#he's still an Interpol agent and everything

[ghosti02art]

blood orange (reader vers)

summary: Y/N, an INTERPOL agent on vacation, is unlucky enough to be on the same Bullet Train as a bunch of professional killers. Even worse, one of them has the sort of attitude that makes her want to pull out his teeth. Perhaps it has nothing to do with luck, and entirely to do with fate. Can this is be called destiny?

Pairing: Tangerine x Reader (This is the Reader variant of the OC post)

Fandom: Bullet Train

The sky was dark, and the night air was cool. It was late evening in Tokyo, but that did not stop this bullet train from being filled to the brim. If Y/N had known it would have been such a busy ride, she would have just walked back. Or even just slept in the streets. 

She was sitting in the small train seat, and let out a sigh. There was an assortment of noises as people boarded and unbounded the transport. 

Boy, she hated being on vacation. 

She hated it so much that her employer had to make it a part of her “occupational rules”, otherwise she’d never take a break. She did not need a break. Breaks were for the weak - at least to her - because that was how she was brought up. And now, due to her boss, she has to take a 4-day vacation every 3 months. 

She was sketching on a small pad - a drawing she planned to paint later once she got back to the house she was staying in - when she felt someone bump into her shoulder. 

“Fucking hell” She cursed, glaring at whoever caused the graphite streak across her drawing. Her eyes were met with a sneer, as the man appeared to have no understanding of the term ‘remorse’. 

He looked to be on the cusp of 6 feet tall, and way overdressed for a simple train ride. Perhaps he was a white color worker, but she quickly dismissed that idea, for there was no amount of nice tailored suits that could make up for his awful attitude. 

He cursed right back at her, his thick English accent making everything he said almost laughable to her,” Fuck off mate, get outta my way.”

Y/N simply rolled her eyes at this and went back to her drawing. Despite her foul Spanish, and her tendency to be petty, she bit her tongue. She did not really care to get in a fight with some random curly-haired Englishman. Although, she did have the crossing thought to rip off that mustache of his. 

She mentally noted that he and whoever he was with sat down diagonally across from her. She shifted in her seat, making sure her deep navy overcoat still covered her gun. She always kept at least three things on her that could be used as weapons, and her governmental-issued firearm was one of those. 

Just because she was not currently on INTERPOL business did not mean she was unprepared. She always expected the worst. At any moment, something could go wrong on this train - a fight could break out, a gang could hold someone hostage, a very attractive assassin could sneak onto the train-

Her train of thought was broken when she noticed the Englishman get up and walk toward the luggage end of the train. When he passed her, she quickly put out her foot, tripping him. He quickly caught himself on one of the train seats in front of her, hissing as he spun to growl at her. He started to throw every curse he knew at her, but she simply hummed. 

She looks up from her drawing and tilts her head. There was a slight touch of redness on his cheeks, and it suited him. 

“No se ingle?” She says to him, watching as his frustration rises as she claims ignorance. He huffs, and quickly goes towards the luggage, muttering obscenities under his breath. 

There is a chuckle coming from the set of seats the man left, and Kat turns to look at the individual. There were two other men, and the one that was laughing had dark skin and bleach-tipped hair. 

When her eyes slide over to the quiet male, her blood runs cold. She recognized this man- or should she say, boy, since she knew him from when he was much younger. This was The White Death’s son, and that automatically put a target onto this train. After all of her avoidance of Russia, of that world, it still tracked her down. Her eyes flit back to the humored one, and she realized she knew of him too. It seemed that he recognized her too, but before either of them could say anything, the tough guy over by the luggage called out for him. 

“Lemon! Where’s the stuff? You gave me the wrong directions!” The dark-skinned man, Lemon, quickly gets up to go over to the luggage,” Bruv, I told you, it’s right behind-“ 

Y/N did not wait behind to listen to the remainder of their conversation. She quickly got up from her seat and grabbed her bag, and walked in the other direction towards the bar car. She needed something strong if she was going to make it through this ride. 

Once at the bar, she did not even wait for an attendant to help her get a drink. She easily hops over the counter and turns around to search the cabinets for some good vodka. Yes, she loved hard liquor. She had been through enough in her life to afford to be cruel to her liver.  

She can feel the presence of another in the train car- actually, two others in the car. She continues to pour herself a drink and mix it properly, before finally turning around. 

She looks down the barrel of two guns, one for each eye, and takes a sip from her glass. 

“Well, boys. You’ve got me outnumbered. That gives you two an extra 25 seconds before I make you tell me what is going on.”

Y/N smirks slightly, before setting her drink down, still mostly untouched. 

“Alcohol always tasted better with blood on my lips.”

————————————————————————

PART TWO COMING SOON

[therealemaskye]

okay to preface this real blackbright stans know copernicusjones from ao3 for their extremely outstanding contributions to the blackbright community. a sort of amalgamation of “going postal,” “the road less traveled,” and all of the fics in their blackbright and chill series are basically my blackbright bible. my canon timeline.

if you haven’t read their fics… oh my god. i cannot recommend them to you enough.

if you haven’t played dual destinies PERIOD, this is all just spoilers so my word vomit is under the cut.

so anyway, basically they have this long history together, from working together on simon’s first case to being simon’s correctional officer to being the only person to advocate and believe in simon. of course, EVERYTHING has an added dash of homoerotic tension (both resolved and unresolved). as we get closer to canon, i completely throw out bobby being an unidentified dead body. that’s no fun! i like to believe the phantom came later rather than sooner, and found it especially beneficial to disguise themself as bobby fulbright not only because of his close relationship with simon, but also the fact that bobby was getting close to discovering more than he should about the phantom. instead of murdering him, i think they instead kidnapped bobby and retrieved information from him over the course of events in DD. this could have some added trauma for simon, since i’m sure the phantom would use what they knows of their intimate relationship to their advantage. in the end, the phantom is still uncovered and killed, and the whereabouts of bobby fulbright are unknown: he is pronounced dead.

an honorary funeral is held for the detective, and life must go on for simon blackquill.

bobby, on the other hand, is recovered by interpol while they were retrieving evidence about the phantom. upon discovering just how much bobby is informed about the phantom and his determination to finish what he started, they offer him a place in the bigger picture. since the game is kind of vague about who the phantom works for, i headcanon an underground organization who works with corrupt government officials around the globe, whether it be starting wars with other countries or causing discord and terror in their own. interpol has a mission to end this organization to prevent any more destruction they bring into the world, and bobby is recruited into those efforts. to him, this is the most logical path: he has no family to go back to, everyone thinks he’s dead, and most of all he does not want to cause simon anymore problems than he already has. bobby is now partnered with kay faraday, interpol agent extraordinare.

years go by, and eventually, simon is asked by interpol for assistance on their last stretch of the mission. the action, the drama, the humor, the tension, oh my!!! it would be awesome. simon blackquill: investigations here we come baby.

so that’s my blackbright timeline! i had to vomit it out into the void for my own sanity. i love them so so much.

[fraeuleintaka]

Official Investigations Complete Guide

This is the 64th post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 17 days left until release!

Today's topic: the official Investigations Complete Guide!

Back when Investigations 1 first came out a Complete Guide was released in Japan about the game. I had never seen more than a few page scans from it as being Japan-exclusive (and later out of print) made it extremely inaccessible in the West. You can basically only hope to get it used and even then only if you're willing to part with an extortionate amount of money. Recently, I was extremely lucky to be able to get it for a moderate price and in very good condition so I wanted to talk about it!

First off, it's gorgeous! And I mean gorgeous! The paper is thick and high quality and the art is wonderfully crisp and vibrant, popping off the pages. It's a lot of fun to just thumb through it and look at all the illustrations.

The different sections are separated by these main character artworks, they're just the official ones for the game but they still look so pretty! (Poor Gumshoe gets shafted though. And I apparently have to correct myself on being confused why Shi-Long got a light green background in the online lottery merch as it looks like he's been associated with that background colour since the beginning. I still don't really think it fits him but oh well.)

I love the entire presentation of the guide! Even if it's just explaining the general gameplay concept to you (like in the picture below), it's incredibly fancy in how it's presented. For example, the page markings with the characters' faces from the key art, that looks epic! I also love the way the characters are constantly included, interjecting and explaining stuff to you. And with so pretty pictures, too, just look at Shi-Long here!

The guide also includes an entire introduction page for every character (or half a page for the victims), including the large full body illustrations, a short description, their age and height (!), a few pictures of their animations and one of their small sprite. I especially love the large shaded illustrations in the background. So beautiful!

Starting on the individual cases, every case has a character relationship chart at the beginning with all the relevant characters in each case and their relations shown. It's quite interesting how simple they start in the 1st case and how complicated they get by the 5th but also no surprise.

The coverage on the cases goes through every argument, rebuttal and investigation phase throughout the game pointing out the relevant stuff to look at, who to talk to and what to argue about. There are no explicit solutions given but the direction in which to take the argument or what you should think about to get to the answer, Miles often gives an additional hint in a short comment.

Throughout the entire guide Shi-Long provides additional tips and infos about various stuff in these yellow boxes. (Leave it to the top Interpol agent with the highest successful arrest rate to know all the tricks, I guess 😄) Sometimes that's about gameplay mechanics (like how you know when you've investigated everything relevant in an area) but other times it's also explanations for certain concepts that are relevant for the case at hand (like what extraterritorial rights are and the role of an embassy). Shi-Long knows all the stuff!

Towards the end there's a section of all the answers and solutions to the rebuttals and investigation phases as a handy flowchart. You can easily recognize it by the large yellow spoiler "WARNING" banners on the page top and bottom. A pretty nice idea to not directly give you all the answers when just going through the guide but should you really be stuck, you can look up what to do here.

There's also a bunch of concept art, sketches and even some interviews after the cases of the game are done with. They even show some frames of the small sprite animations of various characters. It's in the pixel artstyle, of course, so they're somewhat outdated now with the new HD chibi sprites but I still think they're nice to look at. And all the concept art with the commentaries is amazing! I will definitely go into more detail on those sometime in the future but this post is already more than long enough.

There's even an entire list of all the evidence and all the profiles in the game, separated by case. And one page I found particularly nice (also provided by best agent Shi-Long, of course) is a list of all of the background cameos of previous characters! They don't say the name of the characters outright but they give you more than enough hints that you should be able to tell who they are (if you couldn't before) and I love how they have other characters comment on it.

And one last little treat: The bottom corner of every right page has a little Miles sprite on it in different frames of his various animations so that when you flick through the book they "move" like a little flipbook! That's so adorable!

[riaarivic]

HATE 11: DAECHWITA (M) I MYG x F!reader

🌙 Pairings YoongixReader

🌙 Genres Mafia!AU, Smut, Angst, Action, Thriller, Enemies to lovers

🌙 Rating 18+ minors DNI

🌙 Summary  You were an INTERPOL Agent assigned to infiltrate the depths of the most powerful Gang in South Korea: The Seven Moons. Your objective: to impersonate the daughter of one of their leaders and destroy the operation from within. That is, if they don't discover you first.

And Traitors won’t have the mercy of a quick death

🌙 PLEASE READ Warnings For this chapter: This chapter has mentions of self harm, mental illness, human trafficking and torture. I want to clarify that there is no SA in this story at all and it won't be. But as I always say This is a mafia au, and organized crime is not all handsome boys and nice cars. This chapter and the next one are DARK.

So, if any of this triggers you, see you on chapter 12. Don't worry, you'll still understand the story. But no, this is not a filler chapter.

🌙 A/N At no time do I (the author) encourage this activity in real life, it is important that you know that the criminal acts in this book are that, a crime, as well as harmful to health and should not be romanticized. This is all a work of fiction for entertainment purposes.

Love, Ria

🌙 Chapter wordcount 5k (the longest one yet)

🌙 Series Index

1  2 3 4  5 6 7 8 9 10 11

HATE 11: DAECHWITA

I got lots to lose

Shove the past into a rice chest

I'm about to dine on what I know is mine

Tap...

Tap...

Tap...

You were jolted awake by the water dripping from the leak above you, your head still foggy from the drugs they had given you.

The sound of voices outside the door caught your attention. 

Although your knowledge of Wu was limited, you managed to pick out the words "merchandise" and "not her."

A million things rushed in your imagination.

If you weren't so weak you would laugh as you recalled your last conversation with Emmet, your partner, the night before leaving. 

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 

"The Seven Moons clan only deals in guns and drugs. Their leader thinks human trafficking is beneath them." The irony of a criminal mastermind with 'ethics' was not lost on you. 

“But they have the angels” you questioned, confused. 

“The angels are to the Seven Moons, what you are to INTERPOL: Employees. They are free to leave when they want. Park Jimin values loyalty over fear.” He explained to you. 

Emmet, you truly hated that bastard. 

But now laying down on a mattress probably dirtier than the floor below it, you wondered if you will ever see him again.

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 

You heard the voices outside getting closer to the room you were in. The door opened to reveal three men all dressed in black, with no visible clan tattoos. 

They lifted your body, moving you up to a set of stairs. 

You started to feel tired again. 

The clouds of drug infused sleep started to blur your brain and vision. 

The last thing you saw was a room you passed. 

A pair of terrified eyes looked right back at you. 

They looked young. 

Too young to be trapped in this hell. 

Your vision went dark again. 

And you were dreaming.

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 

You gazed at the full moon glowing ominously behind the high walls of the family compound. Kim Dohan was hosting a lavish party tonight, no doubt greasing the palms and egos of politicians and police officials alike.

Then there were you to the untrained eye you were just a snob heiress who wouldn’t be bothered with the clansmen’s business. But you were watching everything on a far corner, collecting information, names, counting bodyguards and every other piece of intel that you will later report to your team. 

A rustle in the bushes behind you caught your attention. You smiled, recognizing the familiar footsteps. "You know, for a crime syndicate that prides itself on secrecy and security, sneaking in and out of here is child's play, to you."

Suga emerged from the shadows, his usual smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. "You seemed to be lost in thought. Anything I should know about?" He asked in a teasing tone.

You shook your head, allowing your  hair to curtain your face. "Just reflecting on your father's hypocrisy and wondering how a man so violently opposed to 'low people' businesses has no qualms about bribing and corrupting public officials."

Suga laughed, a rich throaty sound that made your heart skip a beat. "You know there's nothing my father hates more than irony and hypocrisy. If only he had your gift for seeing them so clearly, pretty flower"

Your breath caught at his last word. You knew you were playing a dangerous game, hiding in plain sight. But in moments like this, you couldn't help but wonder if Suga had already seen through your disguise. 

And if he had, what game was he playing? 

Because there’s one thing you had in common with every criminal in this room. 

You were a liar. 

To each and every person who was there. 

Starting with Suga, who was starting to warm up places in your heart you thought were forever frozen.

You had lied.

To everyone.

But especially to yourself. 

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 

“Wake up, pretty girl! We have a special delivery just for you.”

You opened your eyes to the sound of the door bursting open and two men entering the room. 

The heavy footsteps of combat boots echoed in the room. The first man kneeled in front of you “The boss said to leave her face untouched” the man's husky voice spoke as he ran his hand over your cheek, you furrowed your eyebrows and pulled back “And rightly so, with a face like that. No wonder she has the two most powerful Moons right at her feet “.

You realized they were speaking Korean now.

