#for clarity: I'm not actually angry and I really did enjoy the show!

[this-is-macy]

My thoughts on the Bonnie & Clyde live recording:

I was told there's a bathtub scene in this show.

Where the fuck was it?!

[the-knight-of-destiny]

Okay, so long long ramble under the cut about the nature of Ratgrinder Discourse™, I'll preface by saying that I don't want any of this to get hostile with anyone, because I think that's frankly silly to do over a webshow. That said I am also open to critical discussion so if anything I say doesn't make sense, or doesn't track I'm open to critique on it! Obviously spoilers up to Episode 19 of Fantasy High Junior Year underneath. Also it is a VERY long post, several pages, so don't click read more if that'll be overwhelming/too much at once. I just had to get my thoughts into words.

So, this will be long but I'll try to break it up. For clarity I want to establish my main point and give a quick TL;DR here, so here's the short version, long version even further below. My main points are as follows: 1: It is okay to not be happy with how a narrative is going in a show/story you enjoy. Critique is not hate, if anything it's a form of praise in a way. People wouldn't be having such long and frequent discourse about D20 and it's current season if they didn't feel strongly. 2: Similarly, we as an audience have a very different perspective of the entire story unfolding compared to the Intrepid Heroes/Cast. I think a lot of people jump to assumptions about the cast's thought process when that really isn't something we can gauge beyond what they say in episode and on Adventuring Party. 3: For me at least, even if I am left unsatisfied by an ending it doesn't ruin the fun I had in a work. Now if you just wanted my bullet point thoughts without elaboration, there they are! The rest of this is going to be an insanely long ramble (seriously, exit now if you aren't up for that, it's pages long) that I don't expect anyone to read, but I like to get my thoughts outta my brain. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, in regards to the Ratgrinders dying in the fashion they have, there's been a lot of discussion on literally every place there is to discuss Dimension 20, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, I'm sure other places as well. Really it all comes back to one thing, Dungeons and Dragons is a game, but Dimension 20 is a show. We as viewers have some level of narrative expectation, now for everyone that's different. Some folks have specific hopes for plot and character arcs. Others just want a general vibe, but the cast are players. Sure they are performers, but they are players in a game in equal measure. I've alluded to this before but a lot of the sincere vitriol to antagonists thus far (and especially the Ratgrinders) comes from the fact that the players have been fully immersed in a world and as characters where the Ratgrinders have been a constant thorn in their side for tens of hours of play time. Obviously one can still not like how they've engaged with them (I'm still not sure how exactly I feel about it,) but a lot of it is coming from that distinct perspective. When Fig took Ruben out, she specifically was frustrated because she 'wasted her season' on him. There's a meta level of Fig being angry with Ruben as a character who shares a world with him, versus Emily being frustrated as a player that a lot of her in-game actions did not hash out. That's actually totally natural, by the way. The interesting way that DnD serves both as a narrative of the characters in the setting, but also of the players rolling dice is part of what makes actual play like Dimension 20 so interesting. It's why I think SOME of the disappointment with Brennan and the Intrepid Heroes comes from a strange place, we literally cannot experience the story the same way the cast have. We get a week between chunks of story, they film the episodes in batches. We can think for as long as we want about our critical thoughts, they have to improv on the fly. We get to watch the Ratgrinders as antagonists in a story, the IH are actively hindered in their gameplay by the Ratgrinders as enemies.

That said I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about some aspects of Protagonist Centric Morality™ in this. Oisin having a mildly flirty conversation with Adaine once when he had ulterior motives is a deeply awful manipulation, but Fig catfishing Ruben the better part of an entire year is her trying to reach out and understand him (?). Kipperlilly threatening to desecrate Eugenia's grave is deeply fucked up, but Riz openly advocating mutilating Oisin's body for tactical reasons, and Fabian loudly declaring he intends to do the same to Ivy for literally just his own self-satisfaction are 'fun unhinged moments'.

Before I go on, obviously the Ratgrinders are the bad guys. They're taking part in an evil plan, they've done villainous things throughout the season, especially very recently, etc. This isn't some argument that the Bad Kids are secretly the real monsters or something, obviously not. I just think it's odd that people read into the Bad Kids' actions in the best possible light at all times and the inverse for the Ratgrinders. This protagonist centric morality also comes down to the true reason behind any and all of Fantasy High's villain redemption. Ragh gets redeemed because the player characters think he's possibly useful and/or endearing. Aelwyn gets redeemed because she personally helps Adaine. The only one that Brennan really pushed forward on his own was Zayn, who they barely engaged with. People compare the Ratgrinders to Penelope and Dayne a lot, and understandably so. However I think this is sort of the complication and in my opinion, the silver bullet to understanding what's actually happening with the Ratgrinder's narrative place, Dayne more specifically. He does very little evil on screen. I mean, he injures Fabian and is most likely the one who killed Zayn, but comparatively to Aelwyn, he does almost nothing. He gets killed without so much as a thought, and in a fun (?) parallel to current Ratgrinder discourse, does actually have his body desecrated after death by Fabian. Because he hurt Fabian personally. Aelwyn gets forgiven of doing a lot of terrible shit (and this isn't Aelwyn hate, she's like my favorite NPC.) because it didn't directly affect any of the Bad Kids besides Adaine, and even the bad stuff that did affect Adaine can be sort of off-loaded onto their parents. So it's why I say this discourse is tough, people inevitably say "Well, the Ratgrinders are villains, of course they'll get killed." And this isn't inherently a wrong statement, they look at the bad things the group is doing and understand they must be stopped, why are people upset clearly bad guys get beat and/or killed in DnD games? Because they aren't actually getting killed in such brutal ways because they're bad guys, it's because they personally annoyed or hurt the Bad Kids. This is also why Ratgrinder fans often feel both frustrated and vindicated at once (I speculate, but I feel it's a safe assumption,) because on a meta level Kipperlilly is literally right. Her friends and likely herself are getting ripped to shreds because they crossed the special protagonists, because they started to really frustrate the Intrepid Heroes. The Bad Kids have forgiven atrocities before, but the Intrepid Heroes are really quick to dismiss and kill people they find annoying.

The ultimate example I feel of this, is Mary Ann. Ruben gets blasted into hell because his actions personally annoyed the players, Ivy gets stabbed to death while being repeatedly insulted and threatened with mutilation because her actions personally annoyed the players.

But Mary Ann is the one they all think they can redeem or save, because her personality is more cute and endearing to the players. That kind of says it all better than I ever could.

[humanoidalien27]

Firstly, to state, I do not support the oppression of any peoples. I believe everyone should live freely and openly the way they are.

Okay, I'm new to this whole thing. The last I wrote a fanfiction it was on Wattpad, but I haven't really done it since.

Anyway, moving on... This is a dark, in-depth sort of fanfiction about a thought up character. I started to wonder about what would happen if the muggle Ominis had to torture was actually the Mc? And then she turns out to be a witch the whole time and...well, let's not ruin it. These stories do contain game spoilers, so please don't read if you don't want it ruined.

This is a first draft. I wrote it on a whim.

Also, content warning: This does contain mentions of torture, death and abandonment.

.....

Chapter 1

The truth

Staring at the side of his face, you noticed his jaw clench.

Sebastian let slip that Ominis's family used Crucio on muggles for sport, something that he obviously didn't want known.

"You-"

"It wasn't like I enjoyed it!" Ominis snapped.

You blinked as your attention drifted toward Sebastian who seemed used to his friend's reaction.

You remembered in perfect clarity the first time you felt the pain of that curse. Apart from red sparks and intense pain, you remembered laughter and cold, dead eyes staring passed you.

Your stomach twisted as a horrible idea popped into your head, making you feel sick at how easily you jumped to the conclusion.

"Where did your family usually do this?"

Both boys looked your way.

The expression on Ominis's face didn't change from neutral as Sebastian glanced between you two.

"They'd travel to the outskirts of London to make it harder for anyone to notice," he answered almost robotic. "They attacked only when they knew they could get away with it."

The more he answered, the more things began to fall into place, the puzzle forming a clearer picture.

You nodded as Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "Why are you asking?"

You could feel your body begin to shake as the memory of that night pressed down, causing a headache.

"Is someone in your family named Gormliath?"

Color drained from both boys faces, telling you all that you needed to know and years worth of guilt and anger instantly coiled into a too tight collar.

"It was nighttime. My muggle parents and I were walking home after getting dinner. There was no warning before I heard two cruel voices yell out that curse and my parents cried out in agony," you started, glaring at the side of Ominis's face as he listened. "I was saved for the younger one. I tried to get to my parents while I begged them to stop. They only laughed and spat at me, called me disgusting as my parents gasped for breath beside me."

A tear escaped Ominis's eye as Sebastian took a step closer, moving between you.

"He was forced to do it! They would have used it on him!"

Anger seething, you sneered meeting Sebastian's eyes, he was taken back by the sheer hatred in your face. The warmth you once had was gone as if that scarred twelve year old possessed your body again.

"How convenient. But see, that wasn't even the funniest part. I'm a pureblood too." The venom in your voice made Ominis flinch. "When I didn't show signs of magical talent at eleven, my pureblood parents decided they couldn't allow me to tarnish their name and I was dropped into the muggle world with nowhere to go and no one to help. I found those muggles who took me in and treated me like their child. I loved them. Even after my father died that night, my mother tried desperately to live without him, did any of you care?"

"You don't know the whole story-"

Ominis sniffled. "It's alright Sebastian. She has every right to be angry."

Sebastian pushed you back a little more when you glared at Ominis.

He didn't get to play hero after all of that. Not him.

"Don't try to pretend you know what this feels like."

"He does," Sebastian shot back. "They used that curse on him when he refused. He hates his family just as much as you do."

You scoff, finding it hard to believe before turning on your heel and heading towards the only place you knew you could be alone, save for Deek.

"I'm sorry," Ominis's voice trails behind you.

Glancing over your shoulder, you spit one last comment his way. "Say that to my muggle father and when he forgives you, I'll think about doing the same."

After a few hours to calm down with the beasts in your vivariums, your mind replying the whole encounter, you picked up the little ticks in Ominis's demeanor you hadn't while blinded in anger.

You never knew anyone who used those curses flinch just because of someone getting angry.

Then there was the tears, trembling chin and white knuckles grip on his wand, nearly threatening to snap the twig in two.

His face was clearer than it had been before. You had seen him shaking as he held his wand up at you. The tears streaking his cheeks, the wobble of his chin.

Groaning you stood up and made your way out of the room, saying a warm goodbye to your animals and Deek.

