upsetting and not going back to our dream is the last thing I want to do, but we’ve killed someone. We committed a crime.”

“Then let’s turn our self in.”

“No.”

“Oh my god. This is now the second most frustrating conversation I’ve had with you in years.”

“Oh, you mean the number one most frustrating conversation we’ve had was about what espresso beans we should use.” Bucky started chuckling, making me even more frustrated that he didn’t take this as seriously right now.

“Stop, this is a serious matter. Let’s just say we go to Los Angeles, what then?”

“I have a friend there, Sam, he can help us out.”

“Help us out with what?”

“Built a new life or get out of America.”

My mind was going a hundred miles per hour at this point. All of this just didn’t seem real. Getting out of Manhattan, my hometown, the Café I’ve worked on so hard just left to collect dust, for someone to take it and turn it into a bar? No way. All the friends- well, I don’t have a lot of those, but still.

Bucky walked over to me, gently grabbing my shoulders. “Look, this isn’t easy, for both of us. But we must do this. If we stick together, we can get to Los Angeles in six days.” Bucky wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly.

We packed our suitcases back in the truck of my Honda and drove back on the highway. Chicago was our next destination for now and we had about two hours to get there. The music from the radio occupied my brain with something other than the man I killed.

“We definitely have to stock up on supplies in Chicago. We need some food to survive this journey.”

I looked over to Bucky, who was making a list of things we need for our trip on his phone.

“What are we going to do about electricity?”

“We just have to be really sparingly about using our phones. When and if we sleep at a motel, we can just charge it there.” Bucky said, still looking down at his phone.

“Use sparingly, huh? How about you use the pen and notebook that I have in my bag to make that list of yours.” I turned my head to look at Bucky, a smug smile on my face.

“Fuck off.” Bucky laughed, rummaging through my bag for something to write with, along with my notebook.

‘A man about thirty-two, has been found dead a few miles from Sheffield in Allegheny National Forest on Friday. His black Mercedes appeared to have crushed with a car driving the opposite direction. The driver of the other car has left the crime scene without contacting the authorities and is now being searched for.’

A cold sweat collected on my back, running down my spine. A sharp pain in my chest made it almost impossible to breathe. Immediately without warning, my body temperature rose rapidly.

“Pull over, y/n.” Bucky’s voice ringing in my ears, I pulled over. His face just as pale as mine, he held my hands. “It’s going to be alright.”

I couldn’t get a word out, telling him to just stop saying that. The police are looking for me. Bucky turned the radio off and I was grateful for that, but the damage has been done. I couldn’t stop repeating the words in my head. This was the first time I heard about this with my own ears.

“I’m driving now, get into the passenger seat.” Bucky got out of the car and opened my door. I struggled to get out, my legs almost giving in. He wrapped his arms around my body and all I could do is let go. His shirt collecting my tears.

I sat down in the passenger seat while Bucky drove my car. The rest of the way to Chicago was horrible. I’ve never done anything remotely close to committing a crime. This didn’t feel real. I’m just glad to have Bucky with me. He’s always been the one to keep the situation calm. No matter what came up in my life, he was always the one to calm me down. Even when all our plans seemed to fail to open the Café, he was the one handling everything.

“We’re almost there.” Bucky looked over to me and I could see that he was tired. I knew he wouldn’t admit it, but I knew this was just as difficult for him as it is for me. He finally had his life together after the death of his parents, getting back onto his feet.

The city of Chicago was right in front of us, skyscrapers welcoming us. I’ve never been to Chicago and to be honest, I don’t want to stay here. All I want is to go home.

We drove through the city for a little while, looking for a supermarket. We pulled over and decided to go into one that wasn’t too busy. After all, we (or more like me) are still criminals.

Upon walking in, I already felt like someone was about to call the police on us, even if not even the police know what the person who killed that man looks like.

We stocked up on a few supplies like water, food and cigarettes. I usually don’t smoke, but in situations like this, I just can’t help myself.

We stayed at a hotel more on the outside of the city. The place seemed to be a little run down, but we didn’t mind. The room though, oh god. The awful floral print on the bedding just screamed for us to get out and the view on a dumpster didn’t make up for it either.

“We need to plan where to go next.” Bucky pulled out a map that we bought at the store and we started to plan our trip.

We knew that we had to pull over for brakes and stay at Motels time after time, so the best solution was to drive for about five days. Our next stop being Omaha, Nebraska.

We got into our beds and I fell asleep instantly. The past two days felt like a nightmare that I am going to wake up from tomorrow and instead of sleeping in a shabby hotel in Chicago, I’m staying at our usual resort at Lake Erie.

#bucky barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky x you #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes criminal #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x y/n #marvel #marvel fanfiction #marvel fanfic #American Money

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graylinesspam · 2 years ago

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"No no, but seriously. My brother-in-law is my best friend. Really, he is. He just also happens to be the scariest motherfucker I know."

"True story. I actually met him first. He introduced me to my wife. But I met in a bar one night with like this old man who he was friends with. The guy was like his neighbor or something, and they were trying to get across state lines but they didn't have a reliable vehicle."

"So my dubass is haggling with this old man. And you guys know about my friend chewy right? *audience agrees* So Chewy taps me on the shoulder and he's like "man someone is watching you". And it's this guys coming over to haggle me about a job i'd quit a while back. So this guys is bitching at me from over my shoulder and he's drunk and slobbering on himself. And I can't even deal with that because the old man is still trying to argue with me about fuckin gas prices or whatever. And the drunk guy finally takes a swing at me for ignoring him."

"And my brother in law, course then he was just this skinny little kid, shoves him a step back. And you might be thinking that this is the part in the story where he turns out to be a secret mma fighter and throws down with the drunk guy, right? Wrong. The fucking old man calmly stands up from the seat and lays this guy the fuck out."

"Lays him out while the rest of us are just standing there looking stupid."

"So then drunk guy's buddies come over to start some shit with us and I am getting the fuck out if there. My ass is gone. I don't know who these guys are or why they're fighting people. I'm just trying to get Chewy and get out of there."

"So we're both tearing ass to the parking lot and the other two are behind us. I'm rifling through my pocket for the keys and chewy's yelling at me to like hurry the hell up man."

"I unlock it. All four doors open. We get it. All four doors close. Fast as we can. So now I've got two guys, I don't even know their names, in the back of my car. Chewy is screaming at me to go go go. I'm burning rubber out of that parking lot. And y-know what? The old man has the gall to sniff once then say "this is your car?" Like no. I just happened to have the keys so I stole it. Weren't you the one trying to buy a ride from me?"

"Anyway, long boring car drive short, we get over state lines and they start talking about this national park. They'are gotta find this national park. I have no idea where it is but chewy has an idea so he's directing us through this freaking city looking for some Park, and when we get there? Oh boy. The place is crawling with cops, cop cars everywhere. Lights flashing. News vans out front."

"And I'm thinking, this is the part where is leave. Even Chewy leaned over and was like, " we ain't got any weed in here right?" We didn't. Not at that time. Uhh. I'm pretty sure. Probably not."

But we get a bit further into the park and I'm about to kick them out. I don't want any part of this. Then I see it. The biggest freaking redwood trea I've ever seen in my life. Massive. Not as big as the ones in that redwood forest they have, but the biggest freaking tree I've ever seen. And chained all around it like a ring of hippies is that environmentalist group, the Aldereans. And you guessed it. My beautiful wife is front and center."

"It was like a scene in a bad 80s movie. Our eyes connect over the top of the police cruisers. Her hair blows in the breeze. Suddenly all my wicked lifestyle goes out the window and I start hallucinating images of her in a soft sweater making eggs in the morning."

"No, not really. I wish. What I think actually happened is my brother-in-law calls her name, really freaking loud over the crowd. Her eyes are immediately on him. Because you know most the time protesters don't want the police to know their names. Makes them easier to arrest. So she yells back " who the hell are you?"

Did I mention that the police had the bolt cutters ready. They'd been out there for a couple of days at this point. And they were gonna get cut down. And the police do it. They cut the big logging chain. It falls to the ground, and the hippies scatter like spooked deer."

"They're taking off into the trees. ducking and weaving. And Leia is coming straight for us. There's a couple of cops on their tail. I'm jumping back into the car, ready to get out of there when I finally see it. Farmboy, my 5'5 brother in law, taps a cop on the shoulder, smiles in his face and then punches him out like a light. Zero hesitation."