The other man let out a sinister laugh “too bad we can’t have fun with her.” Your breath caught in your throat, you couldn't move and you were well aware you couldn’t defend yourself. Your heart was pounding as if it wanted to burst out of your chest and the blood felt frozen in your veins.

“Poor thing, she's terrified. I honestly thought that the fiancée of Kim DoHan's heir would put up a little more resistance.” The first man added clicking his tongue.

“Take off these ropes you have me tied up with and you'll see how I'll resist you, you fucking coward” Your own voice felt unknown, both men burst out laughing.

“I love it when they talk like that, don't you? Apparently Daddy's girl wasn't taught manners in private school”  the man slapped you in the face, leaving you completely stunned “What's the matter, don't you want to talk anymore?”

You spit out some blood “You're a dead man. Do you know what the price is for messing with the Seven Moons clan? They are going to find you and when he does… you're going to wish they gives you a quick death”

Now the other man kicked you, giving you a swift blow to the stomach. Making you feel all the air leave your lungs. Your eyes stung from tears wanting to fall.

“Oh, pretty girl. That's exactly what I want. The clan princess is in danger and her princes will come to the rescue... all the Moons in one place. That's extremely valuable, don't you think?” You were terrified. 

That’s what they wanted. 

You were the bait. 

And the Seven Moons were running directly to the trap. 

You felt stronger now, the effect of the drugs were wearing off. You knew you could take the first man’s gun and escape. Save yourself and save them. 

Them.

Suddenly the memory of the young pair of eyes you saw downstairs comes back to your mind. 

You couldn’t save them if you left. 

So you made your choice. 

You’ll stay, and hope you could stay alive at least long enough to save them. 

With a swift move you clashed your head into the second man's head. Leaving confused for a second. 

“That was a mistake, pretty girl.” the second man grabbed you by your hair  “I would tell you that this is going to hurt you more than me, but we both know it's a lie.” 

You felt a hit on your head and your vision went dark again. 

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 

Suga strode into the dimly lit warehouse, his shoes clicking on the concrete floor. In the shadows, he spotted a familiar figure sitting calmly on a wooden crate, smoking a cigarette.

What once was one of the most beautiful faces of Korea. 

Now stared back at him scarred from the flames of the fire 20 years ago.

In all honesty, he never thought he would see his mother’s eyes ever again.

But here he was.

"If I knew it was going to be so easy finding you, I would have probably done it two decades ago," he said dryly “I wouldn't have tried the ouija board that time when I was 11” He was joking, but his words tasted like venom in his mouth.

His mother exhaled a plume of smoke. "You were not ready then." His mother didn't flinch. "I'm not so easy to find, my son," she replied, her voice soft and low. "You are here, because I let you find me."

"Where is she?" Suga demanded.

"Patience. I have raised you better than that." She rose and walked toward him, her heels echoing in the empty space. "Before I tell you, there are things you must know. Things about your father, things about…"

“I’m sorry to stop your bedtime story. But I have no time for a happy family reunion.” Suga’s jaw clenched. "I don't care about the past or dark family secrets. All I want is Nari."

“My son. Some secrets are worth dying for.” His mother sighed. "You arrogant boy. The secrets I hold are the only things keeping you and that girl alive." She flicked her cigarette to the floor and crushed it under her stiletto heel. “A war is coming. And it is time for you to rise and take your birth right.”

Suga felt like the ground had dropped out from under him. "What are you saying?"

“The Seven Moons Clan is yours to take.” she finally confessed. “and Kim Dohan will do everything in his power to keep you away from it. Like starting a clan war for the second time. But I won't make the same mistake twice, I will kill the devil himself.” 

“The Jade Dragon… is it you?” 

“Yes" Suga's blood froze in his veins, how much more did he not know "I am the one who sent those gifts to Kim Dohan. Using an old enemy rising from hell to scare him… and manipulate his son” 

“Why?” he felt the air leaving his lungs.”Why did you take her?”

“I didn’t. The Devil did. He’s moving his cards too, he wants to turn the streets of Seoul red with blood again.” She moved to be right in front of Suga raising her hand to caress his chin “The death of a princess is reason enough to start a war.” 

“I will kill him with my own bare hands first.” Suga said, eyes dark with hate. 

“That is exactly what he wants. Go save her. The Lilly is in an abandoned car factory just outside the city limits. The one that belonged to your grandfather” Pushing Suga towards the door “Go and come back, there is so much you need to know.”

He wasn’t listening anymore. 

The rush of blood pumping in his ears sounded like a thunderstorm inside him. 

Hell was about to break loose. 

And he would be the one to open the door. 

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 

Your whole body ached and your cheeks were soaked with tears that kept falling.

Or was it blood on your face?

You closed your eyes and thought of home.

That beach in Busan.

And for a second, you no longer were in that room but in one of your few happy memories she had as a child with your parents.

You closed your eyes and remembered the waves.

You no longer knew if it had been hours or days, your consciousness came and went, you could hardly move and you could see hideous bruises all over your body. You were sure you had at least one broken rib because of how hard it was for you to breathe.

Out of nowhere there was a commotion on the other side of the door, screaming, banging and things falling everywhere.

But you were  too weak to get up to investigate.

Or care.

If they wanted to come and kill you, let them do it.

You could hear some gunshots in the distance, 

had they come looking for you?

Your answers came fast, when suddenly the door opened again.

Suga was standing in the doorway covered in blood and ashes from head to toe while holding a katana in his hand. Watching you in that state, The expression in his eyes went from surprise to immense sadness and then back to anger.

He dropped the sword and threw himself on the ground next to you, taking your face in his hands very carefully “Who did this to you?” Your panicked expression told Suga that you didn't recognize him.

He began to examine you realizing they had tortured you, bruising every inch of your body. And if he had not completely lost his sanity before, now he felt an almost animalistic fury, but he could not explode in front of you in that state “Nari, my Lily, listen to me. I am going to take you away from here. You are safe, I’m here now.” 

“The g-girl.” your voice cracked barely a whisper “downstairs” 

“Shh, pretty flower. You did well, they are safe too.” 

Jhope’s choked a scream when he arrived at the door and saw you. He could not believe what he was seeing. There wasn't an inch of your body that wasn't hurt, probably if Suga hadn't been with you Hoseok wouldn't have recognized you. 

“Take her home, Hoseok, right now!” Suga’s order sounded almost demonic. He got up, picked up the sword and left the room. He didn't want to leave you alone in that state but first, he had to make those responsible for hurting you pay.

He craved retribution.

In the only form of violence and blood.

His brothers stood at the door all with shocked and pained faces, none of them imagined they would find her in that state.

Jungkook felt his eyes water when he saw your figure being carried by JHope.

“Is she… alive?” Jimin stifled a scream by holding his hand to his mouth. He had never seen someone so badly hurt... much less a woman.

“Barely,” Jhope whispered.

Jin ran to help his brother so he could get you out of the place. Even Taehyung had both fists clenched from the rage he felt as he watched you pass by.

Namjoon fell wordlessly to the ground on his knees, he could never look at you in the face again.

Guilt wasn’t enough. 

This had gotten out of hand, he knew when the leader of the triads had called him to tell him that the van you were in had been intercepted.

This had not been his doing.

But it was Namjoon's responsibility.

“I want you to know that when I'm done here I'm going to come after you and I'm going to make you take every hit and every wound she has”  Suga spat at Namjoon, voice filled with venom. 

“You are the only one responsible for all this and even if I can't kill you, your biggest punishment will be to see her face and have to carry what you did to her... for the rest of your life.” Suga walked away towards the upstairs where the Clan’s men had captured the people inside.

Later, he would deal with Namjoon.

He had more important things to take care of now.

Suga hadn't earned the nickname Monster just because he had a scar over his eye.

Even if he had shown you the gentle side of his soul.

The monster really existed, it was part of him whether he wanted it or not and tonight he was thirsty for revenge.

He was thirsty for blood.

And nothing was going to stop him until he got it.

The smell of gasoline, fear and burnt bodies permeated the air.

Suga circled the two men tied to chairs like a shark sensing blood in the water. Behind him, Jhope leaned against the wall, rolling his eyes at the pathetic display.

“I’m going to ask you nicely one more time,” Suga said softly. “Who do you work for?”

The men kept their lips stubbornly sealed, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Have it your way.” Suga snapped his fingers. Two of his men stepped forward and pressed lit cigarettes into the men’s skin. A sickening sizzle filled the room, accompanied by howls of pain.

Jhope’s face twisted in disgust, he surely hated this part of the job. “Looks like pain is not going to break these pieces of trash.”

“You’re right,” Suga agreed. “I’m glad we kept some of the shit they were giving Nari. Maybe a little bit of their medicine would make them talk to us”

After a few more minutes of ‘persuasion,’ the younger man broke down into sobs. “We were just shipping merchandise when the boss told us to grab the girl! We swear we know nothing else!”

Suga crouched in front of him, his handsome face transformed into a demonic mask. “Merchandise? You refer to human beings as merchandise? You fucking bastard” His hand shot out and gripped the man’s crotch, twisting cruelly. The man screamed.

“We're going to die anyway!” the other man shrieked. “The Devil...he wants you dead. He's planning to kill your brothers and take control of the whole territory. He says you're a threat to his power, the true heir..." His words dissolved into whimpers as Suga's gaze turned molten.

“Our father wants to kill us?”  J Hope scoffed. "As if we haven’t heard that one before." He examined his nails. "Are you done lying?"

Suga straightened, his expression granite. "He 's not liying." 

“What do you mean he’s not lying, hyung?” Jhope’s expression changed completely as he felt his heart dropping to his stomach. 

“I’m saying that our father wants to kill us.” The older man responded face dark and devoid of any emotion “Come with me hope-ah. I need you to meet my mother.” 

“Please, tell me you are not dragging me again to play Ouija with you” 

“She’s alive, you asshat.” Suga answered leaving Jhope completely dumbfounded. 

“Somehow that feels worse.” Jhope followed his brother. His men dragged the two prisoners out the back. Seconds later, the flames finished their job erasing any evidence of what happened that night.

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 

Seven Moons Mansion, outskirts of Seoul, South Korea.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Drops of water fell from the shower and filled the bathtub. 

But you couldn't hear any of it.

You weren't sure how many pills you had taken today, but they hadn't been enough to even slightly ease the pain you still felt throughout your body.

But they had been enough to disconnect your mind from the place where you were.

In your mind, you were on the beach of your memories.

The soft waves broke under your feet, far away was the storm that had taken everything in its path. On that beach there was no pain, no war, no missions, no clans, no .....

You  couldn't even think about that.

You had used that beach as an escape route several times. You would close your eyes for a second on the battlefield before leaving to calm your nerves and imagine the waves and the sand.

That way it was easier to forget that she had an assault rifle in your hands and that you had to defend herself against enemies in a war. 

Soldiers don't ask questions...

You hated criminals and murderers with every fiber of your being. But hadn't four years in the army turned you into one too? No matter if you had killed in the name of justice, your hands were also full of blood.

Soldiers who killed others in the name of their country were given a medal on their chest and called heroes.

It's a little late to regret it when you have a rifle in your hand and you're being shot at.

You sank a little deeper into the waters of the beach. 

Looking up and the sky, it was no longer completely blue, you could hear the thunder of an approaching storm.

Or was it gunshots?

“Park, open your eyes dammit! We are under attack. Call for reinforcements, we must get out of here.” The voice of her squadron captain brought you out of your thoughts, you were in the middle of an ambush. It had all happened so fast, you had entered an abandoned warehouse to release a group of civilians who had been kidnapped by terrorists.

It ended up being a trap...

A fragmented grenade came through one of the windows and the explosion was so loud that you almost lost consciousness. But you were able to drag your team members under some debris to protect you and them.

You didn't know who fired first, but at the end of the day Y/n Park had been decorated by her officers with a purple heart, for saving her entire unit.

For annihilating the enemy.

You dunked your head in the water on the beach. 

Calm, that was what you needed to ease your pain.

A little calm...

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The water in the tub had begun to overflow and was pouring out the bathroom door.

The mixture of the drugs in your blood and the tiredness you felt throughout your body caused you to begin to fall asleep. You did not feel when your lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen, nor did you hear when they broke down the door to get you out.

Arms pulled you out of the water and you felt a body collide against a chest sitting on the floor.

“Nari, hey, Lee Nari. Wake up please don't do this to me.”  a desperate voice was trying to bring her back to consciousness, but she didn't want to go back “How many pills did you take? Hope, tell me what’s this shit is and how do we get it out of her system, Fucking hurry!”

The voices sounded like distant echoes to you, you closed your eyes again and now yo were in another place.

The echo of a leak and the smell of dampness made her recognize the place.

Footsteps.

Punches.

A pair of eyes.

You couldn't defend Yourself, you didn't want to, 

If you resisted they would save them too. 

So you left to your beach.

Everything was going to be allright...

Right?

You just had to stop swimming.

The storm had arrived and the shadow of a dragon could be seen in the clouds through the moonlight.

The Moons.

Yoongi.

Had he found you?

The image of a bloody man with a sword in his hand flashed through your mind. But that couldn't be Yoongi, could it?

No, that person was a monster.

But wasn't she too?

You felt a sharp pain in your chest and a strong heat spreading through your veins, flames coursing through your whole body forcing you to wake up, bringing you back to reality.

You didn't want to, but you opened your eyes again and you were no longer on her beach. You were in your room in the Seven Moons  mansion, surrounded by the worried and anguished faces of all their young leaders.

All but one; Namjoon wasn’t there.

Suga hugged you tightly again terrified that if he let you go you would leave again “Shit Nari, don't ever, ever, ever do something stupid like that again. We almost lost you..”

Almost. 

You weren’t sure of that.

“Let me go. I can’t breathe” Your voice sounded hoarse in your throat, the curious eyes with which you looked at Suga were now devoid of any emotion. 

As empty as you felt. 

The man straightened his posture “All right, I’ll let you go. But you are going to listen to me now, you are going to eat, you are going to leave the IV on and you are not going to leave this room, if you want to go to the bathroom one of us will accompany you, understood?”

“I didn't know I was a prisoner now." you said expressionless. 

They had broken you, that could be seen for miles, they had damaged you beyond repair.

They had broken your being and lost the pieces along the way.

And Suga knew he couldn't repair the damage they had done.

But fuck him, he was going to try.

“Damn it Nari, you almost killed yourself in there! I understand, I understand you. I know how much it hurts and I would like to do something to help you but this is not the way. Taking a cocktail of sedatives strong enough to put a fucking horse to sleep for two weeks... is not the answer” his voice cracked at the last part “They're dead Nari, all of them. They're never going to hurt you again. I swear on my life.”

“Your life will be too short then…” you said “You keep calling me by my name, you've never called me by my name before, should I call you by yours?”  the man made a pained expression at her words and pulled back a little.

He needed some breathing space too. He knew what they had done to you was going to change you, he knew how deeply they had hurt you and even after a week had passed back in the house, he knew that time was not enough.

But seeing you like that, the guilt, suffocated him completely.

“You're right, you're my Lily and you're going to let me take care of you, whether you like it or not. So leave the damn IV on and then go eat” He got up from the bed and left the room but not before ordering the youngest of his brothers not to leave your room for anything in the world.

He also told him that he would cut off his balls and make a pearl necklace out of them if he left you alone for a single second.

But you didn't have to listen to that.

