#is it even remotely undercover at this point though

[snk-smartpass]

TEXT Vol. 23 Mikasa’s Recipe

The “new Squad Levi” had made a remote home into their base of operations. There they hid Eren and the highly important Historia from a society that had been thrown into chaos as they feared the Titans who appeared within the

Walls, preparing to make their next move.

[Potatoes, carrots, meat, milk, flour, butter.]

[Wash vegetables well and cut into equal-sized pieces]

[Start simmering the toughest vegetables first…]

“Hm? Is this yours, Mikasa?”

“What…?”

As Mikasa performed ab exercises despite the injuries she’d sustained in the earlier battle, Sasha noticed a scrap of paper that had fallen out of her belongings and picked it up.

••••••

Mikasa trained atop the bed where she was supposed to be resting her wounds. Having realized that she had dropped something, she went to pick it up.

“Was that a scrap of paper from your notebook? It looked to me like something that had to do with cooking…”

Just as the ever-hungry Sasha said, it was a note that Mikasa had written carefully about ingredients and instructions for a recipe. She’d kept it in her military notebook, but it must have fallen out as she organized her belongings in order to live life undercover in civilian clothing.

“I don’t want to forget it, so…”

“I didn’t think you’d need to take notes to remember how to cook in the barracks. You had such good grades in our classes.”

“This dish… doesn’t have to do with training…”

On the inside, Mikasa was glad she’d found the note. She put it back in her belongings and recalled the time she learned to cook.

••••••

“Listen, Mikasa. You need to be careful when using a knife. Especially with meat… Yes, very good.”

Mikasa was still young that day. She’d joined Eren’s family for a short while after her parents had been taken from her, and there she lived in peace and quiet.

“What about this flour…?”

“You dissolve it into the butter and milk to thicken the broth. Be careful not to let it burn. Once the vegetables and meat are simmered, you mix it all together.”

Carla, Eren’s mother, was even kind to Mikasa, being every bit the mother to her as she was to Eren. When Mikasa asked to help her in the kitchen, she even taught the girl her specialty.

“This used to be popular at the store I worked at, too. The trick is to stay calm and mix well.”

“…Okay.”

As Mikasa awkwardly did her best to follow directions, the rest of the family gathered around.

“I’m home! Hey, something smells good!”

“Call your father over before you start stealing any bites, Eren.”

“Okay,” said the energetic voice, followed by footsteps running toward the underground office.

The young Mikasa wrote the recipe down when it became impossible for her to ever return to this home again, keeping the memories of her second mother alive .

••••••

Though Mikasa had been reminiscing all on her own, Sasha, who was sharp-eyed only when it came to food, seemed to figure out that when she said the memories had “nothing to do with training,” she meant they were from before the Walls came down.

“Yeah, some of those ingredients are really valuable now. It couldn’t be a recipe you learned in the military.”

“You read it…?”

“Just what I got a glimpse of!”

There was no particular problem in it being read, but it did seem somehow embarrassing. Like Sasha had pointed out, Mikasa understood most things after being told them once, so this seemed unlike her. Regardless of Mikasa’s expectations, though, Sasha smiled.

“There are a ton of recipes that I used to be able to make before the Walls were destroyed that I can’t eat now… Seeing that took me back.”

Sasha’s hometown would have thrown away their traditions because of the Titan invasion. As hunters, they must have had unique dishes.

“It’d be nice if you got to make that sometime. I bet it tastes great if you thought it’s worth writing down.”

“I… don’t know if I could make it well. But… when the person who taught me it made this… it was so…”

“You’re still in here?! The meeting’s about to start.”

“Oh! We’ll be right over!”

Though she was interrupted by Armin, who had come to call them over, she wasn’t bothered. Sasha was right. It would be a joyful thing if the day came when she could make the recipe again and serve it to someone else.

For now, though, it was still a distant dream. Mikasa made sure that her body felt alright before carefully leaving her bed behind.

••••••

SOURCE: Attack on Titan: Short Stories 3

TRANSLATION: Ko Ransom

[theflyindutchwoman]

Everyone seems to think it was so romantic when Tim said "I can't lose you the way I lost her", but I honestly can't.

To me it implies that he's ok with losing Lucy in any other way, just not in that especific way he lost Isabel.

Like his biggest fear is not losing Lucy, is going through those traumatic events again.

Which is totally valid and understandable, but I fail see romance in that. I just see Isabel's shadow looming over their relationship.

I really enjoy your analysis, help me see what others see. Thanks!

To be honest, I don't know if romantic is the word I'd use either, though I can understand this perspective… I can't speak for others, of course, but what resonated with me is the humanity and the extreme vulnerability that Lucy and Tim portrayed in this scene. This is about them sharing their deepest fears and that is something incredibly intimate and personal. Important too.

To me it implies that he's ok with losing Lucy in any other way, just not in that especific way he lost Isabel. I mean, if you were to take this out of context, maybe… But as it is, this sentence doesn't exist in a vacuum. Never mind that we're talking about the same man who was ready to cross a line when Lucy was missing, who needed to embrace her for a while to reassure himself she was alive… Earlier in the episode, he practically had a heart attack watching her get shot at and was only able to breathe again once he saw she was unharmed. He was still so rattled that it almost cost him his life a few minutes later. So no, this isn't a man who is even remotely OK with losing her, regardless of the way. And I don't think this is what the writers intended to imply.

Let's get back to what Tim says : 'Listen, I need you to take it seriously if I ever sound the alarm about something. Otherwise, the pain of what I went through will have been for nothing, and I can't lose you the way I lost her'. There's something so profoundly human and relatable in how he is trying to find a meaning behind his pain. To convince himself that what he went through must have been for something. This is how many react after a tragedy or a trauma. And for him, the meaning is related to Lucy. In his mind, if his experience can help her avoid some of the pitfalls of undercover work, can ensure that they make it through, then his pain wouldn't have been for nothing… He's trying to find a way to turn a traumatic experience into something positive.

Like his biggest fear is not losing Lucy, is going through those traumatic events again. See, I understand this part a bit differently - I think his biggest fear is to see LUCY go through something like that. To lose HER that way. Watching the people you love lose themselves and their light fade away while being powerless to stop it, is soul crushing. It's brutal. He barely survived it with Isabel�� Going through that all over again, with Lucy, who is so empathetic, who has been his light from the start, would be completely devastating. This isn't just reliving his trauma that terrifies him… It's reliving it with Lucy. And this fear is particularly tangible in that moment… Because Isabel just came back into his life. Everything is a bit more tender, more raw. Especially since they spent time talking about her time as an undercover agent. That had to stir up some memories. You can't erase life experience. And a few days later, Lucy had to go undercover… where she could have died. Tim can be very good at compartmentalising, but not so much when it comes to her. By the time they made it back to her apartment, he was reaching his boiling point. And fear took over.

I do think it was important for Lucy to make sure he understood she was different. Otherwise, it is unfair to her. And they needed to have this conversation. To set some boundaries. But I'm not really sure Isabel's shadow is looming over their relationship either… Until that episode, he had never said anything to indicate such a thing - with the exception of his outburst in 3.06. And notice that this was pre-relationship and right after his friend ODed. Other than that, he has been nothing but supportive, even going as far as encouraging Lucy to go to UC school. So it's not like there is a pattern. Yet. Who knows where this storyline will go.

The way I see it, relationships are not about perfection. It's about communicating even when it's hard, it's about choosing someone with all their flaws, not despite of them. It's about finding someone who can help you carry your baggage and who you can help carry theirs. Because we all have baggage. Some bigger than others, but we all do. And this is where I can see the romantic aspect. Because none of this is new to either of them. Lucy knew all about his hang-ups and Isabel and Tim knew all about her choice of doing undercover work. And yet, they both chose to take that leap of faith, they both believe that the other is worth the effort and the risk. They choose to communicate, even when their instincts would be to pretend that everything is alright. They choose each other and help each other when it's hard, when it gets uncomfortable… And that's romantic to me. I can understand if you feel differently though. I hope this answers your question :)

[swiggity-swexual-i-am-asexual]

Danny Phantom (and technically optional crossover) Prompt

Imagine, if you will, a not-aging Danny Fenton. There’s about a dozen ways to do this, but in this case—Danny still has a human lifespan, he just looks human (though, I won’t argue against any immortal Dannys). As Fenton, he’s just stuck at fourteen. Phantom, being a ghost whose appearance is based on what he sees himself as, does look older. By this point, he’s probably retired from superheroics—I just find unphased and jaded 18 year old Danny to be hilarious. So, he’s just like ‘I wanna go to college’.

So he does. He just. Always looks 14. His hair grows, he can build muscle, and he can definitely have dark eyes—but otherwise? Short ass 14 year old. He constantly has to prove that yes, he’s the real Danny Fenton, and no, this is not a scam. He eventually has to get meta-specific paperwork filled out—no need for the genetic test if the power is fairly obvious. (Of course, it’s possible to do this AU as not crossover, but then you’ll have to do the legwork of making it less odd that someone has superpowers, and whether that means everyone knows he’s Phantom, which might change some of the issues. It also doesn’t have to be DC, for instance, you could use Marvel or even My Hero Academia—ultimately, up to the writer.)

Anyways, he gets his degree(s), enters the workforce, and by the Ancients is it hard to be taken seriously. Even people who see his paperwork and know for a fact he’s a full fledged adult are just like, aw, poor kid, can’t even reach the top cabinets without stretching or climbing. So, while he could just keep being the most qualified 14-looking-adult, he’s quickly getting sick of it. He can’t even be a school teacher, none of his students will take him seriously! Not even the younger ones, cause even the other teachers aren’t respecting him.

There are about… three options available to him, up to whoever wants to pick up this sort of prompt.

1-he gets into acting or modeling. Or perhaps, stunt acting. And everyone is just a bit unnerved about how absolutely none of the nonsense seems to get to him, and he’s just… a little *too* bendy sometimes. He’d make a great scare actor, if he wasn’t terrible at scaring people.

2-he goes into the work force as Phantom in a cheap wig and terrible contacts. Half the time, he forgets at least one contact. Cue mystery of who the hell this guy is, because, for ONCE, someone actually paid attention to the paperwork and knows that he DOESN’T look like THAT.

3-he tries to get work in a slightly more remote position, where his colleagues are few to none. Of course, that is, until some hero or another such professional has to meet him in person, and gets one hell of a shock about who their expert on the computer has been all this time.

There’s of course the undercurrent of Danny’s experiences as a teen hero, so sometimes absolutely wild situations show up, and his stories are like, super weird. He thinks at least SOME of his experiences must be universal, and they’re… really, really not. The outlandish stories don’t help the whole ‘not taken serious’ thing, but then they turn out to be true. Bonus points to rogues or ghosts showing up to say hi and everyone is like WAS THAT A FUCKING DRAGON?! And Danny’s just like ‘yeah she was a beauty pageant coordinator in my hometown, we kept in touch. I helped put her brother in jail’. As if that did NOT just raise more questions than before.

Of course, use or don’t use what you want (such as, he does keep a public-ish position, or he just goes full villain to prove a point, or even somehow starts working undercover at schools and summer camps for xyz reasons, whether or not the Justice League finds him, what his degree(s) weee even in, etc etc), I just think that Forever Teen Danny stories are interesting.

Basically… it’s reverse Shazam, haha.

[bozzowl]

A Scarab x reader where Scarab finally gets a break from Auditing and immediately goes to reader to unwind and chill with them. Up to you if said unwinding is sfw/nsf w 👍

Alrighty! Scarab x reader: Break time!

SFW! Here Ya Go! :D

It was a long, busy day for the Scarab. He had to chase down 3 delinquent gods who were causing trouble throughout the multiverse. Orbo had been on his back for getting these cases turned in on time, despite how hard it was to track some of them down. However, Scarab was the only one for the job and it was crucial that he catch them as soon as possible. Chasing for hours and having to go undercover here and there is not as easy as he makes it appear to be.

Scarab was exhausted from all the work, not to mention a few last minute inspections while heading towards the Judgement hall. Sometimes he'd get calls while on a mission, he hated that because that meant that he either had to hurry or put a case on hold depending on the urgency.

He had to hear about it from Orbo because he had arrived late to turn everything in. After filling some reports on the cases and other paperwork, Scarab finally clocked out for the day. He opens a portal to enter your world, he steps through to arrive at your home town/city/area. While heading down the path to your home, he sees you. Scarab smiled a little underneath his mask, You were his favorite person to visit even after a long day at work. He approaches you.

You turn your head to see Scarab coming towards you, his red glowing eyes are locked onto you. You smile, he loved that. The two of you walk together and you tell him about your day and about your favorite hobby. He loves the way you look when you talk about something you enjoy. The way you smile and how your eyes light up when you're excited always melted his heart. You didn't realise he was tired until his eyes drooped after he let out a yawn. His mouth open up as he did so, separating his face plate to show his sharp teeth and tongue. You offer for him to come stay at your place to unwind. He accepts and you take him straight home. After some time, you both make it to your home. You open the door and gesture towards the couch for Scarab, "Why don't you go sit down and relax?". Scarab nodded, then went over and slumped onto the couch. You lock the door for the day and join him, grabbing the remote and start flipping though the channels until it lands on something you both liked. Then you thought about it and realized Scarab was more tired than usual as he had fallen asleep. His big heavy body leaned over onto your shoulder. You turn the volume down just enough so you can still hear it without waking him up, letting him rest as he lay against you. After three episodes of the show had finished, Scarab opens his eyes a little. Scarab stretches before sitting upright onto the couch again, feeling better after his nap. Since he was fully awake, you ask him, "So... what happened at work?". He turned to look at you, "Hmmm?". You point out to him, "dude, I've never seen you this tired. Can you... tell me about work?". Scarab usually didn't talk about his missions, but he trusts you. He likes that you are the one person who cares enough to ask him, while everyone else tends to ignore him sometimes and just expects him to do his job. You make him feel appreciated.

The first case involved the Spider God, Noir Widoworth. He was a tall, black widow that stood 18 feet tall. He wore a dark grey stripped suit with thin white lines, a blood red tie, and black shoes. Instead of tending his duties, Noir has started a tailoring business as a front for money laundering. Scarab had to go undercover for that one, and had to find Noir to put a stop to Noir's business as the money was funding Drug Lord Narcoticles (Nar- cah -tic - clees). By the time he found Noir, his cover was blown. After having to fight through swarms of Noir's eight-legged goons, Scarab was finally able to capture him with his crystal. As soon as he places the egg-capsule into the crystal is when he got another call.

The Second case were the other two gods, the Pisces twins, Showa and Sanke. They are koi-fish like humanoids who are white with orange and black markings. They have black circles on their foreheads and backs. They were on the run and abandoned their post, taking the form of two cats with similar color and patterns. They were hard to track down as they hid in the same world YN lived in. Where cats are everywhere. However, their exact whereabouts were in an apartment in Japan. An elderly woman whom already had 12 cats had come across the twins and took them home. When Scarab found them, he had to chase them throughout Japan until they jumped into a lake and transformed to blend in with all the koi fish. It took a while for Scarab to find them according to the photos on file, but he eventually found them and captured them.

The Twins' case put him on a time crunch, it was really hard to go through all the koi fish as some even has similar patterns. Then, the started getting calls about some last minute inspections on the way to the Judgement Hall.

Now you know why he's so tired. All that running and little time for rest. At least after all that he gets to spend some time with you. You listen to him about other things as well. Then the two of you watch the rest of the show together. Enjoying the evening together and having dinner together before the day ends.

Scarab joins you as you lay in bed. He stretches out before wrapping his arms around you in a nice spoon. He was the big spoon, you were the little spoon. The night was quiet aside from the sound of you two breathing. after some time, you hear the rain outside hitting your window. The pitter patter of the drops and sound of thunder added to the relaxing atmosphere. You turn your head to see Scarab sound asleep. He often slept with his mask on, you could tell he was sleeping because his eye slits were completely closed. Then soon you joined, entering a welcoming slumber.

I hope you enjoyed it! :D

[experiment-000]

Imagine if Merrin was with Cal at the beginning of Jedi Survivor (in disguise or also as a captive your choice), how would she react when she sees that imperial droid punching Cal in the gut and then slamming him to the wall?

See before you even get to that point you have to question why Merrin was with Cal at that point. Does that mean she stayed? Because those two travelling alone together for a few years... Something would happen. They wouldn't be just friends anymore.

So let's say they're in a relationship of some sort. Merrin wouldn't have wanted to see Cal hurt before that but even more so now. Her magicks are fueled by her emotions so in that split second of rage at the droid for hitting Cal, I could see the droid bursting into flame (aside from the one arm holding Cal). The undercover ones would probably then have to move to restrain her further and she'd have to pretend not to be able to set them all on fire even with her hands bound.

I think it's more likely she'd be undercover though as Cal is the really wanted one (although after a few years of them as a pair causing the Empire trouble Merrin could easily be very wanted too).

So Merrin undercover. She'd be behind Cal, she wouldn't want to let him out of her sight. So she'd get a clear view of the droid hitting him. But being undercover she'd be focusing extra hard on staying in character and not losing control, whereas if she was a captive she'd have to play up the anger. So I don't think she'd react in the moment. Later she'd tear that droid limb from limb. And insist on checking Cal over for injury once they got somewhere even remotely safe.

Thanks for the ask! This was a really interesting thing to think about!

[sxbaist]

~ Character Info Sheet

name: Lovisa Göta Sjögren

name meaning: 'Lovisa' is a Swedified form of Louise, which originates in Louis and has been used in Sweden since the 17th century. It means "renowned warrior". / 'Göta' derives from the Old Norse “gautr,” which in turn derives from the Proto-Norse “gautaz,” meaning “Goth, Geat, from Gautland “Götaland, Gothia in southern Sweden.” Though Vega was named specifically after Göta älv, a Swedish river with the largest drainage basin in Scandinavia. / 'Sjögren' is an ornamental name composed of the elements sjö 'sea lake' + gren 'branch'.

alias/es: Vega, Commander

ethnicity: Swedish

one picture you like best of your chara:

three h/cs you've never told anyone:

Her two favorite teas are Maofeng and Organic Silk Dragon Jasmine. Ming Long introduced her to both, and she's loved them ever since. Three centuries later, they're luckily still easy enough to find on Terra. She may or may not have gone on super intricate and comedic undercover missions just to obtain some as a Starfleet fugitive.

Girl can cook. She doesn't do it very often, and usually burns food intentionally so no one asks her to again, but she can absolutely whip up a beef wellington, macarons, consommé-- though she is by no means a professional. Just someone that has hyperfocused on some things in the path of perfection. Someday she wants to master making decent Suodui.

I truly cannot recall if I've ever written about this or not, oh well. The reason she forsook her birthname is due to a metamorphosis, a way to break the cycle of trauma that had plagued her since childhood. Vega believes that by going by a new name, she was able to shed the vilest parts of herself. As far as she is concerned, Lovisa died on earth, in a remote forest, screaming her throat raw with ghost and man alike. This obviously isn't the case, unfortunately: now it's Vega that wakes up from night terrors, freezes at certain mannerisms and words, stares holes into blank spots yards away. The only truth is that she's older now, with more control over herself (some, in any case) and a tendency to repress.

three things your character likes doing in their free time:

Painting. The one every knows, because it's her thing. If she can't paint, she'll sketch or doodle. This is also a sort of idle habit for her.

Sudoku. Shocking that the astrophysics nerd would enjoy logic game. Yet she does, and she can spend hours going through the gazillions of puzzle books she's amassed.

Solitude in nature. That doesn't happen so much anymore, though when she's planetside, she enjoys exploring and discovering the local fauna and flora.

eight people your character likes / loves: She doesn't even have eight in her life RIP, unless one counts the augments in general. That's more of a general I love my people/kin/crew than anyone too specific.

Ming Long: Her first love, on Earth in the 90s. Vega lost her to the war, and it planted the seed that lead to her resentment of humanity.

Levi: Her brother, for better or worse. While he's mostly a thorn in her side, she does love him. After all, he's gone through most of the same awful things she has., even if they cope with it in very different ways.

Most other characters are verse dependent (@rickgrimesdoingrickthings, @vuulpecula, @respondedinkind specifically :p). She doesn't get attached to others very easily.

two things your character regrets:

In a way, she regrets her relationship with her brother. She wishes that she could have been a better sibling to him, helping him instead of closing herself off, and essentially leaving him to be as lonely as she felt. That's why she lets him into her life so often, speaking solely for modern verses, because she's trying to make up for something she really hadn't actually done.

In her main verse, she eventually regrets her distrust of Khan's vision, of having even toyed with the notion of betrayal-- or even of defection. It's a point where she's able to self-reflect and realize that her own ideas were invariably flawed. Whether she realizes this too late or not depends on the thread/verse, of course. :p

two phobias your character has:

Choosing two of the least intense/trigger worthy (she needs therapy ;_; ).

Monophobia: the fear of being alone. Strange, as she prefers solitude, yet cannot reconcile the idea of losing everyone around her.

Trypanophobia: the fear of needles, particularly in a medical setting.

Tagged by : sorta stolen from @ssolessurvivor <3

Tagging: @respondedinkind @rickgrimesdoingrickthings @invictasol @vacantwar / @juramentum (t'pring or qu ming because i'm smitten) @dreamsofalife @mediical-trek @mehrere-musen (shelby!) @pcrfumebcttles / @triiiplegoddcss @madeofstxrs (aev!) / @trailofstxrs (saavik!) @vartouhix and YOU!

[kathleenkatmary]

Western Wednesdays: Lady in a Jam (Gregory La Cava, 1942)

(This review contains minor spoilers, but if you're even remotely familiar with screwball comedies and their structure I don't think that anything this review discusses will be a surprise or ruin the movie)

In retrospect, I really had no idea what I was in for with Lady in a Jam. Before I watched it I read what turned out to be a very barebones one sentence description that made it sound like a pretty basic screwball romcom, so what ended up being the bulk of this movie turned out to be quiet a surprise, especially as it turned out to be a sort of surprised viewing for Western Wednesdays.

