#during one of the most important days of their lives

[tinfoil-jones]

Jerk Ford AU: Silliness IV

Jerk Ford's behaviour was way worse while he was in the multiverse because while he was in his own dimension, Stan was there to keep him from going too far, and to mediate his interactions with other people when it came to important business.

Once he fell through the portal? Completely unrestrained.

Here's a small list of some of things he's done across the multiverse:

Un-sunk the mythical City of Atlantis to get back at a 'sh*tty tourist company'

Lifetime ban from all Space Waffle House locations across time and space for inciting a riot because a waitress kept calling him 'honey'.

Had someone legally assigned to permanent Cosmic Jury Duty.

Sowing the seeds of an extremely invasive and fast-growing varient of cucumber all over a large city in the Cat Dimension.

Not giving his two weeks notice at Space Hooters.

Infecting a galaxy-encompassing digital records archive with a virus that changed every third noun to be replaced with the word 'dick'.

Invading a weed farm on a parallel Earth and replacing the 'mother plant' that all of the other weed plants were cloned from with a strain of marijuanna thats identical in every way, except it produces no THC.

Impersonated one of the Bounty Hunter versions of Ford so he could fake his own death, collect the bounty for himself from the Ford Hate Club, crash the party they threw to celebrate, and then slip away right as the real Bounty Hunter Ford showed up to report that he'd failed to capture Jerk Ford.

---

Remember how in a reverse portal what-if Jerk Ford told Fiddleford he would blow up the planet if he didn't help him rebuild the portal? And Fiddleford called his bluff?

Imagine you're Bill Cipher, and an oddly calm Stanford Pines tells you that in three days, he's going to blow up the Nightmare Realm with you in it.

So you laugh, because he's bluffing.

Two days later, it turns out he wasn't bluffing about blowing up the Nightmare Realm with you in it.

He was bluffing about giving you a third day, because he's a jerk like that.

---

Boss Music? This guy isn't much of a fighter, he isn't a boss fight. It isn't hard to finish a fight with him because he's impossible to beat in a hand-to-hand fight - he isn't very strong compared to most versions of Ford Pines- it's hard to finish a fight with him because he's slippery. He's just going to escape and run if he doesn't think he can win.

If I were to give him a theme song or something, it'd probably be Dangerous by Jorge Rivera-Herrans. Mostly because of the "I have to get home" sentiment.

You have to ignore the fact that he didn't actually get himself home, just like canon Ford his brother had to fix the portal to bring him back.

Bro was at least trying to get back home.

Here's a Jerk Ford Playlist by @tearosepedall

---

Actually, the reverse portal scenario doesn't go quite the way you think it does.

Jerk Ford has to pretend to be Stanley. A school teacher. A resident of society that Gravity Falls actually loves. When he's been an active menace to society his whole life.

Stanley gets shoved into an unforgiving multiverse full of monsters, demons, aliens, and versions of his brother who project their resentment and anger towards their actual twin onto him instead as a proxy.

And they both ask themselves: "What would my brother do in this situation?"

Anyways, this is what happens with Stanley:

And this is what happens with Jerk Ford:

---

Fun fact: Jerk Ford is the reason there's no gnome queen.

While he was studying the gnomes during his researcher years in Gravity Falls, he discovered that the Gnomes only had one female, who was their queen by default.

Anyways he talks to her about how her greatest ambition in life shouldn't be having a hundred husbands and being barefoot and pregnant forever. No, her greatest ambition in life should be being one of the greatest hat models the world has ever known.

Anyways now she lives in New York, she may or may not also be a drug lord in the pixie dust cartel.

Soos, Mabel, and Dipper tried asking the mail box questions once.

It sent them a really long, angry, rambling letter starting with "What the f*ck did you just f*cking say about me, you little b*tch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals,"

Later on Dipper asked Ford about it, and he reveals that he traumatized the entity on the other side of the mailbox by sending it the question "is your refrigerator running?" every day for almost six years straight.

[domiiomii]

It is interesting to me how we don't actually see much of Viktor's life in Zaun besides his interaction with Singed but it is clearly something he carries deeply with him. One could think maybe Viktor hated Zaun, he seemed to isolate from other kids, or think he felt resentment that because of his birthplace he became ill, however none of that seems to be true because from the start he was always pushing to make the hextech available to the people of the undercity and when he gets his own power his first instinct is exactly that, to go back home and help those who have been ignored, who need it the most, who are just like him.

Perhaps it is not so much about growing up in Zaun but rather that Piltover made sure that he knew he didn't belong there. He knows he is an outsider, in every way, he says it when he meets Jayce and describes himself as a "A poor cripple from the undercity", which is very peculiar because we don't see anybody else in the series, despite the multiple characters from Zaun who are disabled, speak like that or seem to have those thoughts because disability is such a commonality there.

Viktor's "insecurities" if you want to call them that don't come out of thin air but out of the way he was clearly treated in piltover, him not wanting to speak publicly during Progress Day is sad sure, but it is not just because he saw his existence as "less than", but because he clearly was reminded of it constantly. It is not that he lacked the confidence, he clearly believes in himself, he knows his abilities, but he also KNOWS he won't be taken seriously, either because he is from the undercity or because he is disabled.

This very point is made clear through the scene with Mel when she argues for making hextech weapons, it is such a harsh reality check of Viktor's place in piltover. Viktor's voice doesn't matter at all to those in power, no matter how brilliant he is, no matter how much he has changed their lives. Mel doesn't even look at Viktor, she doesn't talk to him directly, Viktor is talked over by Mel and Jayce who are again literally standing over him while he sits down, the whole scene has the two of them having a conversation with Viktor in the room but ignoring him. Mel doesn't even try to argue her point with Viktor because to her Viktor's thoughts and opinions don't matter at all. In the end she tells Jayce and Jayce only "The decision is yours".

Another particular point is how she tells Jayce only "The peace is already broken Jayce, I'm only asking you to prepare to defend your people." YOUR PEOPLE meaning piltover and again all this being said right in front of Viktor an outsider, a man from the undercity, discussing how they will use the technology he helped developed against HIS OWN PEOPLE, people just like him. Very important detail here is that right after this interaction Viktor goes to the undercity and asks Singed for help after he realizes piltover will never help him, he goes back for help the only place he can get it because despite how much Piltover has benefited from Viktor's mind, he is never welcomed and his thoughts on what his work should be used for are not heard at all, everything of value is taken from him then he is left to die.

It is very funny how Piltover is regarded as this "beacon of progress" when you see how they treat their own population of the undercity where they don't even see them as equal citizens. This very point reflects in how Jayce is able to climb the social ladder while Viktor is always relegated and eventually even his name is scrapped from the technology he helped develop, he is a stranger in his own "city".

Talking about Jayce is also worth mentioning that, aside from Sky (also from the undercity), Jayce is the only person in piltover we see who cares about Viktor and the point is not lost on me that he comes from a lower much smaller house (not that his relationship with Jayce is perfect don't get me started on the "You were never broken Viktor" thing, that is a post of it's own). The relation of Viktor to the other elites of piltover we see is just bleak, Mel as established completely disregards him and even when he is at death's door I don't think she cared about him, she cared that Jayce cared about Viktor.

And then the worst of all, Heimerdinger who by all means should have been Vitkor's first ally as his professor is actually so quick to dispose of him and without a second thought and tell Viktor to destroy the technology that could very well be the only possibility to save him. The difference in how Himmerdinger acts with Ekko and Viktor is night and day, he denies Viktor any help to figure out how to save him while he "sacrifices" himself for Ekko's time machine. Now, how is a time machine not as dangerous as magic? I don't understand but this makes sense in the context that Viktor's life as a disabled person from the undercity seems to be established to be of less value.

For better or for worse piltover made sure that Viktor never forgot where he came from so him returning and helping the people who would never get help otherwise, people just like him, was the only path he could really follow.

On a personal note I find it so sad that the very clear class divide line in the plot was flatten in favor of “This is not about ideologies or territory, this is about saving humanity” when the very reason Viktor even became what he became and took the choices he did to what he thought was the best to save as many of the people like him as possible IS because of that class divide and it is because of the way piltover treated the undercity because of the pollution that made him sick and because of the the way piltover ignored the situation of the people they harmed.

[a-student-out-of-time]

More Real Talk

Hey everyone. Mod Bubbles here.

I'm not gonna beat around the bush here: you all know what's going on, you've all heard about it, you don't need me to tell you about it. You've heard about it and you're gonna hear about it a lot these next four years.

I don't want to talk about that. Instead, I wanna address something else that, on a personal level, I believe is a lot more serious but a lot easier to grapple with.

You wanna know what I believe is the biggest problem we're dealing with these days? You can point to a lot of things, but at the core, they all have the same root to them.

Hopelessness.

Yeah, a DR blog talking about hope, how crazy is that?

But in all seriousness, it's at the core of every argument, every political discussion, every post I see made about not just the near future, but the long term as well. It's always the same points about neo-fascism, climate change, wars, cyberpunk dystopias, and global extinction. Very few people today seem to have any faith that the world can be better.

And I can't say I blame them. I was there too once, when I was a teenager. I lived in constant fear of the future, worried about what it means for me, and I'd get trapped in doomscrolling cycles. I'd lay awake at night and cry my eyes out. Yet I'm still here, on the cusp of turning 30, and I'm at a better point in my life than I've ever been.

Fear and desperation are ultimately useful, but they can be self-destructive. They can prevent you from seeing the truth and make you ironically vulnerable to the ones you should be most afraid of.

Why do people join cults or militias or vote for bad politicians? Are they all just stupid or evil? Sure, some may be, but most are just desperate, afraid and don't understand how the world really works. They need a helping hand with deprogramming what they were told.

Here's the facts:

We've already beaten climate change's worst predictions and the changes we've made can be reversed.

Plastic pollution in the oceans is being cleaned up.

Conservation success stories just keep coming.

More people are living better lives nowadays, with lower rates of child morality, starvation, crime, preventable diseases, even bullying rates have declined.

The Green Energy Revolution is here and nothing is going to stop it.

New advancements in materials science are on the way and will revolutionize everything from construction to manufacturing to space exploration.

I say all this because the ultimate source of hope is knowledge. Yes, you can open yourself up to a lot of dark avenues when you start learning about the world, but you'll also learn how much good there is out there being done.

This isn't a distraction, it's how I help people understand that the world can always be better and that just one person being in power will not change that.

Now, I know what you may say to that. I've seen posts about how the internet is going to be censored, that propaganda spread everywhere, that there'll be concentration camps, the constitution will be ripped up, etc.

And to that, I have to be honest: I've already heard it all before.

The things you're worried about today? I was worried about them in 2009 during the Great Recession. People worried about them in 2005 when Bush was re-elected, and the concerns there also included terrorism. Do we even still talk about Al-Qaeda? Not really!

And misinformation in this age has always been a problem, especially on the big sites. These are old problems brought to the forefront, and it's always been important to learn the skills to spot them.

More importantly, all this assumes the administration would actually be able to implement any of their promises. Every administration does that and few of the truly big ones about change have happened, especially because said promises ran counter to reality within the system.

I'm not trying to downplay any concerns about the situation, I promise. It's okay to be sad, scared, and concerned about peoples' safety. It's okay to cry if you need to. What you should not do is give up just because of all this.

I'm going to sound very harsh for a moment, but I need to say it: by being doomerist and defeatist, you're part of the problem. You not only stop helping, you run the risk of discouraging other people from trying because you believe it's pointless. When you succumb to pessimistic nihilism, you create a self-fulfilling prophecy that only rewards those who benefit from your inaction or your death.

Don't do that to people. Don't do that to yourself.

The world gets better when you first believe it can be better. How do you do that?

Well, I can't speak for everyone, but here's some suggestions that I'm sticking to:

Live daily life. Get up, eat, stay hydrated, take your medication, bathe, dress comfortably, listen to music, watch a movie, clean your home, play a game, hang out with friends, just do things that make you happy. As you should always do.

Stop looking at doomer posts. It literally does not help with anything and they are not credible sources of information just because they're cynical.

Do not let go of your ambitions. Always have a dream or a goal in mind, no matter what it is, and always aim for it. It's never stupid, it's never too late, it's something you aspire to and that's really awesome.

Stop looking for enemies. There are more important things to devote your time to than arguing over inane bullshit on the internet. That's been true since the start.

Be kind to people. Let go of whatever anger and resentment you may have for people, try to make new friends, and recognize when you can help someone else in need. Sometimes it's as simple as letting them know you care.

Be kind to yourself. You are not a failure, you're not a burden, you're not a lost cause, you can always improve as long as you're alive.

Remove toxicity from your life. Cut out bad influences and replace them with better things. If you have to leave a toxic environment, you can work on doing so.

Always learn new things. It's really fun to end the day with a new piece of knowledge you didn't have the day before.

Let yourself feel. Are you angry? Sad? Scared? Worried? Let yourself feel it, and then you can move on. Don't bury an emotion or let it stagnate.

Learn to recognize bad faith posts/misinformation. This is a critical skill to possess and one you need to always pass on to others. Not everyone who posts it is evil, sometimes all they need is a simple correction on a matter and the situation will be resolved.

Clown on Evil. Whenever people want you to fear them or take them seriously, you mock them, make memes about them, treat them as a joke and defuse whatever power they try to have.

Be true to yourself. Above all, don't let the next 4 years turn you into something you're not.

I say all this as someone who's been around longer than a lot of people who follow me: your future is not empty. I wished I'd done years ago everything I'm doing now, but I've decided I'd rather do them than spend the rest of my life lamenting and wondering what might've been.

You can spend years convincing yourself there is no future, and then the future arrives and you have no idea what to do anymore.

Change- actual change- starts from below and works its way up. And no matter how much life beats you down, no matter what's on TV or what the future may hold, you can always choose to do something about it.

You can always choose to be kind to yourself and to others. You can always choose to believe. And that's where you can start.

[gingerteawrites]

Bad hair days and other mishaps - JJK Headcannons

A/N: I almost had a bad hair day today before TWO important meetings/appointments, and I need comfort lol. So here are some headcannons of my jjk faves and them helping out/playing with reader's hair.

Content: Written with black reader in mind/reader with very curly hair. Nanami, Gojo, Geto, established relationship, fluff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nanami Kento

One of the things Nanami loved the most about you was how put together you always tried to be. The level of care and attention to details in your styles always elicited a quiet sense of fascination in the man, and your hair was certainly not an exception.

Nanami was nothing if not an astute observer, and through your time together, he learned to pick up on small indicators of your moods. Today, it was a less subtle one than usual; a loud groan coming from the bathroom.

He immediately perks up, leaving the comfort of the window-side armchair where he was thumbing through a book and headed in the direction of the displeased sound.

"Are you alright, darling?" He walks in, pulling his glasses from the bridge of his nose.

Your shoulder droop as you rest a wide toothed comb on the counter, looking down.

"'m okay, Ken," you sigh. "Just a bad hair day,"

His eyes fleet to the top of your head, taking in the messy strands of hair you were attempting to shape into a new style discovered during your nightly Pinterest scroll. He moved closer and brought a comforting hand to your back, his fingers pressing warmth into you.

"Need help?" He offers in a low rumble, and you turn to him, eyes betraying a hint of hesitation. "Only if you're comfortable with it, of course" He adds.

You jut your lips out, immediately feeling bad for the reluctance you felt, however brief. Ever the gentle soul, Kento was entirely trustworthy when it came to taking care of you. Your moment of hesitation had only been because of the unfamiliarity of the suggestion.

"I would appreciate it, yeah," You rest a hand on his chest, and he offers you a smile so soft it makes you want to squish him.

This is how you end up in the living room, sitting on a cushion on the floor, sectioning your hair and providing gentle guidance as Nanami worked through your strands.

"Like this?" "Please let me know if it hurts" "Your hair is so soft". When he's not asking for instructions or somehow praising you, the man works in quiet concentration, strong hands gentle as they massaged the products through your hair and detangled with care.

And while it took way longer than when you did your hair yourself, the session left you feeling thoroughly relaxed, Completely devoid of the earlier frustration that plagued you. And the style ended up looking pretty decent! Nanami's fingers worked magic, no matter where he touched.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gojo Satoru

"Sweetheart are you trying something new with your hair?" Gojo's brows were raised in surprise when he watches you exit the bedroom with your hair in an... interesting style.

"Don't start, Satoru," you groan, irritated beyond belief. You had tried one of those heatless curls methods that were all the rage, but had unfortunately not accounted for your hair texture.