"I wish I could say that was the last time that week that he'd do that. Honestly, I'm not even sure it was the first. We were on the run for five days in the county. Every single day I began to fear him more. By the end of the week, we were in county lockup. Which, you may have guessed it, is in the same county that her bio-dad is imprisoned in."

"The only reason that the good senator didn't have us out of there in 24 hours is because apparently, the judge did not like her family all that much. I'm sure that is entirely due to the action of her father and not at all because Luke punched a total of four cops that week."

"Anyways, county lockup is no place to meet your wife, much less your future father-in-law."

Started drafting up "Han Solo does standup" while I was cutting tomatoes and one of the central jokes is about how he's got two FILs that scare the shit out of him.

"However scary your father-in-law is, I promise you I've got it worse. Remember, my wife is adopted, so I've got two. Her adoptive father is a state senator." [pause for laughter] "and her bio dad is serving multiple life sentences." [pause for louder laughter and roars of shock]

"Believe me when I say my wife approved of these jokes. I would never do anything without her approval. She scares me more than her dad does. It's a good thing she knows I love her. You wanna know how she knows?"

[pause to build excitement, let the audience demand more]

"My wife knows I love her through sickness and health and better and worse and all that crap, because if I didn't love her beyond sanity, I'd have divorced her the first time her bio dad broke out of Riker's!"

[pause for laughter] "Or the second." [second pause for louder laughter intermixed with slight horror] "Or the third, which is the time he kidnapped me." [horrified and nervous laughter]

[wait until the laughter dies down, take a sip of water]

"Honestly, the closest we came to an actual divorce was that one time I joked that white wasn't actually her color."

(Leia, in the audience: He's lucky I love him.)

#star wars #han solo #leia organa #luke skywalker #ben kenobi

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excellentadventure2 · 6 years ago

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June 8, 2018: Yellowstone National Park, Day Two

Having had an amazing and jam-packed day previously, Danielle, Dirk, Shera, and I woke on June 8th in Madison Campground, Yellowstone National Park with a bit of a debate: shall we once again wait in line to see if we can secure another night in the campground, or shall we leave the park and head elsewhere? Collectively we decided that although we could spend probably a week exploring the park, we had such a great time yesterday seeing so much, perhaps we should head elsewhere; perhaps somewhere with less crowds. That said, we weren’t sure where our next destination should be, so we decided we would have a slow-ish morning around Madison and then head towards the park’s northern terminus, stopping first at Mammoth Hotsprings and the Albright Visitor’s Centre.

After enjoying breakfast and a stroll beside the Madison River, we packed up and headed north. We arrived at Mammoth Hotsprings after a quick drive, and found it as to be expected, very busy. Regardless of the crowds, we walked the boardwalk under the intense heat, and admired the strange and otherworldly geothermal features. We didn’t spend too much time among the crowds, but I was fairly satisfied with the photos I took, as I’m not terrifically confident under midday lighting conditions as they were.

The Albright Visitor’s Centre is a couple minute, if that, drive from where we were parked at the Hotsprings, and there we spent quite a bit of time copping the wifi and doing some research into what our next move should be. Once again we attempted to research some human-friendly, soakable hotsprings, but unfortunately the only ones close by were resort/pool style, and not wild. Eventually we decided that we would head towards Glacier National Park, and after eating our lunch on some grass outside the Visitor’s Centre, we did just that.

Other than we knew we wanted to head towards Glacier, we weren’t exactly sure where we’d spend the night, but we decided to let the road decide and we, as per tradition, opted for secondary highways on our way up. As we drove through Montana and it approached mid-afternoon, we took a detour in search of somewhere to make a coffee. Deking off the highway we drove a few minutes down a forest road until finding a tranquil spot along a river, where we stretched out legs and enjoyed each other’s company as well as snacks and coffee. Soon after, we hopped back in the Ac’ and continued driving until reaching Great Falls, MT.

In Great Falls, we drove around noting just how many small casinos filled the streets. Other than the plethora of casinos, the main drag of the town was unassuming and unimpressive. We shopped around a little bit for a decent hotel, until Dirk suggested we try the La Quinta, which from the map, appeared to be on the shore of the Missouri RIver, and was comparably priced. Arriving at the La Quinta [just want to point out how saying “the La Quinta” is literally saying “the The Quinta”], we found its location to be far better than other places we’d looked at. Being away from the main drag of town, right on the river, with an included free breakfast and a pool, we couldn’t say no (I promise this isn’t an ad for them). We unloaded the car, showered, and charged our devices, while researching where we should go for dinner.

After freshening up and doing some research, we decided on trying the Celtic Cowboy Pub and Restaurant. We thought that the juxtaposition between Irish Culture and Cowboy culture was ridiculous, and seeing that it had decent reviews, we headed out to take a stroll to the joint, as it was within easy walking distance. As we walked, we found that although the main drag of Great Falls was absolutely nothing to write home about, the calmer downtown was surprisingly nice, with a pleasant riverside atmosphere, industrial-modern architecture, and friendly people.

The bar itself was okay. I had a bison burger, and we all tried some local beers. The waitress was very nice, but the food was, well, not the best. That said, we all enjoyed ourselves and then had a nice walk back along the river to the hotel. At the hotel we got changed into our bathing suits and had a nice soak in the pool before heading to sleep.

People in this blog: Danielle’s Instagram.

#Rob Wilson #Photography #Photographer #2018 #America #Wyoming #Yellowstone National Park #lifestyle #Travel #Camping #Adventure #national park #Mammoth Hotsprings #Montana #Great Falls

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doomedandstoned · 7 years ago

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SWAMP RITUAL Shares Rowdy New Romper “Sunchaser”

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

What a week it has been for debuts! I swear some of the best music of the year has arrived in the waning days of summer. Bands must smell autumn doom in the air or something. The latest entry into the September swelter of new releases comes from a band that has yet to get the recognition they so rightfully deserve. I speak of the mighty SWAMP RITUAL.

Dustin Fugere (bass) and Sid LaTray (drums) are the stars of this fuzzy, frenetic freak show, which finds its origin in Montana. How shall I describe Swamp Ritual to those who haven’t been baptized into this listening experience? Let’s just say there’s a certain "Mountain Man" sensibility to their music. This is going to sound batty as hell, but hang with me as I indulge in something I love to hate: a good analogy chock full of colorful hyperbole.

Imagine that two illegitimate sons of Clutch were to spend way too much time in the mountains of Missoula, getting lost among the birds and the bears with nothing to eat but wild berries. As they search for the way back home, hungering and thirsting for a good riff, they happen upon Sleep’s tiny Yoda hovel, nestled deep within the forest, so they stop there for a spell to smoke a bowl with the Ancient Ones. About sundown, Uncle Al blesses them and sends them packing on their way down the mount. As they follow the winding path down, who should they run into but Weedeater! There stands Dixie Dave with a cross-eyed grin and a great big jar of ‘shine, looking for a couple drinking buddies. Let’s just say no one’s walking upright by the time sun sets on this day. And Swamp Ritual is born...or something like that. Ok, now you know why I scorn such indulgences in my reviews!

Let’s just say living in the wild is enough to drive anyone a little bit mad. That’s how Dustin and Sid sound when they join forces (and voices) -- unhinged, off-kilter, fists pounding the table, rowdy as fuck. Where ‘Ritual Rising’ (2015) was brooding, dark, and moody, the new record 'Sunchaser’ (2017) is noticeably spunky, mischievous, looking for trouble at every turn.

The album opens with its wicked little namesake. Immediately, I’m in love with this badass bass line I’m hearing. It’s full-bodied and hot-blooded, with plenty of juice in the gas tank and “joyride” written all over it. Take a moment to appreciate just how much Dustin and Sid flow together here, as Doomed & Stoned gives you your first listen to these salacious new sounds from Swamp Ritual!

There wasn’t a moment on Sunchaser I wasn’t engaged. There’s even some fantastic singalongs, like “Lawnmower.” Now here’s a number that I could well imagine reviving the cherished tradition of pub singing to these United States of America. “I’m all alone with my mind,” swells the robust chorus. “Actually, no.” Dustin gently corrects my mishearing and jokes kindly, “I might like that one more.” The true lyrics?