The castle was dark due to curfew being called sometime during your cool down, but you noticed a figure standing near the window as you entered the common room.

Sighing softly as you felt anger rise up again, your body already moving to head to bed. The heartbroken child didn't want to forgive him, they wanted to scream and rage forever, but your matured mind knew that it would only cause both of you more pain.

So, you forced yourself to stop and look back, deciding on what he did in that moment.

For the first time since you've known him, Ominis's wand was laid out on the table a few feet from him, his back to it.

There was the briefest sniffle that drew your eyes to his shoulders as he wiped at his face with his sleeves.

Slowly, you moved closer, trying to talk your child into backing off long enough to get his side of the story.

When he sensed you getting closer, he fell quiet, not that you couldn't see how red his eyes were or the streaks on his face.

You watched him for a moment, trying to find a voice that didn't sound accusing or livid and decided on whispering to be safe.

"Did you really not have a choice?"

He flinched like he expected you to hit him, causing more emotions to stir as you stared at what you could see of him.

"We always have a choice," he muttered, his voice thick and hoarse like he'd been crying since you left the scriptorium. "I couldn't handle the pain and used it to spare myself it."

Of all the ways you thought this would go, you never expected to hear genuine distain and remorse.

"Have you used it since?"

"No," he snapped before he could stop himself, but softened his voice as he continued. "I still can't get the screams out of my head. I've never regretted anything more."

His arms moved around him as he sniffled. It was like he was trying desperately to hold himself together physically because he couldn't mentally.

Sighing, you picked up his wand and moved to put your back to the window frame opposite him. "Your parents did that often?"

He swallowed so hard, you heard it from a foot away as he nodded. "After that night, I stopped going home. I'd spend my time at the Sallows."

You nod absentmindedly as you examined the wand that hurt you so long ago. It was fragile, one sharp twitch between two hands and it would be useless as you were. But, this wand has also done a lot of good and if he was to be believed, it hasn't casted that curse since.

"I know you won't ever forgive me, but I am truly sorry."

You met his eyes, understanding why they seemed so dead that night and it wasn't even because he was blind, it was because as he hurt you, something in him died.

You finally understood why he was so cold at first, so guarded. He, like you, were betrayed by those who were supposed to protect you.

Despite your best efforts, you felt a kinship building between you. An understanding of the weight of pureblood status and the familial responsibilities placed upon your shoulders, but instead of giving him to the muggle world, they took it out on him.

"I wanted to apologize to all of you for so long for being a coward. For not just taking the curse myself."

What a strange twist of fate our lives have been. Both used for prestige by your parents and casted aside when you couldn't live up to it, now strained friends...could you even call it that? Acquaintanceship, maybe?

Frankly, you had to give him some leeway, you had just allowed Sebastian to curse you and you didn't hate him. Ominis could have easily casted it, but he refused. Proof that he had changed, you guess.

He jumped when you reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling it towards you to place his wand in it. "I'm not saying I'm going to forgive you. I'm saying that I'm willing to try."

His chin trembled again as you closed his fingers around his wand.

"Okay," he whispered, his voice breaking.

His other hand shakily curled around yours, keeping it pressed to his. You could feel him trembling as if it exhausted him to stand, so you carefully led him to the couch.

"My muggle father used to say that everyone capable of great evil, are capable of great good. It's your choice to decide which you do."

You let go of his hands as his eyes flicked closed, shooting new tears down his cheeks.

....

Next Chapter: Here

[gatalentan]

so for clarity i am planning to share my webrips for Life's Work with everyone when I have finished this gif series. there's 18 eps total but only 15 are available so like, 8 sets left to go, probably 2-3 weeks? basically because i'll need to process and upload them all (the ripping tool leaves a watermark at the beginning with my name, e-mail & ip to try and prevent 🏴‍☠️ lmao so I need to reclip them to remove it), and will need to figure out where to upload them all safely that won't get them removed immediately / won't cost money for storage.

but also because I don't like, wanna have someone charge in and gif them all before I can finish when I'm having so much fun doing this series. I struggle with enjoying new things (autism!) and giffing it has really helped me to engage with it. I know how feral you all are about stuff LAW appear in/on and I totally support that, I'm feral too. I'd do it too if rips suddenly became available. But because getting ahold of this series has cost me like £30 and I'm a broke bitch so that's a ton of money to me, I do wanna complete my personal coverage for it myself first. When I DO release the files, I look forward to seeing what everyone makes with it.

I absolutely DO want everyone to be able to watch it who wants to. It's one of my new favourite shows and possibly LAW's best role/best creation. And there are means to watch it - I did! I'm outside the region locked zone where it's available legally, and I still go ahold of it via some vpn shenanigans. So it's not like I'm the only way to see it, just the only way to see it for free. If it was as simple as just sharing a link to an existing pirate version, I'd have done that immediately, but that doesn't exist, and it wasn't the easiest process, so. I am sitting on them, temporarily, just til I'm done clipping them and finish giffing them.

Does that all sound reasonable? I hope it's reasonable and not super gatekeepy. I always try to not be gatekeepy and share whatever resources I have and be kind to everyone, and I totally will be sharing these! I know I'm, I think, the only one who has actual rips of it? So. It has been on my mind. There will be rips soon, I promise.

I'm probably overthinking it but I am seeing more and more people in the LAW/LW adjacent tags complaining about not being able to find it and sounding like, truly angry about it. and get at least 3-4 asks per week about it at this point and it's just making me feel very selfish! because I am contributing to the culture that's making people want to watch it, suddenly (which - i'm glad I am, because it's good!) so part of that's on me. I did only have actual rips of it as of today, before today I was having to manually screen record which was what was preventing me from releasing them, so this WILL speed up the process of sharing the files, but. I think these are my terms for now? I hope that's alright.

[afandommultiverse]

One Night Lifetimes - Langris Vaude

word count - 4k

request - patpatlangit

warnings - Lime, no actual smut even though it says lemon juice, I'm sorry I got really tired and ended up making this 4k words and didn't have the brainpower or creativity to write smut, demand of abortion 