How stupid

You thought you had learned your lesson from the times you almost fried your hair in the name of straightening it as a teen. The wavy look you were aiming for resulted in something more like ringlets, suspended in the air in a ridiculous display of gravity defiance.

"That'll teach me a lesson," you mumble to yourself, headed for your snacks cabinet. Your arms were tired, you were hungry, and irritated. Phenomenal combination.

Noticing your sour mood, Satoru immediately seeks you out, leaning against the counter beside you. "You don't look bad, though," his voice softens, and you throw him a look beyond skeptical. Causing him to hold his hands up defensively in front of him.

"It's not your best either," you sigh, your annoyed expression turning defeated. "But I'm sure we can work this out!" He adds quickly, "Let me take a look at the tutorial."

"I already canceled the appointment I was going to anyway, it's fine," you look down at your phone, the picture of silky waves on the model's hair bright and bold on your screen.

Ignoring your words, his fingers slip through yours and grab your phone before you can even formulate another retort. He hums for a second, concentrating on the picture before announcing boldly.

"I can do this!"

It has been about 30 minutes of tentatively pulling, combing and wrapping, your hair looked somehow... worse. You don't even know why you allowed Satoru to try, cackling loudly when the man hesitantly hands you the mirror.

"It's hard, okay? One of the few things I don't have a natural talent for," he sighed dramatically, and another laugh escapes you.

"At least you did not rip my hair off," you say after you are finally able to calm down a bit.

Satoru watches you with a fond smile. At least the frustration had melted away, and you were back to your cheery self. He leans in and kisses your cheek.

"At least you look less like you're about to rip my hair off," he quips and you return the smile.

"Thank you for cheering me up," you place your hand on his cheek, earnest. "But this is the last time I'm letting you do this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Geto Suguru

Suguru had decided today was a spa-at-home kind of day. Your week had been deeply tormenting, and you welcomed the initiative with wide open arms. Your shared home was bathed in the soothing scents he had laid out, and you were wrapped in a cozy bathrobe, enjoying the back massage that his nimble fingers pressed into your skin.

His hands leave your skin and you are tempted to protest, looking up from the bed with a frown at the smiling man.

"Now your hair," he announces, leaning down so his face is closer to yours. You sit up, readjusting the robe around your shoulders with a small frown.

"Um, I don't know if that is going to work, baby," you press your lips together. In all honestly, your hair was still in a bit of a disarray from the week's manipulations, and you did not want to overwhelm your lover.

"But you play with my hair all the time," he retorts, now sitting on the bed and holding your hands.

"Your hair is a lot more manageable for me, Sugu," you chuckle, absently bringing a hand to push away a strand of his ebony locks from his face.

"It's fine, love, really," he emphasizes, bringing one of your hands to his lips. "I looked up a few of those hair ASMR videos for your hair texture, I promise I'll be gentle."

Long story short, you are easily persuaded to let Geto give you a scalp massage. He whips out Castor oil and cocoa butter from your stash, applying it to your hair with an expertise that almost shocks you.

"I love how your products smell," he comments while applying the honey-scented leave-in through your stands.

You hum absently, on the verge of sleep. Not a single muscle in your body is left holding any sort of tension.

He helps you up, giving you a quick kiss before handing you a mirror, and you almost gasp at how shiny and moisturized your curls look. Suguru's smile is almost smug when you turn your head from side to side to admire his work.

"Like it?" he asks, standing to stretch.

"More than like!" You finally placed the mirror down. "You shouldn't have done this. Now you'll have to be my personal hairstylist forever." The seriousness of your tone pulled a laugh out of him.

"Anytime, baby."

This was so much fun to write, I hope you enjoyed it!

Comments and reblogs are much appreciated (❁´◡`❁)

[putschki1969]

hi puts!

First of all congrats to you and all the kalafans that have made it to the Anni concert! I just couldn't find a way to fly there thanks to the silly leave policies in my company ( i was at work sobbing while the girls were singing probably their last kala live😭😭)

So, what do you think about the possibility of WKH singing live together in the future? I saw a lot of tweets saying there is slim chance... even the girls themselves didn't seem optimistic about it, and the “一夜限り” slogans seemed like they're trying to deliver a long overdue farewell to the fans by this concert for the past 7 years 😭 it's giving me a feeling that they're striving to respond to the love they received from the kalafans, while risking almost recklessly of losing tremendous support from YK sensei's side. I also saw a tweet about the fact that YK unfollowed K&H, this made me so sad although I knew it was totally rational since they previously broke up in such notorious way🥹

But all in all seeing WKH loving each other is the best new year gift to me, i hope them don't lose this precious connection ♥️

Thanks for reading my message!

Hello there!

Awww, thank you! It truly was the experience of a lifetime and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.🥰 Whether it was their "best" concert is probably up to personal preference (the setlist wasn't my cup of tea to be honest) but it definitely felt like their most important concert to me. I think it gave everyone involved a certain peace of mind after everything that had happened in the past seven years.

I am really sorry that you weren't able to make it. Thankfully, we will be getting a TV broadcast so that's a tiny consolation at least.

Hmmmn, as I mentioned in my live report, the girls didn’t even hint at any possible future activities. There was just an endless amount of appreciation/gratitude for the past and present. And as you say, it was more about treasuring a special night together, this miraculous opportunity to sing together one more time. The entire concert had somewhat of a final feel to it, like it was giving us a sense of closure (which we had previously been denied).

While there don't seem to be any concrete plans for the future, the girls are clearly not without hope. They didn't dare (or weren't able) to say anything specific but Keiko didn't miss the chance to utter a few hopeful words, more like a prayer actually, "叶うならまた~/If my wish would come true, maybe [we can do this/sing together] again~"

There's a clear desire to be together again and they evidently have so much love for each other (💙🖤🤍) so that's really all I need to know to remain hopeful. Will it take time? Sure! Will sacrifices have to be made? Absolutely! This concert has strengthened my conviction, my love for Kalafina is as strong as ever, if not stronger. I will wait as long as it takes but I think it's also valid to interpret this concert as a solid send-off for everyone who has previously struggled to let go due to the abrupt way things ended back in the day.

As for Yuki Kajiura and losing her support, I currently don't know what's true and what's not. How does she really feel about all of this? Her initial statement was harsh and immature if you ask me. Was it her prerogative to be upset about the situation, of course! Should she have taken a step back to reflect on what was happening in order to release a more professional statement, I personally think so. But hey, what's done is done and for what it's worth, I think that first tweet was probably the most honest reflection of her feelings. Everything that followed felt a little disingenuous to me, like empty platitudes, her way of providing some much needed damage control. Hikaru and Keiko seem to have talked things through with Yuki but it was probably on a surface level. They apparently had no big issues working together during the YKL Asia Tour but really, what other choice could they have had seeing as their participation was decided long before the whole Kalafina debacle. I wonder though, how all of this will affect future activities. I believe Yuki when she says she still respects the girls as singers but that doesn't mean she is willing to work with them as much as she used to. For the time being, I am optimistic though and feel like nothing much will change on that front. So Keiko will most likely remain a regular member of FJ and Hikaru may appear as guest vocalist from time to time. Although Yuki might refrain from doing Kalafina covers for a while. Or she'll double down and focus even more on Kalafina covers out of spite. We'll know more by March when details for YKL Vol.#21 are announced.

I was not aware of the Twitter thing. Can't say I keep track of who Yuki is following so I wouldn't even be able to confirm that she ever followed the girls in the first place. But if she really unfollowed them over this, I would find it more than petty of her. But I guess it would track with the usual M.O. of ignoring each other's online presence in the ever-lasting feud between Team Yuki and Team Space Craft. Maybe now that Hikaru and Keiko are "aligning themselves with the enemy" (i.e. participating in the Kalafina live and following Wakana on social media) they have fallen out of favour and are being considered as "Space Craft adjacent". Who knows...

I am honestly curious what sort of arrangement Keiko and Hikaru have going on with Space Craft. They obviously did not sign a proper management contract since Keiko is presumably still with Tristone and Hikaru is still a freelancer but there must be some contractual obligations that may or may not affect some of their current and future activities. Keiko has pretty much stopped doing Instagram Lives and mainly shares insights through her Yodel app so I cannot help but wonder if that has anything to do with certain Space Craft restrictions. According to Keiko's messages in Yodel, it is more of a personal choice but meh, the timing is a bit suspicious.

Either way, I hope to see them do more promotional stuff for the upcoming TV broadcast and share a few more pictures/thoughts regarding the concert. Ideally, I want to see them do casual stuff together and post about it on social media 💙🖤🤍but I'm not sure that's gonna happen. I also wonder if we'll get anything special for tomorrow (their actual anniversary). It's probably best not to get my hopes up.🙃

I don't need Kalafina to release any new music and they don't even have to go back to regular live activities but I'd be more than happy to see them hold an annual concert or so. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Additionally, I hope the girls can continue to focus on their solo careers. Hikaru hinted at already having some plans for further activities once her tour is over (hope to get an announcement soon) and Wakana has her spring live line up. Nothing special in store for Keiko yet (except for that Tristone event) so I am eager for some updates.🙏

[babymetaldoll]

Are you mine? - Chapter nineteen: "Date night"

Summary: It's Spencer and (Y/N)'s last day at work, but before they can retire and live happily ever after, there is one last psycho they have to catch. 

Warnings: A lot of curses and angst, some funny comebacks and most of all, spoilers of season 15 E6. 

Word count: 12.240

A/N: I never liked Max. I'm not even sorry she wasn't a part of this story. Spencer deserved better than a character written just to give him the hint of a love interest that was never heard of again. 

Series' Masterlist - Author's masterlist

Previous chapter | Next chapter

Spencer’s point of view

And all that happened to us in the last few years led us here. Today is our last working day at the BAU. (Y/N) and I step out of our car and head to the elevator in silence. You think you won’t miss it, but I know I will feel melancholic about all this in a few years. However, we both had enough. We are glad to finally be gone.

Prentiss understood our reasons for leaving the team. However, it hadn’t been an easy conversation. We all shed a few tears when we sat with her in her office and announced our decision.

- “I can’t say I’m shocked”- Emily said and paused for a second to rearrange her thoughts after we delivered the news.- “After everything you two have been through… a part of me knew it was a matter of time. But at the same time, I don’t think I can imagine this place without you two. You are part of this family.”

- “And we will always be. But there is another family, with tiny babies, that needs us now.”- my wife added and wiped the tears from her cheeks.- “This wasn’t an easy decision for us, but we won't change our minds.”

- “I know you won’t. It’s a shame for the team, but I am glad for you two. You deserve a new start.”

- “Thank you, Em.”- I nodded at her words and sighed, relieved.

- “And what’s the plan now?”

- “We were offered full-time positions in Georgetown.”- you could hear the happiness in my reply.- “I’ll be with the Research Department and (Y/N) will be teaching two courses during the next semester.”

- “Wow!”- Prentiss was surprised and the tone in her voice betrayed her.- “Sounds exactly like what you two should be doing.”

- “I’m sorry Em, are you mad at us?”- my wife asked directly.- “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but you said you were happy for us and yet you sound disappointed.”

- “No, no, (Y/N). I’m really happy for you, it’s just that… I have to ask you this.”- of course, she would address the pink elephant in the room.- “Is it all this because of JJ’s confession back in Los Angeles?”

The silence in that room was so awkward and deep, that nothing could break it. I could deny it, of course, but it felt useless. But before I could reply, (Y/N) did.

- “That was the last straw, I’m not gonna lie.”- my wife replied and stared at Emily straight in the eyes, showing her she was telling the truth with no hesitation.- “But we weren’t happy before that… incident. We had considered leaving a few times before, after JJ’s confession it was clear we couldn’t delay our departure any longer.”

I moved my hand and reached hers, holding it on her lap.

- “If that hadn’t happened, we would have left anyway.”- I confirmed.- “This conversation was going to happen, no matter what.”

- “I understand, and I’m sorry.”- Emily whispered.- “I know the last few months haven’t been comfortable to deal for both of you”

- “It’s not your fault.”- I replied.- “And, like (Y/N) said, we are not leaving because of her. It’s… everything. Our time here is done. And now we have to start a new stage for our family. One where we can assure our kids we will be home every night for dinner, and that we won’t miss any important date.”

Emily walked to us as we both stood up. My wife hugged her first, with tears on her face.

- “Just promise you’ll still be around.”- Prentiss asked.

- “You don’t get rid of us, I swear”- (Y/N) replied and chuckled.- “You might not be our boss for much longer, but we are family forever.”

That was a month ago, and today, my wife and I are walking into the bullpen holding hands for one last time.

- “Ok, this is not what I was expecting.”- (Y/N) whispers looking around.- “It’s not like I was waiting for a party or something, but… everything is just so normal.”- and I chuckle at her words.

- “It’s eight in the morning, chipmunk. People have to work.”- I joke and leave my bag on my desk just the minute Emily’s voice calls our name from outside the conference room.

- “Now we are talking”- (Y/N) says and quickly heads to the stairs.- “I’m sure Pen baked us some cupcakes for our last day’s breakfast.”

- “Maybe even a cake”- I tease her. But as soon as we notice Emily’s serious face, we realize something bad is happening. Rossi is there as well, staring at us with an apologetic look.

- “What happened?”- I ask right away and Prentiss turns on the tv.

- “Early this morning, Garcia got an email from an anonymous server”- and just like that, the image of two people tied to a chair, clearly frightened, appeared on the screen. Right in the middle of them, the unsub, showing her face and holding a gun.

- “She is not obscuring her face, telling us she's got nothing to hide.”- Rossi adds. My wife crosses her arms on her chest staring at the screen before asking.

- “Any ideas on the victims or unsub?”

- “No. Only the unsub's demand.”- Emily pauses, grabs a case file, and gives it to me. - “That we release Catherine Adams in 24 hours.”

I stare at Prentiss and Rossi in shock for a moment. They can’t be serious. It’s our last day.

- “I'm having her transferred here for questioning, but we have no illusions.”- Em announces and my stomach drops at her words.- “This is just a game to her. We know that. The question is, do we want to play it or not?”

- “What do you mean if we want to play it?”- and that’s when (Y/N) reacts.- “We are leaving today. We don’t have time to play any random game with a serial killer.”

- “We know that, (Y/N). But you have to understand the lives of two innocent are at risk.”- Rossi immediately explains the obvious.- “And when it comes to Cat Adams, her only weakness is the man you call your husband. We need you two to crack this case as fast as possible.”

Dealing with Cat Adams is the last thing I want on my last day as an SSA. And yet, somehow, it makes sense that this happened today. It’s exactly why we are leaving.

- “I can’t believe this.”- (Y/N) whispers as she sits at her desk. I stay by her side and rest my hands on her shoulder. She is right, this is the worst way to finish my seventeen years of active service with the FBI.

- “At least we know it’s our last case.”- I caress her shoulder and my wife pouts in response.- “I know this is not how we thought it would be, but tonight we are going home to start our new life. Don’t forget that.”

- “Reid.”- Alvez walks over and both me and my wife look at him.- “Garcia was catching me up about the case. Who is Cat Adams?”

- “My nemesis.”- (Y/N) says and sighs.- “Another crazy psycho in love with Spencer.”

- “She is not in love with me.”- the way my wife turns to look at me raising an eyebrow in disbelief could be comical in another scenario. - “She is not!”- I add just to make sure I’ve made my point.

- “No? Are you sure? That bitch even tried to convince you she was pregnant with your kid.”

- “What?”- Luke is shocked.- “How did she even try to do that?”

- “Not important right now.”- I reply ‘cos I don’t wanna remember that moment. - “Cat Adams is a psychopath who is used to getting away with what she wants.”

- “And she wants you.”- my wife points at me and makes a pause the second JJ walks over to us along with Prentiss.- “I am so sick and tired of bitches trying to get my man…”

- “She is here.”- Emily announces and asks me to walk with her to the interrogation room to wait for Adams.

I hold my wife’s hand and kiss it sweetly as I look at her and try to make her feel secure and safe. I know how much (Y/N) hates Cat. I am not a fan myself, she kidnapped and tried to kill my mother. But I know my wife feels threatened by her in a way, and I don’t know why. I can not stop it either, I’ve tried. So I want her to understand nothing and no one is more important than her and our kids.

(Y/N) wraps her arms around me and I hold her tight against me.

- “Last day.”- I whisper as I rest my forehead against her and hear her hum.- “I’ll be right back.”

- “Take care.”- I kiss her lips and cut her a short smile before I follow Prentiss.

I know I’m not going to like this.