I mow the lawn when I’m high I mow the lawn when I’m high I smoke some hash, put on some thrash know it makes me go extra fast I mow the lawn when I’m high

I mow the lawn when I’m high Well, I mow the lawn when I’m high There’s nothing that I like more than a big ol’ bong, it’ll do me for sure I mow the lawn when I’m high

Thrash!

I mow the lawn when I’m high I mow the lawn when I’m high Take some shrooms, put on some doom I hope I’m done soon I mow the lawn when I’m high

Now that’s what I call a pub song! Actually, we might be bearing witness to the birth of something here, some new trend. Perhaps a “bong song”? Hmmm? Just as I’m feeling especially clever, I decide it would be a good idea to check up on this. Google tells me I'm too late -- Urban Dictionary done claimed that shit! “A song written while high on weed.” Sounds about right.

This would be a good place to pay my respects to the wizards of the soundboard. Sunchaser was recorded and mixed by Chris Baumann at Black National Studios in Missoula, who did a fantastic job of engineering, and 'twas mastered by the Master himself, Tony Reed of Mos Generator.

You have to appreciate how perfectly they captured Sid’s funky rhythms and the Dustin’s downtuned warbling, which is entirely successful in bringing “The Bearded Dragon” to life. At times, Dustin almost sounds like he’s taking a bow to a classic upright -- I mean he really makes that thing sing. You’ll swear by the track’s mid-point that the beard on this dragon owes to a frothy ale from Missoula Brewing Co.

It’s impossible not to love the moments when Sid's drumming kicks into an almost Gene Krupa-like intensity. As it does, Dustin's bass becomes practically anthropomorphic. Taking up legs and walking, tap dancing, staggering, breakdancing, and doing the splits -- then tossing out its hat at the end of it all to collect dollars from the mesmerized crowd.

Believe me, it’s as fun to watch as it is to listen to -- twice as much fun, in fact. These Montana boys are a treat to witness live! Few will give you a better show for your money. I filmed their performance at one of Doomed & Stoned’s showcases last year. We can’t wait to see them do their thing on Day I of Doomed & Stoned Festival in October. AND...when two of the best bass and drum duos in the Western US get together, watch out! I’m of course speaking about Amy and Jon Barrysmith of Year of the Cobra, who are up to bat on Day II. In the meanwhile, Dustin and Sid are gearing up for a cross-country road trip with none other than Portland's Disenchanter, which kicks off next week and blazes a trail straight to Indianapolis. Now, sit back and be awed by what Swamp Ritual can do, as I continue the conversation with Dustin below!

youtube

Film by Billy Goate

What can you tell me about that song Doomed & Stoned is debuting, “Sunchaser”?

The lyrics were mostly written and inspired by our last tour. Our '83 Econline has shitty headlights, so we did most of the driving during the day. Coming back into Montana from North Dakota around evening, we felt like we were chasing the sunset. The rest of the lyrics are inspired by its terrible gas mileage and lack of AC. Sid wrote most of the riffs and had the general song idea. I wrote the lyrics and helped flesh out the bridge and song structure.

Talk to us about some of the other tracks on the album. I'm especially digging “Lawnmower”!

Sid wrote all of “Lawnmower” while just chilling with an acoustic guitar. He just kinda did it as a joke, but I thought it was rad and wanted to do it with Swamp Ritual. It kinda just describes us really well and it comes from an honest place. (laughs)

I wrote the following track, “Dark Matters.” It doesn’t have a specific thing it’s about, but sort of explores a couple themes. Mostly I was thinking about space and really loud amplifiers. I didn’t have a title or chorus for a long time, then one day I was reading an article about dark matter, which inspired the title. I decided to put a little twist on it with the “s” on the end.

“The Bearded Dragon” was actually the first song we ever wrote. We didn’t really have a defined style and were thinking about being an instrumental band. We were listening to a lot of Earthless and Reverend Bizarre around that time. I definitely want to write more songs like it.

“Malacastria,” what does that word mean? I feel like I should know it.

“Malacastria” is based off of a fantasy world an older friend of ours came up with over the years. Malacaster is a very powerful necromancer-wizard skeleton who rules Malacastria. He’s not necessarily evil, but is shunned by the other wizards for practicing necromancy. Sort of a neutral evil character. We’re hoping to base more songs off this world in the future. It’s really fleshed out and is kind of a good fallback for inspiration

How would you characterize this album in relation to your last one?

It has a lot of the same themes as the last one: the occult, outer space, and just traveling, hanging out, and playing tunes. I’d say this time around we really came into our own sound-wise and in the recording process -- just more confident. On the last album, we layered the bass tracks with me playing the same thing a couple times to get a beefier sound. This time around we just recorded three bass tracks at once, but then that’s it, zero overdubs, and I think it came out a lot heavier and live-sounding. And no we’re definitely still just a two-piece. Another change on this album is Sid writing more material. He contributed on the last album a couple times, but this time around he wrote about half of it, if not more.

You're about to take off on your 'Too Doomed To Live, Too Stoned To Die' tour with Disenchanter. Figure now's as good a time as any to ask: what’s the weirdest or scariest thing that’s happened to you and Sid on the road?

Nothing too gnarly, really. In San Diego, we got woken up by the cops and told to move, so we went to a truck stop outside of town where we were woken up by this big dude covered in face tattoos. Turns out he was just a trucker who wanted to smoke a blunt with us, nice guy. Other than that, the show in Billings got moved to the local gay bar, which opened on a weekday for us. The place wasn’t really set up for bands, but it was a good time. The bartender was amazed they sold out of PBR. Guess that hadn’t happened before. (laughs)

I remember when I met you year before last at our Portland Doomed & Stoned Showcase, you and Sid were crashing in the back of your van in a motel parking lot. Sounds like you haven’t run into too many problems, though.

Not really, no. If we can’t find a place to stay, Walmart parking lots are fairly accommodating. But we have gotten lucky plenty of times with really generous people who open their doors to us. The kindness in this community can be really amazing.

That’s awesome.

With just the two of us we can make the van pretty comfortable.

I imagine so. Hey, speaking of comfort, I’ve been wondering how your fingers take the brutal hour-plus performances you put them through every night. Your poor digits must go through so much punishment! Those bass strings can be pretty thick and heavy, I imagine you’ve got a lot of callouses on your fingers? I’d worry about blistering like a motherfucker!

Definitely some blistering and callouses. Extra strings are nice, because I definitely break them. Sid chews through drum heads and sticks pretty hard, too. Extra cables are a necessity, as well. It can be a lot of maintenance. My bass has held up really well over the years and I like how it sounds, so I haven’t worried too much about upgrading. I would like a true tube amp, but they are definitely known for more upkeep, so I’ve been more than happy with my Mesa. Pedals have held up well, but I’ve lost a couple knobs off one. It’s definitely something to research with gear when you’re touring. There are some really cool things out there, but if they’re really expensive to replace or prone to breaking, you should probably look into other things.

Especially keen on your album cover this time around. Both the front and back really capture the character of the band and this collection of songs.

The artwork was done by our good friend, Wilson Smith, again. He had a whole black and white design he wanted to do, so we gave him free reign.

I think you and Sid should do some kind of dueling bass and drum deal with Amy and Jon from Year of the Cobra. What would we even call that?

I gotta think that “a really good time” comes to mind! (laughs)

No doubt! Have seen Amy play? You guys both really get into your bass. You live it, you breathe it, you become one with your instrument. I think it would be fun to do some kind of collaboration on stage, like a “call and response” kind of thing, or a joint composition.

Yeah, we played with them and Mos Generator in Missoula. Really love their music. Actually, it's some of the main stuff I listen to these days and not even because it’s just drum and bass. I would love to do a tour with them sometime and split would be great, too. Totally agree.

I just think you guys could do an absolutely awesome collaboration and I hope playing together at Doomed & Stoned Festival will have you guys hitting it off, like when Melvins and Big Business teamed up. The stuff of legend!

Yeah, I think I’m picturing the same thing. Sid and John even set their drum sets up on opposite sides, so there are some real possibilities here, alright.

Finally, we come to the all-important question: is 'Sunchaser' coming out on CD, vinyl, tape, or all of the above?