a/n - of course enjoy, and let me know about any spelling errors please! Again sorry there no team smut❤️

~~~

“Hey, Y/n, you’re glowing a bit, you okay?” Looking up from your food you stared at Vanessa questioningly. Her sudden odd question caught the attention of some of the others eating at the table. 

“Oh yeah! Did you do some new kind of body wash, Y/n? You’re shiny!” Asta exclaimed, stuffing his face as he looked at me for an answer, as did everyone else. 

“No… I haven’t changed anything in my schedule- or any of my products.” The only thing different from my life is… I couldn’t be? He wouldn’t be stupid enough… Everyone else continued to talk and speculate before someone finally asked the Captain for his opinion. 

“What do you think, Cap’n?” Yami eyed you up and down, his expression unreadable as he looked at you over his newspaper. Before going back to reading he folded to the next page saying;

“I know a thing or two about glowing women… I’ll call a good mage of mine to come to check you out.” 

***

“Any change in foods?” 

“Uhm, no not really.” 

“And you said you haven’t changed any bathing products?” 

“Yep.”

“No schedule changes?” 

“No.” 

“Well, then I’ll run a quick spell over ya’ and we should know what's wrong with you in a jiffy, Dearie.” The old woman smiled warmly, easing your anxious nerves and buzzing fingers, which played together tirelessly in your lap. The doctor's grimoire opened and the relief of her mana washed through your body, cleansing every cell leaving you with refreshed, rested bones and muscles overworked or exerted from missions with every touch, even the slight nausea you had earlier disappeared. 

“When was the last time you had your monthly cycle, Dearie?” You look at the woman, confused but almost knowing what she was already going to say. Again that nausea was back, along with a new lump in your throat that burned and tightened the muscles around it, pulling painfully on the tear ducts of your eyes. 

“Two- Two months.” Your voice was shaky, wavering weakly in reply. 

“Oh, Dearie,” Reading your face she didn’t know what to say. All she did was hug you and rub your back consolingly as you sat frozen, still breathing and heart. 

Time seemed to blur by after that when you came back to the hideout in your room, Yami and the mage talking outside, they’re murmurs coming through the wooden door taunted your ears. A few moments of silence passed before the door opened to show Yami. He came in as neutral as ever, lighting a cigarette and coming to sit beside you on the bed, which creaked loudly under his weight. 

“Here, Gladys gave me these to give to you.” He handed you a glass bottle of small capsules. You looked at the bottle and read the label ‘Prenatal Supplements,’ yet another sign that what was happening is real. 

“Are you going to keep it?” Yami asked, looking at the wall while blowing out a puff of smoke. 

“I don’t know.” 

“Are you going to tell him?” You snorted weakly. 

“I think that's the only thing I’m sure about at this point.” You fell to the side and laid your head on his shoulder, holding back every tear that had been building up behind your eyes since you got the news. 

“So am I gonna tell Finral he’s going to be an uncle or do you want the honors?” You turned to look up at him, head-snapping so fast you thought you broke it. 

“You knew?” Yami turned to look at you, a grin pulling at his lips, teeth gripping his cigarette in place. 

“Who do you think brought you back that night?” 

***

“Captain Langris? A visitor is here to see you.” Langris frowned, he wasn’t expecting anyone today, he was supposed to be working on mission assignments and specifically freed up the day due to his lag in work as of late, a certain woman clouding his thoughts. 

“Come in.” He wasn’t prepared for who came through the threshold of his office door. In you walked, legs striding with a confidence you didn’t feel at all, but you could have fooled him, with your head held high you met him head-on at his desk. 

“What can I do for you, Y/n?” His chin came to rest on his pen that he held in front of him with his two hands, watching you with sharp, intrigued eyes, anyone else might have thought he was bored, but he was beyond curious of where this would go. 

“I-” The words were stuck in your throat, a huge knot holding up the words from passing your lips. 

“What is it?” He didn't mean to come off so rude but it was out of instinct, he wasn’t a patient man. 

“W-Well.” Once again the words balled up in your throat, restricting your breathing as your eyes began to water, built-up anxiety and nerves ripping away at your nerves as you began to shake. 

“Well? Get on with it-”

“I'M PREGNANT!” The scream seemed to clear your throat, but the shaking continued, as did the tears burning your eyes, blurring the reaction of Langris, but you didn’t need to see it. 

“Get rid of it.” you blinked, breakdown halted for but a second, a second of clarity where you saw him, terrified and desperate, another blink, calm- angry eyes. You took a step back, disgusted, almost betrayed. You didn’t know what to expect when coming here, but it wasn’t this.

“Y/n wait-” He could see the disgust in your somber eyes, the regret for even coming here. He should've known, his mouth speaking before he even really thought about it, a mistake solely on his part. 

“No, I-I’m sorry to bother you but I need to go.” 

“Y/n no-!” You were just out of reach, just falling from his hand, his stumble almost made him run into the door which you slammed closed on your way out, by the time he opened it, you were already gone. 

“Fuck…” 

***

Three Years Later 

“Thank you for coming in on such short notice.” Langris was quiet and hushed as spoke to Finral, essentially unnerving him. 

“Langris? Are you okay?” Finral almost offered to get him a glass of water but held back in fear of insulting his younger brother, even after their bettered relationship, Finral still felt there were some lines he still didn’t get to cross.

“Fine, I’m fine. I’ve asked for you because I have a proposition.” 

“A proposition?” Finral watched as Langris pulled out a long piece of paper from his desk, the edges sharp and lined with gold. As Langris laid the paper down slid it toward his older brother, Finral in return, brushing it closer, reading the words written with wide eyes. 

“I-Is this some sort of joke?!” Finral shoved the paper away, glaring at his brother, not finding one of his usual pranks so funny. After everything he’d done, what right does he have to ask this of him- to ask this of you!

“Finral-”

“No! Do you have any idea what you said did to her? I’ve seen your lows, Langris, but I didn’t think you would go this far. I thought you had made it clear you didn’t want anything to do with-”

“It was a mistake! Those words were flying out of my mouth before I even had a chance to even think of what I was saying. I know that doesn’t make it any better, but it’s the truth. Y/n doesn’t deserve that, she doesn’t even deserve me, she should have nothing but the best but… well- goddamnit I love her and I’m going to try my damn well hardest to fix what I did!” Finral couldn’t believe it, the tears filling his younger brother's eyes only fueling the shock rippling throughout his senses, freezing him. Langris loved you? Langris didn’t love anyone. 

“How do I know you're not lying, that you’re not just trying to get close to her and Lefric only to kidnap him and sell him huh?” Finral eyes his brother, suspicion ripping at his thoughts, training each opinion and speculation. 

“Lefric? Is that his name?” The smile on Langris’ face was almost unnatural, something Finral hadn’t seen in so long, a genuine smile. 

“Y-Yes.” Langris hummed, leaning back and seeming to drift away in his thoughts, probably his little paradise where he was with you and Lefric, a part of the family you had created, but the sadness clouded his eyes once again, reminded by the reality of which you hate him, and your son, his son, didn’t even know he existed.

“I don’t plan to sell my son, and I don’t plan on deceiving Y/n either, I just want another chance.” Finral sat back and looked at his brother for a long time, and several emotions ran through his eyes and face, sometimes his eyes contradicting the face he was making, and then he was completely unreadable. It was the first time Langris wanted to hear Finral speak. 

“Okay, I’ll bring her- BUT if you so much as making a suspicious glance at her OR Lefric, we are outta there!” Langris almost could hold his joy in, feeling like jumping around and throwing his hands in the air, instead he settled on a face-splitting smile that frightened his older brother. 

“Perfect! Shall we get you ready for your wedding?” 

“MY WHAT?!” 

***

Sitting in the white chair your blood boiled, simmering under your skin and scorching your veins. What was Finral thinking bringing you here, bringing Lefric here! You had the mind to struggle him in your seat right now if the music hadn’t started playing and everyone stood. Lefric hung off my you as you both turned to watch the bride walk down the aisle. 

Finesse looks gorgeous, draped in a white fabric dripping from her figure in exact seams and hems. Her veil was decorative, lace flowers growing across, she looked like a goddess. Walking toward the steps of her future matrimony, gorgeous lilies in hand, you couldn't help but think if this deity knew about her future husband's bastard child. Everyone sat back down and the priest began, looking over at Finral, you realized why he might have brought you, clutching at his slacks, he couldn’t even look up at the ceremony, eyes burning into his legs. You only slid Lefric onto one hip and grabbed Finral’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. You were happy to feel a small squeeze back. 

The ceremony blurred as Lefric began moving, playing with your dress and hair, you couldn’t help but play with him too, making sure you were still quiet, but your playtime was halted when a sentence from the priest caught your ear. 

“Is there anyone who objects to this?” The priest turned to the crowd looking for objectors, surprise pulling at his old face when someone did. 

“I do.” The priest pulled back, babbling nothings before spitting out, “I beg your pardon?!”

“I object. I don’t love her and I don’t want this marriage.” Some people in the crowd gasped, some even laughed, others watched on in astound, frozen in their seats. You looked away from the others, catching the sad face of Finesse at the altar, as sad as she was though, the breath of relief was obvious. 

“I wouldn’t want to put Finesse through that.” Confusion wiped at her eyes, some even dotting my face with furrowed brows. Langris turned to look at me, looking as though relieved and elated. His gaze went sideways finding Finral and nodding. The brothers wordlessly switched places, much to your annoyance as you whispered questions to Finral as he walked away. Panic and anxiety bubbled up and your hold on Lefric tightened a little watching as Langris walked closer, his final steps the only thing you heard over the blood rushing your ears. 

“Y/n.” His voice was but a whisper, hesitant and tentative much like a shy child, which coming from Langris, was the least of what you expected. His eyes dropped from you and fell on your son, eyes suddenly ten times brighter. He looked as though he was going to pick Lefric up from me, but he stopped, his arms frozen awkwardly, before stiffly smoothing down his suit. His hand came down to grab my free one before turning back to the priest and saying, 

“You may continue.” The priest looked off to the parents of Langris and Finral, met with angry scowls but nodding heads, so he continued. 

Sitting beside you, he paid you no mind, never once letting go of your hand either. You thought of pulling it away, even moving your wrist a little to pull it away but you stopped. Why you don’t know, maybe it was because his hand was so warm, a warmth you’d been needing for a while. 

“And do you Finral Roulacase take Finesse to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold till death do you part?”  

“I do.” 

“And do you Finesse Calmreich, take Finral to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold till death do you part?”  

“I do!” 

“I may now pronounce you as husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride!” 

***

The reception was loud and joyful food and drinks passed around nobles and spectators mingling together, each going up and their own time to congratulate the married couple. When it came to be your turn, Langris followed you up, practically as attached to your hip as Lefric. 

“Y/n I know I’m horrible but-” 

“Congratulations Finral, I’m glad everything could work out. You two deserve each other.” You watched as Finesse smiled and squeezed at Finral’s hand. Finral smiled as he looked down at the hand clasping his, still not believing that this was truly happening. 

“Thank you, Y/n.” You nodded. 

“Of course.”  you set down your wedding gift to give to them on the table before handing over a second present. 

“So since someone has some explaining to do and you're busy, you get to watch Lefric while Langris does explain this all to me. Sound good? Good?” The end was a bit snippy, but you're already peeved off self sort-of had a right. Langris followed without command and followed you into the first empty room you could find, a simple guest room. You sat on the bed and sighed, staring up at Langis with squinted eyes, skeptical of his motives. 

“You may begin.” 

“I made a deal with Finral that if he brought you to the wedding, he would be marrying Finesse instead of me.” Never one to beat around the bush, Langris answered you with a bored tone, staring at you like he had done nothing wrong like he’d done nothing at all. 