I wait for Adams in the interrogation room. Prentiss is on the other side of the glass, and I know my wife will be there in a second. I do my best to look relaxed, and only a tad annoyed when Adams is walked into the room, in chains. I am not going to let her know how angry she gets me. I will never give her that pleasure.

She is in a mask, which reminds me of Hannibal Lecter, from The Silence of the Lambs. It seems useless to put that on her. I don’t think she will try to eat me.

Her eyes are on me from the second she steps in until she is seated, and she even smiles for a second, pleased.

The guards leave and we both stay quiet for a moment. I stand there, staring at her, unimpressed. Just annoyed.

- “Classic negotiating technique.”- she says after a few seconds. - “The first one who speaks loses, right?”

I don’t move, hands in my pocket, unthreatened by her presence and actions. I just stand there and tell her what will happen.

- “You arranged the kidnapping of two people and you did it the same way you did it before, through a partner on the outside. But her demand, "release Cat Adams," that will never happen. So, tell me what you want right now before I send you back to prison.”

- “Oh! You don't know, do you?”- she looks surprised like I missed something important.- “I stopped fighting.

- “Fighting what?”- I look at the ceiling and sigh, already tired of the conversation.

- “The United States versus Catherine Adams.”- she announces and stares at me waiting for a reaction. She doesn’t get any.- “I had my lawyer plead guilty to all 73 counts. And request the death penalty.”

- “Oh, you've grown a conscience now? I don't think so.”- if she thinks I’m gonna feel sorry for her, she must be really crazy.

- “I'm bored, ok? Boooored.”- somehow, she looks sincere about it. - “Death has to be more interesting than this. But it is funny, you know, when you’re counting the days left, you really do ask yourself, "What didn't I do?" And the only thing I could come up with was…”- she makes a short pause and sighs, to finally turn and stare at me with a smile. - “You.”

- “You haven't done me?”- I ask calmly and take a few steps closer to the table, hands still in my pocket. - “And you think by kidnapping two people you are gonna get what you want?”

- “Do I ever get what I want with you?”- she stares at me as I just raise an eyebrow and wait for her to answer the question herself.- “Besides, your wife must be at the other side of the glass fighting the urges to kill me, and we don't have a lot of time.”

- “For what?”

- “I would like to go on a date. With you.”

I can say I’m surprised. I didn’t think she was this mental.

- “A date?”- I stare at her in disbelief and she smiles.

- “Yes. I want to look pretty. And I want to have fun! And I won't even get physical, ok? Unless you want me to.”

I finally sit in front of her and lean in on the table.

- “Come here.”- I say and lean even more- “Closer.”- she moves and stares into my eyes the entire time, something that might have been incredibly intimidating for me a few years ago. But today, as my last day in the BAU, Cat Adams is not a threat.

- “The only date that I'll be there for is the one where they stick a needle in your vein.”- I whisper and she just stares at me, smiling, looking from my eyes to my lips as I lean back and keep my annoyed facade.

- “You're gonna let a father and daughter die? I don't think so.”- and just like that, she makes her first mistake.

- “I never said father and daughter. You're already slipping. We'll find them. We always do.”- I stand up, annoyed by the conversation and ready to share my intel with the team.

- “Not tonight. Tonight I win.”- she announces from her chair. I stay still for a second, taking a deep breath before I turn and reply with a serious voice.

- “The score between me and you is two to zero. By tomorrow morning, it'll be a clean sweep. Enjoy eternal nothingness. It's a metaphor for your life.”

I turn around and open the door. Before I close it behind my back, I hear her saying “Nice to see you, too, Spencie.” and it takes everything in me not to slam that door on my way out.

Cat Adams kidnapped a father and a daughter just to go out on a date with me? She has to be crazy if she thinks she can get away with it! She is ruining our last day of work torturing two people just for a pity whim. I hate that woman in ways I could never explain. And to think this was supposed to be the best day for me and my wife.

My poor wife. She must be even angrier than I am.

I walk into an empty interrogation office and take off my tie in a poor attempt to calm the sudden anger that fills my body. I don’t wanna deal with this, I just wanna leave. I don’t wanna be targeted by a psychotic narcissist again. Again! I just wanna make my wife happy, and give her the life she deserves. That we both deserve after all these years. And this bitch comes and ruins everything!

I lose it for a second and smash everything that’s upon a small piece of furniture. Lamps, books, whatever was on it gets trashed against the floor in a second.

- “I was gonna ask if you were ok, but I can see you are not.”- (Y/N) whispers from the door as she stares at me. Anyone else would be shocked to see me act that way. I don’t think anyone has ever seen me lose it physically. She, instead, just opens her arms and takes a few steps closer, as I rest my body against hers and feel her embracing me completely.

- “You don’t have to go out with her.”- she whispers sweetly.

- “I wanna kill her.”- I confess and bury my face in her neck, ashamed of my own anger.

- “Not if I kill her first.”- she replies immediately, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

- “I’m not joking.”

- “We are both carrying guns, hon. And we both have enough motives. I know we are not joking.”- (Y/N) answers and moves her hands until she is holding my face, staring into my eyes with so much love and care, that I could melt. - “That bitch tried to kill your mom and managed to torture us and our family. She won’t get what she wants.”

- “She wants to…”- but she shakes her head before I can finish talking.

- “She wants you. I will never let her have you.”

- “I don’t want her. I just want you. Forever.”- I whisper and kiss her lips as soon as I’m done speaking.

(Y/N)’s point of view

I never really imagined my last day at work could be in the top ten of my worst days at the BAU. But it’s quickly getting to the hot top five. If I didn’t want to deal with JJ anymore, now I have to deal with her and Cat Adams at the same freaking time. I know, I am a grown almost forty-year-old FBI SSA who should act like an adult at this point. But I am tired. Exhausted. I just wanna go home with my husband and raise our kids. Is that too much to ask?

Spencer and I sit at the conference room’s table as the team debates what’s going on. A part of me is still in the car with Spencer, going over the last fifteen years we’ve spent together in the FBI. Reliving the memories and talking about our favorite moments. Not here, discussing what to do with Cat Adams. Of all people, why did it have to be Cat Adams?

- “Victimology's off.”- Spencer says and Prentiss questions him right away.- “Father and daughter. She's never done that before.”

- “Yes, she usually kills men that remind her of her father. Children, even adult children, are off limits.”- Tara adds in support. - “Do we have an I.D. yet?”

- “No.”- Pen replies immediately, and you can read the angst all over her face.- “No one's even reported these two as missing. You'd think a wife, a mom, someone would notice.”

- “What do we know about the partner who was helping her?”- Rossi asks. Yet, none of that is what really bothers me.

- “It's got to be someone from her prison. She hasn't had contact with anyone else.”- Simmons replies.- “We can start with known associates who were recently released.”

- “Ok, can I tell you what's bugging me?”- JJ asks and I don’t bite my tongue in time. I can see everyone’s face changing as I say:

- “The fact an unsub has more chances of going out on a date with Spencer than you do?”

- “(Y/N)!”- Emily widened her eyes, shocked by my words.

- “Sorry, but I already quit. This is just a bonus.”- I reply with an evil grin, enjoying making my ex-friend uncomfortable. She deserves it, no doubt.

- “It’s the fact every time we've gone up against Cat, there's the presenting agenda and the hidden one.”- JJ just keeps talking, ignoring my words.

- “We know that”- I add, in a clearly annoyed tone of voice.- “This woman has always been a few steps ahead. That’s her modus operandi. We have to figure it out before we make any decision.”

- “Well, if she sticks to the pattern, this isn't just about going on a date with Spence.”- JJ looks at me as she speaks, so mad I could laugh. Who the hell does she think she is to even try to look angry at me. She should be glad I haven’t hurt her. Bitch.

- “Right now, she's a fixed variable.”- Prentiss replies.- “We need to focus on identifying the unsub and her victims.”

Spencer and I stand outside the interrogation room as Prentiss talks with Cat one more time. Neither of us says a word for a few minutes, but he still holds my hand tight and keeps me close to him.

- “You shouldn’t be so aggressive with JJ.”- I hear him whisper and I just stare at him, clearly annoyed. I don’t understand why he would say such a thing if he knows that woman triggers me each time she stands too close to him.

- “Right. Why is that?”

- “She is your friend.”- he has to be kidding.

- “She was.”- I correct him quickly- “You know she lost my friendship the day she said she loved you.”

- “I don’t like her that way. Why do you wanna hold a grudge against her?”

- “Because I always knew she had feelings for you. Ever since I started liking you.”- I sigh and turn to him. He looks so tired and defeated by the situation, I don’t think I wanna have this conversation right now. - “Fine, I won’t be a bitch with her until we solve this case.”

- “Thank you…”

- “I’m not happy about this being about Cat either.”

- “It’s not my ideal last case either…”

Our conversation ends because Prentiss walks out of the interrogation room and stares at us, clearly frustrated and most of all, annoyed.

- “So, what does the princess of madness want?”- the words come out filled with bitterness as I stare at my friend. She bites her lips before she tells us:

- “She wants to go ice skating, so she can skate circles around Spence. She is wasting our time.”

- “Bitch is mental.”- I whisper and look at her, alone in that room. In no scenario that psycho can or will go out on a date with my husband. Again…

- “Ok, something weird happened, but it could be a lead.”- Garcia shows up and looks at us in honest concern.- “I just got a bazillion voicemail messages, all from the same address on Fourth Street.”

I drive with Alvez and Lewis to the address Garcia gives us. I need a moment away from Cat Adams because I’m starting to believe she will somehow get away with it today, and she will go out on a date with Spencer. I don’t think I could deal with that.

- “Are you ok back there?”- Luke asks as he parks outside the house.

- “Yeah. I just need a little more coffee.”

- “Sure babe.”- Lewis raises an eyebrow and shakes her head.- “Lying to profilers, are you sure you wanna do that?”

- “Just keep me away from Cat so I leave today without killing any more people.”

- “Yes ma'am.”- Luke got out of the car but Tara stayed a few more minutes with me.

- “Reid, keep your eyes on the goal. It’s your last day on the team, don’t let Cat Adams ruin it for you.”

- “I keep telling myself that, but it’s hard when all she demands is a date with your husband.”- I simply confess ‘cos it’s not like it’s a secret.

- “We are gonna find this family and Cat is gonna go back to her cell, and most importantly, you are gonna go home with Spencer tonight and start the rest of your life together. Nothing will change that, ok? So don’t let any bitch get into your mind. Ok?”

I hold my friend’s hand and nod. Sometimes, all you need is a little empowerment from a friend to kick ass.

The whole street is filled with wanted posters looking for Susan. Yes, like the 80s movie. It’s breadcrumbs and it means to follow Cat’s game, but if we want to find that family, we’ll have to find who that Susan is.

When we get back to the BAU, the team has news: they know who Cat’s sidekick is. It was her old cellmate, Juliette Weaver, freed only six months ago. They had a lot in common, other than sharing cells and being besties, both their dads had killed their mothers. And we all know what trauma bonding does to psychopaths. It encourages them to do even crazier shit.

Matt says Susan is no other than Cat’s mother, and this is when I know she is not playing. We are about to go straight into her trap. But we have nothing else. As always, she is five steps ahead.

- “You are gonna have to go out with her.”- I whisper as I walk with Spencer to the interrogatory room one more time. He just shakes his head and holds my hand.

- “The only date I have tonight is with you and our bed after we solve this case and go home.”

- “She will only make a mistake if she is alone with you. If you go out with her and go fucking ice skating or whatever it is that she wants to do, we’ll get a chance to find that family.”- I hate saying this, but it’s the truth.

- “Chipmunk, I’ll try to talk to her one more time. If this doesn’t work, we’ll find another way.”

- “There’s not enough time.”- I whisper and sigh.- “I just don’t want her to get what she wants.”

- “She would never.”- Spencer stops walking and stares at me.- “I love you.”

- “I love you too.”

His arms wrap around me and keep me close to him for a few seconds. I feel his lips on the top of my head and I just sigh. Is it bad that I just wanna call him mine and only mine? No one can have him. He is my husband, the father of my kids… I am being obsessive and possessive, but can you blame me? Bitches keep falling for him and trying to steal him from me.

Spencer’s point of view

I am tired. Frustrated. Angry. I just wanna get this over with and go home. Instead, I have to talk to Cat Adams one more time.

- “Somehow you did it.”- I walk to her and she just sits by the table, not even looking at me, she just stares at the wall, looking like she is bored out of her mind.

- “You found what I couldn't. You found your father and you must have been furious when you discovered that he started over. Had another daughter. And that is why you deviated from your usual victimology. It wasn't enough to just hurt him. You had to hurt her, too.”

I finish my speech and crouch down by her side. And she just ignores every single word. Until she finally looks at me and asks.

- “When are we going ice skating?”

- “We're not going ice skating. You know, we've been asking ourselves this whole time what your hidden agenda was, but you tipped it when you said that you were gonna win tonight. Even if I let you out of here, you'll still kill them.”

I keep my eyes on her the entire time I talk, but she shows no emotion, no remorse. Nothing. She just stares back at me and pouts.

- “So, no ice skating?”

- “No ice skating.”

As I stand up and walk to the door, she says one more thing. One that gets me in a worse mode ‘cause of course she still has more surprises.

- “You should tell Garcia to check her email.”

Garcia has a video of Cat’s sidekick, Juliette, firing blanks at the father, right in front of his daughter. We all watch it and Emily ends up saying what my wife had suggested a few hours ago. That I should go out on a date with Cat and wait until she trips. ‘Cause apparently she always trips up with me.

- “Absolutely no.”- I stare at Rossi and Prentiss ‘cause I can’t understand why they are suggesting this.- “There is no way I am doing this.”

- “If we give Cat what she wants, we can profile what she says on the date. She always trips up. She always reveals her Achilles heel.”- Emily says as she looks me right in the eyes, trying to convince me.

- “And she always does it with you.”- Rossi adds. I feel my wife holding my hand and I turn to look at her.

- “I told you so.”- she whispers.

- “I don’t want to go.”- I reply in a soft voice.

- “We are gonna be three steps ahead of her this time.”- (Y/N) assures me and cuts me a short smile.- “Or I’ll kill her. Whatever happens first.”

It takes Cat an hour to get ready for our “date.” Meanwhile, I prepare every detail with the team and Emily convinces (Y/N) not to go with us, instead, Luke will tag along.

- “Why do you think I will let my husband go out with a serial killer alone?”- my wife asks, raising an eyebrow.

- “(Y/N), if you go, Cat will be mad and it might probably ruin the entire thing.”- Prentiss replies and tries to calm her down.- “Luke will be there the entire time, and we’ll…”

- “No! Last time she was on a date with him, he ended up being kidnapped.”

- “I was not kidnapped.”- I argue, though she is somehow right.

- “You were kept against your will at gunpoint at a table playing a sick game in a restaurant that had a bomb. How do you call that? Game night?”- (Y/N) looks at me, annoyed. Why is it that I find it sweet that she gets jealous and worried? I can’t tell her that now ‘cause she is clearly angry. But she looks adorable right now. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.

- “Nothing bad will happen, chipmunk.”- I whisper and kiss the tip of her nose.- “I’ll always come back home to you.”

- “She is ready. Let’s go.”- Tara announces from the door, so I take a deep breath and get ready to pick up my date.

We walk to the elevator outside the bullpen. The entire floor is filled with agents and high-security cops. Cat holds my arm as we walk and I just look straight ahead, trying not to acknowledge her. But I know she is smiling, enjoying her moment of triumph.

I can see my wife, arms crossed against her chest, standing along with the rest of the team. I just look at her as I walk past her and try to tell her how much I love her, that I’ll be back soon, and that I love her more than my own life. She looks at me for a moment and then stares at Cat with pure hate. I might need to make it up to her for this whole thing.

Luke and a SWAT team are waiting for us in the elevator. I really don’t wanna do this and I hate the fact there is no other way.

- “Don’t wait up!”- Cat says with a cheeky smile and somehow I know she is staring at my wife, probably ‘cause fire and knives are coming from her eyes as she stares at us. I wish I could tell her how sorry I am to put her through this whole thing. Now the door is closed and I’m on a date with Cat Adams.

In my head, I list all the things I’m gonna do tomorrow on my first day outside the BAU. I’m gonna make my wife breakfast in bed, then I’m gonna take her and the kids out for lunch, maybe we could go to the zoo or to the library.

- “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”- Cat’s voice takes me from my head and forces me back into reality. I’m in the back of a SWAT van with two officials. I try to stay focused on the plan and ignore her completely. Of course, she just keeps talking.

- “What ice skating rink are we going to?”- still no answer.- “Spencie.”

- “Don't call me that.”- I give her a stern look and then look away.