The album will be released digitally on Friday, September 15th, but we have CDs coming for the tour. Our good friend in town Marty offered to put it out on his label, Minor Bird Records, so he’s helping with that. He’ll also be putting out the debut LP by Stone Elk, so keep an eye out for that! We will also be doing a tape release in the near future. Hoping for vinyl, but we need to raise some more money first.

You heard the man, people. Let’s raise a toast to the Montana heavy underground and Swamp Ritual, who did a fine job of with 'Sunchaser.' Get out and see Swamp Ritual live and then give them all your money. You'll have one hootenanny of a night with your bestie and a bottle of Beam (assuming those aren’t one and the same)!

Follow The Band.

Get Their Music.

#D&S Debuts #D&S Reviews #D&S Interviews #Swamp Ritual #Missoula #Montana #Doom #Sludge #Metal #Duo #Minor Bird Records #HeavyBest17 #Doomed & Stoned

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batterymonster2021 · 5 years ago

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This country isn't just carbon neutral ? it's carbon negative | Tshering Tobgay

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/this-country-isnt-just-carbon-neutral-its-carbon-negative-tshering-tobgay-6/

This country isn't just carbon neutral ? it's carbon negative | Tshering Tobgay

If you’re wondering, no, i’m no longer wearing a costume, and no, i am no longer pronouncing what i am carrying underneath. (Laughter) it is a gho. This is my countrywide dress. This is how all men gown in Bhutan. That’s how our women dress. Like our ladies, we guys get to wear lovely bright colours, but in contrast to our ladies, we get to show off our legs. (Laughter) Our countrywide costume is specific, but this isn’t the one thing that is exact about my country. Our promise to remain carbon neutral is also detailed, and that is what i might prefer to speak about today, our promise to remain carbon neutral. However earlier than I proceed, I should set you the context. I must tell you our story. Bhutan is a small country in the Himalayas. We’ve been called Shangri-La, even the last Shangri-La. However let me inform you correct off the bat, we are not Shangri-La. My country is not one significant monastery populated with pleased monks. (Laughter) the truth is that there are barely seven hundred,000 of us sandwiched between two of probably the most populated countries on this planet, China and India. The reality is that we’re a small, underdeveloped country doing our first-rate to outlive.But we are doing good enough. We’re surviving. In fact, we’re thriving, and the motive we are thriving is given that we’ve got been blessed with exotic kings. Our enlightened monarchs have worked tirelessly to increase our country, balancing fiscal development cautiously with social development, environmental sustainability and cultural renovation, all within the framework of excellent governance. We name this holistic procedure to progress "Gross country wide Happiness," or GNH. Again in the Nineteen Seventies, our fourth king famously said that for Bhutan, Gross countrywide Happiness is more principal than Gross country wide Product. (Applause) Ever seeing that, all development in Bhutan is pushed via GNH, a pioneering imaginative and prescient that objectives to toughen the happiness and good-being of our humans. But that is simpler said than executed, particularly when you are probably the most smallest economies on the earth.Our complete GDP is not up to two billion greenbacks. I know that a few of you here are valued at more — (Laughter) personally than the whole economic climate of my nation. So our economic climate is small, but right here is the place it will get fascinating. Schooling is absolutely free. All citizens are assured free university schooling, and those who work difficult are given free institution education. Healthcare can be completely free. Medical session, clinical healing, drug treatments: they are all furnished by means of the state.We manage this for the reason that we use our constrained resources very cautiously, and for the reason that we keep trustworthy to the core mission of GNH, which is progress with values. Our economy is small, and we must support it. Economic growth is most important, but that fiscal progress ought to now not come from undermining our special culture or our pristine environment. Today, our tradition is flourishing. We proceed to have fun our artwork and structure, food and festivals, monks and monasteries. And yes, we have fun our country wide costume, too. Because of this i will be able to wear my gho with pleasure. This is a fun reality: you’re watching on the world’s largest pocket. (Laughter) It starts here, goes across the again, and springs out from within here. In this pocket we retailer all method of private goods from telephones and wallets to iPads, administrative center records and books. (Laughter) (Applause) however oftentimes — generally even worthy cargo. So our tradition is thriving, however so is our environment. Seventy two percent of my nation is beneath forest duvet. Our constitution needs that a minimum of 60 percentage of Bhutan’s whole land shall remain below forest cover forever. (Applause) Our constitution, this constitution, imposes woodland quilt on us. By the way, our king used this structure to impose democracy on us.You see, we the individuals didn’t want democracy. We did not ask for it, we didn’t demand it, and we certainly failed to battle for it. Instead, our king imposed democracy on us through insisting that he comprise it in the structure. But he went extra. He integrated provisions in the structure that empower the individuals to impeach their kings, and included provisions in right here that require all our kings to retire at the age of 65. (Applause) truth is, we already have a king in retirement: our earlier king, the great Fourth, retired 10 years ago at the top of his fame. He was all of 51 years at the moment. In order I was announcing, 72 percent of our nation is under woodland cover, and all that wooded area is pristine. That is why we are one of the few ultimate world biodiversity hotspots on this planet, and that’s why we are a carbon neutral country. In an international that is threatened with local weather trade, we are a carbon neutral country.Turns out, it’s a massive deal. Of the 200-ordinary nations on the planet in these days, it appears like we are the one one that is carbon impartial. Surely, that is not relatively accurate. Bhutan will not be carbon impartial. Bhutan is carbon bad. Our whole nation generates 2.2 million lots of carbon dioxide, but our forests, they sequester more than 3 times that quantity, so we’re a internet carbon sink for greater than 4 million plenty of carbon dioxide each year.However that is no longer all. (Applause) We export most of the renewable electrical energy we generate from our rapid-flowing rivers. So at present, the clean vigor that we export offsets about six million lots of carbon dioxide in our local. Through 2020, we will be exporting enough electrical power to offset 17 million plenty of carbon dioxide. And if we have been to harness even half of our hydropower potential, and that is precisely what we’re working at, the easy, inexperienced power that we export would offset whatever like 50 million plenty of carbon dioxide a 12 months. That is more CO2 than what the entire city of recent York generates in a single 12 months. So inside our nation, we are a internet carbon sink. Outside, we are offsetting carbon. And that is primary stuff. You see, the world is getting warmer, and climate exchange is a truth. Local weather change is affecting my country. Our glaciers are melting, inflicting flash floods and landslides, which in turn are causing catastrophe and widespread destruction in our nation. I used to be at that lake not too long ago. It is gorgeous. That is how it looked 10 years in the past, and that is the way it looked two decades ago. Just twenty years ago, that lake didn’t exist.It used to be a pretty good glacier. A number of years ago, a similar lake breached its dams and wreaked havoc in the valleys below. That destruction was once caused by one glacier lake. We have 2,seven hundred of them to deal with. The point is that this: my country and my individuals have accomplished nothing to make a contribution to international warming, but we are already bearing the brunt of its penalties. And for a small, bad nation, one that’s landlocked and mountainous, it is rather problematic. However we’re not going to take a seat on our fingers doing nothing.We will combat climate alternate. That’s why we’ve promised to stay carbon neutral. We first made this promise in 2009 during COP 15 in Copenhagen, however nobody observed. Governments had been so busy arguing with one one other and blaming each other for causing local weather alternate, that after a small country raised our palms and introduced, "We promise to stay carbon neutral for all time," no one heard us. No person cared. Last December in Paris, at COP 21, we reiterated our promise to stay carbon impartial all the time to come back. This time, we were heard. We were noticed, and all people cared. What was once distinctive in Paris was that governments got here round together to accept the realities of climate change, and had been inclined to come collectively and act together and work together. All countries, from the very small to the very massive, dedicated to minimize the greenhouse fuel emissions. The UN Framework convention on climate change says that if these so-referred to as intended commitments are kept, we would be in the direction of containing global warming through two levels Celsius. By the way, I’ve requested the TED organizers here to turn up the warmness in right here by means of two degrees, so if some of you are feeling warmer than normal, you understand who guilty.It’s imperative that each one of us preserve our commitments. As far as Bhutan is involved, we will preserve our promise to stay carbon neutral. Here are one of the most methods we are doing it. We are delivering free electricity to our rural farmers. The thought is that, with free electrical power, they’re going to now not need to use firewood to prepare dinner their food. We are investing in sustainable transport and subsidizing the acquisition of electric automobiles. In a similar fashion, we’re subsidizing the cost of LED lights, and our complete executive is making an attempt to go paperless. We’re cleansing up our entire country via clean Bhutan, a countrywide program, and we’re planting timber for the duration of our country by means of green Bhutan, an additional countrywide software.However it’s our included areas that are on the core of our carbon impartial approach. Our blanketed areas are our carbon sink. They are our lungs. In these days, more than 1/2 our nation is blanketed, as country wide parks, nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries. However the beauty is that we have connected all of them with one a different by means of a network of organic corridors. Now, what this means is that our animals are free to roam during our nation. Take this tiger, for instance. It was spotted at 250 meters above sea degree in the scorching, subtropical jungles.Two years later, that identical tiger used to be noticed close four,000 meters in our cold alpine mountains. Is not that exceptional? (Applause) We ought to hold it that way. We must keep our parks excellent. So every year, we set aside assets to avert poaching, hunting, mining and pollution in our parks, and resources to help communities who are living in those parks control their forests, adapt to local weather exchange, and lead better lives even as carrying on with to reside in concord with mother Nature. However that’s high priced. Over the next few years, our small financial system is not going to have the assets to quilt the entire expenses which can be required to protect our environment. In fact, after we run the numbers, it appears adore it’ll take us at the least 15 years before we can thoroughly finance all our conservation efforts. But neither Bhutan, nor the arena can have enough money to spend 15 years going backwards. For this reason His Majesty the King began Bhutan For lifestyles. Bhutan For lifestyles offers us the time we need. It offers us respiration room.It’s nearly a funding mechanism to preserve our parks, to look after our parks, except our govt can take over on our possess thoroughly. The suggestion is to elevate a transition fund from character donors, businesses and institutions, however the deal is closed most effective after predetermined stipulations are met and all cash committed. So multiparty, single closing: an suggestion we borrowed from Wall street. Because of this person donors can commit while not having to worry that they will be left aiding an underfunded plan. It is whatever like a Kickstarter mission, only with a 15-year time horizon and hundreds of thousands of plenty of carbon dioxide at stake. Once the deal is closed, we use the transition fund to shield our parks, giving our govt time to expand our own funding regularly except the end of the 15-yr period. After that, our government guarantees full funding forever. We are practically there. We anticipate to shut later this yr. Naturally, i am lovely excited. (Applause) the arena natural world Fund is our principle partner in this trip, and i wish to provide them a gigantic shoutout for the nice work they are doing in Bhutan and the world over.(Applause) Whew, it is getting warm in here. I thanks for listening to our story, a story of how we are maintaining our promise to stay carbon neutral, a narrative of how we’re retaining our nation pristine, for ourselves, our kids, in your kids and for the sector. However we aren’t here to inform studies, are we? We are here to dream together. So in closing, i might prefer to share another dream that i’ve. What if we could mobilize our leadership and our resources, our influence and our passion, to duplicate the Bhutan For lifestyles inspiration to different international locations so that they too can preserve their covered areas for all time.After all, there are various different countries who face the identical issues that we face. They too have usual resources that can help win the world’s combat for sustainability, handiest they may not have the potential to invest in them now. So what if we installed Earth For lifestyles, a global fund, to kickstart the Bhutan For existence throughout the world? I invite you to aid me, to carry this dream past our borders to all folks that care about our planet’s future. In spite of everything, we’re right here to dream together, to work together, to fight local weather alternate together, to look after our planet together. Seeing that the reality is we’re in it collectively. A few of us might gown in a different way, but we are in it together. Thank you very much, and kadrin chhe la. Thanks. (Applause) thank you, thanks, thank you. .