It does indeed start out as a pretty basic screwball romcom, not that that's a bad thing by any means. Irene Dunne proves yet again how indispensable she was as a screwball comedienne. Few, if any, were better, and she was always so absolutely perfect at bringing the most screwball women to life and making them likeable, even as when their actions would otherwise make them unbearable. The setup is classic screwball: a wealthy, flighty heiress who doesn't understand the concept of how many works and that when you spend it you don't have it anymore has spent pretty much everything she has, despite her refusal to accept that fact, so the trustee/executor/whatever of her estate goes to a psychiatric doctor who works for the clinic her family's foundation funds for help 'treating' her in a sort of undercover fashion.

It really is a classic screwball set up, but pretty much as soon as it is set up, we're brought to a whole new location and along with it a certain subtle shift in tone. The doctor identifies the source of her problems as unresolved childhood issues with her family back in Arizona, and convinces her to go back under the guise of convincing her that she'll be able find more gold on her family's land. From there, it shifts to a sort of western screwball comedy, with Irene Dunne and Patric Knowles falling for each other, apparently, in the desert when she tries to find gold and her tries to 'cure' her.

That 'apparently' is the big point against Lady in a Jam. There's so much to like here, but the love story is confusing and unconvincing. It's hard to say there's ever a point where it really, convincingly shifted from dislike to romance. For Dunne's character it seems to be when Knowles punches a guy seemingly in defense of her honor (though if I remember the scene correctly that's not quite what happened), while for Knowles' character it never really seems convincing and there never seems to be a point where he actually does love her. And it's not helped by the ending. It not uncommon for screwball comedies for the 'sane' half of the duo to seem more reluctant and frustrated with the other person, even at the very end. But I think most screwball romcoms do a better job at making their love convincing, so even as they're sort of pushing back against it, it's very obvious they do love this person. So in the end when they're pulling an "oh god, I'm stuck with this person" thing, you still know that they love this person and do want to be with them. I don't feel like that's the case with Lady in a Jam. Like, Patric Knowles's character, despite everyone else being like "he obviously is crazy about her", he genuinely, truly, deeply seems like he does not want this woman in his life.

I think some of the movie's other problems sort of spread out from that central problem. The characters' development is either non existant, way too sudden, or all over the place. Knowles character feels pretty static throughout the whole thing. Because that romance is the central story for his character and therefor the primary source of character development, the fact that he doesn't really seem to love this woman and doesn't seem to be changed by their relationship at all means that it really doesn't feel like he changes or develops. Dunne's character Dunne's character definitely does change, but the development is all over the place and hard to pin down. It kind of feels like maybe there were multiple versions of this script that didn't really coalesce into one solid character arc, because it feel like the developments we see for her would work more for a character whose issues are more the of the generic 'flighty, self centered rich girl' type rather than the very specific money-based character issues. So when she starts to develop it almost feels easy to miss because it doesn't feel like the developments fit the arc set up for her. And even as we're being told and being shown she's developing in some ways, there are parts of the story where she sort of has to revert to a more typical screwball heroine, and that makes it hard for the development to feel consistent.

Still, even with those big problems with the very basic structure and premise of the movie, there is so, so much to love here. I already mentioned Dunne, who is always great no matter what. Queenie Vassar is also so good as her grandmother, a clever, somewhat scheming woman who has no time or patience for the big city screwball heiress antics of her granddaughter and has very little interest in the trappings of wealth. Ralph Bellamy, showing up yet again as the second banana that will never end up with Irene Dunne, it delightful as a singing cowboy who sings just the most depressing songs. It's a hilarious bit that does not get old. Child actor Jane Garland plays Strawberry, a little girl who's a neighbor of Dunne's grandmother. She's not really important to the plot, but she delivers a lot of fun jokes and observations, and I have to say, it's one of the very best comedic performances I've seen from a child actor. Eugene Pallatte isn't in it much, but as always he's a joy to watch.

I think the thing I liked the most about Lady in a Jam is just how good it looks. The opening sequence that takes place in the city might not be much to write home about. It looks like any other city-based screwball romcom. But once they get out to Arizona, it is GORGEOUS. Sure, it's not the beautifully shot sweeping vistas of more traditional classic westerns, but it still looks really beautiful. It seems like the sets were built and the location was filmed by people who really had a love for that western aesthetic, but with a clear understanding of the way time and the forward progress of city-based society changed it. I feel like that's an interesting aspect of the story that the movie might have been better served by exploring more, this once booming western landscape that was abandoned and left to sort of fade away as the area's resources seemingly dried up and times changed as the decades wore on, especially considering how well that would parallel to the journey of Dunne's character. But even though that wasn't explored with the depth it deserved, the design of the sets and the way they're filmed really capture that feeling.

It's a shame that the central aspect of this movie - the romance - is such a dud, But there is still SO much in this movie to appreciate.

[theshapeofhorror]

Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) - Part 2

I personally think that John Carpenter’s Halloween in general puts most of the later entries to the franchise to shame for one reason or another, but mostly in regards to Michael Myers as a character and the way he’s both portrayed as well as utilised throughout the movie.

(That’s not to say no other movie has done the character justice. I enjoy most of Michael’s iterations throughout the franchise, though admittedly some more as a guilty pleasure and others only to simp for rather than because they’re genuinely good portrayals.)

1. Michael’s presence throughout this movie is constant - yet we don’t actually get a good, close-up look at the mask until very late in the movie

For most of the movie we get to see Michael from one of two “perspectives”: we stalk his victims with him from behind his shoulder (I talked more about this in my post about the voyeuristic subtext of Halloween 1978) or we see him standing somewhere off in the distance. Especially the stalking scenes persist throughout almost the entire runtime of the movie, the last one occuring at around 57 minutes when he watches Linda and Bob make out on the couch.

And yes, technically we can see the mask while he stalks Laurie around Haddonfield, but with the distance between him and the camera and the short length of those scenes it’s hard to really look at it, especially if you watch the movie for the first time and aren’t on, like, the 20th rewatch in the span of a month - not that I’d ever do something like that, of course...

As for when we finally get to see a close-up of the mask, I guess you could argue for one of three moments: Michael killing Annie in the car, Michael about to pin Bob to the wall or Michael picking up the phone after he strangled Linda. I personally would argue for the last, as the camera hovers outside the car in the scene with Annie, our view blurred through the windshield,  and the mask is half-hidden in shadow when he kills Bob. All of these scenes happen rather late in the movie, the earliest - Michael killing Annie - more than 50 minutes into the ~1:30hr runtime. 

2. The movie manages to make Michael creepy without having any actual on-screen gore

It’s the suggestion that scares us, the unnerving physical vocabulary established by Nick Castle, the way he lurks in the shadows or stands outside in broad daylight, slowly closing in on his mostly unsuspecting victims. 

We don’t need to constantly see Michael kill to be afraid of him (or simp for him...) here, it’s the anticipation of when he’s finally going to do it, the payoff of tension when he finally does.

The kills are shot in a way that don’t need shocking gore-filled imagery to be terrifying and poignant; with Michael choking all of his victims in some way and his vocalizations throughout they have a fascinating but horrifying sexual subtext to them that many of the later sequels sadly never returned to.

3. Michael as an ambiguous character

With enough scenes to support either a connection to the supernatural or a strictly human Michael - or both - this movie leaves the interpretation of his character mostly to the viewer. We can believe Loomis’ monologues about Michael being simply evil, not at all a man - yet Michael displays many small quirks and shows behavior that directly disprove this as well.

Michael

accidentally walks into the flower pot in front of the door when he spies on an undressed Annie

tilts his head at her in the background after she gets locked into the laundry room

tilts his head after killing Bob

dresses up as a ghost 

sets up the ‘haunted house’ for Laurie

... and those are just the most obvious instances of him showing behavior that doesn’t fit the description of a consciousless, purely-driven-to-kill force of evil. (I’m probably going to come back to this topic in more detail at some point.)

It’s the small things like him stopping for a second when he notices Tommy after he grabs the wrong kid that make this portrayal so fascinating to me, those clear hints that there is a (evil, psychopathic, dangerous) human being beneath that mask, despite what Loomis tells us.

With ambiguity I don’t only mean the “is or isn’t he supernatural”-debate, I also mean the question behind Michael’s motives or the lack of them, what his reasons for killing are. Take for example Halloween 2: it wants you to believe that Michael hunts Laurie because she’s his sister, which is not only much less interesting but also written really badly. This is a pitfall many of the sequels fall into for me personally; I feel like trying to explain Michael just isn’t a concept you can ever get to work in a satisfying way.

4. The un-masking scene

I could probably rant for days about the last 20 minutes of the movie, but I’m gonna keep it simple here: casting Tony Moran for the unmasking scene was a stroke of genius. It plays into an aspect that I feel sets the original Michael apart from many other slashers: there’s nothing obviously wrong with him. He looks unassuming, even handsome. 

Add to that the contrast between his inhuman strength and his normal physical build as well as his way of moving throughout the rest of the movie (graceful, but also unnaturally still, unnerving to look at without steering into zombie-like or otherwise inhuman territory) - all of it proves him to be human without actually humanizing him too much.

It’s a shame that most of the sequels didn’t try to do anything like this again (I know the Halloween 5 unmasking scene exists but I honestly wish it didn’t, so lets not talk about that here) - I’m very happy they went back to the concept of showing Michael both with as well as without the mask in Halloween 2018.

5. And finally - the end of the movie!

This is very biased as I’m a total sucker for open-ended movies, as long as they don’t leave any critical questions unanswered. But I think this also applies at least somewhat objectively to the Halloween franchise: most of the endings that had Michael die got retconned sooner or later anyway, most of them not in a very convincing way.

The movie’s last moments with Michael breathing in the background while  we revisit the locations we saw throughout the movie hammers home the thought that he could be everywhere and that nothing can stop him, and that - to me - is a very poignant and satisfying scene to end the movie on.

[aziraphales-library]

I'm hoping you can help me find fics where Aziraphale, freshly free from heaven and now firmly on Crowley's side, decides he's going to woo Crowley despite Crowley's obvious willingness to drop to his knees. I just want to see Crowley flustered and flattered by Aziraphale's courtship.

Here are some fics in which Aziraphale woos Crowley...

Starlight all around us by TheGD (G)

“Nobody will be watching us for seven years, we can do whatever we want”. That last bit was said with just the tiniest bit of seduction. Just enough to allow the angel to think anything he wanted to and not a specific activity.

“I…” He said doubtfully, looking at his feet.

“Think about it”. Crowley said and left without another word. A very confused angel stayed at the clearing watching her go.

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

Crowley wants to take full advantage of their time at the Dowling’s. Aziraphale wants the same but Crowley just can’t take a hint.

Flowers for Ashtoreth by tigersinlondon (T)

It's nine years before The End of The World, and Crowley and Aziraphale decide that their personas as Nanny Ashtoreth and Brother Francis should be married, so as to prevent scandal when they meet frequently to plot and swap progress notes. During their time undercover, Aziraphale starts attempting to grow flowers in the Victorian style of the language of flowers, in order to confess his feelings to Crowley. This is much too subtle to be directed at a being who was asleep for the entirety of this particular craze, leading to canon-typical miscommunication and a goodly amount of mutual pining!

After a few of Crowley's attempts to humour Aziraphale's newfound love of human gardening methods get lost in translation, Aziraphale is forced to say what he really means.

What comes After by luna55 (G)

When the world spectacularly fails to end, everybody’s favourite Angel and Demon suddenly have to deal with what happens after. Aziraphale discovers that throwing away an eternity of Rules is not as easy as he would wish. But he knows what he wants, and has a Plan of how to get him. Of course, when these not-even-remotely competent two are involved, nothing is going to go according to Plan. Because 6,000 years is not slow-burn enough, a slow burn fic in which Aziraphale attempts to woo an already won over and thus oblivious Crowley, while battling his own internal angels.

How to Woo a Demon by Bookwormgal (T)

After Nope-mageddon, Aziraphale feels more confident and relaxed. He no longer feels like he needs to keep Crowley at arm's length for their own protection. He can finally tell Crowley that he cares about him more than "friendship" can describe.

But he doesn't want there to be any chance for miscommunication. But directly talking about feelings in the past with the demon tended to be uncomfortable, so he would need to be a little subtler than that. Of course, human flirting wouldn't work. They already enjoyed traditional human dating activities together, but only as friends. Aziraphale needed something that Crowley couldn't possibly misunderstand.

Well, perhaps he could research what counted as demonic methods of courting someone. That should be familiar enough for Crowley that he would understand Aziraphale's intentions. What could possibly go wrong?

Forsaken by VerdantVulpus (E)

Aziraphale has quietly loved his frenemy for a very long time. It had been a simple, innocent love once, but grew overtime in its abundance and complexity. It was ever present, at times bothersome or painful, other times driving him to acts of courage he didn't think possible. Always quiet, though. There was no point sharing his feelings with a demon. Demons were incapable of love. So imagine Aziraphale’s dismay to learn that not only had Crowley loved him terribly for just as long, but that Aziraphale had missed all the signs and the demon had given up hope. Now Aziraphale must organize his own thoughts and feelings and learn how to woo a demon before Crowley moves on for good.

One Miraculous December by journeytogallifrey (T)

Candles. Mistletoe. An entire frozen lake. Festive memories from their past together keep appearing out of nowhere.

Crowley's sure he's manifesting them accidentally out of sheer romantic desperation. It's bad enough trying to hide his unrequited love as they grow closer post-Apocaloops - what if Aziraphale sees the objects for what they are, a window into his yearning soul? Unfortunately, the only way to banish the objects seems to be talking about each memory...

Meanwhile, Aziraphale is just trying to woo his demon boyfriend with big gestures, ready to prove his devotion. And if Crowley acts awkward about the miracles? Surely that's just his difficulty accepting affection. The solution: shower him with as much of it as possible...

Eventually these two will communicate, even if it takes 'til the end of the year. For now there will be cuddling, excuses for closeness, sappy words, flashbacks, nostalgia, bickering, and an obscene variety of holiday foods. Oh, and footnotes. That's right. We're doing those too.

- Mod D

[unholy-obeyme]

STOMACH CHURNING

Note: This was done as a request for @iamtiredfinalsistheworst

TW: Blo*d mentions, Gore, torture, red room, if I left anything please let me know, it means a lot <33

Note 2: I’m so sorry this took so long! I hope this is to your liking!! Im sorry once again <33

You stared at the carnage in front of you being shown on your laptop screen. The room was red. The sight in front of you was unlike any other sight you had seen. It was positively, stomach churning. You couldn’t tear your eyes from the carnage in front of you.

A MONTH EARLIER :

“Mc?” “Yes sir?” “We have an ongoing investigation about the deep web, you may be aware” “I am aware sir, how am I involved in this issue though sir, if you do not mind me asking” “well, since you are in the cyber security department I’m handing this case over to you. I need you to alert us immediately incase anything, even remotely alarming, let us know immediately.” You merely nodded and walked to your desk as you opened your pc, ready for another round of browsing the potential dangers in the dark web. Hearing about it was one thing, but browsing it? It felt illegal. You even forgot you were a member of the cyber security department and that this was your job. The brothers and the royals, and the other students of RAD had been kind enough to let you off the hook since they knew how important this was for you. The brothers, and the prince and his butler were sitting with you, helping you find any suspicious links, or illegal sites while Simeon and Solomon were keeping Luke away from the carnage you all were about to witness. It was then Leviathan pointed on a link which seemed extremely suspicious despite the innocent url. Nothing could have prepared you all for what was going to present itself on the laptop screen. When you clicked on it, it asked for all of your details, which you filled, as you gave it false details to remain undercover. The screen loaded for a while, as the screen read:

ll WELCOME TO THE RED ROOM ll

Your stomach dropped as you immediately understood what you were getting exposed to. “Mc?” Asked Lucifer worriedly, as you immediately started trembling lightly. “I-it’s nothing.. I-I’ve seen plenty of t-this, I-it’s my j-job you k-know” you stuttered as you clicked the link and it led you to a room. It illuminated red, a man was tied to the centre of a bed, naked, while the wall was decorated with all sorts of knives and machetes you never knew existed. “Hey human…” Mammon stated as he and the others knew where this was going. You watched as the man was screaming in fear while there was another individual watching him scream in fear while asking the viewers their weapon of choice. The prince had a serious scowl on his face as he watched each and every one of those viewers and their sick chats. The carnage soon started as the individual dragged a rake all over the naked man’s body drawing blood and creating open gashes. To say you were scared, was an understatement. You were witnessing a live murder, that had existed much much before you were even notified of it…. How many people died at the hands of this man? The demons, however, were furious. Each and every viewer would be dragged to the deepest pits of hell as they watched the innocent man was killed, then his wife, and his kids…. It was then Mammon snapped out of his anger as he noticed you staring at the screen, frozen in fear, as your eyes, with tears prickling at the corners as you were trying to process everything happening in front of you. He immediately notified others about your distressed state by which the prince immediately closed the pc. Clearly you did not expect this. The others too, suppressed their anger and helped you calm down from your hysterical state.

Belphegor lulled you to sleep as he immediately held you close as you slept with small dried tears. “Why must you do this to yourself Mc..” he asked tenderly as the others bitterly retreated to their rooms. Your task can wait. What mattered the most was your mental and physical health and that’s what everyone focused on. You were granted a holiday to recover and the best therapist was on speed dial incase you ever needed help. But everyone could agree on one thing.

While, the entirety of the human race may not be as bad or twisted, this one was particularly

Stomach churning

[miraculouscontent]

It’s heeeeere! Another summasalt, this time with nearly twice the length of the first one!

(Turns out that not having caffeine doesn’t help me talk any slower.)

Script below:

Anonymous asked:

Thoughts on Rocketear?

Can you Rocketear the newest episode apart with your salt, my beloved Salt Queen?

Penny for your thoughts on Rocketear?

Aw, anon! You can have that for free! I'm a generous goddess.

"Rocketear" begins with Chat Noir and Carapace - just Carapace, really - holding back a pack of what I presume to be the physical manifestation of the writing staff's age, or at least a representation of how behind the times the writing seems.

Just as the dinosaurs break through Shellter. Ladybug shows up with the scientist who revived the dinosaurs in the first place and said scientist uses a whistle to calm the dinosaurs down. There's also a line from Bob Roth about putting the dinosaurs in a theme park to make money and I know what it's referencing but it's so incredibly random that it doesn't really come off as a proper joke.

Carapace was notably sad right after battle, but insisted that he was fine when Ladybug asked. Rena, sporting a... - I would like to say "new design" but it's a recolor in every sense of the word - is hiding behind part of a building and smiles after the heroes before walking off. Ladybug takes Nino's miraculous back but sees that he's still upset and asks him again what's wrong. Nino asks where Alya was and Ladybug claims that she only needed Carapace for the job, which cheers him up but only until Ladybug is already gone.

Mm, I guess Nino and Adrien relate in heroism not being enough for them unless they have their respective love interest to flirt with.

Also, I know this is an obvious set-up, but the show can't tell me that Ladybug just always brought Nino and Alya whenever she needed one of them. Season 3 required her to go to Master Fu to get the miraculouses, and unless she already knew that Nino and Alya would be in the same location - which, okay, the show does basically shove the two of them together whenever Nino is onscreen, fair, if two characters are in a relationship in this show then it's weird for them to NOT be with that person - but it just seems like a gamble, not to mention proof to Shadow Moth that the two are close if Ladybug constantly brings both of them.

Anyway, Ladybug goes into the sewer and asks Rena if she's seen any sign of Shadow Moth or his traps. Rena didn't see anything and they de-transform. Marinette is about to leave when she thinks of something, but Alya assumes it's about her new look, which was apparently not voluntary on her part and the suit automatically adapted to Alya's new role as Rena Furtive, which she has now named it as.

Marinette reminds her that this is supposed to be a secret and that they agreed that the fox has no owner. When Alya is evasive about whether she told Nino that she won't be Rena anymore, Marinette stresses that everyone needs to believe that Alya won't be using a miraculous anymore so that she can remain an undercover spy.

What's the point in changing the look if you're not going to show yourself anyway? I mean, insurance, I guess, but still.

Alya, exasperated, parrots what Marinette has apparently told her before: that she helps Ladybug with Mirage in case Shadow Moth tries to follow her so Rena can follow him instead. Marinette stresses the situation again and Alya tries to get Marinette to agree on her telling Nino that she's Rena Furtive, but Marinette refuses.

At Marinette's house, Alya talks further and explains that she doesn't know if she can lie to Nino since they don't keep any secrets--Alya, babe, you kept Rena Rouge from him and didn't tell him that you knew he was Carapace until Ladybug was forced to give you your miraculouses at the same time. I don't wanna hear it.

Marinette states that it's too late for that and also not technically a lie, but Alya gets upset and says that Nino will never trust her again if he finds out that she kept something from him. Marinette brings up how she had to keep secrets from Alya too, but they're interrupted by Tom appearing and wanting to play games with them. Marinette makes an excuse about homework that she's repeated many times, as Tom comments that the teachers give her too much. After Tom is kicked out - hang on, lemme just... - Marinette uses the moment to show Alya that she's lied to her family a lot and hasn't played games with her father in months. She states that there's no other option as they have to protect their identities, and Alya agrees to talk to Nino.

In Alya's room - I just presume at this point that Nino's house doesn't exist and Chris is an illusion - Alya tells Nino that they need to talk, but stammers and states that it's hard to talk about. Nino thinks that she wants to break up with him, but Alya assures that she loves him. She finally gets to the cover story that Rena herself made up in "Sentibubbler" and Nino understands, sad that she won't be around anymore but agreeing if it's what Ladybug thinks is best.

Is it weird that Nino respects Ladybug's wishes more than Alya does?