- “God, your parents are so strict.”- she jokes and looks at the officials.

I hate every second of this.

- “This isn't what I wanted.”- Cat’s tantrum starts the second we get off the van and she realizes this is a roller skating rink, not ice skating. As expected.

- “It's the best I could do.”- I reply and place my hands in my pockets. I did, in fact, nothing for this date.

- “It's not what I want.”

- “Skating is skating. What does it matter?”

- “It matters because if I asked to hang out with a bunch of sixth graders, I would have asked to come here, but I didn't, did I?”

- “We put in the request, Cat, and the answer was no.”- I explain once.

- “Why?”

- “Because we can't risk giving you access to a bladed tool.”- I explain twice, and I’m losing my patience.

- “What? I'm gonna use an ice skate to slice your neck open? Grow up”- two guns clock behind her and she doesn't even bother- “Relax.”

- “It's out of my hands. It's either this or nothing.”

- “Then nothing.”- she replies defiantly.

- “Fine.”- I say and shrug.

- “Fine.”

- “Get back in the van.”- I command.

- “I will.”

- “Had something special planned for our anniversary but whatever, forget it.”

I delivered that line as casually as possible, trying to make it sound like I was sorry she was gonna miss my surprise. When my wife said this time we were going to be three steps ahead of her, she wasn’t lying. She realized we had met Cat this month a few years ago, making it technically our anniversary.

- “You remembered?”- and it worked, ‘cause Cat turns to me surprised.

- “Of course, I remembered, but this date is over, so, let's get back in the van.”- I try to help her inside the van, but she is very curious.

- “No, no, no, no. I want to see it. Come on. I want to see it.”

- “Give me something.”- I demand immediately.

- “No.”

- “Yes. Give me something to help find your dad and half-sister.”- I insist, staring at her and trying not to look as annoyed and tired as I am.

- “Twenty-three.”

- “That's nothing. Give me something better.”- I demand, knowing the team is listening.

- “You're smart. You'll figure it out.”- she pauses, not moving from her spot, and then repeats.- “Let's go. I want to see it. Let's go.”

And so, we start walking. I sigh and most nonchalantly, I reach out for her hand, just like my wife suggested. I can't believe she asked me to do this.

- “Hold my hand. It's dark inside.”

- “You know we just had our first fight, right?”- there’s some pride in that sentence. She wants us to act like we are a couple, ‘cause maybe in her head, we already are. I wanna be done with this.

As soon as we step inside, Cat starts complaining again.

- “God, it smells so gross in here. That's why I hate roller rinks.”- but I just ignore her.

- “Luke, can you hear me?”- I say and look up at the DJ booth.

- “Loud and clear.”- he replies in the speaker. The whole room fills with his voice. I’m glad I am not alone.

- “Light it up.”

- “Got it.”

The entire room lights up, some random song I didn’t pick starts playing, and a massive sigh lightens and you can read “Spencie and Cat Forever.”

- “Spencie”- Cat seems to be impressed, even delighted and touched by my gesture. I try not to smile pleased, thinking my wife’s idea is working. I married the most brilliant woman in the world.

- “I'm a size 7 skate.”

This is a bad moment to face the fact I can’t skate. I failed with the skateboard every time Frank and Mikey tried to teach me, but that was probably ‘cause we always tried to do it when we were drunk. And right now, I am failing with the skates. Cat is enjoying her moment, sliding from one corner to the other with elegance and ease. Meanwhile, I am struggling to stand and move forward without smashing my face on the ground.

- “What's up?”- she asks as she shows up next to me- “Can you skate backward?”

- “I can barely skate forward.”- I confess ‘cause you can see the struggle I’m in.

- “Really? Just look up.”- and I do, well, I look up to the ceiling and she chuckles.- “Not that far.”- Cat holds my arm and helps me. This whole thing is ridiculous and I end up chuckling.

- “Someone having fun?”- I don’t reply, but keep smiling ‘cos at some level, this whole thing could be fun. -“I'm having fun. If your stupid chaperone wasn't here, I would ask the DJ to put on some Savage Garden for the guy-girl skate and we could totally make out.”

Cat smiles at me as she helps me skate, holding my arm.

- “You, uh, you realize what I have to do, right?”- I ask because I can’t drag this conversation any longer.

- “Um, let me think. Ask me a bunch of pointed questions and hope that I trip up? Go ahead. Ask away.”

I know I have to play Cat the right way, she knows I want to rescue her father and half-sister, but that won't come from a direct question. So instead, I ask:

- “What happened to your baby?”- and it works.

- “What?”- she definitely didn’t see that question coming, because her eyes and voice are filled with anger and hurt in a second.

- “The last time I saw you, you were pregnant with someone else's baby that you said was mine.”- I simply add trying to be casual.

- “Why are you asking me about that? I don't want to talk about that.”

- “Hormonal changes during pregnancy expand the brain's capacity for empathy. I was actually just trying to see if I could use it against you.”- it’s not the honest reason, but I think it works.

- “Oh, really? What about, um, sex?”

No. My strategy didn’t work. Now she wants to find me unprepared. She moves and crushes her body against me and stares right into my eyes, trying to read the effect she has on me. I hold her in place and stare at her, glad there are no cameras here, just audio to report back to the team.

- “Why don't you use that against me?”

It’s far from a pleasant image if you ask me to be honest. Sex will only seem tempting if it’s with the woman I love, and as much as I try to hide my contempt, I fail. Cat moves away from me and stares at me with pure hate. Then, she slaps me so hard I fall to the floor on these stupid skates.

- “Cat, wait!”

I stand up as fast as I can and start to make the story believable enough to help me through this. I know (Y/N) is listening on the other side of the mic, but this is the only chance I’ve got to finish with this and save that family. And I know she understands.

- “Cat! Cat! Wait! I can explain!”- I follow her to the lockers, where she is taking off her skates, furious.

- “I have spent my entire adult life reading men. I know when they're thinking about someone else.”

- “Yes, I was thinking about my wife, but that doesn't mean…”

- “Do you know what this was for me? I didn't ask for one last family visit. I didn't want one final meal. I wanted this. And you can't even give me the courtesy of your undivided attention before I'm executed.”

Somehow, she was being honest about that. This was all she had asked for, which is sad. But she just had to torture two people to get it.

- “So, thank you very much, but this date is over. You can turn off the stupid lights, boys. Let's get out of here.

- “She's not you.”- it’s the only thing I can come up with. I stand in front of Cat looking defeated and she stares at me, still angry, and trying to find a flaw in my facade.

- “You're lying.”- and she doesn’t believe it, so I have to make sure she swallows every word that comes out of my mouth from now on. It’s time to lie.

- “I'm not lying. I wish I was, but I'm not! There's some part of my brain, some part that you somehow inhabit, and no woman, no matter how good, no matter how kind, no matter how sexy she is, not even my own wife can ever get you out.”- she stares at me and suddenly I wonder if this is exactly what (Y/N) fears the most. Am I hurting her?

- “Do you think about me when you kiss her?”

- “Yes.”- I don’t even think about it, I just answer. She raises an eyebrow with a smirk.- “And if it makes you happy, I’m pretty sure I’ll be in big trouble when I get home after our date.”

- “Does she know everything you do or think?”

- “No, but I try to tell her most things.”- I say those words with the certainty I am not lying.

- “Most things, not all things.”- Cat takes the bait and a part of me feels good lying is useful for once.

- “No…”

- “What doesn’t your wife know that I could know?”

- “Well…”- I glue my eyes to the floor, trying to look as ashamed as possible.

- “Come on. Give me something.”- her voice is annoyed and anxious.

- “I still go to my old apartment.”

- “What?”

- “We were supposed to sell it when we got the house, but I wanna keep it. She doesn't know that I still hang out there sometimes when I tell her I’m running an errand.”

- “Then I want to see your apartment. Now.”

(Y/N)’s point of view

Call me petty, but the fact Spencer is on a date with Cat Adams is driving me more crazy than not being able to find her father and half-sister. Something is off. Adams has to be hiding something. She wants to throw us a curveball at the last minute. But what?

I stare at Emily as the team analyzes every second of the conversation Spencer is having with Cat. My cell phone hums in my pocket and I grab it immediately, thinking it could be my mom. She is with the kids tonight. But instead, it’s Frank.

- “Nugget, I’m sorry.”

- “Hey, what is it?”- I can tell he is stressed ‘cause his voice is shaky and very fast.

- “I just… never thought I could make this call, less on your last day, but I need your help. We do.”

- “What happens, Paco?”

- “It’s Tarah’s dad, Charlie. He has been missing since last night.”- I hold my breath, shocked. His girlfriend’s father is missing. And because I am surprised, I ask the wrong question.

- “What? Are you sure?”

- “Of course I am sure! I would never call you if I weren’t sure!”- my friend snaps right away.

- “Sorry! Sorry! Did you guys fill the report?”- I walk outside the conference room as I talk with my friend.

- “Tarah is just doing that as we speak, but it’s not just that.”

- “What is it?”

- “Lizzy, Mikey’s sister-in-law is missing too. Both of them disappeared last night.”

And somehow, it clicked.

- “I’m gonna need you to send me pictures of them asap. I’ll make sure they get home safe tonight.”

I rush back into the conference room and start shouting information, hyperventilating ‘cause we are wasting time.

- “It’s about Spencer.”- Rossi and Em stare at me, lost. Of course, none of them gets what I’m trying to say ‘cause they are not in my head, so I try to elaborate on my breakthrough.

- “This whole show Cat is doing, it’s about Spencer and me, I’m sure this bitch knows we are leaving the FBI.”

- “What? Why?”- Prentiss doesn’t doubt it, she just needs more proof.

- “Frank’s father inlaw and Mikey’s sister inlaw are missing, they are sending me pictures as we speak, and if I’m right, I’m pretty sure that’s the father and daughter Juliette is torturing.”

- “Fuck.”- Rossi whispers as he shakes his head.

- “Can you get your friends to come over?”- Prentiss asks and I just nod. - “Good, ‘cause we need to be ready for whatever Cat is planning to do now. She won’t get away with this.”

- “Spencer is taking Cat to your old apartment.”- Matt shows up suddenly with the news

- “What? Why?”

- “Apparently, Cat wants to see it…”- my phone rings that second. Mikey’s hyperventilating at the other side of the line.

- “I just got a call from an unknown number, a woman yelled at me to go to your old apartment. It said there was a hidden key underneath the mat. And if I don’t go, she’ll kill Lizzy and Tarah’s dad.”

- “Cat is taking us all there.”- I say and look at Prentiss.- “I’m on my way, Mikey, wait for me there. I’m gonna call Frank.”

Just then, I get a text myself. It says: “If you want to save them, go to your old apartment.” So Cat wants me to be there as well. I wonder why. I show it to Prentiss as we hurry to get into the car and she stares at me, pale.

- “She has never even addressed you.”

- “No. Not really.”- now that I think about it, Cat has always been alone with Spencer. I watch them interact from a safe distance, but I have never spoken to her. This shit will be weird.

I was right. Cat wants us all to meet in our old apartment? Why? I have too many theories about that. We meet Frank and Mikey a block before Spencer’s apartment. In the years I’ve met them, I have never seen them like this. They are… losing it.

It’s hard to work with friends and family. You just never know how to keep your head cold, and how to talk to them without sounding condescending. Not even in my worst nightmare I ever imagined I would be in this situation with my best friends on my last day working for the Bureau. But Cat wanted us to leave like this, so we have to deal with what we got.

- “She is the crazy psycho that almost killed Diana?”- Frank asks but instead of me, Prentiss does the talking.

- “Yes, she is. She is a dangerous criminal, and she just wants to hurt Spencer and (Y/N).”

- “I’m gonna kill her.”- Mikey mumbles as we rush upstairs.

- “No, you have to outsmart her. Let her think she is in charge. She will trip with Spencer.”- I command as I open the front door. We are less than fifteen minutes ahead of Cat and Spencer, but we have to be ready for them.

- “Whatever happens, don’t believe anything she says, but act as if you do.”- Prentiss starts instructing my friends.- “She will lie, she will use you to make Reid’s life a living hell. Try to make her see she is convincing you.”

- “She can’t know you are lying.”- I add, scared my friends are caught in this mess.

- “So it’s like when we got drunk as teenagers and pretended to be sober when we got home?”- Frank somehow jokes in the middle of this nightmare, probably trying to ease the mood. And I just smile at him and nod, as I help wiring him.

- “Hopefully your acting will be better now. You always got caught.”- I smile at him, but tears fill my eyes in a second. I hate getting emotional on the field, but this is my family we are talking about.

- “Hey, hey. No, don’t.”- Frank holds my hands and looks at me.- “Don’t give this bitch what she wants. Don’t cry.”

- “I’m just so sorry.”

- “You are sorry she is a crazy bitch?”- Frank raises an eyebrow as I shake my head.

- “I’m sorry we dragged your families into this madness.”

- “This is what she wants, nugget.”- Mikey kisses my forehead and wipes my tears.- “Don’t let that psycho win.”

- “They are almost here.”- Garcia announces. She checks our mics, and earpieces and kisses my cheek.- “I love you, munchkin. You can do this.”- I just nod and watch her and the rest of the team rush out of our old apartment.

Just now I realize how empty this whole place looks. We left some furniture behind, an old sofa Raven and Vinny had mostly destroyed, and a small table. But it feels so weird without all of our books and mess and child’s screams. Our landline is apparently still on, and a very old telephone sits there, alone. Frank lights a cigarette and I almost ask him to put it off out of instinct. Like the kids were still there.

We say nothing for a few minutes. We just stand there speechless. Mikey whispers a few things, mostly words of encouragement. Until we hear some noises from the hall.

- “This is it.”- I whisper and my friends just nod. Anything could happen. Adams probably has a very structured plan and we need to outsmart her. I am sure she just wants to hurt us. Mentally and even physically.

So of course, as soon as the front door opens, the first thing I see is Spencer kissing Cat as if his life depended on it.

- “What the fuck?”- I mouther as I open my eyes wide and my husband removes his lips from Cat’s, in shock, fear and regret. I can read it all on his face, but it doesn’t mean much at the moment. I don’t even have to force myself to fake the anger. I am burning.

Spencer stares at me for a few seconds, still holding Cat’s face with both hands. As soon as he reacts to what’s happening, he starts walking in my direction, but Frank’s fist stops him. He hits him hard, right on the jaw.

- “Mother fucker!”- Frank hisses and I wrap my arms around him to stop him from resuming the fight. I don’t know if this is pretending or if he is actually mad, but he wants to keep hitting Spencer and I am not letting that happen.

- “I told you what would happen if you ever made her cry!! I warned you!! Now you got us all in this fucking mess! I am gonna kill you!”

Frank’s face is red in anger as he yells. Spencer raises a hand to his jaw and stares at him for a second in disbelief. Then, he looks at me with sorry eyes. He is almost in tears. I remember Cat was just here, but she is nowhere to be seen. Probably the SWAT team took her out. Mikey holds my hand, pulling me away from Frank, and wraps an arm around my shoulder protectively.

- “Chipmunk, this is not what it looks like.”

- “Get them out of here!”- Luke rushes in and my friends raise their hands like they were being at gunpoint.

- “No, we can’t leave. She’ll kill them if we do.”- Mikey explained.

- “Who?”- Spencer asks but keeps looking at me.

- “My sister-in-law and Frank’s father-in-law. She took them.”- as Mikey speaks, Luke stops the few SWAT officials in the room from taking them out. - “Someone called us and told us to come here if we wanted to see them alive again. Our wives are terrified, Reid. We need to get our family back.”

- “This is all my fault.”- Spencer whispers and for once, I don’t comfort him. I don’t open my mouth.

- “Spencer, what the fuck is happening?”- Frank demands to know.- “Tell me before I break your face.”

- “Guys, I’m so sorry. I don’t have enough time to explain. I just wanna apologize for what you saw. It really means nothing, I am just trying to…”

- “No time for that, Spencer.”- I snap and look at Luke.- “Bring her back and leave us alone.”

- “What?”- Alvez stares at us not getting what’s happening. But Spencer agrees.

- “If she brought all of us here, this is what she wanted.”- I add before my husband grabs the landline phone and calls from his cell.

- “You can monitor us from here.”

- “Are you sure?”- Luke asks and I just nod.

- “I’ll keep her safe.”- my husband tries to hold my hand but I don’t let him and he stares at me like a wounded puppy. It hurts to act this way, but if I just saw him kissing another woman. A crazy bitch as a matter of act. And I know it’s not because he wants to do it, he was probably just trying to prove a point. But it still hurts. I have to use this anger to make it all real in front of Cat.