Message received 3:30AM: Unknown

Agent y/n, contact me immediately.

The mission has been breached.

Your identity is compromissed.

Someone has betrayed us.

Message deleted 3:31AM

Oh fuck.

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙 

Well hello,

This chapter... How can I begin. I love this chapter but I know its dark, i want to clarify to you, reader, that even if torture was mentioned (a few times now) there is absolutely no metion of sa.

I've been reading and rewriting this chapter because I honestly don't want anyone feeling uncomfortable or offended. At the end of the day we're all here for entertainment, release and fun.

But this chapter is pivotal for the climax of the story, yes we are getting close to it. And yes, this story is dark.

Some things I want to clarify: First: Reader character served in the Marines before being an INTERPOL agent. It is mentioned in chapter two.

Nari means lily in korean. When I write Nari I mean the reader's code name and when I write Lily i mean the flower. Take note of this.... this will be important later 👀

I'm sorry I took so long.

It's been a month..... and yeah 💀

Thank you so much for showing love to this story, writing is my release and it makes me so happy to see other people enjoying what I write. Love you all,

Ria

Tag List @drunkzseok@allamericanuniverse@catlove83@baby-cherry@officialholyagua @goldendenstudies @kristelll-inluv

If you want to join the tag list. You can coment this post or send me an ask!

[the-guilty-writer]

Exist

Request from anon: Ok so here goes - feel free to ignore because this is a strange request.

Emily Prentiss/ sister reader- when she “dies”. Reader was closest to Spencer but can’t bare to have anything that reminds her of her sister.

She goes off grid and doesn’t find out that Emily is alive until a whole while later.

(You can change the ending if u want)

Emily Prentiss x sister!reader, Spencer Reid x platonic!reader

Summary: After Emily’s death, you take an undercover job with Interpol. When your assignment is over you come back to an intense surprise.

A/N: Thanks for this request! I hope you like it! All feedback is appreciated.

CW: Spoilers for season 6 and 7, fake deaths, one mention of periods, spencer being abandoned by someone he cares about

---

She never made it off the table.

The phrase was only seven words and nine syllables, but it changed your entire world.

Emily was older than you by three years, but that didn’t stop the two of you from being close. Your family moved around so much when you were growing up it was impossible to keep friends and your parents were always busy with work. Your sister was the person who held your hand on the first day of kindergarten, and taught you how to use period products, and helped you through your first heartbreak. Emily was the only constant in your life- the person who was always there.

And now she wasn’t. She never would be again.

---

Cleaning out your sister’s apartment was Hell on earth. You gave Sergio to Garcia, but part of you just wanted every other thing that had belonged to Emily to be burned so you wouldn’t have to touch it, or see it, or think about it. Your brain knew that it wouldn’t change anything- that the hurt would always be there- but your heart thought that if you turned everything your sister owned to ashes you could let them drift away in the wind as if they never existed in the first place.

Continuing to work at the BAU didn’t make it any easier. Every inch of the place was covered with memories of your sister; from the desk she used to sit at, to the mugs she drank her coffee out of, to the printer she could never get to work right. you saw your sister everywhere.

You couldn’t even look at your coworkers anymore.

You couldn’t look at Derek because every time you just remembered the inside joke he shared with you and your sister. You couldn’t look at Penelope because you could only think of that time at the bar with “Brad the real FBI agent”. You couldn’t look at Hotch because you could only hear him saying that he wished he and Sean could get along like you and Emily. You couldn’t look at Rossi because it only reminded you that he was the only other person you could converse in Italian with now. You couldn’t look at Spencer because he was your only best friend now that your sister was gone.

You couldn’t do your job anymore. You couldn’t be here. You bypassed Hotch and went straight to Strauss with your letter of immediate resignation. You would have almost gotten away with disappearing into thin air if Penelope wasn’t so good at her job.

“(Y/N).” Reid called from the other side of your apartment door. Of course the team sent Spencer to try to convince you to stay- who else would it be? “(Y/N), please let me in.”

You begrudgingly opened the door and let him inside, not bothering to greet him. Everything you owned was already packed in boxes, ready to be put in storage. The only things you were taking with you was what could fit in your suitcase.

“Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?” Spencer asked. You followed his gaze as he looked around the apartment. The furniture was still in its place, but the shelf that once held books was empty. The pictures on the walls had been taken down. Every trace that this was the place you lived was gone.

“Yeah,” you admitted. “I kinda was.”

“Why?” Spencer’s voice cracked and his eyes were large. “We’re your family. You can’t just go away.”

Thus far you had held off on crying- even at your sister’s funeral you had refused to shed tears- but now they were streaming down your face and you were unable to stop them. “I can’t stay here, Spencer.” Your voice was no louder than a whisper. “I don’t know how to exist in a world without my sister.”

“So you just aren’t going to exist anymore?” Spencer asked, as if it was an impossible feat.

“Yeah,” you said. “Interpol’s pretty good at making people not exist.”

“Where are you going?” His eyes got wide with worry.

“Spencer, you know I can’t tell you that.”

“We just lost Emily. We can’t-” he took a deep breath. “I can’t lose you too.”

But your mind was already made up. You pulled Spencer into a hug and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. It was wet with his tears. Letting go and looking into his soft hazel eyes, you knew the words you would leave him with: “You can’t lose what never existed.”

A year and a half later…

Of all places to choose, Russia had been a good one- you never lived there as a kid, but spoke enough of the language to get by at first and now that you had spent two years in the middle of only-god-knows-where, Russia you were fluent in the language. Most of all, there was nothing to remind you of your sister. For two blissful years you lived as someone entirely different- someone who wasn’t (Y/N) Prentiss- but all good things have to come to an end.

You stepped into Interpol headquarters in France and expected to feel your sister’s spirit lurking in the room, but after two years the ghost caused by grief had dissipated. Even as you made your way through the building, a place you and Emily had walked side-by-side in more times than you could count, you didn’t feel like there was someone absent.

“Agent Prentiss,” the name didn’t sting anymore when someone spoke it, “you did a fantastic job. It’s not easy to go somewhere that remote for such long periods of time.”

“If I’m being honest I think the remoteness is what made it easier.” Because there was nothing to remind me that Emily is gone.

“Well, you’ve done this in the past so I won’t bore you with the details for too long. Protocol for coming off such a long assignment requires you to take at least three months off, paid of course, and we recommend that you go somewhere that will help you become steady in your identity again,” the director said. “I know you have lived the longest in DC so-”

“I was thinking Italy, actually,” you said.

The director was about to open his mouth to say something when there was a knock on his office door. Without bothering to wait to see if they could come in, the person waltzed over to the director, handed him a manila folder, and waltzed out like they owned the place. The director looked down at the folder with so much dread you thought he might vomit all over his desk.

“Sir,” you started politely. “What is in the folder?”

He looked up at you. His eyes darkened in a way you had only seen at funerals- it was the look in the eyes of the partner of the dead agent- but there was a pity with it too. It was a combination you had never seen before, and you weren’t sure what to do with it, how it should make you feel.

“We’re sending you to London,” he said slowly.

“I’ve never lived in London-”

“We’re sending you to London,” he said again. This time it was louder and slower. “Because Emily is moving there. She is alive.”

---

The rest of the conversation was a blur, but you caught all the important parts: your sister was alive. Her death was only set up to keep her safe from Doyle. Doyle was dead. Emily was alive.

Emily had faked her death for six months.

Emily had known you went underground in Russia.

Emily had come out of hiding and worked with the BAU for a year.

Emily was alive.

And nobody told you.

For a whole year, Emily had been able to tell people she was alive and healthy and well and no one even bothered to try to let you know. None of the handlers said anything. No one mentioned it in clandestine letters. No one told you.

But for a year and a half, (Y/N) Prentiss didn’t exist. When you had gone undercover, Interpol made you disappear into thin air- all electronic history erased, your bank accounts liquidated to cash and vaulted away, even your birth certificate, which you were holding now, was locked in a safe. You had become as much of a ghost as she had.

The car stopped quickly in front of the London Interpol building, jerking you back to the present. For a moment you wondered if this was real- if you were seriously about to walk into the building and see your sister alive. Maybe it was all just a dream- her death, you leaving, her being alive, you finding out. Maybe you would wake up in your apartment back in DC just to find out that none of this was ever real.

But then you saw her- her dark eyes and raven hair. You felt her arms around you- the ones that held you as a child and hugged you as an adult. You heard her voice.

“I’m sorry.”

And you should have been mad. Hell, you should have been furious. Emily had been alive for a whole year and she never tried to reach out. She never bothered to let you know that the pain you carried and worked through and accepted didn’t need to exist at all. But the relief you felt, seeing her in the flesh canceled out every negative emotion you could have felt.

“I’m just glad you’re really here,” you told her.

Emily smiled just a little bit- that sly and knowing smile you had grown to know meant she knew something you didn’t.

“There is someone who is glad you’re here.” She gestured for you to turn around and when you did, Spencer was standing there.

His hair had gotten longer, but otherwise he was almost exactly the same- tall, lanky frame clothed in slacks and a cardigan, chocolate curls that were ever-so-slightly unruly, and wide hazel eyes that looked through you as if he could read your mind.

You launched yourself at him, pulling him into a hug. He gripped you back, tighter than he ever had before. You felt him press his head into your shoulder. His breathing was heavy in your ear. 

“(Y/N),” he whispered, just loud enough that you could hear.

“Spence.” You pulled him tighter. “I’m sorry.”

Spencer pulled away and looked at you the same way you had when you told him you were leaving.

“I wanted to tell you about Emily,” he started. “I couldn’t find any way to send things to you and Garcia tried to find you but she couldn’t and-”

“It’s okay, Spencer,” you told him. “I know you would have told me if you could have.”

He pulled you into another hug, this one more gentle than the last. You wrapped your arms around his neck and he pressed his head into your shoulder again. Behind Spencer, you could see Emily smiling softly at the two of you.

It felt impossible- having your two best friends in one room again- but it felt whole and it felt right.

Once again, you could exist.

[em-prentiss]

picture of your face in an invisible locket

-----

“You’ve got a team of master profilers,” Emily crosses her arms and leans against the counter. She shrugs casually, a smile on her lips, “It should be easy for them to figure it out, don’t you think?”

Aaron laughs. “Deceiving them on your first day?”

“It’s not deception,” she refutes. “I’m just…testing their skills.” She winks at him.

Or, Emily joins the BAU from Interpol. How long will it take for the team to realize she and Aaron are married?

Chapter 2

Word count: 6.2k

-----

1996

“You’re not supposed to smoke on the premises.”

Emily turns to find a security guard looking disapprovingly at her, his hands stiff at his sides and his brows drawn tight in annoyance.

She blows out her smoke in his face and smiles to herself when he continues glaring at her through it. 

“Really?” She drawls as she takes another drag, her eyes sweeping over him. His hair is neatly parted, his dark suit just a little loose at the shoulders. Every button is perfectly done, every inch of fabric meticulously pressed and unwrinkled. It fills her with the urge to mess him up, run her fingers through his lightly gelled hair and see what he’ll do as it flops over his forehead. She feels a familiar tug in her gut when her eyes meet his.

“Who told you that, Agent?” She turns her head to blow out the smoke this time, feeling his gaze burn her skin as she does. She inhales the sticky summer air before she turns back to him lazily, her long hair spilling over one pale shoulder.

“The ambassador made it perfectly clear.” He says tightly. His voice is low and smooth, and for a delirious second Emily wonders how it would sound breathless and panting.

She really needs to get laid.

Emily smiles. “For employees, maybe.”

Aaron’s patience grows thin. He did a last sweep of the grounds out of courtesy before he leaves, but now he’s really fucking regretting it. He can hear his watch tick in the silence, time crawling closer to midnight.

“Can you put it out?” He scowls at the burning cigarette held between her fingers, the glowing tip traveling closer to her knuckles. 

Emily idly taps it, sending ash fluttering to the floor. It lands next to his shiny shoes. “The ambassador has better things to worry about than people smoking on the grounds,” she muses as she puts it to her lips again.

Aaron bites back a sigh. By now he can tell she’s Emily, the ambassador’s daughter who wreaks havoc and chases away the security guards. He knows it’s not personal, she’s just rebelling against anything and everything, but he doesn’t want to deal with this right now. Or probably ever. 

“I’m just trying to do my job.” He says tiredly.

“Your job doesn’t apply to me,” she says flippantly, waving him away.

It actually largely applies to her, but he’s not going to argue with her. Emily finally stubs the cigarette and tosses it into the grass, breathing out slowly, smoke coming out of her nostrils.

Aaron breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Her resounding hum tells him she didn’t do it for him, but he doesn’t particularly care. He turns on his heel and promptly heads home, his tired shoulders slumping when he gets into his car.

And that’s how it begins. From that night she’s seemingly everywhere he goes, in the kitchen and the grounds and dangling from balconies, books and more cigarettes balanced between her fingers.

He feels the pull of intrigue one night when she teeters past him on her heels. She stumbles and he quickly grabs her elbow, rightening her before she falls.

Emily blinks at him. “Thanks,” she slurs. She’s steady now but his hand is still on her elbow, large and warm. She looks down at it and he pulls away.

“Sure,” Aaron clears his throat. He returns to his perch against the wall, his brows lifting in surprise when Emily follows him. Her back thuds against the wall as she leans against it.

“What was your name again?” She asks as she digs into her purse. Her dark hair falls in front of her face, obscuring her features from him. Aaron finds he can still imagine them perfectly beneath her hair, and when she finally finds what she’s looking for and tosses her hair back, coffee dark eyes stare into his.

“Aaron. Aaron Hotchner.”

Emily hums slowly. He hears a click and looks down at her hands, sighing in dismay when she starts lighting another cigarette.

“You can’t-”

“What do you know about the stars, Aaron?” She asks as she looks up at the sky. 

He can’t speak for a moment, his stomach lurching at the way she said his name. Slow, lazy, like the smoke curling languidly around her fingers. She looks back at him and he shrugs as he clears his throat, fixing his eyes on the sky above them. “They’re balls of gas, I guess,” he says the first thing that comes to mind. “The sun is a star.”

Emily smiles as she looks up. The stars are scarce here, nowhere near as bright as they are in the Alps, but the ambassador’s estate is isolated enough that she sees a little more than she normally would at the heart of DC.

“D’you know any myths?”

Aaron stuffs his hands in his pockets. He doesn’t know where this conversation is going, but he’s nowhere near the end of his shift yet so he indulges her. “I only know one—Orion. The hunter,” he says, and Emily nods.

Her eyes snag on Orion’s Belt as she takes a small drag of the cigarette. “Do you see it right now?” She asks him.

Aaron nods. Emily points to the star directly under the belt. “You see that star in the corner? The one under the belt?”

He squints for a moment before following the direction of her finger, her bitten nail leading him to a bright star. “I see it,” he murmurs.

“That’s Rigel,” she tells him. “Keep lookin’ at it, don’t lose it. If you just look to the right,” she draws a vague shape with her finger, “you’ll find Eridanus.”

Aaron looks to the right. His eyes catch on a strange shape, the stars fainter in this one than in Orion. “I don’t really know what I’m looking at,” he confesses.