Nino hugs her and is confused by why Alya was nervous to tell him, as she can tell him anything and nothing will change their relationship. Alya feels guilty and hugs back, murmuring about how they don't have any secrets; that's not what Nino said, but sure, push this plot to its already predictable conclusion. I mean, I thought it was vaguely sweet that Nino switched to seriousness immediately when Alya said that she wanted to talk, but how am I supposed to be invested in this couple when their dynamic boils down to "STRONG, INDEPENDANT WOMAN who wears the pants in the relationship because her boyfriend is portrayed as a wimpy coward"? Like, the show constantly dragged Nino down to make Alya look "powerful" by comparison, and then when it comes to characters like Marinette, we get a girl who works very well outside of her relationship with her endgame love interest.

It's the fakest form of "girl power," dragging guys down to raise girls up or actually making a strong girl character but having her love interest be a weakness that creates flaws in her that weren't there originally and having that love interest be who she's "destined for."

I'm rambling, sorry.

In class, Marinette assures Alya that she did the right thing and Alya agrees. As they're leaving school, Marinette talks about how their "night walks" start soon, and Alya non-subtly talks about how Rena Furtive will be on the lookout while Ladybug and Chat Noir patrol. She stops, however, as gets excited about some pictures she took of herself as Rena Furtive, which has a lot of details that Marinette hasn't seen. I don't know whether to groan at what I just heard or remind everyone that Rena Furtive is literally just a recolor and therefore this is the writers patting themselves on the back for this design, so let's just move on.

Alya then shows Marinette her phone--AUGH, MY EYES--and suggests making a poll on her Ladyblog so people can vote for their favorite Rena design. Marinette has to stress again that Rena Furtive is supposed to be a spy and thus invisible, which Alya admits that she forgot about.

Okay, I've been holding off on talking about this, but now seems like the best time to bring it up. Alya has been a trash friend as well as a trash confidant, and her role as Rena Rouge boiled down to, "it was convenient for her to be the fox at the time it was needed." She's not particularly stealthy like one would expect of a fox, and she was easily one of the worst candidates to be told Marinette's big secret. I'll get more into this later, but I have to stress that Alya has treated Marinette no differently since learning of Marinette's identity and has already gone against Marinette's orders once before at the time of this episode airing. Episodes are constantly torn between validating their decision to have Marinette tell Alya, having Marinette be worried about the decision while the show considers her to be ridiculous for it, and then having Alya either consider or make choices that clearly don't gel well with what's good for her role. Much like Marinette, she lacks a sense of self-control and--wow, a female character who's impulsive, never seen that stereotype before.

Point being, "Sentibubbler" stressed over and over that Alya was the right choice and deserved to be both the permanent fox and the understudy for guardian, but then we have "Rocketear" here where Alya is making basic emotionally-driven errors that I'm not even remotely sympathetic to when Marinette has gone through so much worse over the course of three+ seasons.

*sigh*

Alya laments that it's hard to find new content for the Ladyblog - ah, yes, tell me more about your struggles, Alya - but figures that at least she can post stuff about Chat Noir instead of--I don't know--making fake Ladybug theories to lead people off Marinette's trail. Marinette says that it's a great idea, though Alya still doesn't look too happy. The scene then rewinds to a little bit to show a different point of view, this time with Adrien and Nino. Wait, this feels familiar, wasn't there another episode that did something like--ohhhh no, this is going to hurt.

After saying good-bye to Adrien - something I wish I could do every time he's mentioned or on-screen - Nino catches the bit of conversation where Alya talks about the Ladyblog. Nino talks as if Marinette isn't there and asks Alya out to the movies because Marinette is chopped liver and this is about Alya and how sad she is, guys.

Wow, she's turning into Adrien faster and faster.

Alya hesitates, but Marinette assures her that there's still time. Alya excitedly runs off with Nino and they watch what I presume are previews given the narrator, featuring recycled footage from the Ladybug PV. Nino is upset because Rena is mentioned but not Carapace, and the preview features Rena telling Chat Noir to forget Ladybug because it's Chat and Rena herself who are trulu made for each other.

I don't know what's funnier; the complete lack of self-awareness or the suggestion that a biracial couple would exist in this show outside of a special that gives them maybe a minute of screentime and acts more like suggestive canon anyway. I think I might've been too generous with that line about dinosaurs.

Nino is offended by the preview and Alya brushes off his comments, stating that it's just a cartoon and it's made to entertain people, though Nino himself is certainly not entertained. Can't say I entirely blame him considering that Alya doesn't really try to say anything substantial or even agree with him. No cuddling or reassuring kisses, she just gets slightly sad and turns to her phone for a bit.

After the movie, Nino is cheered back up again until he catches Alya on her phone once more. He offers to take her home, but she's distracted, and he comments that what she showed to Marinette looked pretty nice; I don't know because they didn't show it. Nino asks what it was and Alya evades the question, stating that her battery is running out. Nino is suspicious, but spots Andre's ice cream cart and the two head over there. Andre calls them his favorite couple and asks what they want, but Alya sees Ladybug gesturing for her and has to run off, giving Nino a cheek kiss as she goes which feels like too little too late at this point.

Nino catches some conveniently-placed kids arguing over who Chat Noir loves, but they settle on the fact that girls in general love Chat Noir. Nino is then seen at the Seine watching the Ladyblog's latest video, where Alya is talking up how amazing Chat Noir is. I hate to stop every five seconds to complain - okay, actually I don't - but I presume this video must've been made after the movie since Nino seems like the type who would actively follow his girlfriend's blog, yet not only is this video perfectly set up to echo the kids and the movie preview, but Alya - despite apparently caring about her boyfriend soooo much that she kept trying to convince Marinette to bend the rules - didn't even try to warn Nino or text him so he doesn't take it too seriously. It's like "Sentibubbler" with the conflicting messages about identity rules; Alya cares about her boyfriend but both isn't thinking about how he'll take the things she says and apparently doesn't know him well enough to realize that he wouldn't be mad over her keeping a secret that she was told to keep. I already talked about how they play up Nino to be the emotionally weaker one of the relationship, but then they don't have Alya try to cover or make up for that. She's been acting very much not like Alya - you know, the one who in "Sapotis" practically bragged about how great she'd be at covering for Ladybug - with her stutters and weak excuses, so I can't completely blame Nino for being upset after everything that's happened when he sees the writers projecting onto Alya as she talks about how Chat Noir is brave and funny and cute and showing all these images of him as well. I don't agree with all of his actions, but--oh yeah, speaking of which--

Nino calls Adrien and is talking to him about how Alya must be in love with someone else. Adrien dismisses the idea, as Alya and Nino are together basically all the time, and asks who she could possibly be in love with. When Nino suggests that it's Chat Noir, Adrien laughs and jokes about it being Fang instead. Nino points out the video but Adrien did see it but is overall unphased and convinced that it means nothing. Nino says that he'll find proof and hangs up, but Adrien is certain he'll find nothing. Plagg comments that Nino will find someone because Plagg's charisma has definitely contaminated Adrien.

Ugh.

Adrien expresses concern that he put on the cat's charm too much and accidentally made Alya fall for him, and decides to visit Alya as Chat Noir to be sure.

Meanwhile, we get a reference to film noirs as Nino narrates. That's the second blatant reference this episode and now I feel like they wrote this script while doing a movie marathon.

Chat Noir arrives at Alya's house and Trixx hides before Alya opens the curtains to reveal her surprise guest. Nino is nearby watching the scene with his phone as Alya wonders aloud if something's wrong. Chat assures that everything's fine, but brings up the video she posted. He insists that it made him happy, but points out that she's been following him and Ladybug since the beginning and that they know each other much better due to everything that's happened. He has some conveniently-worded dialog as he starts to say that he hopes something's just an illusion and Alya gets worried that he's about to bring up Rena. Chat continues and clarifies that he wonders if she started to feel something for him, though adds that he understands because just look at him.

UGGGGH.

Chat clarifies by making a heart with his hands, which Nino sees. Alya laughs at this gesture and states that she has a boyfriend, doing the same heart gesture and suggesting that her love for Nino is even more than that. Chat Noir apologizes - hm, I didn't know he had the capacity to do that - and hugs Alya, saying that he was just confused.

An absolutely unnecessary hug for two people who, at least in terms of their current selves, have had very little screentime together, but this is also the show where making eye contact basically means your friends and it's all just to push the plot along so Nino inteprets that Alya is in love with Chat Noir, so whatever I guess.

Alya states that Nino is far more irresistable than Chat, then adds that she doesn't even know his secret identity, and she'd never fall in love with someone she doesn't know. Nino then runs away upset and the scene cuts away to the next day where--

Wait, wait, wait, hang on a second. Two things right off the bat there.

First off, we're just gonna sidle past that "wouldn't fall in love with someone you don't know the identity of" while ignoring the existence of the love square? Not even Chat thinking about how he doesn't know Ladybug's identity and trying to excuse that he doesn't have to? This guy is that certain of their relationship?

Secondly, Nino is practically sobbing and Shadow Moth doesn't take this as his opportunity? Same guy who akumatized Mr. Pigeon 72 times and has akumatized Gigantitan more than once? What is this pacing???

But--alright, so Adrien comes into school and sees Nino, still dressed up in his detective gear, which gets ignored completely as Adrien goes to tell him about Chat Noir and Alya. Because the show doesn't know how Adrien would convey this within reason, Nino interrupts him, taking him down into the lower part of the school where he has a desk and chairs set up. Adrien goes to ask when Nino had time to do this, but Nino slams his hand on the desk to cut him off. Nino presents the evidence he took and they go back and forth, likewise with Adrien turning off the background music while Nino turns it back on. Adrien insists that it's a misunderstanding, but pleads innocent when Nino asks how he knows. Adrien states that Alya is just a superhero fan and that she and Chat Noir have nothing in common.

Again, the complete lack of self-awareness is astonishing.

Adrien repeats what Alya said about secret identities and how she wouldn't fall for someone she doesn't know - they're really ignoring this, aren't they? - and continues hitting Nino's soft spots about how unlikely it is until Nino decides to tell Adrien something he's not supposed to.

He tells Adrien, not only that Alya is Rena Rouge, but that he's Carapace. Adrien goes through a range of emotions beyond sAD for once, shocked at the fact that they know each other's identities. Nino states that they don't keep secrets from each other, except now Alya is with Chat Noir. Adrien still doesn't understand and brings up how secret identities have to be protected, or else Nino wouldn't have told him because Ladybug wouldn't agree to it.

Oh, here we go. So that's why they waited.

Nino states that it was Ladybug herself who gave them their miraculouses at the same time; not giving the reason why, of course, nor pointing out that they're temporary heroes so there's understandably some leeway. Adrien is having a moment, but manages to bring the subject back to Alya and Chat Noir, who he still doesn't think are a thing. Nino argues that it's because Adrien doesn't know Chat Noir, but he does because he's Carapace and knows how Chat Noir acts. He says that it's all flowers and confessions when Ladybug appears, but he gets rejected because Ladybug thinks that he's annoying, and she's right. He adds that Chat flirts with Rena Rouge and that's all that needs to happen, with Chat stepping in on the first mission Carapace lost in. Nino laments the loss of the love of his life and wishes to shut Chat Noir up forever; we all do, Nino, we all do. Shadow Moth finally steps in with - oh, less than eight minutes left in the episode, yikes - and Nino is akumatized into Rocketear.

Rocketear rejects Adrien's pleas to stop, insisting that Chat Noir is who he's after, not Adrien, and Adrien transforms in sad fashion despite Plagg's reminder of who Rocketear is after. Alya, meanwhile, is in the art club with Marinette - wait, since when was Alya in the art club - telling Marinette about how Chat Noir thought she was into him due to the video, which Marinette groans at. There's an earthquake and they peek outside to see Rocketear firing his tears at Chat Noir, shouting that he stole Alya from him. Chat Noir tries to tell him otherwise, but Rocketear won't listen.

Alya groans at Nino doing this, then she and Marinette set off to find a place to transform. They conveniently go to the same place Adrien and Nino were, so they see the desk that Nino had set up.

Genuine question, how seriously does this episode want me to take itself, because now when I recount all the unnecessary love square drama in my head - because you know that's where this is going - I'm going to have to think, "Nino, dressed in a detective outfit, ripped off his fake mustache and told Adrien both his and Rena's identities, and also that Ladybug was totally cool with it and thinks that Chat Noir is annoying."

Gettin' two completely different vibes here. The episode clearly wants to be important but it doesn't take itself seriously either, which it totally could while including enough jokes to keep things light. Instead, I'm just left scratching my head and wondering what tone they're going for.

Marinette finds Nino's phone on the desk - I'm calling continuity error on that one because he at no point put it on the desk, at least not on-screen - and she questions Alya on the video she sees. Alya insists that nothing happened, apparently completely unphased by her boyfriend having spied on her, and says that he wouldn't have misunderstood if he'd heard the actual conversation.

The two transform and Ladybug immediately uses Lucky Charm, receiving a projector. Ladybug is clueless and Rena Furtive suggests creating an imaginary movie like Nino. Ladybug gets an idea, remembering Alya's earlier comments, and Rena confirms that she remembers every word of it.

Aaaaand, just like that, all of the tension has been completely sucked away. You know, "Backwarder" was a trash episode, but at least when Ladybug was showing every step of her plan, she didn't tell us what it was.

Meanwhile, Rocketear and Chat Noir are still arguing--I started zoning out at hearing the same thing over and over again at this point, so I just presume they were fighting over who does stuff behind their love interest's backs better; I don't think they came to an agreement but they're both losers anyway.

Chat Noir says that he'll prove his innocence, tossing his baton aside to show him giving up, but Rocketear points out that it proves nothing and strikes Chat Noir with his tears.

Our endgame love interest, everyone. Straight As yet about as smart as a sack of bricks, and that at least won't flirt with anyone non-consensually.

Chat Noir makes a point that he doesn't want to hurt Rocketear, and Shadow Moth tells Rocketear to take his miraculous before finishing him. Chat Noir can only weakly tell him not to before Ladybug snags Rocketear's wrist and diverts the shot. Ladybug explains to Rocketear about the projector and how it'll let him hear the audio of the recording he took. She adds that she doesn't know what Chat said, but she trusts him.

Marinette, I'm sorry, I feel so bad for you.

Ladybug turns on the projector and Rocketear relaxes at actually hearing what was going on. Rena then de-transforms and hurries out to meet with Rocketear, hugging him as Rocketear apologizes for doubting her. Alya also kinda sorta apologizes in a way I don't understand and Rocketear then breaks his akumatization, very casually, all on his own.

Yeah, just--casually, in a matter of seconds in fact. You know, it's really sad when people resisting akumatizations are more tense and emotionally compelling than them breaking them. This is twice in one season now and has zero impact considering that Nino's reason for being akumatized was already taken care of so he had no reason to stay akumatized anyway. Him breaking his own object to release the akuma would've at least been different, but instead it's just a repeat of what Alya went through with even less tension considering that Alya's wasn't even that good in the first place, relying on her relationship to Ladybug rather than who she knew to be her best friend.

Moving on, Ladybug captures the akuma and uses Miraculous Ladybug to bring everything back to normal. Shadow Moth monologues about how love and secrets don't go well together and he's sure that she has a lot and I'll talk about this later.

Ladybug hands over the magical charm, which Nino takes but insists that he won't need it, as he'll never let Shadow Moth use his love to manipulate him again. Plenty of other things to get akumatized over, but they gave the supposedly ace character a robot to help him stick out and also gave the supposedly aro character a miraculous back in season one to give her more importance. If characters aren't in love then they need something to ceompensate for it.

Nino apologizes to Chat Noir for being wrong and Chat Noir assures him that everyone has doubts, even him. He gets sad and Ladybug asks him what's wrong, but he insists that he's fine - officially throwing away his right to be upset at her later as far as I'm concerned - and they do their usual fist buuuuu--

...Really?

Everyone then splits up and Chat Noir sulks by himself instead of--you know, talking to Ladybug, or asking her anything, or making any sort of excuse for her because that would mean he actually has faith in her and understands that their partnership is different from temporary heroes, even if the excuse was as basic as her wanting to protect him more than the others because he would be that egotistical if they didn't want to stretch out this unnecessary drama.

Later on, Adrien is staring at a picture on the Ladyblog that might be a metaphor for the show considering how "in the foreground" Chat Noir and Rena are.

Adrien vents about Ladybug giving miraculouses to Alya and Nino, but Plagg states that she's the guardian. Adrien clarifies that he's referring to Alya and Nino knowing each other's identities, but Plagg doesn't see the issue. Adrien gets huffy and asks why the rule exists for LadyNoir but not Ninya, but Plagg again points out that she's the guardian, so she makes the rules, though obviously he uses cheese metaphors to convey it.

Okay, Plagg is only, like--half-right because he doesn't have all the information. If you don't mind me rambling for a bit, I'm on the fence here because, on one hand--yes, I agree that Marinette should be allowed to make her own rules, and I often do that in my writing because I think she should be permitted leeway in order to let herself be happy, but on the other hand, it's not technically her rule, as she had to let Alya and Nino in on their identities back in the Season 2 finale, so Fu was still around for a season. She wasn't even guardian yet!

Now, presumably so the fandom could blame Marinette if anything happened, Marinette never discussed this with Fu on-screen, so I can't say whether or not Fu knew, but I feel like he must've since Marinette had to have told him the heroes' identities off-screen, given "Party Crasher," and thus I imagine that Marinette would tell Fu everything that happened, which is consistent with what she does on-screen even if she'd keep things from him for a little while.

"Furious Fu" had also established that not even Master Fu followed rules completely, meaning that Marinette is in this awkward spot of mostly following what Fu taught her, which aren't all guardian rules anyway, and having to break the rules on occasion for various purposes. I can't say what Fu approved of and what he didn't, because episodes spend so much time on the love square that they forget about Marinette as a person and how she interacts with everyone else. From an emotional standpoint, I can't blame Marinette for not revoking the miraculouses of people whose identities get discovered because of her, as I imagine she feels guilty and it probably doesn't seem fair to force them into another miraculous or have them be entirely without one because of a mistake that she made, meaning that someone needs to be throwing a lot of red flags for Marinette to be through with them.

Though obviously, from the show's standpoint, it's just an excuse to not make new models, but I complained about that enough in "Sentibubbler" and this episode even went out of its way to design a detective model for Nino while spraypainting Alya's bodysuit in the same breath, so this is the world we live in.

Anyway, Marinette is essentially in this position where she still has Fu's rules hovering over her, but she's also trying to step out on her own and make her own decisions to varying degrees of success or failure depending on your point of view. Tikki--wait, no, bad idea--Su-Han then, could easily give input on these things, perhaps with Marinette discussing a modern day set of rules for someone her age and going back and forth with Su-Han on what the right choices to make are, finding something that's comfortable but within a realm of predictable control. Su-Han was okay with some rules being broken after seeing how Ladybug handled them and they could've easily made this episode about that instead, but instead, we get rules being set and then being broken on a writer's whim.

Which now brings us to the end of the episode, where Marinette is on the phone with Alya and apologizes for causing trouble between her and Nino. Alya tells her not to worry and she'll fix things - you know, those things that, to Marinette's knowledge, have already been fixed - and asks if Marinette trusts her. Marinette does, and Alya hangs up in order to face Nino.

Yeah, that feeling of dread in your stomach? That means you know how predictable the writing is and what's about to happen, good for you.

Alya explains that she has to tell Nino something and he's worried, this time trying to sheepishly break the tension. She explains that she's still Rena Rouge, much to Nino's shock, and adds that she's in hiding, which is why Ladybug didn't want her to tell anyone. Nino asks why she's telling him if she's not supposed to tell anyone - proving my point from a while back that he wouldn't have been upset had she kept it a secret - then asks if Ladybug agreed with it.

I want to give him a pat on the back for considering Ladybug, but he didn't even tell her when he had the chance that Adrien knows his identity now, so I'm just beaten down at this point.

Instead of answering the question directly, Alya says that she can't hide her identity from him because she loves him and they don't have secrets.

You know, like Nino telling Adrien about Rena's identity, or Alya saying specifically that she's a permanent holder, which I'm sure both of them will confess to since they said that they don't have--aaaaand the episode ends on happy triumphant music, okay.

I mean, I guess Alya at least didn't tell him that Marinette was Ladybug, but that is such a low bar and not even remotely worthy of congratulations when Alya told Nino the specific thing that Marinette told Alya not to tell; the thing that they had agreed on.

Nino wasn't upset anymore. He won't be getting akumatized either. Alya endured the supposed hardship of being a permanent fox holder for four episodes before breaking down and telling her boyfriend. Even her excuse doesn't hold any water because, again, they're both still technically keeping a secret, particularly Alya who knows Marinette's identity as Ladybug. The episode also apparently forgets that Alya and Marinette's friendship must not be as strong by her logic of telling Nino specifically everything, as Alya kept Rena Rouge a secret from Marinette for all of Season 3, but tells Nino about continuing to be Rena Rouge in Season 4. Boyfriends before BFFs without explicitly saying it, or to be more specific, whatever screws Marinette over the most, because that's what this comes down to, made worse by "Optigami" where Marinette told Alya that she'd tell her everything and I guess that doesn't go both ways.

"Sentibubbler" had Alya stress that no one would ever know. She promised Marinette and told Marinette to trust her, and the episode spent its entire running time talking her up and assuring Marinette that she was the right choice, even considering Marinette ridiculous for worrying when Alya had done something without Marinette's permission the episode right before it. Then, three episodes after "Sentibubbler," when Marinette is finally comfortable and trusts Alya completely, Alya betrays that trust. Nino betrayed that trust, knowing he wasn't supposed to do so but telling Adrien his and Rena's identity anyway, because he was losing an argument and needed to PROVE something.

Marinette gives them an inch and they take a mile. Marinette bent the rules so that they could continue to have the miraculous they'd started with and they disrespected her because it was hard for like a day.

And if this bites them back, it won't reflect poorly on them, it'll reflect poorly on Marinette.

It's not like Alya just overrode Marinette. She didn't go, "Hey, I'm telling Nino, I'm sorry," or tried her hardest to go back and forth with Marinette until they both agreed. No, she did what she told Marinette she wouldn't do without saying a word to her, because LOVE and SEEEECRETS.