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airoasis · 5 years ago

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This country isn't just carbon neutral ? it's carbon negative | Tshering Tobgay

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/this-country-isnt-just-carbon-neutral-its-carbon-negative-tshering-tobgay-6/

This country isn't just carbon neutral ? it's carbon negative | Tshering Tobgay

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baronfulmen · 7 years ago

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So this was a comment on my most recent story and I was about to respond and say how I live in Arizona and I know there are trees but when writing the story it felt like it flowed badly to try and be like “well not THIS MANY trees and not this kind” or something so I decided to just hope I could get away with those qualifiers being implied.

But then I finished reading it. So now I have to tell a story about the Petrified Forest, because @joolabee is being cute.

When I was almost eight (I think) my family took a trip across the country. I’m still in awe of this trip. This is the pre-internet days, so my mom and dad planned the old fashioned way. My dad hunkered down over a map with a little penlike thing that you roll along to calculate distance so he could estimate gas and when we would need to stop for the night. My mom called national parks and found out about entrance fees. She made an envelope for each day filled with the money we needed for everything on the schedule (this is also back before everything was done with cards, so it was all cash - more than I had ever seen in one place).

These envelopes of cash worked great and really show what a genius my mom is; when the car literally caught on fire my dad put it out and my mom pulled out the “serious car trouble” envelope. (No cell phones either of course, so we had to flag down another vacationing family and get a ride into town which to us kids was awesome fun).

In fact, when the whole trip from Phoenix to Philadelphia (where we picked up my oldest sister, bringing it to seven people in our old station wagon) and back again (the long way) was completed we coasted into our driveway with absolutely zero gas in the tank and no money left in the envelopes but with everything done exactly like my parents planned it (other than maybe that last stretch where they were riding the brakes so the cop behind us wouldn’t realize the tail light wasn’t working right).

But I digress. Our first stop, on the way out of Arizona, was the Petrified Forest. Despite the great planning mentioned above on that first day we were running behind because at that point there were four kids and a lot of stuff to cram in our little pop-up camper and frankly now that I’m a parent “a little behind schedule” is the best I could ever possibly hope for. So we get to the Petrified Forest and it’s going to close really soon, so we just have a few minutes to take in the amazing splendor of nature. I can’t for sure vouch for the rest of my family, but I at least was picturing a forest made from stone - like, actual standing trees and stuff. In retrospect, and especially as an adult, this is stupid. But my almost-eight self had this forresty image firmly in his head.

So between the hurry we were in and the underwhelming image that greeted us (don’t take this as me insulting the place, it’s much better once you get past the entrance) everything was summed up by my mom saying a line that still, thirty years later, is used by every member of my family when we need to leave somewhere quickly:

“Everyone seen a rock? Back in the car!”

#road trip #memories #arizona #petrifiedforest

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bobbystompy · 8 years ago

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My Top 132 Songs Of 2016

Previously: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

Haven’t started writing this yet, but after peaking at 73 songs in 2013, then dipping to 67 and 71 the last two years, it is unbelievable we hit 132 (blame Spotify’s easy ability to save music and create playlists).

I debated skipping around, but nahhh, let’s get it.

As always, the criteria/info:

This is a list of songs I personally like, not ones I’m saying are the “best” from the year; more subjective than objective

No artist is featured more than once

If it comes down to choosing between two songs for an artist, I try to give more weight to a single or featured track; it’s not the ultimate factor, but it typically makes sharing the music easier

Speaking of... each song on the list is linked in the title if you wanna check out some for yourself

BOBBY VS. THE SONGS, FID

132) Kendrick Lamar - “untitled 07 | levitate”

Yeah, not gonna do the thing everyone else is doing where we pretend Kendrick is making amazing music with 2016′s throwaway release. I had to trudge through so much weird-and-not-fun stuff on “Butterfly” last year; it’s time to be done with it. Kendrick is obviously a top flight MC and could end up as an all-time great, but, like, come on -- this is from an EP of b-sides, it’s (probably) the best song... and it’s still not that memorable. How this record is ended up on so many year end best of lists mystified me.

131) Young Thug - “Drippin'”

Thugger spazzin’ around.

130) 2 Chainz f/ Lil Wayne - “Gotta Lotta”

Eh, this song’s aight; beat good, kinda sticks with you sometimes. Funny it should be listed as “2 Chainz & Lil Wayne” -- peep the very creative album art -- yet ended up as a 2 Chainz solo feature (on technicality alone) due to Weezy’s ongoing label issues. These two play off each other well.

129) Real Friends - “Mokena”

This song is good, but it’s... a little too angst-y at points.