“And what in the hell were you thinking when you did that?” You were pissed, fuse lit and burning down fast, you were ready to explode. 

“I was thinking that I love you and I want to be a family, I want to be a father to Lefric.” It was like a bucket of water had been dropped on you, efficiently washing out the burning fuse. Langris dropped to his knees and looked up at you. 

“Please, give me a chance Y/n. You wouldn’t believe how sorry I am, honest. I didn’t mean to say what I did back then, and I'm so glad you didn’t listen to my foolish ass. Please, Y/n I don’t think I can watch him grow up from the sidelines.” 

“You’ve done well so far,” you muttered, turning away from his pleading eyes which seemed to burn through you , pulling at the heart-strings you had thought you cut off. He looked away with a small sad smile, shaking his head. 

“No, I haven’t. I was there when you had your seventh-month scare, even arranging a better doctor for you. I was there when you were recovering in the hospital after giving birth. I managed to catch glimpses of him at his first birthday party but that was a bit difficult, that boy Asta moves around too much for his good. It was his second birthday, I couldn’t make it, I was sent on an assignment near the kingdom's border, and god- I was so pissed. I don’t think I’d ever seen my men so scared of me.” He stopped coming forward to drop down in front of you. Langris Vaude, on his knees, looking up at you like you were the empress which ruled his life.

“I knew that I couldn’t do it anymore, I couldn’t watch him from the sidelines, I wanted to see him and me… I wanted to see you.” He finished shakily, eyes dropping to the thighs he leveled with, he was sincere, honest, there was nothing much he missed more than you, even if it was only one night, no woman has ever compared to you. Looking up at you now, sharp eyes glaring at him while slowly softening as he pleaded, Langris had never felt more at home then underneath you. He was so close, closer than he’d been in four years, he didn’t even feel his arm moving from his side moving to lay on your thigh, falling in slightly. Langris knew he had you when he spotted the shiver in your back run down your thighs closing them around the fingers that slipped to touch the soft skin of your inner thighs. 

“Langris,” Your voice was stern but it wavered, frailty curving around your words as they fell from lips. “I don’t… I can’t just accept you into my life this is gonna take a lot of time. You hurt me Langris, scared me.” Your head pulled at his own, curling it up in your CV hands. 

“But I can meet you halfway, as long as you promise to do the same.” Langris felt his breath stop, looking up at you he felt like crying, he felt like screaming in joy but he settled on smiling up at you, tears welling in his eyes slowly, making his eyes shine in the lowly lit room. 

“Thank you,” He whispered, “thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

***

Six Months Later

Langris met halfway, if not more which swept you off your feet more than anything, the second Langris met Lefric he had been nothing less than a loving father, spending time with him as much as he could and even taking him out, of course only with you or Finral’s presence. If Lefric became upset, Langris was there to ask him what’s wrong and comfort him before a cry even left his lips. Family dinner became a thing every Wednesday, usually held at the Black Bulls hideout but the times where you ate with Golden Dawn commanders sometimes evening the Captain coming to join, those nights were filled with just as rich food and laughter. 

Then there were the dates, the nights Finral and Finesse took care of Lefric and left you and Langris to go out and eat, filled with flirty gestures and hearty chuckles. As much as he cared for Lefric, Langris equally cared for you, checking on you when you seemed stressed, coming to see you after coming back from a mission, even occasionally going shopping with you for small things or groceries because he wanted to be near you. With Langris as Vice-Captain and you being a guild member yourself, it was hard and there were some disagreements, old Langris even coming out a few times but he never failed to apologize, and neither did you if you were wrong, you both couldn’t afford to be petty, if he- if you both wanted this work, then you had to think about Lefric as well.

Six months doesn’t feel like much, but as you break down every moment, every decision, every soft minute, each building juncture in your budding relationship, you wouldn’t give it up for anything. To you, Langris had long proven himself and you were tired of waiting for the right time to thank him and forgive him. 

“Are you ready?” You snapped out of the recollection of events, met with the questioning eyes of a certain Vice Captain, holding his hand out for you, ready to take you home after a refined night out at some highly rated nobility restaurant. The food had been great and the wine was sweet, heavy on your tongue and you never found your mouth closed, conversation buzzing the entire night, carrying with the wind that softly blew around you both. You had come as the sun was setting, dining and watching the sunset but as the dinner went on the sun long faded and the dark sky filled your desert with stars and a chill that ran up and down your spine, dressed a little too thin. 

“Hmm? Oh yeah, sorry.” You move to get up, pushing your chair back in before taking Langris’ hand letting him lead you out, opening every door for you and letting you through first making you feel like royalty. He walked toward a carriage waiting for you both but you waved off the driver and pulled Langris back. 

“Walk with me.” He looked stunned, almost pulling back from you before catching up, walking beside you and still looking questioning. Walking for minutes on end, Langris didn’t know where you were going, but he didn’t mind, he would follow you anywhere. It was when you shivered lightly while the harsh wind blew between you, shaking the trees around you, making the leaves swish a blow in an airy sound, did Langris speak. 

“Maybe we should head back soon, it’s getting pretty cold.” He didn’t ask but he didn't pull you away either instead continuing to follow as you pulled him to a little inn. You walked in and straight to the desk lady asking for one room, pulling out your own money before Langris could think of reaching for his, he was annoyed with that and rolled his eyes averting himself from you for a bit before walking with you again when you handed the key. 

“What about Lefric?” 

“He’s with Finral and Finesse tonight.” 

“Yeah, but Finral’s is an idi- ahem! Finral is... Finral.” He settled, taking the key from your hands gently and pulling up next to your room, unlocking the door and letting you in. 

“Finral is very much capable of taking care of Lefric and if not he has Finesse! They’ll be fine, they always are, and if they aren’t, they know just how to get a hold of us.” You spoke, slipping off your thin coat and beginning to drop useless jewelry onto the side table. You stopped for a second turning to find Langris in the door staring at the room, analyzing every inch meticulously. “What?” 

“What are we doing here?” He looked back over to you, suddenly you noticed the way he gripped the key, his eyes falling down your figure while you took your time to answer. Slowly you walked from the bedside table and sat on the bed taking off your heels promptly, and sitting back in the bed looking at Langris with just as much yearning as he did you. 

“I think I’ve left you waiting long enough,” You unclipped your dress from your back and shrugged it down, bunching it at your hips halting as you looked back up at him. Watching his face fall, eyes widen and devouring every inch of naked skin they could scour, falling on your bare breast with a shuddering breath. “don’t you think?” 

The door was slammed shut, you almost feared he broke the door frame almost waiting for the door to just swing back open but it held. Langris was on you in a second and suddenly you found yourself on your back, hands pulling your dress down your legs hastily. He pulled back taking a shuddering breath as he looked at you, watching you slide your legs open waiting for him to do something, anything. Becoming a little bashful with his long stare, your legs began to droop, almost falling closed but he caught them. 

“Don’t cover yourself, Honey, it’s been so long.” His voice ending in a high whine as he slipped onto the bed, arms wrapping under your legs to set them on his lithe shoulders. Langris turned to look back up at me finding my eyes. 

“Can I touch you?” you didn’t hesitate. 

“Please!” and neither did he.

[yourmidnightlover]

ssa hotchner: chapter 2 - one week

TW: threats, language, talking abt abuse/what happened to y/n the night before, mild drinking

WC: 5,116

series masterlist

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

you woke up to the bright sun peeking in through your window past the hills, shining brightly into your eyes. you sat up, and rubbed your eyes in attempt to wake yourself up even more. you looked over at your clock to see the tie was already half past 6 a.m.

you didn't have to go to work for the first time in what felt like forever. trudging out of bed, you made your way into your bathroom and started the hot water.

the cut on your face looks exponentially better than it did last night. the handprint's swelling on your face had gone down quite a bit, but the bruise on your arm was definitely still there.

you brushed your teeth while you waited on the water to warm up. once the shower was ready, you shed your clothes and hopped inside. you took your time, letting the events of last night try to sink into your mind.

after you finished up, you used a towel to dry your hair a bit and got dressed in some leggings and a large t-shirt. you figured you might as well be comfortable if you didn't have anything else to do.

going back into your living room you decided to read the note that was taped to your gate. you pulled the bin out, followed by the shoe box, followed by the note.

you've been receiving them for close to 7 years now, ever since that high profile case you did for the bau. honestly, there was no telling if the letters were from more than one person. they are all typed and printed out.

at first they were all 'thank yous' for putting away a serial killer, but then came the anniversary of him being in prison... and people got a bit angry. then, people who were grateful for you putting him away forgot about it, as they should since they have lives of their own, and all that was left were the people who were angry.

the people who would wish you were dead. the people who think you should be inside there with the other killers. the people who were upset about you putting their 'true love' away for good. those were the people you were scared of.

the people that knew your address.

the people that sent you death threats.

those were the terrifying ones. the ones that kept you up at night, looking out of your window, trying to see if anyone was truly out there. nobody ever was. logically, you knew that nobody was out there lurking.

but if you told big bro, he would go all fbi on the letters. he would try to figure out who sent them, and send them to jail themselves. you didn't know if they were truly a threat, so what's the point in poking the bear? if they got too terrible, you would tell him. maybe...

you son of a bitch. you should've been his last victim so you wouldn't be here and he would be. you're nothing but a manipulative little bitch.

you don't deserve anything you have handed to you.

go die, bastard.

you folded it back up and placed it in the box, the bin, then pushed it underneath the couch.

were you worried? of course. would you tell anyone? not yet. if your fear became unmanageable, you would let someone know.

the only problem with the notes is that there was no return address. you put up security cameras everywhere around your gate in hopes of catching the culprit(s) on video, but sadly they were able to hack into the cameras you had gotten.

you would check the video footage after you received a note or picture. the time stamp went from 8:54 to 9:03, meaning they probably hacked into it before they got there.

maybe garcia could find whoever hacked into it every night if you needed her to. surely she would be able to work her magic when necessary.

you went into your room to check your phone for any new messages.

a <3: what're you doing for lunch today? feel up to spending time together two days in a row? let me know whenever you can; there's no case today.

you: i don't have any plans at all today, i guess i'll just have to suffer through another lunch with you.

and... sent.

unknown number: hi, y/n. it's spencer. i just wanted to know how're you doing? is the cut on your face okay?

you: hey back genius :) i'm doing pretty well, all things considered. my face is looking much better than it was before i went to bed, thank you for asking.

send.

while waiting for a response, you decided to clean the house a bit. you vacuumed your rugs, washed the dishes in your sink, did your laundry, and that was pretty much all you had to do today. everything done before 10 a.m.

checking your phone, there were two more messages, one from each of the guys.

a <3: great! would you mind just meeting me at the office around 11:30?

you: that's no problem at all. any place in mind?

you checked the other message from spencer.

spencer :) : i'm glad you're doing well, y/n. and to clear things up, your face didn't look bad at all last night, bruise and cut included.

what a little charmer...