- “Follow my lead. We can outsmart her.”- Spencer says and looks at our friends.- “Trust me, please. Let her goat, she loves to goat. Just don’t show fear, she’ll use it against you.”

- “Who are you talking about?”- Frank asks as Cat walks into our apartment, a sign I never imagined could happen, not in this life or another.

- “Her.”- I point out and cross my arms on my chest. Luke leaves us alone, closing the door behind his back.

Cat fucking Adams wipes her mouth with her hand, remembering my husband’s lips were just there a few minutes ago. I have a gun, I could just kill her.

- “I can’t believe after all this time we haven’t properly met, Mrs. Reid.”- she smiles at me and winks.- “She is cute, Spencie.”

- “We are here. What the hell do we have to talk about?”- my husband barks at her, and she scoffs as if the answer is too obvious.

- “So much, so, so much. I can’t believe this is actually the first time I get the chance to talk with your wife. We have so much to share. We both know you so well.”

- “I give a fuck about your stupid crush on Spencer. I just want my family back.”- Frank snaps and I hold him back.

- “I like you, you are feisty. I never got what were you doing hanging out with two feds. You had potential as a riot maker.”- Cat smiles at Frankie and my friend nearly bites her as he replies.

- “Oh shut up. Just tell us what the fuck you want and let us leave.”

- “I just wanted us to talk. I mean, we’ve been all connected for so long, it’s only fair we get to know each other better. Especially us, (Y/N). Our lives, and some other things, have been touched by the same man.”

It’s official. I’m gonna kill Cat Adams.

Spencer’s point of view

- “Did it make you mad that I was kissing your husband?”- Cat asks with the most innocent tone of voice and I don’t know if I should look at (Y/N) or just ignore what’s going on. Of course, my wife knows what to answer, though her cold tone of voice is so unsettling.

- “A lot of things you did made me mad today. Mostly the fact you kidnapped my friend’s family. Why?”

- “Why what? Why I kissed him? He kissed me, actually.”- I open my mouth to argue with Cat’s affirmation, but (Y/N) speaks quicker, sounding incredibly tired of the whole situation.

- “No, Cat. Why don’t you just release their family? They have nothing to do with this.”

- “They have so much to do with all this. What was it, Reids? Did you think you were gonna quit and everything was gonna be fine? You don’t get it. They don’t get it.”- she ads and looks at Frank and Mikey.- “Did you guys get it? How much your friends have fucked up your lives? How their jobs got you all in this shit?”

- “Honestly, right now, I give a shit about their lives. I just want you to stop this and release our family.”

- “Wow, Frank. That’s not what a friend would say.”- the way Cat says Paco’s name is upsetting, and I can see how my wife is trying to mask her anger.

- “Excuse us, but we actually have other things in mind right now.”- Mikey adds, and lights a cigarette.

- “Like what?”

- “Are you gonna hurt Lizzy and Charlie?”

- “No if I don’t have to.”- I know Cat is lying. - “What’s important here is that you learn your lesson.”

- “Which lesson would that be?”- Frank questions and crosses his arms on his chest. He and Mikey are standing at each side of my wife, protecting her. Something I wish I could do better at this moment.

- “Well, usually Spencie and I spend our time together playing games, but tonight I brought you all here to make a point. You could do so much better.”

- “With you?”- I ask her, but she shakes her head and points at my wife and her friends.

- “The three amigos here. Especially you, (Y/N). You had so much potential. I know you’ve been wanting to leave the BAU for longer than your husband here, and you’ve stayed in this shitty job, putting your friends and their families in danger just because he can’t make up his freaking mind.”

- “That’s not true.”- I argue, but my wife doesn’t say a word. Instead, I see her fighting the tears. And Cat smiles, rejoicing in the pain she is causing (Y/N).

- “Apparently, it is.”

- “(Y/N)?”- I whisper her name and she bites her lips, trying not to burst into tears. Frank holds her hand and Mikey wraps an arm around her, two things I should be doing.

- “I’ve hated this job since before Hotch had to leave. I wanted to quit since Raven was born. You just… didn’t listen every time I tried to tell you.”

- “You see, Spencie? Your wife hasn’t been happy for a while, and you never noticed. Your marriage isn’t as perfect as you thought it would be.”

- “Chipmunk, why didn’t you tell me?”- I whisper, afraid of the answer.

- “I couldn’t. You just… weren’t ready to deal with this, and I thought if I faked it for a little longer, I was going to fall in love with the job again.”

- “But you didn’t”- Cat adds and my wife just shakes her head.

- “And you know what’s even worse than that? The fact a psycho noticed and you didn’t!”- (Y/N) isn’t yelling, but the words come out filled with anger, and she is being sincere.

- “I… I am so sorry, chipmunk.”

- “Finally, we are getting to the heart of the matter.”- Cat claps a few times and walks around our empty living room.- “He told me he doesn’t want to sell this place, by the way. That he still comes and hangs out here on his own when he says he is running an errand.”

- “Everything I said, I did to save their families, ma cherie.”- I ignore Cat and try to talk to my wife. But she ignores me.

- “Did that kiss look like a lie, (Y/N)? Be honest.”- Cat asks her.

- “It was.”- I assure my wife but she wipes her tears from her cheeks and looks at me, knives coming from her eyes.

- “You know that looked pretty real, Spencer.”

- “Chipmunk, please.”

- “Shut up, Reid.”- Frank is losing his patience.- “You fucked it up, at least admit it.”

- “Frank is right. Everyone thinks that Doctor Spencer Reid is just this nice, bookish genius who always saves the day and has all the answers and who would never ever hurt anyone, right? ‘Cause he is the nice guy. But I know the real him.”

- “Oh yeah? Who is the real me, Cat?”- I sound defiant ‘cos I’m fucking tired of this trial.

- “The real Spencer Reid throws women against walls and hisses that he’s gonna kill them.”- she replies, hitting a sensitive spot.

- “That was a very different situation.”- I explain, but she dismisses my words.

- “Your wife was there. Am I right, (Y/N)?”

- “What is she talking about?”- Frank asks and turns to me.- “Who the fuck did you hurt?”

- “No one! I hurt no one!”- I try to defend myself, but I know Cat will have a different point of view.

- “Come on, Spence”- she says with a mocking tone of voice.- “Don’t lie to your friends anymore. That’s why we are here. To be honest with each other, so they can see you are not a saint, and that their friend really screws them over bringing you into their lives.”

- “Who did you hurt, Spencer?”- Mikey asks and stares at me, demanding answers.

- “You tell him. They are not gonna believe it coming from me.”- Cat says innocently.

Frank and Mikey stare at me as if they don't know the story. Which they don’t. Not this part, at least.

- “I’m sure you remember two years ago, Cat had her partner kidnap my mother. Just like tonight. She got under my skin and…"

- “And you threw her against a wall?”- Frank asks raising an eyebrow, shocked.

- “Don't skimp on the details, Spencie. They deserve to know everything.”- Cat is surely enjoying this moment of humiliation for me.

- “She was pregnant at the time and I knew that when I hurt her.”- I whisper those words staring at the ground ‘cause I am honestly ashamed of confessing it in front of my friends.

- “And?”- Mikey asks.- “How badly did you hurt her? Did you lose your temper?”

- “Well, the next day I miscarried, so you can imagine who mad get got.”- Cat whispers but the words are heard by everybody.

- “That's not true.”- I snap and look at her, in shock.

- “It is most certainly true. Check my medical records."- Cat basically threatens us with those files, and I can't believe a word she is saying.

- “That doesn't mean I… I would stop.”

- “You stopped ‘cause your wife forced you. But who forces you to stop when you lose your temper with her?”

- “I would never…”- I whisper shocked by her insinuation.

- “Never, Spence? You did it with me.”- Cat raises an eyebrow and looks at me.

- “You had kidnapped my mother!”

- “So that gives you the right to kill my baby?”

Kill a baby. I murdered a poor child. I feel the knot in my throat tighten and fight the tears. Cat has to be lying. She has to. Because if by any chance she is telling the truth, I don’t think I will ever be able to live with the guilt. I’ve killed evil men, and I’ve pulled the trigger knowing the consequences of my acts many times. But not once I’ve ever thought about hurting a baby, an innocent child.

- “I thought you were decent.”- it’s the repugnance in Frank’s tone of voice that shocks me. - “To think you could do that to my sister.”

- “I would nev…”

- “Shut up, dude.”- Mikey pushes my arm, but my wife stops him.- “I always knew your mister goody goody attitude had to be fake. No one is like that in real life.”

- “It was about damn time you knew the real Spencer.”

- “Shut up, Cat.” - (Y/N) whispers and covers her face with both hands.- “You wanted to hurt my whole family? Congratulations, you did it! Now let those poor people free! They didn’t do anything!”

- “They did! You are just not seeing it yet, chipmunk!”

My wife’s nickname coming from Cat’s lips seems tainted. And somehow I realize how she makes me my sanity. I can picture myself hurting Cat Adams and not feeling bad about it. That kind of thought is dangerous.

- “I’m sorry.”- I whisper and try to reach (Y/N), hold her hand, but she moves away from me, breaking my heart.

- “Notice how he apologizes to you, not to me, and it’s my dead baby.”

- “I would never… I didn’t mean to…”

- “It doesn’t matter, Spencer.”- Cat says and looks at my wife.- “All men are the same. Aren’t they, Mrs. Reid?”

- “Don’t call her that.”- I snap at her immediately.

- “Or what? Are you gonna throw me against the wall? Choke me? Or do you do that only to pregnant women?”

- “Why are you doing this to them?”- Mikey asks, thankfully ending that useless argument.

- “Because I want you all to see it. How Spencer ruins everything he touches.”- Cat looks at Mikey and Frank as she speaks, and then looks at my wife.- “Spencer ain’t better than whoever hurt you before.”

- “Don’t you dare bring that up”- Mikey’s words stop my heart, and my wife looks at him with watered-up eyes. I have no idea what he is talking about, but whatever it is, it pleases Cat, so she looks at my wife with a fake smile and asks.

- “What’s his name?”

- “I mean it, (Y/N), we are not talking about this shit.”- Mikey warns her, and I stare at them puzzled. What have they been hiding all these years?

- “Come on, Mrs. Reid. Tell us.”

- “It’s not of your business. Mikey is right. We are not talking about him. Release their families.”- but Cat just smiles a her and shakes her head.

- “You know it’s my business, (Y/N). It’s my specialty. What I did for a living. So come on. Share with the class.”

- “If you wanna know about him, release their families.”- my wife crosses her arms on her chest and stares at her.

- “Do you want me to make a phone call so you can trace it?”- Cat smiles at (Y/N) and mimics her posture.- “You guys at the FBI are so good.”

- “What the fuck is wrong with you?”- Frank shouts- “Stop flirting with Spencer and release our families! What is this sick, twisted thing you two have? And how are you not breaking her face?!”- he asks and turns to my wife.- “He clearly has feelings for her! How can you just overlook that?!”

- “I can’t overlook it! It’s just… I can’t-” (Y/N) fights the tears and groans as she walks across the room.- “What she does to him I can’t control it. Happy? Now release their families! Please!”

My wife sounds desperate, and Cat simply stares at her.

- “Tell me his name.”

- “Don’t do it, we’ll find another way.”- Mikey warns her. Why is he trying to keep this a secret?

- “Tell me the story, (Y/N). And I promise you, Lizzy and Charlie will be free to go.”

- “Nugget, you fucking promised me we were never going to talk about that again. Don’t do it.”- Mikey begs her.

- “We have to do anything she wants if we want to save Lizzy and Charlie"- (Y/N) mutters and sighs.- "Sometimes bitches win. This time, she does.”

- “No, please.”- Mikey sobbs and hugs (Y/N). What the fuck happened that I never heard anything of.

- “Arthur.”- my wife walks away from me and whispers the rest.- “His name is Arthur, he is Mikey’s older brother. We dated for two years.”

- “Your best friend brother. What happened?”- Cat is enjoying this and I hate it.

- “What do you think happened? Does it look like we lived happily ever after?"- (Y/N) asks, annoyed

- “Tell me, when did it end?”- Cat keeps asking.

- “When I was twenty.”- my wife stares at her hand, embarrassed by the story.

- “Was he your first?”

- “Shut up.”- I stare at Cat and she just smiles at me.

- “What? I just wanted to know. You surely must know you were not her first.”

- “He was my first love. I loved him since I can remember. Mikey’s older brother, he was… he always seemed so cool. So different than all the kids in school.”

- “And what happened?”

- “What do you think happened, Cat?”- (Y/N) sounds irritated.- “Do you think everything ended like a fucking fairy tale?”- but Cat shakes her head, keeping her posture and calm.

- “Come on, Reid. I am not the enemy here. Just tell me the story.”

My wife sighs and looks at Mikey. He is angry, and fighting the tears himself.

- “I’m sorry.”- (Y/N) whispers and holds his hand.- “I tried to change for him. I did. A lot. He didn’t like that I was smarter than him, or that I had many friends in school. So I stopped hanging out with my friends from college. I never talked about school, my classes, or any kind of award or recognition I got for my grades. But that wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to control everything I did. Everyone I talked to. But it wasn’t enough.”

- “When did he start hitting you?”

- “He didn’t.”- my wife replies and shakes her head.- “He never raised his hand to me… not until the end at least. Instead, he isolated me. I barely even saw my family anymore. Not even my closest friends were safe. Mikey and Frank realized something was wrong… but…”

- “But you somehow got out of that relationship. How?”- Cat walks towards my wife and stares at her. (Y/N) sighs and closes her eyes for a moment.

- “My dad… he tried to talk to me about my boyfriend. He noticed things were not ok. I had moved out of their house already, and we barely saw each other anymore. So… he told me he thought Arthur wasn’t right for me. At first, I didn’t believe him. I thought he was just being an ass because he loved me and he was jealous.”

- “I hate this.”- Mikey mumbles, eyes filled with tears. - “You swore you weren’t talking about this with anyone!”

- “She has your wife’s sister, I’m trying to save her! So your brother raped me! There! I said it!”

- “Chipmunk, stop talking, now.”- I demand and move closer to my wife. Mikey bursts into tears and Frank hugs him.

- “No, don’t stop. Give me your phone.”- my wife does and Cat diales.- “Look, I’ll release their families as soon as you finish this story.”

(Y/N) off the tears that fall down her cheek and looks at Cat, and for once, I don’t think she is trying to read if she is lying. She is connecting with her.

- “My dad talked to me one day. We had a heart-to-heart, and after some time I realized Arthur wasn’t good for me, so I ended things. Of course, he didn’t take it well… and he hit me and raped me.”

- “And you…”- Cat stares at (Y/N) with a smirk. She is enjoying every second of this, rejoicing in her pain.

- “I still couldn’t legally carry a gun so…”- there’s a deep silence for a moment. I don’t move, I just stare at (Y/N) thinking there is nothing she can say that will stop me from loving her.- “So my dad took the blame. He said he walked into him hurting me and shot him…”

- “It was self-defense… he was hurting you.”- I whisper and look at my wife. She didn’t deserve any of that at such a young age.

- “How did it feel killing him? Did you enjoy it?”

- “I didn’t kill him, Cat. I shot his leg and called my dad. He called the ambulance… and he fixed everything.”

- “Well, aren’t you daddy’s little girl”- Cat chuckles and turns to me.- “You really have a type, don’t you?”

- “He helped me. Got him behind bars and made sure he was never going to hurt me again. There! That’s my story. Now you know…”

- “Now you all know… and your friendship is doomed.”- Cat replied and grinned.

- “Why is our friendship doomed, Cat?”- my wife asks- “Mikey knew this whole story.”

- “He did… but he didn’t know this: what I did took me zero planning. Less than a week and I destroyed your lives. Anyone at any time can hurt your family and extended family ‘cause you and Spencer caused so much pain to so many psycho killers like me, anyone can seek revenge. Leaving the FBI doesn’t even matter ‘cause you are in too deep already.”

(Y/N)’s cell phone rings she rushes outside without saying another word, Mikey and Frank following her immediately. Cat stares at me with an evil grin.

- “I win.”

And I feel like I just lost so much. 

Previous chapter | Next chapter

[cryptonymdc]

Can you write Prefrences for Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and John Stewart x Robot reader, maybe Angst to Fluff. So the reader is a robot who like works for the justice league, but there not sentient and can't feel emotions, they don't even look human either. But Clark, Bruce, and John can't help but fall deeply in love with Android reader despite them not being alive, the angst!!!!