And this only applies to her, of course, because don't think I didn't notice the parallels between this episode and "Truth," because WOW.

Episode begins with Marinette hoping for something and it blows up in her face? A date at the cinema that ends on a sour note? Plot-centric couple trying to get Andre's ice cream and the female with a secret needing to leave in a hurry? Boyfriend character getting akumatized over their girlfriend's secret? Boyfriend assumes/suggests that the girlfriend's secret involves Aaaaaadrien - or his alter-ego in "Rocketear"'s case - and the episode hints as much to him even though he's completely wrong? Akuma's colors are blue and black? THE BRIDGE?

But, ahhh, little difference, here and there, y'know, like how Marinette was forced to break up with her boyfriend while Alya got to keep hers, and Nino got to have long talks with Alya while Luka got little to nothing with Marinette.

Because do note that Alya, while trying to convince Marinette and talk to Nino about not keeping secrets, at no point suggests that Marinette deserves to be happy and deserves to have a boyfriend and that Marinette should be allowed to tell Luka her secret so they can get back together, so you have Alya here selfishly prioritizing her relationship with Nino while making no comment about Marinette's relationship, essentially asking Marinette to allow her what Marinette herself didn't have the luxury of, and Alya knows this because Marinette told her. It is both incredibly insensitive of Alya and incredibly insulting of the show to make so many parallels between this episode and "Truth" just to have everything crash down for Marinette because she's Marinette while everything goes well for Alya and Nino because they're not Marinette.

We've talked before about the formulas that are literally baked into the show, and one of those is how Marinette makes a mistake in every episode and has to learn from it. What that mistake is in this episode, I don't know, but considering that she apologizes for Alya and Nino's problems, I guess the show blames her for what they themselves had taught her.

Point being, there's a clear karma system in place, but it only applies to Marinette, and forcing her to mess up in every episode means that she is literally not allowed to be with Luka because had she been able to clear things up between them, he would've eagerly accepted her and they could've been happy. It'd be too difficult for her to mess up when Luka doesn't put mountains of pressure and expectations on her like everyone else. Factor that in with how she can be herself around him and it leads to situation that are too difficult for her to screw up in because her mistakes - more often than not - center around Adrien or her role as guardian.

And because another rule in the show is to bring up Adrien so they don't "lose him for too long," she can't avoid bringing him up either. If he's not in the plot, he has to be mentioned, leaving Marinette in a lose-lose situation that she'll never be free from.

So, let me just get this straight then:

The guy who spied on his girlfriend instead of talking to her about his assumptions gets to keep his girlfriend, not because he realized it was wrong regardless of whether he was correct or not, but because the situation had been cleared up for him, yet the guy who actively resisted his akumatization, saddened by his girlfriend's secrets but wanting her to share them when she was ready, gets broken up with and tossed to the wayside because he's not a rich blond boy who got a miraculous because he happened to be within the twenty meters of space where Fu was searching for new holders?

Meanwhile, the girlfriend who has gone against the wishes and insistence of her best friend - guardian of the miraculouses, by the way, so she calls the shots, something that Alya herself said in "Optigami" BEFORE GOING ON TO DO HER OWN THING IN THE SAME EPISODE AND BEING REWARDED FOR IT - is allowed to go against the wishes and insistence of her best friend again for the sake of "all love, no secrets" with her boyfriend and so she can have the happy ending she wants, yet the girl who was chosen for a miraculous without her consent, forced to screw up and talk about a random boy who doesn't even go out of his way to spend time with her, treated like absolute trash by writers who find humor in her misery, and is the only one to receive overly harsh and long-lasting consequences for her actions while also covering up and forgiving the actions of others within the episode where they do it...

doesn't get her happy ending, and won't ever get her happy ending. That thing Shadow Moth said about love and secrets not going well together? Yeah, only goes as far as the writers want it to, because both Nino and Alya still have secrets, and some of the ones they did tell each other were forced by someone else and kept until that very moment. This idea that people in love have to tell each other everything and that it makes a relationship stronger makes me immensely uncomfortable, and that lesson is also in "Guiltrip."

People should be allowed their secrets, and obviously there are exceptions for things that are being hidden with malicious intent, but being essentially forced to share everything or risk not having a "full and complete" relationship is stifling and sounds like it'd only cause stress.

This episode sucks. It furthers and confirms everything I've already thought about the show, Nino's screentime continues to be dependent on Adrien, Alya, or both, there are pointless references that completely take me out of the experience, and the utter betrayal from Alya and supposed message of the episode just reminds me that Marinette is inevitably going to be stuck with a guy who didn't even DO anything in this episode and is going to let himself stew instead of asking for any sort of clarifications from someone he apparently trusts so much.

So the takeaway is that Marinette's life is awful, she'll be forced to apologize for rules that she didn't even come up with herself, her best friend will walk all over her for the sake of her relationship with a guy - not even for the sake, really, they were going to be fine, it was more for HER personal comfort if anything - and the guy who actually makes Marinette happy and could've known her identity instead BECAUSE HE AT LEAST DIDN'T HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF SPILLING HER SECRETS gets treated in the exact same way that she does; like nothing, just something to abuse unfairly.

What a waste of an episode.

[river-bottom-nightmare]

i want dick grayson to be annoyingly perfect in the smallest of unimportant ways. and i want it to irritate the living hell out of everyone around him

every now and then, jason and dick will go to different chili dog carts around the city, and dick will sit and nod in agreement as jason nitpicks the food, occasionally offering his own two cents. the conversations are tense and if the topic strays from anything except food jason books it, but it’s progress, and dick’s grateful. but he doesn’t understand why jason always growls at him when he’s preparing his chili dogs, chalking it up to jason’s obsessiveness about that food in particular. dick figures he’s probably doing it wrong. until one day, jason bites out a rough question, asks him how he did that. dick’s confused, until jason points out, “you tear open the top of the ketchup packet in a perfect line every time. and you get all of the ketchup out of the packet in one smooth squeeze, and you never get any on your fingers, and i don’t understand how.”

roy was, arguably, a better archer than ollie. green arrow had been birthed from the island, from the trauma of survival. roy, however, had been practicing since he was a kid, and now that he was well into his twenties, he could safely say he was one of the best shots in the world. he could beat all his friends at darts, shoot an apple off wally’s head, and was generally pretty awesome. or, he would be awesome, if only dick fucking grayson would stop making every single shot of anything he threw in a trash can. no matter what he was throwing away, no matter the angle, no matter the wind or rain, as long as the trashcan was in eyesight, anything dick tossed would inevitably end up inside the garbage. sometimes, dick barely even glanced at the damn thing, just took note of it a threw the trash, expecting it to land in the proper place. and it always did. the worst part was, dick didn’t even seem to notice it. he wasn’t actively trying to make every shot. when asked, dick just shrugged and said “we had some pretty good knife throwers in the circus.”

tim’s memories starting out as robin were a whirlwind, a push-pull of bruce’s mistrust, then bruce’s acceptance, of dick’s fear and hesitation, then of dick’s love. he still remembered dick making the two of them hot chocolate in the kitchen after a day of training, tim’s muscles sore and entire body aching but the feeling of pride, because he was good enough to be robin, he knew he was. he hadn’t expected that to happen anytime soon again, given the way their relationship had fractured after tim had left dick’s batman, a terrified fury in his eyes. yet, he’d been proven wrong when, after a particularly rough arkham breakout, alfred asked both dick and tim to stay instead of returning to their own apartments. just because the manor brought back a feeling of warm nostalgia, however, doesn’t mean it kept the nightmares away. he came down to the kitchen and saw dick already up, moving around the stovetop. with a knowing look in his eyes, dick grabbed another mug to make tim some hot chocolate. tim was washed over with a feeling of relief, of acceptance. dick slid the mug towards him and tim took a sip, letting the rich chocolate warm him up from the inside. it was delicious. his little sigh of pleasure must have been audible, but then he remembered something he noticed. “dick. did you use alfred’s recipe for this?” and dick laughed, responded with, “nah. too much work. i just sort of tried to remember what was in hot chocolate, and eyeballed most of the ingredients. i’m glad it turned out good though. no clumps too, that’s good.”

donna didn’t care how old she got, playing in the park with dick never got old. as one of her oldest friends, the two of them could just walk around the park, in companionable silence, just letting themselves relax and enjoy the moment. so, of course, dick would break the silence and ask if she had any earbuds, because it was getting to quiet for him. donna laughed, and reached inside her pocket, fingered past the keys, and grabbed the headphones. the tangled little ball that came out made her sigh, and she pulled on an earbud to loosen it, only managing to make one of the many knots tighter. then, dick took the headphones out of her hands with a here, i got it, and with a few quick tugs, the tangled monstrosity unraveled easy as breathing. then, completely unaffected, he handed her an earbud, putting the other in his own ear. “i’m the one who’s got a lasso,” she said, ignoring dick’s snort and quip about how earbuds and a lasso are two completely different things, donna.

cass hadn’t expected to enjoy such a gentle, graceful form of athletics, but after a few lessons, it had become apparent that ballet could be far from gentle. it pushed her, made her practice and strengthen herself, and she’d fallen in love with the art quickly. however, the most frustrating part of the entire thing had little to do with actually dancing. the school bruce had helped pick out was prestigious, which meant a strict dress code, which meant her hair had to be in a bun. unfortunately, her hair never seemed to want to cooperate. after her latest attempt, falling into a mess of hair at her nape that had so many locks falling out, cass contemplated how mad the teacher would be if she showed up in a ponytail. at that moment, dick peeked into her room, having heard her frustrated noise, and asked if he could do anything to help. cass pointed to the mess of hair, not even remotely contained by the hair tie, and blew a strand out of her face. dick smiled with understanding, then came into her room, grabbing the comb on her bed and standing behind her in front of the mirror. he smoothed her hair with the comb, then pulled it this way and that, twisting and turning and wrapping until, two minutes later, a picture perfect bun sat atop her head. cass blinked with surprise. “first try,” she said, staring up at him, but he just shrugged and said, “it’s not that hard. you want me to drop you off?”

bruce could admit that he rather enjoyed undercover missions. it was an extended game with high stakes, a test of his own acting skills. with makeup changing his face, an expertly made wig, and a demeanor completely different from both brucie wayne and from batman, he swept through the crowd of greasy men, looking for a specific contact. then, he caught sight of someone specific indeed, though they weren’t his contact. eyebrows raised in a what are you doing here? gesture, he slid onto a barstool. from behind the bar, dick offered him a blinding smile, cleaning a glass. he tapped his wrist twice, a clear message. undercover, same as you. then, dick grabbed a couple bottles from underneath a shelf, flipping them in his hand and pouring with grandeur. bruce noticed he hadn’t put any alcohol in his little mixture, only making it seem as if he had. the flashy moves were entertaining, bruce could give him that. dick slid him the drink and bruce took a sip, eyebrows raising in brief surprise. “this is good. bartending?” dick put the bottles and the lemon away, unimpressed. “it’s not like it’s hard. just mixing a couple ingredients. no biggie.” bruce was fairly certain bartending was more difficult than that, but just then, his target came into view. 

steph understood some of the bats’ frustration with dick, she really could. he hadn’t exactly been a welcome and opening batman, that’s for sure. regardless, as the few masks left in gotham had to work together, and she’d gotten to know the man pretty well. and she enjoyed his company as nightwing much more than batman. she dropped onto his balcony in his bludhaven apartment, announcing her presence in that loud-subtle way. dick was nestled in a couple blankets on the couch, going over a couple files, apparently just back from patrol if the small bandage on his neck and bags under his eyes were any indication. nevertheless, he brightened when he saw her and she nodded when he asked if she wanted to spend the night. he moved some of the papers to make room for her on the couch, but she flitted into his bathroom, going through the nail polish bottles she knew he had, and grabbing a shade of red that caught her eye. she tossed him the bottle and put her fingers in his lap, talking aimlessly about a movie she watched with cass. dick seemed to relax amidst her jabbering, and he shook the bottle a couple times before opening it and focusing on her right hand. but as he started, steph paused her rambling and focused on him instead, holding her hands gently and brushing paint onto her nails. he managed to cover her entire nail in three easy strokes, smooth and glossy, not a hint of paint on her skin. the nail was practically perfect. oh god she was jealous. “got a lot of practice with this, grayson?” she asked, and laughed at dick’s mock-offended of course not!

damian wasn’t one for photography, and he could grudgingly admit drake was far better at that particular skill than he was. however, his art class had promised to cover all types of media, and had upheld that pledge. the next two weeks were dedicated to photography, and their final project for the unit had to be a small collection of photographs. animal photography, of course, was damian’s chosen subject, and the knowledge that animal photography was one of the hardest skills to master only had damian wanting to do it more. days later, however, he could admit that it was trickier than expected. how had he never noticed how active his animals were? they never sat still, and every single picture came out blurry. grayson, upon coming across him in the manor grounds, noticed his futile attempts and asked if he could help. damian acquiesced the camera to grayson, who looked through the lens, finding the right angle and background, adjusting the focus settings slightly. then, he let out a sharp whistle and snapped his fingers. in nothing short of a miracle, damian’s pets pasued to look at him, only for a second, and the shutter clicked furiously. damian flipped through the photos, a good many of them clear and wonderful. damian snapped in irritation when dick ruffled his hair and said, “now you try!” it definitely wasn’t as easy as grayson made it look.

babs didn’t really know what she was expecting when she broke up with dick. there was hurt on both ends, and distance for a while, and she had no idea how much she’d miss him. but after a couple months of working together, of remembering that underneath the romantic tangles, their friendship was strong, she’d gotten to the point of dick randomly dropping by her apartment again. the downside was, dick kept randomly dropping by her apartment again. he stole her snacks and messed up her filing system and was so irritating that barbara almost forgot how relieved she was at having one of her best friends back. fortunately, it did come with benefits, because when he was bored, he did some of her chores for her. pausing in the doorway, she smiled at the sight of dick folding her clothes and putting them away. the gesture was platonic now, but no less appreciated. she pushed her wheelchair forward, and in greeting, dick told her how much he wanted to steal all her patterned socks. babs reminded him they wouldn’t fit, and laughed at his pout. dick grabbed one sock off the top of the laundry basket, then dug his hand into the pile of clothes randomly, coming up with the second sock in an instant. folding them together, he repeated the process for each pair. “that...that was fast. you got all of them?” babs asked in confusion. “yes? why, did you expect some to be missing?” was dick’s reply as he shook the wrinkles out of a sweater.

wally was never surprised. he knew dick better than probably most people in the world. he’d gone from frustrated and jealous of dick’s random talents, to admiring and appreciative, to just accepting them as a fact of life. dick’s phone never cracked if he accidentally he dropped it. dick never buttoned up shirts wrong, aligning each button with the right hole perfectly on the first try. dick could plug in usb ports the right way. dick always remembered which light switch was for which room, no matter whose house they were at. dick could pop a cd out of its case without ever smudging the disk, holding it by the rim perfectly. and dick always seemed to know when wally needed a day off, to just visit their old haunts, grab some ice cream, and spend the day talking away on a rooftop. that was just something his best friend could do. and wally would never tell dick, but underneath his fake irritation at it, but he loved him for it.

tag list:  @comicsandhoney @birdy-bat-writes @elles-shitposts-personified @subtleappreciation @screennamealreadyused @pricetagofficial @catxsnow @astroherogirl @yesboopityboop @dangerduckjpeg

[somewhatgreatexpectations]

I'll Stand By You (Wanda Maximoff/ Reader)

Hello! We've reached Halloween in Westview. I hope you all enjoy!

Songs used: "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders (1994) and "This I Promise You" by NSYNC (2000)

Summary: Westview is slowly falling apart as Wanda worries reader is drifting away. With some sibling chaos. I'm bad at summaries. :)

With a sigh, you began making your way downstairs, following the sounds of the commotion. Wearily tugging at the skin-tight suit that you couldn’t seem to avoid wearing for the day.

“Woah, smokin’ costume, sis-in-law!” You heard Pietro whistle which only made you sigh again in exasperation. “If you weren’t already married to witchy over here…” He trailed off as he leaned against the wall.

You rolled your eyes, biting back a chuckle when you saw Anna smack his shoulder. “That’s my sister you’re talking to.” She warned, glaring at Pietro who just laughed in response.

“You and Mom look nice, Momma.” Billy said sweetly with a smile which you easily returned. Reaching over to affectionately ruffle his hair.

“Yeah, Mom is old Red Riding Hood and you’re old green riding hood, Momma.” Charlie said with a laugh, looking at Pietro for approval who merely held up a hand for a high five. You clutched your chest to feign hurt and gave Anna a disbelieving stare when she began to laugh as well.

Much to your annoyance Pietro then turned his attention back to you. “Let me guess, you’re a… woodland fairy queen? Or the woman of my dreams?” He finished with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Pietro.” Wanda warned. Anna smacked him in the back of the head.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I was going for, Pietro. I live to visually please you.” You quipped back sarcastically.

Before he could say anything else, Wanda walked over to you. Leaning in and pressing a kiss to your lips which you shortly returned. “Thank you for humoring me and wearing this… dramatic get-up, honey.”

“Well, there were no other clothes in my closet, so…” You replied flatly, watching the way Wanda’s smile faltered. Unable to stand seeing the look on her face, you attempted to lighten your tone. “I knew you had a thing for me in tights.”

Her shoulders relaxed when you posed dramatically and sent a teasing smile her way. “I have a thing for you in general.” Wanda said in a husky voice, a small smirk on her lips.

Leaning in closer you matched her smirk, “What a coincidence because I just so happen to have a thing for you as well.”

Wanda let out a quiet giggle and you smiled adoringly at the way her nose scrunched. As Wanda was leaning in again, you turned to face the rest of the family in the living room. Wanda sighed.

A short laugh escaped your lips as you watched Billy and Anna cover Pietro and Charlie’s eyes in a desperate bid to win the video game that they were playing. The laughter faded when you watched Pietro pull out sodas, teaching the twins how to chug the can and then burp much to your annoyance. Anna threw her own can at Pietro’s head.

“It’s wonderful that our siblings are so…” You paused as you watched the four begin wrestling for the remote. “Great with kids.”

Wanda nodded unconvincingly as she watched the scene by your side. “Yeah... They’re just full of surprises.”

Lightly you pat her shoulder as you stepped around her. “Well, good luck with them tonight. I’m sure it’ll be entertaining to say the least.”

Wanda turned to face you, a frown tugging down at the corners of her lips. “What?” She followed after you as you made your way to the door. “What do you mean? You’re all dressed and ready to go.”

You gestured vaguely to yourself. “I’m undercover. Ellie said there’s been mischief running amuck in the community and she suspects neighborhood watch. An inside job, Wanda! I'm an investigative journalist now.” Dramatically you tossed your cape over your shoulder for emphasis.

The frown on Wanda’s face remained as she shook her head lightly, “But that’s not what you’re supposed to…”

Skeptically you eyed Wanda. “What do you mean supposed to?”

“You didn’t tell me you had plans.” She eventually grumbled in annoyance, ignoring the question entirely.

“Well, I’m telling you now.” You replied with a small shrug.

Her eyes gleamed with frustration as if she couldn’t believe the words you were saying. “It’s the twins first Halloween. You have to be there.”

Anna and Pietro stepped over before you could get a word out. “Woah, what’s the big deal?” Pietro asked as he teasingly placing his hands in between you both like you were about to start fighting. “I’m much more fun than Y/n. No offense, you’re still smokin’.” He winked your way and you gagged.

Anna pushed him away and turned to Wanda with a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, Wanda. We can help with the twins. It’ll still be fun.”

“Uncle Petey to the rescue, huh?” Pietro added with a goofy grin.

You clapped his shoulder and turned to Wanda. “Sure… Petey. Problem solved. Have a spooky time tonight, kiddos. I love you!” You called out to Billy and Charlie who were engrossed in their game.

“Love you.” They called back distractedly, never taking their eyes off the screen.

Hesitantly you stepped back over to Wanda, ignoring the gloomy expression on her face as you lightly caressed her cheek.

With a small smile you leaned in and kissed her other check. “Be good.” You whispered before pulling away. Once again, you posed dramatically, smirking when Wanda begrudgingly replicated the action. “Time to solve this case!” With a final toss of your cape you left.

Wanda’s shoulders drooped slightly as the door closed behind you. Seconds later, you poked your head back in. “I forgot to say… you look beautiful, my love.” You called out sincerely, sending a wink Wanda’s way before shutting the door behind yourself again.

The blush on Wanda’s cheeks made both Pietro and Anna smirk in amusement.

____________

“Unleash hell, demon spawn!” Pietro called after the twins with a smile as they walked off to one of the houses with Anna. He furrowed his eyebrows questioningly when he noticed Wanda staring at him.

Wanda attempted to force an easygoing smile on her lips. “Do you remember when we were at the orphanage and there was this song that we used to sing? The one that would play on the radio whenever the soldiers radio frequencies would interfere with the our frequencies? It went like,” Pietro just stared, his head tilted slightly. “Let me come along, ‘cause even if you’re wrong-”

“-I’ll stand by you, I’ll stand by you. Won’t let nobody hurt you. I’ll stand by you.”

You sat patiently outside the door, the music playing quietly on your phone to break up the silence that surrounded you. And possibly send a message to the woman who was currently ignoring you.

Natasha walked over and kneeled by your side. “Are you planning on staying out here all night?” In response you lifted your shoulders slightly in a small shrug. “You should at least eat something.”

“I’m not hungry.” You murmured, spinning the rings on your fingers absently.

With a sigh Natasha stood up and gently pat your head. “I’m going to bring you both food. And I expect you both to eat, even if you aren’t talking right now.”

Almost as soon as Natasha had walked away the door behind you opened, causing you to fall backwards. “You can turn the cheesy 90s music off now. I get it.” Wanda said quietly, her posture tense.

You scrambled to shut the music off and rushed to your feet. “Hi.” You said nervously.

From where you stood you could see Wanda fight a smile. “You’ve been sat outside my room for three hours and all you came up with was hi?”