you: thanks for the clarity, it's very appreciated. so how've you been since last night? save any other damsels in distress?

you put your phone down and decided to start getting ready. you opted for some blue jeans, high rise, and a lavender halter top. you paired that with some white high-top converse and threw on your gray blazer spencer brought you from last night, after you retrieved it from the dryer.

wearing something so casual, you decided to just wear your natural hair to the office. you did, however, need to cover the remnants of your adventure last night so aaron wouldn't be upset upon seeing something.

you used some good ol' color corrector, concealer, a bit of foundation, and some powder to cover the bruises and fail to disguise the cut. then again, there's not much that can be done to cover that up.

you checked the time on your phone, 10:53, and saw two more message notifications.

a <3: i was thinking about ordering some mexican food to the office so we could just stay there.

you: i'm good with anything, so that sounds great! i'll see you soon.

you sent the message and hopped over to the one spencer had sent you.

spencer :) : sadly, no other damsels. although i suppose that could be considered a good thing to most. oh! and if you were wondering, i got your number from garcia. i wasn't stalking you or anything, no worries.

you: yes, i'm glad i was the only damsel in need of saving last night. also, if i were to find out you had been stalking me, i don't think i'd be afraid. in fact, i'd probably be more flattered that THE dr. spencer reid would consider me stalk-worthy.

was it flirtatious? yes. would it make him flustered? probably. would i enjoy being the person that flustered him? absolutely.

sent.

you got into your car and began the journey to quantico. the drive isn't very long, only about twenty minutes. you hopped out of the car, and made your way to the front desk to check in. looking over your shoulder, you saw none other than spencer reid walking up to you before the woman gave you your visitor's badge.

"hi there, damsel," spencer smiled as he greeted you. you walked closer to him after thanking the lady.

"hey, hero," you laughed as you both got closer. "is it too soon to hug you?"

"oh, uhm... not at all. i was actually-yes. i do want to- i'm just gonna..." he stuttered as he opened his arms for you to snuggle into.

"i like your hugs," you surprisingly announced.

"th-thank you," he smiled as he rested his chin on your head, secretly enjoying the coconutty scent that wafted off your hair into his nose.

"yea this is gonna be the new greeting tactic for us. just saying," you huffed into his chest.

"i wouldn't mind that at all," he laughed before you pulled back from his embrace, giving his shoulders a little squeeze before relinquishing all contact.

"okay, i'm here to see aaron. i'm assuming he's in his office, like always?" you rose one eyebrow in question before feeling a hand on your shoulder, turning to see aaron.

"i'm not always in my office," he rebutted as he embraced you in his arms. "how are you?" he asked nicely.

"i'm good! i hope you aren't overworking yourself like you usually tend to do," you voiced into his chest. he pulled back, not releasing your shoulders but looking deeply at your face.

"what's that?" he pointed to your cheekbone, his brows furrowing in concentration.

"oh, pshh. it's nothing," you shrugged as you waved his hand off, noticing spencer behind aaron with a look on his face that suggested you tell your brother what it was.

"y/n. what happened?" he pushed, giving you his 'brother' look.

"fine," you huffed. "i was gonna have to explain it eventually," you rolled your eyes. "last night before i left, ron got a bit handsy. before he did too much, spencer showed up to return my jacket. things got out of hand, ron might've slapped me, spencer might've pushed him against a wall, all's well that ends well," you grinned in hopes that he wouldn't have understood a word you just uttered.

"ron slapped you?" he asked in disbelief, his face still showing no emotion as per usual.

"yea, but spencer stopped him before he got to do anything else. oh! i don't have a job at all anymore, so i'm free for the next two weeks," you pressed your lips together.

"reid was there?" he turned to face spencer, who's face looked like a deer in the headlights.

"yup. i don't know what would've happened if he didn't show up. i really owe him, aaron," you said, trying to calm your brother down from the edge he was not-so-clearly teetering on.

"well, reid. uhh, thank you. and y/n. you should've told me this the second it happened," he ordered, looking at you shooting daggers.

"sir, yes, sir," you nodded off. "i'm sorry i didn't tell you. i just knew you'd be upset and i figured since everything's okay now that it wasn't important," you shrugged, trying to diffuse the situation.

"it is important. it will always be important because you're important to me," he emphasized before taking a deep breath. "as long as you'll tell me next time i think i'll be okay."

"great! now when's the food supposed to get here because... food," you excitedly asked as you followed aaron as he turned to go to his office.

"it'll be here in about 10 more minutes," he announced as he motioned for her to sit beside him in the chairs in front of his desk. "so... what's the full story of what happened?"

"are we really gonna talk about that right now?" you huffed, clearly over the situation from last night.

"yes. we are. harassment is a serious issue that should be dealt with accordingly. you know that, y/n," he reasoned, propping his arm on his desk as he looked at you with his stern face.

"i do know that. i also know that he only ever did that to me. he has a wife and two kids; he'd never do anything to put them in jeopardy," you announced, trying to convince aaron not to press the issue any further.

"but he would be willing to risk a law suit from you because of what happened?" he questioned in defiance, not accepting the ask to drop it.

"i wouldn't give him a law suit, aaron. you know that," you remarked, leaning in towards him slightly.

"you should. logically, you should sue him for hitting you. and i'm assuming for whatever else he's done to you in the past," he corrected you.

"how do you know he's done anything in the past?" you questioned, aaron nodding his head to the side. "right. profiler," you sighed. "look, he used to call me names i'm uncomfortable with, but now i won't have to deal with him. i don't work there anymore and never will again."

"you may not work there, but what if another woman starts working in the office? who's to say he won't harass them as well?" you looked down into your lap, fondling your fingers in avoidance. "look, i'm not trying to be rude about it. i just don't like seeing you hurt, and to know that the guy who hurt you isn't getting anything done to him is ludicrous."

"i know. you've always looked out for me since we were kids, but i'm not a kid anymore. i'm a grown woman and can take care of my own business when i need to," you replied softly, placing your hand over top aaron's in comfort. "but thank you, for always caring. i know you do it because you love me, even though you don't say it often," you laughed, trying to bring some light hearted-ness to the situation.

"i do..." he nodded along. "love you, that is," he added with a rare smile.

aaron has always been there for you. ever since you were kids, because of you dad he would take the role of protector for both you, sean, and your mom.

because of his role of 'protector,' he has this external shell that he feels as though he can't shed. in his mind, if he sheds it he's not able to mask his feelings, leaving not only himself but also those he protects vulnerable.

"i love you too, a.," you smiled back, giving his hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it from your grip. aaron took his phone and checked the time.

"the food's here now," he announced as he went to go pick it up from the front desk.

when he returned he gave you the food and you began to eat together, him telling you the latest garcia story that got quite the kick out of you until his attention went elsewhere.

"... so...?" aaron asked sneakily, a sly grin appearing on his face.

"... so what?" you furrowed your brows in question as you took a sip of your drink.

"you and reid, huh?" he widened his eyes in suspicion.

"what about me and reid?" you wanted to press him further, even though you knew exactly what he meant.

"that's exactly what i would like to know. what's going on with you and reid?" he finalized, pointing his fork accusingly at you.

"nothings going on with me and spencer," you raised your hands in defense. "i just drove him home after he intervened in the... situation, last night so i made sure to thank him. he texted me earlier today to ask me how i was holding up after yesterday evening- like a gentleman," you pointed out, raising your eyebrows to establish some sort of dominance you knew you didn't have over your brother.

"right," he said in a sing-song voice, you rolled your eyes at his tone.

"shut up," you scoffed as you threw away each of yours' trash. "so, i think it's time for me to go," you smiled as you turned to face aaron from the doorway.

"ahh, right," he sighed with a small grin. "i actually talked to strauss about getting you onto the team," he raised his eyebrows.

"did you, now?" you smirked. "what'd she say about it?"

"she said that you'd need to fill out an application, and that if you were to be hired there'd be a trial run first to see if everything would work out smoothly," he announced happily.

"really? so there's a chance i could work here?!" you squealed, rubbing your lips into a tight line from the excitement.

"a pretty good one, at that. i actually have an application right," he reached over his desk to retrieve a couple pages stapled together, "here," he smiled, handing you the application forms.

"oh my gosh!" you shouted, throwing your arms over your brother's stomach and squeezing him tightly. "this is so exciting! do you think i'm actually qualified?" you asked, pulling back from his embrace.

"are you kidding? of course you are?" he asked incredulously. "just fill those out, return them to strauss, and i'm sure she'll review them quickly," he nodded.

"right. i'll get going now," you smiled widely. "thank you, a. thank you so much," you said, giving him one last hug before you whooshed out of the door, papers in hand.

you walked down the stairs and out of the glass doors towards the elevator. the doors started to close after you pressed the 'lobby' button, but there was a brown satchel stuffed between them to stop the from closing right before they shut. once thy opened back up, you noticed who the bag belonged to.

"hey, spencer," you smiled, scooting over in the elevator to make more room for him.

"hey, y/n. how was your lunch?" he asked, returning your smile.

"it was pretty good. aaron gave me an application for the bau, which is very exciting," you bit back a wide grin.

"really?" he asked happily, his eyebrows raised, you nodded in return. "that's so great!" he said cheerily, wrapping his arms around your waist an lifting you off the elevator floor as the two of you giggled together.

"i know! if i'm being honest, i'm a bit nervous about it, y'know?" you said as he placed you back onto your feet, your hands still on his biceps.

"why? we already know you'll fit in well and do great. what's making you nervous?" he asked, his head tilting slightly as he looked at you with a confused expression.

"i don't know..." you started. "i guess since i've only worked at one job, doing one thing, moving nowhere, staying stagnant, i just don't know anything else," you shrugged.

"it's actually incredibly normal to feel nervous about a new job. over 80% of working professionals feel nervous or anxious when starting a new job," he clarified as the elevator doors opened, you both walking out together. "think of it this way: you know the material, you're more than qualified, you know everyone you'd be working with, and you're passionate about what you'll be doing. there's no doubt that you'll do amazing," he encouraged as you continued the walk to your car.

"thank you. at least i know i'm not the only one that gets this way," you sighed. "so why'd you walk all the way out here?" you giggled. "don't you still have work?"

"uhh, yes. i-i do have to work. i just f-figured- i just wanted to uh, talk to you?" he stuttered out, clearly not realizing how charming it was.

"well, thank you, spencer. i really enjoy our little chats," you nodded as you unlocked your car. "thanks for walking me out. i'll see you?" you asked.

"yea, yes. i will uhm, see you later. goodbye, y/n," he smiled gorgeously.

"see you later, spencer," you grinned back as you closed your door and began to drive off after buckling up.

halfway home, you got a call from someone. you pressed the bluetooth answer button on your radio to answer.

"hello?" you replied, readjusting your hands on your wheel.

"y/n hotchner. i can't believe you were at the office and didn't even bother to say hi to me!" emily's voice rang through the speakers.

"emily! hello to you too," you giggled.

"you even said hi to reid! but not me?" she shouted. "what gives?"

"sorry, i just kinda ran into him, i guess. well, he ran into me," you corrected yourself.

"what does that mean?"

"well, he kinda stopped me while i was in the elevator so he could talk to me. he's such a good friend," you complimented.

"only friend?" emily asked suggestively.

"yes, em. only friends," you laughed at the insinuation.

while it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to be more than friends with him, it certainly wasn't the right time for a serious relationship in your life yet.