128) Iggy Pop - “American Valhalla”

The best compliment I can give this song is it sounds unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Not a fun listen every time, but if you consciously immerse, it can definitely work.

127) The Avett Brothers - “Ain't No Man”

Good mom song; feels like fun. passed the torch with this one.

126) Paul Simon - “Horace And Pete”

Louis C.K. got Simon to write a theme song for his dramedy “Horace and Pete”, and the diminutive one came through in spades. I sometimes like to shoehorn in the f-word when singing along to help break up some of the seriousness. But yeah, this feels like a ‘60s classic even though it’s essentially brand new.

125) Frank Ocean - “Nikes”

The A.V. Club summed up my opinion of the Frank Ocean record with one swift line: “On first listen, Blonde feels like a Cracker Jack box with no toy in it.”

Amen.

Don’t get it twisted: I love Frank, still believe in Frank, and of course consider “channel ORANGE” to (objectively) be one of the greatest albums of this generation, but “Blonde”? It didn’t connect. Somewhat reluctantly, I picked this song for the list because it was the first one I heard, and it stands as a symbol of the initial hope which faded over a few listens. But when Ocean breaks in after all the high pitched singing, it does feel like a moment.

Also, this line will always stick: “RIP Pimp C / RIP Trayvon, that n**** look just like me”.

124) DJ Khaled f/ Jay-Z & Future - “I Got The Keys”

DJ Khaled is a talentless jackass, annoyingly ad libbing his way into our brains. Unfortunately, my personal favorite artist chooses to make listenable songs with him. Alas, No. 124. Jay slaying with “My wife Beyoncé, I brag different”. Future... being Future.

123) Slim Thug - “King”

The always underrated Slim Thug, hangin’ out and tellin’ you about his life. Also lifting weights. Minus points for using the Pimp C sample Jigga used in “FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt” only three years ago.

122) American Football - “Give Me The Gun”

This band will never hit for me as much as it does with cool/laid back guitar people, but I enjoyed this tune. And I wish my friend Luke were here to listen with me.

121) Craig Finn - “Screenwriters School”

Craig Finn, as slow and chill as you’ll ever hear him.

120) Mikey Erg - “1001 Smashed Motel Rooms”

Solid verses, big chorus, and you can almost, like, tell he’s bald by the voice (not an insult).

119) Cassadee Pope - “Summer”

The former Hey Monday singer goes in on the strongest season.

118) The Cool Kids - “Connect 4″

It’s very difficult to write about The Cool Kids without using the word “cool”, but man, these guys have such a great interplay. It’s not two separate dudes taking turns; it’s a glorious intertwine with true chemistry.

117) Third Eye Blind - “Cop vs. Phone Girl"

This is our first song I’d call an imperative listen. I say this because you need you to hear Stephan Jenkins sing “Why's it so hard to say ‘Black Lives Matter’? / Doesn't mean that you're anti-white / Take it from me, I'm super fucking white”.

He remains bulletproof.

116) Wakrat - “Sober Addiction”

I was positive this song was a jam after one listen, but I’ve listened 3-4 times since, and it’s gotten progressively worse each time. If that’s not enough of a hook, the singer is the Rage Against The Machine bassist.

115) Owl Meet Rabbit - “This Side Of The Nut House”

A Christmas song with a “National Lampoon” reference.

114) YG f/ Drake & Kamaiyah - “Why You Always Hatin?”

Still a little unclear why Drake keeps agreeing to be in YG songs. His verse references sliding into DMs.

113) Yo Gotti f/ Nicki Minaj - “Down In The DM (Remix)”

...and we also have a track titled after it. My biggest memory with this song will be feeling sick in an Uber from Chicago to Forest Park on, like, a weekday morning but still mustering the nerve to laugh at the chorus, which is egregious enough before the “bridge” of “Snapchat me that pussy, if it’s cool”. Seriously. RIP, music.

112) The Dirty Nil - “Zombie Eyed”

This rips.

111) Microwave - “Homebody”

A good song that pulls you in further when the distortion gets bigger in the chorus.

110) AJJ - “Terrifyer”

Some days, you're a member of Queen Other days, you're a Kottonmouth King Some days, you're Emilio Estevez Other days, you're Charlie Sheen

109) Band of Horses - “Casual Party”

These guys are all smooth harmonies.

108) Fitz and the Tantrums - “HandClap”

This song is pretty unoffensive, but it’s catchy enough to work.

107) Nothing - “The Dead Are Dumb”

“The Dead Are Dumb” -or- if the “Twin Peaks” theme actually went somewhere.

106) Car Seat Headrest - “Unforgiving Girl (She's Not An)”

This band kinda reminds me of The Strokes; just a liiiiiitle less New York street and a tad more indie.

105) Vince Staples f/ Kilo Kish - “Loco”

Vince got into the news this year after defending the mom who had an extreme distaste for his lyrics in 2015′s “Norf Norf”. Let’s just say she also would not enjoy this one. His interplay with Kilo is on point.

104) GTA f/ Vince Staples - “Little Bit of This”

‘ey, it’s Vince again, and this one is stronger; somehow topping the high energy of “Loco” with another level of fire-spitting.

103) The Living End - “Monkey”

The Aussies broke a 13 year album hiatus with 2016′s “Shift”, and “Monkey”, one of the lead singles, did not disappoint. There will always be a place for songwriting like this.

102) Vic Mensa - “16 Shots”

This song is so raw and street and real. Sometimes you hear something, and it just cuts like a knife. I’m talking a “Straight Outta Compton” level here. Mensa has thoughts on police brutality in Chicago, and he ain’t holding back. He played this live on Kimmel, and his solemn-yet-wired energy could not be ignored.

101) Boyd & The Stahfools - “Summerly”

Some might say BATS sold out with this very commercial ode to Pollyanna’s raspberry wheat ale, but when you consume as much of it as those boys do, I say it’s legit art.

100) Macklemore & RL f/ J. Woods - “White Privelege II”

This is kinda like the Third Eye Blind message on Black Lives Matter, only the exact opposite. It’s... quite heavy handed, and while I like that from Macklemore, I realize a lot do not. All I can say in his defense is, like, man, it really seems like this dude is trying, and he certainly attempted to involve the right people. If that’s not good enough for you, I get it.

(Plus, he kinda digs on Iggy; throwing y’all a bone, just take it.)

99) Conor Oberst - “A Little Uncanny”

Oberst sounds a ton like Bob Dylan in this one, but he also sounds a ton like Oberst. It’s kinda like two massive folk tidal waves crashing into each other.

98) Cymbals Eat Guitars - “Have A Heart”

CEG -- despite a terrific name -- have always made music that felt obtuse, but this is the first song that felt ready-made to, like, give normal people a window to check out the band.

97) Green Day- “Bang Bang”

Everyone wants to over-analyze Green Day. But if you don’t do that, you’ll enjoy this as a fast and easy pop-punk song. It plays at my gym sometimes, and I always kinda assume people are annoyed by it. To quote Josh from “Heavyweights”, this pleases me.

96) James Vincent McMorrow - “Get Low”

Chill/cool.

95) The Flatliners - “Hang My Head”

This won’t end up in their all-time Top 5, but it’s a good song, and it was nice to hear from this band in 2016.

94) AFI - “Snow Cats”

This would sound right at home as a mid-tempo number on “Sing The Sorrow”.

93) Jay Electronica - “#TBE The Curse Of Mayweather”

Oof, what a shitty title. So, this is Jay Elect’s “blast back” at Kendrick Lamar after K-Dot slaughtered the rap game (and shit, maybe rap itself) in 2013′s “Control”. But here’s the thing... “Control” was “Control”. No one is topping “Control”. No one is successfully going at “Control”. That’s in its own stratosphere. Was it fun to see the enigmatic MC try? Sure. Did it make any type of impact? Eh, no. But I did enjoy the fake Kendrick voice.

92) The Dyes - “Loudmouth”

Out of every song so far, I’ve found this the toughest to write about. My favorite part is probably the way the guitar and bass play off each other, but my second favorite part has to be how sinister and swaggery it sounds.

91) Big Sean - “Get My Shit Together”

Maaaan, I missed Big Sean in 2016 after an extremely fruitful 2015. The few times he did surface -- on other people’s songs -- he stayed in form, so you’ll see more of him as this goes.