Shyly you rubbed your arm. “I did have a whole speech planned out in my head but looking at you now I can’t seem to think of anything other than you.”

Wanda melted with your words and you could see the frustration in her eyes begin to fade away. “Did you really mean what you said? That you don’t care?”

Tentatively you reached out and took her hands. “Never. Not about you. I was talking about myself. I will care about you forever.” Care was a placeholder for what you truly wanted to say and you both knew it. "I'm sorry for making you think I didn't."

With a sigh, Wanda pulled you into her arms. “Well I care about you, so if you care about me you also have to care about yourself.”

You buried your face in her neck, breathing in her sweet scent. “Okay. I care...” You mumbled letting the silence wash over the moment. “Did we just have our first fight? I hated every minute of that.”

Wanda’s chuckled slightly. “Yeah. Me too…” Her eyes shone brightly with amusement as she gently tilted your head up to meet her lips, finding comfort in your touch.

You were her safety.

Impatiently Pietro snapped his fingers in Wanda’s face, squinting his eyes slightly at her expression. “You’re testing me.” He said flatly with a knowing point of his finger.

Wanda quickly feigned innocence, still shaking away the memory that had filled her mind. “No, I’m not.” She insisted.

Wanda was testing him though. She knew he wouldn’t know that song. He shouldn’t have.

In response he waved a hand dismissively as he gestured vaguely to his face. “Hey, it’s cool. I know I look different.”

Unable to help herself, Wanda nodded. Her brows furrowed. “Why do you look different?”

Pietro shrugged. “You tell me. I mean, if I found Shangri-La I wouldn’t want to be reminded of the past either.” Wanda looked back at him pensively.

Anna then rushed back with the twins. “Your turn, Uncle Petey!” She exclaimed patting Pietro on the shoulder.

“Alright, Uncle Petey’s about to maximize your candy acquisition. Not like your lame Aunt Annie over here.” He joked, ruffling Anna’s hair who just smacked his hand away. He offered a hand to Charlie who eagerly took it as Billy linked on.

Before Wanda could even blink they had sped away. “I’m beginning to think he’s a bad influence.”

Anna spun around to face her. “Beginning? I hate to break it to you, Wanda, but between the two of us I’m the only good role model here.”

Wanda just shook her head in amusement when someone in the distance caught her attention. “I’ll be right back, Anna.” Anna nodded and ran to try to catch up to the twins. Wanda made her way over to the person of interest. “Hello, Ellie.”

Ellie turned to face Wanda a mild look of surprise covering her features. “Hi, Wanda. Where’s your lovely wife?”

The polite smile that Wanda had grown so accustomed to made an appearance. “Oh, it’s okay you don’t have to be secretive. Y/n told me about the undercover piece about neighborhood watch that you have her working on.”

Curiously Ellie quirked her eyebrows. “I haven’t assigned Y/n to any undercover pieces.”

Wanda’s smile wavered slightly. “Oh. I thought… I thought she…” Her lips pulled down slightly in thought.

Ellie shifted nervously in the silence as her brows furrowed in concern. “Is there something I can do for you, Wanda?” She continued on before Wanda could utter a response. “Do you want something changed?”

A confused chuckle fell from Wanda’s lips. “No. It’s fine. I must have just misheard her this morning.”

“If you say so. Tell Y/n I said hello.” Ellie finally replied, sending a wink Wanda’s way as she walked off.

“Hey, that woman looked so much like Amelia. Y/n loved her.” Wanda jumped at Anna’s sudden appearance. Her eyes clouded over when she processed what the teenage girl had just said.

__________________

“This is so lame. I can’t believe you’re making them return all the candy.” Pietro grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

Wanda crossed her arms indignantly. “Well, I can’t believe what a bad influence you are.”

“That’s why I’m better.” Anna added in a sing song voice.

Pietro sneered. “Oh, shut it, pipsqueak. We’re here to do the exact same thing, okay? Come to town unexpectedly, create tension with the sis-in-law, stir up trouble with the rugrats and ultimately… Give Wanda grief.”

Anna huffed when Wanda looked at her suspiciously. “I mean, that’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” She asked, her tone dripping with irritation that was a stark contrast to her positive attitude earlier.

The confusion at the situation caused Wanda to purse her lips as she allowed herself to consider the two people before her. “Anna, weren’t you six when Hydra… I mean, you weren’t a teenager when you…” She trailed off slightly, not wanting to finish the thought.

The younger girl rolled her eyes defensively. “Look, that was years ago. I aged. That’s what happens inn life, isn’t it?” Anna crossed her arms when Wanda didn't seem convinced. “I don’t know, okay?”

Wanda frowned slightly then turned her attention to Pietro. “And you. What happened to your accent?”

“What happened to yours?” Pietro countered defensively. He sighed when Wanda leveled him with an unimpressed stare. “Look. Details are fuzzy, man. For both of us. All I remember is getting shot like a chump in the streets for no reason at all. Next thing I know, I heard you calling us.”

Anna stepped forward, nodding along with Pietro. “We knew you needed us.”

The words hung in the air like an unanswered question. “Uncle P, Auntie A, guess what?” Charlie shouted excitedly effectively ending the conversation as she rushed over with Billy.

“There’s a treasure bag with full sized candy bars on the lamp post!” Billy pointed up eagerly at the post that was hanging directly above their heads. “Mom, can you help us get it?”

The sound of metal crunching filled the air as Charlie waved a hand. The lamppost giving way easily as she skipped over and took the bag off the light. “Next stop, Cavity Town!” She cheered as she walked back over and passed one of the treats to Billy.

“My niece is a badass!” Pietro hollered as he lifted Charlie on his shoulders. Wanda couldn't help the pride that bubbled in her chest as she watched her daughter's powers develop. She wished you would have been there to see it too. “Just like your uncle P! Chip off the old Maximoff block!”

Anna coughed pointedly. “Manipulating earth and metal? Sounds a lot like the badass comes from my genes.”

“It’s okay, baby. You can take it slow, and you can-” Wanda’s words were interrupted as Charlie began flying through the sky, cheering all the while. Wanda shook her head in amusement at the way Charlie smoothly flew through the air, her smile unwavering.

Billy watched his twin excitedly which Wanda took note of.

When Charlie floated too low, Wanda grabbed her foot and gently pulled her down. “If you’re going to explore, please just take your brother with you.” Wanda said seriously.

“Really?” Billy asked happily.

“Really?” Charlie repeated with a pout.

Wanda bit back a smile as she nodded. “Really. And please, just remember-”

“Don’t go past Ellis Avenue.” They responded in unison.

“We know, Mom. We know.” Charlie said dismissively as she offered her hand to Billy and a moment later they floated into the air.

Pietro and Anna shook their heads. “Be careful! I love you!” Wanda shouted after the twins.

_________________

For the past several hours a feeling of discomfort had settled in your chest as you wandered the city of Westview. The feeling reached its breaking point when you watched a woman frozen in time, replicating the same action again and again. The moment solidified your resolve. You needed to see what was outside this city. To see if all these odd occurrences were just that… odd occurrences.

You didn’t want to believe it was Wanda. It couldn’t be.

In a bid of desperation, you took advantage of one of your new-found skills and allowed yourself to fly into the skies of Westview. Everything looked completely normal... Except for one set of lights stopped strangely at the edge of the town.

Curiosity got the better of you as you flew over to investigate the scene. The sight of the stalled car unnerved you as you wearily made your way over to the driver’s side. “Agnes? What are you doing here?”

Despite the question, Agnes continued to stare off into the distance, almost as if you weren’t there at all. “Took a wrong turn.” She lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. You worriedly took note of the way her eyes were glossed over with unshed tears despite her face being completely void of emotion. “Got lost.”

Her words were monotonous which was so out of character for the woman you’d seen before. You frowned. “Lost? In the town you grew up in?” There was no response from the other woman as she continued to stare blankly ahead. Your fingers tingled with uneasy energy. “I wonder…” Hesitantly you lifted your hand until it hovered over her temple. You closed your eyes as you focused, becoming one with the earth’s current until a short burst of light drifted from the tips of your fingers into the side of Agnes’ temple.

With a gasp, she sprung back to life. Agnes desperately took your hands, pulling you down. “You! You’re one of the Avengers! Are you here to help us?”

“I do want to help.” You assured her. “But what’s an Avenger?”

Agnes pulled her hands away as if she’d been burned. “What? Why don’t you know?” Suddenly she began patting herself down anxiously. “Am I dead?”

Your brows furrowed in concern. “No, no, why would you think that?”

There was a brief pause before Agnes turned her attention back to you. “Because you are.”

The tightness in your chest increased tenfold. “I am what?”

“Dead. You’re dead. Dead, Dead!” Agnes shouted hysterically causing you to flinch back involuntarily.

Determinedly you pushed forward again, ignoring her words. “Agnes, I want to help. I’m going to get help. To reach someone outside of Westview and figure everything out.”

“How? No one leaves. Wanda won’t even let us think about it.” Manic laughter startled you into silence as she continued. “All is lost. We’ll never escape her.”

Despite numerous attempts to call out to her, Agnes’ laughter never stopped. The unsteady tingling in your fingers began again as you took a deep breath and grounded yourself with the earth once more. You lifted your hand to her temple and almost as soon as the light entered her temple the laughter stopped.

“I will fix this.” You declared softly.

A caricature of a smile overcame her features. “Alrighty, neighbor!” She said as she turned the car around. “Happy Halloweenie!”

With a new sense of determination, you marched forward into the open field in the distance. The soft buzzing of static becoming louder and louder the further into the field you ventured.

Cautiously you reached a hand out to touch where the sound seemed to be coming from only to be met with resistance even though nothing was there. Confusion took hold of your emotions as you watched the costume you were wearing transform into your typical clothes as you pushed your arm through the energy barrier.

Knowing this was the only way, you pushed forward, feeling as if your mind was being wiped clean the further you walked.

The pain was becoming unbearable, but you knew you couldn’t turn back.

As the pain worsened, a quiet song began playing in your mind, almost as it was attempting to comfort you.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Look at me.” A soft hand on your face tilted your chin up. Her eyes were flooded with worry but her gentle touch brought you comfort. “This might hurt a bit, but we have to do this.”

A soft groan fell from your lips as you could feel the first stitch begin to close your wound. “Wait, wait.” You hissed, pushing her hand away from your bleeding side.

Her fingers gently brushed through your hair. “Y/n. You’re bleeding, we need to stitch this up now.” You knew she was right, but you still wanted to roll away. The woman quickly scrambled to her feet, stepping away for a moment before rushing back with a small device in her hands. “Here. Focus on the music. Focus on me. Not on the pain.”

“I've loved you forever, in lifetimes before and I promise never will you hurt anymore. I give you my word, I give you my heart. This is a battle we’ve won and with this vow, forever has now begun…”

When the song from the radio reached your ears, a choked laugh fell from your lips despite the pain you were in. “Did you plan for the cheesiest 90s song to play?”

In response she smiled ever so slightly, but her eyes remained focused on the task. “I didn’t, I swear. Guess I just got lucky.”

“Yeah. Me too…”

Staring up at her made it impossible for you to focus on anything else as you processed the words that floated from the radio. She was done before the song had even finished. You didn’t feel a thing.

“I didn’t see they were government agents.” You murmured guiltily after a moment as you watched her wrap your now stitched up side.

Her concerned eyes met yours. “Y/n, I don’t blame you. I’m just glad you’re okay. I was so scared I wouldn’t get there in time. That I wouldn’t be able to protect you. I... care about you.” Her words were sincere as her thumb lightly caressed your cheek. The placeholder word from your past making a comeback.

The small box of a room that was your newest hideout was dingy, but with her here it was the most beautiful place in the world.

Your chest tightened with familiar feelings that you spent so long avoiding. “Can you hold me?” You looked away as you asked, still not used to the vulnerability.

“Of course.” She breathed out, carefully helping you to bed before gathering you in her arms. Her heartbeat against your ear was the sweetest song you had ever heard. You had never felt safer than when you were in her arms.

Wanda was your safety.

“Wanda.” You gasped out, feeling yourself refocus on the current world around you as thoughts of Wanda flashed through your mind. Of Wanda smiling. Of Wanda laughing. Of Wanda crying. It was all there again.

Until it wasn’t.

With a gasp you fell to the floor, clutching your head, feeling yourself – your mind - begin to fade away.

“Why aren’t you helping her? Something is wrong with her, she needs help!” You heard a voice scream anxiously. You looked up just in time to see the woman get held back by someone. “Steve! Natasha! Help her!” She cried out holding her ear as a man tugged her arm down and handcuffed her to a car.

Despite the pain coursing through your veins you continued to weakly crawl forward. The threat of losing consciousness and the sense of who you were increasing the further out you moved from the barrier. “Th-they need h-elp.” You gritted out, not remembering why, but knowing it was why you were there. One of your arms gave out from under you as you fought to keep your eyes open.

The bespectacled woman watched you with growing concern, tugging desperately at the handcuffs that kept her in place. “Steve, Natasha, you need to hurry.” She said quietly, her eyes widening when you fell to the floor.

Everything went dark.

__________________

There was a comfortable silence in the air and Wanda could almost allow herself to relax as she sat on one of the bales of hay while the twins played on their own in the town square.

Almost.

“Where were you hiding all these kids up until now?” Pietro suddenly questioned with a smirk.

“What?” Wanda replied in surprise.

Anna leaned back on her hands, feigning amusement. “I assume she let them all sleep peacefully in their beds.” She picked at the hay in disinterest. “No need to traumatize beyond the occasional holiday cameo, right?”

Pietro rolled his eyes. “Hey, back off. She’s the empathetic twin.”

“I don’t-… I didn’t-” Wanda stuttered. Anna smirked slightly.

Waving his hands dismissively, Pietro continued. “She handled all the ethical considerations of this scenario as best she could.” Wanda’s mind seemed to be put at ease as Pietro’s speech continued. “Families and couples stayed together, most personalities are the same, people got better jobs. Better style, for sure.”

Flicking a piece of hay at Pietro’s head, Anna added. “Convincing my sister that she’s in love with her.”

Wanda turned her head sharply at Anna’s words. “What do you mean convincing? Y/n loves me.” Her brows furrowed as she considered Anna’s words. “She does.”

A laugh fell from Anna’s lips. “You can cut the act, Wanda. Pietro and I know everything.”

“I’m not acting. Y/n and I love each other.” Wanda defended quietly, trying desperately not to let Anna’s words get to her.

Anna shrugged. “If that’s what you need to tell yourself. Y/n was in love with Amelia- sorry, you renamed her Ellie.” She smirked when she saw Wanda’s fingers flex slightly. “They were soulmates. They made the best team. I’ve never seen Y/n more in love than she was with her.”

Wanda’s jaw clenched, and Anna’s smirk grew.

“Do it. Make her go away.” Pietro encouraged Wanda when familiar red tendrils began drifting from her fingers.

Anna tilted her head in mock sympathy. “What? You don’t want to hear the truth?”

With a wave of her hand, Anna slumped on the hay. Pietro cheered. “She’s just sleeping. She’ll be up in a few minutes.” Wanda said quietly, feeling the shame creep up on her as she tried to shake Anna’s words. Pietro laughed, and she turned to face him. “You don’t think it’s wrong?” Wanda asked quietly, her voice uncertain.

“What, are you kidding? I’m impressed! Seriously.” He admitted with a knowing smile. “It’s a pretty big leap from giving people nightmares and shooting red wiggly-woos out of your hands.”

For a moment Wanda stared off in the distance, allowing his words to wash over her.

“How’d you even do all this?” He finally asked. Wanda shifted uncomfortably at the question. “Hey, I’m not some stranger, or your wife, or your wife’s annoying little sister. I'm your brother. You can talk to me.”

Wanda’s eyes began to glisten to unshed tears as she thought over his question. “I don’t know how I did it.” She admitted quietly. “I… I only remember feeling completely alone. Like I was drowning. Just… Endless nothingness. Empty.” A tear fell down Wanda’s cheek.

“Mom! Mom!” Wanda heard Billy call out to her frantically as he ran over with Charlie following closely behind him. Wanda quickly composed herself.

Rushing over to the twins, Wanda felt dread build in her chest. “What is it, Billy?”

“I hear Momma. In my head! She’s in trouble.” The fear on his face made Wanda’s concern increase tenfold as her stomach dropped. “I don’t know understand. What’s happening to me?”

Wanda placed comforting hands on his shoulders as she struggled to control her emotions. “Where is she? Where is your mother?”

“Hey, don’t sweat it, sis. It’s not like your dead wife can die twice.” Pietro flippantly replied with a chuckle.

Anger. That's all she felt when Pietro spoke so dismissively about you. Unable to control her anger, Wanda shot out a hand as Pietro was sent flying back from the force of her powers.

Taking a breath, Wanda turned back to her terrified son. “Billy, I need you to focus.”

Closing his eyes, Billy began recounting what he saw. “I can’t tell. I see these… soldiers.” Wanda tensed even more. Billy gasped. “They think she’s dying!”

For a moment Wanda was sure her heart stopped.

Thinking quickly, she turned away from Billy, her eyes glowing red.

.

.

.

Steve and Natasha ran up just as the walls of the barriers began moving forward. They continued to sprint forward while Haywards minions made desperate attempts to run away.

“Y/n!” Steve cried out, feeling fear seep into his bones when he saw your lifeless form sprawled out on the empty field. On numb legs he began moving faster. Hopelessly, he was forced to watch the red energy wash over you once again.

Natasha cursed as they lost sight of your body. The red barrier continued to push forward when they were mere feet away from Darcy. “Fu-” They heard her mumble through a wince as she also became lost behind the barrier.

“We have to get in there!” Steve shouted.

With determination, Natasha nodded. “Let’s try.” A moment later they were pushing against the red energy that was fighting against letting them in.

Annnnnd we have concluded with the 90s! Chaos is the main population of Westview right now. A lot happened here. I'm not even sure what to say to be completely honest. A little nervous about this part.

Anyway...

As always, thoughts and comments are always welcome! Let me know what you think. :)

Taglist:

@theofficialzivadavid // @tquick99 // @abimess // @marrymemcgrath // @the-camilucha // @afuckingshituniverse //@pxterstrk // @aimezvousbrahms // @ensorcellme // @sapphicshots

[bigskydreaming]

Its always interesting to me when I see people saying Damian is just like Bruce, in a totally matter of fact way, like its just such a foregone conclusion to them, because I don’t really see it at all, lol. 

Like to be clear, its not that Damian doesn’t have ANY similarities to Bruce, I think all of Bruce’s kids share various attributes with him....I just think most of the ones Damian shares tend to be more superficial than characteristic, and there are others who are far more like Bruce than he is? Personally, I think Cass and Tim have the most in common with Bruce, albeit in different ways.....but tbh I think even Jason has more in common with Bruce than Damian does, for example.

Idk.....like for instance, I consider one of the key differences between Dick and Bruce being that Bruce’s sense of morality and ethics is clearly defined, exists as specific, hard-clung to views that he applies regardless of whom is involved in whatever situation he’s applying them to. To Bruce, ethics and morality exist outside of people, and are inviolate.....they’re not meant to change depending on who they’re aimed at or will be affected by them. In contrast, Dick is someone I see as having a morality largely defined by people. His sense of morals and ethics are more fluid....its not that he doesn’t have clearly defined views of right and wrong that underly his regular actions and choices as sort of a default benchmark, a starting point to work off of....its that Dick sees morals and ethics as meaningless if they don’t serve those he cares about or fights for, or if he has to sacrifice someone he values in service to what he views as an arbitrary moral or ethic that CAN be adjusted if he so chooses to adjust it....like that’s the thing HE’S not willing to do. Its like.....Dick sees individual lives as having more value than the abstract, which is what he ultimately considers a singular principle, and so he’d rather sacrifice the principle than the life. Bruce in contrast doesn’t view morals and ethics as being remotely abstract, and views them as the very things that GIVE individual lives value, so he’s not willing to sacrifice his values or principles full stop.

Or to put it another way: If it comes down to a choice between a killer and their intended victim, where it looks like the only possible way to save their victim is to kill the killer before they can kill instead....Dick will take the shot so to speak.....but since he does still believe killing is wrong and an absolute last resort and he’s been raised by someone who he very much does value and who believes that there’s always another way.....then Dick will self-flagellate for not having been able to find another way that didn’t involve killing the killer. Bruce on the other hand, will attempt down to the very last second to find a way to save both lives, no matter how impossible it seems.....and if he’s ultimately unable to, he’ll then self-flagellate for not having found a way to save both. 

The truly ironic thing IMO, is even in a situation where BOTH consider themselves to have failed, they’ll both still consider their failure to be the exact same thing....though for entirely different reasons and with different results. Both will view ‘not having been able to find another way’ to have been the true failure.....even though, one killed and one didn’t. Because Dick wouldn’t perceive having killed as his true failure.....because that’s the part he doesn’t actually regret, if it means that he saved the killer’s intended victim as a result. He still did it with intent, in this complete hypothetical, because he perceived the victim’s life as more important than his personal desire not to kill or view that killing is wrong. BUT he’ll still consider himself to have failed because despite having saved one life, he’d view the fact that he couldn’t find another way where taking one life wasn’t a NECESSITY in order to accomplish that.....that was his failure, in his mind. Similarly, but completely differently at the same time....Bruce will consider his failure to have been not having found a way to save both. BUT just like Dick’s true regret isn’t that he killed the killer, Bruce’s true regret isn’t that he DIDN’T, in order to save their victim. Its that he couldn’t find a way out of that box that made it a choice of one or the other.

Course, that’s just my perception of the two of them.

But as examples, this is I think WHY Dick was able to kill the Joker at all in Last Laugh, whereas Bruce will ultimately never bring himself to cross that line. (And while Dick wasn’t matter of fact about it by any means, its significant in my mind that his actual stated regrets about that were always that he played into what the Joker had wanted and thus let him win, and that he’d failed Bruce and let him down....never once was it actually that he’d killed the Joker, period.) Similarly, its why Dick’s a lot more willing to work with people he’s ideologically opposed to or more flexible....in fact, I maintain its specifically why Bruce was so convinced that only Dick could infiltrate Spyral. It wasn’t JUST about the logistics of Dick being believed dead after Forever Evil, or Bruce’s issues about having just watched Dick die.......because Bruce is great at undercover work himself, as Matches Malone, and he traditionally HATES delegating the ‘hard stuff’ to someone else, especially when the stakes are this high....even if he does trust that person absolutely. He believes that if its his responsibility, its up to him to do it if at all possible.