"righhtt... anyway, that's not the only reason i called you," she stated.

"and why did you do that?" you asked as you turned onto the highway, a straight shot to the street with your house on it.

"i wanted to know if you'd like to come with us to a bar after we get off of work tonight?" she asked.

"hmm... who's 'we'?"

"well there's me, morgan, garcia, and you if you'll come?"

"sure, it sounds fun," you agreed. "besides, not like i have anything to do with no job and all," you laughed out.

"great! now we could probably convince reid to come now that you're going!" she exclaimed.

"jeez, em," you huffed as you rolled your eyes and turned onto your street.

"you know it's true. morgan's already teasing him about it and everything," she snorted out over the phone.

"oh poor spencer..." you grimaced as you thought about the relentless teases.

"yea, yea, yea. but you're coming, and there's no backing out! i'll just pick you up before i head to the bar. be ready at 8, ma'am. dress hot, please, garcia and i already agreed to it," she demanded.

"yes ma'am, sounds good," you nodded even though she can't see you.

"alright, love you, bye," she said, holding out the 'e'.

"love you too, bye," you said as she hung up the phone, finally turning into your driveway to be met with your gate.

you entered the code and the gate opened, allowing you to drive half a mile up to your house. you had always wanted a nice, big house as a child. the kind that people had in movies, and everyone looked at online. you signed a lease for this house a while back, and got an amazing deal on it sense you knew who owned it previously.

unlocking your door, you walked into your house with the papers in hand. you walked into your dining room and started filling the papers out easily. it was only 1 p.m., so you had a while before you had to start getting ready for going out with them tonight.

*******

you threw on a maroon colored corduroy skirt, tucking in your spaghetti strap, black tank top. adding some black  heeled booties, you added a few silver pieces of jewelry.

after adding some mascara, lip gloss, and a bit more powder you felt like you were ready to walk out of the door. you did a few spritzes of perfume before grabbing your black crossbody purse, letting it hang on one shoulder before grabbing your black denim jacket, dashing out of the door to emily's car.

"hey em," you said as you swung the door open, crawling not-so-gracefully inside.

"hey there," she said as she examined what you were wearing. "i seriously did my makeup for half an hour and you come out looking like that? it should be illegal to look that hot, y/n," she rolled her eyes with a huff.

"are you kidding me?" you replied, looking over to see what she was wearing herself.

she had on a short, black dress that had a low neckline, allowing tasteful cleavage to show through. she wore that with some red pumps to match her lipstick and some shimmery eyeshadow.

"okay, you can't say that. you look hot, em! don't sell yourself short," you punched her arm playfully.

"yea, yea, yea," she said, beginning to drive out of your driveway.

once you arrived to the bar, it looked like it was almost full. the music was loud, and you could feel the base through your feet on the floor. it took you about a minute until you could find the others, derek, pen, and spencer, sitting at a booth in the corner of the bar.

because of how crowded it was, you sat across from penny and derek and in between spencer and emily. you were practically on top of spencer because of how small the seats were, the poor guy.

"damn, you look great, y/n," derek gushed before looking at spencer with a smirk. "don't you think, pretty boy?" he laughed out, earning a jab from penny in the stomach.

"play nice, derek," she scolded him. "but you do look great, y/n. your legs look amazeballs in that outfit... like wow," she exaggerated.

"oh, shush," you blushed. "i'm kinda hungry... you guys?" you asked them.

"i could go for some cheese sticks," emily replied.

"i ate before we came here," spencer replied with a smile, leaning into your ear a little bit to answer.

"so cheese sticks and... cheese fries? i adore cheese fries," penny added.

"i'm okay with whatever. i'll go order," you said as emily got up to let you out.

"i'll help," spencer added as he scooted out with you.

"great, any drink requests?" you asked, pointing out to all three others.

"jack and coke," emily requested.

"anything fruity they have!" pen told you.

"whiskey, on the rocks," derek said with a smile.

"you've got it," you said as you turned around, realizing how crowded it was as you tried to weave through the first few people in your way.

you felt a hand grip yours firmly, turning to see it was spencer's hand you felt a sigh of relief wash over you. he leant down to your ear to talk to you, so you leaned a bit closer to him.

"i'm gonna put my arm around your waist so we can get through easier. is that okay?" he asked. his breath on your neck and ear almost distracted you from the question.

"y-yea. that's uhm... that's okay," you nodded your head as you felt his arm snake around your waist, pulling you closer to his side.

you moved one of your arms around his torso in return, squeezing yourself further into your side so you could avoid bumping into as many people. you could smell his sweet cologne, and the smell of what seemed to be coffee and old books. the warmth of his entire being was undeniable, drawing you closer to his presence.

eventually when you made it to the bar, you both kept your arms around the other. after ordering the food and drinks, you finally pulled your arm back, but stayed just as close to him.

"have you filled the application out yet?" spencer asked sweetly, leaning into your body.

"yea, i finished them just before i got ready to come here, actually," you nodded your head with a smile. "i guess you could say i'm a bit eager to start working."

"i think that's a good thing," he smiled brightly.

"oh, it definitely is!" you agreed. "i'm just so bored at the house. i've only been gone for a day and i need something to do, y'know?" you shrugged.

"busybody?" he questioned.

"oh you have no idea," you laughed, pushing his shoulder back playfully.

"i guess it runs in the family. hotch is always working on something as well," he mentioned. "so working at the bau would be a great fit for you both."

"yea, i sure hope so," you said longingly. "so what else do you do for fun... besides reading and working, of course," you asked.

"uhmm, i enjoy magic, i guess," he expressed.

"really?" you perked up, straightening out your posture at what he revealed.

"yea. i know a few little party tricks. wanna see?" spencer proposed, you nodded eagerly. "okay," he licked his lips as he began digging into his pocket and pulled out a $20 bill, also getting a pen. "watch..." he said as he jabbed the green paper with the pen.

"okay?" you squinted your eyebrows at what he was doing, unsure of where this trick was leading.

he then started to drag the paper around the pen, not tearing the bill at all. you felt your jaw drop in awe as he continued playing with it. then, he drug the pen all the way out of the bill, not a hole in sight. he made the bill disappear, leaving you stunned.

"what? how did you-? where did it-?" you stuttered, looking at him accusingly.

he reached around your hair, behind your ear and pulled out the same twenty dollar bill as earlier, a smug look on his face as he did so.

"okay... wow." you said as you began slow-clapping in awe. "i'm thoroughly impressed, spencer."

"thanks," he smiled shyly as he tucked the bill back into his pocket. "i've been doing magic since i was a kid. it's one of my hobbies when i'm we're not trying to catch serial killers," he shrugged.

"i'd say you've picked a good hobby," you chuckled. "i bet kids love it when you do them, huh?"

"yea, it's quite the entertainment for children," he nodded. "i love their reaction to it. it just makes me happy that i can bring a smile to their face."

"that, spencer, is fascinating," you complimented as the bartender handed you the drinks and spencer the food to take back to the table.

walking back was much easier than your journey to the bar, people actually making way for others with their hands full of refreshments. at least some people still had their manners.

"okay guys," you addressed as you began passing out the drinks, "here is your whiskey, jack and coke, and a tequila sunrise for pen."

"ouuu! i like the sound of that!" penny cheered as she took a sip of the drink, her eyes widening with delight.

"thank you, ma'am," derek thanked as he took a sip of his drink.

"absolutely perfect, y/n," emily relished in her beverage.

the rest of the night was fun. you laughed, joked, and danced with the girls. you even got to know spencer a bit more, much to your liking.

the next day you turned in your application, and was surprised when you got the job on the spot. you would begin your trial run in one week.

and you couldn't believe how fast that week went by, because as soon as you blinked, you were in the bullpen of the bau at your very own desk.

[act-addict-actors-matchups]

@otomeramblings said,

I'm a girl, 23 years old, around 162 cm, with medium length dark brown hair (almost black) and brown eyes. I'm one of those people who are often asked "are you okay? Are you mad?" and no, more often than not that's just how my resting face looks lol

I'm a Scorpio and an INFP. According to my friends, I'm usually very sweet but no one likes to be around me when I get seriously angry ^^; I guess it's because i'm generally very soft spoken and I try to avoid conflict as much as I can, and when I'm upset is one of the times when I actually raise my voice. I have people tell me that I'm smart, but I just consider myself to be an overall average person. It usually takes me a while to fully trust someone but once they've earned my trust, I cherish their friendship for life.

I can fluently speak English and Spanish, and I recently got my English Translation degree. I love to read (both novels and manga) and to discover new music, I also really like dancing (I did ten years of ballet) and I recently rediscovered my love for drawing and writing.

Qualities I would like in a s/o:

-passionate, about anything, really. I'm usually very reserved unless I have something I really want to talk about and I appreciate when others listen, and for that reason I love to listen to people talk about things they're passionate about

-mature, not in relation to his hobbies bit more so in the sense that he can have a serious conversation when needed and take responsibility for his actions.

-patient. Being introverted and kinda awkward, I usually need time to recharge after being social and even while spending time together there will probably be silences when I think of what to say or even times when I'd just rather we spent it doing our own thing while being together.

Qualities I don't like:

-shouting. I hate it when people shout at me when they're mad because it makes me tear up immediately, I would much rather you tell why you're mad in a calm tone so we can work things out.

✧ The way I scREAMED when I saw your url 🤭 I love your writing so much skdhksdhksjd thank you for requesting a matchup. 😳💞 Stay safe! I hope all goes well for you!

I’d match you with: . . .

➜ HOW YOU TWO FIRST MET ; The blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze while you were on your way to buy new drawing pencils. Your current ones were not exactly in the best condition after being used too many times. A sigh escaped from you as you fastened your pace. In all honesty, you would rather stay at home and maybe watch one of your shows but you knew if you didn’t go out to buy those now, you never would. As one particular building came to your sight, you suddenly stopped in your tracks. It was a flower shop. The vibrant display of flowers covered the table outside. Bold purple, soft pink and light lavender flowers sat right in front of you as well as some others you didn’t know the names of. The sweet smell of blossomed flowers filled your nose as you inhaled and exhaled. They were so beautiful that you couldn’t help but to reach at a lavender, the purple petals felt like soft velvet against your skin. The chime of the door opening ringed into your ears, drawing your attention away from the flowers in front of you. A man with a blue striped T-shirt, a pair of black pants and black leather shoes came out of the building with a bag you thought had flower seeds in it. A brown trench coat with a blue inner lining slung over his shoulder, beautiful, dark blue hair rustling as he gave his thanks to the employee before closing the door. The man turned around and you swear you stop breathing for a moment, because oh my god how dare someone this handsome come in to your field of view without a warning. After realizing that you’ve been staring at a stranger for a good seconds, you hesitantly looked away. But just your luck, while you decided that it was the time to carry on with your mission, you dropped your purse to the ground. You groaned before bending over to pick it up but to your surprise, you see another hand reaching over it? And most importantly, you saw that it was that handsome stranger when you looked up??? He gave you a kind but awkward smile as he hold out your bag to you. You muttered a “thank you” before grabbing it. After that cliche moment, there was an awkward silence between you and the man, but he decided to speak up to start a conversation by asking if you liked flowers. The conversation smoothly flowed from there. He just had that aura of gentleness radiating that you couldn’t help but warm up to the stranger, who you later learned the name of, quickly. He even offered to accompany you to the shop you were going, which you agreed if he didn’t mind. Your relationship steadily developed from there. To be honest, it wouldn't be obvious at all that Tsumugi has a crush on you. He's friendly and sweet to everyone he meets most of the time so nobody thinks twice whenever he's with you, except maybe Tasuku. His underlying feelings for you would show in the little things he does, the way his eyes shine whenever you laugh, how his ears perk up whenever he hears your name, how he somehow memorized all your favorite foods after you offhandedly mentioned it once before. For someone who majored in psychology, it’s kind of hilarious how dense he is regarding his own feelings. He would mistake those feelings of his as a weirdly strong platonic attraction for you and continue spending time with you in hopes to appease the feeling but be confused as to why he always felt unsatisfied. He finally realizes how smitten he is for you after a long internal monologue he had after he almost had a heart attack when you hugged him once for whatever reason.