“It’s the river,” Emily says. She throws the cigarette on the floor and crushes it beneath her heel, grabbing Aaron’s arm by the sleeve and drawing the shape of the constellation. He’s frozen for a minute, unable to think of anything but the weight of her hand on his arm. Their skin doesn’t even touch, but his throat closes at the casualness of the gesture.

“See,” she murmurs as she moves his arm, absently feeling the strength of it beneath her fingers. The stars shine faintly, her practiced eyes catching the shape easily, but something’s different this time. “Huh,” Emily tilts her head as she looks at it, her hazy mind replacing the usual image of the river with something else. 

“It looks like a worm,” she laughs suddenly, the sound gritty as it escapes the back of her throat. She drops Aaron’s hand as she doubles over, her back shaking with breathless giggles. 

Aaron looks at her in bewilderment. He turns back to the constellation, vaguely able to see it now, and his lips quirk upward when his eyes trace the shape. It does kind of look like a worm.

Emily is still bent in half, clutching her stomach as her laughs break the silence of the night. She wobbles on her heels as she tries to straighten, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Okay,” Aaron grabs her elbow again as she lurches forward, unsteady. Her cheeks are flushed pink, her eyes bright from the alcohol. Tiny giggles escape her as she looks up again, making his stomach twist. “Bedtime for you now,” he mutters under his breath.

“I promise you it’s not that funny,” Aaron says as he lightly tugs her inside the house. Emily stumbles forward and he places his other hand on her back, his fingers catching the soft tips of her hair.

“Is too,” she laughs, squinting when they walk into the bright foyer.

“You’ll think otherwise in the morning,” he says as he walks her to the stairs. “Get some sleep.”

“Y’re no fun, Agent,” she sticks her tongue out at him. “Agent Aaron,” she muses as she kicks off her heels, suddenly shrinking down. The top of her head is level with his chin and he looks down slightly, biting back a smile when she raises her head to look up at him.

“No, that’s not how these things work, is it? Agent—what was your last name? Hotchner.” She snaps her fingers in triumph before he can answer, looking awfully pleased with herself.

“Agent Hotchner,” Emily slurs as she points at him, “you’ve got a stick up your ass.”

Aaron snorts. Emily’s eyes light up when his dimples pop out, deep in his cheeks as he chuckles. “You’re not wrong about that, actually,” he murmurs, running a hand through his hair and looking down at his watch, surprised to see his shift ended ten minutes ago.

“Are you fine to go up on your own?” He asks, strangely wanting to prolong their contact.

Emily scowls at him. “Perfectly.” She declares, looking at him over her shoulder as she grips the railing with one hand, the other holding her heels. She’s so focused on him she almost trips again, but she catches herself just before she face plants on the stairs. 

Aaron coughs to hide a laugh. “I heard that, Hotchner!” She yells, and he chuckles outright this time. Emily finally reaches the top of the stairs and flips him off before she stalks off to her room.

“Good night, Miss Prentiss,” Aaron calls out, smiling to himself when she doesn’t respond. He hears her bedroom door thud closed and turns to leave, still smiling as he climbs into his car.

It only takes two months before he finds himself pressed against her, his lips firm on hers to taste her laugh on his tongue. He still remembers the way she bit his lip and grabbed him by his tie to keep him close, how he knew in that moment he was so deeply fucked.

****

Emily never imagined getting married young. She barely even entertained the thought of marriage at all, certain she was doomed to eventually marry a politician several years older than her just to ease her mother’s endless prodding.

That’s not quite what happened. 

She’d just come home from a shitty day, her shoulders tense as she hung up her coat, not even the comfort of the home she and Aaron had built together enough to make her tight muscles relax.

It was only after she walked into the living room that she noticed the lights were strangely dimmed, the warm scent of food and—roses?—thick in the air.

“Aaron?” She had called out, her lips lifting as she walked into the dining room. “What’s—oh my god.” She gasped.

The sight of him kneeling with a velvet box in his hand, rose petals and candles scattered on the dining table behind him, was enough to make her heart stutter.

Immediately the stress of her horrible day melted off her shoulders, the fact that he could turn her mood around effortlessly making her sob before he could even speak out the words. She had knelt in front of him, grabbed his face with both hands and kissed him firmly, her desperate yes lost between their lips.

2010

Emily runs to the door and opens it a little too forcefully, startling Aaron. Her eyes are rimmed red, the lines of her face tight with tension, and when she sees him propped up on the pillows, thick bandages on his arm and chest, she promptly bursts into tears.

“Hey, hey,” Aaron rasps as she leans over the handles of his bed and carefully takes his face in her hands. A choked sob escapes her as her fingers run over his temple, feeling the broken skin next to his hairline.

“I’m okay, Em.” He soothes. The pain in his whole body says otherwise, but her eyes are wild, frantic, and he finds himself lying without thinking just so she can calm down.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Aaron.” She gasps, desperately pulling his head into her chest and tangling her fingers firmly in his hair. Her head falls on top of his as she holds him, her tears soaking his hair. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers again as she closes her eyes, guilt and revulsion turning her stomach. 

She wasn’t there. And this never would’ve happened if she was.

She barges into Clyde’s office the next day and demands she be pulled from undercover ops, ignoring his confused frown and his protests that she was one of their best. All she can think of is Aaron, how he had been all alone in their apartment when a psychopath attacked him. And she was miles away, deep undercover and unreachable. All for a profile.

Clyde sees the determined set to her jaw, knows there’s no arguing with her when she avoids each question he asks. So reassigns her to the local drugs unit where she works a desk job; 9 to 5, stopping shipments and shutting down labs, reports and files continually on her desk. The same cycle, the same profile. 

Aaron can see how miserable she is, even though she doesn’t admit it; quite the opposite. She keeps on insisting she’s fine, she likes her job. He doesn’t have to be a profiler to know she’s lying—and badly at that, but each time he tries to talk to her about it she shuts him down. Emily can’t even bear the thought of going away anymore, being unreachable whenever he needs her. The guilt eats at her as he’s dismissed from the hospital, bubbling out of her in the form of smothering, which Aaron takes with no complaint for once.

One day he can’t hold it back anymore when he sees her glum face as she sets down her purse, her lips barely lifting into a smile even for him. He walks over to her and pulls her into a hug, “You know Clyde would still take you back.” He whispers.

Emily immediately shakes her head. “I don’t want to go back,” she refutes. 

“But you loved your job,” Aaron protests, his chest aching with more than the pain of the scars. It’s the second time she’s given up something for him. He suddenly finds himself thinking of years back, when they had a huge fight over an undercover operation in Tuscany, the words indefinite amount of time making his stomach roil the moment she spoke them. 

He’d held her back even then, despite her insistence that it was her own choice not to go. Aaron feels the familiar guilt climb up his throat, choking him.

“I love you more,” Emily shakes her head as if it’s no big deal, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world to throw away her whole job for him. “You were attacked,” her voice breaks, “in our home and I didn’t know about it until three days later.” She takes a shivering breath as tears spill down her cheeks. “All for what? For a profile? It’s not worth it, Aaron. This wouldn’t have happened if I was with you in the first place-”

“Hey.” He cups her cheek, feels his heart squeeze painfully when she desperately wraps her fingers around his wrist. “Stop it,” he whispers as his thumb slides across the wetness on her cheeks, gathering it on his skin. 

“He would’ve attacked me whether you were here or not. And I’m really fucking glad you weren’t,” he breathes, his voice suddenly shaky as his mind entertains the thought. Aaron shakes his head as if to dislodge it from his brain.

“But-”

“You saved me, Emily.” He interrupts.

He always joked about how paranoid she was for stashing a spare gun in their living room, in the drawer where they kept their alcohol, no less. But he found himself reaching for it instinctively when he heard footsteps behind him, his shoulders tensing as he sensed a presence he knew wasn’t Emily’s. 

He hadn’t been able to point it before Foyet knocked it from his hand and shoved him on his back, slamming him in the temple with his own gun. Aaron thought it was over as the knife glinted above him, tore through his body with little resistance. 

“Where’s the missus, Aaron?” Foyet rasped. Aaron’s body tensed further at the mention of Emily, making him gasp when Foyet drove the knife into him again. 

“Think she’ll like these new scars? They’ll be just like mine.” He mused, lifting his shirt to show him the shiny silver scars on his abdomen.

Aaron closed his eyes, trapping his sudden tears beneath his closed lids as panic raced through him. His fingers twitched and he dug them into the carpet to stop them from shaking. He gripped the fibers of the carpet desperately, trying to hold on when he felt the edge of the gun. 

Foyet was still talking above him, Emily’s name on his lips as Aaron grappled for her weapon, weakly pawing at it until it slid into his hand. It almost fell from his grip, his hands shaking and his vision blurred from the pain, but he was somehow able to fire off a shot, somewhere in Foyet’s chest, then again in his neck until his body had slumped half on top of Aaron’s. He’d weakly kicked him off, finally blacking out to the sound of the neighbors pounding on his door.

Emily’s shaky breaths pull him out of the memory. 

Aaron tries to wipe away her endless tears, his heart hurting at the wetness on both their skin. “I didn’t shoot him with my gun, I’d taken it off already. It was yours. The one in the drawer,” he tells her, his eyes pleading on hers, trying to convince her that she was the reason he was still breathing. 

“You saved me, baby.” His voice cracks as he presses his lips to her forehead, his tears falling on her skin. Aaron leans forward so she can fit her face in his neck, the warm space between his shoulder and his jaw where she so often sought comfort. “You saved me,” he whispers, running his hands over her shaking back.

Emily only sniffles in return. She buries her face in his neck and presses her lips to his pulse, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him as tightly as she dared.

****

She looks up at the sound of papers slapping on the counter. “What’s this?”

“Application form,” Aaron says and she picks it up with a frown. “We’re down an agent in the BAU.”

Emily’s eyes snap to his. The BAU. “I—” She shakes her head as her pulse gallops suddenly. Her soul perks up at the prospect, but she squashes her hope as quickly as it rises. “We’re married,” she crosses her arms. “Surely they won’t allow that.”

“Contrary to popular belief, fraternization isn’t forbidden in the FBI,” Aaron shrugs. “Just highly discouraged. There have been married couples on the same teams before.”

Emily chews on her lip as her eyes skim the form. It’s like a carrot being dangled in front of her and she wants so badly to take it, but something tells her it won’t be that easy. Anxiety churns in her stomach as she thumbs the form, her fingers tracing the words.

“Why are you hesitating?” Aaron asks.

“I don’t know,” she sighs and leans forward on her elbows, her hands reaching for his. He takes them immediately, rubs his thumbs over her soft skin. “I mean, you’d be my boss, for starters. How’s that gonna work? And you hardly have a stable schedule, how are we going to take care of our kids if we’re both gone? And your team, surely-”

“Hey, hey,” Aaron cuts off her rambling. “It’s just a suggestion,” he soothes, squeezing her hands. She looks at him with uncertain eyes as she worries at her lip, and he feels his heart twist. 

“You’re miserable at your job, honey. Just think about this,” he says softly, watching as her tense shoulders slump at his words. She doesn’t even try to correct him this time, both of them aware it’s futile by now. “It’s an out if you need it. You obviously don’t need to make any decisions now, just think this over. We can figure out the problems later.”

Emily sighs as she looks down at the form again. “Okay,” she whispers, something in her loosening when Aaron leans across the counter and presses his lips to her forehead. 

She quietly opens the door to his office a few days later, smiling at the sight of his overly concentrated face as he works on his laptop. The hinges creak and he looks up, his frown melting off his face when he sees her. “Hey,” he leans back in his chair and beckons her over.

Emily doesn’t hesitate to sit on his lap. She curls into him, her feet going through the handles of the chair and her arm pressing against his chest. Aaron rubs her back as she settles onto him properly. She finally gets comfortable and stops shifting, leaning her head in the space between his neck and his shoulder. She’s quiet for a while, placing a hand on his forearm and idly playing with the soft hair she finds there, stalling as she tries to find the words.

Aaron waits. He settles his other hand on her hip, securing her on him and rubbing warmth into her skin through her pajama pants. Emily takes in a slow breath.

“I don’t like my job.” She says quietly into his neck, her voice small.

He mentally breathes out a sigh of relief. “I know, baby,” Aaron squeezes her waist.

“I thought about the BAU,” she tells him as she draws mindless patterns on his shirt, “but I have some concerns.”

“Tell me,” he says.

And she does. They spend most of the night discussing it, Aaron smoothing over her concerns and patiently answering her questions. He lays out a plan for their future children and she hums slightly, still tentative.

“It’s late, sweetheart,” he says when his thighs have gone numb from the weight of her on top of him. The inky night presses against his office window, the only light in the room coming from the small lamp on his desk, his laptop long since dead. “Let’s sleep on it.”

They sleep on it and talk about it again—and sleep on it and talk about it again—until Emily is confident in her decision, Aaron’s solid reassurance that either one of them could switch to another department calming her down. She hands him the signed papers and he takes them with a kiss to her forehead, trying to press comfort into her skin.

Her CV is impressive, even to Strauss, who raises a manicured brow when Aaron admits she’s his wife. She twists her face in displeasure, well aware of the challenges a married couple could bring into her team. But Emily’s skills call out to her like a siren, and when she sighs heavily as her eyes skip over her files, Aaron suppresses a smile. They’re understaffed, overworked, and all of the previous potential hires were underwhelming, fresh-eyed straight from the academy or barely exceeding the qualifications.

Emily surpassed them easily.

He speaks up when she closes Emily’s file. “You asked me if I knew anyone. She’s the best agent I know.”

Strauss leans back in her chair, her brows arching slightly. “And you’re saying that because she’s your wife?”

Aaron almost laughs. “No. How many agents do you know are fluent in six languages and already have experience working as profilers?” None, he knows, because he’s gone through the candidates with her. He takes her silence as a reason to continue. “She’s intelligent and empathetic, she works well with others. Her skills in the field and in profiling will be a great asset to us.”

Strauss steeples her fingers together. “How do I know this isn’t just a whirl? You were attacked a few months ago-”

Aaron’s jaw tightens. He cuts her off, “This isn’t a whirl, Foyet has nothing to do with this.” 

At least not in the way she’s thinking. 

He feels defensiveness for Emily rush through him, hot and burning in his gut. The words spill out of his mouth before he can stop himself. “I’m not taking advantage of my position by recommending her to you. Agent Prentiss is a good fit for the team, and she just so happens to be my wife. I don’t think our relationship should be enough reason to dismiss her.” He says, more firmly than he means to.

He hears his watch tick in the silence as Strauss looks at him, her eyes narrowing slightly as she assesses him, the situation. She nods after a beat. “I’ll think it through.”

In her book, that’s a yes. 

Relief washes over him like a wave, abruptly distinguishing the burning fire in his veins. Aaron bites the inside of his cheek to hide a smile. “Of course,” he nods and leaves her office.

Five days later, Emily is officially a member of the bureau.

2011

“I still need wedding pics,” Penelope says as she folds her napkin into a crane.

Emily pulls out her phone with a small eye roll; her newest friend is still not entirely convinced of their marriage, despite the matching rings on both their fingers.

“We didn’t really have a wedding,” she says, smiling anyway as she pulls up the pictures of her and Aaron at the courthouse. They were so young, she thinks as she looks at the pictures again, her brows plucked thin and Aaron’s face carefree, his posture relaxed, the responsibilities of Unit Chief not yet on his shoulders.