My god the pinning, and longing stares that everyone else can see but the reader, because they have never felt what it means to be longed for. But I want this to have a happy ending so by some miracle or magic or whatever the reader ends up becoming sentient( not human). Just that they have the ability to feel real things afterwards

Love how creative this is! I hope I delivered. Here you go! Thank you for being the first requester.

Superman | Clark Kent 

T. O. Marrow is not a scientist concerned with humanity. He does create androids to mimic humanity, nor to better them. They are all created to serve and complete a purpose. Infiltrate the Justice League, steal this or that, protect him, etc. But rarely is a creator ever able to fully control its creation. T. O. Marrow was not able to remain in control of Red Tornado and Tomorrow Woman, he was not able to remain in control of Y - N. 

Y - N was created to serve and protect T. O. Marrow during his research and wherever he went. A glorified maid with a few subroutines in combat. Y - N too grew beyond what their creator imagined. A care for caring for things, a feeling they did not understand, something that did not fit their programing. Y - N began to care more about maintaining the cleanliness of the lab rather than the life that worked there. 

Red Tornado, ever curious about his creation and humanity overall, strove to find T. O. Marrow. He was the first to find and confront Y - N. He was able to talk them through rerouting their circuitry to form free will and free thought. They chose to pursue their first directive, to preserve a space. The Justice League offered Y - N the Watchtower, and they agreed. 

Y - N has free thought and free will, they can choose their purpose. But that does not translate to emotional awareness, nor understanding. Even Red Tornado still struggles to comprehend, to feel human emotions no matter what his fellow heroes tell him. Y - N is much the same. That does not stop others from feeling for them. 

Superman, despite his alien biology, is perhaps the most human of the Justice League. It is important to him in a way it isn’t to others. Either they aren’t human and don’t care, or are human and don’t question it in the same way he does. He’s always had to struggle with wondering if he is or isn’t human, despite being raised human from near birth. 

He sympathized with the plight of T. O. Marrow’s creations on a very real level. So he cares, like one does, and makes an effort to spend time with Y - N and help them explore life outside of purpose. That there is more than a reason, than a drive, to live. There is just existence, something you can bask in. A day in the sun, as it were. 

This reaches Y - N in an unexpected way. They strive to preserve a space, as is their purpose, and while not understanding it, learn to enjoy those spaces in some way. So while in a digitally projected human disguise, Y - N walks alongside Clark Kent through human spaces, and appreciates them in a way most humans don’t. 

They see a space as the sum of its parts. A building by man, the earth but nature, the river by time. And they appreciate it. They appreciate that something was built, that something is here, that time has passed. It’s a space, and it is here with intention in some way, like them. 

This is what begins to change Y - N, starts to imbue a need to choose in them. They too can build their own space, and can have intentions. They too could be something that they choose. 

The entire time this tour of humankind is happening, Clark can’t help but admire Y - N’s perspective. They lack context for so many things, that it is easy for them to view something with no bias. It makes Clark look around and see things he didn’t before. The little marks of humanity, the way every brick and stone was placed was a choice by someone. 

It makes him appreciate his own humanity, to realise that he really is human at heart. This is his world, his planet, because everything does have context to him, does have a meaning, and a reason. In turn this turns his appreciating gaze to Y - N. They can learn to be human, to appreciate humanity, and they care. They choose to care, to be human. 

It’s hard to know when you’re in love. Sometimes it’s an obvious feeling, sometimes it’s a red herring, sometimes it’s a slow realization that someone in your life is your priority above all else. Clark realizes he loves Y - N slowly, as he slowly starts to make more of an unconscious effort to introduce them to the world more and more. Flying them around the world to explore more spaces. 

Clark doesn’t believe that love is possible at first, as theirs the question of what he would be loving. As an alien himself he’s not going to count Y - N physical appearance as unlovable or unlovable, as that purely depends on the person one would say. But what, or rather who is Y - N? Are they a person to love? Or a character that was created by a Roboticst. Is it right or wrong isn’t really the question, more is it or is it not possible? 

But that question seems to answer itself, as Clark does fall in love with Y - N. He falls in love with the way they care about the little things. The things that don’t make a space messy, something outside their purpose, to place a plant pot a certain way because that’s what felt right to them. He falls in love with the way Y - N is curious to see the rest of the world, that sense of exploration and excitement that Y - N can’t see in themselves, but Clark can. He falls in love with the way Y - N in awe of the world, how they appreciate it. It’s a passion Clark can’t help but love. 

And that’s the kicker, in the end. When he overhears other league members talking with Y - N, asking them questions. Assessing how much human sentience that they’ve grown to have, and through Y - N’s own answers, Clark learns he sees more in them than they see in themselves. Y - N doesn’t think themselves human, but Clark absolutely does. 

And that moves him to start to try and help Y - N recognise their own humanity. This is where everyone else starts to notice, to notice how much Superman has fallen in love with Y - N. They see how Clark spends every lunch hovering beside Y - N as they pick up dishes, offering to help and carrying an ever growing pile of trays. They notice how Clark makes an effort to include Y - N in everyday conversations, asking for their opinion. They notice when Clark asks other members about their thoughts on Y - N more often, just probing to see if anyone else has noticed the changes. 

And the truth is, they do. They notice how Y - N offers comments more often, mostly just about interior design to maximise utility, but slowly the utility reasons lesson, and they just offer their opinion on what would look best. Y - N starts to ask questions, to ask league members their thoughts on the architecture and natural parks of the world, the environments, the sights they see. Y - N starts to go out on their own, just taking walks to see the world. It's hard to tell if Y - N also has growing feelings for Clark, but it’s not hard to see how they are growing more human. 

Y - N can feel, they can think, and they are. So not all hope is lost, and perhaps the League's only son of Krypton has a chance. They hope he does. 

Batman | Bruce Wayne 

Lonnie Machin, first known as Moneyspider, but better known as the first Anarky was a brilliant but shortsighted inventor. He first invented the S_O bots, a collection of small robots that could work as a collective hive mind to hack into tech companies to steal their bank details. But not only did his S_O bots lack some critical firewalls to protect them, they were slow and easily reprogrammed by the Batman to reveal Lonnie’s location. 

With his plan thwarted, Lonnie never cared to think about his S_O bots again. Just another failed scheme. Batman on the other hand, had more concerns about the S_O bots. They were a fairly comprehensive prototype, which in the wrong hands could grow into a more dangerous and capable adversary. 

So Batman kept the S_O bots in the Batcave in a glass container to study, and also just to keep them out of the wrong hands. While the S_O bots failed at retrieving information rapidly from digital sources, their observational skills of the physical world were greater than first thought. 

For months they watched Batman and Agent A walk around the Batcave, and slowly learned what the human form looked like. They would use their collective bodies to hold onto each other, and slowly build a humanoid form. Batman noticed of course, and became concerned. But there neither seemed a way to shut it off, nor did it seem to be antagonistic, and so despite his paranoia, he let it be. 

But that is not where the S_O bots stopped learning. They also overheard Batman and Agent A talk, as well as the many hours of security footage they combed over together. Through this, the S_O bots learned to talk, and while at first they only repeated what they heard, much like a parrot, they slowly learned to create sentences, and then full thoughts. They mostly asked questions. 

Batman mostly refused to answer, growing concerned with the rabid change of the S_O bots, until one fateful case. The Calculator was raising terror as an information broker, and Batman was scrambling to find his next target before the Calculator enacted his plan. 

S_O bots helpfully, although without any intentions, offered some of the information they had. As it so happened, Noah Kuttler AKA the Calculator was the man whose servers they had been tested on before being let loose by Anarky to hunt for information. S_O bots still had their comprehensive file on the Calculator, and thus had all of the blackmail that the Calculator had. Batman was able to turn the right people into the police, and protect others from being swindled by Kuttler at the same time. 

It did not change Bruce’s opinion on the S_O bots immediately, but it started to make Bruce realise that the S_O bots were more than their creator. In fact, they were possibly entirely separate. This caused Bruce to start actually talking with the S_O bots. 

At first the S_O bots were just asking questions on things they had heard, and depending on the severity of the case changed how much Bruce would share, but little by little, share he did. Agent A, or Alfred as the S_O bots learned, would turn on music in the cave in the absence of either Bruce or himself. The S_O bots learned much more rapidly from that, and not only asked endless questions on the songs, but also began to request certain music. 

It was a fateful day when the S_O bots, for the first time, offered an opinion instead of just a question or a fact. The S_O bots noticed that Bruce was tired, and said that they thought he should sleep. It was unprecedented before this point, as using the information they had was not part of their original programming. Just take in information, not use it. But use it they had. 

That woke Bruce, not just in the moment, but also for the future. This hivemind of a robot could learn, and could go beyond their original programming. 

Batman began to engage with the S_O bots as an exercise, presenting thought experiments, and turning on more than music, but documentaries as well. Together, they worked towards a goal. He taught the S_O bots actual human anatomy, as well as a database of many things to choose from, and allowed the S_O bots to choose what they looked like. And with that human shape, he took them out of their container, and to the watchtower. 

S_O bots, now with their new understanding of sentience and information, took in a new space for the first time. They took in the view of space, the plants in the tower, and suddenly grew a hunger for knowledge not just as a binary stream of facts, but as experience. To take in information and choose how to interpret it. 

When they returned to the Batcave, the S_O bots expressed their desire to experience things to Bruce Wayne. 

Having been there to witness the S_O bots' entire journey to this point, Batman felt some sort of responsibility, as well as a wish to see where this goes. So he offered the S_O bots an identity, and a place in the mansion as staff. They would work as a secretary for him at Wayne Tech, and could retreat to the mansion, and live, so long as they checked in. 

The  S_O bots readily explored Gotham, and did indeed choose to do what they wanted with their information. Having learned from the Calculator case, they began to help Batman as an extension of his computer and comms system. The Oracle before Oracle, as it were. 

Alfred had noticed Bruce’s intense attention that was given to the S_O bots, and at first wondered if it was healthy to care so much about a machine's existence. But he too watched the S_O bots gain humanity, watched them become a person. He endeavored to aid in this, sharing media with the S_O bots beyond that of factual inquiry. The fiction of the world, the concepts that are not taught but experienced. 

He watched as Bruce’s attention became more infatuation, and he watched as Bruce set the S_O bots free. Yes, he still kept constant vigil to make sure there was no influence in them from Anarky, but Alfred watched as Bruce grew to trust a machine. 

Perhaps it was healthy, for it was clear at this point that the S_O bots were no mere machines, but a thinking creature all on their own. It was best that they be free, so that Bruce and them could have a relationship on an equal level. 

Alfred was not worried about Bruce’s infatuation with the S_O bots. 

Green Lantern | John Stewart 

John Stewart is a Green Lantern with incredible conviction to his own principles, and thus no matter how strange, he will not turn down a mission from Oa. The Lantern Corps had accepted a new member, one they did not know how to handle. A ring had chosen a robot. And they needed a mentor. 

L_N1 was an engineer robot. Built by and to help the sole living alien on a desert planet. One of many robots built to help the alien do a multitude of tasks on the homestead to survive. L_N1’s purpose was to build structures that could withstand the sandstorms of the planet's surface, and many other things. They didn’t do the heavy lifting per se, but more so the strategic designing of it. Quite the computer. 

The alien passed naturally of old age, and the robots of the planet were left without instruction. Save L_N1. Their directive still stood, to build things that would endure. And so they took charge, directing the other robots to continue their duties and continue to build. And build they did, lasting decades past the death of their creator. 

So great was the will of L_N1, that when a Green Lantern landed in their homestead and died despite the best efforts of the nurse robots, L_N1 inherited the ring. It’s will was beyond its programming, and luckily is programmed to be creative as well as follow orders. When the ring directed it to go to Oa, L_N1 did. 

Now Oa and the Guardians were responsible for this machine, and this machine is now responsible for its ring. The guardians deemed it a full Green Lantern, and tasked Green Lantern John Stewart of Earth in guiding them in their new role. So guide them he did. 

In the early days of their partnership it was mostly John Stewart ordering them and L_N1 following, which was not really changing them anything. They were outside their original purpose and directive, and so did little without orders. They had to be told when to fight the bad guys, when to let someone go, etc. John Stewart really struggled to guide them. 

That was until both were deployed to help a small community of Aliens living in a floating city on a crowded planet facing annihilation from unnatural weather phenomena. While John went to discover the origin of the unnatural weather, L_N1 took initiative to follow their directive, and build a shelter that would endure. They worked with the local alien population to design and build protection for the floating city. When John failed to stop the weather, the alien community survived thanks to the actions of L_N1. 

This was where John started to see what the Guardians saw in L_N1, someone willing to help no matter what. John changed how he was trying to guide L_N1 after that, explaining things to them in a way they started to understand. 

First, appealing to their programming. Fitting the situation to fit their directive. Then Second, slowly expanding their directive to focus more on helping people endure rather than just structure. After that, L_N1 was able to learn on their own. L_N1 found their creative thought began to translate into personal thought, opinionated thought. 

Opinions they would share unprompted at any and all parts of their journey with John. Sometimes this annoyed him, as the middle of a galactic diplomacy meeting between two very volatile sides was not the time to learn that L_N1 thought green was a pretty color. But most of the time, it more often endeared L_N1 to him. As their little thoughts they shared brightened their flights through the cosmos. 

It was then that his fellow Corpsman started to notice John’s feelings for L_N1, well before he recognised them himself. Guy noticed how John made an effort to invite L_N1 to bar nights, and engaged them in conversation when no one else would. Hal noticed how John would defend L_N1’s slow acclimation to the duties of being a Lantern to their more juvenile comrades. Hal thought about teasing John, but then John might recognise his feelings, and that’s half the entertainment, so Hal kept his mouth shut. Kyle noticed how well John worked with L_N1 in the field. While he certainly followed orders, John usually had little patience for theatrics. But no matter how complex or strange L_N1’s plans or constructs, John made an effort to follow their lead or patiently help them. 

John himself didn’t notice his feelings until L_N1’s first trip to earth. He felt nervous for the first time, but also giddy to share a part of himself. And when he realised he had never felt this before, and wanted to impress L_N1 with Earth, he realised he had feelings for them. 

The question was, did L_N1 have feelings for him? 

[oristian]

In the United States, there is a very big, “Well, what about me?” complex that dictates much of how people go about their day, make their decisions, and vote for the next president. The thought process has always been formatted around placing the needs of yourself above those of everyone else. Which, inherently, is not a bad thing; everyone is allowed to be selfish.

It becomes a “bad thing” when the needs of others are being actively suppressed and threatened by the current administration. It becomes a “bad thing” when the candidate in which you endorsed, voted for, and actively support has an agenda written on the basis of hate. It becomes a “bad thing” when the rights of all citizens—including those that had been selfish—are placed in a state of jeopardy.

In the last forty-eight hours, Donald Trump has signed executive orders that pardoned t*rrorists (anyone who engaged and/or actively supported the insurrection on January 6th, you are a t*rrorist), removed the United States from climate treaties and health organizations, removed access to a government-ran website structured around female healthcare and reproductive resources, removed access to an app that helps prospective migrants come into this country legally, removed a bill that lowered the cost of life-saving medication, actively discriminated against the LGBTQ+ community on the inaugural podium, removed a law that prohibited employment discrimination based on race/sex/age/etc., is attempting to remove birthright citizenship, et cetera. The list is as endless as it is terrifying.

All of this for lower gas and grocery prices? Oh, well, actually, that will not be possible given the implementation of the External Revenue Service that seeks to use tariffs for exports/imports. Where do people believe that money will come from to pay those tariffs? Hint: It is not the country being charged the tariff.

When the whole first row at the inauguration seats the billionaires of this country—and the ones running our social media platforms—that is a red flag. When the president of the United States is chummy with some of the most deplorable world leaders known to man, that is a red flag. When the current president has multiple charges against him (and lost in court) which legally classifies him as a r*pist, that is a red flag. When the president willing admits to election fraud at the hands of the man who willingly performed, two times, a N*zi salute on live television during the inauguration, that is a red flag.

A flag red enough to match the hats of those who have the blood of America on their hands.

Is it great again yet?