It feel like young Ray Allen with the white twins

90) Emeli Sandé f/ Jay Electronica & Áine Zion - “Garden”

Serene, with a fitting Jay Elect verse.

89) Yumi Zouma - “Haji Awali”

Chiller than a Coleman.

88) Jimmy Eat World - “Get Right”

We’ve talked about this before, but JEW typically have sunny day feel good songs, or nighttime darkness-type songs; this one’s the latter.

87) Into It. Over It. - “No EQ”

Sooooo good; melodic and percussive and soulful. It tugs at your heart just the right amount.

86) The Front Bottoms - “Joanie”

This really, really sounds like a Front Bottoms song, which I mostly mean as a compliment but also... am slightly worried about as it pertains to future material.

85) The Lumineers - “Ophelia”

Would I like to steal this song and give it to a girl and say I wrote it to mega impress her? Uh, duh. Piano for dayz.

84) Viola Beach - “Swings & Waterslides”

Kinda a lighter version of the Arctic Monkeys; mostly the singing... but in a big way.

83) The Game - “92 Bars”

It’s sposta be a Meek Mill diss, but it’s basically Game freestyling about a buncha stuff over a workable beat. Some real solid lines, too. My favorites:

- “I can kill you in four bars, that's a Kit Kat”

- “Let me tell you who suck, like banana Now and Laters” (haha)

- “Give me Left Eye back, take Fetty Wap and the Raiders”

- “Gum by them Yeezys, I'm the 6'5" Eazy” (MVP bar?)

- “This the Golden State and my shooters ain't on no hoop shit” (coooold)

82) OMI - “Hula Hoop”

I’mma give the write up here to my girl Alyssa Pawola, via her husband, Jeff Pawola (who watched the video after she was told the song reminded me of him):

She agreed with you!

She says it's because the singer dances similar to me and is a little goofy (compliment?), whereas all the girls around him are really good dancers (thus, her).

81) Joey Purp f/ Chance The Rapper - “Girls @”

If you’re not all-in on this song by the seven or eight second mark, then you can probably pass. HOWEVA, Chance and his 3 hat appear later on, so we call that incentive, young Bucky.

80) Vinnie Caruana - “I Don’t Believe You”

The feels like a last-song-on-the-record kinda track.

/looks up if it was the last song on the record

...8 of 10!

(Close enough.)

79) No Lenox - “Leave”

This song is heart and blood, with a rare use of “fucking” from Chris Trott.

78) JANK - “Versace Summer”

JANK is interesting. All of their artwork and motif make them seem like stoners (and maybe they are), but the music itself is so technical and synced. Like, you know they’re trying and very capable. So as weird as seeing “Versace” next to “JANK” might look, maybe it’s this high end brand that truly does fit their sound over, say, Faygo. But yeah, by the time this song is done, even though they’ve played the chorus a handful of times, you probably wouldn’t mind a handful more.

77) White Lung - “Dead Weight”

This band is just the coolest shit. They always go so, so hard, but this time, there’s a guitar playing mega bad ass leads to help even things out. I would believe you if you told me the guitar was also shooting lasers.

76) Descendents - “Without Love”

Like The Living End, the Descendents have also been out of the ‘releasing new records’ game for over a decade. And as jokey of a band as they’ve been in the past, this song has some of the same earnestness and vulnerability we heard on 2004′s “Cool To Be You”.

75) Andrew Bird - “Roma Fade”

For sure a candidate for coolest song title of 2016.

74) LVL UP - “Hidden Driver”

This is too indie for its own good.

73) A$AP Ferg f/ Big Sean - “World Is Mine”

Mostly included for Sean. Sorry, Ferg -- but you did give him the hook and a verse.

72) AM Taxi - “Enough To Feel Like Enough”

Like The Front Bottoms song from earlier, this AM Taxi song is very AM Taxi. But I ain’t ever worried about AM Taxi.

71) Rozwell Kid - “Baby’s First Sideburns”

Not sure I’ve ever heard a weak song by this band.

70) PARTYNEXTDOOR f/ Drake - “Come And See Me”

If you wanted to upset your love interest in 2016, hitting him or her with the “I hear you talkin' 'bout ‘we’ a lot, oh, you speak French now?” line was probably a good place to start.

69) Tancred - “Bed Case”

Kinda ‘90s, right? Nice.

68) Thrice - “Blood On The Sand”

Moderate take alert: I purport the Thrice singer sounds like Dave Grohl in this song, particularly during the chorus. Come at me with your agrees or disagrees.

67) MakeWar - “Ode”

The dude on this band’s album cover always reminds me of Rafa Nadal, which is weird, as I’d argue he looks -20% like Rafa Nadal. This song has a downcast energy. I think I wanna see these dudes live.

66) PKEW PKEW PKEW - “Asshole Pandemic”

Party punk, wooooo. You will not find a more circular 2016 lyric than “Why’s this fuckin’ dick gotta be such a cock?”

65) Adam Friedman f/ Mike Posner - “Lemonade”

blue eyes >>> brown eyes, Adam.

64) Matt and Kim - “Let’s Run Away”

As always-always-always, Matt and Kim are having more fun than we are.

63) Ariana Grande f/ Nicki Minaj - “Side To Side”

As recently as 40 days ago, I was emaling my friends about this track with the very loaded “I’m not sure this song is good at all”.

My buddy Brian’s response will probably jar you like it jarred me:

Gotta say, I have a soft spot for this song. I think the beat is pretty banging and the subject matter is a plus. Like, we do have to acknowledge that she's walking side to side because she's been having sex with dude all night and day and now her vagina is too sore to walk like a regular person. I can dig that.

Well then.

62) With You. f/ Vince Staples - “Ghost”

Weird music video, but definitely my favorite version of Vince that we got in 2016.

61) Fifth Harmony f/ Ty Dolla $ign - “Work From Home”

I was listening to this song with my girlfriend the other day, and I said something like “This song could really use a rap cameo”. Enter: the very forgettable Ty Dolla $ign. Still, a fun, sexty song. Also, I believe this is our first -- and only? -- song to have over one billion YouTube views (!!!).

60) Masked Intruder - “If Only”

This made it over other MI candidates due to the Winnie Cooper reference.

59) Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Jay-Z f/ French Montana & Infared - “All The Way Up (Remix)”

An easy chorus for sports teams to co-opt, as well as a “fuck off me” Jay verse. He bucks “Lemonade”, ups his products for the infinite time, and drops the mic after:

The OG's say, "Hov, how high is high enough?" I said "'till we eye and eye with the higher ups" Until we let 'em know, we ain't those n****s Until our baby's showered in gold, n**** Blue looking like Pac in the tub David LaChapelle levels of not giving a fuck Prince left his masters where they safe and sound We never gonna let the elevator take him down

Man.

Worry not, cockroach French is around to muck things up. It’s salvaged by a real dope Remy Ma verse, though.

58) Al Scorch - “Everybody Out”

The perfect soundtrack for escaping a busted speakeasy.

57) Tegan and Sara - “Dying To Know”

This song makes the list because the “Boyfriend” chorus was lazy as hell; it was like the “Closer” chorus, version 2.0. Conversely, “Dying To Know” has real emotion and a big, legit chorus.

56) Bloc Party - “The Good News”

A song I fear no one will like but me... but hey, my list.

55) New Lenox - “It’s Its Own Thing”

This is a song I wrote (and drummed on) about how winter sucks. It’s also about Chicago, being alone, finding someone, and using Banner Pilot to get through tough, frozen times. Shout out to Dave Rokos for singing the majority of the leads and Chris Trott for producing.

54) Julien Baker - “Photobooth”

I became enamored with the voice and talent of 21-year-old phenom Julien Baker throughout 2016, and though she released her debut album in 2015 (ALL TRACKS DISQUALIFIED, CHICA), she did drop this Death Cab cover for The A.V. Club this year, so I found a way to get her in the door. Now that we’re all here, I’ll give the floor to Deadspin’s Tom Ley:

What I did not expect was to like this version of the song so much that I now become visibly disgusted when I try to go back and listen to the original. Like all the good, thoughtful teens of my era, I spent a lot of time listening to Death Cab in my car, and I used to nod along pleasantly when “Photobooth” came on. But now I’m just angry I ever wasted any time listening to a lesser version of the song. In my opinion, Death Cab should just turn their entire catalog over to Julien Baker and be done with it.