She turns the phone to her friends and smiles as JJ gushes over her billowing white sundress and Aaron’s messy hair, fluffed up by the wind that day. In her hand is a small bouquet of spring flowers; daffodils and tulips and magnolias, a daisy tucked into her hair and a matching one peeking out of Aaron’s breast pocket. Their hands are firmly around each other’s waists, new rings glinting proudly in the sun.

“You look like spring fairies,” Penelope whispers reverently and touches her fingers to the screen. 

Emily laughs loudly, the sound spilling out of her as Aaron’s face twists at being called a spring fairy. He grimaces as Emily squeezes his hand, her eyes bright with humor. 

“Not you, sir,” Penelope looks up hurriedly, her horrified eyes meeting Aaron’s. “I meant Emily. She looked like a spring fairy,” she clarifies. Her eyes widen minutely when she hears Dave and Derek snicker. “N-Not that you didn’t look absolutely dashing-”

Penelope cuts off, eyes bugging out of her head, when Aaron starts to laugh. It’s deep and rich, making Emily grin wider as his dimples dig into his cheeks. The table grows silent as they gape at him, Reid’s subtle eyebrow raise and Morgan’s stunned grin a little more discreet than Penelope’s wide open mouth and JJ’s tiny squeak of surprise.

“I appreciate that, Garcia,” he smiles at her warmly, making her briefly freeze in place. 

She regains herself after a few moments and beams back at him brightly. “Only ever the truth, sir.”

Emily can tell they’re trying hard not to physically react when Aaron wraps an arm around her shoulders, his fingers playing idly with the ends of her hair as he listens to her talk. By the time they’re halfway through dinner they’ve finished telling their story, and for the most part the attention is off them. Penelope and Morgan take over storytelling, though Aaron couldn’t care less.

His other hand on her thigh is hidden beneath the table, his finger running distractingly over the seam of her jeans. Emily’s body heats at his touch, a flush crawling up her cheeks, and she tunes out Morgan’s voice and turns to him.

“Is it always all or nothing with you?” She whispers to him, slightly exasperated as she links their fingers together, firmly putting a stop to his wandering touches.

Aaron grins at her brightly, not noticing the way JJ swoons at the sight of his dimples. “I see no reason to hold back,” he murmurs, laughing lightly when Emily rolls her eyes. “You’re my wife, my pregnant wife, and they know that now,” he kisses her forehead. “You can’t expect me not to be all over you, you know that, honey.”

Emily melts at his words. She knows this outward affection won’t last long in front of the team, Aaron still drunk on her news and softened by the glass of wine he had with dinner. He grows a little more relaxed as the night goes on and they have dessert, his self control crumbling and his palm occasionally drifting to her stomach beneath the table. 

Even without the added proof of the wedding photos Penelope would’ve believed it, the love between them palpable in their soft glances, their comfortable touches. He moves when she does, following her effortlessly and adjusting his arm on the back of her chair when she shifts, rests a knee on his under the table.

Some part of it still feels unreal as he hands her his spoon and shares his portion of dessert with her, meeting her sheepish smile with a soft one of his own and a little nudge of the plate toward her. She turns to Morgan, finding him already smiling at her as he mimes to zip his lips shut. Penelope nods vigorously, not wanting to scare them away with her excitement and let them clam up, aware even with her short time with Emily how private of a person she is.

Aaron mindlessly taps out a pattern on Emily’s thigh, tuning out the conversations around him, just thinking of when he’d go home already and cuddle with his wife like he’d been wanting to do all damn day—or rather, ever since she came into his office.

Emily turns to smile at him, her giddiness overflowing. Her nose nuzzles against his cheek with how close they are, but for once they’re both unconcerned about prying eyes, too wrapped up in their happiness to care. She presses a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Let’s go home, hm?” She murmurs. Aaron nods, feeling his chest grow warm with how well she knows him, “Sure.”

Dave watches through the restaurant window as they walk outside, Aaron’s arm around Emily’s shoulders as they walk, matching each other step for step. There’s an effortlessness to them that comes with years and years of knowing each other, existing around one another and becoming intimately familiar with the way their bodies move, separately and together. Her shoulder knocks into his, his into hers until the separate lines of their bodies blur together and he can’t even tell where Aaron ends and Emily begins.

He smiles as they stop beneath a lamppost, warm golden light shining down on them as they kiss, clearly unaware they’re still in sight. Dave turns his gaze back to the team and knocks his knuckles against the table when he finds them all looking out the window too.

“Okay you nosy people,” he says, willfully ignoring their protests, “let’s leave them alone.”

2012

Aaron walks out of the kitchenette with his coffee mug, his head snapping up when he hears Emily’s voice, the familiar sound of his daughter’s garbling.

He walks over to them on Emily’s old desk, still awaiting her replacement, and bends down to lightly kiss Emily’s forehead. “Hi, honey.”

“Hey,” she smiles up at him as he sits down next to her on the desk and leans over to kiss his baby’s hair. 

“What are you doing here?” Aaron asks as Emily takes the coffee mug from his hands, smiling down at Olivia as she flails her fists excitedly at the sight of him. 

“Hi princess,” he chuckles and takes a tiny fist in his hand, pressing a kiss to it as his daughter coos at him. 

Emily smiles and sets the mug down. “Somebody missed you.” She strokes a gentle thumb over Olivia’s cheek. 

“I’m guessing it’s you,” Aaron murmurs.

Emily laughs and shakes her head, “Nope, it’s this little one,” she presses a kiss to Olivia’s forehead. She turns to look at Aaron, her hands secure on her baby’s back as she narrows her eyes at him. “You’re awfully sure of yourself, Mr Hotchner.”

Aaron’s soft chuckle carries across the bullpen. His hand goes to the dip of her waist, his palm warm through her clothes as he squeezes lightly. “Considering we’ve been together over a decade, I think I’d have reason to be, Mrs Hotchner.”

Emily clears her throat and throws her head back haughtily, trying to distract him from the slight heat in her cheeks. “It’s Agent Prentiss to you when we’re on government property,” she arches her brow.

“If this is your way of flirting, I don’t wanna hear it.” Morgan’s voice reaches them, making Emily roll her eyes. He walks over to them and completely ignores Emily, bending down and focusing all his attention on the baby on her chest.

“I don’t know how you deal with it, princess,” he coos to Olivia, lightly pinching her cheeks and grinning when she giggles.

“Your mommy and daddy make me wanna throw up sometimes,” he twists his face dramatically to make Olivia laugh. Her sweet giggles echo through the bullpen, catching JJ’s attention as she walks down from her desk.

Olivia places her tiny palm on Morgan’s cheek, squealing as her hands run over the coarse hair of his goatee. He chuckles as she buries her fingers in it, not sensing the danger until Olivia closes her fist and pulls tightly.

“Mother-”

“Morgan.” Aaron barks.

“-fudger,” he ends lamely, smiling weakly at Olivia with watering eyes.

JJ and Emily burst into laughter as Emily untangles her baby’s fist from Morgan’s goatee. “You show him, baby,” she chuckles as Olivia finally lets go of his face. Her daughter gurgles happily at her as Morgan rubs his chin and straightens, shoving off JJ’s sympathetic palm on his shoulder.

“You’re such a good girl,” Emily coos as she smothers her face in kisses and blows raspberries on her cheeks, her lips turning up into a grin as her daughter squeals. Aaron smiles at the sound too, his dimples popping out. 

“Give her to me,” he demands lightly, smiling when Olivia holds out her hands for him as Emily lifts her from the carrier on her chest. 

“Hi baby,” he kisses her soft cheek, his heart melting when she cuddles into the space between his neck and shoulder, a spot both she and Emily have developed a liking for. She babbles into his neck, her tiny shoes digging into his ribs, but Aaron doesn’t care. 

JJ pulls out a chair and sits down in front of Emily, both of them talking as Morgan goes back to annoy Reid and Aaron cuddles with his little girl, enjoying the brief, rare moment of quiet in the office. His coffee mug lay forgotten as Emily sips from it, halfway into it and in no way eager to give it back, but he doesn’t mind.

Olivia pulls on his tie and he looks down to find it in her mouth, one tiny hand fisted in his jacket and the other feeding more of the fabric into her mouth.

Aaron chuckles as he pulls it from her mouth. “Sweetheart, we talked about this,” he frowns at her playfully and unwraps her fingers from the tie. “I know daddy’s ties are delicious but you can’t keep eating them,” he chides softly as she grabs his finger in her fist. She looks up at him with her deep brown eyes—Emily’s eyes—and babbles something to him, her tone vaguely telling him she’s upset with him.

“I’m sorry, I know it’s mean,” he grins as he brings her hand to his lips, kissing it repeatedly until she giggles.

He hears the click of heels and looks up, abruptly pulled from his own universe with his daughter. Emily grins as she knocks her shoulders with his. “Brace yourself,” she warns him, looking down at Olivia and smiling at her, “you too, sweet girl.”

Penelope walks into the bullpen, heading towards Aaron with her arms outstretched, one goal on her mind. “My senses told me baby Hotchner was here,” she says as she stands in front of him, wiggling her fingers impatiently until Aaron sighs and relinquishes his baby to her.

Emily chuckles as she leans into him, her hand reaching for his. “It’s so hard, isn’t it?” She whispers to him teasingly, her eyes bright with humor at his downturned lips.

“Torture,” he grumbles, linking their fingers together and rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand, her closeness somewhat making up for the distance between himself and his baby girl.

“You’ll get her back soon.” Emily soothes. 

They both know that’s a lie.

[ariadosanon]

[TW: FAMILIAL INFIGHTING, MENTIONS OF POKÉMON DEATH.]

[A video is attached. The image of a vaguely nervous Rotom sits in the corner of the recording, a frown on his face. Nictoria is being recorded again, and the content seems... deeply personal.]

The video opened on Nictoria in her living room. The young woman was sitting on her couch, facing a holographic screen projection from her P ★ DA. Her expression was hard to read, as she kept lowering her head to her knees. A man with similar facial features, and white hair is looking back at her. From the image of him, it was clear he was wearing a Pokémon Ranger uniform, minus the usual hat. He looked disappointed, or maybe even a bit angry with Nictoria. Before the viewer could assume anything else about the situation, Nic spoke up. 

“Wes, I swear on my time that I am doing my fucking best.” She said, visibly clenching her jaw. 

“I know this can’t be your best.” Wes replied instantly. “Because I’ve seen your best, and killing at least two Pokémon in one night isn’t that.” 

“They attacked me, first.” She finally snarled out, a clear excuse. She looked away from the screen, unable to make digital eye contact with the man. She ran her clawed hands down her face.

“Those Pokémon were not guilty of their trainers' sins. They didn’t deserve to die— and especially not in the way you murdered them.”

“I have a right to fuckin’ defend myself!”

Wes shook his head vigorously, crossing his arms and glaring at Nictoria. A scarred, yet regal Umbreon hopped onto his shoulder, staring into the camera with its trainer's same intensity.

“Just because they worked for Rocket doesn’t mean you can maim them and then kill their Pokémon.” He said sternly. He paused, hesitating before his next words. “Listen. I could tell that, despite everything, you showed restraint during that battle,” Wes said, his tone softer. “But what’s less for you is still too much for everyone else, Little Shadow.” He grimaced. “You still need to change.”

Nictoria immediately stood up at that comment, startling the Spinarak on the couch with her. She bared her teeth like a wild animal as she shouted at the man on the screen. 

“I’ve been fucking changing! I haven’t stolen or bought a stolen Pokémon in a whole YEAR! I’ve only got ONE Shadow Pokémon in my possession that isn’t a NAT— I even started keeping my useless feeder Pokémon in better living conditions! They have fresh fucking leaves, Wes! FRESH FUCKING LEAVES!” She screamed, clapping her hands between words for emphasis. “What more do you fucking WANT from me!” 

Wes didn’t react to the violent outburst, seemingly used to it from her. Umbreon, however, bristled, snarling at Nictoria from his trainer’s shoulder. 

“It’s not about what I want from you.” He said, still calm. “I’m your brother, not your Interpol agent. I’m just worried that you’re relapsing.” 

“Well I’m not,” She snapped. “And you can tell that brat, Chrono. I’m fine.” She insisted. “All these stupid motherf—”

“Victoria, listen to me.” He interrupted, quieting his sister down. 

“Interpol may be letting this incident go, but I can’t. I’m not going to let Tegan play games with you, or video call you on the weekends anymore.” Nictoria’s face fell, her anger immediately evaporating into pure panic. “You— Why the Cel not!?”

Wes dragged his hand down his face again, looking away from the screen and his sister. This part seemed to be genuinely distressing for him. Umbreon rubbed his head against his trainer’s cheek, nudging him on.

“Rui and I got called into a parent teacher conference. He’s been mimicking your speech patterns— He’s been saying things to the other kids— and he’s been hitting the other kids.” 

“Well- the hitting isn’t so great,” she chuckled nervously, sitting back down. Nictoria began hitting her hand against her thigh rhythmically, perhaps an attempt to calm down

“But sure he can mimic me, that's fine— I’m his aunt— what’s wrong with a kid looking up to his aunt?” She desperately pleaded, “Maybe he’s just having a bit of a rough phase— You know I never talk about— My past around him!”

“Vicky— I don’t think either of us are buying that Neo-Snagem or your ‘streams’ are fully in your past,” Wes said sincerely. “Today he’s telling other kids their partner Pokémon are ‘dumb’ and pushing them over, tomorrow, then what? He joins up with Rocket? He starts a Team like you or Da did?”

“There’s a big fucking difference between the two!” She shouted in disbelief, spreading her arms out. “I’m doing better, Wesley, I’m doing my best—!“

“I can’t believe you yet.” He said honestly. Umbreon nodded in agreement with its trainer, staring down Nictoria like a hawk. 

“Maybe in another year or so we can revisit the idea.”

“A year!?”

“A year.” He said sternly, holding up his hand. “And that’s the best offer you’ll be getting. Rui didn’t want you to see him again at all.”

She swallowed hard, but nodded to the projection of her brother. 

“Okay.” Was all she said. 

“… I love you, Vicky.” He replied, “I know you can get better. I’ll call you again next week? Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay. I love you…”

“Okay.” She grunted back, before adding a hesitant: “Love you.” 

As soon as Wes hung up the phone, Victoria slowly stood from her spot on the couch. She took a deep breath… 

And smashed the coffee table with her bare hands, screaming at the top of her lungs. 

[The video is abruptly cut off here.]

[railingsofsorrow]

loml and jemily would go so well 😩

loss of my life

[emily prentiss x jennifer jareau]

[SONG INSPIRATION » loml by taylor swift]

summary: emily wanted to bury herself alive. I didn't know I had her until I lost her. it all became painfully too real.

pairings: j. jareau x e. prentiss; j. jareau x w. lamontagne jr.

w.c: 2K

warnings/content: heartBREAK; hard angst like... prepare tissues-kind-of-angst; unrequited love (it's heavily implied); CM related violence; descriptions of blood and wounds; the whole thing discusses Loss; lauren reynolds (mentioned); allusions to death; this is inspired by LOML so keep that in mind ig?; no happy ending.

A/N: I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ok I've layed out my heart for this one shot, I hope you like it and SORRY for how long it took. I've recently moved in to a new place and my life is hectic but somehow I found motivation to finish this? yeah idk, it's something. sorry again

[part of “the taylor swift anthology”]

navi

masterpost

criminal minds masterlist

[requested]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

❝ who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames.❞

━━━━━━━

I didn't know I had her until I lost her.