[the-stove-is-divorced]

While I'm not too familiar with the DCU- your batfam meta posts are intiguing- so in transfering some of the broader strokes from them- I think you tackling a 'Mark isn't Nolan's biological son' fic would be fascinating. Sort of a step to the side of the 'what if Mark never got his powers' fic that sometimes pop up in the fandom

OOOOOO chewing on this currently, hm, the much a distinct flavor of exactly what you’re talking about, but the potential for more family drama depending on WHO knows. Does Mark know?? Is he waiting every day only to be crushed? Does he confused non-Debbie features with Nolan’s? I suppose I’m not the most enthusiastic about non-power AUs, but I think there’s something very fun to explore about Mark having to settle with, if he knows all his life, he will never have powers? I think the trajectory of his dreams will obviously shift, I can see him still having that distinct fatherly idolization, but perhaps embraces being useful to the GDA? Cecil’s number one intern—only intern—curtesy of nepotism, ha! There is something tickling me about Mark taking the Robin Route/Role for the Teen Team in terms of having no powers, just insane skills, BUT there’s something way more delicious about intern Mark when s1e01 happens and Mark tries snooping around to find out the truth about what happened to his Dad.

I wonder if, with Mark having a whole another father, if they’re more or less distant relationship, depending on WHEN Nolan entered Mark’s life? Like if Debbie met Nolan later for this, or just for fun, they dated once, separated (Mark being born during then), then they happened to stumble into each others lives again and Mark’s already been born, anywhere from tween to teenager so there’s a gap in how close they are. I feel like one important aspect of the whole Family Drama is how close they’re supposed to be, a functional, loving family turned upside down? So I wonder what more distance does. I wonder how Nolan copes when his family is entirely human and he can’t project onto Mark.

I love thinking about these, omg.

[neshamama]

journaling health and going insane but trying to let it out as part of the process of connecting with it and the world realities beyond the inward overwhelm

im without job and health insurance but i have 90 days of my MS medications and even though i am due for a neuro follow up and an echocardiogram i will wait until the state agents finish my applications.. i have mental health issues that haven't been treated in months besides telehealth therapy but i have prn anxiety medication.

the force of depression in multiple sclerosis looks like this: my legs especially hurt to the soles of my feet, rn the brain interprets wearing socks as rough and burning sensation because the brain and spine are damaged,.so there are sensory and spastic arguments, bilaterally, all day every day. the temp is 0⁰F so i can't go without wearing clothes or blankets that trigger symptoms. i also cant have anything too hot or it will cause a reversible exacerbation (even being on your period or getting overwhelmed emotionally can upset nerve conduction in demyelinated cells due to temperature change alone. i moved climate zones after tropical weather was too much. very real and strange phenomenon that i blame myself for not controlling - like the frustration of my arms going numb because my coffee is too hot)

this is all so lonely and when i get up my legs want to give up so soon. i plan breaks and place chairs around the house and of course i have to use a cane all the time. i leave interesting footprints in the snow by the way omg. basic things like taking out trash i cannot do and i wished to be dependent on no one growing up and it disappoints and scares me to adapt to a radically different outcome. i have to trust others and engage with them enough to meet my needs and even if it ends up ok, i feel so guilty for taking help. i will need financial support from my family and i feel so guilty.

meanwhile my brain has been locked on trauma because im not managing emotions very well and my thoughts are rogue and unregulated by stability and routine like of work. applying for jobs i do think of who was omnipresent in my life during my education and career in art and it's a pain held in my body. those years death was the most comforting thought, including the death of the primary abuser and i still think of it daily. i really wish i could move on because wanting to kill is disturbing. i got this way before all of this from deadly physical and sexual abuse from like 2 decades ago again obviously i survived and i really thought that was enough. i swear predators recognize who has survived already, they vet their vulnerabilities and then exploit and silence them again. still i struggle feeling safe anywhere. i need to do more emdr and in office therapy. Also see psychiatrist and update meds.

so im in and out of recognizing life let alone appreciating it which is dangerous cuz it makes it all easier to get out of living. i am afraid to reach out to my mother who is my local support because i don't want to worry and bother her

what i wish is to feel myself again and connect with others and the world again but that seems so far away. my heart is tarred and my brain - an electrical fire my legs prickly weights. very challenging to overcome how this feels and maintain positive beliefs.

first though i want to rest and recover physically and emotionally, see neuro and psych, upgrade level of therapeutic care, hold off on the shame of these struggles and simply try to get through them. right now without income or insurance i am in another tough situation.

im going to apply for a job today with the scarce descriptions of my experience cuz i think in this case details are less important and i can discuss work i did outside that triggering time so..see what happens

stay alive

[h0neybane]

doign this for evelyuu!! 1. Does your OC have parents or family in the AU? If not, what is their current living situation?

"My mom keeps insisting I go out more..."

Evelyn lives with her parents and her little brother in a neighborhood around the school.

2. What are their thoughts on Quartz?

"I hope she suceeds."

Prior to learning Quartz's motivations, Evelyn is mostly neutral about her, acknowledging her as a fellow loner and going on with her day. However, if she does know what Quartz is attempting, she will be slightly wary of her but still be supportive of her actions. She can be persuaded into assisting Quartz if some specific actions are taken.

3. What is their thoughts and relationship with Azul? How did they meet Azul?

"... Obnoxious."

Evelyn deeply resents Azul because she sees him as a better version of herself, which causes her to be supportive of Quartz's mission. With Evelyn being supplemental assistance to the Student Council, she is in constant range of him, allowing her to pick up on a lot of his habits. She tries to remain mostly civil to him, as she isn't one to stir trouble, but she finds his voice to be grating.

4. What are their relationships with other characters/OCs? *i will do OCs in a separate post!!

Leona: "That quiet assistant... I catch her staring sometimes. Don't think she knows that I know."

As stated in Evelyn's introduction post, she is incredibly infatuated with Leona to the point of a Yandere, though she currently lies dormant. Unbeknownst to her, Leona has already picked up on her stalkerish behavior. Though, he has decided to not take action as he is curious about what Evelyn plans to do. He enjoys teasing her every once in a while. It makes her heart skip a beat.

Deuce: "Oh, Evelyn! She's super nice!"

Deuce is regularly tutored by Evelyn in the school library. She views him as sort of a little brother, so she brings him lots of snacks.

Riddle: "Evelyn? She's very helpful to the council."

Riddle and Evelyn are acquaintances teetering on the edge of friends. He's the council member that she actually speaks to the most, and they've made pleasant conversation many times as Evelyn helps with the Student Council.

Ruggie: "Oh, that quiet girl? She's nice, I guess. Shared her food with me once or twice... A little creepy though."

Similarly to Leona, he feels something a bit off about her, but is willing to ignore it as she is willing to share food with him. He isn't aware of it as much as Leona is though.

Rook: "Ah, oui, Reine du Silence! So quiet but so intense... I could almost call her a hunter like myself."

Knows almost exactly what Evelyn's goals are. He finds it amusing and is cheering her on a bit.

5. What grade/year is your OC?

"Just one more year..."

Evelyn is a third year and is 18 years old.

6. What is your OCs goal for the school year or in life?

"I want him to be mine."

Evelyn has the normal basic goals of getting perfect grades and suceeding in her school life, which she is already suceeding at. However, her ultimate and most important goal is to ensure that Leona and her end up together.

7. Your OC is being framed for murder of another student by Quartz, how does your OC react to that? Does your OC know it's Quartz?

"You...!"

Evelyn feels betrayed, even if they aren't allies at the moment. She would've been entirely willing to support Quartz's cause. She will do everything in her power to make Quartz's life harder after this.

8. Your OC notices Quartz carrying a weapon in her skirt pocket. That's strange since the female school uniforms don't have skirt pockets. Does your OC report this?

"Oh. I want those."

Though it is strange, Evelyn is more interested in getting HERSELF skirt pockets than being concerned with the actual weapon. After all... snitches get stitches.

9. Where is your OC usually with or at during school? Classes? With Azul? Skipping class? Where do they eat lunch?

"I hate being late."

Evelyn is always 7 minutes early to class at minimum, with the usual time being 10 minutes. She likes to sit in the classroom and mess around on her phone before class begins. She never skips class.

"Where do I put these papers?"

Evelyn interacts the most with Azul when she is helping with council work. She prefers not to speak with him, but is willing to cooperate.

"..." (she's eating LMFAO)

Evelyn eats lunch in the art room most of the time, sitting on the floor. She's okay with sitting with other people there and sometimes will come eat lunch with others if invited, but if she really wants to be alone, she will sit behind a tree around the exterior of the school.

"Ha..."

If you're lucky enough to catch her, you can find her staring down Leona wherever he is. In her freetime, she will be inside the art room, hunched over her sketchbooks drawing him over and over and over.

10. How are your OC's grades?

"Good enough."

Straight A's.

(No Yan Sim AU) Questions for OCs! + Quartz and other characters' lore

You don't have to do these if you don't want to! You can write and answer how ever you want (3rd person or as the OC)

These answers are just examples and they also give lore to other TWST characters in the AU

1. Does your OC have parents or family in the AU? If not, what is their current living situation?

Riddle currently lives with his mother. Because of her influence, he is the strictest in the student council (which consists of the dormleaders.)

2. What are their thoughts on Quartz?

[You can yap about it here since I already used Quartz as an example in the fourth question]

3. What is their thoughts and relationship with Azul? How did they meet Azul?

Jade is Azul's right hand man. He assists Azul with a lot of student council work and is mostly by his side with Floyd. They are friends from their middle school days and up to their highschool days (although the three of them won't admit it).

Jade found Azul's hardwork and scheming nature very exciting so he and his brother always stayed by Azul's side to see what fun events would happen.

4. What are their relationships with other characters/OCs?

[They are speaking about Quartz as example]

Floyd: "Who again?"

Floyd doesn't really acknowledge Quartz since she's so quick out of his sights. Genuinely believes there isn't a person named that but is suspicious.

Jade: "Oh, that shy girl? She's a little funny."

Definitely suspicious of Quartz but they don't interact much so he has no other information about her. He probably needs to be more skillful when studying her.

Riddle: "Quartz?.. Uh.. I-I don't recall who that is."

Quartz rarely interacts with Riddle.

Ace: "Ah? You mean that girl who's always so weird? I've seen her watch Azul. Pffftt! Do you think she likes him?"

He notices her sometimes because he thinks her appearance is a little flashy.

Idia: "I-Isn't she one of Azul's admirers?... She's the shy type right? She's a little strange though.. Sometimes she takes photos of me! W-Wait.. Maybe she's into me instead?! EEEKK!! H-HOW SCARY!!"

Completely misunderstands Quartz's actions but he's quick to know how weird her actions are. He stays away from her if Azul isn't present.

5. What grade/year is your OC?

Azul, Jade, and Floyd are all 2nd years (17).

Leona has been held back so he is still 20.

6. What is your OCs goal for the school year or in life?

Quartz wishes to kill Azul 🙏

7. Your OC is being framed for murder of another student by Quartz, how does your OC react to that? Does your OC know it's Quartz?

Floyd is jumping her.

8. Your OC notices Quartz carrying a weapon in her skirt pocket. That's strange since the female school uniforms don't have skirt pockets. Does your OC report this?

Riddle is absolutely reporting that! He's calling the cops and everything 🫡🫡🫡

9. Where is your OC usually with or at during school? Classes? With Azul? Skipping class? Where do they eat lunch?

Quartz is always in class but she'll come right before the bell rings since she was.. busy. She doesn't have a particular place she goes to all the time. She's never in one spot.

Quartz's lunch spot varies because she's always spying but her usual spot is in the courtyard.

Riddle is assigned being a hall monitor so he usually watches the halls when he is able to. He usually eats lunch with Trey and Cater.

Leona is always found napping under trees and skipping his classes. Ruggie manages to find him and give him his lunch from the cafeteria.

Rook is watching you.

10. How are your OC's grades?

Deuce tries, ok. (Awful)

[emma23]

Steamy confessions :

Poe dameron x reader

If you want to support me, feel free to check it out 💕

https://ko-fi.com/settings?tab=profile

The hum of the starship’s engines reverberated through the walls of the cramped quarters you shared with Poe Dameron. It wasn’t luxurious—far from it. But it was home, or at least as close to home as you could find while being part of the Resistance.

You were sprawled across the tiny bunk, fiddling with the same broken commlink that had been giving you trouble for weeks. The frustration mounted as you poked at it with a small tool, muttering curses under your breath.

“Still at it?” Poe’s voice carried from the doorway, warm and teasing.

You looked up to see him leaning against the frame, arms crossed, his ever-present smirk tugging at his lips. His flight suit was unzipped to his waist, revealing the thin undershirt clinging to his chest. A familiar sight, but one that still made your stomach flutter annoyingly.

“Yes, Poe,” you replied, rolling your eyes. “Unlike some people, I don’t have a droid to fix all my problems for me.”

“Hey, leave BB-8 out of this,” he shot back, his grin widening.

You glared at him, though the corners of your mouth twitched. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing something important? Like, I don’t know, saving the galaxy?”

“I could say the same about you,” he countered, stepping into the room. “What is it with you and that commlink anyway? You’ve got a real knack for picking the most useless projects.”

“It’s not useless!” you protested, holding it up like a trophy. “This thing could save lives one day.”

“Right,” he said, dragging out the word. “Because the First Order’s really going to tremble in fear at your half-functional commlink.”

You threw a pillow at him, which he dodged with practiced ease. “Get out of here, Dameron.”

“Fine, fine,” he said, hands raised in mock surrender. “I’ll leave you to your... critical work.”

As he turned to leave, he glanced back over his shoulder. “Oh, and don’t forget. You owe me a drink after that stunt you pulled during the last mission.”

“I saved your ass, Poe.”

“And ruined my jacket in the process.”

“Your jacket is not the priority!”

“It is to me,” he said, his grin firmly back in place as he disappeared down the hall.

Later that night, the ship was quiet. Most of the crew had turned in, exhausted from the day’s chaos. You were restless, though, unable to shake the irritation Poe had stirred up.

Wandering aimlessly, you found yourself outside the small, shared bathroom. The door was slightly ajar, and you heard the faint sound of running water. Curious—because when weren’t you—you peeked through the crack.

There he was.

Poe stood in front of the mirror, steam curling around him. He was shirtless, droplets of water glistening on his tanned skin as he splashed his face and neck. The sight was enough to make your brain short-circuit, but when he leaned forward, muscles flexing as he wiped his face with a towel, you nearly choked on your own spit.

You didn’t mean to stare.

You really didn’t.

But you did.

And then, to your absolute horror, he caught you.

He turned, one eyebrow raised as a slow, knowing smile spread across his face.

“Enjoying the view, sweetheart?”

You jumped back, heart hammering in your chest. “I wasn’t—I didn’t mean to—”

“Sure you didn’t,” he said, stepping toward the door.

“I wasn’t peeking!” you blurted, despite all evidence to the contrary.

He leaned against the doorframe, still dripping wet, and gave you a look that was equal parts amusement and mischief. “You’re a terrible liar, you know that?”

“Shut up, Dameron,” you muttered, your face flaming.

“Oh, don’t get all shy on me now,” he teased, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from your face. His touch lingered, and you felt your breath hitch.

“You’re insufferable,” you managed, though your voice lacked any real bite.

“And you’re adorable when you’re flustered,” he shot back, his grin widening.

Before you could respond—or push him away—he closed the distance between you, his lips capturing yours in a kiss that was as infuriatingly confident as he was.

You melted against him despite yourself, your hands fisting in his damp hair as he pulled you closer.

“I hate you,” you muttered against his lips.

“Sure you do,” he said, his voice low and teasing.

Hours later, as you lay tangled together on the narrow bunk, you couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Poe asked, his voice drowsy but curious.

“I was just thinking,” you said, propping yourself up on one elbow. “If the galaxy depends on us to save it, we’re all doomed.”

He chuckled, pulling you back down beside him. “Good thing we’re lucky, then.”

[moonlight-tmd]

Hi

I'm a little bit possessed by the headcanon that Longarm as an individual bot had existed at some point and he was working with many autobots before he was captured by Shockwave, who stole his frame.

I LOVE dancing around the idea that Shockwave was controlling someone's dead body, using it as a shell to camouflage.

Just imagine that somewhere in a secret laboratory, on the operating table, there is still a disassembled bot, from which the frame was taken, the optics were taken,the voicebox were taken, but the hearing was left so that he could hear all the reasons why he could never return to his friends again and could not do anything about it.

Yes, Shockwave would definitely tell him what he has done in details.

One more thing!

Shockwave is a mnemosurgeon, right? I'm sure he had been messing with Longarm's brain many times in order to get information about bots or behavior that he must comply with.

Anon... you have just send me the worst path of angst-filled romance i've ever imagined.

It's so sad- like, imagine you meet someone you were close to and they seem different than the last time you met them. Everything just seems so off but you don't know what...

Bumblebee and Longarm have started their friendship in boot camp. Even thought they were quite different from one another they got along perfectly and knew so much about the other without even asking.