Which is why I think that ultimately, the only reason Bruce didn’t find a way to take on the Spyral mission himself, is because he didn’t think he’d be able to. Spyral was a shady spy organization that engaged in morally compromising work on a day to day basis. Deep down, I think Bruce was aware that there would be too many occasions in which he’d be likely to be sidetracked or frozen by his conviction that there HAD to be a way around whatever he was being asked to do for the sake of keeping his cover, that didn’t require acting against various hard-set morals....which more than likely would have cost him the mission and rendered it a failure.....with catastrophic results for his family and the rest of the hero community. Whereas he knew that Dick would be able to find a way to make it work, because despite having a very strong sense of right and wrong of his own, he knows Dick’s highest moral prerogative is that he WILL act on even something he does firmly believe is wrong, if he’s convinced its the price he needs to pay for the sake of loved ones. And thus, even though he wouldn’t be any happier about the moral compromising nature of a lot of Spyral’s work than Bruce is, he’d be less likely to find himself unable to act in a split second decision time, so long as Bruce uttered the magic words: this is an utter necessity for the sake of your family.

Also ironically, btw, I think one of the key ways that a lot of people perceive Dick and Bruce as different....I’d disagree and say is actually where they’re MOST alike. And that’s that people point to Bruce as closed off and tightly guarding his emotions, hurts, and vulnerabilities at the expense of getting close to people or letting them in.....whereas Dick is more of a people person. But honestly, I disagree. I think people overlook that Brucie Wayne is still as much a part of Bruce Wayne’s life as Batman is. Bruce is and always has been completely capable of being the life of the party and surrounding himself with droves, on a surface level. I think Dick takes it perhaps a bit further than that, he IS more approachable than Bruce in general, that sorta thing.....BUT when it comes to his most private emotions, hurts and vulnerabilities.....I think Dick is just as inclined as Bruce to keep those parts of himself closely guarded and he doesn’t LIKE giving them up. The actual difference between them IMO, again comes down to the role other people play in their ways of thinking.....as I think that the times and reasons Dick DOES open up about his most closely guarded thoughts or emotions....its for other people, because he’s convinced himself that THEY need this from him. Left to his own devices, or at least the perception that he’s the only one likely to be affected by whether he shares his most intimate self with someone else or not, I think he’s just as likely as Bruce to well, not.

And all of this is key to why I think that Damian tends to have a lot more in common with Dick than Bruce, whereas others in the family have more in common with Bruce than Dick. Because see, Damian, like Dick, is more likely to ACT as a result of other specific individuals rather than his own personal sense of right and wrong. Look at when he first came from the League of Assassins. He had a clearly defined view of right and wrong, an already formed morality of his own, even if it was diametrically opposed to most of the Batfam’s, particularly Bruce’s. 

Damian didn’t set all that aside because people succeeded in just uniformly shifting his paradigms to be more in line with their views of right and wrong. The changes to his moral code came as a trickle down result of him ALREADY adjusting his actions or behavior - even before he necessarily came to view them as wrong - for the sake of the connections he was building, with Dick, with Alfred, with Steph, and then from there with others.

Just like I outlined with Dick, where he’s more likely than Bruce or many others to act on even something HE believes is wrong, if he views it as a necessity for the sake of a loved one.....Damian is similarly likely to act in a way that completely flies in the face of everything he came to Gotham already believing....if he views it as a necessity for the sake of the individuals he came to value. Just like Dick, simply starting from a different point on the moral spectrum. The sense of right and wrong that they ‘betrayed’ for the sake of other valued individuals was different....not the reasoning for that ‘betrayal’ of their previously established moral code.

Similarly, while Damian is just as inclined to be closed off and guarded as Bruce is (and Dick. and well, most of the Batfam shares this part in common, lol) - like Dick, when he does open up, be it to Dick or Alfred or Jon or Colin.....its because he’s convinced himself that on some level its what THEY need, rather than because he actually believes that he himself needs to let them in.

Meanwhile, the reason I say Jason is actually more like Bruce than even Damian is, lies in viewing Jason as falling somewhere between Dick and Bruce on a lot of this. Basically, I think that Jason is more naturally inclined to be more like Bruce in how rigidly he holds to a particular sense of right and wrong.....its just that the particulars of what they both view as right and wrong are different. Same thing with it being more natural to Jason to be like Bruce in terms of guarding his emotions. But in both instances, he’s still ENOUGH like Dick, as opposed to Bruce, that he does still adjust his emotional behavior and how likely he is to act on or against his personal view of morality.....for the sake of valued individuals. It just doesn’t come to him AS....naturally, I guess, as it does to Dick, and thus he’s not AS fluid as Dick in these things....but he’s still MORE fluid about them than Bruce. And that’s why even though it takes a LOT to budge him from his view of the right and wrong approach to vigilantism, he IS still willing to put aside what he does still believe is a necessity or right....if that’s what it takes to have his family in his life, etc.

To be clear - I am trying to not cast any particular judgments on any of the approaches to morality here....simply just, not the aim of this post. I’m more trying to view things analytically here, so when I frame Bruce as being the most intractable of the lot here, the least likely to budge his morals or act against his personal sense of right and wrong for the sake of loved ones, its not because I’m trying to say that he DOESN’T love his family, or even that he loves them any less than Dick does, Jason does, etc. And I’m not even trying to suggest that he’s wrong for his approach. I’m literally just....exploring the WHY of it.

And for me, that tends to go back to the singular difference between Bruce’s later childhood, after his parents’ deaths, the period between ages 10 and adulthood.....versus the childhoods of his various children around those same ages, or after their parents’ deaths.

Because these are the ages when most of us most fully develop the....intricacies of our personal moralities, when we explore and shape how our behavior stems from that sense of right and wrong and when and where we act on our beliefs, etc. 

And the key thing about Bruce during this period of his life, IMO, is that at the time.....he had very few specific INDIVIDUALS who played significant emotional roles in his life and in his mind. Bruce cares about people. Absolutely. A lot. But for a lot of the period in which Bruce shaped a lot of his personal moral behavior, people were almost as much an abstract to him as morals themselves. That’s not quite the right way to put it, but I mean, its more like....there was a kind of uniformity to the way he viewed people as a whole, because there were less individuals specifically standing out from the rest, as PARTICULARLY significant to him himself....and thus likely to influence his growing moral code.

The other key factor is the people he DID have valued emotional connections to at this point, like....they had a kind of permanence that stretched back to early childhood for him. They weren’t NEW additions to his life. While I believe that his parents’ deaths absolutely was formative for him and left him with severe abandonment issues....for Bruce, these abandonment issues were specifically geared around fear of losing people to death. He was already rooted in the same place, same life, same people, that he was before his parents’ death, that part of his life didn’t change.....and thus the people who were left to play large emotional roles in his life and worldview, like Alfred and Leslie.....he might have been afraid of losing them the way he lost his parents, but he wasn’t especially of losing them for other reasons. Specifically: I don’t think Bruce grew up during this time feeling any particular fear of losing someone like Alfred - a staple of his entire life - to, say, Alfred judging him for his choices or his morals.

As a result, Bruce grew up shaping his personal view of right and wrong and resulting morality-stemming behavior, on pretty much nothing BUT those morals and ethics themselves. And there wasn’t any particular NEED to shape those morals AROUND the people he valued in life, or likelihood that he’d lose them due to differences in opinion or ideology, like....with all of this adding up to be the reasons HIS moral code and behavior is less fluid than even most peoples’. Because there wasn’t really any reason for it NOT to be. There were very few people and thus few occasions, while still DEVELOPING all this, that made him feel that he was maybe on the wrong track, or that he needed to make room for exceptions or the possibility that he might need to adjust his views or behavior in these regards.

In contrast......Dick, Jason and most of the others all came to Bruce after significant upheavals in their life that necessitated basically starting over in an entirely brand new environment with brand new people, etc. So they lacked the specific aspect of the PERMANENCE Bruce felt in regards to his own valued loved ones during this period of his life. So unlike him, where he had a bit more space to contemplate his moral code and behavior without being particularly afraid of getting it wrong or that his choices here might cost him these people.....Dick, Jason, et al like....they formed their moral codes and behavior with significantly more awareness that many of the people they valued already had fully formed codes of their own they felt very strongly about...AND at the same time, they had REASON to be....less secure about whether or not the choices they made here could potentially cost them these people.

Which is a perfect recipe for the kind of moral fluidity based around specific individuals, that I maintain most of the kids display to various degrees. In fact, you can almost kinda....chart the extent of their moral fluidity, via various factors like the QUANTITY of significant emotional attachments in their lives at this time. Like I maintain Dick is the most morally fluid based on people.....but that I think has a lot to do with the fact that Dick had the most attachments to....protect or preserve. Even though he was forced to live apart from his extended circus family, they still very much figured into his thoughts as people he cared about and valued, and then there were Bruce and Alfred, and then Clark, Barbara, the Titans, etc, etc. 

In contrast, look at how Jason came to Wayne Manor with very few pre-existing emotional attachments with anyone still alive.....and the fact that Jason during his time living with Bruce didn’t really even have occasion to form a large number of attachments outside of his immediate family, as he wasn’t on any teams unlike Dick, and he didn’t mingle all that much with other members of the hero community. Ergo, Jason’s LESS morally fluid than Dick simply for the reason that like Bruce, he had more reason to construct his personal morals around simply his own perceptions and convictions, and less people he felt this moral code and behavior needed to acccomodate, or be prepared to make exceptions for or around. 

Meanwhile, I’d argue that Damian is like Jason in that he had fewer people to build into his personal view of right and wrong and how and when to act based on that.....BUT a key difference here is that Damian didn’t have a lot of experience pre-Gotham with feeling valued and valuing other individuals in turn, like...at all. The connections he developed with Dick, Alfred, Steph, etc.....they were brand new to him, basically a revelation in a lot of ways, because before that we’ve seen how he was often taught to dampen his view of how valuable or not to view personal connections.....whereas Jason, pre-Wayne Manor, like......we know that he DID very much have a strong emotional attachment to Catherine that he embraced and was not hesitant to value, etc. So my point here being that the sheer NEWNESS of what Damian was feeling in regards to even WANTING to adjust his behavior based not on what he THOUGHT was right or wrong but based on the PEOPLE he was coming to value....this was a complete shock to the system to Damian in ways that it wouldn’t necessarily have been for Jason, resulting in a likelihood that Damian would feel an enhanced INTENSITY around all this that Jason might not, and thus despite both of them having similar NUMBERS of emotional attachments they shaped their changing and developing moral codes around, these people carried an additional weight for Damian, just as Jason’s few carried an additional weight that Bruce’s didn’t have due to the differences in THEIR upbringings in this period of their lives.....and thus resulting in Damian having an even more fluid moral code and behavior than Jason did....closer to being on par with Dick’s, just as Jason still has a more fluid one than Bruce does.

ANYWAY.

This was a LOT longer than I thought it would be when I started a little post about huh weird how I don’t see Damian the way a lot of other people do BUT SINCE WHEN IS THAT NEWS.

In conclusion, this has been a post.

Good day.

[fridayfirefly]

Homecoming Confessions

Read Homecoming Confessions on AO3

Masterlist

Written for Maribat March Day 25 - School Dance

"Marinette. Wally. You two will be going undercover at the school. You'll be posing as a couple, which should give you an excuse for how much time you will be spending together. Be prepared to keep up your cover for a while - I can see this mission taking several months."

Marinette glanced over at Wally, who was already staring at her. She quickly looked away, flushing. Of all the people I could be fake dating for a mission, why did it have to be the one person I have a crush on?

The mission itself wasn't exactly standard. Young Justice usually dealt with the typical supervillain. However, this mission was a favor to Batman, who was investigating a remote boarding school in the Allegheny Mountains to be a cover for a money-laundering scheme concocted by the parents of many of the students enrolled. Marinette, Artemis, Wally, and Dick would all be playing the part of students in order to snoop around and gather evidence. Wally and Dick were in a suite with two other boys, while Marinette and Artemis shared a suite with two other girls.

After a month undercover, the teens had finally discovered their best chance for apprehending all involved in the money-laundering scheme. There would be a Donor Appreciation Night the same night of the Homecoming Dance, held in the Headmaster's Office for select parents who had donated above a certain threshold. It was the make-or-break night of their mission. No matter what, their time at the boarding school was up.

As much as Marinette wanted to focus on her mission, her mind always seemed to be somewhere else. It was torture to pretend to date Wally when that was all Marinette really wanted. Getting ready for the dance, Marinette reminded herself, It’s just for a mission. Nothing more, nothing less.

Beside Marinette, her dormmates were getting ready as well. Artemis was painting her nails a shade of green so dark it looked like black, Caroline was putting on eyeliner with the focus and precision of a neurosurgeon, and Betty was cursing as she tried to squeeze her feet into too-tight heels.

"I swear my feet grow half a size every time I go off to school. As soon as I can't buy a new pair of Jimmy Choo's, none of the ones I already own fit anymore," complained Betty.

"I think that we have a similar size. You could borrow a pair of mine, if you'd like," offered Marinette. In truth, she would be glad to get rid of some of her shoes. To blend it at the school, her wardrobe had been given a very expensive makeover. Marinette loved fashion, but even she felt uncomfortable with how

Betty brightened up right away. "I love your closet, Marinette. If my Dad wasn't so strict about my spending money, I would have a closet like yours. Could I borrow that pair of Miu Miu heels your parents sent you last week?"

"Sure." It was good luck that Betty asked for that pair of shoes. Batman had fitted a select number of shoes with listening devices, hoping that if Marinette lingered outside of doors, the shoes might catch snippets of conversation slipping out from under the door. The Miu Miu heels were one of those select pairs. If Betty's parents were involved (which, after a little snooping through Betty's laptop, Marinette was almost certain that they were) and Betty knew about it, there was a chance that the heels could be used to gather evidence.

"When is Wally coming to pick you up?" asked Caroline.

Caroline and Betty had both been very supportive of Marinette's very fake relationship. "He's coming at seven with my corsage."

"I wish I were getting a corsage," sighed Caroline. "I'm so jealous of you. I hate being single."

"Than you shouldn't have dumped Michael two weeks before the Homecoming Dance," criticized Betty.

"I didn't want him in any of my group photos," Caroline defended herself.

"Fair point, fair point." Betty shrugged.

Marinette giggled at the antics of her friends. "Can someone help me get the button on the back of my dress?" There was one tiny silver button right at the nape of her neck that Marinette could never reach.

"Sure." Artemis leaned across the bathroom counter to get the button.

The dress was custom made - but not by Marinette. Marinette secretly hated the dress, though she cooed over it along with the rest of her dormmates. It was navy blue with silver accents, and it had a microphone sewn into it, so well hidden that not even Marinette, with her knowledge of its existence, could find it.

A knock at the door startled Marinette from her thoughts. She rushed to get her shoes on, slipping her feet into the two-inch heels. "Does my hair look okay?"

Caroline nodded. "It looks absolutely perfect. Wally will be drooling over you all night long."

Marinette forced herself to giggle at the comment, even though she knew it was false. Wally would spend the night playing the part of the doting boyfriend for the mission. He would tell her that she looked beautiful and he would be lying. Marinette wanted to cry over how unfair it was to watch the boy she liked pretending to like her back.

Marinette opened the door. Wally stood behind it, holding the corsage in his hand. It was at that moment that Marinette realized she had never seen Wally in a suit before. He tugged at his collar uncomfortably, but still smiled when his eyes landed on Marinette. "You look beautiful, Marinette."

Exactly as Marinette had predicted. She forced a smile on her face, hoping that it looked genuine enough to fool her dormmates. "Thank you. You look very dashing in a suit."

"Hey Rudolph, I didn't think you knew how to tie a tie," Artemis raised an eyebrow. Artemis and Wally had been playing the part of cousins at the boarding school, their cover being that their education was being funded by their wealthy Grandfather.

"Dick tied it," Wally grumbled. He then whispered to Marinette, "I might be ditching the tie. I think Dick might be trying to strangle me with this."

Marinette giggled, whispering back, "I have a clip-on in my closet. It won't match my dress, but I can live with that if it means you're alive and breathing."

"You're a lifesaver, Mari."

Marinette's heart gave a flutter as he called her by her nickname. He had started using it in public right when they began the school year, to convince everyone that they were dating. However, when it was just the Young Justice team, Wally always called her by her full name. It was just another reminder that their relationship was all an act.

Marinette went into her room and started digging through her closet. As she searched for the clip-on tie, Artemis entered the room, lingering at the closet doors. "What were you and Wally whispering about?"

Marinette replied, "We decided to replace his tie with a clip-on."

Artemis raised an eyebrow, her tone dripping with sarcasm, "Sure."

"Artemis, I've told you a million times. Wally and I are fake dating."

"There is nothing fake about the way he looks at you," Artemis continued stubbornly.

"I already told you the truth. Just because you don't believe me doesn't mean it's not true."

"I know for a fact that there is something between the two of you."

Marinette sighed. Damn Artemis for being so persistent. "Fine. You're right that there are some feelings involved, but they aren't Wally's. I'm the one who has a crush on him, not the other way around."

Artemis looked shocked. "Really? I could have sworn..." Artemis stopped herself, a devious look growing on her face. Marinette could tell that she was scheming up some sort of plan.

"We just need to get through this one dance, and then we're done fake dating for good. Please, don't interfere," Marinette begged.

"Alright, but only if you promise that you'll tell Wally you like him. It doesn't have to be tonight, but you do have to tell him."

"Fine," agreed Marinette. With no time limit on the promise, who was to say when Marinette would tell Wally. After all, plenty of people confessed life-altering secrets on their deathbed.

By the time the group made it down to the banquet hall, the Homecoming Dance was in full swing. Pop music was blasting through every speaker in the room, and Marinette winced at the volume of noise.

Using the loud music as cover, Wally whispered in Marinette's ear. "Dick's already in position. He found a way up into the vents, so he has a good position to listen in on whatever is said in the Headmaster's Office."

"Good. I'll go find the best window to view the Headmaster's Office from, to make sure we can keep track of everyone going in and out."

Wally nodded. "I'll catch Artemis up to speed, and then I'll join you."

Marinette scouted out the tables at the edge of the dance floor, eventually finding one that had both a view out the window of the entrance to the Headmaster's Office and a view of both entrances to the banquet hall that the dance was held in. A minute later, Artemis approached, dragging Wally along beside her.

"I'll watch the entrances. You two need to go dance. It'll look weird if you don't," said Artemis.

Artemis was correct, but that didn't stop Marinette from feeling a little indignant about being bossed around.

Wally just shrugged, seemingly unaffected by Artemis's bossy tone. "You ready to dance, Mari?"

Marinette froze, searching for the words. "Uh, sure."

Marinette was prepared to dance along to a pop song. Marinette was prepared to pretend that it didn't pain her to pretend. What Marinette wasn't prepared for was the slow song that came on - a song that could only be danced to with a slow dance.

"I guess we'll have to slow dance," said Wally with a shrug. His tone was light, but there was an edge behind it. Marinette assumed that he felt uncomfortable dancing with a girl he considered just a friend.

"I guess so."

Marinette tried not to be stiff in his arms. She was acutely aware that this moment would have been perfect if it were real.

"You can relax, you know," Wally said as if his words were a joke, but his voice was flat.

"Sorry." Marinette forced the stiffness out of her joints, swaying in his arms.

Wally sighed. "I know this isn't ideal, but at least it's over after tonight."

"Yeah." Marinette couldn't keep the frown off of her face. Though it would be nice to stop pretending, Marinette was disappointed to know that she would never dance with Wally again.

Wally grimaced. "It's one more night. You don't have to look so miserable. I'm not that bad to spend time around, am I?"

Marinette's eyes widened. Wally had interpreted her disappointment over their relationship being over as something else entirely. "No. I-"

"Whatever," sighed Wally, pushing her away as the song winded down. He walked off the dance floor and toward the table, leaving Marinette behind.

"It's not what you think," protested Marinette, rushing after him to explain. "I'm upset that we only have one more night."

Wally looked shocked. "What do you mean?"

"I like spending time with you. I like you, Wally. It's so hard to pretend to date you when that's all I really want."

"Why did you never tell me?" asked Wally.

"Because I know you don't feel the same way about me. If I can't have you as my boyfriend, I at least wanted to have you as my friend."

"You think I don't feel the same way about you? Dick and Roy make fun of me for my crush on you all the time, how have you never noticed?"

Now it was Marinette's turn to be shocked. "Wait, you're telling me that you have a crush on me too?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Wally. "I thought you already knew about my crush and were ignoring it. I never brought it up because I didn't want to make things uncomfortable between us."

Marinette shook her head in exasperation. "This whole time we were both keeping our feelings a secret and it was making us miserable, and it was all for nothing."

Wally groaned. "We're so stupid, aren't we?"

"Yep," chimed in Artemis, who had snuck up behind them. "But we don't have time to unpack that. Cars have started parking out front. I think the meeting will be starting soon. I'm going out to document their license plates and plant trackers on the cars. I need you two in position to assist Dick if he needs it."

"Got it." Marinette grabbed Wally by the hand and started leading him to the door. It took them no time at all to get to the Headmaster's Office, but once they were there they needed a plan. "How are we going to remain inconspicuous?"

"Like this." Wally pulled Marinette into an alcove, giving her direct line of sight of the door to the Headmaster's Office. "If anyone catches us, the worst we'll get is detention - which we won't even have to serve, given that we're leaving after tonight."

"Good idea." Marinette stared up into Wally's eyes. "Now that we're alone again..."