➜ PERSONALITY COMPATIBILITY ; Tsumugi is the walking epitome of every single thing you’re looking in a S/O. You want someone passionate about something? This man literally couldn’t give up on his dream and love for the performance art. He’d be more than willing to talk about how acting involved a broad range of skills, including a well-developed imagination, emotional facility, physical expressivity, vocal projection, clarity of speech, the ability to interpret drama etc. He’d try bunch of different gestures in front of you and ask you which one you liked the best. He also absolutely loves it when you are the one who does the talking. His strength is CANONLY listening to others after all. He just gives off this aura that compels you to think that you can talk about anything and everything with him. Just like you, Tsumugi has a great need for harmony and dislikes any conflict so if there were to be any fights, they would be resolved in a day or two with the two of you talking it out. He majored in Psychology in university, and is very good at reading people so if you’re both in a social gathering and he senses you need to take a break, he will hold your hand and walk you somewhere with less crowd and noise. When you want to be alone, he’d give you the space you need and if you want to spend time he would be there. He is a pretty clueless baby at the start and would try to ask people for help on dating advice. He will however remember every single memory you two will and have made. You’ll never see him forgetting any milestones in your guys’ relationship. His way of saying “I love you” is through the flowers he picks and grows. As someone who can be shy to vocally express his love for you, he handpicks each flower based on their meanings with the hope that they could accurately convey the emotions he holds for you. The very sight of your smile as you watch each tiny plant grow kindles a budding warmth inside him, as if he’s a bee intoxicated by the nectar of your happiness. And to him, the vision of you happy is prettier than any flower in his garden, pushing him to always keep you bright and blooming.

➜ SHARED ACTIVITIES ; Tsumugi canonly moon/stargazes with Misumi so why wouldn’t he do the same with his S/O? It’s a cool, romantic and surprisingly unique activity to do together. There aren’t many activities one can plan for a date that are sweeter or more intimate than a night spent together under a beautiful, sparkling sky. You would ask each other questions about one another, without being afraid of letting the conversation slow down. This is a date to relax and linger over. If not that, I can totally see him taking you to a botanical garden. These places are beautiful and not too busy in general. Bonus points if you bring a camera and get some nice photos together as a couple. i’m so soft rn 🥺 But I feel like your most common date would be either tending the garden in the mankai dorm or just doing your own little things while being together. You might be writing on the table while he’s going over his script for the winter troupe’s newest play one more time or he might be grading his student’s test, since he’s a tutor and all, while you’re drawing. I see Tsumugi as someone who reads a lot so maybe both of you can read the same book together and discuss it afterwards. These types of dates are great for discovering how the other person views the world. One might learn that their significant other is passionate about a social justice cause, their favorite author, or their philosophy of beauty. These dates are great for sparking good conversations and they are introvert friendly. Or something even better: reading aloud. Reading out loud to each other can be incredibly sweet. And, as spiritual counselor Davida Rappaport says, "just the fact that you are both close and sharing space is ... a nice way to spend an evening."

➜ ZODIAC COMPATIBILITY ; Tsumugi is a Capricorn, his birthday being December 28th. When Scorpio and Capricorn make a love match, they get an opportunity to not only enjoy a loving relationship and learn the value of being a pair, but also to grow and mature as individuals. These two may be wary about sharing themselves with one another at first, and this emotional caution may dampen the initial impact of this relationship. These two tend to be a bit cautious (Capricorn) and pensive (Scorpio), and it takes a while for them to feel comfortable with a significant other. Though they may be shy of getting involved and not the quickest to trust and share, these two Signs will discover that they can have quite a profound connection — one of friendship and deep loyalty. What’s the best thing about the Scorpio-Capricorn love match? Their determination toward shared ideas and their strong devotion to one another. They can open doors to one another’s souls and show one another new ways of perceiving and feeling.

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Francisco Angones

Directed by: John Aoshima

Storyboard by: Jean-Sebastien Duclos, Jason Reicher, Sam King

The calm before the shadowy storm...or is it?

Previously on DuckTales 2017, Dewey found a note on the back of a portrait that happened to have the same handwriting as Della Duck’s! While following the clues on it only led to a prank involving a hat that was meant for Donald Duck, Huey takes the note and uses a pencil to mark it. Apparently, that’s a Junior Woodchuck tradition, and not just another Adam West Batman style riddle solving!

It revealed these dates, and something that looks like the tip end of a spear. It even happens to be labeled the Spear of Selene! Clearly, unlike the ending of Other Bin, they didn't want to wait a few episodes before coming back to that! Surely enough, it will be brought up again in this delightful comedy romp known as “The Last Crash of the Sunchaser!”

...yeah, something tells me this won't be pretty.

The episode begins with a trip to the country of Monacrow, and everyone has their own reasons for enjoying the vacation. The boys, Webby, and Launchpad are interested in a convention called E.X.C.E.S.S., which has many star attractions, like...

Webby: Experimental racecars?

Huey: Lasers?

Launchpad: Aeroplanes?

Subtle! Mrs. Beakley also shows up to use up one of her stacked up vacation days on one of Monacrow's beaches. Who would have guessed they would use vacation days to not write off a character, but actually get one involved in a plot?

Scrooge, in particular, is more interested in the Maltese MacGuffin, which happens to be something of massive worth. It's both a reference to the trope, and a reference to one of the most famous uses of it. He also talks about how having the nephews around has made him more energetic than he ever was in a long time! Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmmmm.

They all aboard the plane, and right from the get-go, there's problems. After Mrs. Beakley is utterly shocked about the massive amounts of safety violations on a plane usually boarded by young children, including having a pilot known for crashing planes, Scrooge tells her there's nothing to worry about. He tells Launchpad to give Mrs. Beakley a tour of the ship. While he's away, he's going to take the wheel.

Mrs. Beakley tells him he doesn't know how to fly a plane, but Scrooge McDuck says that he he's Scrooge McDuck, and that seems like a good excuse for anything. Throughout most of this episode, his ego is through the roof, but why not? Right from the beginning, he seems like this invincible hero who can do anything.

Meanwhile, in a large wooden box, the boys and Webby piece together a bunch of pieces of a photograph that Louie snuck into the car, along with a few other things. Apparently, this all came from that wacky librarian from The Great Dime Chase.

While Dewey learned his lesson from the last episode, the theme of secrets still holds true for Scrooge. They feel that if Scrooge finds out about this, he'll shut down the entire operation. Much like Dewey, a lot of this is based on assumptions; if he wanted to shred these papers, clearly this has to be something Scrooge doesn't want people to know.

They manage to piece together almost all of the photograph, except for this one large piece that happens to be right in the middle. Half the episode becomes Dewey trying to get this one piece of photograph. Unfortunately, as soon as Dewey across towards this piece, the plane starts shifting forwards and backwards.

They go out of the box, doing some inconspicuous whistling when Mrs. Beakley asks them what they are up to. Well, the boys do, Webby just sings "inconspicuous whistling". They soon see what exactly happened, as we see Scrooge getting angry at the plane. He can't blame himself, he's Scrooge McDuck.

While Scrooge McDuck has many talents, flying a plane isn't one of them. It’s not a Launchpad crash, either, but a crash that ends up putting the plane on top of a "10,000 meter speedbump". Needless to say, this episode isn't going to end with racecars, lasers, or aeroplanes that aren't the titular Sunchaser.

Scrooge tries to get the plane out of this situation, because he's Scrooge McDuck, he can solve anything! That seemed to work for most episodes, but it does not work here, as anything he tried to do only made things worse.

Of course, the Sunchaser being on top of a small spire-shaped peak means that balance is absolutely everything. Unlike most episodes, there's no real villain in this episode outside of gravity. It's a high concept episode, there's no B plot happening anywhere else. Maybe.

For example, Launchpad accidently drives a car into the large door of the Sunchaser, causing the plane to lean backwards. Eventually, the door opens, and Launchpad is hanging on. We get to see some cool moments with Scrooge, having him jump up on a box that's sliding down and being able to rescue him from falling off. It's like an action movie.

Not that Scrooge gets all the fun, Mrs. Beakley gets a lot of great moments, too. Throughout the episode, she's trying her best to keep the kids safe, and arguing with with Scrooge about how he's endangering everyone. She really wants Scrooge to admit that he can't fix this problem, but Scrooge is having none of that. Under Scrooge, nothing bad is going to happen to the children! Or, as he accidently says...

Scrooge: Nothing bad is going to happen to her!

Mrs. Beakley: ...hmm?

Scrooge Er, kids.

This is our first big hint that Scrooge is not just acting the way he is in this episode because of his sense of self-worth or for the safety of his kin. This becomes far more apparent near the end of the episode. It's clear that this isn't just about Scrooge's war against Isaac Newton.

The kids eventually have to stick to one place, as much as Dewey really needs that one piece of the photograph.

Launchpad tries to give some in-flight entertainment with a nice nod to Darkwing Duck. Hopefully we’ll get to see him, or his actor, next season. Sadly, the tape only repeats the same section of credits over and over again due to damage to the VCR caused by the crash. They eventually start to sing the portion of the theme song. The lone exception being Dewey, who just can't take it anymore.

Huey gets an idea: go to the opposite way Dewey is going, keeping balance, allowing Dewey to get the piece of the photo. Eventually, Scrooge spots Dewey with the piece of the photograph, and asks what he has. Dewey, left with no choice, decides to give Scrooge that piece, only for it to blow away to the same spot where Launchpad crashed the car from earlier.

Dewey chases after the photograph, while Scrooge chases Dewey. It's the slowest chase scene ever, due to Mrs. Beakley ordering them to be careful to not to make the title fit. That joke would have been a lot better on shows that I actually judge the titles on, I realize. Scrooge is only trying to grab Dewey to save his life.

Scrooge: I'm only trying to save your life, so come back here before I have to end it!

Obviously, Scrooge doesn't mean this, but he's getting a bit unhinged.

Eventually, the box where the secret hideout was hits the door and breaks open, revealing the hideout and all the pieces of information that were nailed to its interior. Mrs. Beakley notices the paper in Webby's skirt, which happens to be the Spear of Selene picture from earlier. Her reaction to this seems to be telling.

Mrs. Beakley: Oh, children, what have you been up to?

She doesn't do anything else to the nephews and her granddaughter about this, mostly because what will happen a few seconds later will heavily, but this line read is a clear sign that whatever secrets that Spear of Selene holds is not going to be pretty.