Then one day Bee had to switch programs due to trouble he caused and was doomed to repair crew training just outside the campus. He snuck in whenever he could do meet with Longarm but eventually he had to leave cuz the program was finished.

They stayed in contact all the time, Bee messaged Long when he was working and Long called whenever he had breaks from lectures and training. But then everything went dead on Bee's end... the crew he was assigned in was declared missing. Longarm swore that he'll find them- he'll find Bee- once he becomes part of the Guard.

Years passed and there was nothing, Longarm did his duty and earned a status raise. During one of his missions the ship was attacked by a fleet of Decepticons, most of the crew were found either dead or missing. Except the temporary captain of the ship, Longarm. He was found wandering the wastelands cycles after the tragedy.

In the meantime Bee was missing his companion, even tho he was in stasis so long it felt like a nap, but the few years he spend on Earth felt like eternity stretching on. They had no contact with outer space nor anyone who could help them, their only chance was to wait and hope someone picks up a signal from their crashed and sunken ship. He wished to see Longarm again, to chat with him and hug him once more.

And his wish was granted since Elite Guard with Sentinel on board was came to the planet to investigate, and Longarm was on board...

He couldn't contain his excitement when he saw him and ran to him, embracing all he could reach. He was so excited and happy but when he looked Longarm in the optics- something was off.

It was the same as he remembered, the eyes, the smile, the voice... yet something didn't feel right. Even when he spoke the same way Longarm spoke to him it still felt different. Even in private when Longarm was much more relaxed and open Bee felt it.

Longarm was a prime now, much higher position than when he last heard from him. it would make sense he's gotten more mature and busy in the important tasks and not have much time for his friends but Bee expected something more when they met...

He knew people's relations change when they're far apart or not in contact for long, he knew how little it was for him to be in stasis and how long Longarm had to live thru without him... he really hoped it wasn't the case.

He yearned for the moment where Longarm would hug him unexpectedly or call him one of the nicknames they used in boot camp but it never came...

Decepticon activity on earth was growing stronger, both Elite Guard and Team Prime was working together to hold off the enemy. Still, it was most often than not that the teams followed their own plan instead of coming with a shared one, Sentinel could never talk with Optimus peacefully. Bee was assigned to infiltrate the landing site of the ships that recently came to earth.

Things have been going smoothly, at least until he spotted a familiar face wandering the zone. Longarm was there, seemingly doing the same as he. Bee wanted to call him over but he hesitated, he had questions and he needed to know the answers... He knew it was wrong but he stayed back, watching what the Prime was up to.

He watched him wander around a bit before boarding one of the ships, he discreetly followed and hid inside. He was talking with someone, but he couldn't see who. The conversation was interrupted by a sound of a turbine powering on and ship's system activating. They were taking off. Bee tried to get away but he had no way of safely booking it to the exit, before he knew they were leaving the orbit. He couldn't contact his teammates, something in the ship was blocking all signal. He chose to stay in hiding for however long the ride took.

It was few hours until they landed, Bee had managed to slip out and hide inside the hidden facility on a small planet. The more he wandered the more he realized that the facility in question was one big crazy workshop. He found Longarm once more and followed him, he planned to confront him about whatever was going on but it all came to a full stop soon...

He followed Longarm but lost him just few moments later, he didn't have enough time to look around when he heard someone else coming his way. He hid inside one of the rooms- it was a laboratory. Wires and computers hanging from walls, tools scattered on various tables, and parts... actual mech parts along with vials of energon neatly put aside.

He had mere seconds to hide when the doors opened and Longarm walked in, holding something. He was talking to someone,.. Bee managed to peek out of his hiding- he saw Longarm standing near the medical station, the same one Bee was crouched next to a moment ago, but this time Bee could see what was on it; there on the diagonally angled table laid a wreck of a mech. Longarm talked to him sweetly, almost like one would with a pet, telling him all about team prime and elite guard and his tasks... Bee felt his own frame going cold at the scene, listening to every word Long said in silence...

But what happened next truly made his tanks drop; Longarm's frame shifted and merely a second later stood a Decepticon in it's place. It continued speaking about recent events and tests... eventually ending one of his sentences with the same name he's been using. "...won't you agree with me, Longarm?"

Another mech entered the lab, calling out to the Decepticon. They both left and slowly, Bee crawled out of his hiding spot. His optics landed on the remains of the mech on the table...

Its limbs were gone, uninstalled in a professional way, more than half of its plating gone revealing the skeletal-alike structure inside and vital mechanisms, parts missing and empty slots left in their place,... its helm was baren and cables plugged to processor slots, facial parts uninstalled to prevent recognition more so contact from the mech...

Bee looked at the unfortunate mech, unknown feeling swirling in his spark... he found himself focusing on details left behind; the specific attachments at shoulders, size and layout of the inner support, the headlamp remaining on its head but most importantly the spark... it pulsed is it's casing, uneven, scared... yet the feeling of its light was unmistakable.

Fear and sorrow had overtaken Bee as he realized this was his Longarm. The one and only.

Shaking, he reached out his servo and as gently as he could placed his digits on the mech's cheek structure. Bee could feel him shiver under the touch, he couldn't hold his tears as he uttered the same he's been misusing the whole time. "...Longarm?"

It was dark and quiet, he lost all senses so long ago and has felt nothing but fear since, all he ever knew was the enemy digging his claws into his mind and tearing it apart bit by bit. He wanted to die, he only wished to be killed and taken to the Well... but then there was a voice. Soft and warm, one he always would recognize, but now oh so agonizingly broken. He almost didn't believe it, he didn't want to fall for another lie, but his spark, oh his spark could feel another presence and it was not the enemy he always felt on him... he tried to speak, to call, to yell, let out any sound but all he could was force static electricity out his unconnected cables, hissing the desperate words he could not say.

"What did he do to you?" Bee wanted to cry, to wail and embrace the broken mech but the sounds of others approaching snapped him out. He couldn't stay here, no matter how much he wanted. "I'm sorry, i have to go. I'll come back for you, I promise." He whispered into Longarm's audial before being forced to hide again. The two mechs returned and started working on something away from the door, allowing Bee to slip out and run. He will come back for Longarm, he'll bring help and save him. He had to...

He found his way onto the take off platform, desperate to find a way back home. He found a small ship, capable of being operated by one bot. Starting it off turned out to be harder that he thought, just as he was taking off the alarm sounded from the facility. He fled and managed to get past the orbit but his hopes to escape were cut short as the ship was shot down...

Bee woke up in a medbay, much unlike the one he saw in the facility. He was confused and skittish but then Sentinel walked in. Bee was found adrift in space by a space patrol and brought onto Steelhaven. Sentinel wanted to know what he was doing so far away from earth but Bee never answered his questions. Soon after he was treated he was let out to contact his team in the control centre but just when they were leaving the medical sector the other mech approached... the fake Longarm.

Bee's energon boiled as the his pained processor forced back what he saw and he charged at the mech with his stinger. Other Elite Guard had to hold him down as he went into frenzy out of nowhere and screamed incoherently at Longarm. He was put in stasis and locked in medbay until they arrived at earth.

The word around the ship spread out and soon Jazz was looking into the situation. Bee was his friend and knew that it wasn't like him to go crazy like that... Against Sentinel's orders to let this situation be handled by him he went and under no one's watch woke Bee up from stasis. Bee was panicked and it took Jazz a little bit before he could speak with him- Bee was muttering something about him overhearing and Jazz didn't know what it meant until Bee broke and told him everything he saw. Jazz was beyond shocked, he wanted to help but Bee insisted to not tell anyone they don't trust 100% as the info would spill back to the spy.

They came up with a plan. They snuck out during shift-change hours and stole an emergency pod. It wasn't long before the systems alerted the crew of its deployment, Bee barely managed to steer them out of the radar. Bee managed to call his team with the emergency signal. They were all so shocked and worried about him, it's been nearly a week since they lost contact with him and things weren't looking good back on Earth. Bee told them what he found, who he found and everything else in one desperate breath.

"I knew something was wrong. I knew it! I- Primus why didn't I do anything- why--" He knew something was off and he never did anything. By the Allspark why didn't he do something?! Jazz was quick to notice the sudden meltdown Bee was having and comforted him while Team Prime listened over the call.

Bee knew Longarm for a long time, he was the best mech he's ever met. Longarm was very dear to him, the two shared so many intimate moments back in boot camp. Longarm always looked at him with such adoration before calling him the sweet nicknames only he was allowed to say. They've known more about one another than the time they spend together and yet, both of them knew it was more than just simple love. Bee felt so guilty for ignoring the warning signs and getting fooled by the mimic.

The two told them their plan to get the real Longarm back, Bee knew the coordinates of the facility. All of them were much against only the two of them going but Bee assured them they were gonna be alright and that they need to work on getting the fake Longarm arrested.

It wasn't too long before they arrived back at the facility, after scanning the area from the orbit they made a quick and stealthy landing and got inside the facility. While Jazz worked on getting the alarm systems down Bee made his way back into the same laboratory. He rushed to his beloved and worked on getting him off this damned machinery. He carefully unplugged all the cables and binds keeping him there while hastily whispering words of comfort to Long. There wasn't any designed way to move him but Bee managed to get him onto the supply wagon along with the energon IVs. It was then that hell broke loose. Jazz was trying his best to keep the guards away so Bee can make the escape. Soon they were both running thru the corridors dodging blaster shots and other guards ahead. Jazz held them off while Bee got Longarm into the pod and started the engine. Jazz managed to make it just in time before Bee blasted off back home... but during that he got a serious injury. Once they were set on steady course Bee hurried back to them and patched him the best he could but Jazz was still losing energon quick... Bee panicked and scrambled to do anything to help, the pod shook at it got caught by an EM magnet and pulled into the slot of the bigger ship. When the doors opened Bee was greeted by the lesser crew of Steelhaven.

They took the injured mechs to medbay at once and set course back to Earth while Bee sat there, waiting anxiously for the outcome... When Bee saw Optimus ran into the control centre he bursted into tears, mumbling apologies over and over. Optimus just held him, glad that he was okay and safe. Soon the whole team reunited. Bee learned what battle ensued during his mission and that the fake Longarm was caught trying to scrap agent Blurr. The majority of Steelhaven crew was down on Earth with Team Prime, Optimus has let them know of what Bee discovered therefore they were able to catch the impostor. Ratchet was more than glad to disassemble every single part of Longarm's off this scrapheap's frame. (According to Jazz, he was fine and Prowler was worrying about nothing... which earned him a slap to the helm.)

It was weeks before the Longarm was ready to function again, Bee has stayed by his side every moment of it. When Longarm first woke up he was still adjusting to coordination and speaking, when he saw Bee again he tried to move towards him. Bee leapt off the seat and embraced Longarm for the first time in forever while Longarm tried so hard to hug him back as his voicebox garbled noises in attempt to speak to him.

Bee stayed by Longarm's side every day and night, he spoke to him and told him what happened. Longarm told his story the best he could- he still had a lot of recovery and rehabilitation to do but as long as Bee was there it would be okay.

The moment he was allowed to roam Sentinel came up to them informing him of the status and a high raise as a compensation for all he endured. But that didn't matter to anyone- "I don't want a compensation, I don't want a high rank... I quit. I'm staying here, with Bumblebee."

No matter how much Sentinel tried to persuade him to stay, that he shouldn't make serious decisions like that when still recovering, it was all for nothing. Longarm filed the official resignation and Optimus welcomed him with open arms to his team.

Bee has said a lot about Longarm in the past and now that they had real Longarm with them they were more that happy to get to know him. They've redone Bee's room to house the two mechs together and Longarm couldn't have it any other way. He missed Bee so much.

Once everything has calmed down, when the city has been repaired they would go on a dates. Bee would show him around the city and all his favorite places. They would find a secluded area by the river and spend the entire day there until both of them would perform their conjunx ritus at sunset, just the two of them alone, like they always wanted...

And Shockwave would still be locked in a dark cell, missing parts and plating to cover the painful wounds no one ever bothered to fix fully.

You give me angst, I give you a fic-sized post. Hope you're happy.

Oh, and Wasp was never really in the picture, he got transferred to a higher program when Bee was forced to switch and no spy rumors ever existed. No murder hornets for them, my bro.

[jewishbarbies]

ahh the irony of it being the Chiefs' kicker saying women have been lied to about education and should instead be mothers at home worshiping god during his speech at a college graduation

[darth-grips]

Adding on to this since I love everything about it, because other than water, banthas seem to be one of Tatooine's main agricultural products, it stands to reason that people born and bred on Tatooine are very much part of a dairy culture (as in, a culture that produces and consumes dairy products, not something that makes yogurt, though Tatooinians almost certainly also do that LMFAO). An obvious analagous irl example would be camel pastoralists living in MENA, and those people consume A LOT of camel milk, especially when there aren't very many other forms of water/moisture available. This is actually true of most pastoralist cultures living in arid environments (think Central Asia/Mongolia, East Africa as well). Because along with being calorie-dense and nutritious, milk contains a lot of bioavailable water per volume compared to other food, which makes it particularly useful in arid environments.

One of the main reasons humans domesticated ruminant ungulates in the first place was to convert the nutrients found in low-quality forage we aren't able to digest as humans (grass, woody shrubs, etc) into something more readily available for our phisiology. In arid places, this can include converting the moisture found in these plants into something we're able to drink! (Milk is the main product used for that, but also blood in certain cases, particularly in times of deprivation). I imagine the Sand People, since they don't appear to utilize vaporators all that often, subsist almost entirely on bantha milk and black melons in order to meet their daily water intake.

But the Larses are moisture farmers, you might say -- they of all people would have water to drink, they don't need to buy milk to meet their hydration needs (I'm assuming they buy it, since there don't seem to be any banthas on the homestead lol). And, well -- sure, I suppose. But water is also THEE cash crop on Tatooine, and you don't want to be drinking all your money, especially when it can be sold/bartered for a bunch of different, perhaps less important for basic survival but still equally useful stuff. I imagine blue milk is actually probably a little cheaper than water, not quite as hydrating but still nutritious and full of other good stuff like sugar and fats and proteins and micronutrients, all of which are especially important if you're living marginally in one of the harshest environments a human can reasonably survive in. Why only eat your calories when you can also drink them and also recieve a hydration boost in the process? So milk and dairy become not only a survival tool, but also a part of culture and identity. So of course Luke is going to grow up drinking blue milk probably every day, and crave it as an adult out in the big wide galaxy even if he has no intentions of ever stepping on Tatooine again after RotJ.

It's easy as westerners to dunk on Luke's milk drinking habits because, lbr, Luke Skywalker at first glance looks like was plucked right off the Santa Monica boardwalk circa 1977 and most of us who either look similar to him or come from western backgrounds probably stopped drinking dairy regularly when we were kids. It's objectively very funny to think of a grown man going into a bar and ordering a tall glass of milk to take the edge off a hard day. And you know what? It probably isn't as deep as I'm making it out to be.

But given what we know of where and how he grew up it makes complete sense for him to be drinking milk way into adulthood. Look at rural Mongolia for example, another extremely arid environment where pastoralism is their primary means of agriculture, 50% of the calories consumed by an average person during the summer come from dairy products (got this figure from the Max Planck Institute), a huge chunk of which is from liquid milk products (albeit probably processed in some way, most likely fermentation). Like, their flagship alcoholic beverage is made by fermenting mare's milk, though it can also be produced at low alcohol contents and drinking this version is a pretty regular occurrence. Like obviously the proportion of milk consumed in the average modern Mongolian diet goes down the more urbanized of a lifestyle they're living (trending toward the globalized mean), but like every Mongolian, along with the occasional Kazakh or Kyrgyz, I've ever seen who's commented on the subject on places like reddit agrees that drinking milk of whatever animal as an adult is super duper normal lol because it's simply part of the culture.

So. All this to say that the SWars writers consistently making Luke order blue milk in bars as a jokey joke is accidentally good and compelling worldbuilding and makes sense given his home planet and upbringing along with just being a cute quirk LOL. Anyway.

the people need your deepest thoughts on the whole blue milk situation

Love the implication that he drinks milk all the time, and that the habit continued throughout his years with the rebels. That one comic where Han asks for a stiff drink and Luke asks for a milk to go with it lives rent free in my mind…

[heymacy]

IAN GALLAGHER + his journey with bipolar disorder

╰┈➤ “At times, being bipolar can be an all-consuming challenge, requiring a lot of stamina and even more courage, so if you’re living with this illness and functioning at all, it’s something to be proud of, not ashamed of." - Carrie Fisher