When Emily saw Jennifer for the first time, the woman was still the BAU's media liaison. She would have thought she was the youngest agent on the team if Spencer hadn't been introduced as such.

She found her mesmerising.

JJ walked up to do press conferences as if she was about to order a coffee. Emily thought she was amazing and she wanted to learn everything about her and with her.

It wasn't love at first sight. No. Emily would never admit that. It's bullshit. What she can admit, however, is that she fell for her when she heard her voice.

“You must be the new agent.” JJ greeted her, outstretching a hand that Emily took too long to accept because she was too busy staring at her. Soft fingers. Perfect nails. No rings. “Welcome to the team.”

Emily must have thanked her at some point. She can't remember. The only thing he has engraved into her mind was JJ's lips turned upwards in a warm smile, showing her teeth. The smile was for Emily and she thought of numerous ways she could have one of those everyday for as long as she worked at the BAU.

━━━━━━━━━

❝ I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed

I felt aglow like this

never before and never since.❞

━━━━━━━━━

I miss her even though she's a step away from me.

Emily Prentiss.

Daughter of Embassador Prentiss. Waitress for three months until she gave up because she sucked. Interpol spy. FBI Agent. A corpse.

She was many things in her lifetime. Emily conquered most of things she wanted, one of those was to get into the FBI. She did it. From a very early age she knew she wanted to change lives, but she didn't know she could do it in both good and bad ways.

Emily tried. Most of all, she tried. And she lost so much. Her friends, her family, herself.

She was forced to lose who she was but one thing that was always constant and that helped her not spiral out of control: Jennifer Jareau.

And here's the thing. Emily never lost JJ. She was always there on her corner, never straying too far. What changed then? Well.

JJ did.

She met someone.

Emily felt her world crash down and send her to an exhibition of all of the regrets she committed in this lifetime. Not telling JJ how she felt was the first and the biggest one. It stung and it hurt and it scarred her entire body to the point where she wanted to throw up and rip her skin apart because why why would she do this why would she not tell her how she felt how could she let her GO?

She was a coward.

Interpol spy. FBI Agent. Chief of Interpol's London office. Yet— she was a coward. Emily chased down serial killers for a living. Her heart stopped and she had to fake her death to protect herself and the people she loved. Yet!— she was a coward. The worst of them.

She left the woman she loved go because she thought it was better to have her at arm's length than to risk losing her by admitting her feelings.

I didn't know I had her until I lost her.

Emily never really lost Jennifer. But she never really had her either. Not in the way she wanted.

“You're overthinking.”

Emily blinked, stepping back to reality as Reid's voice echoed through her ears. They had been playing chess before Emily's little reminiscing episode. He probably cheated as she wasn't paying attention and for that, he earned a glare.

“You know,” Emily drawled out, observing the chess board before she realises he was one move from winning and anything she did would end up on her inevitable loss. “playing while somebody is distracted is the biggest act of betrayal.”

“You were distracted because you were overthinking and it's not my fault if I'm concentrated and you're not.”

She wanted to throw a chess piece at him.

Spencer offered her a knowingly look and Emily felt like his expression wasn't related to the game at all. Just as he knew when she was overthinking, she knew when he was about to meddle into her business.

There was no time to stop him though.

“Why don't you just talk to her?”

The seat was suddenly too hot and she wondered if the AC is on.

“Who?” She played dumb and she did a very poorly job at it.

Spencer agreed because he rolled his eyes, turning his neck to look at somebody — not somebody, Emily knew who he was looking at because it was the same direction she had been trying not to stare for the past one hour.

JJ fell asleep, head propped up against the window, her neck bent in a way that it would hurt when she wakes up but Emily couldn't get out of her ass to go give her her pillow even though she has been doing that since forever.

Something's different.

She's different.

They're different.

Or she tells herself it needs to be different this time.

“JJ may not say it, but she notices you have drifted away.” Something in Emily chest shakes. Despair. Agony. What do you mean she noticed it? What is there to notice?

“I haven't drifted away. We're fine.”

“She misses you.” Spencer said and then closes his mouth, not letting anything else escape for the rest of the jet ride.

She misses you.

She misses you.

━━━━━━━

❝ about a million times

who's gonna tell me the truth

when you blew in with the winds of fate

and told me I reformed you.❞

━━━━━━━

“Sit still.”

“Why are you doing the paramedics job?”

JJ let out a huff for the third time, losing her patience with the wounded woman in front of her.

Emily had her neck painted purple because of someone they didn't see being the unsub fast enough and blood gushing out of a cut in her forehead.

Not gushing out, you see. But Emily Prentiss shouldn't have anything less than nothing hurt on her face. Or anywhere else in her body. She should be fine.

She should be fine.

Jennifer felt her heart break in half and twist in the edges when she noticed Emily hadn't gotten out in time. The same situation as years back. But back then she knew Emily would be safe, it wasn't real. This time, it felt a lot real and she hated it.

Lying to everybody while knowing the truth is cruel but in a twisted, odd way, it brought her comfort. Because Emily was safe.

Tonight she had no comfort. She had a headache and her eyes were stinging.

JJ wanted to cry.

She almost lost her again. There was no faking her death for her wellbeing. There was no fake anything.

She almost lost her.

“Do you see the amount of people hurt?” JJ provided a jab to cover up the dread in her chest. She dabbed gently against the cut in her forehead, cleaning the dried blood. She's fine. She's fine. “They're going to take sometime until they get to you.”

“Of course, they're priorities.” Emily retorted, looking up at the victims scattered around the entrance of the building.

A crease between the blonde's forehead would be the first tell for Emily to know she fucked up, but she couldn't see it.

“You're a priority.”

“No, I'm not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I'm not the vict— ow! JJ!” Emily flinched away as JJ pressed too hard on her wound, causing it to pinch her already injured skin.

JJ leaned away, throwing the gauze on top of the other materials she had used to disinfect her injury.

“I'm gonna call someone over.”

Emily didn't know why she panicked all of a sudden. She wanted her to go. She wanted to be left alone.

Right?

“JJ, no, wait—” She found herself grasping her wrist to prevent her from walking off. “What's wrong?” Was she being a hypocrite for asking that? Then so be it. She missed JJ and the last thing she wanted was to have her be mad at her for something.

Being mad at Emily right now was unreasonable and unfair. JJ was plenty aware of that though that didn't change the fire of anger cursing through her body as Emily told her that she wasn't a priority. How dare she? How DARE she?

“You're a priority!” JJ marvelled. “And you need to stop thinking of yourself as anything other than a priority. It's boderline idiotic.” A pause. She took a deep breath in, shoulders slumping. She was tired. “What you did there was stupid. It could've ended badly.”

I could've lost you.

Do I still have you?

“It didn't.” Emily said, frowning. “This is barely a scratch, Jen.”

Jen.

JJ hadn't been called that in a long time. Emily was the only one who called her that and since she kind of put JJ aside in her life... God, she missed her. But she guessed the feeling wasn't mutual.

━━━━━━━

❝it was legendary

it was momentary

it was unnecessary.❞ ━━━━━━━

Late at night, as they went back to the hotel to get some rest and catch an early flight in the next day, Emily found herself unable to relax.

Hotch was in charge of dividing the rooms and four people would have to pair up because of the budget cuts.

Stupid fucking budget cuts—

If the universe was on her favour or not, she didn't know. What she knew was that JJ and her ended up being paired up. Emily tried to see the brighter side of the situation. Despite their tension, Emily desperately wanted to apologise to JJ, or maybe just admit she was being a real bitch by avoiding her without a reason.

She had a reason.

One JJ didn't know and will never know if it depended on her.

If the universe was on her favour or not, she came to learn the answer when Will Lamontagne Jr. walked through the entrance and went straight to JJ, fussing over if she was okay or not.

JJ's widened eyes told Emily she didn't expect her boyfriend (?) to be there. And neither anyone in the team expected him either, because the way everyone eyed each other with confused gazes was explanation enough.

Emily wanted to bury herself alive.

I didn't know I had her until I lost her.

It all became painfully too real.

━━━━━━━

❝ should'veet it stay buried

oh what a valiant roar

what a bland goodbye.❞

━━━━━━━

It dawned on her as Will kissed JJ in front of the whole team, not caring about people's opinions or if the eyes on them were judging in any way, that they didn't have to worry about that

It was perfect, wasn't it? They were perfect for each other. Why would Emily even think of messing it up?

Emily never had her. Not in the way she wanted. And now she lost her. For good.

But JJ was happy. Safe and happy.

It didn't matter if Emily physically felt her heart pulling and pulling to the point it would snap. Any second now. But not here. Not in front of her team. Not in front of JJ's happiness.

She would breakdown on her own. She's been doing it all by herself for a long time anyway, so what's the difference now?

I never had her.

So I never lost her, did I?

━━━━━━━━

❝ I'll never leave

never mind

[...]

you're the loss of my life.❞

━━━━━━━━

taglist: @ssa-shaylam ; @ninkieminjaj

[fallershipping]

I'm a bit lost on how Secret Agents live, but for now it's that Looker and Anabel own separate apartments in the same town in Southern Kalos (or whatever region Interpol HQ is in)

They commute to work via rail/subway or flying Pokemon. The closer they become, the more often commute together or carpool (or Looker is taken on scary joyrides on a plane shaped dragon)

They also end up visiting each other's homes more and more when they start their "Romantic Tension" arc, working on missions and paperwork together. Beforehand, Looker is anxiously vacuuming everything and making everything look presentable and nice (almost Bowerbird nesting behavior hehe), while Anabel is trying to roll up all stray shed fur off every surface and worries about allergies, even if he hasn't shown to have any.

Looker and Anabel trust each other with their lives, so they eventually trust each other with spare keys to their apartments (still messaging and knocking ahead of time tho) but it does feel like their living spaces are getting mixed. Often they leave behind things in the other's apartment.

this is even more apparent when they become official lovers, but the transition was so smooth it was not really all that noticed. They actually move in together after a small amount of time too since it's just more convenient and they don't mind each other's spaces.

Hell, they often room together in hotel rooms if the canon is to be trusted so...

[megaphonegirlk]

Laugh While You Can

The woman known as Shih-na, the right hand of Agent Lang, had laughed when she was taken into custody. She’d laughed like a madwoman as tears ran down her face and her smile split into something horrifying even to herself.

The perfect spy undone by a fatal flaw. She could take any name, wear any disguise and forge any document to become anyone in the world. A renowned defense attorney, an Interpol operative’s second in command, a lover, a mother, the yatagarasu’s traitorous third leg…and nobody was any the wiser.

With an order from fair Cohdopia , she danced upon the strings she’d woven between the unsuspecting targets and fashioned them into nooses she’d render untraceable before the authorities even thought to investigate…and what little they found would be diverted by her own hand onto a convenient target.

She’d have been perfect if it wasn’t for the way she’d broken when she’d had to kill Byrne Faraday. She’d always had a tactic…a skill passed down from her handlers in the shattered Mediterranean nation she called home…to push away unwanted feelings and allow yourself to complete the mission.

Laugh. Force away the pain with a laugh. Laugh at the foolish and the haughty, at the little things in life, or at the dark humor of your grim duty. Take nothing seriously, because everything outside the mission was just a game.

Falling in love was just a game. Getting attached was just a game. Having a daughter was just a game. When the order came down from on high, she pulled the metaphorical trigger on those her cover story called friends as the latest move in the great game. It was that or her name struck out in red Babahlese ink, and the hounds of fair Cohdopia on her heels until they ripped the life from her and left her just another corpse in her bloody history.

But as she plunged the knife into his chest, the game shuddered to a stop in time with his heart. Part of her bled out on the courtroom floor alongside him, maybe the only part of her that was ever worthwhile.

So she laughed. Laughed at the silly young prosecutor and his imperious little sister. She laughed at Detective Badd’s desperation and loss. She laughed at the impotent law, and its pomp and circumstance.

When she became Shih-na, agent of Interpol out of the poverty stricken Zheng Fa, she laughed with her presumptive master…her pack leader…over the absurdity around them. But she restrained herself, as a good agent should.

But when she finally found herself cornered, that foolish prosecutor’s arguments laying the truth bare, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Laughter rang through the embassy, echoing through its halls as it cracked and distorted along with her. A manic cackle for a shattering pawn on the great game board rang out as her throat burned with the sound.

Like a serpent , she struck the moment opportunity knocked, stifling Kay’s shout of terror and anger turned towards her as she held the pistol to her young throat…her eyes, her face was too similar to his, carrying none of her mother with her in features or gift.

She was aware of Tyrell’s hand grabbing his gun…of the promise that the final leg of the great Yatagarasu would finally tear her from it’s body…as the shot rang out, some instinct she didn’t understand caused her to shove Kay to the side and away from its path. The crossbow bolts within her hair clattered to the ground alongside her as ‘Shih-na’ prepared to return fire.

Lang cried out in pain, and she felt his warm arms embraced around her as he shadowed her, blood pooling under one shaking leg as he wrestled her into a firm hold.

He’d protected her, shielded her from the inevitable consequence ‘because she’s still his subordinate’.

It was over. Her cover was blown, and those who thought they could trust her now understood just what sort of person she was.

She didn’t interfere when they cuffed her…she didn’t resist as Lang and her former comrades led her towards the door to meet her fate with the last laugh.

If she was to burn, she’d ensure the Ambassador burned down with it by the very hands of Byrne’s daughter.

At the very hands of her daughter.

Kay approached, the bolts in her hand.

“…Wait! Ye… I mean, Ms. Shih-na.”

“Yes?”

“When I fell to the floor earlier, these fell at my feet. “ despite the gun to her throat…despite the fact that she’d killed her father…the anger in her stare had evaporated into something too gentle for her to take now that she was without the barrier of ‘the game’ to protect the battered and terrified Cohdopian girl underneath.

She forced herself to chuckle as she shrugged. “What about them…?”

Kay Faraday’s smile was an innocence she’d never known, her warmth towards a monster who’d ruined her life almost painful to take as she raised the crossbow bolts up towards her.

“They're such pretty hair sticks that I thought… well, that I should return them to you.”

The laughter died on her lips, and she felt the strange stirring of that same feeling that’d driven her to push Kay away from Badd’s bullet.

“Ha ha… You can have them. They're of no use to me anymore. If you don't want them, you can always just throw them away.”

“No…I want to keep them.” Kay seemed to accept whatever it was she saw behind her eyes. Her fingers clasped around the crossbow bolts, and she quietly drifted back to stand by Edgeworth with the very evidence that would tear this sordid little mystery apart under her master’s feet.

Lang and his pack led her away, one last clue to her handler’s undoing falling from her grinning lips on the way out the door.

The Embassy doors slammed behind her with a heavy finality, and she turned her eyes to the smoke-clouded sky as they shoved her along.

She couldn’t find it in her to laugh anymore. She felt Lang place his hand against her back, lingering just a moment too long and too tenderly.

All she could do was cry, smiling like one of his wolves at the shining moon above. AO3 Link

[auyuyu006]

A Kenshi Takahashi Playlist ♫

Featuring chill 80s, indie pop, and rock music. Heavy on the melancholic and wistful sound. Songs are linked below!