The buzz of a text message distracted Marinette from Wally. It was Dick, on the team's encrypted line.

Dick: The meeting is wrapping up. Marinette and Wally, you two need to get away from the Headmaster's Office as soon as possible. I recorded enough evidence to convict, so we don't need to stay any longer. Everyone head back to the dorms and get changed. We leave in 20 minutes.

Marinette: See you in 20.

"I guess it's time to go." Wally looked disappointed, even though their mission had been a complete success.

"Don't worry, Wally. I have a sneaking suspicion that this won't be the last night of us dating." Marinette pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, then twisted out from behind him. "See you in twenty!"

Marinette turning around just before she turned the corner to get one last look at Wally. His face was lit up with a goofy smile, and Marinette couldn't help but laugh. More than one mission was a success that night.

@maribatmarch-2k21

[the-bau-quinjet]

With you, he wants it all.

Part 2!! You can find all the info about why this is such a mess in Part 1! Also, I totally meant to post this earlier but Taylor Swift’s new album wrecked my plans. 

Summary: Reader is a famous singer with a murderous stalker. Spencer has to go undercover to protect her. 

warnings: mentions of murder, anxious reader, stalker

Word Count: 9972

The next time you wake up, the room is significantly brighter. You feel around in the cold bed, realizing Spencer isn’t there anymore. You have to force yourself to open your eyes to combat the overwhelming urge to roll over and sleep for another twelve hours. The clock reads 12:07. You can’t help but think you deserve more sleep as you force yourself into a sitting position. Once you finally sit up, you hear someone shuffling around, whispering in the other room. It’s too quiet to try to make out the voice, but you definitely heard something. Without too much thought, you quickly jump out of bed, grabbing the only thing you can find that even remotely resembles a weapon- the bible from the hotel drawer.

Slowly, you push the door open, getting ready to make a break for the door to the hallway at the first sign of danger. Remembering everything from yesterday has you on edge as you move toward the kitchen area, looking for anything out of place. You duck around the pillar separating the kitchen from the living room only to find it empty. As you finally let your guard down, you feel a hand on your shoulder. Without thinking, you turn around getting ready to slam the book into whoever is touching you.

 Spencer catches your arms before you hit him. “Hey, hey. It’s okay. It’s just me. You’re safe.” You breathe out a sigh of relief, dropping the book and hugging Spencer.

 “I’m sorry! I just heard a noise and you weren’t in bed anymore and I wasn’t sure where you went and I wanted to make sure nobody else was in the room, but I-“

 “It’s okay. Just breathe.” Spencer is rubbing soothing circles on your back as you cling to him as if your life depends on it. A few minutes pass, before you calm down enough to pull out of the hug. You run a shaky hand through your hair, moving to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee.

 “I put the coffee on so you can grab some when it’s done. I’m going to get dressed so we can figure out where we want to go for inspiration today!” You wink at Spencer before heading back into the bedroom to shower and change. You throw on a pair of jeans and a light sweater after squeezing the extra water out of your hair. You like to let it dry naturally on days like this.

 You make your way back into the kitchen only to find Spencer has already changed into a navy and white plaid button down, khakis, and a navy cardigan. He is sitting at the table drinking his coffee when you enter the room. You immediately put the kettle on, reaching into the cabinet to pull out your tea collection.

 “No coffee for you?” Spencer asks, gesturing to the half full pot on the counter.

 “Oh, nope. Not for me. It’s only palatable if I add way to much sugar and then I get all antsy. I only have coffee if I have a really good reason to stay up.” You chuckle as you add the teabag to the mug you set on the counter. You sit on the counter, swinging your legs as you sip your tea.

 “So, where do you want to go?”

 “For what?” Spencer pretends to not know what you’re talking about.

 “It’s time to start writing silly!” You grin at his deer in a headlights expression. “Spencer, I told you not to worry. We are just looking for general ideas right now. Anything that could potentially lead to a song. It’s more fun to observe others during this part of the process because the ideas are less specific.”

 “I don’t even know where to start!” He actually seems nervous about this.

 “Spence, let’s just go to your favorite coffee shop. And don’t tell me that you don’t have one. You’ve already drunk half that pot of coffee.”

 “Why my favorite?” He actually looks taken aback at the suggestion.

 “Well, for one because I’m not from here, so I don’t know where to go.” You try to backpedal, but you’ve started a list. Something he is all too eager to point out. “And two?” He’s got his brows furrowed, a look of pure confusion adorning his face.

 “If it’s your favorite, then you’ve been there before.” You say it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Well yes, but your point?” The confusion is still present, but his words are laced with exasperation.

“You might just be comfortable enough in your surroundings to suggest a song idea.” You shrug as you say it, trying to make it feel more casual.

 “You considered whether or not I would be comfortable?” He seems genuinely surprised now.

 “Of course. I want you to help me, so I gotta butter you up.” You try to cover up your blush with a joke.

 “Thank you.” HIs words seem surprised, but the two of you move on. Spencer grabs his satchel, and you your jacket, as the two of you exit the hotel to head to the café. You opt for walking since the weather is not too hot. You don’t say much during the walk. After the moment in the kitchen, you feel a bit nervous. A few fans stop you along the way for a picture or an autograph, but mostly you just enjoy each other’s company. Nobody pays much attention to Spencer, rather opting to ignore him to get your attention. Every time someone comes up to you; you make a point to say excuse me or smile at him before addressing the fans though. You just don’t want him to feel left out or like he’s not important.

 You finally make it to the café. Spencer opens the door before guiding you in, again placing his hand on your back. You thank him as you make your way up to the counter to order. You order a chai latte for yourself, gesturing for Spencer to order his when the barista asks you if you need anything else. You make sure to add two scones to the order before sliding your card into the machine before Spencer has a chance.

 “It’s my fault you’re here with me, so please. My treat.” He shakes his head slightly, a small smile forming on his face.

 “How many times do I have to tell you, none of this is your fault?” He gives you a look as you two move to find a table after accepting the scones.

 “I know.” You don’t sound sure as you take your seat. He doubles down the staring as you continue. “I promise. I know. It was just a joke.” You sound more sure of yourself that time, earning another smile from Spencer.

 The barista brings you your drinks as you settle into the corner booth. You set your phone up on the table, pulling up the recording from yesterday. You pass Spencer your headphones from your purse so he can listen to what you’ve already come up with.

 You take this time to really study him. The sun’s rays are streaming in through the blinds on the window, causing slight shadows to drift across his features. You take in the sharp lines of his jaw as he turns to look around the café, listening to the various melodies and lyrics you sang for the team. His brown locks appear golden as the sunlight reflect off the highlights. He’s sporting a slight stubble from not shaving for a few days. His hazel eyes drift across the faces of everyone in the room, not settling for long on any one person.

 You shift your attention to his hands. He has one draped across the table, lightly tapping along as he listens. His long fingers are mesmerizing. You begin to recognize he is tapping out the melodies as if he were playing the piano. The other hand is wrapped around his coffee cup. You bite your lip as you think about all the things those hands are capable of. Your mind wonders as you stare. You are staring so intently at the way his hand grips the cup, you don’t notice when he removes the headphones.

 Spencer clears his throat to catch your attention. “That was incredible. How do you come up with ideas so fast?” He looks like he knows exactly what you were thinking, but is too kind to bring it up. He’s just doing his job, and this isn’t a date. 

 “Oh, um thanks. I guess the BAU is just full of inspiration. The song writing process is a little different every time, but sometimes I can think of random lyrics and melodies.” You try to smile as you force yourself to focus. “Think back to a time where you felt an emotion really strongly. It can be whatever emotion you want. Then, try to put it into words. I like to use common phrases or metaphors because it can be fun to twist it into something new.” You close your eyes as you think back to how you felt the moment you understood there was a man out there killing people because he is obsessed with you. Maybe it’s a little too soon to write that one out. The idea does give you another way to explain it to Spencer. “It’s kind of like therapy. You can talk out your feelings and share them with people. It’s just a bit more public.” Spencer looks like he’s contemplating his entire life as you sit in this coffee shop.

 “Spence,” you say it lightly to draw him out of his own thoughts, “don’t worry about it. You don’t have to share anything you don’t want to. I just wanted to get the ball rolling. Why don’t we try something else?” He looks grateful as he nods. “Great. Pick out someone in the coffee shop, preferably part of a group.” He looks around before his eyes settle on someone.

 “Okay, now tell me what they’re thinking about.” He looks confused, like a lost puppy. “It’s called people watching. Just make up a story about what they might be doing here.”

 You and Spencer discuss ideas for the next few hours. He picked out a young man, maybe about 19 years old. He was clearly here with friends trying to catch a break from studying if the backpacks on the floor were any hint. Spencer noticed all of that immediately of course, being that he is a profiler.

 His story sounded just like the profile Hotch told you yesterday, although much less horrifying.

 “White male, late teens to early twenties. He is likely a STEM major. This is the first time he has let loose in a while, normally choosing to forego the party life for studying. He likely has immense pressure on him from his family to succeed and do well in school.” You nod along, not having any idea where this information is really coming from. He sounds so confident, you can’t help but ask how he knows all that.

 “You’re incredible. How did you figure all that out?” You stare in wonder at the man across from you. He doesn’t meet your eye, but responds nonetheless.

 “His age is fairly obvious to observe. His bag is fuller than the others, indicating a major that requires more coursework. He keeps checking his watch, almost as if he knows he is wasting time that could be spent working toward a goal. The family pressure can be inferred by the other behavior. It is more likely a young adult is studious due to a strict upbringing with a focus on work ethic and goal-driven activities.”

 “Amazing.” You sigh as you look around the room. “My turn.” You point to a couple sitting a few tables away from you. “Those two are exploring the possibility of taking their relationship past that of friendship. They obviously like each other and are too nervous to say anything.” Almost as if to prove you aren’t a profiler, the two lean across the table for a kiss. You laugh it off, knowing it’s just a game for you.

 “Or maybe not. Either way, their song would be about new love. Something slow and pretty.” You smile as you turn back to Spencer. “Your turn again!”

 The two of you go back and forth a few times. His stories were really just profiles, but after a few tries he leaned into the fun, game-like nature of people watching. Of course, his last story didn’t stray too far from profiling, but it was much more dreamlike in the way he presented it.

 “The woman sitting by the window,” he said, subtly pointing to an older woman at a table alone, “she’s waiting to see her grandkids for the first time in years. Of course, she’s excited to see them again, but she’s nervous. What if they don’t like her? What if she can’t patch things up with her… I’m guessing daughter?” You smile brightly at the story. Family moments were usually the most inspiring for generic song ideas.

 “Good job, Spence! What would the song be about?” The question clearly caught him off guard. For the past few stories, you asked how he came to those conclusions. It was so fascinating to hear how his mind works. This time though, you thought he could really be on to something. You give him an encouraging nod, as you set your phone up to record again.

 “It could be about- about family.” He states it so firmly; you know he wants to say more. “She is sitting there thinking about the memories she has with her own parents and grandparents, so the song could be a reflection on days spent enjoying their company. Maybe future memories they can make together.” He smiles, albeit shyly.

 “That is a really good idea! It fits with the vibe of the lyrics I came up with for Rossi.” You see the moment it clicks in his head. I don’t know why all the trees change in the fall, but I know you’re not scared of anything at all. Don’t know if Snow White’s house is near or far away, but I know I had the best day with you today.

 He actually seems pleased with himself now. “We could work on that one tomorrow. We should get up and walk around though, we’ve been sitting here for hours.” You reach for his hand as you scoot out of the booth, pulling him along with you.

 You stuff your hands in the pockets of your windbreaker as you head outside. You feel an overwhelming desire to be close to him, but you don’t want to overstep. The early evening crowd is out and about, bumping into the two of you as you walk back to the hotel at a leisurely pace.

 “Why don’t we go order some room service and just hang out for the rest of the night? All that people watching was exhausting.” You turn to grin up at him as you continue walking. He hums in response, looking down at you in return. You swear you can feel the mood shifting, but the moment is broken by a tap on your arm. You turn to examine the source of the interruption only to find a little girl who couldn’t be more than 10 years old.

 “Hi there!” You squeeze Spencer’s arm before ducking down to talk to the little girl. “Are you parents here?” She nods turning to look at a couple a few feet behind her, slightly out of breath, as if they just chased her down the street.

 “Carly! Honey, you can’t run off like that! You could have gotten hurt!” The man scolds her, but is clearly relieved she didn’t get away from them.

 “Sorry daddy! I just wanted to say hi to Miss Y/N! She sings my favorite song ever!” You wave at the parents before turning your attention back to the little girl.

 “Hi Carly, it’s nice to meet you! You really do need to be careful though. You should always stick with the adults so you don’t get lost.” Your voice is playful, but your expression is serious. The only way to truly convey that message to a child you have no parental claim to. She nods in response.

 “Mommy! Take a picture!” You pose with the girl as her mom takes a picture.

 “We’re so sorry for interrupting your date! She just saw you and took off down the sidewalk.” You blush at what the woman is implying about you and Spencer, not daring to look at him.

 “No worries at all. I’m always happy to meet a fan. Have a good night!” You wave goodbye, linking your arm with Spencer’s as you start to walk. He gives you a curious look, but you just laugh before joking “What? It’s so I don’t get lost.” He chuckles at your childlike behavior, but shifts so you can hold him closer.

 The rest of the walk is peaceful. You don’t see any more fans, which is good because you aren’t paying enough attention to anything at the moment. You keep picturing the look on Spencer’s face right before the little girl interrupted you. What was about to happen?

 Before you know it, you and Spencer are back in the room. He steps into the kitchen to call Hotch while you call to order dinner. You change into the FBI sweatshirt from yesterday and a pair of sleep shorts before settling on the couch to wait for Spencer. A few minutes later, he joins you on the couch after he hangs up. “The team has ruled out all the performers. It’s not surprising as the unsub wouldn’t be brave enough to perform for a crowd. They are still working through the lists of vendors and crew members.”

 “Good. That’s progress. Progress is good.” You nod to yourself, trying to convince yourself everything is normal.

 “Talk to me, what’s going on inside your head?” Spencer reaches out to take your hand while you stare at the ground.

 “I don’t know. I guess it’s just hard. It’s hard to have such an amazing day and then think about how it only happened because people are being killed. I guess I feel guilty.” You keep going before he can interrupt you. “I know it’s not my fault that this guy is out there doing horrible things, but I still feel bad for enjoying myself while it’s happening.” You don’t have any tears left to cry. You look over to Spencer to find him staring back at you.

 “Y/N, you are such a selfless person. There isn’t anything else you can do right now. We haven’t had any more victims, likely because nobody has posted about how excited they are for your shows since we still have 13 days before the next one. We are going to catch this guy.” You form your mouth into a soft smile before nodding at him. “What movie do you want to watch?”

 You smile at his attempt to distract you. “You pick. Anything that will take my mind off things, but not require too much thinking.”

 Spencer is racking his brain for a movie that fits your description when you hear a knock on the door. “Must be the food, I’ll get it.” When you return with the food, you find Spencer still thinking over movie choices.

 “Okay, how about this. What do you like to watch when you really need a pick me up?”

 Again he looks surprised that you would take his opinion into account. “Um, usually Doctor Who, but that’s not a movie it’s a-”

 “TV show. Right. Is that the one where they fly around in a telephone booth?”

 “First of all, it's a police box, not a phone booth. Second of all, Doctor Who started a quarter of century before Bill and Ted even went on their bodacious adventures. So really, they should just call it Bill and Ted's excellent rip-off, I mean at least then...”

You listen as he rambles about why people always think it’s a telephone booth. You can’t help but smile at how cute he is when he’s talking about something he’s passionate about. You don’t realize he asked you a question until he clears his throat with a confused expression.

 “Sorry, I was rambling again.” He looks dejected, and you would do anything in the world to make him smile again.

 “No, I’m sorry!” You scoot closer to him to convey your point. “I was listening at first I promise. It’s just, you looked so happy I got distracted. Let’s watch Doctor Who.” You turn to face the TV before you say anything else that makes you feel like a complete moron. He sorts through the food as you find the show online, setting it up to play on the TV. There’s random free episodes on demand, so you end up staring with the 11th doctor.

 You are completely captivated by the show. Every so often, Spencer would comment on a theory about what one specific prop could mean only to have you cover your ears and warn him about spoilers. During an episode about creepy angel statues, he goes on a tangent about how Amy could have avoided the whole situation. Once he starts mentioning characters you haven’t met, you actually have to reach your hand up to cover his mouth to get him to stop talking. His words putter to a stop, eyes widening in shock as he stares at you.

 “Spence, I absolutely love how passionate you are about Doctor Who. But it doesn’t matter how adorable it is when you ramble on about something. If you spoil one more thing before I can actually watch the whole show through, I will not hesitate to smack you.” You stare right in his eyes the entire time, watching as they widen with each word. You had to get a lot closer to him to actually reach his mouth. He had moved forward, animatedly waving his arms around as he talked about various plot points, so you were basically sitting on his lap to avoid being smacked in the face.

 You drop your arm from his face slowly, as if any sudden movement would break the spell you were under. You lean forward, connecting your forehead to his. You take a steadying breath as you close your eyes. Your about to close the gap when his phone rings. Again, the moment is lost. You only move enough so that he can reach into his pocket for his phone. As he answers the call, you shift in his lap to cuddle into his chest.

 “Morgan, what do you need?” Maybe you’re imaging it, but he almost sounds the slightest bit annoyed. You can just make out what Morgan is saying on the other end of the phone.

 “Calm down, Pretty Boy. We might have a lead, Hotch and Emily are tracking it down now. I’ll meet you at the hotel in the morning to go over it all with you and Y/N.”

 “Okay, thanks for the update.” He sounds so normal now, you think you must have imagined the annoyance earlier. He hangs up the phone, tossing it next to him on the couch. He wraps his arms around you before shifting so you’re both laying down.

 “Let’s just relax and watch more Doctor Who. Morgan is stopping by in the morning to talk about the case.” You nod in agreement, turning to face the TV. A few episodes later, you and Spencer are drifting in and out of sleep. Neither one of you really wants to interrupt what you’ve got going, instead opting to just fall asleep on the couch.

 --

 You hear the faintest knocking noise that pulls you out of your slumber. It takes a few minutes for you to recognize you are on the couch, wrapped up in Spencer’s arms. He must have pulled a blanket over the two of you last night after you fell asleep. Before you can get up to evaluate the knocking, the door opens and Morgan comes rushing in. The concern on his face is quickly replaced with a knowing smirk. You blush, jealous that Spencer is somehow still asleep.

 “Hi Morgan. Sorry to alarm you. We must have fallen asleep watching TV last night.” At the sound of your voice, Spencer slowly begins to wake up. He smiles sleepily at you before realizing your attention is elsewhere. He practically throws you off the couch in his effort to sit up when he realizes Morgan is in the room.

 “Sorry!” Spencer looks at Morgan, then back to you. “I’m so sorry!” You laugh as you stand up.

 “Don’t worry about it.” You settle yourself in the chair, gesturing for Morgan to sit next to Spencer now that he isn’t sprawled across the entire sofa anymore. Turning to Morgan, you ask about the case “What did you want to talk about?”

 “We have been focused on going through the people who work for the tour. It makes the most sense for them to travel with you, otherwise it would require a lot more planning.” You can feel the nerves growing in your stomach. “Garcia found a name we wanted to run by you.” He hands you a picture before saying the name. “Ryan Moore. He works-“

 “On the instrumentals. I know. He usually runs the sound booth during the shows. I don’t know him that well, but we’ve talked a few times.” You think back over your past conversations. “It couldn’t be him.” You are 100% sure he is not the unsub, and the agents don’t fail to notice the conviction in your voice.

 “What makes you so sure?” Spencer is flipping through the case file Morgan brought with him. He doesn’t even look up when he asks the question, too focused on memorizing every detail about this man’s life.

 “Well, Hotch told me the unsub wouldn’t be able to talk to me right?” You look to Morgan for confirmation.

 “Yes. He wouldn’t approach you or seem confident when talking with you if you approached him.” Morgan confirms what you’re thinking.

 “Great. So it can’t be him.” You smile to yourself for actually contributing to the case. “Last week, right after the Columbus show, he asked me out. The unsub wouldn’t be brave enough, right?” The utter joy in your voice startles Spencer enough that he finally looks up from the file.

“Alright then. He’s likely not the unsub, but we’ll finish the investigation into him just in case.” Morgan settles back into the chair he’s sitting in, making no move to leave even though the conversation is clearly over. There is an obvious smirk on his face as he looks at Spencer.

 “Well, I’m going to make some breakfast, feel free to watch TV or something.” You smile awkwardly at the two men, unsure of why there is suddenly a strange tension in the air. As you move into the kitchen, you connect your phone to your Bluetooth speaker. Listening to music while you cook has always been calming for you. You honestly prefer baking, but eggs and sausage with toast sounds perfect right now. You pull out the ingredients, humming softly as you dance around the kitchen. You can just barely hear that Morgan and Spencer are talking in the other room, but not enough to make out what they are saying. It just sounds a bit more intense the conversation you just had.

 You choose to ignore it and give them their privacy instead focusing on cooking. You end up making scrambled eggs the way your mom taught you, by mixing in some chive and onion cream cheese. You pop some English muffins in the oven under the broiler while you place the eggs and sausages in dishes. After turning the music down, you move all the food to the table. You’re about to invite Spencer and Morgan to have some food when you hear their conversation.

 “I’m telling you man. She likes you. You should go for it.” Morgan is clearly trying to encourage Spencer, but he won’t hear it.

 “Morgan, it’s not like that. It’s probably just transference because I’m here to make sure she doesn’t get hurt. Plus, you saw the smile on her face when she talked about Ryan asking her out. She was beaming.” He sighs, almost wistfully as you consider what he’s saying. Surely you are capable of separating your feelings for him from the situation. Would you like him if you had just run into him on the street? Plus, what does Ryan have to do with this?