Ironically, I will be seeing Baker open up for Death Cab singer Ben Gibbard later this January.

53) Desiigner - “Panda”

This is a bad song... but it’s incredibly listenable (for about 30 seconds, only it keeps going for a normal amount of time). It got upped on Kanye’s album, which likely sparked public interest in this mumble rap disaster. Literally the best thing you can say is it’s a Future rip off -- and he’s not all that great to begin with.

/sadly looks up YouTube view total

190 million; Fifth Harmony is like “pshhhh”.

Yet, “Panda” somehow endures. It feels fresh, saying “panda” repatedly never seems to tire, and it burned down the dance floor at Brian Pawola’s wedding this summer; old and young alike wanted to be pandas.

Now is also probably a good time to disclose my Halloween costume...

52) Cloud Nothings - “Modern Act”

Me, blogging about my excitement for the new Cloud Nothings album that drops in three weeks.

51) A Tribe Called Quest f/ André 3000 - “Kids” (no link)

Welcome back.

50) Run The Jewels - “Talk To Me”

Haven’t listened to RTJ3, but it’s only been out for, like, 10 days. Still, this song is as reliably dope as they’ve always been. I also felt compelled to include ATCQ and RTJ in these spots to ensure they were not above “Panda”.

Brave men didn't die face down in the Vietnam muck so I could not style on you

49) Kevin Devine - “No History”

My aforementioned buddy Dave Rokos likes this song because of its big chorus, and I’d also like to use it as a selling point.

48) Kings Of Leon - “Reverend”

For as big as Kings Of Leon are, I haven’t really heard this song anywhere.

47) Rae Sremmurd f/ Gucci Mane - “Black Beatles”

I always thought Rae Sremmurd were kinda meh (at best) and Gucci Mane was an idiot’s idiot (at absolute best), but this song’s a banger -- and this conclusion was reached prior to it going viral with the Mannequin Challenges. Speaking of... my 2016 Black Wednesday:

A video posted by Bobby L (@bobbystompy) on Nov 23, 2016 at 7:15pm PST

46) Grimes - “Kill V. Maim”

This song is straight out of a video game or action movie. Like, get ready to fight a boss or something.

45) Dave Hause - “With You”

Heartfelt ballad that feels sprawled out across a few genres.

44) Robin Thicke f/ Nas - “Deep”

What do we get when we combine a dude with no credibility and feature a dude with tons of credibility? A sneaky sizzling collab. And if you still got beef, remember: it ain’t that deep.

43) Against Me! - “Rebecca”

A lot of people have had this AM! song on their year end lists, and I wasn’t seeing it, but after a few extra spins, it became pretty clear this was thee highlight from the album. It’s got this kinetic energy, spinning out of control while somehow maintaining perfect balance.

42) Restorations - “See”

Restorations make spectrum songs; ones you listen to while the world moves in slow motion at an airport reunion, while time stops after a death, or stretches out on an overly contemplative Sunday evening. What I’m saying is, these dudes control the clocks.

41) Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties - “Green Like The G Train, Green Like Sea Foam”

Soupy from The Wonder Years’ solo project keeps -- PUN INTENDED -- chuggin’ along with this one. He’s singing in the same gear he always sings in, but the chorus and always trusty synced rhythms that break it in two definitely get me goin’.

40) Titus Andronicus - “No Future”

Titus Andronicus covering Craig Finn, and they add just the right amount of anguish to the proceedings. There’s such an obvious-yet-still-clever element to the “February’s about as long as it is wide” line.

39) Rihanna - “Needed Me” (NSFW-ish video)

This song is good -- Mustard on the beat, natch -- but RiRi murdering a dude in the back of a strip club in the video might be better.

38) Jeff Rosenstock - “Festival Song”

The former Bomb the Music Industry! singer dipped his toe in a few genres throughout his 2016 album “Worry”, though I’m not sure how to describe this one; it’s kind of spastic punk with some synthy keyboards and a catchy outro, strong enough to throw two capable haymakers as the song enters its final minute.

37) The Steve Adamyk Band f/ Colleen Green - “Carry On”

I hadn’t even heard of this band a month ago, but “Carry On” has quickly become a favorite; toe-tappin' rock.

36) The Naked And Famous - “Higher”

This band seems like they’d have -- there is no better word I’m so sorry -- epic concerts. Also, don’t miss out on the “In The Air Tonight”-sounding fills.

35) Phantogram - “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore”

Brilliant drum samples, drug stuff, and a pop sensibility; you seriously could not ask for more.

34) Child Bite - “Vermin Mentality”

This song is quite harsh, and I imagine if you had individual approval ratings for all 132 of these songs, it would very easily finish in the bottom five. That said, I think it rocks, and it reminds me of the Dead Kennedys’ best scenario.

33) Joyce Manor - “Last You’ve Heard Of Me”

Sure, I reacted like a mom when I saw Barry’s new neck tattoo in the video, but the song was the redeemer. Recommended if you like the Everclear “Santa Monica” intro, marijuana makes you tired, or you’ve found love in the parking lot outside a karaoke bar.

32) Cassino - “Alabama Song”

If you did happen to listen to “Vermin Mentality”, this’ll probably be the song to get that taste out of your mouth. I love its overall laid back vibe, even if what it’s about remains unclear after a good chunk of listens.

31) Direct Hit! - “Was It The Acid?”

This one lost several punk points after the singer revealed he did not use hard drugs. But still.

30) Bayside - “Pretty Vacant”

My buddy Brian Pawola doesn’t like this song because of the teenage-y “I can’t believe this is my life, I’m pretty vacant all the time” chorus, but that’s precisely why I do. Also, apparently the album it’s off of is called “Vacancy”, haha.

29) PUP - “Familiar Patterns”

Feels weird not picking a single, but this one was always my favorite; the same percussive power, shreddy singing, and unrelenting noise we got in their debut a few years ago. Also funny: they named their 2016 album “The Dream Is Over”, which is what the PUP singer’s doctor told him after diagnosing his vocal chord ailment.

28) Tokyo Police Club - “Not My Girl”

Sometimes, I wanna tell non-punk fans TPC is what all punk rock sounds like, because even though the band has more of a pop-indie element, they do seem like the genre’s best case scenario more often than not.

27) The Falcon - “If Dave Did It”

Feels like sacrilege picking a Dave Hause fronted track for my Falcon choice. After all, this is Brendan Kelly’s group, and after an EP and two full lengths, it’s Dave’s first ever time fronting a song in the band. But this song kept standing out. It also has a small drum solo, and even though basically all drum solos are bad, Neil Hennessy’s on the kit -- so you know you’re in good hands.

26) Chance The Rapper f/ 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne - “No Problem”

Chance’s “Coloring Book” was so positive and creative and multi-faceted that it feels a little wrong to pick a song that’s more traditional rap with typical guests, but it really is the best song, you know? For whatever reason, Lil Wayne’s nonchalant verse was my favorite, with his initial bars being the highlight:

I got problems bigger than these boys My deposits, they be on steroids Lord, free the Carter, n****s need the Carter Sacrificin' everything, I feel like Jesus Carter

But sure, we can also highlight funny 2 Chainz things:

- “Inside of the Maybach look like it came out of Ikea / Run shit like diarrhea” (oh my god)

- “Aye, aye, captain / I'm high, captain / I'm so high / Me and God dappin'” (haha)

Also, if you don’t raise-and-drop your arms for the “huh! huh!” part before the beat kicks in at the beginning after “lobby”, you’re a monster.

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25) David Rokos - “Pacific Time”

Falling in lust with a California girl who has the keys to bomb ass hotel room overlooking the ocean? What self-deprecating heterosexual dude isn’t signing up for this?

24) NOFX - “Six Years On Dope”

Thrash punk, with Fat Mike and Eric Melvin divvying up the vocals after arguing to start the song. Here’s the July 2016 description I emailed to the gf:

So, the lead singer has kind of a flat, annoying voice, but then there's this guitarist who mostly does yell parts and not a lot of leads, but in this song, they both basically trade off yelling, and the guitar is blaring, and it just does not relent. They've released a million records at this point, but something about it feels so fresh. Like new blood has been infused into all of them.