Ginga Densetsu- Akina Nakamori

An 80s jpop song filled with all the right city pop elements with a mysterious and dramatic flair. A perfect song for Kenshi imo.

All Dead- L'arc-en-Ciel

A beautiful 90s jrock song reminiscent of both aching for and wanting to forget your past and what once was. Sounds like anger from a place of aching. Sounds like everything you once knew ending and still getting up the next morning. 

Owner of a Lonely Heart- YES

This chill 80s rock song is both easy to dance to and has a touch of sadness and longing. It reminds me of Kenshi's character. I can picture Kenshi listening to this in a convertible with the roof down for some reason.

My Desire- Interpol

Possibly one of the most yearnful yearning songs to ever exist. My hc is Kenshi is a man who doesn't prioritize love in his life. But when he falls- he falls off a cliff. Love is like a kick to the stomach for him. He's not sure how to accept it, to express or show it, but he needs it. He's not sure how he went on without it for so long.

MY FUNNY VALENTINE- BUCK-TICK

90s jrock gold (Seriously such a good song!!) Sounds like enemies to lovers to me. Something about the beat just gives me Kenshi vibes, specifically his more humorous and playful side. 

Strangelove- Depeche Mode

I am a firm believer that Kenshi would be a Depeche Mode fan. This reminds me of an ex-Yakuza FBI agent Kenshi trying to live his life away from his criminal past.

나쁜 남자 Bad Man- Rain

A sexy and iconic 1st generation kpop song. Kenshi is not Korean lol but as a Korean myself I have to throw one in there. I am a Korean Suchin truther though (she has a Korean name let me livee). Although this song sounds badass, the lyrics are filled with guilt. It really reminds me of Kenshi (and perhaps his past with Suchin... ?)

KISS ME GOOD-BYE- BUCK-TICK

Another 90s buck-tick song. It’s such a charming and sweet song. I think that Kenshi would like it. It gives me domestic vibes. The guitar solo is delicious. 

Eyes Without A Face- Billy Idol

My hc is that Johnny Cage loves Billy Idol, and showed Kenshi this to cheer him up...? Because it was funny? I don't know. But Kenshi ended up genuinely loving it. This song is incredibly beautiful and melancholic!

(This is 100% just for fun and please feel free to add other songs!! I want to do Liu Kang or Ashrah next)

[eleni-cherie]

among thieves ✨ || bts • pjm

- chapter 1.0

"what even am I to you? your rival, your lover, an obstacle or am I supposed to be your coffin?"

about two thieves who can't live with nor without each other. and a joint past that comes back to threaten them.

© 2023 | eleni_cherie

»»»

masterlist: here

— genre: thief au, gangster comedy, adventure, romcom, humour, angst, fluff, very flirty jimin, friends/rivals/exes to lovers (it's complicated, ok?!) f2l e2l ex2l all members play a role in this story!

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. CHARACTERS NOT NECESSARILY LIKE THE REAL PERSONS. ALSO VERY UNREALISTIC PLOT LOL - JUST PRETEND READING A MANGA/COMIC OR WATCHING A FILM, REALLY.

SUGGESTIVE THEMES. MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE & BLOOD (BUT NOTHING TOO GRAPHIC, IT'S STILL A COMEDY!)

»»»

"Sir, are we sure this isn't a trap?"

"Skylar's right!" Jungkook chirped in, nodding. Both subordinates leaning forward in their seats. Seokjin sighed seeing their inquiring looks.

"Of course we can't be absolutely sure, but it's very unlikely. There isn't any beneficial reason for them to trap interpol agents. I think I know them well enough and for Kim Taehyung to call and ask me for help, it means they've got a real problem."

Skylar and Jungkook exchanged a look, facing Seokjin again. "And do you know what's exactly the deal? What happened that he revealed their location?"

"He said it's about Park Jimin."

"Wha.. what issue regarding him?"

He motioned to the case file in front of him. Opening it. "Of course take it with a grain of salt, but according to him Jimin is having a severe dissociation. He couldn't exactly tell me why, but apparently he attacked both his partners and attempted to kill Miss Valentine before fleeing."

Jungkook hummed, seemingly confused as his brows furrowed into a deep frown. "But isn't he totally infatuated with her? Why would he kill her?"

"That's exactly the point," Seokjin said, pointing his finger at him, "He wouldn't. In fact, he'd never kill anyone unless it was for self-defense." One of the very few reasons he secretly respected his opponent a lot. "So if Taehyung is saying the truth, there's indeed something very wrong with him."

"Making him quite dangerous," Skylar mumbled absentmindedly with a concerned expression. Glancing up at them. "I mean, if a thief with his abilities turns into an assassin.."

Jungkook's eyes widened, understanding what she was hinting to. A person like this being on the loose would be dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

Seokjin nodded. A deeply worried look spread on his usually soft features. "That'd make him one of the most dangerous men in the world. That's why we've got to catch him before that happens."

"We'll land at the international airport of Havana in approximiately fifteen minutes."

The voice of the captain was heard through the speaker then.Finally. After all, they hadn't had even time to sleep after arresting a wanted identity thief in Montreal before getting the call and instantly boarding the interpol private jet to fly over to the carribbean.

Seokjin directed his attention to his two assistants once more. Closing the files on the table.

"When we land, I want you two to meet with his partners and gather as much information on the situation as possible."

Skylar blinked puzzled. "Shouldn't we arrest them?"

"Not yet. Remember, they were the ones calling us. Our main priority is to find Jimin. After that, arrest them."

She nodded at her superior's orders. Him continuing then, facing Jungkook. "Make sure they won't hold back any details. Meanwhile I'll head to the headquaters and organise everything we know and see if I can find any more clues." He sighed then, looking out at the clouds. The sun would soon rise over the horizon. "I hope we can find him before any damage takes place."

»»»

After meeting with the local police force and making sure he hadn't left the country yet, Seokjin coordinated an extensive search all around the city and the main island. Apparently Arabella had last seen him downtown a few hours ago, near the local hospital. So that was served as a starting point. He shouldn't have got too far away in these time period.

They expected the search to be easier than usual considering they, more-or-less, knew his location and it wasn't a metropole. However, they didn't expect it to be this easy. 

First Seokjin and his team didn't want to believe the claims of a bewildered police officer at a local police station in the outskirts. Until they shortly arrived there and saw no one but Jimin there. Totally drenched Jimin and not saying a word to anyone. The police officers had immediately reported his appearing to the headquaters, not knowing what else to do with him.

He was simply standing there with dull eyes. Letting Seokjin put the handcuffs around his wrists without any protest. No tricks, no clever line. Nothing. 

And Seokjin could instantly see what Taehyung had meant on the phone. This surely wasn't the Park Jimin he knew.

Puzzled and utterly stunned, they brought him to the private jet. The whole police squad escorting them there, just in case it was a bluff after all or he came back to his senses and tried pulling something on them. But he didn't do anything.

No, he was just silently sitting there. Staring down on his lap. Only occasionally grabbing his forehead or shoulder, knitting his brows together in agony as if he was in pain.

The plane fight back was equally as silent. Jungkook and Skylar having fallen asleep right after taking off, both being quite exhausted from the last twenty-four hours. Him snoring quietly while she was drooling on his shoulder.

Seokjin observed them, pitying and envying them at the same time. Both were still so young, maybe too young to have to deal with the often hard life of an interpol agent. However, they also reminded him a lot of himself, back then when he had come fresh out of the academy.

His gaze wandered to Jimin in the dim-lit plane, who just like him wasn't sleeping. Calmly staring outside into the by now dawning sky. His face still expressionless. However, there was also a hint of sadness in it.

This wasn't the first time Seokjin had managed to arrest Jimin. In fact, there had been planty of times over the years they had known each other. This, however, was by far the oddest one. Usually Jimin would've already got rid of the handcuffs and attempted to flee. Or would have said a smug remark at least. However, he hadn't done any of this by now. 

Something was very wrong and Seokjin was determined to find out what it was. And who the cause of this was.

»»»

Seoul, South Korea

Back in the korean interpol branch Seokjin held open the gate to the cell in the custody block. "Get inside," he ordered, motioning inside with his chin. Jimin did as told, the gate bars closing behind him.

"You know, I should be glad," Seokjin exhaled then while locking it, "I should be glad I caught you without any incidents. But for some reason I can't." Glancing a last time on him, he gave him a sympathetic look. "I don't know what happened to you, but this isn't the master thief I know."

Jimin remained silent, watchim him walk to the guard and giving exact instructions before he left. Leaving him back alone.

He took a seat on the simple bed in the cold grey cell. The throbbing in his head returning, along with a stabbing pain in his side. He groaned quietly, not wanting to gain the guard's attention who had sat at the end of the corridor.

When would these headaches finally stop?

Almost a week passed by like this without him taking any notice.Day and night seeming the same. Time either not passing at all or passing too fast. 

Every day Seokjin tried to interrogate him, but Jimin would just sit there. Not saying a word. Not even flinching when hearing all the charges - theft and identity theft in multiple cases. And every day Seokjin would sigh at the failed attempts and bring him back to his cell. Shaking his head lightly.

Wondering if Jimin was also a master actor or if he indeed had become a complete stranger.

And every day Jimin would just lay there on the bed, with his hands folded underneath his head and stare at the white ceiling. Hours and days simply passing by like this.

Occasionally, he'd get one of those painful headaches. Feeling like his brain was melting at the attempt to gain some of his memory back. Single fragments randomly popping up with no context. Images flashing in front of his mind's eye. Accompanied by loud voices, talking across each other. Making him clench his jaw.

Day by day the headaches got worse and the memory fragments longer and clearer. It got especially bad on the sixth day when he saw a 14-year old Taehyung suddenly standing there. Grinning at him from a car's hood. Right after they stole liquor from an illegal transporter.

"The thrill! I love the thrill of it!" he said, holding up a bottle."The thrill huh?" Jimin remembered answering him. "That's the reason I do this, too. The reason I enjoy stealing. It's the thrill and the rush!" Both grinned at each other. "I wanna become a thief, but on my own terms. Not my grandfathers!" Jimin announced then holding his own liquor bottle up. "You wanna join me?" 

Taehyung thought for a moment, eventually shrugging. "Sure, why not."

He groaned again, his head was a mess.

"Oh, a samurai!"

"You're quite an idiot, aren't you?" Yoongi said with an unamused expression. The sword's blade lightly poking Jimin's neck. "Samurai were japanese and I'm korean."

"Whatever you are, you're pretty cool," Jimin countered with a wide grin. As if he was oblivious to the situation. Irritating Yoongi even more. "You tried stealing my family's formula for imperious sword blades. I'm afraid you've got to pay for that."

"Pay? You mean stabbing me with that dope sword of yours?" he asked surprised, tapping the blade with his index finger. "That's a pity. I could use someone like you in my team."

Yoongi scoffed. "I'd never want to help a thief anyway."

"Really? Not even if I could help you get the guys arrested who killed your uncle?"

Those memories. They were short glimpses of his past. But still, he began to remember more.

"Park Jimin!" Arabella yelled his name from the lower level of the mansion. Showing off proudly the necklace around her neck before winking at him, blowing him a kiss. "Better luck next time!" "How about I just come get it from you?"

She smirked. Loading her berretta with a makeshift projectile out of her red lipstick. Aiming at him. "Don't even think of it."

He was just standing there at the railing, propping his hands on the metallic bars. Watching her every move without flinching at the shot, the lipstick grazing his cheek. He observed her turn around then. Not even attempting preventing her from running out with the diamonds around her neck. Too mesmerised by her.

And he smiled to himself. "One day I'll steal your heart, Arabella Valentine."

-"You must kill Arabella Valentine."

"Certainly not."

Kir smirked evily. Holding up something between her fingers. "The injection was only a tranquilizer, you know. But this little pill here will either make you submissive to our orders.. or kill you. It's still in the experimental phase. It'll be fun to watch the outcome either way," the woman's voice rang. "So either die or finish the job from back then. Finish off the woman who betrayed you over and over again. Remember Cairo? How she got away with the ruby and let you face authorities? The Indian job? Where she convinced you to give her the golden statue only to rush away on her bike? And I got even more on my list here." Her finger tapping on a file with documents before closing it.

She stood up then, walking towards him. And as he felt his limbs growing weaker and the two buff men having to put more effort in keeping him up, she forced the little blue pill into his mouth. And he wasn't able to do anything against it.

"So how about you finally get your revenge at her for humiliating you? For all the times she betrayed and left you behind. Eliminate her."

"Jimin!" another female voice yelled then. He looked around. Seeing Arabella standing there. Her soft big eyes frowning at him."This isn't your real self." She took her gun out, pointing at him with a disappointed look. "You should know I'm the only person in the world who can claim you." And she shot.

His eyes abruptly opened wide. 

He instantly flinched by the dazzling neon light above him and he covered his face. Another groan escaping his lips. This time louder.

The guard, confused about the agonising noises that seemed to be worse and lasting longer than the previous days, quickly called the Seokjin. Asking for orders on how to proceed as the prisoner seemed to be in great pain. It was quite late by now after all.

Most colleagues had left, leaving mostly guards on the night shift there and a few agents who remained to finish off paperwork.

A few minutes later Seokjin appeared, asking the guard to get a doctor in case.

"What's the issue," he asked then, yawning into the palm of his hand. His coat almost slipping from his grip. He had been about to go home when the guard had called him. "You look quite miserable. Worse than any other day. Are you sick?"

"My head, it's my head," Jimin mumbled, burrying his face in his hands more, "They.. they did something."

Seokjin perked up at this. This is the most Jimin had talked ever since he saw him back in the police office in Havana. "Who's 'they'?"

"They.." His voice was weak. "They gave me a pill. It was a woman, Kir. She told me to eliminate Bella."

"A pill? You mean drugs?"

"I don't know."

"And why would they make you eliminate her?"

"She.. she was one of them."

"What?" Seokjin frowned confused. "Who was one of who?"

"Bel-la.. was one of them."

Seokjin hummed as his brows knitted together. That was a detail he hadn't known yet. He instantly called Jungkook who was also still somewhere in the building. "JK? Do a new background check on Arabella Valentine tomorrow. I want every little unimportant info you can find." He was too immersed in the phone call, not noticing Jimin slowly standing up and walking towards him.

Only when the older guy turned around, he saw him suddenly standing right in front of him behind the bars. A clicking noise following. "Sorry, pops," Jimin grinned.

Seokjin's eyes widened and he looked down, seeing his wrist being handcuffed to the bars. "What the-" Jimin had got rid of the handcuffs and instead locked him up as he hadn't been paying attention. Letting his guard down by thinking Jimin still had amnesia. He should've realised he was back to normal when saying 'Bella' instead of 'Arabella'.

Seokjin tried pulling at them in vain. "Park Jimin, you're arrested!"

"I know! You already arrested me after all!" he chuckled amused, grabbing Seokjin's gun out of his holster. "That's why I'm here." He aimed at the gate's lock, shooting a few times before it plopped open. Seokjin taking cover by sliding down to the ground. 

As he stepped out, Jimin bent down. Their faces being on the same level. "Fifteen minues. That's all I'm asking for before you call for back-up."

Seokjin laughed under his breath, about to protest when seeing the genuine distress and plead in Jimin's eyes. And considering the fact someone had apparently kidnapped and brainwashed him into killing the woman he loved, Seokjin couldn't help but pity him in a way.