 You move back to the stove to remove the English muffins before they burn, putting them on a plate as well. Ultimately, you decide to try to straighten out your feelings for Spencer before making a move. You want to be sure. If there is even a shred of doubt in your mind, Spencer will surely be able to see it on your face. Stupid profilers.

 Their conversation died down while you were dealing with the muffins, so you walk back to the other side of the room. You mumble out “I made food, you’re both welcome to have some” before returning to the table. You have a lot to think about and the last thing you want to do is lead Spencer on if you aren’t sure. He deserves better than that.

 The conversation over breakfast is nice. Nothing too heavy or serious. The three of you are just talking about your lives. Morgan asks you what it’s like to be famous. You ask him and Spencer what it’s like to be in the FBI. You realize just how different your career paths are. The only thing you can relate to is travelling. Neither Spencer nor Morgan have family in the area, but they mention how hard it is for Hotch and JJ.

 “That I can understand. The travelling, I mean. Of course, I travel to perform, not to track down killers.” The room is quiet for a few minutes as you think about what to say. Morgan and Reid being profilers know you haven’t finished your thought, so they give you the time to think it over.

 “Thank you.” You say it softly, but firmly at the same time. This is the first time you’ve seen either of them look surprised.

 “Wh- for what?” It’s Morgan who speaks up. Spencer has a familiar expression on his face. It’s the same look he got when you asked his opinion for coffee shops and movies.

 “For everything. For protecting me. For catching bad guys. For giving up so much to do this job. You two, and the rest of your team, you all sacrifice so much to keep people safe. I mean, I’m sure the people you save and the families you give closure to are grateful, and you deserve that. But, you also deserve to have everyone be thankful for what you do. You get into the minds of these people. It must be exhausting to have to think like that all the time. I’m barely dealing with it now and it’s only be on my mind for 2 days! I just can’t even fathom the number of people you have saved, people that you’ve never even met, by doing this. So, thank you. For being strong enough to do it. For being you.”

 You spoke every word with every ounce of sincerity you could muster up. You were looking between them as you said it. The shock on Morgan’s face slowly morphed into a small smile. Spencer’s expression didn’t change, but somehow looked more sincere when you were done.

 Neither one of them knew what to say. Morgan rose from his chair to pull you into a hug. Patting you on the back, he uttered a soft thank you before saying he should get back to the office to help the rest of the team. You locked the door behind him, turning to see Spencer staring at you from the table.

 “Spence? Are you okay?” You were nervous that your impromptu speech made him uncomfortable. He rose from the table, slowly making his way across the room to you.

 “I’m, I, I just… that was… thank you. You amaze me.” He barely says the words, practically breathing them into existence. You reach for his hand, squeezing it.

 “I meant every single word. Promise.” There is nothing more you want to do than kiss him right now, but all you can hear in your head is Spencer talking about transference. You hug him quickly before pulling back again. Without some distance between the two of you, you won’t be able to control yourself. “Do you want to go to another café today? Or somewhere with a piano so I can finally see you play?”

 “We can do what you want today. You let me pick the café and the show yesterday, so it’s only fair.”  You grin, knowing exactly where you want to take him.

 The two of you get ready in near silence after that. Both of you want to calm down a bit before spending another day together. After you’ve both showered and changed, you drag Spencer down to the SUV. The weather outside is perfect for where you want to go, but the park is just far enough away that you want to drive. You pull up directions on your phone, hiding the address from him. Spencer protests the entire time. He keeps mumbling about how he would know how to get there if you just told him where you were going. Then something about how mobile phones are a distraction, so it would be safer for him to drive anyway.

 You just let him ramble on about the many DC streets. Your grip on the wheel tightens when he starts listing off statistics about car accidents.

 “More than 38,000 people die every year in crashes on U.S. roadways. The U.S. traffic fatality rate is actually 12.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. An additional 4.4 million are injured seriously enough to require medical attention. Road crashes are the leading cause of death in the U.S. for people aged 1-54.” With every passing word, your knuckles get whiter, your heartbeat gets faster, and your breaths get shorter. Spencer is too caught up in reciting the statistics to realize anything is wrong until he turns to look at you, his next sentence dying on his tongue. “Seatbelts reduce the risk of dying by…” His brow furrows as he takes in your appearance.

 “By what Spence? Don’t leave me hanging?” You try to joke with him to calm yourself down, but he obviously sees right through it.

 “45%.” He continues before you can even comprehend the number. “Y/N, what’s wrong?”

 “Nothing. I’m totally fine. 100% A-Okay.” You try to take deep breaths to calm yourself down. Having arrived at your destination, you pull into a parking spot.

 “Y/N, talk to me. What is it?” You take a steadying breath as you turn to face him. Honestly, you are embarrassed more than anything else. You were the one who decided you had to drive.

 “Spence, really it’s not a big deal. I just get nervous driving sometimes. I don’t have to do it a lot, and I’ve never felt like I was particularly good at it. It doesn’t matter though, we’re here.” You move to get out of the car, but Spencer reaches across the car to stop you. His face is only inches from yours as the realization dawns on him.

 “And I was rambling on about how dangerous driving is.” He says it more to himself than to you. “Y/N, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you stop me? I really need to learn how to shut up. I just get so caught up in the statistics-“ “Spencer. I love when you ramble. I’ve already told you how calming it is… normally. I’m fine, I promise. You just have to drive us back to the hotel later. Deal?”

 “Deal.” You’re both smiling as you get out of the car to walk around the park you brought him to. He doesn’t ask why you picked this place and you don’t offer up a reason. He’ll figure it out soon enough. You talk about random things from childhood as you lazily stroll through the trees. There’s something so calming about wandering through so many trees when you know you’re in the middle of a bustling city.

 Before long, the two of you have crossed the park. A few feet away stands an upright piano in front of a park bench. You glance at Spencer as he looks at the piano, realization gracing his features as he discovers why you chose this particular park. You beckon for him to sit down next to you, asking him to play you a song.

 He blushes as you whisper pretty please in his ear. The cherry on top does him in. Soon enough, you are hearing the beginning notes of Bach’s Prelude in C. You just sit and listen, watching his fingers gracefully move above the keys. He’s not the most passionate of piano players. You can practically see the gears turning in his brain as he moves his hands efficiently across the instrument, as if he really is thinking about the math behind it all. Still, you lose yourself in the music, swaying lightly. You find yourself leaning on his shoulder, closing your eyes as you think about everything you’ve been feeling.

 You studied music for a few years when you were young. That’s how you started writing, with lessons to learn to play both the guitar and the piano. You took to the guitar more than the piano, but you remember learning about the emotion behind every classical piece you were taught to play. You can’t help but think back to those lessons as you listen to Spencer. This song is always reaching forward, yearning for the next note. It plays into the idea that life is simple and pure. Even good at times. But there is something lurking just below the surface. It’s weirdly fitting of your current situation, but you choose to just be glad he chose the major over the minor.

 You feel the breeze in your hair as Spencer finishes the song. For a few moments, the two of you sit listening to the leaves rustling in the wind. Eventually, you look around the park once it is quiet again. It’s mostly empty given that it’s 2 pm on a Tuesday, so there aren’t many people around to witness this moment. You slip your phone on the piano to record before you take over, playing that all too familiar melody that reminds you of Spencer. Neither of you say anything as you let the music and your emotions guide you through the song. You can tell it’s not perfect, but it just feels right.

 After that, you and Spencer brainstorm lyrics for Rossi’s song for another few hours. The park begins to fill up as school lets out and the workday ends. A few fans recognize you, asking for pictures. After a particularly strong gust of wind, Spencer drapes his cardigan over you as you walk back toward the car, both of you blissfully unaware of the figure watching you from behind the trees.

 --

  The next few days pass in much the same fashion. Spencer takes calls about the case, trying to narrow down the massive list of crew members on your tour. You and he work on lyrics for Rossi’s song, as well as JJ’s. She’s just so pretty, the words flow right out of you. You can tell Spencer agrees. You believe him as he swears up and down that the two of them are just friends, but you can’t help teasing him just a bit.

 “Honestly, it would be weirder if you didn’t think she was pretty. The woman looks as if she were sculpted by Michelangelo himself. A living embodiment of Aphrodite.” He nods in agreement, a faint blush on his cheeks.

 --

 No matter how much you try, you just cannot come up with anymore good lyrics for Spencer’s song. It could be that he is sitting right next to you all the time and knows the song is for him that’s causing the writer’s block, but it’s still frustrating.

 One night, he’s working through the case file for the third time in a row when you interrupt his thoughts with a seemingly random question.

 “Spence, can you tell me a story?” He looks up at you, brow furrowed and eyes confused. “I just need inspiration for the lyrics. Everything I come up with sucks.” You pout until he finally gives in. “Yay! It can be anything, even a memory. Just make it overwhelmingly happy.”

 Spencer stops looking through the file as he thinks back on his life experiences for an overwhelmingly happy memory. The faces of his team members instantly flood his mind as he sorts through the many good times they’ve had. He keeps circling back to one event, ultimately deciding it is happy enough to fit your standards.

 “This is actually the story of JJ’s wedding.” You lean forward, a wedding story could be just what the doctor ordered. “Will wanted to marry her for a while, but she was hesitant. She said everything was perfect as it was, she didn’t feel the need to change anything.” You were honestly a little confused as to where the happiness was at this point, but you let him continue anyway. You could listen to this man talk for days on end without complaint.

 “We ended up working a case with Will. It was a bank robbery turned hostage situation. It was a rough case for all of us; bombs, secret partners, kids at risk. I won’t bore you with the details,” he chuckles at your thankful expression, “but it all worked out in the end. Will, he could’ve died. When JJ went to see him in the hospital, she told him to ask her again. She wanted to get married then and there in the hospital chapel. Will wanted to wait until he was actually out of the hospital though, and not wearing a hospital gown.” You couldn’t help but smile at the thought of loving someone so much, you were instantly ready to marry them.

 “Rossi, he overheard everything. So, he started planning. He called JJ’s mom, told her to fly in and to bring her wedding dress. We threw her a surprise wedding the next day. It was such a beautiful moment, to have such a joyous event after everything that we had been through. JJ looked wonderstruck as her mom walked her down the aisle. The lights were sparkling. It was enchanting.” He spoke with such awe about the whole event. He told you stories about doing magic for Henry and Jack, who you came to know as Hotch’s son. It was so easy for you to picture the fairy lights and purple flowers. The team seemed like such a close-knit family, it only made sense that they would share this memory.

 The chorus of the song hit you like a ton of bricks. You didn’t even warn Spencer as you jumped from the couch and ran to the piano. He followed behind you, curious to see what would happen. He watched with wonder as you placed your phone to record on top of the piano and started playing the family melody you first hummed while thinking about him.

 “This night is sparkling, don’t you let it go. I’m wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I’ll spend forever wondering if you knew, I was enchanted to meet you.” The verses didn’t pour out of you in quite the same way, but the general storyline of the song came to you in the next few minutes. You rushed to get it all out, speaking directly into the phone.

 “The first verse can be about feeling out of place in a room, faking laughter, forcing smiles. Then it all changes when she sees him. It’s as if they have a conversation with only their eyes as they float across the room to each other. Then the chorus. The second verse can be about her wondering if he felt it to. 2 am who do you love? Chorus again. Then the bridge can be about hoping that the one night wasn’t it for them. That she’ll see him again and hoping he isn’t already in love or with someone.” You’re so pleased with the song idea, you don’t notice the shifting expressions on Spencer’s face. After your explanation, you turn to him, the biggest smile he’s seen yet on your face.

 “What do you think?” He’s so shocked he doesn’t know how to respond. After a moment of silence, your face begins to fall. You can’t stop your brain from thinking the worst.

 He must hate it. Oh god, he’s just trying to find a way to let me down easy. Why do I have to be so stupid? Sure, go ahead. Write a love song about the man who’s sitting next to you. That won’t be weird at all. Oh god, oh god…

 Suddenly, Spencer is pulling you into a tight hug. “It’s beautiful. It will make a wonderful song.” He’s whispering in your ear. The feeling of his lips brushing against you is too much. Everything you’ve been pushing back for the past few days comes roaring to the surface. You can’t stop yourself.

 You pull back slowly, only to pull his face to yours so rapidly you’re surprised you didn’t get whiplash. In less than an instant, his lips are moving gracefully against yours. His hands slide down your body to your waist as he pulls you even closer to him. Your arms move up around his neck, your fingers running through his hair. The hunger and passion is slowly taken over by the need for oxygen, the two of you separating just enough to pull air into your lungs.

 He kisses your forehead, and you kiss his nose. A few minutes later, and you’re still standing there with your heads pressed together, arms wrapped around each other. Every so often, one of you places a light kiss on the others mouth, just to make sure this is real.

 “I know what you’re thinking.” You are still out of breath from kissing him, but you can just tell his mind is moving a mile a minute.

 “I’m not sure you do.” He sounds nervous.

 “I think I might surprise you.” You can’t help but tease him a little before continuing. “You think its all transference. That I only think I like you because you’re here to protect me. Some sort of white knight bullshit.” You can’t stop yourself from sounding mildly annoyed about it. Although, the look of shock on his face helps. “I heard what you said to Morgan.” He sighs before moving to pull back.

 “No, Spence. Listen to me. I heard what you said to Morgan.” You wait for him to follow your train of thought back a few days.

 “But that was four days ago?” He looks more confused than ever.

 “I know. I wanted to make sure that what I feel is real. I didn’t want to lead you on if I might not actually want this. But I do. More than I’ve ever wanted anything before. Spencer, you are a light in my life and not just because you’re here to make sure I don’t get murdered. Although that certainly doesn’t hurt. I feel like I can tell you anything and you won’t judge me for it. That I can truly be myself without worry of letting you down.”

 “Y/N you could never let me down. I just don’t want you to wake up one day and regret anything. I don’t want you to regret me.” He looks crestfallen.

 “Spencer Reid.”  You move your hands to his cheeks to gently push his head up to make eye contact. “I could never regret a single moment spent with you. I have loved every single one. I loved watching you listen to the songs about your friends. I loved listening to you talk about things you love, like Doctor Who and statistics. I loved sitting next to while you played piano. I loved talking to you about anything and everything. Spencer, I love how I feel when I’m with you and I know for a fact I would feel the same way if I met you walking down the street.”

 “Y/N” the way he says your name is music to your ears. “I love how I feel when I’m with you too. I loved listening to you sing about my friends, capturing the essence of who they are. I loved watching you experience the things I have grown so accustomed to doing. I loved the feeling of you leaning on my shoulder while I played Bach. I loved hearing you come up with an entire storyline for one song in a matter of minutes just based on one story. I have loved every single second I have been with you since I first saw you 7 days, 2 hours, and 32 minutes ago. Even if I didn’t say a word to you until after you woke up in the hospital.”

 The two of you laugh as you pull him to the couch to cuddle. You put on more Doctor Who, sitting with your legs across his lap and playing with his hands. It’s nice to just be close to him without having to worry. You find yourself getting wrapped up in the show. Spencer is quieter this time. You think he might have something on his mind, but you decide to wait for him to share. Between the third and fourth episode, he speaks up.

 “Y/N, are you and Ryan… are you together?” You look up to see a nervous expression once again on his face.

 “Ryan who?” You are genuinely confused as to who he could even be talking about.

 “Ryan Moore, the sound booth guy.” You look even more confused than before.

 “Not even a little bit. I politely declined his offer to take me out. Is that what’s been bugging you for the last three episodes?” You smile at his pout.

 “Maybe. You just seemed so happy when you mentioned that he asked you out. You were practically glowing with how big your smile was.”

“Spence, I was happy because I could actually help you with the case. I only have eyes for one guy.” You shift to straddle his lap.

 “Yeah, who’s that?” He pulls you even closer.

 “Matt Smith” You say it with the best deadpan expression you can manage in the circumstances.

 “Wow, your standards must be pretty low to settle for the 11th doctor. He’s not even in the top three best doctors!” He plays along with your joke, although he doesn’t have to act incredulous sat you preference for the 11th doctor.

 “Well, my number one doctor isn’t really on TV.” You bite your lip, leaning in until you connect your mouth to his.

 Right as you’re both about to take it one step further, your phone rings. “Fuck.” The word is barely a whisper leaving your mouth as you pull back from Spencer trying to catch your breath.

 “Hello?” you don’t hear anything on the other end of the phone. “Hello? Anyone there? Hello?” Suddenly the line goes dead. You turn to Spencer. “Well, that was weird.” Spencer frantically moves you off his lap as he stands up, taking out his phone. Without telling you anything, he is frantically dialing a number, mumbling under his breath.

 “Garcia! I need to you to figure out who just called Y/N’s phone.” He waits a minute, presumably listening to her reply. “Yes, it just rang and when she answered nobody said anything. Thank you.” He hangs up, swiftly moving back to the couch to pull you into a hug.

 “What just happened?” You can feel your heartrate speeding up.

 “It might be nothing, but that might have been the unsub. Garcia is tracking down the number that made the call right now. If it’s possible to figure out, she’ll have it done by morning.” He rubs calming circles on your hip with his thumb. “Why don’t you go to sleep? Try to get some rest?” You nod, rising from the couch.

 “Spence, will you lay with me?” Your voice is small and scared as you ask the question. He simply nods, both of you changing into pajamas before meeting in the bedroom to lay down. You snuggle up close to him, trying to breathe in the same pattern as him until you fall asleep.

 --

 When you wake up, you can hear Spencer in the living room, talking on his phone. You want nothing more than to go back to sleep, but not if you can’t cuddle with Spencer while you do it. Throwing the covers off of you, you get up so you can actually see Spencer. He’s got his back to you when you open the door, so you sneak up behind him. He jumps a little with a surprised gasp when you wrap your arms around his middle.

 “What? Oh, uh… I’m fi-fine. Everything’s fine. I was just surprised.” He spins around to hug you, giving you a slight glare. “By, um, a beetle. Yeah, there was a beetle.” The lie is so obvious you can’t help but laugh as you bury your head into his chest.

 A few minutes later, he finally hangs up. “What did they find out about the phone call?” You mumble the question into the fabric of his cardigan.

 “Less than we were hoping for. It was a prepaid cell, so Garcia can’t trace it back to the owner.” You squeeze him tighter, glad to have him with you through all of this. After a few minutes of standing with him, you reluctantly pull back.

 “Well, we should get to work. These songs are not going to write themselves!”

 You and Spencer retreat to different parts of the suite to get ready for the day. As much as you would love to jump his bones, it doesn’t feel right to take up his time with that when he could be working. At least if you were working on songs together it was part of the cover.

 You ultimately decide to just sit in the park across from the hotel today. Normally, you wouldn’t even leave your room at this point in the writing process. You just don’t completely trust yourself to be alone with him at the moment. At least in public you can control yourself a little bit. Yet, the many people walking around the park do nothing to stop you from grabbing Spencer’s hand and playing with his fingers while thinking particularly hard about a certain lyric.

 A bright flash of light draws you out of your reverie. You already know how the picture is going to look. You are laying across a blanket, knees in the air. Spencer is sitting beside you, reading messages from the team on his phone. His other hand is still between yours as you run your fingers over his knuckles. You are absolutely sure there is look of complete adoration on your face. You can’t bring yourself to care that the paparazzi took the picture. You have nothing to hide.

 After the shock of the bright light fades, you notice a familiar face behind the few photographers in front of you. The shock of seeing someone for a second time floods your brain while you try to remember the profile Hotch told you that very first night. Without thinking too hard, you fling yourself into a sitting position. You gather everything you brought with you to the park, dragging Spencer along with you. He clearly doesn’t understand the shift in your behavior, but he’d gladly follow you anywhere.

 It’s not until you reach your room that you look at him. He can see the fear in your eyes before you even open your mouth. “Baby, what is it? What happened?” He begins recalling everything from the moment the first flash went off, trying to figure out what made you so scared.

 “I saw him.” You can barely hear yourself over the sound of your heart beating in your chest. “I saw the unsub. I mean, I think I did. He held the door open for us this morning when we left the hotel, and then he was in the park when the paparazzi were taking pictures. Hotch… he said to tell you if I saw anyone more than once in a day.” The words escape your lips in a hurry, trying to keep up with your flying thoughts.

 “Okay, breathe. I’m right here. I’m going to call the team. Did you recognize him from anywhere else?” You try to picture the face in your mind, and suddenly you are seeing him everywhere. In the coffee shop that very first day. Behind the trees in the park with the piano. If you and Spencer were there, so was he. Just, normally you only caught a glimpse of him for a second. Definitely not twice in one day.

 You rush to tell Spencer what you’re remembering. At this point, you don’t even know if it’s true. Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you. Just filling in this man’s face on other people’s bodies to fit the story that he is the one behind it all. Nonetheless, you give him the description of who you saw. White, probably 35ish, brown hair. You didn’t see his eyes, but they looked evil. The expression on his face just screamed serial killer. Maybe that’s in your head too. Who knows?

 “I know I’ve seen that face before, I just can’t remember where. God, I’m useless. This man is hurting people and I can’t even remember where I’ve seen him before. Think. Think. THINK.” You’ve started pacing the room, trying to figure out who it could be. Spencer doesn’t say anything else to you until he’s finished the phone call. Even then, he’s more so humming and shushing you than really talking. He pulls you into a hug, trying to calm you down yet again.

 “Y/N. You are anything but useless. You noticed he was there. That’s a step in the right direction. We are going to find him, and he is going to go to jail for a very long time.” Somewhere, deep inside, you knew Spencer couldn’t guarantee that, but you also knew it was better for you to listen to him than to force yourself down a rabbit hole you couldn’t dig yourself out of.

 A few calming breaths later, and your asleep on the couch, wrapped up in Spencer’s arms.

 --

 It’s still dark when you open your eyes. You can hear someone moving around, but it’s too dark to see. Spencer isn’t with you on the couch, so it could be him, but something feels wrong. Why would Spencer be up in the middle of the night wandering around in the dark?

 “Spencer?” Everything goes still at the sound of your voice. Yeah, that was not the best move you could’ve made… Before you can say anything else, you are knocked out cold. The sound of a lamp smashing over your head is that last thing you hear.

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