While the paper with the Spear on it is taken, the little piece of the photo gets blown out of the window by a gust of wind. Of course, that doesn’t stop Dewey from leaping out onto the Sunchaser, chasing after it. Scrooge utters to himself, "no, not again". Anyone who's watching this show will know this is referring to his side of the Della mystery.

Dewey's reckless endangerment even scares the other nephews and honorary niece, and they ask Dewey to forget about this and love the family he has. Dewey is having none of that, and neither does the viewer; we're not going to have another cop-out. Scrooge eventually has to ask what he can do to get Dewey to listen to him. Dewey, in no uncertain terms, decides to ask him for the truth.

Dewey: (holding up photograph) Tell me about the Spear of Selene!

We saw this scene in the trailers, and that’s definitely something people would want to see Scrooge answer. Scrooge eventually nods his head, grabs Deweys hand, and gathers everyone together for the big story.

No, there's no cop-out here. The longer answer, as I said before, is that it is not pretty. The even longer answer should be figured out by watching the episode. I would stop here, but this is the kind of ending I need to talk about. This episode was already good enough that a cop-out wouldn't have made this a below-average episode.

However, I'm sorry to inform that this is not the twist you will be watching. The twist you are about to see is extremely unpleasant. If you wish to see a film about three bug-eyed freaks that beat the stuffing out of monkeys, I'm sure there's still copies on eBay.

← The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck! ☆ The Shadow War! →

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Alright, fine, in the immortal words of a Dark Souls soapstone message, "time for tears".

I honestly thought they were going to stretch the Della plot into the Season 2, but lo and behold, Scrooge manages to keep his word. He’s not a hypocrite, just like how he promised Webby that all she had to do to know about the number one dime was to ask, all Dewey had to do was ask. No need to keep secrets, we learned that in the last episode.

Even in this episode, it’s hinted that the Della situation is not going to be a bright and cheery one, and oh boy, oh boy. It all started before the nephews were even hatched.

She went on many different adventures across the entire world, until there just wasn't anything left. Eventually, she decided that. Donald was completely against this, because it's too dangerous. Scrooge decided the best plan was to buy the Spear of Selene, and keep it a surprise from both Donald and Della.

...that is, a big rocketship in the shape of one. Unfortunately, Della finds out about this surprise because she's that clever. Della takes the Spear, leaving a note.

Scrooge tries to get Della to abort the mission and come back home, but Della wasn't having any of it. After all, she was Della Duck! Needless to say, there's a lot of parallels between this and everything else in the episode. However, there is one big difference...

Scrooge: I couldn't keep her safe. The rocket and your mother were lost...in the empty abyss of space.

Major props to David Tennant’s performance here. I had no doubt that he would do well as Scrooge. Donald wasn't too happy when he heard about this, and they never spoke again until the fateful day the nephews met Scrooge. This is completely understandable, and I bet it's even more understandable that telling your nephews that your Uncle indirectly caused your mother's disappearance may not make them like you.

Dewey: Cool...so you're the reason why our Mom is gone.

My earlier assertion that there are no true villains in this episode except for gravity becomes not an opinion shared with any of the characters aside from Scrooge and maybe Launchpad after this story. Symbolically, the plane starts to teeter and totter as the boys accuse him of being a greedy person who didn't even try to save their mother.

Webby shares her two cents as well, and Scrooge immediately tells her to stay out of family matters, as she isn't family. It felt like she became this honorary niece a few episodes ago, so this is a stab in the heart. This earns the anger of Mrs. Beakley. The anger continues until the Sunchaser falls off the spire into a regular Launchpad-style crash. Did anyone forget about that?

On the bright side, Uncle Donald finally fixed that houseboat, and everyone else managed to survive and walked all the way back to Duckburg! Donald Duck shows off the freshly painted houseboat, which is fully repaired, and ready to go back to the Marina. The boys tell their not-a-rich-mother-killer uncle about what happened, and all Donald can say is, "oh."

While they are bummed out, the nephews are glad that they don’t have to live with that money-grubbing tyrant that caused their mother to get lost in space due to his greediness. Actually, that’s not bright at all. There's nothing but tears at this point.

As Scrooge is sitting in his chair, everyone leaves the Manor, even Duckworth. I wouldn't know if it's even possible for a ghost to leave the mansion he's haunting, and that never comes up again in the next episode as far as I can tell. We see another flashback, and it's even more heartbreaking than the first.

Unbeknownst to everyone else, he did try to use his riches to find Della. The Vulture Capitalists have to forcibly restrain him from wasting so much money to reverse his biggest mistake. Well, it’s also her biggest mistake, but nobody seems to blame Della for abandoning her kids before they even hatched. There's some moral ambiguity here, and whether they'll address that is up in the air.

We even see the money bin get smaller and smaller. I actually didn’t even notice that, even in this cartoon’s modern day, he never managed to get it back to the heights it was generally shown to be in previous iterations of the Scrooge McDuck mythos.

Actually, speaking of “the beginning”, this shot at the very end may take that way further than I thought at first.

This is a recreation of Scrooge’s very first appearance in the original comics, back when he wasn’t too far off from his namesake. It's a neat touch; it also references him before he met Donald, and this would be a horrifying bookend. Thankfully, there's another episode.

I was thinking that this episode was going to be the calm before the shadowy storm, but it turns out that the episode before was the calm before the storm. But after a storm, there tends to be a rainbow, and anyone can expect that the next episode would be that rainbow. But...how? I just couldn't wait to find out, and that's something an episode should be proud of.

How does it stack up?

I never thought I would spend any percentage of my day crying over Disney ducks, but here we are. It’s an action-packed thrill ride and a heartbreaker in all of the best ways.

This is the best episode of the series so far, and definitely something I want to see the conclusion to. We might not see if Della is truly gone or not, but maybe the “get the kids back together” plot. Oh, and that Lena plot, too. I guess that’s important. As much as this image is very unfitting for this episode...

Next, prepare to be drafted for the finale of DuckTales Season 1.

← The Secret(s) of Castle McDuck! ☆ The Shadow War! →

[unlanestlan]

right so let's talk about lwj (and also wwx and jc, but mostly lwj)

based on ep 13 we know he's been searching everywhere for wwx since lotus pier got burnt. the random lan in the inquiry scene says he's been asking "everyone" they see for information (also obviously asking spirits). and as happy as he is to be reunited with his brother, that's overshadowed by his worry about wwx, even after lxc reminds him that wwx can take care of himself (although lwj has had to save his life multiple times by this point so yeah i wouldn't believe lxc either)

meanwhile: wwx is suffering™️ but has 3 happy flashback memories: 2 of his family and 1 of his first meeting w/ this guy who he supposedly doesnt get along with???? yeah can't imagine why he's thinking of him while dying

but now we're on to ep 14 which is where shit really starts to go down. interestingly enough, one of the two deserters repeats a rumor that the wen offices were cursed by lwj, which while obviously not true for multiple reasons, indicates that there's something about his actions/demeanor that's terrifying the wens to the point that their first suspect is him instead of, you know, jc, who would absolutely love to send demons after every single wen

(why is there no point where wen chao looks at wen zhuliu and goes "how the fuck does jc still have a golden core?????" because we can assume that jc isn't publicizing how he "got it back" or even that he lost it since none of the other sect leaders ever say anything)

back to the people we actually like, but i love how neither jc nor lwj can do the basic math like...

wwx is missing

somebody is viciously killing wens

that person is some sort of genius who can create new talismans

this unknown person is using resentful energy

like hmmmmm who do we know who would do this????? like yes it's been a minute but surely we haven't forgotten what wwx got thrown out of class for on day 1??? why is wc's mistress smarter than you???

anyways guess who wc says wwx has been waiting for a long time for when they get overwhelmed at the end of ep 14. his brother? nope, it's lwj. and then there's the devastation and rage on lwj's face when wc tells them what he did (the yell rly gets me every time what can i say)

side note: does jc not know that his brother plays the dizi? because it's like kindergarten level math at this point. you are literally staring at corpses being used to fight your enemies, and you both know exactly who originally theorized this approach. they don't even figure it out after hearing wwx talk

actually turning that side note into a main note, we know that jc does not always use his brain, but lwj? the only reason he's missing this connection is because it doesn't even occur to him that wwx would ever be capable of something this "evil"

but then we're in ep 15 and they find out, and while jc is rightfully wrapped up in enjoying the show, lwj's immediate reaction is concern for wwx. the problem is, our boy is very bad at expressing emotions so it comes out sounding angry. also note how lwj has seemingly finally been worn down enough to openly consider wwx a friend after excessive pestering, only to have wwx tell him that his mind is none of lwj's concern. ouch.

i'm actually curious about what exactly is going through wwx's head in the two seconds of clarity where his eyes are normal right after lwj asks him to go back to gusu w/ him before he starts yelling again? thoughts?

also, for all that he can't properly express his concerns to wwx, lwj is actually relatively talkative during their argument, which immediately shuts down as soon as jc intervenes.

so yeah lwj spends all this time worrying about wwx, only to be told that wc gave him an extremely torturous death, followed by relief that wwx is alive. except instead of actually being relieved, now he can barely recognize the boy he's in love with and he has to worry about him harming himself both physically and mentally by pursuing demonic cultivation. and he doesn't understand why wwx would do this because he's supposed to have one of the strongest cores in their generation

anyway this got super long and rambly but i have so many thoughts

tldr: lwj is so bad at expressing himself vocally but his heart is so big and his feelings are really obvious in his actions. LIKE SUPER OBVIOUS. also lwj and jc need to use their brains more (wwx does too but that's a given)

can we talk about eps 14 + 15 of the donghua? cause like

1. lwj playing his guqin until his fingers are bleeding and the strings are all broken

2. the desperation with which he demands wen chao tell him where wwx is. also he says "wei ying" cause he is Concerned and forgets to be all reserved

3. ‎the yell

4. ‎okay no but the yell is getting two numbers because like he's known for being so in control and the only thing that ever sets him off is a) wwx's antics or b) something happening to wwx, and the fact that his immediate impulsive reaction to wc saying he threw wwx in the burial mounds is to scream and attack him even though he knows he won't get anywhere is just *chef's kiss*

5. ‎everyone realizing that this walking nightmare is wwx and lwj's conflict between relief that he's alive and absolute horror at what the ridiculous, bright boy he's in love with has become

6. the creepy flute playing. the birds. the green fire. the hair flowing like it's underwater. the voice. wrathful wwx is so extra and i live for it

7. ‎the switch from their names to their courtesy names when they fight (tbh courtesy names are a gift in general in terms of character interactions)

8. ‎jc witnessing lwj fucking lose it when wc says they killed wwx and then 5 minutes later thinking he's trying to take wwx back home to punish him for being evil??????? jc and wwx really are brothers what can i say

9. lwj's face when he realizes he won't be allowed to help. like the way he looks away and down and glances back from the side cause he's so upset

10. ‎the lip tremble

11. ‎the absolute helplessness lwj clearly feels when he can't make wwx understand that he cares about him and wants to help him and how scared he is of the likelihood he's gonna watch this ball of sunshine descend into darkness

ahahahaha anyways those episodes fucking hurt and i've watched them so many times and i could talk for years about the massive emotional rollercoaster that lwj goes on in the space of like 20 minutes