His lips pressed together, eyeing his coat before facing Jimin again. Eventually sighing with a smile.

"Ten minues." His free hand slid inside the pocket. "Be quick and don't make me regret it."

Jimin's lips curled up into a joyful grin. Grabbing Seokjin's coat from the ground and putting it on to pass by any guards or agents unnoticed. "Thanks, pops! You're the best!"

"And stop calling me 'pops'!" Seokjin groaned as Jimin stormed out. "I'm only three years older than you!"

"I know, I know!"

»»»

next chapter: 1.1 here

[ghosti02art]

blood orange

summary: Katerina, an INTERPOL agent on vacation, is unlucky enough to be on the same Bullet Train as a bunch of professional killers. Even worse, one of them has the sort of attitude that makes her want to pull out his teeth. Perhaps it has nothing to do with luck, and entirely to do with fate. Can this is be called destiny?

Pairing: Tangerine x OC / Reader (Will make an altered version for a Reader fic)

Fandom: Bullet Train

The sky was dark, and the night air was cool. It was late evening in Tokyo, but that did not stop this bullet train from being filled to the brim. If Katerina had known it would have been such a busy ride, she would have just walked back. Or even just slept in the streets. 

She was sitting in the small train seat, and let out a sigh. There was an assortment of noises as people boarded and unbounded the transport. 

Boy, she hated being on vacation. 

She hated it so much that her employer had to make it a part of her “occupational rules”, otherwise she’d never take a break. She did not need a break. Breaks were for the weak - at least to her - because that was how she was brought up. And now, due to her boss, she has to take a 4-day vacation every 3 months. 

She was sketching on a small pad - a drawing she planned to paint later once she got back to the house she was staying in - when she felt someone bump into her shoulder. 

“!Jodete!*” She cursed, glaring at whoever caused the graphite streak across her drawing. Her eyes were met with a sneer, as the man appeared to have no understanding of the term ‘remorse’. 

He looked to be on the cusp of 6 feet tall, and way overdressed for a simple train ride. Perhaps he was a white color worker, but she quickly dismissed that idea, for there was no amount of nice tailored suits that could make up for his awful attitude. 

He cursed right back at her, his thick English accent making everything he said almost laughable to her,” Fuck off mate, get outta my way.”

Katerina simply rolled her eyes at this and went back to her drawing. Despite her foul Spanish, and her tendency to be petty, she bit her tongue. She did not really care to get in a fight with some random curly-haired Englishman. Although, she did have the crossing thought to rip off that mustache of his. 

She mentally noted that he and whoever he was with sat down diagonally across from her. She shifted in her seat, making sure her deep navy overcoat still covered her gun. She always kept at least three things on her that could be used as weapons, and her governmental-issued firearm was one of those. 

Just because she was not currently on INTERPOL business did not mean she was unprepared. She always expected the worst. At any moment, something could go wrong on this train - a fight could break out, a gang could hold someone hostage, a very attractive assassin could sneak onto the train-

Her train of thought was broken when she noticed the Englishman get up and walk toward the luggage end of the train. When he passed her, she quickly put out her foot, tripping him. He quickly caught himself on one of the train seats in front of her, hissing as he spun to growl at her. He started to throw every curse he knew at her, but she simply hummed. 

She looks up from her drawing and tilts her head. There was a slight touch of redness on his cheeks, and it suited him. 

“No se ingle?” She says to him, watching as his frustration rises as she claims ignorance. He huffs, and quickly goes towards the luggage, muttering obscenities under his breath. 

There is a chuckle coming from the set of seats the man left, and Kat turns to look at the individual. There were two other men, and the one that was laughing had dark skin and bleach-tipped hair. 

When her eyes slide over to the quiet male, her blood runs cold. She recognized this man- or should she say, boy, since she knew him from when he was much younger. This was The White Death’s son, and that automatically put a target onto this train. After all of her avoidance of Russia, of that world, it still tracked her down. Her eyes flit back to the humored one, and she realized she knew of him too. It seemed that he recognized her too, but before either of them could say anything, the tough guy over by the luggage called out for him. 

“Lemon! Where’s the stuff? You gave me the wrong directions!” The dark-skinned man, Lemon, quickly gets up to go over to the luggage,” Bruv, I told you, it’s right behind-“ 

Katerina did not wait behind to listen to the remainder of their conversation. She quickly got up from her seat and grabbed her bag, and walked in the other direction towards the bar car. She needed something strong if she was going to make it through this ride. 

Once at the bar, she did not even wait for an attendant to help her get a drink. She easily hops over the counter and turns around to search the cabinets for some good vodka. Yes, she loved vodka. Yes, she knew she was giving into the Russian stereotype. She could get away with it because she had plenty of Spanish genes to mix it up. 

She can feel the presence of another in the train car- actually, two others in the car. She continues to pour herself a drink and mix it properly, before finally turning around. 

She looks down the barrel of two guns, one for each eye, and takes a sip from her glass. 

“Well, boys. You’ve got me outnumbered. That gives you two an extra 25 seconds before I make you tell me what is going on.”

Katerina smirks slightly, before setting her drink down, still mostly untouched. 

“Alcohol always tasted better with blood on my lips.”

**Spanish for "Fuck you!".

————————————————————————

PART TWO COMING SOON

[fraeuleintaka]

AAIC Launch Trailer

This is the 81st and truly final post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 0 days left until release aka release day!

Today's topic: the Launch Trailer for the Investigations Collection!

Surprise! I know I said the previous countdown post would be the last one but we got another trailer specifically for the release of the collection and I just can't not comment on it!

And what an epic trailer it is! It essentially goes through all the major characters in the story, introduces them and their role and gives a little snippet of what they're like with one line or a little scene. I especially love all the titles the characters are given, they're an absolute goldmine! Since the trailer has also been released in German I'm having a lot of fun comparing them.

First off is of course our favourite protagonist, Miles Edgeworth himself! "Prosecutorial Prodigy" in English, "Wunderkind der Staatsanwaltschaft" (= prodigy of the prosecution) in German; or in his younger years when he was just starting "Rookie Prosecutor" and "Neuling der Staatsanwaltschaft" (= rookie of the prosecution). I really like how they kept the same title scheme for both in German, makes them fit together even better!

Next we have our two most important sidekicks: Gumshoe is "Devoted Precinct Detective" and "Engagierter Inspektor des Reviers" (= dedicated detective of the precinct). "Devoted" sounds a lot stronger here and I definitely like it more even though "engagiert" is just as fitting for Gumshoe as he very much is. Kay is "Self-Proclaimed "Great Thief"" and "Selbsternannte "Meisterdiebin"" (= self-proclaimed master thief). I already talked about how much I like the change to "Meisterdiebin" in German in a previous countdown post and I still love it, it sounds so badass! In her teaser part we also get an even better look at the Haunted House projection that I mentioned in the very same post and again I'm struck by how incredible it looks! The HD chibi of all the characters are so cute!

Then we get the main rivals (turned allies) of Investigations 1 under the title "Globetrotting Agents of the Law" and "Weltreisende Agenten des Rechts" (direct translation) including Shi-Long, Shih-na and Franziska. Shih-na is simply "Lang's Secretary" in both versions while Shi-Long is "Elite Interpol Agent" but I do want to point out the two teaser scenes we get. I really like the translation here, it's very accurate and still sounds wonderfully dynamic in German. I especially like Shi-Long saying "Mistkerl" when referring to the kidnapper, I hope they also keep his "bastard" line towards the end boss in I1! And that "Tja" for "Well" in the 2nd scene, they could've just left it out but it conveys exactly the right amount of unquestionable confidence Shi-Long has in this moment. It's been so long since I played AA in German that I really don't recall how good the German translation was but the more I see of it the more I'm confident that it's going to be great. And one last observation to these two scenes: I love how different all of Shi-Long's subordinates look! In the pixel artstyle they were basically indistinguishable, only some by their uniforms, but they really went to the effort of drawing several different characters for the group scenes for the HD chibi sprites. Look at them, their hair colours are different, one even has glasses and their face structures and facial expressions are different as well! I particularly like the one right in front of the Blue Badger, he's just so happy to be here 😊 Oh I just love everything about this game!

Franziska is "Internationale Staatsanwältin" (= international prosecutor) and in her younger years "Praktisch eine Staatsanwältin" (= practically a prosecutor) in both versions. (that 2nd title 😄) Her line is also translated perfectly!

Next we have the main rivals from Investigations 2 getting the title "Eindringlinge aus dem Komitee" (= Interlopers from the Comittee, also directly translated). For Justine (Verity) we get the confirmation that her "Goddess of the Law" shtick will be kept identical as her title is the same as what the fan translation always used. The German translation also keeps it literal with "Göttin des Gesetzes". Good choices all around!

Sebastian's (Eustace') titles are "Winning Rookie Prosecutor" and "Siegreicher Neuling der Staatsanwaltschaft" (= winning rookie of the prosecution) with the German version again keeping it wonderfully in theme to Miles' titles. Love the connection between the two here! His teaser line is also really interesting. In English he says "Ignorance is sweet, as they say. So I'm sure most things mean sweet nothings to you." We don't have the context for this scene but I guess the joke is that "ignorance is bliss", not sweet, and "sweet nothings" is something you whisper in your lover's ear and doesn't mean what Sebastian thinks it means. That's not an expression in German though so the joke wouldn't work and to make it work the translation changes it a little bit. Translating his German line back to English directly it's "Not everyone can be of superior intellect. And single (as in unmarried) are those mentally poor." It makes no sense because he completely messes up a German proverb. Correct it goes "selig sind die geistig Armen" ("blissful are the mentally poor" meaning stupid people are more blissful/happier, going in the same direction as "ignorance is bliss"). It actually took me a minute to realize what he was trying to say because on top of using the wrong word he also messes up the grammar so that sentence is wrong on so many levels 😄 Such a great way to get that across, I love it!

Last but not least we get "Die aus Edgeworths Vergangenheit" (= Those from Edgeworth's Past) with Gregory "just" being "Miles' father" (I mean, accurate) and Ray (Eddie) being "Ace Defense Attorney" and "Attorney's Assistant" in his younger years and in German "Ass-Verteidiger" (yes, German "Ass" means "ace" in English) and "Anwaltsassistent", both direct translations. I love his teaser scene of eating a piece of paper from his notebook and saying that something here doesn't taste right, that's young Ray in a nutshell 😄

And finally, a similar ending screen as the Allies & Adversaries Trailer had with several scenes floating over the screen at the same time. Still such a great look! Here I just want to focus on one scene, that of Kay saying her poetic line about the Yatagarasu ("Dark skies of evening, when no other bird dares take wing, one alone remains all-seeing!"). Stuff that's supposed to rhyme is particularly difficult to translate but I love what they made of it in German: "Zieht die Dunkelheit herauf, wagt nur EIN Vogel sich hinauf, seine allsehenden Augen auf!" I can't really translate it back into English without losing the rhyme again but it keeps the meaning and has such a nice poetic ring to it. Maybe not the most incredible poem but it's easily on the level of the English version. Oh and we also get a wonderful little rendition of Shi-Long and Shih-na's synchronized taking off of their sunglasses in HD, that's one of the best animations in AA ever! (Fitting to their synchronized finger pointing!)

In conclusion, another wonderful trailer that I can, again, talk about way too much! And now I'm really going off to play the Investigations Collection!

[nitewrighter]

After hearing about what happened Widowmaker quickly rushed to the fight and was the first agent to make it only to see her friend Sombra still beating up an already uncounscious Doomfist.

She goes to calm her down but Sombra wouldn't listen as she is too pissed off but Widow reassures her she knows a way to debrainwash Cole, because it worked for her.

Rei: How long have they been in there?

Annie: *hugging her knees next to the door* Almost four hours now. *lifts her head* Doomfist--?

Rei: Dad--well, my dad, Winston, and Orisa are handing him off to Interpol, now.

Annie: It's not going to be enough.

Guillaume: You can let the rest of us worry about that.

Rei: *moving to pull Annie up* Come on. You need food, and you need to sleep.

Annie: *waves her hand off* I--I can't go. I'm an anchor. They might need me-- Dad might...

Guillaume: It's not something your presence is going to solve right away. *dropping down to Annie's level* It's going to take days. Weeks. And even after...

Annie: He's never going to be my dad again...

Guillaume: It's not like that. *reaches for her shoulder* Ana, I promise you, it's not like that. It's hard, sometimes, but--

Annie: *swats his hand off* No, you don't get it! For you, your mom was always like that! You never knew her before Talon scooped out everything she was, so don't act like you know what I'm going through, right now!

Guillaume: *flinches back slightly* ...

Annie: *catches herself* I-- Oh my god-- Gyo, I didn't mean--

Guillaume: *hollowly* It's--it's fine. You're right. I don't know. *draws himself back up to a standing position* I didn't mean to upset you further.

Annie: But--

Rei: Gyo--

Guillaume: I'm going to go check in with Sojourn. We'll.. likely be spread thin for a while. It's best we start preparing, now. *briskly walks off*

Rei: *looks back at Annie* Look, everyone's more than freaked out and off-kilter right now, but it's going to be okay, all right? And you know Gyo, he just... needs to do something to help, he's not trying to--

Annie: *breaks down sobbing into Rei's shoulder*

Rei: *sniffles a little as she rubs Annie's back*

Rei: *thickly* You still need to eat something.

[quibbs126]

Here’s a random assortment of drawings I did

So first I drew an older Lucy/Abbigail, because in some of my previous scenarios where she’s involved (and she and her father reunite) she’s supposed to be older, so I just tried my hand at that

Next I decided to draw Des (yes that’s supposed to be him; not sure I’ve explained but basically after AL he fakes Sycamore’s death and so he’s changed his appearance to hide his identity) with a small Aurea, mostly because I remembered she existed again

I think I’m getting better at drawing child proportions next to adults

Then I drew Rachel and Des hugging, because I think it would be nice to see them reunite. Granted I don’t know what circumstances would allow this, Des finally dying, resurrection Azran magic bringing Rachel back from the dead, just a dream, whatever you decide, I just want it to happen. I imagine that unlike his father, whom he has at best mixed/complicated feelings towards, Des does genuinely miss his mother and would want to see her again. And I feel like Rachel would try to comfort her son after everything he’s been through

To be honest, I kind of wanted to stop drawing there, but I still had half a page empty, so I did more

Next, something I thought up some time ago, so I said that Aurea becomes an Interpol agent, though to be honest I might end up changing that. I think I really only gave her that occupation because it was ironic given that Des was a criminal? And I’m not sure that’s the profession that a reincarnated Aurora should have. Also, both of Layton’s kids already solve crimes, I don’t think we need another one. But anyways going back to this, I remembered that Hilda was part of Interpol, and that given Aurea’s likely age at the time of LBMR/LMJ, if she were a member she likely wouldn’t be very experienced yet, so why not have Hilda essentially work as Aurea’s mentor? In this scene Aurea’s supposed to be bringing coffee, though it looks more like she’s inspecting one of them to me. Ah well, whichever interpretation you like more

I like to imagine Hilda comes over to the Mystery Room and is like, “look Al, I got my own Lucy now”

And then finally I drew original Aurora, mostly because I needed to fill the empty space, and also because I don’t think I’ve drawn her before

But yeah